Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

Chapter 549 New Policies (Part Two)

"Impossible!" Qiu Xiaoxiao asserted. "You know that our Green Robe Alliance is one of the subordinates of the Three Saints Sect and the largest underworld force in this area. If other underworld or evil forces have tampered with things, they can't hide it from us."

"That's strange. There are no clues, no information at all. Luo Meiwei couldn't have run away with the things, could she?" Fang He wondered.

But that's impossible. The glass left by Luo Meiwei's Life-Connecting Secret Technique is clearly broken, which proves that something really happened.

“Yes, I find that very strange too…” Qiu Xiaoxiao frowned. “When Luo Meiwei had her accident, there were no witnesses, no physical evidence, and not even any eyewitnesses…” Suddenly, she seemed to have thought of something and looked up at Fang He.

Fang He seemed to have an idea, and looked at Qiu Xiaoxiao.

The two exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Fang Shouming?"

"Both disappeared mysteriously, with no one seeing them and no evidence..." Fang He's eyes grew brighter and brighter. Connecting the two events, a sudden inspiration struck him.

“That’s right. Although these two things seem unrelated, the characteristics of Luo Meiwei and Fang Shouming’s accidents are extremely similar. In other words, it’s highly likely that these two things were done by the same person,” Qiu Xiaoxiao continued. “However, when Luo Meiwei’s accident happened, it was because there was a secret technique linking her life and death. Looking at it this way, Fang Shouming’s…”

"Hmph...!" Fang He snorted angrily, interrupting her, "It's hard to say. My son, Fang Shouming, is far more powerful than Luo Meiwei. Without conclusive evidence, nothing can be concluded."

Although he knew that Fang Shouming was likely in grave danger, he still believed that Fang Shouming was simply missing until he saw conclusive evidence.

He was afraid that if he accepted this reality, he would go insane, so he could only numb himself in this way.

"Okay, okay, whether it's a disappearance or something else, the commonalities between these two things are huge, and it's highly likely that they were done by the same person. That conclusion is pretty much certain," Qiu Xiaoxiao analyzed.

"The key is to find this person. I don't know much about Luo Meiwei's matter, but when my son Shouming had his accident, I checked all the experts in the vicinity who could pose a threat to him based on the time and location, but I didn't find any!"

Fang He said, his eyes red.

If Fang Shouming isn't mentioned, he's fine, but as soon as Fang Shouming is brought up, he seems to go a little crazy.

"You haven't found anything at all?" Qiu Xiaoxiao asked. "Are you sure?" "Do you think I would be careless in this matter?" Fang He retorted in a gloomy tone.

“There were a dozen or so people in total, including many who were not as capable as Fang Shouming. I carefully tested them all. As a result, their whereabouts were confirmed, and there was both witness testimony and physical evidence, but we could not find any motive for the crime.”

"So, here's the problem." Qiu Xiaoxiao clapped her hands. "If everyone is alright, did your son just run away on his own? And how could he disappear with several other demonic cultivators?"

"you mean…..."

“It’s very simple.” Qiu Xiaoxiao held up a finger. “First, you said that everyone was fine, all the clues were normal, and nothing was found at the scene, but the person just happened to disappear.”

This suggests that it's highly likely these clues are incorrect.

"You mean someone is lying?!" Fang He narrowed his eyes.

"I can't be sure if someone is lying, but the most abnormal thing is the normality without any abnormalities," Qiu Xiaoxiao said ambiguously.

Then, she held up a second finger: "Secondly, as we just said, you can't look at Fang Shouming's matter in isolation; you have to connect the two things together and look at them together."

The characteristics, key elements, suspicious persons, and various clues at the scene when Fang Shouming disappeared.

Find the common ground between these two things; it could be the same person or the same event.

These commonalities might be a breakthrough point, so you need to verify whether there's a problem.

"Now that you mention it..."

Fang He gradually calmed down, his eyes gleaming as he pondered something.

He quickly remembered a few people.

……………

……………

"The wandering knights-errant, the merchants, the scholars, the Hu family... So, your Hu family is actually the weakest of the three major families?"

Han Yi raised his wine glass, his tone surprised.

