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

Ren Hao led Yi Yang through the front yard, then around two rows of weapon racks. The further they went in, the farther away the shouts from the training ground became, and the clashes of swords and spears were mostly blocked by the old locust tree in the corner of the wall.

The inspection hall is located in the most remote corner of the inspection warehouse. It is a two-story building with blue bricks and gray tiles. There is no imposing plaque in front of the door, only an old wooden plaque with three characters written on it.

The Museum of Imperial Collections.

Ren Hao stopped at the door and scratched the back of his head.

"Old man Yi, we've arrived."

Fearing Yi Yang might find it offensive, he quickly added, "The place is a bit remote, but it's quiet. Nobody comes to bother us on weekdays, meals are delivered, and we make our own tea. If there's any downside, it's that there's not much meat or oil in it."

Looking at the small building, Yi Yang found it increasingly pleasing to the eye.

It's secluded, quiet, and far from the training ground.

There were people from the Sky Patrol Bureau guarding the area.

What's this called?

This is called the Holy Land of the Way of the Gou Dao.

While he was fighting to the death outside, he was inside poring over files, collecting his monthly salary as a patrol chief, and also getting a clear picture of the various factions in Yunlin County.

If you still complain about this job, then you're not appreciating your good fortune, and you've definitely misunderstood the situation.

Yi Yang pulled his sleeves up, his voice hoarse with the huskiness of an old man.

"good."

Ren Hao was taken aback.

"Really good?"

"That's really good."

Yi Yang looked at the steps in front of the door.

"The old man is getting on in years and hates noise. It's quiet here, which suits my taste."

Ren Hao breathed a sigh of relief, and his face brightened up.

"It's good that you think that way. Boss Zhao was worried that you would be unhappy, so he kept talking about it all night, saying that he didn't handle this matter well."

Yi Yang waved his hand.

"Go back and tell Brother Zhao that I will invite him to a restaurant for dinner another day."

Ren Hao was pleased that his boss had a helper, turned around and left with light steps.

Yi Yang watched Ren Hao walk away before pushing open the door and entering the museum.

The door hinges creaked dryly.

The first floor looks more spacious than it does from the outside.

The walls on all four sides were lined with wooden shelves, filled with files bound with hemp rope and labeled with the year and region on bamboo tags.

The smells of paper ash, old ink, and damp wood mingled together in the room, giving it a lazy, neglected feel, as if it hadn't been properly maintained for years.

There is a long table by the window.

A young patrolman was crouching behind the table.

The man was in his early twenties, with a round face and broad shoulders. His waist knife was casually tossed aside, and he was fast asleep with half his face pressed against his arm.

Yi Yang walked to the table, picked up the bamboo plaque on it, and looked at it.

Sun Hao.

He tapped on the table.

笃.

Sun Hao looked up groggily, his eyelids still sticking together.

"Who is it? Find the files yourself, don't mess them up. I won't take the blame if you do.

As soon as he spoke, he saw that the person standing in front of him was an elderly man with gray hair, wearing a newly issued black uniform with red trim, and a patrol captain's token hanging from his waist.

Sun Hao sprang up from his chair, his knee hitting the edge of the table, wincing in pain.

"Patrol, Patrol Captain?"

Seeing his expression, Yi Yang knew what was going on.

I slacked off until my new boss's first day at work.

With that kind of luck, you'd probably lose your entire belt gambling.

"Your name is Sun Hao?"

"Yes."

Sun Hao stood ramrod straight, his belly tucked in, and the sleep marks on his face hadn't faded yet, but he insisted on putting on a capable and efficient look, which looked somewhat comical.

Yi Yang sat down at the table.

"Don't be nervous. Who else is at the museum today?"

Sun Hao hurriedly replied, "Sir, there are three guards in the office. Li Tong went out, saying he was going to the miscellaneous affairs room to get paper and ink. Huang Yushu is organizing files on the second floor. I... I'm on the first floor."

"It's quite easy to defend."

Sun Hao's face flushed, and he wished he could bury his head in the pile of case files.

