Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

When Xu Pei smiled, the wrinkles on his face bunched up. He rubbed his hands together and made way for Xu Pei, saying:

"Please come in, Director."

Yi Yang glanced at the acting deputy inspector but didn't make a move.

His gaze shifted from Xu Pei's face to the dozen or so guards standing crookedly beside him.

At that moment, a young guard was whispering to someone next to him from behind.

Although his lips moved only slightly, to Yi Yang's level three internal energy perception, it was practically the same as someone speaking right next to his ear.

"Is this all the support they sent from the prefectural city? They must be over sixty, right? Why did the prefectural city send someone of grandfatherly age…?"

Hearing his companion say this, another guard chimed in, "Who cares? Maybe they have connections and are just here to retire and gain experience."

"Gilded? The first two died here."

Shh—don't let Brother Xu hear.

Despite these teasing remarks and disdain, Yi Yang remained completely unmoved.

He had heard these discussions from Sanmu Village to the prefectural city, but he no longer took them seriously.

Moreover, what they say is not important; once they demonstrate their strength, these people will naturally change their attitude.

"Deputy Director Xu."

Yi Yang withdrew his gaze and calmly ordered, "Lead the way."

Upon receiving the order, Xu Pei responded and took small steps to lead the way, his mouth never stopping along the way.

"Your Excellency must be tired from your journey. I have already tidied up the Director's residence. Although the conditions are not as good as in the prefectural city, the bedding has been changed..."

As he spoke, he stole glances at Yi Yang's profile.

Yi Yang looked old, but his sideburns were indeed black. There were several deep lines on his face from his previous work cutting wood, and the skin on the back of his hands was also firm.

As for the aura emanating from Yi Yang, Xu Pei secretly observed him twice and found that he possessed at most the first level of internal energy.

It was still that kind of superficial and unstable internal energy.

Although their strength was much greater than his own, what good was that? The support sent by the prefectural city was in such a state. Xu Pei's heart sank.

What exactly does "Fucheng" mean? The two who were sent before were at least proper experts with the second level of internal energy, but this one is quite old, and his strength seems to be inferior to the previous two.

Could it be that they're just here to go through the motions and report back?

But despite his thoughts, Xu Pei didn't show them on his face.

The fact that he's managed to survive in a place like White Fish City and still be the acting deputy director shows that his ability to read people is ingrained in his bones.

The two crossed the front yard.

Yi Yang's pace was slow, but his senses had already enveloped the entire Sky Patrol Division.

The front yard of the Sky Patrol Office was alright; at least the ground had been swept.

The intermediate court is not good enough.

Weeds grew on the ground of the training ground, and the wooden stakes were cracked, indicating that no one had touched them for at least three months.

There were more than a dozen swords and sabers laid out on the weapon rack, but the scabbards were covered in dust, and the straps on two of them were loose.

The guards were scattered in twos and threes under the corridor, some playing chess, some dozing against the wall.

A burly man was squatting in the corner, whittling wood with a knife. His knife skills were quite good, but he was using it in the wrong place.

Yi Yang remained silent and continued walking inside.

The backyard was in slightly better condition; the innermost part of the three courtyards was the director's residence.

The entrance to the public housing was ajar by a large vermilion door, which appeared to have several cracks in the paint and the threshold was worn white.

Yi Yang pushed open the door and went in.

The room looked like it had indeed been cleaned; the tables and desks were wiped clean, and tea sets were prepared.

But Yi Yang's gaze immediately fell on the corner.

The window on the left side had a crack, and half of it was covered with hemp paper, which made a whistling sound when the wind blew.

A stack of files, about a foot high, was piled on the desk, with the top few already covered in a thin layer of dust.

There were dark brown marks in the grout lines of the floor tiles in the corner; these were dried bloodstains that hadn't been cleaned.

Xu Pei noticed Yi Yang staring at that spot for a couple of seconds and quickly explained, "That was left behind when the former director had his accident... My subordinates had it cleaned up, but it seeped too deep into the grout lines of the floor tiles and couldn't be completely removed..."

Yi Yang didn't respond.

He walked around the desk and sat down.

The chair in the main seat was quite hard, made of poor-quality wood, and creaked when I sat down. But after Yi Yang sat down, he leaned back in the chair and rested his right hand on the armrest.

For some reason, that posture made Xu Pei's back tense slightly.

He's clearly a sixty-year-old man.

But as he sat down in that chair, something suddenly appeared on him.

Xu Pei couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but his intuition told him that this old man was different.

"Deputy Director Xu," Yi Yang said, his voice not loud, but it carried exceptionally clearly in the quiet office.

"Yes." Xu Pei straightened up.

"Go and retrieve all the death records of the former patrol commander who was sent from the prefectural capital."

These words startled Xu Pei for a moment.

He subconsciously opened his mouth, but the polite words he had prepared, such as "Please rest, sir. Hot water is ready. I will host a banquet to welcome you later," were all stuck in his throat.

Xu Pei did not expect that the first thing the other person said after sitting down would be to ask about the cause of death of his ex.

This made Xu Pei's Adam's apple bob, but the order still had to be carried out. He lowered his head and said:

"Yes, I will go and fetch it right away."

He quickened his pace as he turned to leave.

When Xu Pei came out, the guards waiting outside surrounded him and started chattering amongst themselves.

"Brother Xu, what's this new guy all about?"

"He looks way too old, even older than my grandfather..."

"What's his strength? Brother Xu, have you found out?"

Xu Pei slapped the guard who had been talking the most on the back of the head.

"They're keeping their mouths shut, but they're sitting inside."

He lowered his voice and said, "His aura looks like he's at the first level of internal energy, but don't be reckless. This guy comes from the Youquan Division of the prefectural city. No one from there is simple."

After saying that, he quickly went to the files room.

Yi Yang sat in the office, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table twice.

He didn't miss a single word of the whispers outside.

"They've come here to retire."

"It's just a formality."

"Not as good as the first two."

Yi Yang's lips twitched, and he let them talk.

In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Xu Pei returned carrying a stack of files.

The thick booklet, sealed with kraft paper, was placed on the table, raising a layer of fine dust.

"This is the complete investigation report on the death of former patrol director Su Chengan."

Xu Pei stood beside the table, his attitude slightly more respectful than before, and took the initiative to introduce, "Director Su was a second-level internal energy master sent by the prefectural city. He died in the bedroom next to this public house on the second night after arriving in Baiyu City."

He paused, his expression somewhat unpleasant, but continued to explain what he knew:

"Ever since Director Su, who came from the prefectural city, got into trouble, the morale of the people under him has completely collapsed. People are terrified and afraid that they will be the next to die. This has led to some guards resigning, some faking illness, and some with some power going to join gangs and families in the city."

Xu Pei gritted his teeth and said, "To tell you the truth, there are fifty-three people left here, of whom no more than ten are capable of fighting, and only I am above the fifth level of Qi and Blood."

Hearing about this difficult situation, Yi Yang opened the first page of the file and asked without looking up:

"cause of death."

Upon hearing those two words, Xu Pei swallowed back all the pleasantries he was about to say.

"His heart was pierced; he died instantly."

He lowered his voice and said, "The wound is smooth but the edges show signs of tearing. The coroner determined that some extremely sharp claw pierced directly through the heart."

Yi Yang turned to the page about the on-site investigation.

There was no photograph, but a simple diagram was drawn.

From above, the door appears shattered, as if it had been forcefully forced open from the outside.

However, most of the furnishings inside the house were intact.

The windows are intact and undamaged.

In other words, the murderer entered through the main entrance.

Su Cheng'an, with his cultivation at the second level of internal energy, had his heart pierced by a single blow, and there were no signs of a struggle at the scene.

This means that either the other party was so fast that Su Cheng'an didn't have time to react, or they had some means to catch him off guard.

Yi Yang's gaze lingered on a line of text.

"Unusual at the scene: Several strands of white hair were found near the table and the threshold. They were tough in texture, had a faint fishy smell, and were neither human hair nor ordinary animal hair."

White hair.

Yi Yang's finger paused on that line of text for two breaths.

He flipped through the next few pages, then flipped back again; there was no further analysis of the hair in the file.

"Was that hair ever investigated?"

"I checked."

Hearing Yi Yang's question, Xu Pei shook his head and said helplessly, "I sent a piece to the pharmacies in the city and the organization that went deep into Bailongze for identification, but they couldn't figure out what it was. Later, the prefectural city sent people to collect the sample, but they haven't given me any reply."

After understanding the general situation, Yi Yang closed the file and mentally reviewed the current situation.

"A master of the second level of internal energy, killed with a single blow, and left with white hair at the scene."

"Judging from the description, this thing doesn't seem to be purely human, but it's not entirely like a beast either. If it's the work of the Nine Evil Cults..."

Yi Yang recalled the records about the evil practices of the Nine Evil Sects.

Bloodline, modification, secret techniques.

What dirty work can't they do?

"OK."

Yi Yang pushed the file aside and said, "I'll keep the file. You can leave now."

Just as Xu Pei was about to say something after hearing the instructions, footsteps came from outside the office door.

