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

The next day.

Zuo Qi and his two companions left the city, accompanied by three minor officials selected by He Xiaoxuan.

The leader, named Zhao Kai, was already quite old. Seeing that Zuo Qi and the other two were young, he was very polite to them.

"These three banner officers are already ninth-rank officials at such a young age; they have a bright future ahead of them."

The other two were Zhao Kai's apprentices, named Song Ze and Wang Kaiji respectively.

The six men left the city gate and headed west.

Inquiring along the way, they learned that the bandits had just robbed a village a few days ago, killing more than thirty people.

Song Ze was a talkative man, constantly cursing the cruelty of the Flying Sand Bandits along the way, but judging from his expression, he didn't seem to take it too seriously.

Zuo Qi gave a perfunctory response.

Zhao Kai, however, couldn't stand it. Given his age and current status as a minor official, he was already often looked down upon in the Six Doors. Yet, when he traveled with Zuo Qi and the other two, they didn't give him any disdain; instead, they treated him with great courtesy.

It's rare to see an official like this.

He stepped forward and spoke.

"Left Banner, I've heard that the Flying Sand Bandits possess the Thousand Threads Entanglement, which can bind martial artists below the fourth level of training."

Zuo Qi glanced at Zhao Kai, initially thinking he was just coasting along, but unexpectedly he had such a mind, inquiring about the Flying Sand Bandits in advance.

The six arrived at a village where the Flying Sand Bandits had previously been active.

The village is small, with only seven or eight households.

Traces of burning were everywhere, with charred wood lying haphazardly and dried, blackened bloodstains on the ground.

Song Ze and Wang Kaiji skillfully spread out and searched for clues in the ruins.

Ni Heng released Da Hong, which sniffed around the village and quickly locked onto a direction, letting out two low growls.

"A discovery?" Zhao Kai's eyes lit up.

Ni Heng nodded. "Da Hong smelled blood and went west."

The six people followed the direction.

They chased after him for two days in a row, but repeatedly came up empty-handed.

The Flying Sand Bandits were extremely familiar with the terrain in this area. Several times, even though Big Red had clearly pinpointed the location, by the time they arrived, all that was left was a wrecked camp, and the bandits had already fled.

"These mudskippers!" Song Ze cursed.

Zuo Qi didn't say anything, but squatted down and searched the camp.

"Brother Qi, have you found anything?" He Xiao leaned closer.

Zuo Qi opened his palm, revealing a small, rough piece of fabric that looked like it had been torn from some old, worn-out garment.

He frowned slightly.

"Keep chasing."

On the evening of the third day, the six men chased the suspects to a dilapidated temple.

The temple has been abandoned for many years, with most of the walls collapsed, leaving only the main hall barely standing.

There were fresh hoof prints and human footprints on the ground in front of the temple, indicating that someone had stopped here not long ago.

"Be careful," Zhao Kai said in a low voice, his hand already on the hilt of his knife.

The six people dispersed and slowly approached the dilapidated temple.

Ni Heng asked Da Hong to scout ahead first.

Big Red stealthily crept into the temple, and a moment later two short barks were heard.

This indicates that there are people inside, but not many.

Zuo Qi had no intention of making a move; he planned to let He Xiao practice on these people.

So He Xiao made a gesture and led everyone in.

Sure enough, there were bandits in the temple. Seven or eight people were roasting food around a campfire when they saw someone break in, and they immediately fell into chaos.

"They're government officials!"

"Grab your weapons!"

The bandits reacted quickly, clearly having encountered government troops more than once before.

He Xiao struck first, his figure as fast as lightning, instantly cutting into the bandit group. With a flurry of palm strikes, two bandits suffered broken ribs and collapsed to the ground.

Ni Heng, with Da Hong and the small black snake on his shoulder, flanked from the side. Da Hong bit a bandit's calf and suddenly shook its head, causing the man to scream and fall to the ground.

Song Ze and Wang Kaiji also joined the battle.

The scene was in complete chaos.

He Xiao was puzzled. He had not noticed that there were three masters among this group. Could it be that the so-called Flying Sand Elder was not here?

Just as he was wondering, the tall, strong young man who had been knocked back by his punch suddenly stretched out his hands and pointed at He Xiao, with countless fine, crystalline threads flying out from between his ten fingers!

It was incredibly bizarre.

He Xiao raised his hand and threw a punch, the air swirling like flames.

Zuo Qi was somewhat surprised to see this.

He Xiao's comprehension is truly terrifying. In such a short time of cultivation, the Ice Sea Fist Imprint can be so perfectly integrated with the Fire Absorption Technique. Ice and fire swirl around it, and the fist power is astonishing, actually shaking off a group of silver threads!

A few silver threads passed through the fist's force, but they were no longer able to stop He Xiao's forward momentum.

"I never expected that the Flying Sage would be a young man."

He Xiao's voice was icy.

