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

In the VIP room of Zuixianlou, a man is sitting comfortably in the main seat, enjoying a spicy hot pot. The table is full of various cut meats, and a chef is hand-cutting the meat and serving it to the table.

Zhuang Zheng, an official from the Supervisory Bureau, was invited to meet Zhi Qi. Under the personal guidance of the manager of Zui Xian Lou, he entered the VIP room.

The manager of Zuixianlou bowed slightly to the person holding the weapon, then quietly turned around, closed the door, and left.

"Sit down, Deputy Chief Zhuang." Zhiqi picked up his chopsticks and began to eat heartily, his table manners quite vulgar, but he still took the time to gesture for Zhuang Zheng to sit down, his attitude dismissive and showing no regard for Zhuang Zheng, his superior.

Zhuang Zheng slowly walked in and sat down, examining the implements, and said, "I've heard of the Five Implements."

Zhiqi nodded slightly, saying as he ate, "It's good that you've heard of me, so it saves you trouble."

Zhuang Zheng cut to the chase, saying, "We are complete strangers, why did you invite me here?"

Zhiqi did not answer, because answering every question meant being led by the nose. He looked at Zhuang Zheng, smiled, pointed to the table full of meat, and said, "Do you know why I only like to eat meat?"

Zhuang Zheng frowned slightly, not understanding what Zhiqi was trying to tell him, but he still listened patiently. However, looking at Zhiqi's extremely vulgar eating habits, he couldn't help but feel disgusted and repulsed.

He ate and drank heartily, saying as he ate, "Because I used to be in the village protection team, I fought with demons and monsters every night. People died, and every night someone would die. Nobody knew who would be next. Every night I didn't know if I would see the sun rise tomorrow. I lived in fear all day long."

"Fortunately, I met a senior member of the village protection team who taught us newcomers a lot of survival skills. He was the longest-surviving member of the team. He didn't have a name, so we all called him Big Brother."

"The older brother told me that the more afraid you are of death, the more likely you are to die. If we want to survive, we must face our fears and overcome them. Otherwise, we will soon be devoured by demons."

“I learned a lot from my older brother. He taught me how to fight, how to adapt to changing circumstances, when to fight desperately, and when to retreat. Every night I walked the line between life and death.”

"At that moment, I wasn't thinking about anything."

"Survival of the fittest, the law of the jungle, that's the only rule for the club to survive!"

"Besides my instinct to survive, I was also thinking about the meat meal that the grain depot would provide every seven days."

"I'm so hungry for meat, but I can never get enough of it."

"I swore back then that if I ever became rich, I would eat meat to my heart's content every meal!"

Zhiqi laughed as he said this: "It was fate. I really did get the chance to change my fate, so I seized the opportunity and was successfully transferred back to the city for a new post."

"Once I entered the city, I realized that the world outside and the city were completely different. In the wild, you don't need to think too much; the only rule is the survival of the fittest. But if you want to stay in the city, you have to know how to assess the situation and behave properly, otherwise you usually die without even knowing how you died."

Zhuang Zheng's patience had reached its limit. He couldn't help but say, "Just say what you want to say. If you want to chat with someone, you can find someone else. I have official business to attend to and cannot keep you company."

He put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, stood up, and waved to the chef.

Upon seeing this, the chef immediately put down his cleaver, bowed slightly, and then strode out of the private room.

Inside the private room, only Zhiqi and Zhuangzheng remained.

Zhiqi walked slowly to Zhuang Zheng's side, placed his hands on Zhuang Zheng's shoulders, and said, "Vice Chief Zhuang, Zhao Kuo's matter is a misunderstanding. Please don't keep harping on him. Just give me some face."

Zhuang Zheng narrowed his eyes. Of course, he knew who Zhiqi was. He was one of Zhou Qingfeng's trusted confidants, whom Zhou Qingfeng had personally transferred to the Fifth Division for important positions. Zhiqi's request for a meeting today meant that Zhou Qingfeng had intervened in this matter.

