The Heavenly Court is gone, I don't want to be a True Lord.

That night.

Baoyue Lake Station.

Zuo Qi and his two companions met with Li Yue, a centurion directly under their command. Li Yue was a rare woman in the Six Doors, and her status within the Six Doors was somewhat special due to her gender.

"Commander Li, we'd like to review the archives regarding Baoyue Lake again."

Li Yue appeared to be in her early thirties, still possessing a certain charm, but her expression was indifferent; she merely nodded faintly.

These three are newcomers, and since Tang Qianhu has allowed them to know some things, she naturally won't deliberately make things difficult for them.

However, the files could not be taken away, so they were left in the room, where the three of them watched as they looked at the files.

Fortunately, the meridians in the body of a fourth-level martial artist are already open, so they can choose whether or not to practice dynamic exercises, and can practice static exercises at any time, so it does not delay their cultivation.

……

On the Liang River in Fushan City.

As the gloom over Baoyue Lake dissipated, the martial artists in the city seemed to begin a retaliatory period of revelry, and the Red Street was bustling with people all night long.

Liu Gongming and three other boys of similar age were strolling along the riverbank, their eyes fixed on the flower boats on the river. Some pretty girls stood at the bow of the boats, seemingly unaware of the winter night wind, dressed in light clothing, scratching their heads and fussing over each other.

"Ming-ge, that...it's so big and so white!"

Liu Gongming looked in the direction his companion was pointing and his eyes lit up. It was indeed big and white!

And most importantly, the boat the girl was standing on wasn't big, which meant the price wasn't expensive.

Young men are fickle, so neither Liu Chong nor Qu Baihu of Zhenyuan Prefecture would give him much cash.

The money spent on prostitution was all thanks to his mother's indulgence, but it was still limited.

Liu Gongming's favorite type of woman was a respectable woman whose boat was small and seemed a little reserved, who was welcoming guests for the first time in order to make a living.

"I like this one, I'll do it by myself, you guys go find something else."

"No way, Ming-ge, I like this one too. I'll line up right after you."

"No!"

Liu Gongming interrupted them coldly, and the three dared not speak again. Their status and backgrounds were far inferior to Liu Gongming's. If it weren't for their skill in womanizing, they wouldn't have been able to associate with Liu Gongming.

"Then I hope Ming-ge has a great time tonight."

Once aboard, he found she was indeed from a respectable family. Listening to the woman recount how she had been poor since childhood, how her husband had drowned and become paralyzed, how her son was ill, and how this was her first time welcoming guests, Liu Gongming felt an overwhelming surge of warmth in his heart.

What he didn't expect was that as the small boat left the area covered by the lanterns on those large flower boats...

The woman's gentle face suddenly changed, revealing a hint of wickedness. "Little brother, can I borrow some money?"

It's a rip-off!?

Liu Gongming, pulling up his trousers, was both anxious and furious. He never expected that someone would dare to run a shady business in Fushan City.

The woman seemed surprised that Liu Gongming, at such a young age, was actually a master of the second level of martial arts!

Fortunately, Liu Chong had drunk wine laced with a sleeping potion beforehand, which gradually eased his blood pressure, and for a time the two were evenly matched on the boat.

Unbeknownst to them, something resembling a bird's beak slowly emerged from the river surface, secretly chiseling at the boat.

Water gradually seeped into the cabin.

When Liu Gongming realized something was wrong, he was already being pulled into the water by a tremendous force.

Bitten by an old alligator snapping turtle with twenty years of cultivation, especially in the water, Liu Gongming would have no chance of survival unless he possessed water-related supernatural powers, like General Fubo of Fucheng.

A moment later, the splashing water subsided, leaving only the gurgling sound of bubbles.

In the shadows on the shore, a large, dark red dog silently watched this scene.

Everything happened silently.

……

Once the deal was done, Ni Heng, upon receiving the big news, gave Zuo Qi and the other man, who were reading a book, a wink.

After watching for more than an hour, he excused himself from disturbing the centurion's rest and bid farewell to Liu Yue.

Liu Yue simply nodded and said nothing more.

……

At dawn, a sharp whistling sound suddenly emanated from one of the outposts.

Two floating corpses, one male and one female, appeared on the shore!

Just as the commander was about to make a move, he suddenly realized that the outline of one of the floating corpse demons looked somewhat familiar!

It turned out to be Liu Gongming, the most favored son of Liu Baihu.