"Sir, I was on duty for the latter half of the night last night, and I just dozed off for a bit."

Yi Yang opened the register on the table and glanced at it.

"Sleep when you're sleepy."

Sun Hao was stunned.

"what?"

"The files aren't going to grow legs and run away."

Yi Yang closed the booklet.

"However, if someone comes to check the files, register them and verify them. Don't let outsiders take anything away."

Sun Hao swallowed hard and nodded vigorously.

"Don't worry, sir, I understand."

Yi Yang got up and walked towards the bookshelves.

The first floor mainly contains files on local tragedies.

In Heishui Village, seven households were wiped out.

In Qingzhugou, twelve hunters have gone missing.

Huangniwan, with the remains of an altar, suggests that nine heretical cult leaders may have passed through.

The more Yi Yang looked, the lower his brows became.

The members of the Nine Evil Cult are different from ordinary gangs.

Gangs rob money, land, and women; they may be evil, but what they're after is what the living possess.

What are the Nine Evil Cults after?

The goal was to create chaos and accelerate the demise of this dying dynasty.

The picture shows villagers being chopped up, children being hung from trees, and the elderly being buried in jars, while the demons chant some ghostly words, saying something about welcoming an evil god to descend into the world.

This thing is no longer broken.

It's rotten.

Yi Yang put a volume of the Blackwater Village case back on the wooden shelf and pressed his palm against the hemp rope.

"Keeping this kind of cult around is just a waste of resources."

Sun Hao was peeking at him from behind the table when he heard these words, and his back inexplicably tensed up.

After walking around the bookshelves, Yi Yang had a better understanding of the Nine Evil Sect.

The sect is divided into several levels: hall, altar, incense master, and ghost messenger.

The lower-level believers are mostly poor people who have been misled. The real trouble comes from those above the rank of incense master, who know evil magic and martial arts, and some can even use poison and Gu.

Li Shun from Qingmu Mountain is most likely just a lowly outsider.

If he hadn't run into Wang Yue and the giant snake, and hadn't fallen into his own hands, he could have really harmed quite a few people.

Yi Yang went up to the second floor.

There was a brass lock hanging at the entrance on the second floor, but it wasn't locked.

Pushing open the door, the room was neater than the first floor.

The shelves are divided into several rows.

Jianghu sects.

Local gangs.

Martial arts school roster.

A family business route.

There was another door with a red seal on it, the seal of which read, "Only the steward's token may be opened."

Yi Yang stood in front of the door and looked for a moment.

Only the token of the patrol chief can be seen.

It probably contains something even more deadly.

What are the hidden connections between the three major families in the county? What are the dealings between the Commandant's Office and the sects? What are the whereabouts of the high-ranking members of the Nine Evil Cults?

The more something is hidden, the more people want to search it, but Yi Yang only glanced at it twice before turning away.

These are things I shouldn't touch, and there's no need for me to.

On the second floor, near the window, a tall, thin young man was looking down and flipping through files.

He was wearing a patrol uniform with his sleeves rolled up, and a pen and ink were beside him as he copied down key points.

This person has thin cheeks, a high nose bridge, and an air of suppressed melancholy in his eyes.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up.

The two faced off, and the young man stood up and clasped his hands in greeting.

"Huang Yushu greets the patrol captain."

Yi Yang looked at the file beside him.

"What are you looking at?"

Huang Yushu quickly closed the file: "Summary of the Nine Cult Operations in Yunwen Town in the Past Month."

Yi Yang walked over and reached out to press down on the corner of the file.

"Can I watch it?"

Huang Yushu paused for a moment and then let go.

"Adults can certainly see it."

Yi Yang turned a few pages.

The document records the fire at Shengcang Martial Arts School, the disappearance of the constables from Qingmushan, the murder of Yang Er, and traces of cults in several nearby villages.

Interestingly, these cases are all categorized under the "Nine Cult Mysteries".

Yi Yang looked at the words, his expression unchanged.

The ink marks on the paper are very neat.

But some things are only clear to those involved.

For example, Yang Er wasn't killed by the Jiu cult, nor was Wang Yue.

