"Magistrate Zhao slowly said, 'This matter was simply left unsettled, but not long after, Yuan Zhuang discovered that the person who reported the crime had also gone missing, leaving behind a seriously ill elderly mother at home who almost starved to death.
"Yuan Zhuang reported this to me, and feeling that something was amiss—suspecting that the informant might have been silenced—I had people continue investigating.'"
At this point, Magistrate Zhao glanced at Fang Chen. "Over the years, quite a few people have gone missing from the Minister of Rites' estate. His younger sister was merely one of them. Therefore, I reported the matter to the Vice Magistrate; after all, only he has the authority to summon the Minister of Rites back for questioning."
"And then?" asked Fang Chen.
Magistrate Zhao stroked his beard. "The Vice Magistrate swept the matter under the rug, claiming that the people missing from the Minister of Rites' estate all turned disloyal and stole property before fleeing simply because the Minister was too kind-hearted."
"That explanation is barely plausible. Even our Fang Mansion has had servants like that in the past," Fang Chen said with a faint smile. "What does Magistrate Zhao find so peculiar about it?"
"Firstly, the initial informant was a famously devoted son far and wide; it is impossible that he would abandon his seriously ill mother at home and quietly vanish for any other reason," Magistrate Zhao replied. "Secondly, while Yuan Zhuang was investigating, one of his subordinate constables had an arm hacked off. It seemed someone was warning us, hoping we would stop digging."
He paused. "To ensure the safety of my men, I shelved the matter. But over the years, I have occasionally kept an eye on the situation at the Minister of Rites' estate."
"Has there been any recurrence of servants going missing?" Fang Chen asked.
"No, never again." Magistrate Zhao shook his head, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. "Heir, do you also feel something is amiss here?"
"When you return, have your subordinates check all the missing persons case files in the Daxia Capital over the past six years—no, the past twenty years," Fang Chen instructed. "Some files did not involve officials and thus were not reported to Dahua Temple; they would be with the City Governor. You know how to handle that."
Magistrate Zhao's expression grew solemn. He nodded, turned, and left.
In his view, since the heir had taken note of this matter, it meant it was no trivial affair. Behind these missing persons cases, some hidden secret might be concealed—perhaps even related to Qingsong!
"Heir, have you finished talking with Magistrate Zhao? Is it my turn now?"
After Magistrate Zhao left, Fairy Yu quietly materialized.
She had followed Fang Chen and his group the entire way. Possessing both exceptional lightness kung fu and mastery of the art of disguise, she was not easily recognized.
"I have nothing for you to do," Fang Chen said helplessly.
"Heir, what is the background of that maid by your side today?" Fairy Yu asked with curiosity.
"Goddess Xiao," Fang Chen replied.
Fairy Yu froze slightly, a look of astonishment flashing in her eyes. "Goddess Xiao? How could she..."
"She volunteered to stay as a hostage. That way, Marshal Xiao will spare the Third Prince's life, preventing him from flying into a rage and taking it out on the Third Prince just because I killed a few Qingsong martial artists in the Capital," Fang Chen said with a smile.
"Then she surely doesn't know that, given the Third Prince's scheming, Qingsong would find it harder than ascending to heaven if they actually wanted to kill him," Fairy Yu couldn't help mocking.
"Indeed. That fellow's brain is far too sharp. He surely hasn't been idle in Qingsong over the past five years. If he wanted to, he probably could have returned to the Daxia Capital long ago," Fang Chen said with a smile. "Once he learns of the news here in the Capital, it shouldn't be long before you and I cross paths with him again."
The Crown Prince feared that Fang Chen would go to escort the Third Prince back. Little did the Crown Prince know how superficial his understanding of his third younger brother truly was.
Once upon a time, the Third Prince had voluntarily traveled to Qingsong as a hostage. Now, he had the ability to return to Daxia of his own accord. On this point, Fang Chen had absolute confidence in him.
