Jiang Wang and the other two left the main gate of the Judicial Office, and only then did Dan Cha saunter out, hands clasped behind his back, silent.

“Chief,” his trusted subordinate followed closely behind, speaking cautiously, “Are we just going to let these academy youngsters act so arrogantly?”

“Isn’t it because you’re handling affairs poorly? Investigating a case so slowly, with no results! Otherwise, why would they have room to interfere?” Dan Cha rebuked sharply.

Typically, only cases that the Judicial Office can’t handle appear on the Dao Merit List. This is to avoid confusion of authority.

“These academy disciples are spoiled and pampered. What do they know about investigating cases?” the subordinate sneered, “Let them waste their efforts!”

Dan Cha remained noncommittal, merely summoning the cultivator with slanted eyebrows and scolding him again. He then carefully inquired about every detail Jiang Wang had raised before waving his hand, dismissing him.

“It’s always been *our* Judicial Office that’s arrogant, how can we be trampled underfoot? The Maplewood City Academy has become increasingly unruly since that stubborn rock, Dong A, arrived,” Dan Cha said coldly. “Chief Ji is about to inspect the prefectural region. When he graces Maplewood City with his presence, who will we have to fear?”

He was, after all, of insufficient rank. He didn’t know that Ji Xuan had already come and been humiliated by Song Hengjiang on the Clear River Bank.

“Exactly!” the subordinate chimed in, eagerly agreeing.

Dan Cha snorted again, “The Zhao family arrived in this city not long ago. So wealthy, yet their background is not necessarily clean. They’ve been relatively well-behaved these past few years, and their tributes have been generous. We’ve turned a blind eye. But now, this young Zhao is acting so arrogantly, then we’ll thoroughly investigate his family’s background and see if it can withstand scrutiny!”

The Judicial Office is only responsible for extraordinary cases, but whether or not a case is extraordinary is up to them, isn’t it?

Because of overlapping authority, in areas where the city lord is strong, the Judicial Office will cooperate. Where the city lord is weak, the Judicial Office will act independently.

And in Clear River Prefecture, due to the strength of Chief Ji Xuan, the Judicial Offices in the various cities within the prefecture all possess some degree of autonomy, and are all quite prosperous.

“Your subordinate obeys!” the confidant couldn’t help but grin wickedly, already calculating how much of the spoils he could get.

…

The slanted-eyebrow’s assessment of the task was in accordance with procedure, without personal bias or malicious intent.

At least, that’s what Jiang Wang and the others’ investigation revealed.

The task originated with the murder of a resident in Dujia Village.

Judging from the traces at the scene, the murderer’s cultivation could not have exceeded the Ninth Rank Meridian Realm under any circumstances. The slanted-eyebrow rated the task as Eighth Rank, considering the unpredictable movements of heretical cultivators and the various events that had occurred in the Maplewood City area recently, which increased the risk factor.

And the Maplewood City Academy, with two Eighth Rank Heavenly Circulation Realm cultivators and three Ninth Rank Meridian Realm cultivators, deploying such a configuration to complete such a level of task was almost guaranteed to succeed.

But the result was the most severe casualties for Maplewood City Academy disciples since the Small Lin Village incident, with a full four academy disciples sacrificing their lives. It should be known that in previous years, the Maplewood City Academy only admitted about ten inner sect disciples each year.

Every academy disciple is a cornerstone of the nation. This is why Maplewood City Academy attached so much importance to this matter, and after the Judicial Office’s fruitless investigation, dispatched Jiang Wang and the others to investigate.

Leaving the Judicial Office, Jiang Wang and the others’ third stop was the Zhang Clan’s ancestral home.

This was the result of their deliberations. Their thinking was clear.

From Fang Heling, to the Judicial Office, the next was Zhang Xizhi, the team leader in charge of that mission.

Although he was dead, his information had not disappeared.

In the memory of his family and friends, a Zhang Xizhi still lived.

The Judicial Office was north of the City Lord’s Mansion, not far away, adjacent to Green Wood Avenue.

Geographically, it would have been more direct to go to the Zhang Clan’s ancestral home first, then to the Judicial Office, after leaving the Fang Clan’s ancestral home.

But Jiang Wang and the others chose to detour, because the factual order was more important than the geographical order.

The Zhang family was now virtually the head of the three major surnames, but entering their ancestral home, they didn’t feel any arrogance or pride. On the contrary, the Zhang family members they encountered along the way were very courteous. After learning that they were academy disciples, someone took the initiative to lead them.

