Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

After finishing his tirade, Jiang Ting adopted a amiable demeanor and addressed the crowd, saying, "Nephew Ren and your young friends are guests who have traveled a long way. Please take your time exploring Liangzhou City. As for the matters concerning Zhu Family Village and Niu Family Village, leave them to me!"

Having said that, he raised his teacup, laughed heartily, and said, "Come on, let's have a cup of tea instead of wine..."

Faced with such a Marquis of Zhenbei, everyone was filled with doubt.

Apart from Xia Ximo, the others gave him face and raised their teacups.

Jiang Ting glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, but didn't seem to care at all, and drank the tea in his cup in one gulp.

At this moment, Xia Ximo spoke up again, "If Your Excellency knows nothing, surely you must know about the matter of the Three Holy Sons?"

Zhao Wan, who was standing nearby, almost choked on her tea when she heard this.

She hadn't expected Xia Ximo to be so direct...

Jiang Ting seemed quite surprised as well. He slowly put down his teacup and said with a laugh, "What Three Holy Sons? They're just commoners from Liangzhou City making a fuss. These three kids are just a few adopted sons I took in a few years ago."

Only then did everyone realize that there were indeed three Holy Sons.

But each time they appear, it seems like there's only one of them, and I don't know if they're just being mysterious.

Ren Fengjue added, "So the legendary 'Three Holy Sons' really are three people..."

He feigned surprise and continued, "A couple of days ago, at the entrance of Kaifu Temple, I saw the Holy Son deeply revered by the people, who even worshipped him as a true god..."

Jiang Ting immediately took over the conversation: "To be honest, I'm also very angry about this. They're just three greenhorns, yet their standing in the hearts of the people surpasses that of me."

"But if they want to do it this way, what can I do? I can't just drag them all away and execute them all, so I can only let them go..."

Yan Zhengchu couldn't help but interject, "My lord, in my humble opinion, bewitching people is no small matter. If it really gets out of control, the entire Liangzhou city will likely suffer."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ting's expression immediately darkened, and his eyes clearly showed a hint of reproach.

Ren Fengjue immediately smoothed things over: "Although Daoist Yan's words are well-intentioned, they are indeed too serious. The Marquis has guarded the northern border for decades and knows his limits."

Hearing this, Jiang Ting's expression softened, and he said, "Nephew is right. I can tell what is more important."

Ren Fengjue then asked, "Speaking of which, I'm quite curious. Why did Uncle Jiang take these three as his adopted sons? And the people of Liangzhou City are saying that these three holy sons can bring the dead back to life, is that true?"

Jiang Ting stated frankly, "To be honest, these three sons did indeed save my life..."

He said this very frankly.

Everyone was curious, and even Zhao Wan couldn't help but prick up her ears.

Jiang Ting continued, "Three years ago, I fell seriously ill to the point of being incurable. A wandering Taoist priest gave me a method, saying that as long as I found three boys of the same age and whose birth charts matched mine, had similar destinies, and were adopted as my sons, my illness could be cured."

"At that time, I was desperate and believed it, but unexpectedly things really did get better later."

"It was because of this incident that the common people mistakenly believed that these three people were reincarnations of immortals. It's really hard to explain."

Zhao Wan asked doubtfully, "But the Third Holy Son did indeed save many people. This is not a fabrication. Miss Xia even witnessed it herself."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ting couldn't help but glance at Xia Ximo, his eyes revealing a strange look.

Then, with a look of skepticism, he said, "Could those three really be deities reincarnated?"

"..."

Seeing that the Marquis of Zhenbei was pretending to be stupid, Ren Fengjue knew that he would not get anything out of him if he asked directly.

He would never tell the truth...

Just then, a voice came from outside the door announcing that the prefectural clerk was requesting an audience.

This chief clerk, surnamed Gu, had been temporarily in charge of the government affairs since the previous prefect was dismissed from his post.

He arrived travel-worn, his face filled with anxiety. Upon entering, he knelt directly before the Marquis of Zhenbei and cried out, "My lord, something... has happened down below!"

Having said that, without caring that there were still guests beside him, he directly recounted the murder case reported by the county government.

Jiang Ting's face immediately darkened. He roared, "What are you all doing? How could you let those savages kill people like this? Now, issue my order: go and chop off the heads of that town magistrate and county official and feed them to the dogs!"

Chief Secretary Gu was taken aback, but knowing that the Marquis of Zhenbei's word was law, he immediately agreed and was about to do it.

"Wait a minute."

Even the usually composed Ren Fengjue found the scene before him utterly absurd.

He stood up and said to Jiang Ting, "My lord, now is not the time to hold them accountable. Rather than beheading them now, let them make amends and solve the case."

Jiang Ting retorted, "What cases can those incompetent fools solve? They're just hogging the job! A bunch of useless trash! Humph!"

Everyone: "..."

Yu Lang suddenly coughed lightly, as if he had wanted to "recommend himself".

Jiang Ting, however, seemed to suddenly realize something. "I just remembered, Nephew Ren, you're good at solving cases! I've really lost my mind! This matter will definitely be handled well by you!"

Ren Fengjue smiled again, "My lord, I have investigated the details of this case, but there is currently a problem..."

"Tell me what problem you have, and I'll solve it for you."

Ren Fengjue said, "Now that we know who killed those villagers is Di Nu, the most urgent task is to find Di Nu's whereabouts in order to solve the case."

Jiang Ting frowned slightly, but said, "Nephew, don't worry about this. I'll have Wu Kai send some of the Wan Ting Army down there in a bit. Those savages have probably hidden in the mountains."

Ren Fengjue did not refuse: "In that case, thank you very much, Lord Marquis!"

After Chief Secretary Gu left, Jiang Ting sat with everyone for a while longer, then claimed that there were matters to attend to in the army and he had to go and deal with them.

Seeing this, the others knew they could not stay any longer and immediately got up to take their leave.

On the way back to the manor from the Marquis's residence, Wu Kai led a group of Wan Ting soldiers to escort them, and only left after seeing them to the gate.

This trip to the Marquis of Zhenbei's residence was absurd and bizarre, giving one a sense of unreality.

Watching Wan Tingjun's imposing figure depart, Yu Lang couldn't help but have doubts.

"My lord, is the person we met today truly Marquis Jiang Ting of Zhenbei? I feel that he is quite different from the Marquis of Zhenbei we imagined."

Yan Zhengchu shared the same sentiment, "The Marquis's mansion was clearly filled with yin energy, but strangely, my magical artifacts couldn't detect any trace of evil spirits or ghosts."

Ren Fengjue turned to Xia Ximo and asked, "Miss Mo, have you discovered anything?"

Xia Ximo remained silent, saying, "This Marquis of Zhenbei is most likely just a puppet."