Gao Wu Da Ming: Starting as a military household and ascending to the rank of Martial Saint

On the drill ground, all sorts of curses rang out. They dared not curse the government, so they vented their anger on the official who came to deliver the message.

Fortunately, Yang Xin and his men ran fast, otherwise they would have been publicly insulted by the women in their families.

Many people come here with the intention of making money. The government's cancellation has cut off their path to wealth. How can people not be furious?

Then, Yang Xin's words began to circulate among the crowd, and in no time, the news of the deaths of Liu, Chang, and Zhao had spread throughout the entire area.

The crowd, who had been cursing incessantly just moments before, fell silent instantly, stunned by the news. They then began to whisper and discuss amongst themselves.

Only Ji Shouyi let out a long sigh of relief. He looked at Yu Shaowu, who happened to be looking over as well. Their eyes met, and they both revealed a knowing smile.

Only these two people on the field are the ones most happy to see such unexpected changes today.

Yu Shaowu approached Ji Shouyi, cupped his hands, and said, "Senior Brother, I happen to have nothing to do today, so you don't need to worry. I'll head back first so my wife won't be concerned."

Ji Shouyi smiled and said, "Junior Brother, please feel free to come to the Juyi Martial Arts School if you have any questions about the Yihe Fist."

He watched Yu Shaowu leave, but he was completely puzzled.

Zhao Daikui and Chang Qi were the organizers of this mountain expedition, and it is no coincidence that they were killed together.

Although his senior martial brother Liu Xingye wasn't a government official, Ji Shouyi knew him well. During their first trip into the mountains, Liu Xingye had been constantly encouraging them. At the time, Ji Shouyi didn't realize it, but now, thinking back, he realized that this bastard was inextricably linked to this operation.

So it's quite clear now: the killer's series of crimes was a sabotage of the operation to exterminate wolves in the mountains.

Although all he could hear were curses directed at the murderer, Ji Shouyi was genuinely grateful to the man for saving his life.

But who exactly is this person who was able to kill these three masters in one night? Just how powerful is he?

There aren't many people with that kind of power in the entire Baode Prefecture, and they all hold high positions. If they wanted to get involved in this matter, they probably wouldn't be so extreme.

So, could it be that people from outside Baode Prefecture came here specifically to act on behalf of Heaven?

"Who could it be?"

Regardless, Ji Shouyi felt a sense of relief, as if he had escaped a calamity. Whoever this person was, he silently prayed that they wouldn't be caught by the authorities.

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"Who exactly is this person?"

Inside the Chang residence at Shenshan Fort, Prefect Hu Nan stared at the several corpses lying on the ground, his eyes filled with rage.

Because the impact of this matter was so severe, not only did the prefect arrive in person, but also the garrison commander of the prefecture, Jiang Hong, and the commander of Baode Prefecture, Li Zhencai, rushed to the scene after receiving the news.

After Zhao Daikui's body was moved, the words "Li" were clearly visible on the ground.

There aren't many experts in Baode Prefecture who could kill these three people in one night; the only one who fits that description is Li Zhencai.

The appearance of such words at the scene was extremely embarrassing for Li Zhencai.

Faced with Hu Nan's question, which seemed to be directed at himself, Li Zhencai could only bow and say, "Your Excellency, this matter was not done by me. I hope Your Excellency will investigate thoroughly."

Hu Nan glanced at Li Zhencai and said in a gentler tone, "Commander Li, I have no suspicion of you. This may just be a frame-up by the murderer. You don't need to take it to heart."

He said he didn't suspect anything, but he actually used the word "perhaps." Li Zhencai's heart sank when he heard that.

From those two words, Li Zhencai knew that Hu Nan not only suspected him, but even wanted to kill him.

He quickly explained, "Your Excellency, this humble official..."

"Alright," Hu Nan interrupted him, "Commander Li, don't panic. I trust you completely. The most important task now is not to defend yourself, but to catch the culprit."

With that, he ordered, "Commander Jiang, Commander Li, each of you lead your respective battalions and garrison troops, one in charge of the north of the prefecture, the other in charge of the south. Set up checkpoints and impose martial law throughout the prefecture. Anyone found acting suspiciously should be apprehended on the spot before further action!"

