Chapter 61: The Great Yan Emperor
Shen Qinghe looked at the man in front of him, Qiao Mu, with a worried expression on his face.
Before entering the city, Qiao Mu followed the instructions in the book "Flesh Changing Skill" and quickly disguised himself.
He simply groomed his eyebrows, tied up his hair, and shaved his beard, completely transforming his appearance.
After all, Qiao Mu had publicly assassinated the Yan City Lord in broad daylight, leaving behind a message that said, "Qiao Sen, the killer from the Qiao family."
His face and name were already revealed at that time.
If he didn't disguise himself, he wouldn't be able to enter even this Heyang City.
Even though getting captured and executed wouldn't be a bad thing.
But this simple death is not good enough.
Since he has gained the BUFF, Qiao Mu is pursuing a passionate and high-quality death.
If the Ouroboros Long Life Lock in his mind is the boss of the fun list, then Qiao Mu is an actor who wants to figure out how to make "Qiao Sen" die brilliantly.
This is the best way to cash in his chips.
So.
Qiao Mu, who entered Yan City, should not use the name and face of "Qiao Sen", but should be someone else.
"Qiao Pifu? I have never heard of this name before...but since Wang Shi admires him in the letter, he must not be an ordinary person." Shen Qinghe frowned and thought to himself.
"He looks energetic and strong, clearly a successful sixth-ranked martial artist, but Wang Shi says he has been seriously injured and his strength is almost non-existent?"
"Wang Songhe would not lie to me, but we haven't seen each other for many years, and he wouldn't just force someone on me without a reason..."
First of all, the contents of the recommendation letter will not be wrong. Wang Songhe's logic is clear and doesn't seem like he's trying to deceive him.
Under this certain situation, Shen Qinghe gradually started to have an idea.
"It seems that the injuries on Qiao Pifu's body may not be physical... Could it be damage to his soul?" Shen Qinghe gradually figured it out.
"In the realm of immortals, the soul is important, while in the realm of martial arts, the physical body is emphasized. If this person has soul damage, it is likely caused by a cultivator."
Shen Qinghe can somewhat tell if the physical body is injured, but he doesn't have the ability to see problems with the soul.
He can only guess that Qiao Pifu's physical body is uninjured, but since Wang Songhe wouldn't lie to him, it's obviously damage to the soul.
"In that case, it all makes sense." Shen Qinghe's furrowed brow gradually relaxed.
"Injuries to the soul are significant, so it's normal for his strength to be greatly diminished. It also takes a long time for soul injuries to heal, and it's reasonable for someone to take many years to recover their mental state."
Shen Qinghe has sorted out his thoughts.
It seems that Qiao Pifu is a highly skilled martial artist who was wounded by a cultivator.
A martial artist who dared to confront a cultivator and consequently suffered damage to his spirit and soul is truly extraordinary. No wonder Wang Songhe attaches such importance to him and specifically wrote a letter to recommend Qiao Pifu to come over.
Even though Qiao Pifu's spirit and soul are damaged, he is still a martial artist of the 6th rank.
If a 6th rank martial artist serves the court and joins the military, they can easily obtain the title of a 6th rank military officer. Isn't that higher than being a city constable?
It seems like this cannot be easily understood. Did he misunderstand something?
"Qiao Pifu?" Shen Qinghe inquired about Qiao Mu's background while pouring tea.
"I will definitely give Mr. Wang face. But you have to be honest with me, after all, your abilities determine the rank you will hold."
Qiao Mu naturally wouldn't reveal his true identity and background.
But seeing Shen Qinghe, who is a close friend of the bandit Wang Songhe, he probably isn't a rigid bureaucrat.
Qiao Mu responded with a serious expression:
"My name is Qiao Pifu, and I am not from this area. I got angry because I couldn't stand the local bullies oppressing the people, so I killed them... I mean, I killed the powerful people. It's been about five or six years now."
So he was a person who did something wrong... Shen Qinghe suddenly understood.
Even though he could easily become a low-ranked martial artist, like the sixth ranked one without real power, there was still one big condition.
That means he had a clean background, with no stains.
If any mountain bandits or murderers could become officials just by learning some martial arts, even if they were low-ranked officials without power, that would be ridiculous.
"If the local bullies were oppressing the people, then killing them would naturally not be a bad thing..." Shen Qinghe said, but then he felt that something was off.
From Qiao Mu's words, it seemed like he was a knight who hated evil, and there was nothing wrong with that.
But the problem is, is this 'Qiao Pifu' a highly skilled martial artist with a damaged soul?
It seems like these so-called local bullies are not ordinary ones, could they be cultivators from the Immortal Gate?
The Great Yan Imperial Court was wary of cultivators and called them "inhuman." But Qiao Pifu, as someone who had committed a crime, was worried about exposing his guilt, so he referred to "cultivators" as local powerful people, which wasn't entirely wrong.
After all, rebelling against inhumans was a great sin.
"Leaving that aside for now, do you know where Mr. Wang, who recommended you, is right now? I haven't seen him in years," Shen Qinghe asked again.
