Chu Li glanced sideways. “Could you get rid of that kid for me?”

　　“No problem!” Kou Qiong patted his chest. “Does the young master wish to replace the rascal with someone else?”

　　Chu Li nodded. “The kid’s rubbing me the wrong way. As such, it’s time to replace him!”

　　Kou Qiong stated, “Just you wait, young master! I’ll have this settled by tomorrow!”

　　Chu Li nodded his head delightedly. “Alright, then I’ll be waiting for your results!”

　　Kou Qiong grinned broadly, “That ‘lil punk is extremely arrogant. He thinks that no one would dare to touch him and that he’s above everyone. Because of this, he always goes out alone to have dinner at the Nine Star Tower. Worse still, the Nine Star Tower has even obliged him by reserving an entire table just for him!”

　　“That does indeed sound pompous,” Chu Li commented.

　　Even Chu Li had never reserved an entire table for himself. Through this, it was clear how influential the White Tiger Sec was. After all, they received special treatment.

　　Kou Qiong harrumphed, “The three of us will wait for him to return from his dinner. Then, we’ll cover his face and give him a good beating, turning his face black and blue with bruises. I’m sure he’ll no longer want to stay in Gale City when that happens!”

　　“That wouldn’t guarantee that he’ll leave!” Chu Li shook his head. “You need to be even more vicious than that.”

　　“Fine, we’ll crush his face and snap his arms and legs as well! That’ll destroy his confidence for sure!” Kou Qiong added.

　　Chu Li mentally chanted a prayer. However, his expression was calm on the surface. “Very well then, make sure not to go overboard! I don’t want you to actually kill him!”

　　“Relax, young master. We know our limits, no lives will be lost!” Kou Qiong vigorously nodded.

　　“Very well then, I’ll await the good news!”

　　Kou Qiong patted his chest and grinned, “You’d better, young master!”

　　Chu Li waved his hands.

　　With that, Kou Qiong merrily went along his way.

　　The second morning, Chu Li was practicing his martial arts on his bed in King An’s residence. On the other hand, Leng Qiu and Leng Qing were practicing their swordplay at the courtyard. Their swordplay had generated a ferocious gale, and it was clear that their sword techniques were improving.

　　Suddenly, the voice of Zhu Tianhua could be heard coming from outside. “Head Chief, someone by the name of Yang Zongwen is looking for you!”

　　“Tell him to come in,” Chu Li ordered.

　　Then, Chu Li walked into the courtyard. Leng Qiu and Leng Qing gave him their salutations, and following that, they continued practicing their sword techniques.

　　Yang Zongwen arrived at the courtyard a moment later. Upon seeing the two girls, he clasped his fists to show his respect before looking at Chu Li. “Commander Gu has ordered me to look for you.”

　　“What does Commander Gu want?”

　　“Commander Gu asks you not to isolate yourself for too long. Just isolate yourself until you’ve almost achieved what you want. After all, martial arts cannot be cultivated through isolation alone.” Yang Zongwen chuckled bitterly. “Also, all of the secret guardians are planning to isolate themselves like Centurion Chu as well. So, no one is going to handle imperial matters. This also means that we’re disrespecting the emperor.”

　　Chu Li scratched his head. With a smile, he replied, “So, he’s forcing me to return, huh?”

　　“That seems to be the case, yes,” Yang Zongwen chuckled bitterly.

　　“Why though?” Chu Li asked.

　　“There has been another familicide case occurring in Fairy’s Capital. There are no clues, as the culprit is extremely meticulous. Our investigation is no different from doing nothing.” Yang Zongwen shook his head and continued, “The Secret Guardians Hall is out of ideas, and this is when Chen Donghai of the Mei Yi Courtyard recommended you to solve the case. How cunning!”

　　Chu Li roared, “Chen Donghai!”

　　“I’ve purposely spoken ill about Centurion Chu, but it was to no avail.” Yang Zongwen sighed, “Gu Yu would rather believe Chen Donghai’s words. As such, you have been assigned to investigate this case.”

　　“But I’m in isolation,” Chu Li responded.

　　Yang Zongwen replied, “Why don’t you lay low for a while. I’ll report to them that the Centurion is away.”

　　Chu Li slowly nodded. “Is this case really that hard to handle?’

　　“Even the Ning Brothers are having trouble with it.” Yang Zongwen furrowed his brows, “The culprit is extremely careful, there’s not a single clue left at the crime scene!”

　　“What about his martial arts?”

　　“It’s a kind of special palm energy. One hit is enough to break the spirit. As such, all the victims died instantly. They felt no pain at all.”

　　“Can you not identify which sect the culprit’s martial arts belong to?”

　　“I’ve never seen it before. It might very likely be a form of martial arts outside of the Great Ji Dynasty.”

