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

After lunch, the painted boats slowly moved along the river and docked at the shore.

Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei left the painted boat together, each holding a weapon.

Jin Wei clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Young Master, would you consider meeting Bi Muge privately?"

Zhou Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back, looking around at the bustling street. He smiled faintly and said, "It wouldn't hurt to meet him. Arrange a time for me to have some tea and a heart-to-heart talk with him in private."

Jin Wei bowed his head and obeyed the order: "Yes, young master."

Zhou Qingfeng looked at the unusually lively shoreline not far away, where crowds were packed in three or four layers. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's going on over there? Zhiqi, let's go take a look."

Upon hearing this, Zhiqi clasped his hands in acceptance and quickly jogged towards the shore where the crowd had gathered.

Zhou Qingfeng beckoned to Jin Wei to follow him toward the bridge. The view from the bridge was better, and even though it was far away, they could still see what was going on. They would wait for Zhiqi to report the details.

There are many similar bridges in Sword Tower, after all, the Two and a Half River runs through the entire Sword Tower city, and the people on both sides of the river always have to cross frequently, so there are many basic public facilities such as bridges along the river.

When they arrived at the bridge, it was filled with curious onlookers.

After watching for a while, Zhou Qingfeng noticed that in the center of the crowd, besides a lot of bloodstains, there were only two Night Patrol Guards maintaining order. There was nothing else of note.

A moment later, a messenger came to report: "Young Master, a city dweller has died on the riverbank. The people say he was killed by a water ghost. The body has been taken to the crematorium for examination. There are eyewitnesses who saw the body and said that his brain was removed."

Zhou Qingfeng frowned slightly: "A water ghost?"

Seeing this, Jin Wei leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "Water ghosts are hard to guard against. They enter the Sword Tower through the river. Even with the city's defense forces stationed there, it's inevitable that some will slip through. It's not unusual for a water ghost to appear occasionally."

"Moreover, a characteristic of water ghosts is that they love to eat human brains, followed by fingers. If the deceased's brain is removed, it can basically be determined that it was done by a water ghost. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that it was a means for someone to cover up the murder."

"We'll have to investigate further to find out the specifics."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng nodded slightly and continued to inquire of the person holding the instrument: "Who was the deceased?"

He clasped his hands in response, saying, "I don't know for now. I only heard that the deceased was a female city dweller who was dressed in fine clothes and whose belongings had all disappeared. It's strange, though. If it was a water ghost that killed someone and took their brain, it wouldn't steal money. If it wasn't a water ghost, but a robber who stole money, what use would it be to dig out a person's brain?"

"The only explanation is that the water ghost killed the person and took their brain. After the person died, some scoundrels who found the body stole their money. Only this explanation can make sense of such a strange and incongruous phenomenon."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng's curiosity was piqued, and he wanted to find out more.

However, the water ghost murder case is not yet of a high enough level to warrant the intervention of the five departments. Moreover, he has many things to do right now, so even if he is curious, he shouldn't cause himself any more trouble.

Unless intervening in the water ghost murder case would bring them profit.

Zhou Qingfeng looked up at the blinding sun, put his hands behind his back, squinted, and said, "Let's go."

Time flies like an arrow; in the blink of an eye, several days have passed.

Under Jin Wei's arrangement, Bi Muge and Zhou Qingfeng met privately for the first time.

On the pleasure boat, Zhou Qingfeng prepared tea and snacks.

"This humble official, Bi Muge, greets the Commander." Bi Muge walked into the private room with a normal expression, clasped his hands in a deep bow to Zhou Qingfeng, then looked up and smiled directly at Zhou Qingfeng, showing no sign of anything unusual.

Seeing this, Zhou Qingfeng smiled and waved to Bi Muge, who had entered the private room, gesturing for him to come and sit down, saying, "Master Bi, come and sit down, and try the lychee black tea I brewed."

Upon hearing this, Bi Muge chuckled and sat down, taking a sip and praising repeatedly: "The tea brewed by the Commander is truly unique and ingenious. It is a blessing from three lifetimes to be able to drink the tea brewed by the Commander. If you were to become a tea master, you would surely be famous throughout the world. The number one tea master in the world would be none other than you."

