The villain has been playing badly for ten years

The ancient name of Nanzhao Kingdom was Yeliang. It was located near the border of Lingnan and was just a small area of ​​a few feet.

The area is mountainous and rich in mineral resources, but as a vassal state, it has been paying tribute to the court of King Yan all year round.

It is more like a city than a country.

Therefore, the Dahongsi was established in the territory, which was a government office under its own jurisdiction. In addition, there was the Zhonghangling, which was specifically responsible for receiving envoys.

Meng Qilian made an appointment with the two of them to meet again one day, and then they went to Dahongsi.

He traveled with a cavalry of carriages and horses, which seemed to be intentional.

It has been raining continuously for the past few days. In the early morning, the sky was covered with dark clouds and looked gloomy.

The raindrops fell on the gilded roof like needles, making a crisp and tiny sound. The rain quickly gathered into small streams, flowing down the roof, forming a string of crystal clear water droplets.

The carriage stopped outside the Dahongsi Gate, and the ancient stone lions were washed clean by the rain.

The official, wearing indigo-blue official uniform, quickly knocked on the vermilion and gold-painted door.

As the red door opened, a pair of official boots made of rhinoceros dragon skin appeared from the extremely imposing and luxurious carriage. Meng Qilian looked unkempt and it was rare for him to change into the official robe late at night.

The clerk held up an umbrella and shouted, "The Minister of the Privy Council has arrived!"

The Zhonghangling of the Dahongsi hurried out to greet him and bowed.

"Your Excellency has come a long way and must have worked hard. We have prepared a residence for you..."

Meng Qilian ignored the greetings and strode in, looking around at the simple and dusty surroundings, which seemed to have been unused for a long time.

Looking up, I saw a sign hanging high in the hall: Work together in harmony.

He went straight to the main seat of Dahongsi and sat down, his voice sonorous and powerful:

"This Dahongsi seems quite desolate. Doesn't it usually take charge?"

The Zhonghang official was thin and raised his pointed eyes. "Our lord has a headache and this rainy day is difficult to endure. I hope the envoy will forgive me."

This was obviously a superficial agreement, and Meng Qilian was displeased:

"I'm here on patrol under orders to investigate the mining case. Why don't you have any files?"

"Your Excellency's presence is a great honor to me. I will do my best to assist and cooperate, but..."

Meng Qilian's eyes were filled with unquestionable majesty. "If you have something to say, just say it."

The Central Bank Order did not want to offend, but still said:

"It's been raining non-stop these days. Our company's locker room is underground. The heavy rain the other day caused the water level to rise, so everything was flooded and ruined. It was truly unfortunate timing."

After he finished speaking, he led Meng Qilian somewhere.

Sure enough, the books and papers in the locked vault swelled due to absorbing water, and wrinkled into a ball after drying. The handwriting was completely unrecognizable and none of it could be recognized.

Meng Qilian angrily said, "Your Dahongsi is an administrative office after all, and this is how you act?"

He was so frightened that he bent over and said, "Your Excellency, please don't be angry. God is not on our side. What can we do?"

"I don't think there are so many coincidences in this world!"

Meng Qilian threw the book aside and said, "There are flaws in the mineral resources of Qianluo Mountain. Isn't it the fault of your Dahongsi?"

"Sir, this ore is mined every day, and Qianluo Mountain is half mined. The ore is naturally provided on time, so there is no room for error. However, we are currently short of manpower, and secondly, there is the disaster of rain."

Now that the situation was shrouded in suspicion, Meng Qilian knew that his words were insincere and he was just pretending to be friendly on the surface. He guessed that what he said was just nonsense, so he just turned away!

The clerk in indigo official uniform followed behind him, holding a record book in his hand, but it seemed that there was no result today.

"Sir, this group of people is covering up so well. It seems that there is indeed something wrong with Qianluo Mountain."

Of course Meng Qilian knew about it. Since he couldn't find out the truth from the lawsuit, he might as well ask somewhere else.

