Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Ma Dalang said with great interest, "Do you want to kill Sima Yan?"

Ren Wuji nodded in agreement: "Yes, Sima Yan is not loyal to you. He is not trustworthy. He is greedy for money and will work for money. He may work for you today, but he may work for someone else tomorrow."

"Moreover, he directly operated this drug trial and came into contact with too many people, inevitably leaving many traces. If we really investigate Zhou Silang's intelligence and methods seriously, he will be exposed sooner or later."

Upon hearing this, Ma Dalang put his hands on his hips, shook his head and smiled, organized the experimental data in his hand and put it into the filing cabinet. He did not agree to let Ren Wuji do the work, because Sima Yan's existence was irreplaceable to him for the time being.

Although this person has a lot of flaws, such as being disloyal, frivolous, unstable, having rather perverse hobbies, refusing to do things without being paid, and even being arrogant and disrespectful to the boss, repeatedly challenging the boss's authority and making the boss so angry that he wanted to vomit blood, there are too many such flaws.

However, Sima Yan's strengths were just as prominent as his weaknesses.

First, Sima Yan is very strong. Second, he is extremely intelligent and capable. Moreover, he is willing to risk his life for money and is extremely loyal to contracts. As long as you pay him enough, Sima Yan will work wholeheartedly for you, seek the greatest benefit for you, and do things very well with very few mistakes.

Even if something goes wrong, Sima Yan can handle it properly and will never implicate himself.

Such an outstanding top-notch worker—if you kill him, where else can you find another one?

After all, it's been with me for so many years, and I still can't bear to part with it.

"I believe Sima Yan can handle the cleanup. Wuji, you don't need to interfere."

Upon hearing this, Ren Wuji calmly replied, "Yes, young master."

Time flies like an arrow, and the next morning arrived in the blink of an eye. Zhou Qingfeng arrived at the Plum Blossom Division of the Fifth Bureau of the Censorate on time as usual, and then saw an acquaintance waiting for him.

A young man dressed in white sat slouching in his seat with his legs crossed on the desk, casually flipping through a book in his hands, chewing on a candy. He exuded an elegant and extraordinary air.

"Old Zhou, it's been ten years. I never imagined our fates would intertwine again." The young man in white said casually without even looking up.

Zhou Qingfeng, dressed in a purple official robe, smiled as he looked at the white-robed youth in the seat. He walked forward slowly, casually sat on the desk, reached out and took the scroll from the white-robed youth's palm, and slapped his leg.

"Don't be so mysterious, put your legs down, this is my desk."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hongyun nonchalantly withdrew his leg and said with a smile, "Can't I even show off a little?"

Zhou Qingfeng smiled, crossed his arms, and leaned against the desk: "Alright, then continue your performance."

"This is pointless, I'm not pretending anymore." Xiao Hongyun jumped up, straightened his clothes, and clasped his hands in a salute: "Xiao Hongyun of the Sixth Division of the Censorate, the Demon Suppression Division, has come on the orders of the City Lord to assist Deputy Commander Zhou in solving the case of the Killing Official Pill."

Zhou Qingfeng raised an eyebrow: "You're in the Demon Suppression Division?"

Xiao Hongyun nodded and smiled: "I've been out on fieldwork and just got back."

When good friends reunite, they inevitably have a lot to talk about. Serious matters can be brought up later; there's no rush anyway.

Ten years ago, Xiao Hongyun and Ye Tingxiu made it onto the Heavenly Ranking, and their fates changed dramatically. They went from being servants to being free, and they found their place in the Sword Tower.

After all, the First Family has never been stingy with its talents. Xiao Hongyun and Ye Tingxiu were both rising stars cultivated by the First Family, with outstanding talents, and can be called geniuses among geniuses.

Even though they can't compare to Zhou Qingfeng, who's number one on the Heavenly Ranking right now, as long as they don't die, it's uncertain who will rise higher in the future. The first family has given out generous rewards and arranged a bright future for the two of them.

