Ping Zhao Lu

On the top floor of Fangfei Pavilion, the breeze blows gently and the curtains flutter.

Shang Jiu took vigorous and powerful steps, his figure moving past like a gust of wind. Every step seemed to carry the force of thunder. Wherever he passed, everyone held their breath involuntarily, their eyes following his movements.

The guests who were originally watching the show leisurely were stunned when they saw Shang Jiu's outfit and couldn't help but gasp.

This appearance was undoubtedly the most terrifying and frightening to the many guests present.

Because they knew very well that where the Chief Justice was, some officials might lose their jobs, or some difficult case might arise there.

At this moment, Shang Jiu's grand entrance into the Fangfei Pavilion truly left everyone perplexed and frightened. Many people began whispering and discussing the matter.

"Why would the Court Justice's men suddenly appear here? Could something earth-shattering have happened here?" someone speculated suspiciously.

"Could it be that an official who has committed a crime is hiding here? If that's the case, we're going to be in big trouble!" another person echoed worriedly.

"It's unlikely, right? Looking at the situation, it seems that he came alone. If there really is a big case to be handled, why would they send only him?" Someone nearby questioned.

"Let alone anything else, every time I see someone from the Supreme Court, I feel like my head is going to fall off at any moment, and I feel so scared!" Another person said with lingering fear.

"..."

Despite the constant chatter of the people around him, Shang Jiu seemed oblivious to the gossip. He had only one thought in mind: to bring the thief to justice.

Just an hour ago, he and several of his subordinates went out to handle a case. When they passed by this place, they accidentally caught a glimpse of a figure in the bustling crowd on the street.

Although the man had been carefully disguised and his appearance was no different from that of an ordinary person, Shang Jiu keenly noticed from his gestures and behavior that this person was no different from the thief that Zhuang Yan had described to him in detail before!

Shang Jiu had always been decisive, never letting go of any clues or suspicious individuals. Therefore, he acted decisively, ordering his subordinates to guard all exits to prevent the thief from escaping, while he himself pursued the thief without hesitation, all the way to Fangfei Pavilion.

He stood firmly in front of the railing, looking down sharply at every movement downstairs.

Just now he clearly saw with his own eyes that person running towards this direction, but in the blink of an eye, he disappeared without a trace, as if he had never appeared.

Shang Jiu couldn't help but frown slightly.

This person either changed his disguise and blended into the bustling crowd, or found some extremely secluded hiding place.

Shang Jiu couldn't help but frown and think deeply.

At this time, his subordinates had not yet come to report the situation, which meant that the thief was most likely still hiding in this attic.

Just as Shang Jiu was thinking, a burst of hurried footsteps came from far away.

Zhuang Yan hurried over to his side and whispered in his ear, "Sir, with you showing up so brazenly, how can I possibly observe those officials behaving suspiciously? I'm afraid they'd have already been frightened away by you, let alone catching that cunning thief!"

No one knew why, but Zhuang Yan, who was usually cautious and respectful to his superiors, suddenly mustered up the courage to openly tease his immediate superior.

After hearing this, Shang Jiu slowly turned around and glared at Zhuang Yan with icy eyes like a cold blade. He responded coldly, "This is an urgent matter. I have no time to care about anything else, let alone superficial efforts!"

Before Zhuang Yan could even open his mouth to refute, Shang Jiu added, "This person is agile and good at disguise. His Qinggong skills are especially superb. It will be very difficult to capture him."

Before he could finish his words, Zhuang Yan couldn't wait to interrupt him and said, "Of course I know that. If it weren't for this, how could he have easily gotten rid of me before..."

However, as he reached the second half of his sentence, he suddenly felt a chilling gaze piercing him like an arrow. In an instant, his confidence vanished like a deflated ball. He involuntarily shrank his neck and muttered, "I've been a bit too talkative. Please continue..."

Shang Jiu's expression was stern. He snorted coldly before speaking, "His right foot has been injured by my hidden weapon. Therefore, you only need to keep a close eye on this attic to see if there is anyone walking in an unusual manner."

Hearing this, Zhuang Yan nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice and replied, "Oh..." Then he lowered his head obediently.

But just as he lowered his head, his eyes accidentally swept across a figure downstairs who was dressed as a servant, walking with a slightly strange posture and a slight limp.

In an instant, his eyes shone with excitement like light bulbs that suddenly lit up. Then he jerked his head up, quickly lowered his finger in that direction, and shouted in a voice that was deliberately suppressed but still couldn't hide his excitement: "There!"

Almost at the same time, Shang Jiu also looked in the direction Zhuang Yan pointed.

His eyes fixed, and he took a step forward without hesitation, rushing downstairs like the wind.

Seeing this, Zhuang Yan naturally did not dare to be negligent at all, and hurriedly followed closely behind.

*

Xu Zhouye gently adjusted the veil on his head, then slowly stood up and was about to walk out the door.

At this moment, suddenly, it seemed as if a gust of wind blew in the face, and then a man rushed into the house like lightning.

Because this person was moving extremely fast, he was about to collide head-on with Xu Zhouye.

Fortunately, Xu Zhouye reacted quickly. He dodged the sudden collision by nimbly turning sideways.

The man seemed to have no idea that he almost bumped into someone. He didn't even pause and ran straight towards the windowsill behind Xu Zhouye like an arrow.

Before Xu Zhouye could figure out what was happening, he heard a "whoosh" and the man jumped out of the window without hesitation.

Xu Zhouye was a little confused by this series of changes, but out of instinct, he subconsciously walked quickly to the window, wanting to check the whereabouts of the man's departure.

Just at this moment, Shang Jiu and Zhuang Yan rushed into the room.

Zhuang Yan looked at Xu Zhouye anxiously and asked, "Have you ever seen someone who looks like a servant?"

Xu Zhouye turned around, pointed in the direction of Chunfeng Street, and replied, "He went that way."

Hearing this, Zhuang Yan's expression became very complicated, and he muttered to himself: "Why did he run in that direction..."

However, Shang Jiu on the side did not show much surprise or hesitation. Without saying a word, he strode forward, jumped directly onto the windowsill, and then jumped down.

Zhuang Yan was stunned at first, but then he reacted and shouted, "Wait a minute! If you rush over like this, you might cause quite a commotion!"

After saying that, he didn't care about anything else and hurriedly chased after him.