A few days later, in the office of Kong Yu, a senior investigator of the Six Gates in Zhou Prefecture.
“Oh, Xiao Meng, how come you’re here?” Kong Yu put down the document in his hand and stood up in surprise.
Meng Qi, dressed in black martial attire with a saber and sword on his back, stepped in from the doorway and smiled: “Old Kong, I don’t visit without a reason.”
Kong Yu understood his implication immediately and clapped his hands joyfully: “You’ve made your decision?”
“Of course,” Meng Qi replied without hesitation. “I want to become a secret investigator of the Six Gates.”
“Excellent, excellent!” Kong Yu repeated, glancing outside his room. He waved his right hand and pulled with his left palm, his martial energy forming like hands to close the door and shut the windows. “The identity of a secret investigator must remain confidential. We must prevent others from finding out.”
This was entirely different from becoming an official investigator for the yamen, where one’s appointment could be widely publicized.
Meng Qi nodded slightly to show his understanding and glanced at the document in Kong Yu’s hand: “Old Kong, any major affairs lately?”
“Not exactly. It concerns the latest intelligence on the Gentleman Sword, Meng Qi. He returned the Zishang Sword to the Ye family of Yicheng through Qi Zhengyan of the Huanhua Sword Sect. It is said that he emerged from seclusion and ventured into the Vast Sea, heading to Bomi for revenge, where he slew a half-step expert of the External Scenery realm. However, given the treacherous terrain of Bomi and the absence of witnesses, this claim remains unverified and cannot be used as a reference for the Human Rankings.” Since Meng Qi had agreed to join the Six Gates, Kong Yu regarded him as somewhat of an ally and thus spoke candidly. “Qi Zhengyan then returned to the Huanhua Sword Sect, reportedly requesting permission for an external journey.”
Bomi was the most treacherous and chaotic place in the Vast Sea, where many external scenery experts and half-step masters who were evading their enemies gathered. Due to its complex terrain, countless people perished there without leaving a trace. Over the past year as the Gentleman Sword, Meng Qi had utilized this place to conceal his tracks.
Meng Qi asked calmly: “Where is the Gentleman Sword now?”
“You want to challenge him?” Kong Yu asked, thinking he understood Meng Qi well, then laughed. “But you’ll be disappointed. He was severely injured and has gone into hiding to recover. His whereabouts are unknown.”
It appears the Zhou Prefecture yamen truly has no idea that I am the Gentleman Sword… Meng Qi concluded with certainty, likely due to the cover-up from the Six Gates headquarters in the capital.
After a few more casual exchanges, Meng Qi stood up to take his leave. Kong Yu accompanied him to the door and whispered through telepathy: “I’ll draft the document right away and report directly to the capital headquarters. The reply should arrive in about five days.”
As a senior investigator, he had the authority to directly recommend candidates to the capital. Furthermore, since Meng Qi aspired to become a covert investigator, it was inappropriate for outsiders to be aware of the matter. Otherwise, he would have first submitted the letter of recommendation to Guo Yinzheng, then forwarded it to the prefectural yamen, which would subsequently send it to the capital—all to maintain the dignity of the higher authorities.
“Five days…” Meng Qi gained a deeper appreciation for the Six Gates’ speed of intelligence transmission, which was far superior to ordinary magical birds.
From Yedu to the capital, even traveling downstream with favorable winds would still take over two months. Yet, a round trip completed in five days—even accounting for the bureaucratic formalities of the major officials—meant that a message sent in the morning could arrive by evening.
Could it be a teleportation array? Or something similar to the extraordinary abilities of external scenery?
After all, different internal worlds formed different external scenery abilities. Some were quite mysterious. Combined with practitioners who specialized in Yin spirits or divine path techniques, all sorts of strange phenomena could occur.
…
Five days later, Meng Qi was using the “Heart-to-Heart Transmission” technique of the Ananda Breaking Precepts Sword Method to contemplate the “Sky-Transforming and Earth-Shaking Great Method” when he suddenly heard a rapid knock on the door.
Without rising or peering, he naturally sensed Kong Yu’s presence through his spiritual perception.
