Chu Li sat in the main hall, listening to their report and then smiled. “This is good news. It’s great that the Mei Yi Courtyard has snatched away this hot potato. Perhaps Centurion Chen is doing this with the best intentions.”

　　“Since when has Centurion Chen been so kind?” Qin Jin shook his head. “He embraces the spirit of the Celestial Wolf. (TN: In China, the Celestial Wolf is another name for the star “Sirius”, which is possibly associated with the myth of the Heavenly Dog. According to the myth, it’s a black dog that has been causing eclipses by trying to eat the sun and moon.) He’s always trying to snatch everything away, and he’ll never let go of any opportunity to claim the credit. He has been humiliated last time. This time, he must’ve snatched this case away, because he thinks he can make a bigger impact by investigating the Public House.”

　　Chu Li raised his eyebrows. “Is that so?”

　　Qin Jin and the others nodded.

　　Qin Jin said, “Centurion, we shouldn’t give in again this time. We have to snatch it back!”

　　“My presence is too sensitive. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to investigate this case.” Chu Li shook his head.

　　“Then, we’ll have to take on the other task!” Qin Jin said. “The Ministry of War wants to conduct a search.”

　　Chu Li knitted his eyebrows together.

　　“After the previous incident with the Minister Counsellor, everyone is feeling jittery and panic-stricken. If we were to conduct a search now, we would become the common enemy of all the courtiers.” Qin Jin sighed. “This case is much harder than investigating the Public House. We’ll be offending too many people.”

　　Feng Jing huffed. “Maybe it’s because Chen Donghai was afraid of taking this case that he decided to snatch away the other case and investigate the Public House instead.”

　　Chu Li touched his chin as if deep in thought. “It is no small matter that the Ministry of War plans to conduct a search.”

　　“This matter is too serious,” Qin Jin said. “I’m just afraid the Commander won’t spare you from this, Centurion.”

　　After the Centurion’s huge contribution this time, the credit had been distributed among the entire Mei Er Courtyard, so even if they did not take on any more assignments for the rest of the year, they would still be able to get by very well.

　　Through these few cases, Chu Li had distinguished himself as a centurion. His outstanding talent had overshadowed quite a number of centurions in the Secret Guardians Hall. As for the rest of the centurions, most of them were cautious and focused on seeking stability. They would rather not take on a task at all than risk making any mistakes with it.

　　Given how troublesome these two matters were this time round, if those unenthusiastic centurions who sought security over merit were to be in charge of these investigations, the entire process might take quite a long while. However, these two matters required one to be decisive in a complex situation, so outstanding talents would certainly be needed here.

　　Chen Donghai possessed both the talent and the ambition required, so it was easy for him to get his hands on either one of the tasks, although the remaining one would very likely fall on Chu Li’s shoulders.

　　When investigating the Ji Public House, at least the only party involved was a Public House, and there were twelve Public Houses in the Ji Dynasty. However, when investigating the Ministry of War, they would be dealing with an entire ministry, which would cause them to offend way more people.

　　Chu Li paused for a moment before saying, “Let’s go and take a look first. We can’t keep dragging the situation on.”

　　Thus, he went to the Secret Guardians Hall with the four men.

　　Before he could even enter the place, he bumped into Chen Donghai and six other secret guardians walking out of the entrance. Upon seeing Chu Li, Chen Donghai’s face broke into a grin.

　　He came forward and held up a fist salute. “Centurion Chu.”

　　Chu Li returned the gesture. “Centurion Chen, where are you headed?”

　　“Ah…” Chen Donghai shook his head. “I was born to work. I have to pay a visit to the Ji Public House.”

　　Chu Li smiled. “Could it be that you’re investigating the Ji Public House?”

　　“Indeed,” Chen Donghai replied. “Previously, I’ve received a favor from Centurion Chu, so now I’m returning that favor. I know you came from a Public House, so it would be rather awkward for you to investigate the Ji Public House. That’s why I’ve taken the initiative to take this case.”

　　Chu Li saw that he had an entirely different intention in mind.

　　By choosing to investigate the Ji Public House, he could not only gain a military achievement but also avoid offending too many courtiers. After all, there were so many cliques among these courtiers. It was hard to tell when he would walk into someone’s trap and would have to suffer the consequences in silence.

　　Chu Li beamed and nodded. “Thank you, Centurion Chen, but it isn’t that easy to investigate the Ji Public House. The Public House and the Secret Guardians Hall have never gotten along well. Centurion Chen will have to be prepared to have a hard time.”

　　“Hehe…” Chen Donghai chuckled. “No matter how arrogant the Public House is, there’s nothing they can do to the Secret Guardians Hall. I believe we’ll be able to conduct a thorough investigation and find out if there’s indeed any problem with the Ji Public House!”

　　Chu Li gave a fist salute. “Well then, I wish Centurion Chen all the best!”

