Yinshan Record

Chapter 30 is extraordinary.
"Chief Commander Shi." The registrar of the Jingye Division clasped his hands in a salute.

"The region is in turmoil; thank you for your hard work, Military Advisor Liu," Shi Chibao hurriedly greeted him.

"There's nothing to say, it's just our duty."

As Liu Yu spoke, he stepped into the gate of the Criminal Investigation Bureau.

The Jingye Division was established later than the Tiqi. The Tiqi was originally transformed from the elite troops at the founding of the country, while the Jingye Division was formed later by recruiting cultivators who aspired to fame and fortune. Its original office was located in Jiankang City, and it was a special agency belonging only to the emperor.

Their leader was called the Jingye Guancha Shi (頤夜察黍), and because he usually held the official title of Shizhong (侍中), he was also respectfully called Shizhong Guancha Shi (侍中察黍).

The main force of the Jingye Division was in Jiankang. Its local branches were not as large as the Tiji (Imperial Guards). Instead, they had branch offices in the capitals of various prefectures, each headed by a Registrar and Military Advisor to handle various matters.

Although the Jingye Division has a small number of personnel, it is a highly capable team, and its actions are extraordinary, capturing only great demons and monsters.

"Commander Shi, we both serve the court and share the Emperor's burdens. Our two families have always been in the same boat. All the hardships and worries are our duty."

Liu Yu then added that this really made Commander Shi feel that something was amiss.

In the past, when I asked Liu Yu for favors, he would usually make excuses and refuse. The fact that he's being so high-profile today is definitely suspicious.

"Brother Liu, please. The main reason I invited you here today is..."

"The law should not be passed on to six ears. Let's go inside and talk."

Liu Yu looked solemn and raised his hand to stop Shi Chibao from descending further.

Seeing the solemn expression on the other party's face, the commander of the Imperial Guards gestured to his left and right, and led Liu Yu directly to a secret room on the first underground floor of the commander's residence.

Huang Tiandao, a high-ranking Taoist priest, used gold powder made from the remains of several generations of reincarnated eminent monks to write runes that prevented eavesdropping. He also added thunder seals left by masters of Shenxiao Dao to suppress demons, along with a complete set of River Map transformations from Yuelu Mountain.

This is where the Criminal Investigation Bureau (提刑千户所) handles confidential documents on a daily basis.

When his men brought over freshly poured tea and some fruit and snacks, Shi Chibao dismissed his attendants and went directly to Liu Yu, the military advisor, to ask him questions.

"Brother Liu, has something extraordinary happened?"

"Something happened to Guo Bei, didn't you know?"

Liu Yu picked up a green tangerine from the table and peeled it.

"Hmm? I do know something happened in Shanyin..."

Shi Chibao had a report about the incident in Shanyin, but he knew nothing about what was happening in Guobei County.

"What big thing could happen in Shanyin? Is Lord Dushan making a fuss about becoming a monk?" Liu Yu muttered, "It's the Yin-Yang Dharma King. He ordered the city to be sealed off and closed for seclusion, and all the ghosts under his command have gone home."

Yin-Yang Dharma King? Shi Chibao recalled the official documents he had read, and there was nothing about him in them.

"The Yin-Yang Dharma King is a top-tier fourth-rank Ghost Path cultivator, one of the best in the entire world. If he goes into seclusion for no reason, something big must be happening here."

Liu Yu's words made Commander Shi a little nervous.

That Dharma King's personality, to put it nicely, is that he loves excitement; to put it bluntly, he's a show-off. It's absolutely impossible for him to stay home and cultivate in seclusion; his true nature is to open his doors wide and entertain guests from all directions.

Something must have gone wrong here.

Liu Yu put a bitter orange into his mouth.

"I just don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing."

"I just checked over Guo Bei's side, and the cloud cover hasn't changed at all..."

“My dear brother, if the Emperor’s ability to observe the aura were absolutely accurate, lasting a thousand years in a single glance, then the world wouldn’t be in such a chaotic state. I have already sent people to Guo Bei County to gather information…”

"Has the person returned?"

