Chapter 138: Comprehensive Investigation!

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The Shaman Temple was thronged with worshipers, incense flourishing and smoke curling through the air.

Shang Lu first entered the main hall and respectfully offered a stick of incense to the Lady of the Earth, then sought out the shaman priestess to thank her for the knowledge and experience she had imparted to him some time ago.

During his recent inspection of the county, the shaman priestess’s knowledge and experience had been of tremendous help to him.

This time, Shang Lu had not forgotten to bring a gift.

He had even specially brought a paper kite for the little girl who stayed by the priestess’s side.

Though the girl pretended to remain calm, Shang Lu could still see the delight and excitement in her eyes.

No matter that she spent every day surrounded by matters involving gods and ghosts, a child was still a child. Her interest in toys was naturally far greater than her interest in memorizing scriptures and incantations.

After chatting with the priestess for a while, Shang Lu went to the side hall, where he met the two shaman officials from the Discipline Office.

The two officials were quite surprised by his arrival.

Because of the Discipline Office’s special nature, its members were not only unpopular within the Shaman Academy; in the provinces and counties, officials of every rank regarded them like tigers and avoided them whenever possible. It was rare for any official to take the initiative to visit them.

The two men were therefore extremely curious about Shang Lu’s purpose.

Shang Lu did not keep them guessing. He said frankly, “The county government has recently recruited quite a few constables and village militia because of the shortage of manpower. I fear spies may have infiltrated their ranks, and I would like to ask the shaman officials to help examine them.”

Shang Lu had already learned from the priestess that, besides investigating the case of Hai Shan and tracking down the dragon pearl, the two officials from the Discipline Office had another important duty in Clear River County: guarding against foreign spies and preventing them from sabotaging the Cloudflower Mountain secret realm.

That was why the two officials had remained in Clear River County instead of leaving.

It was also why Shang Lu dared to turn his attention to them.

Fearing that the two officials might decline, Shang Lu deliberately brought up the matter of the Blood-Year God, emphasizing how it had colluded with spies from the Chu Kingdom’s Tomb-Sending Bureau, intending to send men into the county government to gather intelligence on Cloudflower Mountain.

As expected, the two officials took the matter extremely seriously.

One of them, an official named Cui, nodded at once. “Your concern is well founded, County Commandant Shang. We must take precautions before anything happens. Please bring everyone to the Shaman Temple. We will ask the Divine Lord to help us examine them.”

Shang Lu bowed and agreed.

He had personally experienced the uncanny power of the idol in the side courtyard. Even he had nearly fallen victim to it; ordinary people without a special advantage would certainly be unable to resist.

The other official, named Jiang, added, “It is not enough to examine the newly recruited men. The other clerks, constables, and village militia in the county government must be brought in for examination as well. Such people are even more likely to attract the attention of foreign spies and demons.”

“Oh!” Shang Lu exclaimed, slapping his forehead. He then cupped his hands in admiration. “Official Jiang is absolutely right! I nearly forgot. The Blood-Year God did more than deceive the villagers and try to send them into the county government as informants. It also bewitched several clerks and had them gather intelligence for it!”

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After a pause, he pretended to look worried. “But would this not cause panic among the people in the county government and interfere with their work?”

Official Jiang waved a large hand, unconcerned. “If spies truly have infiltrated their ranks and we fail to discover and eliminate them, that is what will interfere with their work! As for panic, so long as we do not seize people indiscriminately or slaughter them recklessly, it will not arise.”

That was precisely what Shang Lu wanted to hear. He nodded at once. “This subordinate understands. I will return immediately and bring them here.”

He turned and walked two steps, then stopped and turned back. “Two officials, I have suddenly thought of something. Since the county government is to be investigated, we cannot examine only the clerks, constables, and village militia. We should begin with the three chief officials of the county. If we set an example, the people beneath us will hardly dare complain.”

Official Cui narrowed his eyes, discerning the hidden meaning in Shang Lu’s words.

Official Jiang realized it as well.

Anyone capable of cultivating to their level was a rare genius. Moreover, they belonged to the Discipline Office. They had long since become accustomed to such schemes.

Yet they did not grow angry, nor did they rebuke Shang Lu.