　　Chu Li nodded as if deep in thought.

　　His interest had been piqued. After all, this type of culprit must be caught. He was also curious about the culprit’s martial arts. He wanted to determine whether he could recognize it.

　　Chu Li obtained the image of the crime scene from Yang Zongwen’s memory.

　　Unfortunately, Yang Zongwen was not Chu Li. As such, he could not see what was inside the body. All he could determine were the external injuries, which were useless.

　　Yang Zongwen observed Chu Li’s expression and realized that the centurion had had a change of heart. He was now willing to investigate.

　　“Centurion, I think it’s best not to act.” Yang Zongwen continued, “News about this case is being suppressed. However, I estimate that they aren’t able to suppress it for much longer. Pretty soon, this case will blow up, and everyone in Fairy’s Capital would know about it.”

　　Chu Li nodded.

　　News spread quickly in Fairy’s Capital, and it would only take a day for news like this to reach everyone’s ears.

　　For a familicide case like this, it would definitely stir up a great commotion. As such, it would only take a blink of an eye for this news to reach from one end of the city to the other.

　　“Although the Emperor has not said anything, as the newly appointed Deputy Commander, his inability to quickly resolve this case would definitely cause not just the Emperor, but others as well to regard him as useless. After all, if Commander Xu were here, he would’ve definitely solved this case by now. Also, when one compares these two figures, the disparity in their abilities would become even more obvious.”

　　Chu Li nodded his head in deliberation.

　　Yang Zongwen continued, “Commander Gu is under massive pressure right now. As such, he wants you to solve this case for him. However, my opinion is that the situation isn’t that desperate yet, and we should torment him a little while longer.”

　　Chu Li laughed. “Sounds good to me. Let us observe a little while longer, then.”

　　A small grin crept onto Yang Zongwen’s face. “That’ll show him how important you are, Centurion. After this case, he’ll no longer be able to command you as he pleases. Instead, he would be forced to carefully approach you!”

　　Chu Li nodded. “How does he treat you guys?”

　　“He actually treats us quite well. He knows how to buy our loyalty.”

　　“That’s great! You guys can rest easy for now, then.”

　　“Yep. Alright, it’s time for me to leave. I shouldn’t dwell here for too long. I still need to report back,” Yang Zongwen replied.

　　“You can leave now.” Chu Li nodded.

　　…

　　Yang Zongwen returned to the Secret Guardians Hall and proceeded to the main hall to report to Gu Yu.

　　Gu Yu’s expression was solemn. When he saw Yang Zongwen enter, he asked in a low tone, “Have you met up with him?”

　　Yang Zongwen shook his head. “I dwelled at King An’s Imperial Residence for some time, but even then, he did not appear. When I asked the Protectors, they said that he wasn’t in the residence. They also said that he has already left the residence to cultivate in isolation, so they have no clue about his whereabouts, and when he’ll return!”

　　“Dammit!” Gu Yu slashed at the desk beside him, causing one of the corners to immediately fall off.

　　Yang Zongwen mentally gasped.

　　He did not expect Gu Yu’s cultivation level to be that high. The desk that he just slashed was not made of ordinary wood. While it could be sliced with a treasure sword without any problem, a normal blade would have a lot of difficulty in doing so.

　　Gu Yu stared sharply at Yang Zongwen. “So, you’re telling me that we can’t count on his help this time?”

　　Yang Zongwen replied, “I personally feel that he’s still inside the residence and that he doesn’t want to see me. However, I’m not able to verify this myself!”

　　“Hmph, then why didn’t you just carry out a search!?” Gu Yu’s response was ice-cold.

　　Zhe Liang, who was standing at the side, commented, “Commander Gu, this isn’t like the past. Nowadays, searching King An’s Imperial Residence is incredibly complicated, as they would send Protectors out to stop us.”

　　“Just beat them back!” Gu Yu chuckled coldly, “The Secret Guardians Hall is like the extension of the Emperor! Going against us is akin to going against the Emperor!”

　　“Back then, it was King An’s Princess Consort who killed two of our secret guardians, and when this matter was brought to court, it stirred up quite a commotion.” Zhe Liang shook his head and continued, “From that day onwards, the standing of the Secret Guardian Hall has plummeted, and not only did the Princess consort go off scot-free, but Chief Chu had also gotten a position in the Secret Guardians Hall!”

　　“Now I’m really mad! I’ll go to King An’s Imperial Residence to catch this guy myself!” Gu Yu roared.

　　“We’ll only be limiting our options if you do so.” Zhe Liang shook his head. “In my view, I think you guys are the ones who are slacking off. If you guys are able to solve this case, then what do we need Centurion Chu for? After all, he might not be able to solve the case too! So, I don’t think you need to trouble yourself, Commander!”