Chapter 204: The Detestable Advisor Yan

The atmosphere in the courtyard instantly dropped a few degrees, the tension escalating until swords were drawn and bows were bent.

It looked as if they would come to blows over a single disagreement.

But in the end, Bi Jie let out a hearty laugh. He stepped forward and clasped his hands in greeting.

"Inspector Liu! You've returned from your investigation! So tell me, how did the interrogation with Bai Qiu go?"

"..."

Liu Yesheng possessed a hooked nose and eyes with more white than iris. He pulled a long face, making his already villainous appearance look even more sinister.

"Not well."

"Earlier, you said..."

"Ah! It was just a joke! You must be tired from the investigation, Inspector Liu—you probably misheard!"

Bi Jie reached out and patted nonexistent dust off Liu Ye's clothes, smiling.

"I don't want to handle this case anymore. Honestly, it's too tiring! Truly exhausting! I'll hand full authority over to you, Inspector Liu."

Then, he lowered his voice and whispered into Liu Ye's ear.

"Inspector Liu, I just noticed a lot of unusual details. I'll explain them all to you later. It will be enough to give you the upper hand in your dispute with Bai Qiu. Those people in the back are just a bunch of fucking country bumpkins. I hope you won't take them seriously."

"I will definitely need to seek your guidance on many things in the future, Inspector Liu. The path of officialdom is profound. I hope you don't mind the nonsense I spouted earlier."

"..."

To his surprise, even after Bi Jie went to such lengths, Liu Ye still took a few steps back, his expression showing he wasn't buying the routine.

His triangular eyes gleamed with a dark light.

"I'm just asking you, was what you said earlier true?"

"Lord Liu, why must you..."

"I said, was it true or not?"

"No, no, I was just talking nonsense."

"So you admit you said it?"

"Hey, what is wrong with you!"

Pushed to the brink, Bi Jie felt his temper flare.

"I'm giving you some face, but don't think I'm actually afraid of you! Let me tell you, Liu Ye, the Inspection Bureau might be powerful, but the people backing me are no slouches either! Drag me into this, and the people behind me will take a thirty percent cut of the profits too! Weigh the consequences yourself!"

"So it was true?" Liu Ye asked, his face darkening.

"Yes! What are you going to do about it!" Bi Jie's stubborn streak ignited.

"Good! Good, good, good!" Liu Ye repeated, his face turning red with anger as his whole body trembled.

"There's no need to be this angry, right?"

Bi Jie blanked for a moment, then tossed his head back. "Anyway, that's how it is. At worst, I'll stop being the deputy director of the Inspectorate Department. I've already reached the Fourth Tier, so I've gotten my money's worth. Fuck, I was transferred here anyway—"

"I knew it! They set me up!"

Liu Ye roared in fury, leaving everyone stunned.

The plot... didn't seem quite right.

Looking at this guy's face, he really shouldn't be saying lines like this.

Bi Jie blinked, looking at Liu Ye. On some level, he felt like he was looking in a mirror. He probed tentatively.

"You... didn't know either?"

"Know?" Liu Ye looked up, his triangular eyes brimming with rage.

"I've only been at the Inspection Bureau for six months!"

"Fuck!" Bi Jie was shocked. Wasn't that exactly his own situation?

"I've only been at the Inspectorate Department for a year! So you were temporarily drafted here too?"

"Yes!"

"You're really here to solve the case?"

"Right!"

"Then why do you keep going to the outer Domains every day..."

"I couldn't figure anything out!"

"I don't know how to investigate a case at all!"

Liu Ye ground his teeth in anger. His sinister, villainous face barely had any meat on it to begin with, and now his skin and bones trembled.

"I kept wondering why they would choose me, a former deputy director of the Printing and Casting Bureau by the river, to investigate a case! So they were just screwing me over!"

Hearing this, Bi Jie was completely dumbfounded.

Transferring from a cushy job at the Printing and Casting Bureau to the Inspection Bureau wasn't just a downgrade in benefits.