Although Shang Lu’s motives were somewhat suspect, having the three chief officials of Clear River County set an example and undergo examination alongside the clerks and constables was indeed a sound proposal.

Official Jiang even smiled. “You cannot order the county magistrate and county registrar about. Do you need me to accompany you?”

“That would be ideal.”

Shang Lu nodded and met the two officials’ gazes without the slightest evasion.

His manner instead caused the two officials to hesitate, leaving them uncertain whether they had misunderstood him.

Official Jiang immediately accompanied Shang Lu on the trip.

When they arrived at the Clear River County government office, Official Jiang went straight to the main hall.

Zheng Quan soon received the news and hurried to the hall to pay his respects.

At the same time, he wondered what Official Jiang had come for.

“What is this fellow Jiang doing at the county government office?”

As he pondered this, he heard Official Jiang demand coldly, “I have just received word that demons and ghosts bribed clerks in the county government and stole intelligence concerning the patrols and defenses around the secret realm! Registrar Zheng, you cultivate the Legalist path, yet you were unaware that the people under your command had been controlled by demons and ghosts. When you judge cases, are you just as muddled and careless?”

Normally, if something went wrong among the clerks of the six administrative divisions, the county magistrate should have been held responsible. Yet Official Jiang had bypassed the magistrate and directly reprimanded Zheng Quan.

Clearly, he knew that the county magistrate in Clear River County was little more than a figurehead.

The magistrate’s expression was extremely awkward.

At that moment, how he wished he were the one being scolded.

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Zheng Quan paid no attention to the magistrate’s feelings and hurriedly admitted his fault. “It was this subordinate’s mistake. During this period, I devoted all my efforts to cooperating with the exploration and development of the secret realm and neglected to examine the people under my command.”

He was skilled at speaking. Even while admitting fault, he did not forget to emphasize how hard he had been working.

But inwardly, he was cursing.

“Damn it, did Shang Lu go to the Discipline Office officials and complain about me? How dare he?”

After his conflict with Shang Lu, Zheng Quan had also written a letter to his connections in the provincial government.

In it, he had harshly denounced Shang Lu, claiming that he showed no respect for his superiors, lacked discipline in managing his subordinates, and had poor relations with his colleagues. If he continued serving as Clear River County’s commandant, he would very likely have a negative impact on the development of the secret realm. Zheng Quan had recommended that the provincial government dismiss Shang Lu, or at the very least transfer him elsewhere.

As for assisting the Shaman Academy in guarding Cloudflower Mountain and developing the secret realm, Zheng Quan himself could handle those duties—and certainly no worse than Shang Lu.

He had also hinted discreetly in the letter that he could share some of the credit with his connections in the provincial government.

Yet the letter was not even finished, much less sent, and Shang Lu had already gone to complain to the officials of the Discipline Office.

Nevertheless, Zheng Quan did not believe that the officials would support Shang Lu.

The officials of the Discipline Office were notorious for being difficult to deal with. Moreover, they had investigated Shang Lu not long ago. The two sides could not possibly have any close friendship.

“That brat Shang Lu is trying to borrow the Discipline Office’s prestige to intimidate me. The only question is whether this fellow Jiang has come merely to reprimand me, or whether he has some other purpose.”

That was what Zheng Quan thought, but he was not afraid.

He even felt that this was an opportunity to eliminate his rivals.

He would make Shang Lu suffer the consequences of his own scheme. He would use this investigation to purge everyone who had thrown in their lot with Shang Lu.

He would let everyone in the county government know that Clear River County still belonged to the Zheng family.

Thus, after admitting his fault, Zheng Quan immediately said, “Please rest assured, Official. I will launch an investigation throughout the county government at once and guarantee that nothing like this will happen again!”

However, Official Jiang rejected his offer.

“There is no need. Gather everyone in the county government and accompany me to the Shaman Temple. Official Cui and I will conduct the examination personally. As for those stationed on patrol duty at Cloudflower Mountain, once the county government has been examined, we will send people in batches to replace them and complete their examination.”

“What?”

Zheng Quan was stunned by these words, and a sudden sense of foreboding welled up within him.