Both of them successfully entered the Demon Suppression Division of the Sixth Bureau of the Censorate. Soon after, they took the initiative to represent the city lord to supervise the administrative and judicial activities of castles in various places and to suppress demons and monsters.

In terms of educational resources, the two had two master teachers, Night Owl and Martial God, to teach them cultivation.

In terms of cultivation resources, the two of them were not lacking. The relics they seized from the geniuses they killed in the world competition alone made them billionaires.

In ten years, Xiao Hongyun hadn't fallen far behind; he had also successfully reached the Food Demon Realm, but his magical power was somewhat shallow, only 80,000 coins, which was several times weaker than Zhou Qingfeng's.

This is not surprising. All three started from the same point and are all geniuses. There is a difference in their cultivation levels, but it is very small. They have maintained a relatively balanced state so far, and it is not to the point that they are a whole realm apart.

However, as one's cultivation level increases, the resources required also increase.

The disparity in cultivation resources will directly lead to increasingly greater consequences in the future.

It's possible that Zhou Qingfeng has reached the Poisonous Food Realm.

Xiao Hongyun and Ye Tingxiu had not yet accumulated 500,000 coins of magical power.

Unless the two have a miraculous encounter in the wild, they will only fall further and further behind, making it very difficult to catch up.

The only thing that Xiao Hongyun and Ye Tingxiu are better at than Zhou Qingfeng right now is that they often go out on missions, fight monsters and demons in the wild, and experience all sorts of bizarre events.

If these experiences were compiled into a book, the two of them would undoubtedly be the main characters.

Zhou Qingfeng asked, "What about Ye Tingxiu? What's his current situation?"

Xiao Hongyun said, "He has disappeared."

Zhou Qingfeng was taken aback: "My master said he was out of town and couldn't come back, how could he be missing?"

Xiao Hongyun said in a deep voice, "This matter is very complicated."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng patted Xiao Hongyun on the shoulder, gesturing for him to follow him to the tea room to talk slowly. The two entered the tea room and sat down. Zhou Qingfeng took out a glass of chilled lychee black tea and poured it for Xiao Hongyun.

Xiao Hongyun picked up his teacup and took a sip: "Your little eating habits haven't changed. You're quite nostalgic."

Zhou Qingfeng said with a smile, "We're not young anymore. As people get older, they tend to reminisce."

Xiao Hongyun chuckled repeatedly: "Don't say I'm old. I never admitted to being old. You're not old either. If we're talking about ten thousand years old, neither of us has even finished our childhood, okay? But I am indeed nostalgic. Do you still remember Old Ye and Miss Blue Moon's seven-year promise? I remember it vividly."

Zhou Qingfeng put down his teacup and said, "Is Old Ye's disappearance related to Lan Yue?"

Xiao Hongyun nodded and said, "It's somewhat related. More than three years ago, Old Ye said he was going back to Yumi City to keep an appointment, saying that Blue Moon was waiting for him. Oh, Yumi City was the old name; it's now called No Man's Land."

The memory of fleeing famine, which once haunted Zhou Qingfeng's mind, resurfaced like a nightmare when Xiao Hongyun mentioned it, causing his face to darken.

It has been thirteen years since the city of Yumi was destroyed and its inhabitants perished.

How Yumi City was destroyed and its inhabitants perished remains a mystery. The only known fact is that the true culprit behind the destruction of Yumi City was the Renxin Sect, and after the destruction of Yumi City, very few people survived.

There are more dead people than living people in the true sense of the word. Demons and monsters emerge one after another. People who can't survive begin to believe in evil gods and worship mad gods. Yumi Realm has completely degenerated into a land of madness and death.

However, this unclaimed land has become a coveted prize for many. Neighboring city lords all want to devour this piece of fat, and even the Sword Tower is secretly conducting military operations to compete for ownership of the unclaimed land.