Both of them were kindred spirits; for the sake of Daxia's hundreds of millions of ordinary people, neither would throw away their life lightly.
"Heir, even knowing that, you still keep Goddess Xiao by your side. Could it be you are captivated by her beauty? As far as I know, Goddess Xiao's lifestyle is not exactly respectable," Fairy Yu said softly.
"Some people wish for her death, but five years ago, I indeed owed Marshal Xiao a life at Three Realms Mountain," Fang Chen sighed softly. "No matter what, I will keep Goddess Xiao alive. Once she returns to Qingsong, we will be even."
"Then... can I also stay by your side as a maid? Look, today someone actually called me a woman of the dust; my heart truly feels wronged," Fairy Yu lowered her head and said.
"Talk to me after you break through to Qi Control," Fang Chen waved his hand and turned to leave.
"Qi Control?" Fairy Yu's eyes lit up. Then, shaking her fist at Fang Chen's retreating back, she called out, "Heir, a promise is a promise!"
***
**Chapter 32: Fang Cangyou's Legs**
"Hmm, my spiritual power seems to have improved quite a bit. At this rate, condensing the third immortal meridian won't be far off. Cultivating immortality... really isn't that difficult..."
Fang Chen had spent another night crafting talismans. He now had a total of fifty Purple Lightning Talismans, along with a number of Speed Talismans, Vajra Talismans, and Might Talismans.
Truth be told, he hadn't slept at all during this period. Back when he was still an Elixir Qi Martial Artist, perhaps he could have managed that, but he certainly wouldn't have been as full of vigor as he was now.
That abundant spiritual power felt like an inexhaustible well of energy!
"Once the number of talismans reaches a certain threshold, I can distribute them to the hidden guards underneath me. If they encounter danger, it just might catch the enemy off guard."
Fang Chen left his courtyard and walked to the martial arts practice ground where Fang Cangyou liked to spend most of his time. Whenever Fang Cangyou had nothing to do, he would sit in his wheelchair, watching the Fang family disciples and estate guards practice their forms with booming shouts.
Fang Chen paused for a moment to watch, a faint smile touching his lips.
Some of these Fang family disciples were direct descendants, some were from collateral branches, but the majority were orphans of soldiers who had died in battle.
Fang Canghai had not required them to change their surname, but he treated them no differently from the rest—whatever the Fang family disciples had, these orphans had as well.
"Chen'er, what brings you here with time to spare?"
Fang Cangyou suddenly turned his head to look at Fang Chen, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.
"Second Uncle, I'd like to examine your leg injury," Fang Chen said with a smile.
A look of desolation flashed in Fang Cangyou's eyes. He glanced down at his legs, then smiled faintly, "What is there to look at? The meridians are already severed; I'll never stand again in this lifetime."
Three years ago, someone penned an impassioned proclamation demanding that the Emperor make Fang Chen pay with his life for the six hundred thousand soldiers who had died in battle at Three Realms Mountain.
Because of this proclamation, ordinary citizens even ran to the Fang Mansion to cause trouble. Even the Eastern Tiger Camp, commanded by Fang Canghai, showed signs of wavering morale.
The Imperial Palace remained completely silent, letting the situation escalate. Fang Cangyou finally lost his patience, marched straight into the imperial hall, and rebuked the Emperor.
Yan Beihan, the commander of the Imperial Guards at the time, immediately shot an arrow straight through Fang Cangyou's legs upon seeing this. In the end, the Emperor swept the matter under the rug, and the incident concluded with Fang Cangyou crippled in both legs.
Fang Chen had lost his sight and his Qi sea, and Fang Cangyou had lost the use of his legs. In the grand Fang Mansion, only the old patriarch and Fang Canghai remained. Moreover, the old patriarch was advancing in years; if he could not break through his bottleneck, his days were numbered.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this that people felt the Fang family no longer posed a threat. Afterward, things grew quiet, and no one else jumped out to target the Fang family.
"My cultivation has recovered. Perhaps I have a way to reconnect your meridians," Fang Chen said.