A young guard jogged in, holding a gilded invitation in his hand, his brow beaded with sweat.

"Brother Xu... no, Director Xu!"

He hurriedly bowed, piled the invitations on the table, and said anxiously, "These are invitations from the major powers in the city!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the two people in the room changed. Xu Pei's face turned ugly, while Yi Yang looked at the thing in the guard's hand with great curiosity.

Yi Yang picked up the gilded postcard and examined it.

The paper is decorated with gold foil patterns and sprinkled with gold, and the characters on it are beautifully written.

"Upon hearing of the arrival of the new director, the Wei family is overjoyed and has specially prepared a small banquet at Fengyuan Restaurant to welcome him and commemorate his arrival."

Signed: Wei Wenyuan, head of the Wei family.

The signatures followed by: Mo Family, Shallow Water Gang, Green Snake Gang, Three Lakes Gang, White Fish Chamber of Commerce.

The invitation has gathered all the forces in the city, and the banquet will be held tonight at Fengyuan Restaurant.

Yi Yang spread the post out on the table and opened it word by word.

Xu Pei, who was standing nearby, leaned over to take a look. His expression changed, and he advised against it:

"grown ups."

He lowered his voice and said with a serious expression, "We can't go. This is a trap."

Yi Yang did not reply.

Xu Pei grew anxious, took half a step forward, and lowered his voice:

"You may not know this, but during this time, the rules of White Fish City are no longer dictated by the Sky Patrol Division."

"The six major powers have divided up the lifeline of this city, and the Sky Patrol Bureau is now just a figurehead. They invited you over tonight ostensibly as a welcome party, but actually to give you a clear direction, to make you understand what you can and cannot interfere with."

He gritted his teeth: "Former Director Su... I have no evidence, but I know in my heart that his death is definitely related to these people."

Yi Yang leaned back in his chair and turned his gaze back to the invitation.

The invitation was printed on very fine paper, the handwriting was beautiful, and the wording was very polite.

However, the word "pay respects" cannot be found once in Yi Yang's entire text.

"To welcome the esteemed leader and wash away the dust of his journey" sounds nice, but does it mean that the Director of the Sky Survey Office is here to "welcome" him?

There was no formality for subordinates to pay homage to their superiors; the tone was entirely one of mutual respect or even among peers.

Whether in Yunlin County or Tainan City, under the command of the Sky Patrol Commander, no powerful families or gangs have any say.

Even the three powerful families in the inner city when Yi Yang was in the county town have been reduced to two families by Qi Shujian because they were disobedient.

Am I weaker than Qi Shujian now?

Thinking of this, Yi Yang picked up the invitation from the Wei family, twirled it between his fingers, and said:

I will attend the banquet tonight.

Upon hearing Yi Yang's words, Xu Pei's face paled, and he exclaimed, "My lord!"

Yi Yang raised his hand to stop him from saying anything more, and continued in a calm tone:

"Also, tell the person who delivered the invitation to wait and take a message back with them."

He tossed the invitation onto the table and said:

"Since this is a welcome-back party for me, prepare some generous gifts."

Yi Yang paused, and the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

"If it's too thin, I won't be polite about dinner tonight."

Xu Pei stood there, mouth agape, unable to close it for a long time.

This old man...

Do they genuinely not know how deep the waters of White Fish City run, or do they simply not care?

Yi Yang stopped looking at him, reopened the file on the table, pointed to the description of "white hair" with her finger, and frowned slightly.

Xu Pei gritted his teeth, turned around and went out to deliver the message.

Less than half an hour after the news spread, it reached all parts of White Fish City.

The leader of the Shallow Water Gang smashed a teacup to pieces in front of his gang members, roaring, "I invited him to dinner, and he dares to ask me for a gift? Does he really think he's something?"

The Green Snake Gang's steward chuckled sinisterly, "Interesting. This old bastard's got a tough tongue. Tonight, let him see what the rules of White Fish City are all about."

The Sanhu Gang was even more straightforward, throwing out a single sentence: "Dare to put on airs? Then let him never even leave the restaurant. He really doesn't know the meaning of 'death'."

Meanwhile, in the VIP room of the Wei family's villa, Ye Jin put down her teacup after receiving the news.

A faint smile played on his lips as he slowly traced a circle with his finger along the rim of the glass.

Fengyuan Restaurant tonight.

He stood up, straightened his clothes, and said:

"Let's see how many lives this 'Senior Yi' has."

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The next chapter might be a little late. There won't be one by 9:30 for now. Things at home have gotten complicated again, and I just can't seem to write the second chapter. I'm really sorry everyone.