What imperial henchmen? Please call me Your Majesty!

Unexpectedly, Old Zhao leaned closer, looking at him with shifty eyes, raising an eyebrow and grinning mischievously.

"What's up, Brother Su? You haven't gotten involved with some official from the capital, have you? Hmm? Hehe..."

"Go! Go! Go……"

Su Mu pushed him away, but as he was about to enter the yamen, he seemed to remember something and looked at Old Zhao:

"Did she mention dismissing us when she left?"

Zhao Xian waved his hand:

"That's not true. Besides, I know you're a head constable now, with me and several other officers under you. They're all on our side."

Upon hearing this, Su Mu immediately felt amused and looked at Old Zhao:

"You mean, my current status isn't that of a lowly constable, but a head constable? And someone from another faction within the yamen?"

Zhao Xian lowered his hands, crossed them in front of him, nodded slowly with a knowing smile on his face.

Su Mu frowned repeatedly:

"So, you mean we're now in charge of a separate area?"

"That's right. And you're the head constable, I'm your loyal subordinate, and we have a few other men. We're currently in charge of cases in the West Alley area."

Zhao Xian nodded humbly in response.

Su Mu gradually came to his senses and looked at Zhao Xian, wondering if he was lying to him.

However, Zhao Xian's face was full of sincerity.

"Wait a minute, Lao Zhao, why do I have a feeling you have some ill intentions?"

Su Mu expressed deep doubt.

Zhao Xian raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder, saying meaningfully:

"Brother Su, you only have one month to stay here. After you leave, I'll take your place. So how could I possibly have ill intentions?"

Good guy.

So this guy was plotting to seize power.

Moreover, Zhao Xian lowered his hand and sighed meaningfully:

"You're still young. The capital is a dangerous place. Qingzhou is a good option. I won't get involved in this mess. You should seize this opportunity."

What he said sounded very eloquent, and even Su Mu himself was somewhat fooled.

But since that's the case, there's not much more to say.

I was originally thinking about how to explain it, but now I don't need to explain it at all.

Going to the capital to become a lackey of the imperial court... that's a bit of a problem...

Hey!

You have a really good eye for people.

I really want to improve.

As long as the benefits offered are sufficient.

The imperial court's henchmen and such.

It's not impossible.

……

Over the next few days, he became familiar with his location, drinking tea and listening to music every day, and occasionally patrolling the West Alley with them. He was living a very pleasant life.

However, despite appearing lazy and unambitious during the day, he secretly transforms into a top-notch assassin, infiltrating various secrets at night.

After all, he needed to be fully familiar with and utilize the power of the snake and rat talisman, otherwise he would end up like the snake talisman owner he had killed.

The Rat Talisman's abilities are somewhat overpowered; its ability to turn stillness into motion is practically a survival-saving skill.

It can make the broom sweep the floor by itself, make the teapot pour water by itself, and even bring a recently dead mouse back to life so that it can be used for its own purposes.

The most important point is that controlling simple objects doesn't require much mental effort, but controlling some huge objects is troublesome.

It's completely out of control.

However, through continuous experimentation, they discovered the subtle patterns of control.

So that night, he used the invisibility ability of the snake talisman to sneak into the black market in Qingzhou City to find out what these people were up to after the destruction.

They could even visit brothels, music academies, or the prefect's study without being discovered.

He felt incredibly relaxed and comfortable for the past few days, until the sixth day when several unfamiliar figures appeared in the black market.

Su Mu, who was in stealth mode, observed and stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"These old guys seem to have been around in West Alley before. They deliberately avoided the patrolling constables. Could it be that they have something to hide?"

So he secretly followed them.

The Black Tower was destroyed, and its administrators disappeared, but the black market continued to maintain its order.

Watching the group enter a room, Su Mu jumped onto the roof and sat nearby to eavesdrop.

Having the Rat Talisman ability doesn't require deliberately getting close; you only need to eavesdrop from a certain distance.