　　“Haha, I humbly accept your words of blessing, Centurion Chu!” Chen Donghai guffawed and returned the fist salute before leading his men away.

　　Watching his retreating figure, Chu Li shook his head and smiled.

　　Chen Donghai had learned his lesson this time and kept a pretense of cordiality so that he would not be called ungrateful. Instead, he had pulled an underhanded trick.

　　Chu Li smiled to himself. It was easier for him to deal with underhanded tricks anyway, because while others thought he was not aware of it, he knew very well what was going on. In fact, in order not to let him find out about their trickery, their hands would be tied as they would be laden with misgivings, thus giving him the upper hand in the situation instead.

　　Qin Jin huffed, upset. “This guy is really shameless!”

　　Chu Li laughed. “Elder Qin, let’s wait and watch the fun. The Ji Public House isn’t that easy to infiltrate.”

　　The Ji Public House regarded the Secret Guardians Hall with disdain and resentment. They would never allow the Secret Guardians Hall to investigate them, and would secretly take action against the investigating team instead. Even if they did not kill them, they would certainly give them such a hard time that a harsh beating would be considered minor.

　　Qin Jin laughed. “Chen Donghai is pretty capable after all. The Ji Public House probably won’t be able to ward him off.”

　　Chu Li shook his head, chuckling.

　　He went into the main hall of the Secret Guardians Hall and found only Xu Huande there.

　　Chu Li greeted him with a fist salute. “Commander Xu, since Centurion Chen has gone to investigate the Ji Public House, will the Ministry of War task be handed to me then?”

　　“You should take a break first,” Xu Huande replied. “We’re planning to assign this task to the Ju Yi Courtyard.”

　　Chu Li raised his eyebrows. “I don’t have to do it?”

　　“You’re under the spotlight too much right now, and that may not be a good thing. You should lie low for some time,” Xu Huande explained. “Try and go into isolated cultivation instead. You’ve nearly lost your life this time round. This shows that you haven’t mastered your martial art techniques just yet. You should carry on with your cultivation.”

　　Chu Li was astonished and felt somewhat moved as well.

　　He could tell that Xu Huande was being genuine and sincere instead of trying to pull him down.

　　Xu Huande continued to speak, “Once you become a secret guardian, you’ll always be a secret guardian. You have a long future ahead of you. You’re skillful and talented, so it would be a pity if something bad were to happen to you because your martial art skills weren’t strong enough.”

　　“Thank you for your concern, Commander Xu,” Chu Li said, holding up a fist salute. “However, this is a very troublesome matter from the Ministry of War. If it gets dragged on for too long, many will become anxious and full of complaints. That won’t be good for the Secret Guardians Hall.”

　　“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that.” Xu Huande sighed. “The Ministry of War has turned into a sieve now. If we don’t investigate them properly, there’ll be huge problems when they deploy their troops in the future.”

　　“… I’ll do it,” Chu Li said quietly.

　　Xu Huande frowned. “You’re still thinking of earning more merits?”

　　Chu Li replied, “Yes, since I’ll be going into isolated cultivation, I should earn more merits, so that everyone else in the Mei Er Courtyard won’t have to suffer with me.”

　　“They’re already living quite comfortably!” Xu Huande huffed.

　　The merits of the Mei Yi Courtyard had to be shared among more than a hundred people. Meanwhile, there were only fourteen people in the Mei Er Courtyard, which was a difference of ten times.

　　Nonetheless, he knew deep inside that Chu Li was trying to share their tribulations. He was rather happy to have such a subordinate.

　　In reality, he and Fu Mengshan were both aware that it was appropriate to assign this task at the Ministry of War to Chu Li. Since Chu Li came from the Glory’s Will Courtyard, he would be the expert at searching for traitors. His ability to sniff out those disciples of the Holy Church of Light from before had already proven his expertise in this area. No one else in the Secret Guardians Hall could compare with him.

　　However, for the sake of their future, he did not wish to place Chu Li in a dangerous situation.

　　Right now, Chu Li could be considered the ace of the Secret Guardians Hall, as no one else possessed his intelligence and talent. Thus, they were preparing to raise him up to become their successor.”

　　With Chu Li taking charge of the Secret Guardians Hall, the Secret Guardians Hall would thrive further. Then, they would be able to live their remaining years in peace.

　　After having this plan in mind, they were no longer anxious to exploit Chu Li’s abilities. Instead, they wanted to take things easy and let him prioritize his martial arts cultivation first. This task of investigating the Ministry of War would place him too much under the spotlight, so it was not suitable for him to take on the job.

　　Chu Li said, “After I’m done with this assignment, I’ll make proper preparations to go into isolated cultivation.”

　　Truly, he wanted to focus on his cultivation before Fang Qingyang could catch up with his progress.

　　Fang Qingyang’s Divine Light Body was much stronger than his, for his Heavenly Demonic Power level was too low, and he also needed to advance a level in the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait.