The Martial Saint begins by collecting corpses.

The next day, craftsmen lined up in a long queue on the streets of Heishui County, slowly walking out of the county town under the orders of the soldiers. Countless old people, women and children wept as they saw them off.

Who knows how many of them will return from this journey?

Throughout history, some died on the road to forced labor, some died at their destination, and some died on the way back. Even if they could return, who knew how many years it would be before they came back?

Lu Ming watched as Ah Lang and the monkey mingled with the artisans and left the street, remaining silent at the sight.

It is said that the current Great Sheng Dynasty is already considered good, with government soldiers escorting them. Lu Ming looked around and saw that there were about a hundred archers escorting several hundred people.

Previously, there were no soldiers to escort them; they had to find their own way to the prefectural city, which resulted in a higher mortality rate.

Lu Ming watched the long line leave and the people along the roadside disperse, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

In any case, Ah Lang and Monkey are martial artists. The journey to the prefectural city might be dangerous for ordinary people, but it wouldn't be a big problem for martial artists.

With the two of them gone, he'll feel a bit more relaxed. He can leave anytime from now on; Ah Lang has already found a way for him, and he just needs to go directly there.

"Lu Ming? Stop right there!" Just as Lu Ming was about to leave, he suddenly heard a loud shout from behind.

Turning around, he smiled faintly and said, "So it's Lord Lin! Lord Lin, why are you in such a bad mood today?"

Lin Xiaojie was accompanied by two Crescent Moon-level Night Patrolmen from the Town Night Division, both of whom were probably martial artists at the Body Refining level, and they both looked at him expressionlessly.

Lin Xiaojie's face darkened upon hearing his words, and he shouted:

"It's been over twenty days since Yan Pengfei's case, and you've completely ignored it and made no progress."

"Lord Shen, relying on his seniority, would put on a show by going out to investigate every day."

"And you, I heard you rarely leave your house. I've only just seen you today, what have you been doing?"

"Let me tell you, if you don't want the night watchman's job, plenty of others will!"

Lu Ming listened quietly to these words, then solemnly shook his head and said:

"Lord Lin, you are mistaken. In fact, I have been racking my brains every day to investigate the truth, and I have not dared to slack off for a single day."

Lin Xiaojie looked at him suspiciously. "Oh? Really? How's your investigation going?"

Lu Ming said solemnly, "The situation is steadily improving."

Lin Xiaojie's face darkened.

"Stable...improving? What kind of answer is that?"

"Hmph, whatever. Anyway, the city's surveillance team has arrived today. Lord Sizheng, summon all the night patrolmen back to your office."

"Explain it to the inspection team yourself!"

Lin Xiaojie gave a slight sneer, a sinister glint in his eyes.

Although the city's supervisory team was mainly there for the recruitment order, it also had the power to supervise various duties in addition to its official business.

They still have to use this power.

After all, even in the capital city there are plenty of sordid things, so how could a remote county like Heishui County not have them?

If they don't uncover something, they'll be held accountable when they get back.

Therefore, even if there were no real problems, the county government offices such as the Patrol and Inspection Office and the Night Watch Office in Heishui County would create problems and hand over one or two people to give the inspection team an explanation.

Lin Yuanrong had already instructed him to take Shen Mo and Lu Ming out to explain this time.

These two just happened to be involved in Yan Pengfei's incident, so it's not entirely unfair to them.

When the time comes, he only needs to give a brief account of the situation in front of the inspection team, and the inspection team will be able to take down Lu Ming and Shen Mo.

On the way back to the town's night office, Lin Xiaojie pondered the matter several times, concluding that everything was foolproof, and couldn't help but feel a little smug.

The thought that he was about to represent Heishui County as a key talent cultivated by the imperial court filled him with excitement.

If he happens to be lucky enough to have such a good opportunity, he might have a chance in his life to glimpse the realm beyond inner cultivation. Those kinds of people... are truly extraordinary!

"Lord Lin, we've arrived." Lin Xiaojie was thinking happily when he suddenly heard his subordinate call out respectfully.