"Although it's a bit impolite of you to say it, it is indeed the truth..." **sat opposite Han Yi, her tone helpless.

“These days, everyone admires the supremacy of force, and the way to solve problems is to fight and kill. Especially in Yunzhou, where martial arts are popular, the people are fierce, and the government is weak. My Hu family has many officials and scholars, so in terms of open power, we are naturally no match for the other two families.”

"Just because you can't compete openly doesn't mean you can't compete in terms of what you've hidden behind the scenes," Han Yi chuckled. "Which family doesn't have some hidden strength? Your Hu family would probably be getting a beating..." "Hmph! So what?" **Displeased, she quickly retorted, "Even if our Hu family is weak, we're still stronger than your Nine-Bend Academy. Yes, we definitely can't compete with Jingtian Manor as a whole, but just considering your Nine-Bend Academy alone, are you saying we can't compete?"

Now it was Han Yi's turn to force a wry smile.

In terms of overall power, the Jingtian Manor in the Huayang City area is undoubtedly the behemoth that suppresses everything.

However, the current situation at Jingtian Manor is not only clear to Han Yi and his accomplices, but also to some discerning people outside.

Especially this one, their patriarch Hu is Hu Guangxiang, a famous scholar in Huayang, with extensive connections. Most of his disciples hold important positions in Huayang City, and he is very well-informed.

Therefore, they are fully aware of the numerous internal conflicts within Jingtianzhuang and the high probability that it will split and become independent.

“Yes, if our Nine-Bend Academy really splits off and becomes independent, we don’t know where we’ll go…” Han Yi said with a somewhat bewildered tone.

The Nine-Bend Academy, at most, only has a dozen or so martial arts masters.

This level of strength, while not weak in the Huayang City area, is certainly not formidable.

Compared to the three great families of Huayang, they are far inferior.

The Hu family, for example, has monopolized many industries in Huayang City, and has gathered a vast amount of resources, martial artists, and secret manuals. In terms of the number of martial artists, they far exceed those of the Nine-Bend Academy.

Even the relationship between these large families and the inner courtyard guards is just a simple employment relationship, unlike the close master-disciple relationship of the Nine-Bend Academy.

Despite more than ten years of hard work at Jiuqu Academy, the academy's head, Zhong Yunxiu, had only managed to train a dozen or so martial arts masters.

The Hu family, on the other hand, could easily hire dozens of people by throwing around large sums of money.

Even if these recruited martial artists are not very loyal, their skills are not very good, and their strength is barely passable, if something happens, the Nine-Bend Academy can summon a dozen or so people, and the other party can send dozens of people to attack at once. Their numerical advantage is enough to overwhelm the enemy.

This is just one of the Hu family's families.

There are also two other powerful families, and even many evil forces, all eyeing the scene with predatory intent.

In particular, compared to its current strength and resources, Jiuquyuan is somewhat unworthy of its position.

Han Yi could already imagine that after the Nine-Bend Academy split off and became independent, it would definitely have to go through a difficult period.

Various troubles and suppressions will inevitably follow.

"Why don't you come work for my Hu family? I'll reserve a position for you, and I guarantee you'll be very comfortable," he said nonchalantly.

"That won't be necessary," Han Yi said with a smile.

Although he and ** had a good relationship, he was living under someone else's roof, and if anything happened later, it could easily lead to conflict, or even ruin their relationship. "Alright, let's not talk about that. I heard recently that there's some new policy in Yunzhou, called the Autumn Killing Policy. It's said that your father was involved in it, cracking down on a lot of gangs, causing quite a stir. Is that true?" Han Yi asked in a low voice.

“That’s right, but my father only dealt with small-time gangs. As you know, those small gangs are usually arrogant and domineering, oppressing the people and doing a lot of dirty work. Now it’s a good opportunity to deal with them all during the reform, which is very gratifying.” he replied.

"Then what is the significance of this so-called autumn killing policy...?" Han Yi wondered.

One of the reasons he met with ** this time was to find out what these recent big news stories really meant.

"It's not hard to understand. The new policy is divided into two main parts. One part is personnel matters in Yunzhou. This mainly refers to increasing the assessment of government officials, promoting pragmatic officials, eliminating incompetent officials, and increasing efficiency... Of course, this part will not have much impact on you. It is more aimed at officials like my father."