Jiang Wang and the others split up into three groups, going to Zhang Xizhi’s home, Zhang Xizhi’s best friend’s home, and the family head’s home, respectively.

Jiang Wang went to the family head’s home.

Going to Zhang Xizhi’s home would certainly yield the most clues, and Zhao Rucheng was the least likely to miss these clues.

Based on seniority, the Zhang Clan Head should be of Zhang Linchuan’s grandfather’s generation, but he wasn’t from the same branch as Zhang Linchuan.

Of course, with Zhang Linchuan’s current strength, he naturally belonged to the direct line. In fact, if he weren’t uninterested in it, the next family head position would be his.

As a rising star in the Maplewood City Academy, the Zhang Clan Head made time to help him sort out Zhang Xizhi’s relevant information in support of his mission.

The two chatted for a while, without much to gain. Jiang Wang was preparing to bid farewell when he suddenly heard a voice outside: “Young Master Linchuan is back!”

Zhang Linchuan entered the courtyard, precisely on cue, first bowing to the Zhang Clan Head and said, “Linchuan greets Grand Uncle.”

His manners were impeccable.

The Zhang Clan Head sat upright, raised his hand in a gesture of support, and said with a kind smile, “Your cultivation is hard, it’s not easy to come back. You don’t have to visit me every time.”

“It’s only right,” Zhang Linchuan said with a smile, then greeted Jiang Wang, “Junior Brother Jiang, are you here visiting my home?”

Jiang Wang wouldn’t dare to be presumptuous. He had already stood up to the side, and now said with a wry smile, “I was assigned a task. I don’t know if it’s Vice Dean Song’s intention, or Dean Dong’s intention.”

He would never ask Dong A about this question. Dong A wouldn’t pay him any attention either. Dong A was the Dean of the academy, not anyone’s wet nurse.

“Oh?” Zhang Linchuan asked with interest, “Is there a difference?”

The difference was huge! If it was Dong A, it meant he valued him. If it was Song Qifang, then he might be looking for trouble.

“Not really,” Jiang Wang said. Not wanting to discuss his friction with Song Qifang, Jiang Wang changed the subject. “I came empty-handed today, it’s really inconvenient to disturb you. After I finish this task, I’ll find Senior Brother Zhang for a drink.”

“Alright,” Zhang Linchuan smiled and bid farewell to the old clan head, “Grand Uncle, then I’ll go home first.”

The old man said with a cheerful smile, “Go, go. If you make your mother wait too long, she’ll complain about me later.”

A “next time” without a specific time from an adult is usually equivalent to never.

…

Zhang Linchuan left the family head’s courtyard and walked towards his home. Along the way, he nodded in response to clan members who greeted him. However, the handkerchief covering his mouth never moved. The clan members didn’t mind, as they all knew his fastidious nature.

Zhang Linchuan’s home wasn’t too big, but with four courtyards inside and out, it certainly wasn’t shabby. His father held a managerial title in the clan, with few tasks but considerable income.

With Zhang Linchuan’s current strength and future prospects, no one in the entire family would mistreat his family.

Before he even entered the courtyard, a servant came out to greet him.

“Young Master, you’re back. Shall we start the meal? The master and madam are waiting!”

The family should have already prepared when Zhang Linchuan stepped into the ancestral land.

Zhang Linchuan nodded and walked towards the heated hall where they would eat.

His parents were indeed sitting at the head of the dining table, waiting for him.

Zhang’s father was a rigid character. He was happy to see his son, but he didn’t show it too much on his face. He simply said blandly, “Sit down.”

His mother smiled at him and moved a plate of bass in front of his seat. “Linchuan, try this quickly.”

Zhang Linchuan walked to his seat, glanced at the stool, and couldn’t help but wipe the oil stains on it with his handkerchief – it must have been accidentally dropped when serving the dishes – and then crumpled the handkerchief into a ball and put it aside.

He soon heard his father’s angry voice. “What’s wrong with you? I told you that Linchuan was coming home to eat today, and asked you to tell the servants to sweep and clean properly, but you can’t even keep a stool clean!”

His mother’s voice was still aggrieved. “I cleaned inside and out several times…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Zhang Linchuan said with a smile, trying to smooth things over. “Let’s eat.”

The family of three sat down together, cutting the entire round table into three equal parts, each occupying one corner.

Politely.