And it can go undetected.

Lie down and listen with your eyes closed.

After entering the house, the group ended up going down to the basement.

A rustling sound kept coming.

"Wasn't it said that even the government wouldn't dare touch the black market in Qingzhou? Why has it turned out like this?"

"Gentlemen, please have a seat, and let me explain in detail."

The four of them found chairs and sat down.

The underground level was rather dark, but torches illuminated it, giving it a mysterious feel.

"Alas, you gentlemen are unaware of what has happened. Some time ago, for some unknown reason, the black dragon that was originally entrenched in the Black Tower inexplicably came to life, causing turmoil in the black market."

"Heh, to actually believe that dragons exist in this world? That's absurd, clearly just an excuse."

"Please be patient, everyone. A few days ago, news came that someone from the capital has arrived."

"Oh?"

"However, that person wasn't very strong, and we discovered and captured her. We planned to use some tricks to make her submit, but unexpectedly, the Black Dragon was resurrected. The woman was also rescued, and after that, nothing is known."

"Could it be that someone in the capital also possesses a similar ability?"

"It's strange, Shadow said he would follow us secretly, but somehow he disappeared. I suspect he must have some kind of secret that caused Shadow to disappear."

The four remained silent for a long time.

An old man stroked his beard:

"If he has mastered something and can deal with the Shadow, then he is most likely dead, or he has been captured and secretly sent to the capital to find the secrets on him."

"We think so too. Just a few days ago, that lord left, which was the very night that Shadow secretly went to infiltrate and gather information."

The four fell silent again.

The old man continued to ask:

"Is there anyone with that gentleman?"

"Hiss, no, but after she arrived in Qingzhou, she found two local constables in the government office. I've also checked on these two constables; they only know a little bit of martial arts, but they are indeed familiar with this place."

"Perhaps that lord actually has a spy with him, and you just haven't noticed. Otherwise, Shadow wouldn't have disappeared without a trace. If he really was taken to the capital, then what he has on him will be in trouble."

The group knew that the reason Shadow was so powerful was because of one thing, and they all knew it.

The purpose of this visit is to find out the truth. If that thing falls into the hands of the imperial court, the situation will be unfavorable.

"It was indeed our dereliction of duty that the person we borrowed from the Longevity Society went missing, and we will do our best to compensate them."

"Hmph, compensation? Most of them are no longer in Qingzhou. We need to get to the capital as soon as possible."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

"Fine, since we're already here, we should at least give the Qingzhou government a generous gift before we leave. Otherwise, they're overreaching; you probably still have your people hidden away, right?"

"Hehe, that's right. If needed, we can mobilize them."

"Wait, let's talk about it tomorrow. Be careful, the walls may be overheard."

……

Su Mu listened to these people talking.

What is the Longevity Society?

Are the shadows their people?

We also need to give the government office a big gift?

They really think Qingzhou is their own territory!

I continued eavesdropping and discovered that their conversation had shifted; instead, they were talking about which girls in Qingzhou were pretty and whether the brothel had any new girls.

All of this made him feel overwhelmed.

However, since we've obtained some clues, let's stop here.

He got up and left the black market.

Standing on the rooftop of a high-rise building, looking down at the night market in Xixiang, I couldn't help but sigh that with greater ability comes greater responsibility.

That's it.

Since things are better in the capital, let's take this month to reorganize Qingzhou. If things don't go well in the capital, we can always come back and make a living.

The next morning, a corpse lay at the entrance of the yamen, and passersby stopped to look.

When the yamen gates opened, Constable Lin was shocked to see the corpse lying in front of the gate, still wearing his constable's uniform!

I walked over slowly.

Several companions slowly approached.

"This, this is Xiao Qi!"

"How is this possible? Xiao Qi was clearly on night patrol in South Alley last night, how come today..."

Lin, the head constable, knelt down abruptly, picked up the already cold body, and was overcome with grief:

"Who did this! Who did this?!"