He continued, speaking eloquently: "Another major, and more important, point is the need to reform the government army. This may have some impact on you martial arts masters."

The content is roughly that after the new policy, all the self-built armies in various counties and cities of Yunzhou will be transferred to the unified management of the government army, and all kinds of expenses, supplies and provisions will also be allocated by the government army.

In other words, the various defenses and defenses in the local area are no longer as chaotic as they used to be. With dedicated personnel in charge, the existing networks of relationships in your Jingtian Village will naturally be broken.

The impact has reached this point.

Han Yi immediately understood.

The reforms in Yunzhou were essentially just a strengthening of the government's power.

First, by reducing redundant officials and streamlining institutions, the government's administrative capacity was improved. Then, the military was strengthened, and both internal and external talents were promoted. This two-pronged approach significantly limited the power of the sects.

Previously, Jingtian Manor was a local tyrant in Huayang City.

The root of the problem lies in the fact that most of the generals in the army in Huayang City came from Jingtian Village and learned their skills from masters. For example, Xiao Zhong, who came from a family of military officers, also had to learn from masters in Jingtian Village.

Since the military commanders are all Jing Tianzhuang's own people, they will naturally provide them with many conveniences and give them the green light in many ways. They will even turn a blind eye to many illegal things and not enforce the law.

In this world, martial arts are still valued more than literature; most things are decided by force.

In Huayang City, the presence of the prefect and other government officials was not particularly strong.

As for the military officers, they didn't care. The remaining civil officials were all weaklings with little combat ability, barely a five in combat strength, so they dared not interfere with Jingtian Village.

Therefore, this is why many high-ranking members of Jingtian Manor dare to take risks and do unscrupulous things to reap huge profits. However, according to this, it's not just Huayang City; this new policy affects the entire Yunzhou. With such a major change and such significant restrictions on sects, why isn't Yuanmiao Sect taking any action?

After all, restricting sects is essentially the same as restricting the Yuanmiao Sect.

As the overlord of Yunzhou, could Yuanmiaozong just stand by and watch himself be weakened?

"Heh, of course Yuanmiao Sect wouldn't agree." He chuckled and explained, "Otherwise, do you think they would just replace the governor for no reason?"

"So, I still can't understand." Han Yi shook his head. "The previous Governor Zhao Huayu had a good reputation. He was known for his profound and virtuous character, his respect for scholars, and his concern for the people. Even if he didn't have any political achievements, he didn't make any mistakes either. Why did Yuanmiao Sect just agree to replace him like that?"

"Zhao Huayu is innocent???" he retorted. "Do you know about the fall of the Black Smoke Fortress on the border? Of the eighteen border cities, one was breached by the demon army during his tenure. That alone is a grave crime! Replacing him is not unjust!"

"what?"

Han Yi was somewhat surprised; he really didn't know about this.

"The border fortress has been breached. When?"

"It was just a few days ago, during the time you went to the secret realm," he replied. "This matter will probably spread widely in a few days, but I heard that the government troops have already gone to provide support, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

"..."

Han Yi digested the information for a moment and then fell silent.

This actually reveals the weakness of his solo approach: he's out of touch with the world and misses out on a lot of useful intelligence. If he hadn't met with ** today, he probably wouldn't have known about this for quite some time.

Han Yi paused for a moment, then continued, "Even so, replacing the governor is already the maximum punishment... But can Yuan Miaozong accept the new policies implemented by the new governor?" Yuan Miaozong's status in the entire Yunzhou was beyond question, so he didn't need to explain further.

This time, it was **his turn to fall silent; he seemed somewhat hesitant.

After a moment, he slowly spoke: "Actually, at first, I also found it hard to believe. According to the Yuanmiao Sect's usual practices, even if there were some mistakes, they would only protect their own, not so easily hand over the governorship, which holds immense power over an entire province..."

But later I heard from my grandfather that...it is said that..."

He hesitated for a moment, as if the matter were extremely secretive, but finally he said, "It is said that after the Black Smoke Fortress incident, the Yuanmiao Sect closed its gates, seemingly intending to ignore Yunzhou's affairs and remain secluded..."