However, in order to avoid starting a full-scale war and bringing the flames of war to their own territory.

All the factions exercised considerable restraint, refraining from sending their own armies into the no-man's-land to fight. Instead, they supported the remaining local forces in the no-man's-land, thus initiating a bloody tug-of-war that lasted for many years.

Zhou Qingfeng knew all of this, of course. Although life in Sword Tower City was peaceful and the people lived in peace and contentment, the outside world was still chaotic, cruel and bloody, and most people couldn't even afford to eat pig bran.

Ye Tingxiu ventured alone into this unclaimed land; his chances of survival were slim.

Zhou Qingfeng frowned slightly and said, "What a fool who's blinded by love. Didn't you try to stop him?"

Xiao Hongyun shook his head and smiled: "You know how persistent Lao Ye is. Once he's made up his mind, even if the King of Heaven himself came, he couldn't change it. As his brother, all we can do is support him."

Zhou Qingfeng said, "You went into No Man's Land with him?"

Xiao Hongyun nodded and said, "Yes, with the help of his master Night Owl, I accompanied him into the no man's land. Then I had to go back to the mainland for other matters. After that, we kept in touch every three days to make sure he was safe."

"Although Lao Ye encountered many unexpected events on the way, he managed to return to the old site of Yumi City. He told me that he would wait for Lan Yue to appear in the ancestral home, but Lan Yue did not appear. I advised him to come back for the time being."

"But he didn't listen and said to wait a little longer. Two months later, when he still couldn't find her, he decided to search for Blue Moon in the No Man's Land. Not long after, he suddenly lost contact with me."

Zhou Qingfeng raised his hand to stop him: "Wait, are you saying he cut off contact on his own initiative?"

Xiao Hongyun shook his head and said, "I don't know. I tried to contact him as usual, but I couldn't reach him. He disappeared after that. His master, Night Owl, also tried to contact him, but he couldn't reach him either."

"The only thing we know is that he is still alive, and his life force is still burning."

"His master, Night Owl, felt that Old Ye had encountered some extremely dangerous situation, whether he was trapped or being hunted down, and in short, he could not be contacted for the time being. So he decided to report the matter to the authorities, as Old Ye was temporarily unable to return from another place. His master, Night Owl, has now gone deep into the no-man's-land to search for Old Ye."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng said, "As a fifth-realm cultivator, it shouldn't be a problem for Night Owl to personally search for his disciple's whereabouts. However, even if Night Owl finds this kid, he might not be willing to come back."

Xiao Hongyun shook his head repeatedly and sighed, "Yes, he won't come back unless he finds Lan Yue."

Zhou Qingfeng slowly sipped his lychee black tea and fell into a long silence.

After a long pause, he said, "Alright, let's get down to business. Have you finished reviewing the case files?"

Xiao Hongyun shrugged: "Weren't you just watching?"

Zhou Qingfeng raised his hand and released the Blood Devourer, sweeping over the case files on the main hall's desk from a distance. He then tossed them to Xiao Hongyun and said, "Read them in one day and give me a feasible plan tomorrow."

Xiao Hongyun glared and said, "Not a brother? Even if you're hanging yourself, you still need to catch your breath. You're assigning me work so quickly, shouldn't you treat me to a meal and drinks, and find me a few pretty geishas to keep me company? I came all this way back, and you don't even have a welcome-back banquet. Are we brothers?"

Zhou Qingfeng said with a smile, "I'll host both the welcome banquet and the victory celebration banquet for you."

Xiao Hongyun scratched the back of his neck and grinned, saying, "Fine, but I haven't had breakfast yet. Go buy me some breakfast, or I'm going on strike."

"Alright, alright, you're just a lazy bum who pisses and shits all the time. You're so slow and indecisive when I ask you to do something. How come I never noticed this bad habit of yours before?" Zhou Qingfeng shook his head helplessly, got up and walked out of the tea room, turning back to ask, "What would you like to eat?"