It was equivalent to jumping straight out of the East Lake Prefecture system into an entirely different one. He had worked blindly for six months in an unfamiliar place, only to be tossed into the fire pit to solve a case. If this was true, this guy was even more miserable than him.

At least he was still a local of Bianliu County.

Unexpectedly, overwhelmed by emotion, Liu Ye pulled out his official appointment report and slapped it down in front of everyone.

"Tell me! Originally, I just wanted to be the mayor of some random river town and bring prosperity to the people. But because of this face, I got complained about every single day. Left with no choice, I entered the Military Council. But again, because of this face, everyone who saw me reported me. In the end, I could only go to the Printing and Casting Bureau. And now? I've been kicked out of the Lake Prefecture system entirely and thrown into this trap!"

"My resume has been perfectly clean my entire life. I, Liu Ye, haven't a single stain on my record..."

Bi Jie stared at the official seal on the report, confirming that this guy truly was a poor bastard.

Furthermore...

What kind of normal person carried their appointment report around with them?

Just like that.

Another sorrowful soul was added to the courtyard.

The group sat on the stone steps. Bi Jie and Liu Ye couldn't stop sighing, utterly at a loss for what to do.

If they didn't investigate Bai Qiu, they would definitely be reprimanded upon returning.

If they did investigate Bai Qiu, the moment Bai Qiu brought up the people behind him, they would be plunged into another dilemma.

What kind of figure was Boss Bai? He was a dog that the big shots Across the Lake were extremely satisfied with!

Even if he was a dog, he was a dog that countless people dreamed of being but couldn't!

Not like the two of them—foolish dogs tossed outside to act as a suicide squad.

In contrast, the expressions of Yan Jing and his two companions off to the side were much more relaxed.

Yan Jing was closely examining the list of people capable of disguises, while the Old Man and Tiger had started playing Pai Gow beside him.

"I say, have you two made up your minds yet? Give us an answer whether you're going to investigate or not."

The Old Man revealed his Pai Gow tiles and, unsurprisingly, lost.

He didn't care whether they investigated or not; he just wanted Liu Ye to hurry up and leave.

Once things here were resolved, he was ready to go conquer the world with Yan Jing and Tiger.

First, they'd occupy a mountain and play at being bandits for a while. Once he and Yan Jing reached the Fourth Tier, they would take over a small county town—he thought Bianliu City looked pretty good. They could slowly plan their next moves after that. This massive Minhu had plenty of interesting places.

His thoughts were just that simple, that pure.

But clearly, Bi Jie and Liu Ye beside him were not quite as pure.

"Let's not investigate!"

Bi Jie looked toward Liu Ye.

"You don't know how arrogant that Bai Qiu is!"

Fury surged in Liu Ye's triangular eyes.

"Ever since he got reported by the station staff and arrested yesterday, he's been acting like a lord over at my place. He's clearly acting without fear."

"Furthermore, I've received multiple reports in the past few days saying his methods are exceptionally vile, his business practices are crooked, and he slaughters the common people!"

Watching Liu Ye act like this, Bi Jie felt a bit helpless.

"Do you know how incredibly jarring it is for you to say these things with a face like that?"

"Is that my fault?!"

Hit right in his sore spot, Liu Ye abruptly stood up from the ground.

"Is that my fault?!"

"My parents gave me this face! You tell me—Across the Lake, wearing a suit makes people think you're rich, wearing a long gown makes them think you're a scholar, and wearing a plaid shirt with a blazer makes them think you're a young master. Judging someone based on their clothes? I spit on that! Vulgar! Shortsighted!"

"What do a person's birth appearance and clothing represent? If a person had no clothes and walked around completely naked, does that automatically make them a gigolo or a whore?!"

"Calm down! Calm down, calm down!"

Bi Jie sheepishly reached out to placate him.

"I didn't mean it like that. Besides, even if you took everything off, you couldn't be a gigolo. Your face doesn't quite make the cut..."

Looking at Liu Ye's furious expression, he coughed lightly.

