Xuanqing Guard

Shen Hao had never slackened in comprehending his own "Intent." He relentlessly tempered and explored, even though progress was slow, he could always feel himself growing stronger.

From the very beginning, Shen Hao noticed that Black Cut’s plasticity was far inferior to True Qi. It was a different kind of energy. Or perhaps this thing wasn’t even energy—it was something else entirely?

So Shen Hao had always used Black Cut as an enhanced version of Blade Gang. But later, he realized that while Black Cut’s plasticity was not as good as True Qi, that didn’t mean it could only manifest in one form.

As his ability to control "Intent" strengthened, Shen Hao was now able to induce some changes in Black Cut.

For example, he could condense it for a short while without it dispersing, or spread it over large areas of his body surface.

These were all self-taught tricks that Shen Hao had never applied in actual combat before. But this time, facing Illusionary Kill, these new uses of "Intent" he developed turned out to be extremely practical.

Of course, there were downsides. For example, due to "Intent" having low plasticity—even if it clings to the body, it easily ruptures whenever True Qi is used, like when swinging out Blade Gang. He would have to reapply it to maintain the effect, which was a considerable energy drain for Shen Hao.

But overall, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. Who knows what new uses he might discover in the future?

Seeing Shen Hao ignore her, Xia Nu pouted but didn’t dare throw a tantrum. She only secretly wondered whether her master would bully her again like last time?

Unfortunately for her, Shen Hao was simply too busy—he had zero time to play with Xia Nu. After bathing and changing into a fresh, dry black robe, he hung up his Yanji Saber and went out again. Only when Shen Hao had left did Xia Nu quietly hum a few notes, turning to wash Shen Hao’s clothes.

As Shen Hao stepped out, he saw quite a few Xuanqing Guard soldiers on patrol nearby. Upon asking, he found out Tang Qingyuan had arranged this, along with some Black Banner Battalion reinforcements. Lately, his home had become a key protection zone.

"Sir, subordinate Zhang Cang, and he is Li Tie. We are your new guards."

The carriage was still the same, but the guards were new. Another blood debt. Shen Hao nodded without expression and got into the carriage, but in his heart he marked it down firmly. Whoever wants his life—he believed the truth would come out someday, and then he’d repay them a hundredfold.

Along the way, aside from the two new guards, there were also six cultivators running in formation around the carriage, drawing curious glances from pedestrians who hurried out of the way.

As soon as the Xuanqing Guard carriage passed, people in the street began whispering—saying a top Xuanqing Guard official had just been assassinated right on the city streets!

The news spread fast, not just in the markets, but within Xuanqing Guard, the military, and local government offices through all their intelligence networks.

Assassinating a Hundred Households of the Xuanqing Guard in broad daylight—that was an extremely rare act of madness. Killing an officer was tantamount to "rebellion," and so brazenly—it was a blatant provocation against all the order of the Jingjiu Dynasty.

If there was no explanation for the incident, no culprit caught, it would amount to a major hit to the reputation of Xuanqing Guard.

At Thousand Households Station, Kuang Shengyuan had already rushed back from the Imperial City, and happened to meet Shen Hao at the entrance. He called Shen Hao into his Public Office to ask a few questions, then promised he would personally give his all to investigate this assassination attempt. He also said he’d supervise the case himself.

This was Kuang Shengyuan being considerate, but also a clear message to Shen Hao: You Black Banner Battalion don’t need to handle this case—just hand it over to us.

What else could Shen Hao say? He bowed in thanks. After all, even if he were allowed to investigate, he’d be too busy until the "Ma San Case" was wrapped up. Kuang Shengyuan was obviously in a hurry—events couldn’t wait, so there was no issue handing it over.

Seeing Shen Hao so agreeable, Kuang Shengyuan smiled as he walked him to the Public Office doors. To him, so long as Shen Hao wasn’t killed, it wasn’t a big deal; but the case itself was a rare major crime. With him heading it up and Thousand Households Station hosting, all the credit would surely flow his way. As for whether the case got solved? Kuang Shengyuan had plenty of tricks.

Ignoring all that, Shen Hao composed himself and returned to his own Public Office. He personally wrote two epitaphs for the guards sacrificed today, and sent them down to be used. As for compensation, Black Banner Battalion had its own rules—the men below wouldn’t be shortchanged.

He hadn’t been seated long when Wang Jian came rushing in, full of excitement.

"Sir, Chen Zongqi has good news!"

"Hmm?" Shen Hao looked up, signaled Wang Jian to sit, straightened his own posture, and listened for Chen Tianwen’s latest findings.

Wang Jian said, "Sir, Chen Zongqi took his men to investigate the two shops the Zhou Family owns in Hai Xia. The grain shop isn’t much of a problem—it has no tie to the Ma San Case, and mainly handles border army supply procurement. Whether it has any illegal dealings, we haven’t yet looked into."

"The other one is the medicine shop I mentioned earlier. It’s called Hongfa Medicine Shop. It has a fake master as cover, and its business connections run through the Slave Trade Association—ordinary people would never link it to the Zhou Family. If we hadn’t combed through the Zhou Family’s private accounts, we’d never have known that the real master behind Hongfa Medicine Shop is the Zhou Family."

"Chen Zongqi seized the account books from Hongfa Medicine Shop and brought in their shopkeeper and the fake master as well. They confessed everything in less than a cup of tea’s cultivation technique."

Wang Jian paused, then continued, "According to their account, the Zhou Family doesn’t just get medicine via the Slave Trade Association. They also have a route where they trade directly with the Barbarian Race..."

"Hold on!" Shen Hao directly interrupted Wang Jian, puzzled: "Are you saying the Zhou Family contacts the Barbarian Race directly?"

Wang Jian nodded in confirmation.

Shen Hao found this surprising and said, "Are the Zhou Family brain-damaged? They actually dare to contact the Barbarian Race directly?"

"Sir, you’re right—the Zhou Family really did something stupid this time. But Zhou Qing himself, even the owner of the medicine shop, did not know. It was Zhou Qing’s eldest son, Zhou Lu, working secretly. And according to the shopkeeper and fake master, the reason Zhou Lu was bold enough to hide it from Zhou Qing was a few elders in the Zhou Family backing him, as well as someone in the Imperial City’s Xu Family giving him the nod."

At this point, Wang Jian’s eyes were shining—this was suddenly a breakthrough amidst dead ends, a total windfall.

Shen Hao questioned further, finally sorting out the latest from Chen Tianwen.

From the sound of it, the Zhou Family had produced a dumb son, and now what Shen Hao had in his hands wasn’t just dirt on the Zhou Family—it might be a turning point for the entire case?

"What about hard evidence? Did you get it?"

"Yes. Hongfa Medicine Shop’s Yin Yang Account Book—inside are the clear split details, with both Zhou and Xu Family recorded in detail. The account book is thick, so Thousand-Mile Sound couldn’t transmit it. After stamping, Chen Zongqi already sent someone with the copies—it should arrive very soon."