Fang Cangyou looked at him, then sighed, "Push me to the backyard."
In the backyard.
Fang Chen had just intended to use his spiritual power to probe Fang Cangyou's leg injury when Fang Cangyou abruptly stood up from his wheelchair on his own. He hopped a few times right in front of Fang Chen and patted his own legs.
"I told you, there was no need to look!"
Fang Chen froze.
Seeing his expression, Fang Cangyou was thoroughly amused. "Hehe, didn't expect that, did you? Second Uncle hasn't seen that look of surprise on your face more than a couple of times in the last twenty years!"
"Second Uncle, your legs... have they been fine all along?"
Fang Chen's expression turned peculiar.
"Naturally. Is it really that easy to cripple the legs of Fang Cangyou?"
Fang Cangyou sneered, then sat back down in his wheelchair, picked up a fur blanket, and carefully draped it over his legs.
"Then why did you..." Fang Chen mused.
"If they knew my legs were fine, who knows what wicked schemes they might cook up? Better to humor their wishes and let them see just how wretched our Fang family is.
You went blind and had your Qi sea crippled, and I broke my legs. If any other scum jumps out to talk nonsense, the Emperor can't just ignore it, can he?" Fang Cangyou sneered.
"Then these past few years must have been hard on Second Uncle. Now you no longer need to pretend," Fang Chen said with a wry smile.
"No way. Why stop acting when I'm doing such a good job? This is wonderful—no one takes me seriously. If any trouble actually happens, I'll catch them completely off guard!" Fang Cangyou chuckled heartily.
Say what you would, he was still a Qi-Bursting Martial Artist—and a peak one at that. It was only because of his crippled legs that people had stopped paying him any mind these past few years.
"In that case, I'll take my leave," Fang Chen nodded. Since his second uncle wanted to keep up the act, he would humor him.
"Wait, push me back to the practice ground." Seeing Fang Chen about to leave, Fang Cangyou hurriedly called out.
Fang Chen waved a hand, ignoring him, and vanished from Fang Cangyou's field of vision in a flash.
"This brat! Where on earth has Xu Ge been running off to these past two days? Just wandering about aimlessly!" Fang Cangyou muttered in complaint, pushing his wheelchair away at a leisurely pace.
***
Fang Chen returned to the Secluded Courtyard.
In just one night, Magistrate Zhao had already sorted through a massive pile of case files. They were stacked as tall as a man and placed right before Fang Chen.
"Heir, the missing persons case files from the past twenty years are all here. I have already looked through them once. There are quite a few suspicious points among them, stretching as far back as eight years ago," Magistrate Zhao said in a low voice.
"Were there no problems with the files from more than eight years ago?" Fang Chen asked.
"In this old man's view, not much of a problem. They were mostly ordinary cases, and some of those people have long since returned home," Magistrate Zhao replied.
Fang Chen nodded. That being the case, he only needed to look at the files from today up to eight years ago. Counting them up, he found there were over a thousand such cases!
This meant that more than a hundred people went missing every single year—someone vanished every three days. And these weren't even all of them; some people were unwilling to report to the authorities, while others had no family left to report for them.
When factoring those in, the number of missing persons was truly alarming!
With a solemn expression, Fang Chen began combing through these cases alongside Magistrate Zhao. Amidst the records, he indeed spotted many unreasonable and illogical details.
Time ticked away.
Evening approached.
Fang Chen selected three cases from the stack—all of recent occurrence. However, he also intended to personally investigate the case from two years ago involving the Minister of Rites.
After that incident, no one else had gone missing from the Minister of Rites' estate; this could hardly be a coincidence.
If the Blood Spirit Cult was linked to these cases, as long as he could find a clue within them, he would know who was involved and how many were implicated.
Not a single one of these culprits would easily escape Fang Chen's grasp.
"Heir, are your investigations into these cases related to Qingsong?" Magistrate Zhao suddenly asked.