"Why would I come to your door if you haven't returned?" Liu Yu looked at Shi Chibao: "I heard that the ghosts and monsters have undergone some changes, and perhaps something big has happened. There are two sources of information, one from the cultivators in Guobei County, and the other from Madam Xue in Baicangjiang. If they are verified against each other, they should be correct."

"I also have news here." Shi Chibao took out the letter written by Su Che from his sleeve and handed it to Liu Yu: "Brother Liu, do you think it's possible that Guo Bei County and Shan Yin County are actually doing the same thing?"

Liu Yu quickly skimmed through the document, then solemnly handed it back to Shi Chibao and began scratching his head. Shi Chibao took a sip of tea and waited for Liu Yu to think for a moment.

"Brother Liu, what's your opinion on this matter?"

"what?"

Liu Canjun looked at Shi Qianhu and said, "Chief Judge, have you noticed how much older I've gotten?"

Shi Chibao almost burst out laughing. This Liu Yu came from the Taoist alchemy lineage and was a highly accomplished master of internal alchemy. Although he entered the world to become an official for worldly wealth and status, even when he was about to die, his face would still look like that of a young man.

When I was studying at Yuelu Mountain, my friends and I often mocked their lineage for its "face-saving magic".

Even in death, he still had a handsome face.

“These Guobei and Shanyin are truly worrisome.” Military Advisor Liu pondered for a moment and looked at Commander Shi: “It’s better to believe it exists than not to believe it doesn’t.”

According to the report from Shanyin County, the matter was of great importance and could not be judged by them alone; it had to be reported immediately.

Neither the Provincial Criminal Investigation Bureau nor the branch of the Jingye Division can bear the responsibility for this matter.

Their duty is to guard against all risks; failing to remain sensitive is the greatest dereliction of duty.

"Then submit a joint report?"

Shi Chibao made the suggestion.

“I think we should do it the old way. You draft the document first. I’m fast on my feet. I can get to Jiankang in two days and one night using the teleportation technique. I’ll send your document to the Imperial Guards and then report it to the Jingye Division headquarters. You can take a team and personally go to Guobei to oversee things, just like before.”

As Liu Yu finished speaking, he stopped talking.

According to the military advisor of the Jingye Division, if there is any trouble, it is in Guobei County. However, the current situation in Shanyin County cannot be ignored.

"Guobei County says they are peaceful and prosperous, while Shanyin County says they are experiencing upheaval. If they leave Shanyin County to take charge in Guobei, they will have difficulty explaining themselves later."

Commander Shi said to Liu Yu, "I will take a team to Shanyin first."

"Then let's go to Shanyin."

Liu Yu suddenly smiled as if he had thought of something.

"It's actually quite interesting."

"how?"

“A few days ago, my company issued an order to me to keep an eye on the newly appointed county magistrate of Shanyin County.”

"Oh, is there anything special about it?"

Shi Chibao's curiosity was also piqued.

"Special? I don't have time for that. A few days ago, there was a fox in the manor, and more than a thousand taels of silver were stolen. I've been investigating that case ever since, and there's still no result."

"Aren't there always people of yours patrolling the treasury?"

"That fox is very clever, like the kind of people from the Cloud Recesses in the East Sea."

Shi Chibao suddenly remembered an anecdote he had heard some time ago about the Censorate making a fool of itself.

"I don't know what's wrong with the monsters in this world, they've all become more ferocious. Have you heard? A few days ago, the Censorate was turned upside down by a monkey demon."

"I can't talk about this anymore, it'll never end. You need to hurry up and draft the document, I have to get going."

Shi Chibao nodded and began to write in the secret room, laying out his writing implements.

Thank you to Mr. Bu Er for the reward, and thank you to the members of Jing Ji Guan Mian, Shi Qi Wo Shi Yi Yang, and Shan Xian Ben Biao for the monthly tickets.

Thank you everyone.

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(End of this chapter)