"Since you want to investigate, it's not impossible. I'll just give you the evidence. At worst, I'll get chewed out when I go back and be suspended. I, Bi Jie, am washing my hands of this."

"I told you, I'm not good at investigating,"

Liu Ye muttered sullenly.

"Then I can't help you."

Bi Jie made his decision. He truly couldn't manage this matter; the more he got involved, the messier it would definitely become.

"Heh."

Liu Ye sneered coldly. "Do you think you can get out of this? After pulling a stunt like this, do you think Bai Qiu will let you go, Bi Jie?"

His illusion shattered by Liu Ye, Bi Jie's expression froze.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" His temper flared again. "Investigating is death, not investigating is death. Fuck, I shouldn't have worn this uniform in the first place—"

"It can be investigated."

Right at that moment, a voice suddenly drifted over.

Liu Ye and Bi Jie both blanked. They looked toward the source of the voice and saw Yan Jing standing up.

"How do you propose we investigate?"

Liu Ye asked with a cold expression.

Compared to Bi Jie, he felt the few people over there were probably more reliable.

He could tell that the only reason Bi Jie was confident in pinning this on Bai Qiu was definitely because of these strange individuals.

"It can be investigated," Yan Jing said mildly. "But you two can't be the ones doing it."

Hearing Yan Jing's words, Bi Jie and Liu Ye exchanged a glance before speaking in unison:

"Then who is going to investigate?"

"Whoever is in charge of the place where this incident happened will investigate."

Yan Jing spoke mildly, and the others immediately had an answer in their hearts.

"The county magistrate will investigate!"

...

...

"Toot-toot-toot—doo—doo—doo—"

Out on the street outside the shop, the familiar sound of a Suona echoed.

"The current county magistrate of Bianliu County is a puppet!"

Inside the shop, Bi Jie was currently educating the three men sitting in a row about the current state of Bianliu County.

Yan Jing still held the list in his hand, reading it. The Old Man carelessly yawned. Only Tiger was sitting properly, acting the part of a good student.

Keeping the 'good student ratio' at a steady one-third.

"As for why he's a puppet, I'm sure everyone is well aware."

"This is a historical byproduct left behind by that human."

"That's right, it's none other than Advisor Yan."

Bi Jie asked, "Can anyone answer what kind of person Advisor Yan is?"

Tiger raised his hand.

"You answer."

Bi Jie called on him.

"Enthusiastic and hardworking, kind and upright, polite, capable, and extremely eloquent."

Tiger directly spouted out all the positive traits he had previously summarized about his subordinate, Xiao Yan.

"Completely wrong!!!"

Bi Jie crossed his arms.

"In fact, according to our investigations, the general consensus in Bianliu County regarding this Advisor Yan is:"

"Murderous and plundering!"

"Capable of every imaginable evil!"

"Cunning and treacherous!"

"Unforgivably wicked!"

"Not only does he hide daggers in his smiles, he is ruthless and his methods are deeply calculated. Think about it—he's been in Bianliu County for a mere seven days, yet a full third of the county's population has died! Furthermore, one Fourth Tier died, two Fourth Tiers were heavily injured, and he propped up a county magistrate!"

"It's exactly because of this, and out of fear that he still has backup plans in place, that those Fourth Tiers haven't made a move against that puppet, allowing him to survive until now..."

Beneath Bi Jie's grand speech, the two slacking students were whispering to each other.

"You brat, you've been staring at this list for so long. What are you looking at?" the Old Man asked in a low voice.

"I'm looking at the cultivators written on here, analyzing what kind of cultivator might have created disguises for those people,"

Yan Jing replied.

He had actually more or less figured it out.

A painting cultivator.

A Third Tier painting cultivator, capable of painting faces onto people.

Young Master Luo was also a painting cultivator.

Just as the two were conversing, a sentence from Bi Jie suddenly caught Yan Jing's attention.

"What a terrifying track record! It's far greater than the damage those people from our Huang Family Village caused in the Surface World back then..."