Fang Chen glanced at him and smiled faintly. "Qingsong? Qingsong no longer needs to be kept in mind. The matters tied to these cases are far more severe than Qingsong. That senior inspector under your command is named Yuan Zhuang, right? Is he reliable?"
"Yuan Zhuang? I watched that kid grow up. He has a warm heart, but whether he's entirely reliable, this subordinate wouldn't dare say," Magistrate Zhao shook his head slightly.
"You haven't forgotten the vigilance expected of a hidden guard," Fang Chen smiled and nodded. The golden rule of a hidden guard was never to place blind trust in anyone—except the heir.
"Have him come see me tomorrow."
Fang Chen picked up a few case files, gave his instructions, and rose to leave.
***
**Chapter 33: Investigate!**
"Cousin, is Military God Fang really going to see us?
You're merely a minor inspector at Dahua Temple. Though you're much better off than a newly-recruited constable like me, what kind of person is Military God Fang? Why would he want to see you?
Don't go boasting just to save face in front of me; if we get kicked out of the Fang Mansion later, we'll lose all our face!"
A bronze-skinned, slender-figured female constable dressed in dark mysterious constable attire muttered quietly to Yuan Zhuang while eyeing the Fang Mansion.
"What am I boasting about? Did you forget that it was me who personally escorted Military God Fang into Dahua Temple not too long ago?" Yuan Zhuang shrank his neck back with a hint of insecurity, but in front of his cousin, he refused to lose face.
Pausing, Yuan Zhuang added, "There's one thing you got wrong, though: Military God Fang is only seeing me. If you hadn't happened to be on duty with me today, you wouldn't even have had the chance to come here and see the world. Later on, don't go talking nonsense, and try to look familiar with the people here—it'll make things easier for you when you're on official business around this area in the future."
Yuan You still remained somewhat skeptical. Just then, a servant from the Fang Mansion walked out, cupped his fists at Yuan Zhuang, and said, "Lord Yuan, the heir invites you in to speak."
Yuan You stared blankly at Yuan Zhuang, a trace of sheer disbelief flashing in her eyes. It was truly Military God Fang who had summoned her cousin here to meet him? Since when had this older cousin of hers mixed in such high circles?
"Little brother, then this subordinate of mine..." Yuan Zhuang looked toward Yuan You.
"This officer may wait in the reception hall. The heir is only seeing you alone," the Fang Mansion servant said very politely.
Yuan Zhuang hurriedly nodded. Seeing someone lead Yuan You away, he offered a few more parting instructions before following the servant toward Fang Chen's residence.
Along the way, Yuan Zhuang felt somewhat apprehensive, secretly guessing at Fang Chen's purpose in summoning him.
Before long, Yuan Zhuang came face-to-face with Fang Chen. At that moment, Fang Chen was quietly practicing a set of health-preservation boxing forms. At a glance, no one would ever guess that this vibrant, radiant young man had once been the Military God of Daxia!
"Lord Yuan has arrived. Sit."
Fang Chen finished his forms and gestured toward the stone stool before him.
*Can he actually see...?*
Yuan Zhuang was deeply shocked. Could it be that Fang Chen recognized him purely by the sound of his footsteps? Such a method was terrifying to contemplate.
Cautiously, Yuan Zhuang sat down before Fang Chen, but immediately stood right back up, cupping his fists with a wry smile, "Military God Fang, for what reason did you summon your humble subordinate today?"
"I am merely a commoner; it's probably inappropriate for you to refer to yourself as a humble subordinate in front of me."
Fang Chen smiled, choosing not to dwell on the topic, and cut straight to the point: "Someone handed a few case files over to me, and I feel these cases are out of the ordinary. You are an inspector of Dahua Temple and have studied this sort of thing—take a look at them?"
He produced the case files and tossed them to Yuan Zhuang.
Yuan Zhuang hurriedly caught them. The moment his eyes fell upon the top record—the case of the Minister of Rites' maid going missing from two years ago—a flash of shock crossed his face.