He said, "Li Ji, there is a Gui Market in Nanzhao. Do you know where it is?"

"Oh," Li Ji said, still holding the brush:

"Sir, Gui Market is in the western suburbs, and it's also a shady place for business. There's a man called Baili Zhi there, who also worked in the mines, but he broke his leg that year and went to Gui Market."

"Okay, you can do it."

Li Ji replied politely: "Understood."

……

Meng Qilian had just boarded the carriage and was heading to the luxurious restaurant for a date, but there was no one in the two rooms in the attic.

He frowned slightly, thinking that Nian Zheng always kept his promises...

Thinking something was wrong, I quickly went to ask the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper was a Persian. He stroked his mustache and said in broken Central Plains dialect, "Sir, my friend, it smells so good."

Meng Qilian was planning to go look for someone, and the Privy Council was the best at tracking and investigating. He stepped out of the restaurant and suddenly turned his palm around.

An object appeared in the palm of his hand, like a gathering of flowing light, which burst into light in an instant, as if dyeing everything with a layer of gold.

The traces of the wheels of the carriage gradually appeared, and his spiritual consciousness followed all the way to the western suburbs.

Have Nian Zheng and his group ever been to Guishi?

Meng Qilian was very surprised. He closed his eyes and was trying to figure out where the two men were going. Suddenly, he saw them in a tavern and stopped abruptly.

At this time, an official came forward and said something in his ear.

"Sir, something happened."

His expression changed slightly, and he had no choice but to follow the official and head forward.

It is night, the moon is cool and the breeze is gentle, and the green leaves of the lotus are in full bloom.

Guishi in the western suburbs is more like a village, with gatehouses built of bamboo on both sides and buildings made of bamboo and wood, which is different from the style of Dayan.

In the entire Nanzhao, this is the only gray area.

With a "bang", the bamboo door fell to the ground.

A bloody smell filled his nose, and Li Ji covered his injured arm.

The person lying by the window was limping, his body torn apart in a pool of blood, and the wounds on his body were not caused by an ordinary person.

"what happened?"

Li Ji stepped forward and said, "Sir, if it was that kind of ghost, Baili Zhi would have been dead by the time I got there."

Meng Qilian went forward to check. It was caused by the bite of sharp claws and fangs. This kind of ghost was neither human nor demon. It was consistent with the records in the case file taken over by Tianzhao Mansion today, except that the Privy Council was not involved.

Although this time we are co-investigating the case of insufficient mineral resources in Qianluo Mountain, the issues involved seem to be quite complicated.

These two major cases are related to the Three Flowers Temple and Qianluo Mountain.

Meng Qilian saw something on the ground, fixed on the wooden board with a dagger.

It was a piece of letter paper. Meng Qilian's pupils constricted. He unfolded it and saw the words:

"If you wish to explore hidden paths, do not delve any deeper. Where disasters abound, only stopping can save you!"

This is to persuade him to stop and not investigate further, which is actually a threat.

He couldn't help but frown slightly, veins popped out on the back of his hands, and he clenched the letter into a ball.

This visit to Nanzhao was a show of force, and the Nanzhao government office was probably just a decoration.

……

As Meng Qilian thought about it, a golden light burst out from his palm. He lowered his eyes to investigate but found nothing. The paper and dagger had been processed, but there seemed to be some residual aura.

A figure can be seen appearing on the bank of the Nanzhao River, seemingly trying to ferry a boat across.

Li Ji asked, "Sir, what did you find out?"

"To the ferry."

Without saying a word, Meng Qilian led a group of people towards the riverside.

The ferry crossing is located on the outskirts of Nanzhao, on the riverbank. It is shaded by trees and lush with flowers and plants. There is a mottled stone tablet with the words "Qingyi" inscribed on it. There are also some simple houses and shops on the shore, where passers-by can rest and shop.

Suddenly, there was a faint rumble of thunder, and a small boat with a lone sail was seen in the river.