Xiao Hongyun lowered his head and stared intently at the case file, his brows furrowed, having quickly entered a state of complete absorption.

Seeing this, Zhou Qingfeng didn't ask any more questions. He was going out anyway, and he wanted to bring back some food for Xiao Hongyun. Just as he stepped out of the main hall, he bumped into Yang Tianqing: "What are you doing here?"

Yang Tianqing clasped his hands in a respectful greeting: "Tianqing has come specifically to report the investigation results to the young master. May I move in and discuss this further?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng smiled and said, "You're pretty fast. Come with me and have breakfast with me."

"Yes." Yang Tianqing clasped his hands in response and followed Zhou Qingfeng out of the Censorate.

Zhou Qingfeng has always been particular about food, and now that he has the means, he has become even more particular. He took Yang Tianqing to a bustling street and found a restaurant called Zuixianlou for a meal.

"Fourth Young Master, what would you like to eat?" Upon seeing Zhou Qingfeng dressed in purple official robes and looking at his face, the shop owner immediately came to personally serve him and led him to a table at the window facing the street.

Zhou Qingfeng adjusted his coat and sat down: "You know me?"

The owner of Zuixianlou Restaurant bowed and smiled, "This is your property, of course I recognize you."

Zhou Qingfeng was taken aback: "Really? I don't remember."

The owner of Zuixianlou Restaurant said, "You invested money in our Zuixianlou, holding a 20% stake, didn't you know?"

Zhou Qingfeng: "..."

The owner of Zuixianlou Restaurant said with a smile, "You must be a very important person with a bad memory. What would you like to eat, young master?"

Zhou Qingfeng didn't care. He really didn't know how much wealth he had in the Sword Tower. All he remembered was that the more he spent, the more money he made. Jin Wei was the one who handled all the investment and money-making matters, so it wasn't Zhou Qingfeng's place to worry about it.

"Tianqing, are there any dietary restrictions?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Tianqing quickly replied, "No, I can eat anything."

"Then you can eat with me." Zhou Qingfeng thought for a moment and started ordering: "Lamb stew with tofu, braised duck with cabbage, roast duck, white duck shreds, red and white duck, and assorted shredded vegetables."

"Bird's nest with shredded duck, stir-fried shrimp, three-delicacy pigeon eggs, braised duck kidneys, bird's nest stir-fried with smoked chicken, stir-fried pork slices with chicken wings, stir-fried mushrooms with chicken slices, stir-fried wild duck meatballs, fruit jam, stir-fried chicken pieces, roasted duck, roasted pork."

"Two more pastries, white sugar oil cake and alfalfa cake, and a serving of bird's nest and duck soup."

"For the main course, I'll have two bowls of shredded chicken noodles."

The owner of Zuixianlou immediately wrote down all the dishes, then turned around and ran to the kitchen to have the chef prepare to serve them.

Seeing this, Yang Tianqing clasped his hands and said, "The Fourth Young Master's daily meals are so frugal, he is truly a role model for us all."

Zhou Qingfeng smiled slightly: "We're family, so let's just have something simple for breakfast. It's not like we're entertaining guests. Besides, I've heard that this restaurant is very good, especially their duck dishes. I brought you here today to try something new. Before the food is served, tell me what you've found out."

For the wealthy and powerful, everyday food is indeed frugal. Given their status, Yang Tianqing and Zhou Qingfeng couldn't afford to eat dragon liver and phoenix marrow every day, but they could afford to eat some ingredients that were specially prepared for cultivators in the Food Demon Realm.

Upon hearing this, Yang Tianqing's expression turned serious. With a flash of his palm, he took out a small booklet from his storage bag, stood up, bowed respectfully, and handed it over: "Young Master, this is a list of assassins I have compiled. They are all Poison-Eating Realm cultivators in the Sword Tower who understand the rules of creating beasts. Please take a look, Young Master."