“Old Kong, did the capital give a response?” Meng Qi asked with a gentle smile, still somewhat immersed in the “Sky-Transforming and Earth-Shaking Great Method.”
Kong Yu was slightly taken aback. At this moment, he felt that Meng Qi exuded an indescribable aura. Standing there, Meng Qi seemed unbound and transcendent, moving through the mundane world with a warm smile and deep eyes that seemed to see into the depths of one’s soul, like a celestial being or a Buddha, possessing a strange charm.
However, this strange feeling seemed like an illusion, quickly vanishing. Kong Yu snapped back to reality and laughed heartily: “Congratulations, congratulations! The capital headquarters has approved my recommendation, appointing you as a secret investigator with the Green Seal. You will receive a monthly salary of one thousand taels of silver.”
“One thousand taels of silver?” Meng Qi instinctively asked.
Kong Yu thought Meng Qi found it too little and chuckled: “This salary isn’t much, but it’s stable. Save it for three or five years, and you’ll recover the land and house deeds you sold. Moreover, the salary is only part of the benefits. We offer various resources at least half the price compared to outside, just covering the cost. Of course, rare resources require advance applications and will be deducted directly from your monthly salary. And, of course, they cannot be resold.”
He lowered his voice: “For us investigators stationed in various areas, the salary isn’t that important. The main income comes from the tributes from different places. As for secret investigators, their income comes from the spoils they acquire while investigating major cases or ancient sites.”
The Six Gates strictly investigated internal corruption and imposed severe penalties. Relatively speaking, they tolerated minor misconduct by investigators to prevent dissatisfaction. For example, in a large city like Yedu, with its complex mix of people, major forces like the Wang family, Huang family, and Huanhua Sword Sect maintained open and orderly order, while ignoring the dark underbelly beneath it all, inevitably leading to gang conflicts and various crimes.
The Six Gates mainly suppressed local disturbances, maintained stability, collected intelligence, monitored martial artists, and investigated serious cases. To thoroughly investigate every corner of Yedu, they simply lacked manpower, so they had to rely on certain gang forces, turning a blind eye to their black-market profits as long as they didn’t affect Yedu’s stability and provided intelligence.
These gang forces naturally offered tributes to the investigators, and having the Six Gates as a backing was something they eagerly sought. If they didn’t do it, there would always be others willing to.
The disciplinary investigators were responsible for internal discipline. Whenever they arrived somewhere, local investigators would naturally offer tributes. As long as it didn’t involve deductions from internal salaries and resources, they would turn a blind eye.
These two types of investigators had their own “extra income,” surpassing their salaries. The Six Gates headquarters was well aware of this and thus did not impose strict requirements on secret investigators. For example, major items obtained during investigations needed to be handed over, while minor ones could be disposed of freely to ensure their loyalty.
“Hmm, can I exchange salary for resources?” Meng Qi didn’t care much about the money, but being able to buy pills and artifacts at cost price within the Six Gates made him eager. On one hand, it could be exchanged for good deeds, and on the other, it could be used personally without wasting good deeds.
Kong Yu nodded affirmatively: “Absolutely no problem. Except for divine weapons of the highest level, everything else is available. However, you must go to the capital to pay homage to the emperor, receive instructions from the Chief Investigator and the Divine Investigators before officially starting your job, enjoying resources, and receiving your salary.”
“Old Kong, when are we leaving for the capital?” Meng Qi was now full of initiative in his work.
Kong Yu shook his head: “You’re a secret investigator. If I accompany you or send an investigator to escort you to the capital, won’t it announce to the world that you’ve joined our Six Gates? This would not be conducive to your future operations. Therefore, you must go to the capital on your own. After all, you’re a Human Ranking expert, and the headquarters won’t fail to recognize you.”
“Then I’ll set off tomorrow,” Meng Qi said, already forming a plan. Pretending to be troubled, he added, “Old Kong, the capital is full of powerful figures and aristocratic families. I don’t know much about it and am worried I might offend someone I shouldn’t. Could I take a look at the secret files related to the capital?”