The news spread, shaking the entire Six Doors.

Within fifteen minutes, Liu Chong arrived from his home in his nightgown, his eyes turning bloodshot the moment he saw the floating corpse demon.

Zuo Qi and his two companions also arrived at the scene immediately with the minor official. They stood on the periphery, watching Liu Chong's furious yet excessively sorrowful appearance, their faces expressionless.

However, some of the Six Doors officers who knew that Liu Chong was targeting Zuo Qi kept a barely perceptible distance from the three of them when they saw them.

It was no secret that Liu Chong was targeting the three of them. The three had been there for three days, and Liu Gongming had become a floating corpse in Baoyue Lake, which inevitably made people think.

This matter must be thoroughly investigated.

What angered Liu Chong even more was that the floating corpse demon that Liu Gongming had transformed into had grown to a gigantic size, making it impossible to tell how he died unless the coroner came into close contact with it. But that was a demon; how could it be allowed to be manipulated by the coroner?

To control them, you have to kill them, but the floating corpse demons will explode after they die, so how do you check for injuries?

This frustration drove Liu Zhong almost to madness.

He had the power to imprison and torture all his crimes and all the officers who had offended him.

He glared angrily, his gaze sweeping fiercely over everyone present, causing them to instinctively look away.

The farce eventually drew the ire of Tang Yu, and Liu Chong, though furious, could only suppress his anger.

……

"Brother Qi, that old turtle's expression back then was priceless!"

Ni Heng laughed heartily.

He Xiao frowned. "Watch your words!"

Ni Heng quickly shut his mouth; this was something that could only be done, not spoken of.

The three of them were very honest and did what they were supposed to do.

Liu Zhong mobilized all his connections to thoroughly investigate Liu Gongming's death. Naturally, the fact that Liu Gongming frequented Red Street could not be kept secret, and soon, those cronies were taken to the Six Doors for interrogation.

In the end, only one thing was confirmed: the female corpse floating with Liu Gongming was a courtesan from the Red Street boat.

Because that woman was unregistered and an unregistered resident of Fushan City.

Using his power within the Six Doors, Liu Chong quickly learned about Hua Niang's background from the lower-level gangs and entered the city through the route of the Ten Thousand Men Gang in the south of the city.

But the investigation ended there. The main business of the Wanrenbang was to bring unregistered people from outside the city into the city through various means.

The woman spent six hundred coins and went into the city.

Looking at the interrogation results, Liu Zhong's expression was a half-smile. "Old Qu, is this the result?"

Qu, the Hundred-Household Commander of Zhenyuan Prefecture, sighed. The woman's face was completely unrecognizable. Unless one was extremely familiar with her, who could recognize her? Moreover, she was from out of town. How could they investigate?

"I believe someone in the Tian Ce Mansion is targeting me, resorting to such underhanded tactics!"

Liu Chong roared with a murderous expression.

After a moment of silence, Qu Baihu asked, "Who do you think it could be?"

"Liu Haofeng of Jing Shifu is the most likely candidate. His son worked for me back then and died a violent death. Although he hasn't shown it in recent years, I suspect it's related to him. Also..."

Liu Zhong hesitated for a moment, "Some time ago, Tong Shou Lu Xun introduced three young people. I was asked to use some methods on them, but I don't know if it has anything to do with them."

Qu Baihu frowned. "Liu Haofeng is a man of strong character. He challenged you to a life-or-death duel back then, but Du Qianhu suppressed it. He has kept quiet all these years, and perhaps he really might make a move against Gongming. But what about those three young men? Do they have connections?"

The two had been friends for many years. After thinking for a moment, Liu Chong did not hide anything, "I am just a guest of the Lin family from outside the family. I am just helping them out."

He still did not explain Qin Chen's identity to Qu Baihu.

Before Qu Baihu could ask any more questions, Liu Zhong spoke up again.

"Old Qu, I'm going to ask Lin Yunian about Zuo Qi's background. Could you help me investigate the backgrounds of Liu Haofeng and Zuo Qi?"

Qu Baihu naturally agreed.

……

On the other side, Zuo Qi, who had been completely disappointed in Shang Yingying, unexpectedly received a letter from her.

He was invited to meet at the Sifulou Restaurant in the south of the city three days later.

The letter mentioned that nine of the twelve layers of the Jade Tower have been completed!

Zuo Qi was overjoyed to see this.

It's like finding a new path after a seemingly hopeless situation!