He looked up and saw that he had arrived at the main hall of the Zhenyesi (Night Guard) office.

He turned to look at Lu Ming, whose face remained calm, and sneered slightly. Still pretending to be composed? Unfortunately, at this point, everything was beyond redemption.

At this moment, thinking about how skilled Lu Ming was at dealing with ghosts and monsters, he felt a pang of regret. However, since Lu Ming's abilities were too much, he had no choice but to kill him as soon as possible.

Such is the nature of the competition among talented individuals; one cannot blame him.

He then led Lu Ming into the hall.

Seven unfamiliar faces were already seated in the courtyard, each with a distinct temperament, clearly not ordinary people.

Lin Yuanrong remained in the main seat, sitting alongside others.

However, a seat of equal status was set up next to the main seat, where a middle-aged man in his forties sat.

This man wore a light gray robe with a slightly worn cloak over it. His eyes were deep and unfathomable, and a faint smile played on his lips; he possessed a refined and scholarly air.

Lin Xiaojie glanced with some reverence at Zhou Mo, the leader of the prefectural city's inspection team and the inspector, then looked at Shen Mo, whose face was grim in the middle of the hall, and quickly stepped forward to bow respectfully:

"Lord Zhou, Lu Ming has been brought here. This is the man who investigated Yan Pengfei's death with Lord Shen."

"There's still no result, and I've even heard that he hasn't stepped out the door at all during this time..."

Lin Xiaojie immediately launched into a long, detailed account of Lu Ming's situation to the seven members of the inspection team, embellishing the story with exaggerated details.

After hearing what Lin Xiaojie said, Zhou Mo's face immediately darkened, and he said:

"I never expected that such a crucial government office as the Night Watch would commit such dereliction of duty."

"Guards, take them away and await further instructions."

As soon as these words were spoken, his men filed in to detain the two men.

At this moment, the woman sitting in the first seat on the right suddenly spoke:

"Isn't it a bit much not to listen to their explanations?"

Zhou Mo frowned.

"How could we, a few people, know as much about the affairs of the local town's night office as Chief Lin and the steward who directly manages these two?"

"Since both of them say so, it must be true."

"When we asked Shen Mo to speak earlier, he didn't say anything, did he?"

"Take him away!"

Upon hearing this, the woman frowned slightly and decided not to say anything more.

"Who dares to touch me? Who dares to touch the heroes of Heishui County?" Lu Ming shouted sternly in the hall.

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned, their expressions ranging from surprise and doubt to curiosity and amusement as they looked at him.

Even Shen Mo turned to look at him in surprise, not expecting him to dare to make such a racket. He immediately said:

"Brother Lu, the person in the main seat is Inspector Zhou Mo."

"The woman who spoke just now is Su Wantang, the Deputy Inspector from the Fucheng Town Night Division."

"The other officials are either generals from the General's Office or officials from the prefectural government."

"Although you have some abilities and have killed a few ghosts, you must not act recklessly in front of adults."

Lu Ming glanced at him. Shen Mo looked rather haggard, with a hint of dejection, as if he had lost his fighting spirit. His previous dignified aura had also weakened considerably.

Given the tense situation, Lu Ming didn't answer, but instead turned to look at the woman who had spoken up to help him earlier.

The woman appeared to be about thirty years old, dressed in a moon-white cross-collar ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), her entire body was impeccably clean, except for a single ebony hairpin that held her long, black hair in place.

Her face was delicate and pale, and her calm eyes revealed a hint of sorrow and coldness. The aloofness on her face was completely out of place with the two exaggerated papayas on her chest.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lu Ming saw Zhou Mo raise his hand, about to give the order again, when he gave Su Wantang a slight bow and said:

"Thank you for speaking frankly, sir. I am indeed wronged in this matter. Please take a look at this item."

As Lu Ming spoke, he opened the package on his back and threw its contents onto the ground.

With a thud, a palm-sized black scale fell to the ground. In the center of the scale was a slowly wriggling bud, which looked extremely eerie.