Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 75: Convincing people with virtue
Su Changying did not say anything more.

He believed that anyone who had witnessed Zhou Zhao investigating cases in Chang'an would know that what was even more remarkable than her physical skills was her judgment.

No one dared to stay in one place for too long, lest Qin Tianying notice something amiss. They agreed to act the following night, and Tianquan and Xu Yuan left first.

Seeing that everyone in the room was a familiar face, Liu Huang raised his straw hat and stared intently at Su Changying.

Even Su Changying, who was used to having a blank expression, felt a little uncomfortable under his intense gaze and turned her face away.

After a long silence, Liu Huang said seriously, "Brother Yan is gone, so I am A Zhao's own brother."

"Although you don't remember, I'm going to tell you the rules that Brother Yan set before: before you marry A Zhao, you are not allowed to lay a hand on her, or I'll smash your head in."

Even if you lose your memory, you must still be good to Ah Zhao and not bully her.

Su Changying's ears turned red as she recalled what Zhou Zhao had done to her, and then, thinking of the words "touched her inappropriately," she couldn't help but cough lightly.

He felt somewhat dazed, as if there had been someone before who spoke to him so earnestly and ramblingly, word by word.

He could guess that the person was probably Zhou Zhao's elder brother, Zhou Yan.

As Liu Huang spoke, he suddenly pulled his straw hat down to cover his face, then stepped forward and gave Su Changying a hug. "Brother Changying, it's so good to be back."

His voice suddenly became hoarse, and Su Changying felt a dampness on his neck. He didn't point it out, but raised his hand and gently hugged him back.

As if burned, Liu Huang quickly pushed him away, took a step back, and stood beside Zhou Zhao, becoming the silent shadow.

Zhou Zhao secretly glanced at Liu Huang.

I didn't tell him after all, "Hey! Your straw hat is soaked with tears around your eyes, the color has turned dark!"

She cleared her throat, took Liu Huang's wrist, looked around like a thief, and led him out for a stroll. Only after the wind dried his straw hat did she lead him into the inner city of Tianying.

Upon reaching the mountain pass, the guard did not check Zhou Zhao's token this time and let him pass directly.

After she had walked away, he began to mutter to himself, "That young girl yesterday was visiting the inner city for the first time. She was the newly appointed Xuanwu Hall Master, and today she's the Tianji Hall Master! They're all people, so why am I still just a gatekeeper after guarding the gate for three years?"

Hearing the discussions behind him, Zhou Zhao couldn't help but raise his chin.

It wasn't that she wanted to be proud, she just couldn't contain herself!

If only this were at the Court of Justice, she could easily beat Min Zangzhi and kick Chang Zuoping! Just thinking about it made her feel so happy!

Xuanwu Hall was decorated with white banners, and Tianji Hall was also decorated with white banners. As soon as Zhou Zhao entered, he felt as if he were coming home.

The problem was that Tianji's subordinates didn't have anyone as filial as Han Dashan. The mourning hall was quiet, with no crying.

Zhou Zhao walked straight in and skillfully lit three incense sticks.

She turned around, looked at everyone in the hall, pointed to her nose, and said, "I, Zhou Zhao, prefer to win people over with virtue."

"I am standing right here now. Anyone who disagrees with me as the hall master can come up and fight me. If you lose, you can become the hall master. But if no one comes after today, from now on, I, Zhou Zhao, will be in charge of Tianji Hall."

The hall was completely silent.

Everyone in Tianji Hall shook their heads in unison.

Are you kidding me?! You're not trying to win people over with virtue, you're trying to win people over with your fists! Those two who came back yesterday already spread the word that Zhou Zhao is a woman who can fight to a draw with the head of Yao Guang Hall, the number one expert in the inner hall! The people in Tianji Hall are all weaklings who can only make pills with their heads covered. Who dares to disobey them?

Zhou Zhao could crush their heads as easily as they could crush a pill.

"May the Holy Light of the Hall Master last forever, and may all disciples of Tianji submit to you for eternity!" The resounding shouts sent chills down Zhou Zhao's spine. How shameless was Hall Master Qi of Tianji Hall! He even resorted to such wicked tricks.

She cleared her throat, her gaze landing precisely on the two disciples of Tianji who had miraculously survived the previous night. "From now on, you two will be my right and left hands. With a traitor like Qi Ming, our Tianji Hall can't even hold our heads high. Gentlemen, keep a low profile these days and don't cause me any trouble, understand?"

"understand!"

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he glanced at the empty coffin of the Tianji Hall Master. There was no body inside; only some of his old clothes were placed there.

"Qi Ming betrayed his master and patriarch, colluding with the imperial court to kill Master Qi. Now that the old master's remains are nowhere to be found, let us build him a cenotaph so that he can rest in peace as soon as possible. If you encounter Qi Ming in the future, do not be deceived by his sweet words, but kill him directly to avenge the old master!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately became enraged, shouting, "Kill the traitor to avenge us!"

Zhou Zhao looked at everyone suspiciously. How exactly did Tianji manage to train so many people to only have one mouth?
There's no one in charge, and everyone says the exact same thing.

However, she didn't have time to think about these things right now, having attended two funerals in one day... She had won against Su Changying.

……

A day passes in the blink of an eye, and July 15th is just around the corner.

Tianying Mountain was shrouded in darkness. Tonight, a wind rose, howling through the forest and causing the vegetation to sway wildly as if in a frenzy.

Yuheng tucked a stray lock of hair behind his head in frustration and pulled an iron token from his sleeve. The token was a broken semicircle with intricate patterns that resembled twisted snakes.

Without pausing, she parted the grass on the mountainside, revealing a strangely shaped stone statue.

Statues like these are everywhere on Tianying Mountain.

The statue before him looked unremarkable, nothing special compared to the others. It depicted a crippled child, his eyes wide with terror and his mouth agape. Yuheng disgustedly reached into the stone child's mouth, poked around, and then quickly pulled his hand out.

Tianquan held up the lantern and shone it on himself. Upon seeing it, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Suddenly, the previously empty stone child stuck out its tongue, and on its tongue was a round groove.

Yuheng placed his half of the token on the table and turned to look at Tianquan.

"Master Tianquan, bring out your token as well. Only when the two tokens are combined can the gate be opened. Once inside, don't ask questions you shouldn't. You and I will each lead a team to patrol. Today I'm red and you're blue. Next time we team up, it'll be my turn to be blue and you're red."

Her eyes were bloodshot, and her eye sockets were dark and bluish, clearly indicating that she hadn't slept well. Upon closer inspection, a faint smell of blood could be detected mixed in with the rich incense on her body.

Yuheng is injured.

Thinking back to Zhou Zhao's earlier guess, Tianquan was secretly shocked; she had indeed been right about everything.

He didn't say anything, but took out his half of the token.

After he retrieved the tortoise shell, Qin Tianying gave him this token and allowed him to participate in night patrols.

“Tian Shu was supposed to take you, but she’s so shameless. She somehow found out that Yao Guang was going to bathe at Tian Ying Spring tonight, so she insisted that I come. Doesn’t she even look at herself? Would Yao Guang even be interested in her? Would he even be her mother?”

Zhou Zhao, who was hiding in the bushes, touched his nose and glanced at Su Changying's expressionless face out of the corner of his eye.

A fiancé is a fiancé, and if the honey trap works, then we have to use it.

As he thought about it, the half of the token was fitted into it, perfectly fitting together with the other half of the jade scale, forming a complete pattern of the Six Paths Heavenly Book.

Immediately afterwards, a door suddenly appeared on an empty stone wall not far away.