A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

Ji Zuodao settled comfortably in his chair, propped his feet up on the conference table, and slowly twirled the corner of the gold-embossed invitation between his fingers.

"If you ask me, Director Lin, this matter doesn't really need to be investigated any further."

He stopped the spinning invitation, tapped the air with the corner of it, and spoke with an air of utter nonchalance:

"That guy on the second floor of the bar screamed like a pig being slaughtered before he died, 'I'm from the Zhou family, I'm from the Zhou family'... The whole bar could hear him."

"As far as I know, in Caiyun, there's only one family with the surname Zhou among the major Qi cultivator families, right?"

He flipped his wrist, revealing the front of the invitation, and read it aloud in a pretentious manner:

"We cordially invite you to the Snow Mountain Hotel within the next three days to join us for this grand event..."

After reading it aloud, Ji Zuodao raised his head, blinked, and looked at Director Lin in the main seat with an eager expression:

"Who owns this Snow Mountain Hotel? Director Lin, could you please explain?"

Director Lin's face was so dark it could wring water out of it, and he squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth:

"The Zhou family's businesses."

He paused, then added, each word as if frozen:

"That Night Raven Bar... is also a property of the Zhou family."

"Whoa—!"

Ji Zuodao sat bolt upright, pulling his feet back from the table. His eyes widened, his face filled with astonishment, as if he had never seen anything like it before.

"Good heavens! This is completely uninhibited! Utterly and openly!"

He looked around incredulously at his colleagues in the meeting room, whose expressions were a mix of emotions, as if trying to confirm whether he had misheard.

"Are all the Qi cultivator families in Caiyun this arrogant now? You completely disregard Caiyun 749? You're too lazy to even bother with the pretense?"

"Speaking of this, I have to mention our Jinghai 749."

Ji Zuodao leaned back, crossed his legs, and spoke with a touch of nostalgia for bygone days, and a hint of Versailles in his tone:

"The aristocratic families in Jinghai are now as docile as quails, walking as close to the wall as possible, and always looking at 749's expression before speaking."

"after all--"

"The last aristocratic family that was so arrogant as to collude with evil cultivators is now dead... no, there's no dead grave."

"The floor was cleaned with thermostatic spray, and it's incredibly clean and smooth. Now a community fitness park has been built on top of it, and the elderly folks dance there every day. It's so lively."

"Since then, the remaining aristocratic families in Jinghai have done the worst things imaginable..."

Ji Zuodao stroked his chin and pondered for a moment.

"I guess it's something like tax evasion or using dual contracts. Even with that, they're still on tenterhooks, afraid we'll catch them red-handed."

He slapped his thigh, leaned forward, and stared intently at Director Lin:

"So... what are we waiting for, Director Lin? Gather the men and let's go! The evidence's practically slapped in their faces! Ransom them! Wipe them out! Make a killing! Your year-end bonuses for next year are all set, aren't they?"

Director Lin rubbed his throbbing temples, feeling a headache coming on.

"No. The chain of evidence is incomplete and too weak. They can easily put forward a scapegoat to cover it up."

"Moreover, a single hair can affect the whole situation. These large families in Caiyun are all closely connected and intertwined. They won't sit idly by and watch us take action against the Zhou family. They understand the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.'"

"If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold?"

Ji Zuodao was stunned for a moment, as if he had heard something unbelievable, and then his expression became even more confused than Director Lin's:

"Why not just eradicate all the other families as well?"

"They can just pick any charge and pin it on—inciting subversion, illegal assembly, endangering national security…can't they just make up any name?"

"Once everyone's been 'killed,' there's no way to verify anything. How will history be written? How will the story be fabricated? It'll all depend on what we 749 people say!"

Sun Zhigang, who had been listening intently the whole time, finally couldn't hold back any longer, gasped, and blurted out:

"Holy crap! Brother Ji, is this how you guys at Jinghai 749 usually handle cases?!"

"What else?"

Ji Zuodao spread his hands, his expression utterly sincere:

"Knowing they have problems is enough! We are a law enforcement agency, we are 749! We are the relevant department! We are not a detective agency, much less the prosecutor's office!"

