Xuanqing Guard-Chapter 67: Case Consolidation

Tang Qingyuan took the joint investigation application submitted by Shen Hao, his brows knitting slightly. He had not expected that Shen Hao’s new case would once again be tied to an Evil Cultivator.

Of course, cracking cases involving Evil Cultivators could earn you credit in the eyes of others, but there should be a limit—especially for someone like Tang Qingyuan, a real power-holder among the Xuanqing Guard stationed here.

The logic was simple: if Evil Cultivators showed up frequently in a place, didn’t that implicitly mean there were serious vulnerabilities, to the point that Evil Cultivators liked to drift here? If so, wouldn’t it imply that the Local Government Office and the Xuanqing Guard responsible for the area weren’t doing their jobs properly?

"How sure are you this was done by Evil Cultivators?"

"Sir, I’m eighty percent certain this matter cannot be separated from the Evil Cultivators."

"So certain?"

"Heh, because previously, when I went to visit Households Commander Jiang, I asked him for a special approval slip. I then went to the Thousand Households Station’s Library and dug up materials about Yin-Yang Blood and Qi. It clearly states that Evil Cultivators are the most obsessed with using Yin-Yang Blood and Qi, so it stands to reason these children born on days of extreme Yin and Yang were abducted by Evil Cultivators in a planned manner, which fits the criteria for a joint investigation."

Though it sounded like a simple explanation of the case, Tang Qingyuan’s mouth twisted after hearing it.

What does that mean? Visited Households Commander Jiang?

"Oh? Shen Zongqi and Households Commander Jiang are on familiar terms?"

"Haha, I wouldn’t call it familiarity—just that I often receive lessons from Households Commander Jiang."

Often? Lessons?

Tang Qingyuan could easily read the hidden meaning behind Shen Hao’s words. He didn’t know how to feel about it—he’d always thought Shen Hao would pick him as a patron over Chen Yiyun; who would’ve guessed Shen Hao skipped them both and latched onto the biggest mountain in the Jingxi Xuanqing Guard.

He was certainly uncomfortable, but not truly resentful. People climb to higher places as water finds its way downward—such is the norm. Shen Hao managed to get on Jiang Cheng’s side; naturally, he wouldn’t think much of Tang Qingyuan. If it were him, he’d do the same.

"I hadn’t expected Shen Zongqi to have such luck. Congratulations."

"No such thing, Sir, I still need your guidance and support."

"You’ve got Households Commander Jiang backing you now—where would I even meddle? All right, I’ll approve this case. Follow all procedures according to regulations. But I’ll say it again—don’t go overboard, report the case progress in real time. Understood?"

"Please rest assured, Sir. Any progress, I’ll report it directly to you at once!"

Walking out from Tang Qingyuan’s office, Shen Hao’s smile grew even wider. Just as he’d anticipated—once he became Jiang Cheng’s disciple, even if Tang Qingyuan felt slighted, he wouldn’t dare trip him up.

Back in his own Public Office, Shen Hao called Wang Jian over and handed over the joint investigation approval slip from Tang Qingyuan.

"From now on, a dozen missing persons cases—including the Liu Yan Case and the Ma Haotian Case—have officially been approved for combined investigation. Wang Jian, start organizing a sweep of all these cases immediately. No matter if it’s the parties involved or witnesses mentioned in the old records, don’t leave anyone out. Treat every one of them as brand-new cases.

Also, go to the Arsenal and request four Thunder Charms. I’ve already discussed this with Hundred Households Tang. Make absolutely sure to be cautious—this time our opponent is likely another Evil Cultivator and possibly more than one."

"I’ll be careful, General Flag. You can count on me."

Because preparations were already in place, Wang Jian quickly got to work, assigning personnel to each case as soon as he left. He led the teams himself, three per group, one case each. They were to first go through the current situation of the parties involved, then proceed with targeted investigation as needed.

Everything was carried out following Shen Hao’s principle of "keep it quiet"—even within the Xuanqing Guard, only a select few knew that the Black Banner Battalion was now working on specific cases again.

Several days later, Wang Jian showed up in front of Shen Hao with a summary report of their sweep.

"General Flag, we now have a total of eighteen missing persons cases approved for joint investigation, all within seven cities under Li City’s jurisdiction. After a preliminary sweep, we’ve found the following common points:

First, all the cases involve children who disappeared in daylight hours, and always near their homes.

Second, in every case, potential witnesses bizarrely failed to see anything related to the disappearance of the children, as if they’d all gone blind.

Third, we looked up the Local Government Office’s records of unidentified bodies for the three years after each case occurred, and found no information related to the bodies of these missing children.

All the details are in the report, General Flag—you can take a look.

Also, as per your instructions, we’re now quietly tracking and monitoring the Population Department staff in all seven city offices; for those who’ve been reassigned, we’re following up as well.

That’s the current status."

"Do you have enough people?"

"Barely enough." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"No need to stretch. You can borrow some personnel from Zhang Liao’s side—don’t try to do everything alone. With a case this big, there’ll be enough merit for everyone in the Black Banner Battalion. Understand what I mean?"

Wang Jian was caught off guard—he’d indeed intended not to let Zhang Liao’s Team B handle the case, thinking he could do it himself and didn’t need to share the credit. Now that his thoughts had been exposed, he felt uneasy; he knew his General Flag had no patience for petty schemes and rivalry during investigations, and his own moment of selfishness had crossed the line.

"I understand, General Flag. Please punish me!" Wang Jian understood instantly and dropped to one knee to admit his mistake.

Shen Hao shook his head and chuckled: "Get up—no need for such ceremony. You’ve worked with me for years; I just don’t want your path to grow narrow. Internal competition is encouraged in the Black Banner Battalion, but scheming is absolutely forbidden. You’re a veteran now—you can’t set a bad precedent. This time, for old times’ sake, I won’t pursue it. If it happens again, don’t blame me for being ruthless. Got that?"

"Understood, General Flag. Thank you for your mercy!"

"Good, go ahead. I’ll notify Zhang Liao—your Team A leads, Zhang Liao’s Team B supports. Prepare a dossier and send it to him; from here on, you two coordinate things together."

"Yes, understood, Sir."

Wang Jian exited. Shen Hao shook his head and laughed to himself. Now that the team’s grown and there are more people, the hearts have turned complicated—even Wang Jian, who used to be a blockhead, has his own little calculations now.

The world is impermanent, and people’s intentions shift.

Pulling his thoughts back to the sweep report on his desk, Shen Hao opened it and began to study it closely, continuing until midday.

The preliminary findings matched the old dossier records; there was little to dissect. The biggest gap in the case remained the witnesses—who should have seen everything—but all turned out "blind."

What kind of Blinding Technique could abduct people in broad daylight without anybody noticing?

PS: A bit late—happy Qixi Festival! Though I guess none of you even have a date.