Zhuang Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "If Commander Zhou wants to meddle in this matter, let him handle it himself."

Zhiqi smiled faintly: "Deputy Chief Zhuang, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. The Assistant Commander is busy with many affairs of state, how could he have time to deal with such trivial matters? I am good friends with Zhao Kuo, and I learned the whole story from him. I came here specifically to explain the misunderstanding to you, hoping you can give me face. It has nothing to do with the Assistant Commander."

He was ordered to do something, and it was something dishonorable. How could he drag Zhou Qingfeng down with him?

It was Zhou Qingfeng's idea to settle Zhao Kuo's matter. The task could be done, but it couldn't be mentioned.

Holding the weapon was his own idea; to say that Zhou Qingfeng was the mastermind was simply ignorant.

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Zheng frowned repeatedly. He truly hadn't expected that Zhao Kuo could actually bring out the powerful Fourth Young Master to resolve the matter. Continuing to hold Zhao Kuo accountable might backfire and lead to his own downfall.

I'm afraid we have no choice but to give them face today, otherwise our good days are probably over.

After a moment's thought, Zhuang Zheng said, "Zhao Kuo was in charge of the Night Patrol Bureau. As the head, he made a false accusation, which caused a great uproar throughout the city and got out of control."

“It’s not that I’m holding a grudge against him now, but according to the rules, I have the responsibility to supervise and question him, and report to the city lord to impeach him. Otherwise, I would also be suspected of dereliction of duty. If the city lord investigates, I will also be held accountable.”

With a smile, Zhiqi pulled up a chair and sat down next to Zhuang Zheng, saying, "Deputy Director Zhuang, given the extremely negative impact of the geisha serial murder case, it has now been taken over by my Fifth Division, and I am the person in charge."

"I will interrogate and investigate Zhao Kuo and his nephew Shen Yiming and other personnel involved in the matter one by one, restore the truth of the matter, record it in full and report it to the City Lord's Mansion. This will not require Deputy Chief Zhuang to worry about it."

Zhuang Zheng remained silent for a moment before saying, "Alright."

Zhiqi patted Zhuang Zheng's hand and said with a smile, "Deputy Director Zhuang is a wise and intelligent man. He knows how to assess situations and act accordingly. I won't say anything more. That's all I have to say. Please leave. I won't see you off."

Zhuang Zheng decisively got up and left. He knew that things were beyond saving and he had no choice but to give up.

The Fifth Division specializes in handling major cases, and the Geisha serial murder case has been taken over by the Fifth Division.

The officials involved in this case will also be subject to strict investigation and accountability by the Fifth Bureau for wrongful convictions.

As for who is at fault and who should be held responsible, isn't that up to the organizer, the one who holds the instrument?

Major issues to minor ones out.

As long as Zhuang Zheng doesn't continue to cause trouble, Zhao Kuo can safely get through this hurdle.

Zhuang Zheng was indeed being instructed by someone behind the scenes, but that person was neither powerful nor influential enough.

After leaving Zuixianlou, Zhuang Zheng's first task was to return to the Censorate. Under the guise of a normal official document handover, he sought out Zhai Xingyuan. Zhai Xingyuan gestured for Zhuang Zheng to sit down, poured him a cup of tea, and said, "Old Zhuang, it's just an official document. You could have just sent someone. It's not appropriate for you to make the trip yourself."

After Zhuang Zheng took his seat, he lost all interest in tea and said seriously, "Old Zhai, the plan has changed."

Zhai Xingyuan toyed with two dragon balls in his palm and said unhurriedly, "What happened?"

Zhuang Zheng recounted his meeting with Zhiqi at Zuixianlou that day, and concluded by saying, "Old Zhai, I don't know what tricks Zhao Kuo used to get Zhou Silang to vouch for him. Our plan to overthrow Zhao Kuo and replace him with one of our own is probably not going to work."