While asking the question, although there was no change in Shen Qinghe's facial expression, his body leaned forward slightly in the chair. Although he quickly adjusted, Qiao Mu noticed this subtle movement.
With enhanced eyesight, Qiao Mu could notice various subtle changes.
"Is Shen Qinghe more interested in Wang Songhe than recommending me? They seem to be more than ordinary friends. He really wants to know about Wang Songhe but subconsciously tries to hide it."
"From the sound of it, does he not know much about Wang Songhe's current situation?"
After thinking for a while, Qiao Mu didn't elaborate and instead chose to say something vague:
"Mr. Wang Songhe's whereabouts are mysterious. In fact, I'm not quite sure either. It seems like he has retired to the mountains?"
Wang Songhe was causing trouble, and Qiao Mu didn't know much about Shen Qinghe's details, so he naturally wouldn't say anything careless.
"Went into hiding? Where did he hide?" Shen Qinghe asked several times, but Qiao Mu evaded the question and didn't give a direct answer.
After a bit of back and forth, Shen Qinghe lost interest and gave up on asking further.
"Since that's the case." Shen Qinghe nodded:
"Then in a couple of days, you should go to the Six Gates and report, with your abilities, you'll be more than capable of being a detective in Heyang City."
Shen Qinghe was a judge of the 7th rank and was in charge of handling detective cases.
Although the position wasn't considered high in the capital, it was easy to arrange a mere detective.
Detectives and heads of detectives weren't even considered officials, they could only be called minor officials.
Shen Qinghe was an upright person, and he strongly disliked any kind of favoritism or using connections.
But usually, using connections to get a job is for people who don't deserve it, to be a workplace troublemaker.
And someone as skilled as Qiao Pifu, a high-level martial artist, becoming just a lowly police officer? Can that be considered using connections?
Using the main entrance, even the official gate might not be able to accommodate such a great god.
"The master must have ulterior motives, but unfortunately, he didn't explain them in the letter... there must be something he can't talk about." Shen Qinghe silently thought.
He stood up and personally escorted Qiao Mu out the door, seeing him off.
Qiao Mu also didn't pay much attention to the identity of being a police officer.
He wanted to live in Heyang City and having such an identity would save him a lot of trouble. After all, Qiao Mu himself was an illegal resident and a wanted criminal for assassinating the Yan City Lord.
He didn't really care about the identity of being a police officer, it was just a temporary measure.
Qiao Mu came to Heyang City firstly because of a gut feeling, and secondly because Yan City could no longer tolerate him, so he came to the capital city to seek a high-quality death.
But these are short-term goals.
Talking about long-term goals... he still wanted to assassinate the emperor and create a huge epic death!
"Back then, Childe Guo said that the Great Yan Emperor would be coming to Yan City within a month. Since I am here in Heyang City, I won't be able to stay for long. So, there's no need to worry about this mere position as a capturer."
.........
Shen Qinghe personally escorted Qiao Mu out of the door.
However, as soon as he left, the mansion butler quietly walked in.
He picked up the recommendation letter from the desk, quickly scanned it, his face changed slightly, and then carefully put the envelope back in its original place.
When Shen Qinghe returned to the mansion, he saw the envelope and was taken aback. He quickly lit the recommendation letter on the candle and burned it.
After completing this task, he entered the study in the mansion and started reading the books there.
"Is there a kind of injury that can affect a martial artist's energy without obvious loss, but still weaken their strength and make it difficult to perform well?"
He didn't know much about injuries, so this time he was in the study, searching through books to confirm his thoughts.
And all of this was quietly observed by a pair of eyes.
....................
After half a day.
East of Heyang City.
The butler of the Shen family walked through a dark alley and entered an ordinary courtyard, where a middle-aged man with raised temples and a deep gaze was inside the house.
"Sir Chu, something major has happened," the butler reported:
"Shen Qinghe, who never listens to advice, actually arranged for an acquaintance to become a lowly government official, so I kept an eye on him and secretly looked at that recommendation letter..."
"The signature on that recommendation letter turned out to be from Wang Shanhe, who resigned many years ago!"
Hmm?
After listening to the report carefully, Chu Xing's face suddenly changed.
A martial artist who had been seriously injured, with barely any strength left, but obviously full of energy and not weak?
After the conversation, Shen Qinghe immediately went to the study to search for information on books related to inhumans and souls.
Is this mysterious person named Qiao Pifu the same person Wang Shanhe recommended back then?
Looking at Shen Qinghe's actions, is this person named Qiao Pifu related to the injuries, souls, and inhumans? But why is he full of energy?
Perhaps, one must personally meet Qiao Pifu and find out more about him in order to come to a deeper conclusion.
Various questions flashed through Chu Xing's mind, and he started to have thoughts.
Shen Qinghe, you've been hiding for so long, and finally your true colors are revealed.
"Qiao Pifu, Shen Qinghe, and... Wang Shanhe, whom the emperor has been worried about? This is indeed a serious matter. Since the emperor is in the capital city, it must be reported immediately."
Chu Xing thought for a moment and hurriedly went out.