Kong Yu hesitated for a moment: “You’re somewhat a colleague now, but I can’t let you see the secret files for now. However, there’s no problem with giving you some basic information about the capital.”
Even after Meng Qi’s official appointment, his access to secret files would be limited according to his rank and assigned duties.
“That’s enough,” Meng Qi said with a beaming smile, genuinely satisfied.
…
The next day, in Kong Yu’s office, Meng Qi was flipping through the documents related to the capital laid out before him.
Kong Yu had specially retrieved these to prevent Meng Qi from exposing his identity by going to look for them himself.
With the surname Su and the title of Marquis, Meng Qi quickly filtered out the information he wanted:
“Su Clan, a noble family that has served the imperial family for generations, was granted the title of Divine Might Marquis for their great contributions five generations ago, with the title being hereditary…”
“The current Divine Might Marquis, Su Li, is an expert of the third level of external scenery, wields the family treasure weapon ‘Kunwu Sword,’ and serves as the deputy commander of the palace guards. He has two sons and a daughter, with Lady Ke Weilan as his wife…”
“Su Yue, known as the ‘Golden-Eyed Investigator,’ is a younger half-brother of Su Li and an expert of the sixth level of external scenery. He is one of the Eight Divine Investigators and has three sons and two daughters…”
“Lady Bai Jingluo, the eldest daughter of the Bai Clan in the capital, is an expert of the third level of external scenery…”
“Ke Weilan, a half-step expert of external scenery, her father was a Grandmaster, and she is one of the Eight Divine Investigators, granted the title ‘Dragon Claw’ by the emperor. Due to an incident involving Su Li’s concubine, Lady Tang, she suffered a serious injury and was unable to bear children…”
“Su Zihua, twenty-two years old, is the eldest son of Su Li from a concubine. He is the son of a maid who accompanied Lady Ke Weilan as part of her dowry. He has a hidden illness and occasionally goes into fits of madness, but he once had a fortuitous encounter and possesses the Eight Orifices.”
“Su Ziyan, now seventeen years old, is the second son of Su Li, born to a concubine named Tang, and was sent to Shaolin Temple, with no further details known afterward…”
“Su Ziyan…” Meng Qi softly tapped the table, murmuring the name. He felt no sense of belonging to this family and had no intention of visiting them. The reason he looked up this information was purely to avoid getting caught up in unknown affairs upon entering the capital.
He took a deep breath and truly began reading the documents related to the capital.
After a while, Kong Yu pushed the door open and entered, holding a package in his hand with an odd expression.
“Old Kong, what’s wrong?” Meng Qi looked at Kong Yu in confusion.
Kong Yu closed the door and stared at Meng Qi for a long time: “You don’t need to go to the capital to pay homage to the emperor or visit the Chief Investigator and Divine Investigators anymore.”
“What? Why?” Meng Qi was taken aback.
“Today, an urgent secret document arrived, stating that ‘Crazy Blade’ Su Meng has a clean background and is loyal and reliable. He has been assigned an important task and does not need to travel to the capital. The official seal will be granted directly.” Kong Yu was still somewhat stunned. “Official seals are usually made by fusing one’s own blood to prevent impersonation. How can it be granted directly…”
He took out a pale green official seal tied with a green silk ribbon.
Meng Qi roughly understood and took the seal. He saw the word “Chasing the Wind” engraved on it. As he slightly infused his internal energy, a faint green light emerged.
“It’s… your bloodline…” Kong Yu was stunned. When had Xiao Meng been to the capital? Could he be originally from the capital?
Heh, they must have specially retrieved my hair and umbilical cord from the ancestral hall to avoid letting me enter the capital… Meng Qi guessed. Every time a new family member was born, major clans would enshrine their hair, umbilical cord, and other items in the ancestral hall: “Old Kong, what’s the mission?”
Kong Yu took out the official document: “Many experts have gathered in Maoling of Jiangdong. An investigator secretly investigated the cause but mysteriously disappeared. Half a month later, his body was found in Yangxia of Huazhou.”
Jiangdong… Meng Qi suddenly felt excited.
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