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

To secretly investigate the case of the Minister of Works' suicide out of fear of punishment, Ren Fengjue, the Vice Minister of Justice, and Yu Lang, the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, traveled south incognito for more than half a month.

Three days ago, they were urgently summoned by the capital, and the two had no choice but to return to the capital overnight.

Faced with the urgency of the situation, Yu Lang sought out local officials and arranged for the earliest merchant ship to enter the capital.

Unexpectedly, before even reaching the capital, a mishap occurred on the ship.

How could those small-time pirates have imagined that two important figures were hidden on this unremarkable, dilapidated boat?

After asking his question, Yu Lang still received no response from Ren Fengjue, which made him feel quite bored.

So he flipped over and jumped out of the window, then leaned against the ship's railing and laughed, "Lord Ren may not care, but I can't stand it. I haven't fought for over half a month, and I'm really bored."

He spoke in a lazy and casual manner, but his actions were swift and decisive. He took a quick step forward and reached out towards the bandit leader with his bare hand.

The bandit leader could tell at a glance that his opponent was a skilled fighter. Knowing he was no match for him, he dared not confront him head-on.

He feinted a slash, dodged to the side, and shouted, "Who are you? Mind your own business!"

Yu Lang narrowed his eyes slightly and replied, "The Dali Temple... indeed has no jurisdiction over such trivial matters, but you're unlucky to have run into me."

Upon hearing the words "Dali Temple," the bandit leader's expression changed drastically, and he felt a chill run down his spine.

But having come this far, there was no turning back. He immediately shouted, "Attack together!"

Upon hearing this, five or six pirates gritted their teeth, brandished their knives, and slashed at him.

Chaos erupted on the ship.

Despite having nothing of value, Yu Lang seemed to be in his element, handling the encirclement and attack with ease.

After a fight, he actually gained the upper hand.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the bandit leader was unwilling to surrender. He glanced around and snatched the swaddled baby from the woman's hands.

"Don't move!"

He stood by the boat, holding the child high in the air, and shouted a threat: "Move again... and I'll throw this child overboard!"

The woman was terrified, and the child cried incessantly from fright.

Yu Lang's expression changed slightly. He thought to himself that he was not a good swimmer and the river here was swift. Even if he could fight against many opponents, it would be very difficult to deal with the child if he fell into the water.

During the stalemate, he took a step back, his face unusually stern, and said solemnly, "Since you're already doomed, if you add this child's life to the mix, your crime will be compounded."

The bandit leader sneered, "A desperate criminal like me doesn't care about one more charge. If you don't let me go today, I'll take a few of you down with me even if I die."

Yu Lang had a headache. He turned to the man in black robes who was leisurely drinking tea in the second-floor pavilion and said, "Lord Ren, what do you suggest we do now?"

Ren Fengjue glanced at the sky.

It was just the beginning of sunrise, and the sky was not yet fully bright.

He narrowed his long, thin eyes slightly before finally speaking: "We should be in Kyoto in less than half an hour. The people waiting on the shore should have arrived by now, right?"

These words were ambiguous, but the bandit leader felt a chill run down his spine.

Yu Lang frowned slightly, feeling suspicious. When the two of them left the capital, no one in the Ministry of Justice or the Court of Judicial Review knew about it. Now they were also secretly returning to the capital. Who had such good information?

Then, Ren Fengjue stood up and slowly descended the wooden steps beside him.

He was tall and handsome, and the faint morning light shone on his black cloak with silver trim, which made him look even more distinguished and noble.

The bandit leader stared blankly for a long time, instinctively feeling that this person was truly difficult to deal with.

Ren Fengjue strolled leisurely, saying as he walked, "If you kill this child, I will not immediately convict you. You must have heard of the prison punishments of the Ministry of Justice, but you have never experienced them."

"Anyway, no one can disembark before we reach the shore. When we enter the capital, we'll go directly to the Ministry of Justice with you."

"how?"

His voice was clear and gentle, and every word he spoke was pleasant to hear.

However, upon closer examination, the content of his words is chilling.

The bandit leader retorted in a trembling voice, "Don't think you can fool me like that. Who do you think you are?!"

The thought of the Ministry of Justice prison inexplicably made him lose his confidence.

In a flash, something else occurred to her, and her legs went weak, almost causing her to kneel on the ground...

"You are...Ren..."

Ren Fengjue, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was the only son of Marquis Renxuan. In his youth, he often accompanied military officers to and from military camps and was both intelligent and brave.

He entered the Ministry of Justice at the age of eighteen, and in just two years, he was exceptionally promoted to Vice Minister of Justice, holding the rank of third grade.

At the tender age of twenty, he was already a high-ranking official in the court and a favorite of the emperor.

A year ago, due to the Minister's illness, Ren Fengjue took over the Ministry of Justice. In just a few months, he joined forces with the Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate to solve three long-standing cold cases.

In an instant, he became famous throughout the world.

The Emperor valued talent and granted Ren Fengjue exclusive power. All cases handled by Ren Fengjue were to be decided by the Three Judicial Offices and could be reported to the Emperor.

From then on, the officials of the court kept their distance with respect, and bandits and thieves were terrified at the mere mention of his name.

I heard that he has recently been given the title of "Living Yama".

The bandit leader never dreamed that he would stumble upon such a ruthless character.

With a thud, he dropped the knife in his hand and knelt on the ground.

"Lord Ren, spare our lives! We were truly desperate, so...we had no choice but to do this!"

"I believe that I have never stained my hands with the blood of a living person, nor have I ever taken a life."

"Please, Your Honor, show leniency!"

The situation changed so quickly that even Yu Lang was somewhat taken aback.

As expected of Lord Ren, there was no need for him to take action at all.

Compared to him, his position as Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was far too humiliating…

Ren Fengjue slowly approached, and the bandit leader, to show his sincerity, quickly handed the crying child over with both hands.

But just then, the sound of a sharp weapon cutting through the air came swiftly.

Yu Lang, with his sharp eyes, exclaimed, "Lord Ren, be careful!"

Ren Fengjue's ears twitched instantly, and he reacted extremely quickly. After taking the child, he quickly stepped aside, but then heard a muffled groan beside him.

The bandit leader, who was kneeling on the ground, was struck in the forehead by an arrow and died on the spot.

"ah?!"

Another wave of panic swept through the area.

Yu Lang's eyes sharpened as he saw a dark figure disappear into the cabin and vanish in an instant.

He gripped his knife tightly, annoyed, and said, "I knew something was off about this whole trip; turns out we were being watched!"

Just as he was about to chase after them, he was stopped by someone.

"The enemy is in the open while we are in the dark. You stay here for now, keep a close eye on the people on the ship."

Ren Fengjue had returned the child to its mother, then turned to look at the pirate lying in a pool of blood, and couldn't help but frown.

On the surface, he had no enemies in the court, but behind the scenes, there were many people who wanted him dead.

However, this trip out of the capital was ordered by the Emperor's verbal decree, and no one in the court knew about it, nor did anyone know who had leaked the news.

Ren Fengjue walked quickly to the cabin, looked around, and after confirming that there was no other way out, he pushed open the heavy cabin door.

However, what hit us was a strong smell of alcohol.

He looked closely, and at that moment, his expression subtly changed.