Zhou Qingfeng sipped his tea slowly, looking at Bi Muge with a smile in his eyes: "You flatter me, Manager Bi."

Bi Muge took another sip of tea, waved his hand and said, "No, no, it's not an overstatement, but truly deserves the name. I also love to drink tea, and my favorite is lychee black tea. Of all the lychee black teas in the world, only the one prepared by the Commander is so delicious that it leaves a lingering aftertaste and makes one unable to stop drinking it."

"I wonder if I could take some lychee black tea with me when I leave later, even the leftovers would be fine."

Zhou Qingfeng said with a smile, "There's no need for that. If you really like my lychee black tea, please come to my residence often, and I'll brew it for you myself."

He readily accepted Bi Muge's fawning and flattery, outwardly appearing friendly and amiable as he refilled Bi Muge's teacups, and inwardly he was quite pleased, but he still remained wary.

“Master Bi, there is an old saying in my hometown: ‘Those who understand the times are heroes.’ You are a hero.”

"The commander bestowed this name upon me, how could I dare to refuse? From now on, I will change my name to Junjie, Bi Junjie."

Zhou Qingfeng: "..."

Honestly, anyone else would probably feel nauseous at such a disgusting scene of groveling and fawning.

But that's because it wasn't themselves who were being licked.

If you are the one being fawned over, and the one fawning over you is a high-ranking official with real power.

Then there will be no feelings of disgust or aversion.

"Master Bi, we've had enough of this small talk. Let's get down to business."

Upon hearing this, Bi Muge's smile remained unchanged. He had anticipated that Zhou Qingfeng would not accept him so easily, after all, he was a core member of the Luo family gang, and now the Luo family gang and Zhou Qingfeng were like oil and water, fighting each other more and more fiercely.

The knife of investigating internal traitors has been wielded; without killing a number of people, it will be difficult to sheath the knife.

At such a critical moment, any misstep by either side could lead to total defeat.

Zhou Qingfeng's willingness to meet with him privately is a very good sign.

As for whether it will succeed, we can only rely on improvisation; there is no other way.

"I heard from Jin Wei that Master Bi wants to abandon the darkness and embrace the light. Why is that?" Zhou Qingfeng picked up his teacup, walked to the window, pushed it open, leaned against it, and admired the river view outside the boat as he asked.

Bi, the steward, stood up, straightened his robes, bowed deeply, and said, “Reporting to the Commander, when we were competing for the position of deputy director, based on seniority and merit, I was the one who should have been in the deputy director’s position.”

"But Teacher Luo promised the position of deputy director to Che Yuxuan."

“I almost fell out with Teacher Luo over this matter. Many times I tried to convince myself that Teacher Luo had no choice but to do it because of the circumstances, but I still felt resentful and couldn’t get over this hurdle in my heart.”

“In the past, I was on equal footing with Che Yuxuan, and I was even his senior in terms of seniority. But ever since Che Yuxuan became the deputy manager, I have had to be subservient to him. I, Lao Bi, have lost all face.”

Bi Muge slapped his face at this point, and said indignantly, "If Che Yuxuan were willing to say a few nice words to me, out of our brotherhood and for Teacher Luo's sake, I would accept being his subordinate. I might even wish him well."

"But that bastard, once he got his way, he became arrogant and domineering. Because his official rank was higher than mine, he stood above me and acted like a tyrant, bossing me around. He would dump any difficult task on me, and if I messed it up, he would insult and ridicule me in front of many subordinates. It was obvious that he was looking for an opportunity to get rid of me and make my prestige and reputation drop again and again."

"These past years have been unbearable for me because of Che Yuxuan. I have endured humiliation and suffering."

"If it weren't for Teacher Luo's connection, I probably would have been fired by Che Yuxuan long ago."

Zhou Qingfeng glanced at Bi Muge's vivid performance, unmoved. He simply said, "Why don't you apply for a transfer? You are a cultivator at the Poisonous Eater Realm. You can still thrive in another place."