"If you really want to find evidence, wait until we've searched the house, then take your time! Tear up the land, smash up the secret rooms, pry open the safes, dig out the family archives... are you afraid you won't find a few ledgers enough to get you sentenced to death?"

"..."

Sun Zhigang's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he listened, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly.

His gaze toward Ji Zuodao was filled with awe and shock at the unknown world, and his voice trembled:

"You Jinghai 749... are you some kind of Imperial Guard?! Do you have to double as the Eastern and Western Depots?!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Zuodao was not angry at all; on the contrary, he was amused, and his little tiger tooth flashed:

"Hey! Brother Sun, your analogy... is interesting! But it's not quite accurate."

He held up one finger and corrected him earnestly:

"Even the Embroidered Uniform Guard has to be mindful of the Emperor's mood, and the Eastern and Western Depots don't have as much power as us. In principle, our Jinghai 749 is only responsible to the 'Special Affairs Management Law for Qi Cultivators' and Director Zhang. Efficiency is the primary productive force."

The conference room was deathly silent.

Only the sound of a few young investigators swallowing hard was particularly clear.

Everyone involuntarily turned their gaze to Director Lin, who sat in the main seat, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

Director Lin looked at Ji Zuodao's sincere face, which seemed to say, "I'm doing this for the good of the bureau," and then at his subordinates' dazed expressions, as if their worldviews had been hit by a nuclear explosion.

He remained silent for a very long time.

In the end, he simply let out a long, long breath.

"On the land of Caiyun, there are eight major families of Qi cultivators. Each family has at least one ancestor at the Divine Power Realm to oversee them."

"Little Ji, if our Caiyun 749 really does what you say, and we go all out to raid the Zhou family today... do you believe me or not, we won't even have to wait until tomorrow morning when the sun is high in the sky?"

"Tonight, at the latest by midnight, we'll have eight patriarchs at the Divine Power Realm lined up neatly outside our branch office."

"Doing nothing, just sitting by the door."

Ji Zuodao blinked, opened his mouth, and said, "Uh... well... but our Jinghai 749 dares to..."

"Stop."

Director Lin didn't let him finish speaking, raising his hand to make a "stop" gesture, his face almost overflowing with helplessness.

"Investigator Ji, not every chief of the 749th Precinct is named Zhang Yucheng."

"Not every deputy director is named Liu Zhou."

"Your Jinghai 749 has one director and one deputy director, two bureau chiefs..."

"Back then, there were two people."

He held up two fingers and waved them in front of everyone, emphasizing the number.

"They gathered together the patriarchs of twelve powerful families at the peak of their power in Jinghai, then surrounded them and gave them a beating."

"Yes, you heard me right."

"Two people ganged up on twelve."

"There's no real reason. If I had to give one, it's probably to clearly inform those twelve individuals, as well as other families, clans, and powers..."

His fingers tapped lightly on the table in front of him, making a soft tapping sound.

"In Jinghai, 749 calls the shots. In Jinghai, 749 is the boss. The rules have to be followed by 749."

"Just for this?" someone couldn't help but mutter under their breath.

"Just for this."

Director Lin nodded affirmatively.

"Moreover, after the sparring session, the twelve patriarchs quickly accepted the new rule and helped to convey this principle to their respective families."

"Since then, the prominent families in Jinghai have become very reasonable and law-abiding. They are also very easy to communicate with."

"Now, do you understand why your Jinghai 749 can handle cases so effectively, while we Caiyun 749 can only sit here, facing evidence that's practically smearing our faces, and discuss whether the chain of evidence is complete or not?"

"..."

Ji Zuodao's expression was incredibly interesting at that moment.

My mind was already resounding with excitement, like drums and firecrackers exploding in the air. I was just short of standing up, clapping, and shouting three times, "Uncle Zhang and Uncle Liu are awesome!"

But he had to keep a straight face, though the corners of his mouth turned up uncontrollably, his eyes were frighteningly bright, and his fingers rubbed excitedly under the table.

I see! I see!

That's the ultimate level of persuasion through reason!

Use your fists to reason with others until they are convinced and even take the initiative to uphold your principles!

Ji Zuodao felt that his worldview had been greatly shocked, and at the same time, it had been strangely broadened and solidified.