Of course, it's best to keep this truth hidden in the mountains; bringing it out would only dirty everyone's shoes.

Huang Yushu stood to the side, his back ramrod straight. He was neither as slick as Sun Hao nor as slippery as Ren Hao.

He has a stubborn streak that refuses to accept his fate even after being kicked into a corner.

Yi Yang looked up at him.

"Are you very concerned about the Nine Evil Cult Case?"

Huang Yushu answered very quickly.

"This is what the Sky Patrol Division makes its living from."

"That sounds too official."

Yi Yang pushed the case file back.

To put it another way...

Huang Yushu's lips moved slightly, and after a moment he said, "I used to work in the third squad and I followed a case. The Nine Evils massacred an entire village, and the only survivor was a seven-year-old child who hid in a well for three days. When they pulled him out, he didn't cry or speak; he was just clutching half a piece of bread."

His hand pressed against the case file, veins bulging. "Later, the case was suppressed by the patrol chief, who said there weren't enough clues and he wouldn't investigate anymore. I argued back a couple of times and was kicked out to the archives."

Yi Yang nodded, offering no opinion, but said, "This place suits you."

Huang Yushu frowned; this didn't sound like a compliment.

Yi Yang said, "When you're out investigating cases, you have to be mindful of your superiors' moods. Here, there are many files and old cases. If you really want to investigate, you can always find something."

Huang Yushu was stunned. He had thought the new patrol chief would give him a warning and tell him not to cause trouble or bring trouble to the archives.

Unexpectedly, the other party responded with this.

Yi Yang didn't say anything more.

Based on Ren Hao's previous introduction and the few words Sun Hao had just casually mentioned, he had pieced together a fairly complete picture of the three people at the Xunzang Pavilion.

Sun Hao is a relative of Deputy Inspector General Sun.

Getting in through connections is fine for coasting along, but you might not dare to cause any real trouble.

Li Tong is the nephew of Deputy Inspector General Zhao.

Before we even met the person, his background was already there; he's probably not someone easy to manage.

Huang Yushu was originally a member of the patrol team, but he was kicked out here because he offended the patrol leader.

There were three guards, one with connections, one with connections, and a troublemaker.

Good guy.

This setup, if placed elsewhere, would be a blood pressure spike for the boss.

It's not so bad if it ends up in Yi Yang's hands.

Those with connections are afraid of getting into trouble, while troublemakers are useful.

As long as no one forces him to go out and risk his life every day, he can serve not only three people, but even thirty ancestors.

Yi Yang walked around the second floor and looked out the window.

The Xunzang Hall is located in a corner of the inner courtyard. There is a martial arts training ground in front of it, guards and patrols outside, and high walls all around. There are also patrols at night.

Foreign enemies must first pass through the gates of the Sky Patrol Office to enter.

Even if someone inside is causing trouble, they won't just force their way into a place full of rolled-up paper.

Safety.

Leisurely.

Resources and channels are at our disposal.

You can flip through the intelligence files at will.

The more Yi Yang thought about it, the more satisfied he became.

This is hardly a benchwarmer.

This is a recliner custom-made for Old Gou Wang.

When the evening shift ended, Yi Yang put away the keys to the first and second floors and instructed Sun Hao to register entry and exit, while Huang Yushu continued to organize the case files.

Li Tong didn't return until just before his shift ended. He was in his early twenties, dressed neatly, and had a lazy air about him, typical of a scion of a wealthy family.

Upon meeting Yi Yang, he did not fail to observe proper etiquette.

"Li Tong greets Your Excellency."

Yi Yang glanced at him.

"On time tomorrow."

Li Tong smiled.

"Yes, sir."

How much sincerity was hidden in that smile? Yi Yang was too lazy to weigh it, as he was new to the place and in no hurry to establish his authority.

Let's leave the people for now.

Who is the firewood and who is the fire? Only by burning them can we find out.

As we left the Sky Patrol Office, dusk had already fallen on the horizon.

With his medicine bag on his back and the sword made by the Sky Patrol Division at his waist, Yi Yang slowly walked towards Sanmu Village.