Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

Han Qingluan first inspected the East Wing accounting office.

The accountant was waiting in the courtyard early in the morning, with dozens of neatly arranged boxes of account books in front of him, detailing transactions from eighteen years ago to this month, categorized and meticulously bound. It took eight servants of the Shi family just to move these boxes, which were stacked in three rows.

Ning Che stood under the eaves watching the scene, not in a hurry to make a move.

The three clerks brought by Han Qingluan stepped forward to examine the items, checking them one by one. At first, they were chatting and laughing, thinking this errand was just a formality. After half an incense stick had burned, no one spoke.

The more he investigated, the sullen his expression became.

All the account books were spotless, with every record of land rent, medicine payment, and inventory inflow and outflow having corresponding contracts and seals, fitting together perfectly, without even the slightest flaw.

Not only could it not be found faulty, but even the formatting was flawless—the neatness of the handwriting on each page and the depth of ink when turning pages were all impeccable.

There's no trace of Shi Mingxin's income from the Baijiecao (a type of herb), the bribes he gave to Mu Qingming's confidants, or the secret accounts he embezzled from Huichuntang's medicinal fields.

"Officer Xing, Chief Constable Han." The accountant bowed, his waist bent just right. "The Shi family has been in business for a century, and all the account books are here. Every single entry is traceable. The main family was completely unaware of the dirty deeds done by the collateral branches, and they never touched a single penny in the accounts."

Ning Che didn't reply.

He walked over, reached out and flipped through the account book from six years ago, turning to the month when the herb was purchased from Caixia Village. The edges of those few pages were yellowed, but they were intact. They only recorded a normal purchase of medicinal herbs, handled by the old manager who had long since passed away. Even Shi Mingxin's name did not appear.

"Who did these pages of accounting?"

"Returning to the captain, this is Mr. Liu, the former accountant. He contracted malaria three years ago and has passed away." The accountant answered crisply without pausing. "Mr. Liu had no children, and the Shi family took care of his funeral arrangements."

Lin Ye, listening from the side, couldn't stop his mouth from twitching.

There is no way to verify the truth since the dead are dead.

The key person in charge had passed away, leaving no relatives, making it impossible to investigate. Even more remarkably, the Shi family handled the funeral arrangements—in other words, this person, from birth to death, was entirely in the Shi family's hands.

Ning Che closed the ledger without getting angry or asking any further questions.

He should have thought of that sooner.

How could a family that has been able to establish itself in Feihu City for a hundred years leave its secrets blatantly on paper? With Shi Mingxin dead and the old steward passing away from illness, all the witnesses who could testify against the family were completely eliminated.

This is not a coincidence, it's craftsmanship.

The same was true at the second stop, the West Hospital Pharmacy.

The medicine storehouse door was securely locked, the seals intact, and the medicinal herbs inside were neatly categorized and arranged. The inventory log was brought over and matched perfectly with the one in the accounting office. Ning Che glanced at Han Qingluan, who shook her head.

The inventory and usage records of Bai Jie Cao were all used for the production of Hui Chun Tang Qing Zhang Wan (a traditional Chinese medicine), with not a single item having an unclear destination. Even the rat demon blood and sulfur used by Shi Mingxuan to frame them could not be found to have entered the warehouse.

Shi Bingzhu couldn't help but say, "Those things don't just appear out of thin air."

The old steward of the warehouse glanced at him but didn't reply.

This old steward was a real tough nut to crack. No matter what Han Qingluan asked, he would shake his head, saying that he was only in charge of the coming and going of medicinal herbs and knew nothing else.

When asked again, he still shook his head. Han Qingluan took out the criminal regulations of the police station and placed them in front of him. He knelt down and begged for forgiveness, saying that he had failed in his duty and was willing to accept punishment, but he didn't utter a single useful word.

Lin Ye clenched his fists in anger, and just as he raised his foot, Ning Che reached out and stopped him.

"It's no use." Ning Che's voice was very low, only Lin Ye could hear it. "These people have been raised by the Shi family for decades, their roots run deeper than you and I think. Even if we take them back and torture them, they will only insist that they know nothing. In the end, we'll just be accused of using torture to extract confessions and slandering a powerful family. It's not worth it."

Lin Ye gritted his teeth and lowered his hand.

The essence of the Shi family lies here.

We won't confront you head-on, argue with you, or cause trouble. The door is open, the accounts are laid out, and we're ready to assist you with whatever you want to investigate. We'll be courteous and cooperative from beginning to end.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything.

When Han Qingluan walked out of the pharmacy carrying a stack of inspection lists, her expression was very unpleasant.

Having handled cases for over a decade and seen countless slick veterans, this was the first time she had witnessed the power of a powerful family.

It's like punching cotton; there's no echo, no pain, not even resistance. It just lets you punch it, and when you're done, the cotton is still cotton.

She asked Ning Che in a low voice, "What do you think?"

Ning Che did not answer the question.

He stood in front of the medicine storehouse, his gaze passing over the courtyard wall and looking towards the old, flying eaves in the direction of the ancestral hall.

"Chief Constable Han, do you know that old warehouse behind the Shi Family Ancestral Hall?"

Han Qingluan paused for a moment: "I've heard of it. It's a forbidden area within the clan; outsiders can never enter. You want to investigate that place?"

Ning Che didn't say whether he wanted to or not, and started walking in that direction.

Shi Chongshan followed behind. He was old and walked slowly, his cane tapping heavily with each stroke, hanging at a distance that was neither too close nor too far. Upon hearing the words "Old Ku," the sound of the cane hitting the ground abruptly stopped for a beat.

With just one beat, the original rhythm was restored.

But Ning Che heard it.

When they reached the front courtyard of the ancestral hall, Ning Che stopped and turned around.

"Master Shi, please open the vault."

The cooperative smile on Shi Chongshan's face vanished. His cane slammed heavily on the bluestone ground, making a crisp sound.

"Commander Xing, the Old Treasury is a forbidden area where the Shi family stores their genealogy and ancestral tablets. Only direct descendants are allowed to enter. This is a century-old family rule, and even if the city lord himself were to come, this rule could not be broken."

"If the evidence in the case is hidden in a forbidden area, are you going to follow your clan rules as well?" Han Qingluan followed up.

"Chief Constable Han is joking."

Behind Shi Chongshan, several elderly clan elders with white hair and beards emerged. One, two, three... a total of five. Each of them leaned on a cane, their backs hunched, and their combined age was probably three hundred years old.

"Old Curry only has ancestral tablets and family genealogy records; he has absolutely nothing to hide."

The elder clansman leading the group spoke in a booming voice, his strength even greater than Shi Chongshan's: "If Chief Constable Han insists on forcing his way in, he will be insulting the ancestors of the Shi family. I will risk my old bones to never allow it!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the clan elders all stood in the direction of the old warehouse. Dozens of Shi family members suddenly surrounded them, unarmed, blocking their way with their bodies.

Lin Ye muttered under his breath, "Wow, pretty neat."

This is the second soft nail.

Trying to force their way in? They probably won't actually make a move.

The Shi family couldn't afford the consequences of a direct confrontation with the three officials. But afterwards, they had a pretext to retaliate. Disgracing their ancestors and disregarding clan rules—either accusation was enough to cause a huge uproar.

But what if we don't take the plunge?

They were watching helplessly as the most likely hiding place was blocked from even being entered. What if they were just bluffing, and were only preventing the investigation because they had something to hide?

For a moment, even Han Qingluan stopped in her tracks.