Fei Sha Sou's expression changed drastically. He hadn't expected that He Xiao, at such a young age, had already reached the third level of martial arts and possessed such exquisite skills. His proud Thousand Silk Threads technique had been so easily neutralized by the opponent.

This is completely inconsistent with the information Liu Zhong sent.

Weren't there only three banner officers?

boom!

One careless move, and He Xiao struck his left shoulder, finally putting Fei Sha Sou in a panic.

"Help me!"

There are still people here!?

Zuo Qi, standing at the door, changed his expression slightly and became serious.

Suddenly, applause erupted outside the temple.

"A brilliant tactic, truly a brilliant tactic."

A figure emerged from the darkness outside the temple, dressed in the official robes of a centurion of the Six Doors, with a sinister face, bloodshot eyes, and a strange smile on his lips.

Liu Zhong.

Zuo Qi's pupils suddenly contracted.

Liu Chong's gaze fell directly on Zuo Qi, his eyes filled with a chilling malice.

"I didn't expect that this mission was assigned to us by Commander Liu. However, the Flying Sand Bandits are no longer viable, so we won't trouble Commander Liu with his efforts."

Liu Chong sneered, then suddenly looked at Fei Sha Sou, "What a piece of trash."

"Zuo Qi, these sand bandits are my dogs for six years. Do you know how much silver and merit I've spent on them over those six years?"

He spoke very softly, almost as if he were talking to himself.

"But now, you've killed them all."

Zuo Qi's guess came true.

Liu Chong suddenly laughed, his laughter growing louder and sharper, echoing through the dilapidated temple like the hooting of an owl.

"You killed my son, Gongming, didn't you?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present changed their expressions.

Zhao Kai subconsciously took a step back, and Song Ze and Wang Kaiji also looked surprised.

They were all from the Six Doors, so they naturally knew about Liu Gongming's death.

At that time, Liu Chong investigated the case like a madman, and he searched through almost the entire Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the underworld or martial arts world) of Fushan.

"Liu, be careful what you say," He Xiao said coldly. "Regarding Young Master Liu's death, Li Yue, the centurion, can testify that the three of us were at the Baoyue Lake garrison reviewing the files on the day of his death and never left."

"Li Yue?" Liu Chong scoffed. "You mean that stupid woman? I've seen far too many people like you. Those who climbed up from the bottom are best at scheming, plotting, and using others to do their dirty work."

He stared at Zuo Qi, his eyes like those of a venomous snake. "When Gong Ming died, someone said they had seen your nephew."

Zuo Qi's expression suddenly changed; all his feigned restraint vanished in that instant. "Is Commander Liu threatening me?"

"You forced me to do this!"

Liu Chong's eyes flashed with madness. "If you dare to run today, I will skin your nephew and your woman alive, and grind their bones to dust!"

"Do you dare to run away?!"

Zuo Qi sighed, realizing that Liu Chong had gone somewhat mad.

"The centurion has given orders; how dare this humble officer flee?"

Liu Chong's eyes were bloodshot. "Pretend! What I hate most isn't that you killed my son. It's that you killed him and then pretended to be innocent. You dared to do it but didn't dare to admit it. People like you are more disgusting than those openly evil people."

"You come from a humble background and only managed to get into the Six Doors by currying favor with Miss Lin. Do you think that wearing this official robe makes you the same as us? You're wrong. You're a peasant at heart, and no matter how hard you try to pretend, you can't be a real person."

"When you killed my son, did you think you were so clever? Did you think you had everything planned out? Let me tell you, your cleverness is nothing but the self-righteousness of a petty person. Did you think you could get away with it? Did you think that by currying favor with Lu Xun and Tang Yu, you could rest easy?"

His voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"Let me tell you, Zuo Qi, I've seen plenty of people like you! You have a little bit of cleverness and a little bit of talent, and you think you can turn the world upside down?"

Zuo Qi sighed, "In the end, no matter what I say, Commander Liu still believes that I killed Liu Gongming. It's just because I come from a humble background, and you subconsciously feel that you can control me. When I don't comply, you assume I'm the murderer. If I say that I saw it with my own eyes and that it was Qin Chen from the City Guard who killed him, would Commander Liu believe me?"

Liu Chong remained expressionless, almost to the point of madness.

Liu Gongming had been dead for several months. He had investigated for a long time but had not found the killer. He had developed psychological problems and suspected many people, but his inherent cowardly nature made him convinced that Zuo Qi was the one who killed him.

"As expected of someone with a silver tongue, even on the verge of death, she still tries to drag Young Master Qin down with her!"

Zuo Qi was speechless upon seeing this scene.

The halberd in his hand swayed slightly.

"So, Commander Liu intends to torture Zuo?"

Upon seeing this, Liu Chong suddenly burst out laughing.

"If you say you're not the murderer, are you afraid I'll use torture?"

Zuo Qi: ...

Do you think you're speaking human language?

Liu Chong suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, looking like a madman.

"Let me see just how stubborn you really are!!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Chong's aura suddenly exploded.

Fourth practice session!