I, a prison guard in the Heavenly Prison, secretly became invincible thanks to the system.

"Sir, what should we do with these people?"

Upon leaving the city lord's mansion, He Zhi respectfully inquired.

Ye Kang glanced at the despairing Ding Wu and said calmly, "Didn't I say to use torture until they confess?"

When these words were spoken, everyone was dumbfounded.

"Sir... using torture is fine, but what do we want to ask?"

"Don't ask anything, just keep torturing them if they don't confess."

Ye Kang grinned, and the chill in his eyes sent a shiver down Ding Wu's spine, turning his face as pale as paper.

"You can't do this! I am a martial artist, and what you're doing violates the ancestral laws of the Great Jin Dynasty! You corrupt official!"

Ye Kang completely ignored Ding Wu's angry curses and turned to leave.

He Zhi shook his head. This official was truly ruthless.

It's obvious they don't want to ask anything; they just want to use torture.

He Zhi smiled and led his men to the government office.

Ye Kang and Jin Baobei returned to Wangjianglou Inn.

As soon as I went upstairs, the door of the private room next door opened, and a lively young girl peeked out.

"My lords, would you do me the honor of having a cup of tea?"

Ye Kang was stunned for a moment, and was about to refuse when a purple mist suddenly appeared in the girl's eyes.

True Qi Transforms into Mist – A Master of the Innate Realm!

Ye Kang's eyes narrowed, and he raised his hand, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

The two entered the private room, where not only the young girl but also another tall, muscular man, his body bulging with muscles like an iron tower.

Unlike the girl's outgoing manner, the burly man kept his eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to Ye Kang's presence.

Ye Kang didn't mind and sat down opposite the two of them, with Jin Baobei sitting next to him.

Compared to Ye Kang's casualness, Jin Baobei was much more flustered.

The two people in the private room are probably both innate masters. I don't know if they are friends or foes. If they suddenly attack, wouldn't I be the first to fall with my limited strength?

Seemingly sensing Gymboree's worry, the girl gave an innocent smile.

"My lords, there's no need to worry. We are of the same kind."

"Oh? May I ask where you are from?" Ye Kang asked with some surprise.

The girl didn't speak, but simply stretched out her right hand and gently tugged at her sleeve, revealing a wrist guard embroidered with blue fish scales.

When Gymboree saw this pattern, her pupils contracted sharply.

Ye Kang blinked, clearly not understanding.

Jin Baobei quickly whispered, "They are from the Qinglin Guard."

"Azure Scale Guard?"

Ye Kang still didn't understand.

Now, the towering man opened his eyes, his gaze filled with both confusion and dissatisfaction.

These days, does the deputy commander of the Imperial City Guard not even know what the Azure Scale Guard is?

Of course, Ye Kang can't be blamed for this; he really doesn't have any memory of it!

The girl covered her mouth and chuckled, finding it quite amusing.

"Lord Ye is truly a remarkable person. Despite being in officialdom, he can't even distinguish between his colleagues and organizations. How interesting!"

"this…"

"It's alright, I'll explain it to Lord Ye."

The young woman poured tea first, then looked out the window at the river.

"When the Great Jin Dynasty seized power, it established the Azure Scale Guard to monitor the martial arts world in order to deter the martial arts forces. Later, the late emperor swept away the martial arts world in the north with swift and decisive measures. Many sects either went into seclusion or fled south. There were no more powerful figures in the north, so the Azure Scale Guard shifted its operations to the south."

The girl's voice wasn't loud, but it was very pleasant to listen to, possessing a lightness and ethereal quality unique to young girls.

Ye Kang nodded in agreement.

Indeed, all his missions had been in the north, and even in Mengzhou, the most prosperous martial arts region, none of the so-called ten major sects had a master of the third rank of the Innate Realm.

None of the three major sects in Jiangping Prefecture have a single master of the Innate Realm.

Ye Kang had previously thought that this was how the world was, but only now did he understand.

So it turns out the late emperor was too powerful, he crippled the north.

The city lord of Jiayang, located at the junction of the north and south, has reached the third-grade innate level, which shows the difference in their abilities.

The girl continued.

"The Azure Scale Guard is small and must guard the south. All the minor matters in the north will be handled by the Imperial City Guard. Do you understand, sir?"

The girl stared intently at Ye Kang, and the meaning behind her words was quite clear.

The South is under the jurisdiction of the Azure Scale Guard, so your Imperial City Guard should not meddle.

Ye Kang nodded and took a sip of tea slowly.

"So it's you two lords. You've worked so hard guarding the south. Don't worry, I'll take care of the affairs of Jiayang City and make sure I can share your burdens."

After Ye Kang finished speaking, the girl and the big man stared at him as if he were a fool.

A moment later, the girl couldn't help but tilt her head back and burst into laughter.

“Interesting, interesting! Lord Ye is truly brilliant. Why not join the Azure Scale Guard? I’ll introduce you to him.”

"No need, I still prefer the Imperial City Guard."

Ye Kang refused outright.

He's already reached the top in the Imperial City Guard. If he jumps ship now, wouldn't all his efforts have been for nothing?

At this moment, the burly man finally spoke.

He slowly opened his mouth and said in a deep voice, "I don't want to waste words. The case of the flower thief is the responsibility of the Azure Scale Guard. Don't interfere."

The burly man revealed his aura, clearly indicating that he was also a third-grade innate cultivator!

It's one of the stronger ones among the three ranks.

Jin Baobei's face paled, but Ye Kang said without any fear, "We are all sharing the Emperor's burdens, why distinguish between us?"

"Rules are rules. No one can touch the cases we've set our sights on."

"What if I absolutely must move?"

Ye Kang held the teacup to his lips, his eyes fixed on the two people opposite him, showing no sign of yielding.

The two men didn't say much, got up and left.

"Lord Ye, please go ahead and do it. I just don't want you to waste your efforts."

……

Watching the two leave, Gymboree finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"My goodness! That's the legendary Azure Scale Guard! You're really something!"

Are they that great?

"Of course, without them, those martial artists from the south would have already stormed the palace. But even if they are exhausted from fighting, the situation in the south is not optimistic."

"So, the area south of the Jiayang River is the real Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry)."

Ye Kang looked at the river and couldn't help but think of his maternal grandfather.

In my memory, my mother married into the capital city from Jiangnan.

It seems that he only met his maternal grandfather a few times when he was young.

Ye Kang fell into deep thought, while Jin Baobei looked helpless.

"Speaking of which, Lord Leng's mission for us is clearly to fight river pirates..."

……

There was still no news of the flower thief at night.

The men scattered throughout the city failed to gather any useful information, but He Zhi from the official yamen arrived instead.

"Lord Ye! You're amazing! You actually dug something up!"

"what?"

Ye Kang was completely bewildered. What did they dig up?

“I subjected that Ding Wu to more than a dozen tortures without asking him anything, but the kid couldn’t take it and spilled everything he knew!”

Ye Kang's expression changed.

"Could it be news of a womanizer?"

"Exactly! Ding Wu said he saw a guard spying on the city lord's concubine at the city lord's mansion, and he even used this as an excuse to extort a lot of money from that man! I immediately inquired and found out that the day that guard entered the city lord's mansion was the same day the first case of 'flower picking' occurred!"