"Yes, sir," Jiang Hong and Li Zhencai quickly bowed.

Then, Hu Nan turned to Song Qingxuan, the prefectural clerk standing beside him, and said, "Qingxuan, this matter is up to you. You must get to the bottom of this and clear the names of these colleagues."

"Rest assured, sir." Song Qingxuan and Wu Zheng, the head constable, bowed together and said, "We will do our utmost."

Li Zhencai received his orders and returned to his office as a commander of a thousand households, his mind preoccupied with his worries.

He immediately summoned his trusted confidant, Zhao Guangyao, the deputy commander in charge of land reclamation, troop inspection, canal transport, and military equipment, and said with a distressed expression, "Damn it, Hu Nan is clearly trying to kill me. I don't know which bastard not only killed someone but also dragged me into this."

Zhao Guangyao pondered for a moment and said, "Commander, there aren't many people in Baode Prefecture with this kind of courage and ability. Could it be that the prefectural government is fighting amongst themselves and then trying to frame you?"

Li Zhencai shook his head and said, "That won't happen. They are planning something big recently, and these are all Hu Nan's confidants. They would never destroy their own defenses at this critical juncture."

"That was done by outsiders," Zhao Guangyao said. "If that's the case, then it will be difficult to investigate. Can we identify which school of martial arts these corpses belong to based on their wounds?"

Li Zhencai glanced at him and said, "Damn it, did I call you here to be the head of the patrol? Who the murderer is is not our concern right now. The key is how to deal with Hu Nan's framing."

I've never wanted to do dirty work for that bastard Hu Nan; he's been wanting to get rid of me for a long time. I reckon whether or not they find the killer, Hu Nan will take this opportunity to eliminate me. I need to figure out a way to deal with this.”

"Yes, yes, I was confused." Zhao Guangyao finally realized what had happened, scratching his head and saying, "This matter is indeed very troublesome. After this case, all the power in the investigation is in Hu Nan's hands. He can frame someone however he wants."

This was exactly what Li Zhencai was worried about. He glared at Zhao Guangyao with great dissatisfaction and said angrily, "Damn it, you're a pig-brain, you can never come up with a good idea."

After being reprimanded, Zhao Guangyao felt ashamed and said without thinking, "Commander, since it's a dead end anyway, why don't we just go all the way and fight Hu Nan to the death?"

"Then tell me, how exactly do you plan to fight to the death?"

Zhao Guangyao said, "Those people are incredibly audacious, colluding with the 'Eagles of Lüliang Mountain' to harm the people. We would have just turned a blind eye. But now that Hu Nan is making things difficult for you, why should we be polite? We should just report this to Lu Bingbei. I refuse to believe that Lu Bingbei would be involved in such a disregard for human life. Let Lu Bingbei and Hu Nan fight it out; wouldn't that be a perfect match?"

Li Zhencai pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up. Yes, Lu Shiguang, as the military commissioner of Kelan, held a rank no lower than Hu Nan's.

Moreover, Chang Qi and Zhao Daikui were respectively from the Baode Thousand-Household Garrison and the Prefectural Garrison. Although they were under the jurisdiction of the Shanxi Military Command and the Shanxi Garrison respectively, according to the imperial court's system of civil officials controlling military officials, both of them were under the jurisdiction of the Hebao Circuit, which was directly under the jurisdiction of the Kelan Military Circuit.

It is perfectly reasonable to inform the military commissioner of Kelan at this time. Commissioner Lu is extremely busy and, while he wouldn't care about the life or death of such a minor official, he would certainly be interested if we subtly revealed the prefecture's secret collusion with bandits and the harm done to the people.

Thinking of this, Li Zhencai smiled and said to Zhao Guangyao, "Damn it, you pig-brain, you've finally come up with a good idea. Then I'll trouble you to make a trip, take my personal letter, and rush to Pianguan tonight to pay your respects to Lord Lu."

Zhao Guangyao was delighted to receive the praise and bowed, saying, "Rest assured, Commander, I will depart immediately!"