"Military God Fang, this is...?"
"Read them carefully. Answer me only after you've finished reading them all," Fang Chen said calmly.
"Yes, yes, yes."
Yuan Zhuang nodded repeatedly, then began reading earnestly. Roughly half an hour later, with a heavy expression, he said, "Military God Fang, these cases all bear massive suspicious points, but..."
He paused, offering a wry smile, "These cases have already been closed..."
"Let's talk about the Minister of Rites' case first. The younger sister goes missing, the older brother reports it, and soon after, the older brother also goes missing, leaving behind a seriously ill elderly mother at home," Fang Chen smiled. "Do you think that makes sense?"
"It doesn't." Yuan Zhuang honestly shook his head. "However, Vice Magistrate personally tried this case and already issued his conclusion: the Minister of Rites' maid eloped with someone and stole a considerable amount of property."
"Do you agree with that conclusion in your heart?" Fang Chen asked.
"I don't... but what can I do?" Yuan Zhuang gave a bitter smile.
"Investigate," Fang Chen said indifferently. "Since you don't agree, investigate thoroughly. Sooner or later, the truth will come to light. What do you think?"
"Military God Fang, could it be that you know something?" Yuan Zhuang's expression shifted.
"I don't know much more than you do; otherwise, why would I have called you here? Since we have nothing better to do, let's go take a look at the home of that brother and sister."
Fang Chen smiled.
Yuan Zhuang subconsciously nodded, then his expression turned to one of utter astonishment. Military God Fang was personally going to investigate a case with him?! This...
He felt as though he were dreaming.
"Military God Fang, this... I have a subordinate waiting for me in your esteemed estate. Allow me to dismiss her, and then we can head out together?" Yuan Zhuang said hastily.
"Take her along. What we are doing is upright and proper; there's no need to hide it," Fang Chen smiled faintly.
*This girl really has some luck. On her very first day on the job, she gets to go on a field operation with Military God Fang...* Yuan Zhuang mentally slandered.
Yuan You had been waiting in the reception hall, bored out of her mind, when she suddenly heard a shout from outside. Unable to resist, she stood up to look, and happened to catch sight of Fang Zhixue practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard.
Sparring against Fang Zhixue were over a dozen young men. Their cultivation levels were all quite impressive, yet in front of Fang Zhixue, not a single one of them lasted past a single move!
"You're all too weak! Whenever I tell you to put some effort into your daily practice, you treat it like wind past your ears. You're at this age, and you're still stuck in Qi Condensation!" Fang Zhixue scolded in dissatisfaction.
"Elder Sister Zhixue, how can we compare to you? You've been cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Art since you were little; we've only been at it for a few years..." those youths grumbled.
"Fang Zhixue?! That younger sister of Military God Fang—she's also a martial arts prodigy who entered the inner chambers at a tender age and advanced to the Qi-Bursting realm!"
A look of shock appeared on Yuan You's face. She could tell that Fang Zhixue's age was clearly a few years younger than her own, yet she herself was only a Mid Qi Condensation martial artist...
"Hark, who are you?"
Sensing something, Fang Zhixue turned around to look at Yuan You. Seeing a female constable standing at the entrance of the reception hall, a spark of curiosity immediately flashed in her eyes.
"F-Fang Girl, this junior is Yuan You, a constable of Dahua Temple. My superior is Senior Inspector Yuan Zhuang," Yuan You hurriedly cupped her fists.
"Dahua Temple?! What are you doing coming to our Fang Mansion? You're not here to arrest my older brother again, are you? You guys are going too far!" Fang Zhixue instantly flew into a rage.
Realizing she had misunderstood, Yuan You hadn't even had time to explain when a clear, calm voice rang out:
"Zhixue, I was the one who invited them over."
Fang Chen and Yuan Zhuang walked over slowly.
Upon seeing them, Fang Zhixue's heart swelled with even greater curiosity. "Older Brother, why did you invite them over?"
*Older Brother?!*
Could this person be...