“Lord Li,” Jiang Wang exclaimed, surprised. “What brings you here?”

This case was primarily led by him, and it stood to reason that a Qingpai of Li Youjiu’s rank shouldn’t interfere. Doing so would diminish the credibility of Jiang Wang’s investigation as a “New Qi person.”

This was also why he hadn’t been able to rely on Yue Leng this time.

“I rushed over after receiving news about the remnants of the Yang chamber,” Li Youjiu explained. “Now that the real culprit has been found, the truth of the case you’ve been leading, Head Constable Jiang, is clear. You can report it to the Patrol House first. The rest is just about apprehending the true culprit.”

In terms of official rank, Jiang Wang was now his equal, and they had interacted before, so his tone was quite 평등. It wasn’t like when he almost lectured Lin Youxie.

Meanwhile, Lin Youxie held a small wooden pestle, gently pounding something in a medicinal pot, silent.

This surprised Jiang Wang even more. In his view, someone like Lin Youxie, when she held a conviction, should be difficult to deter.

Unless the relationship between Li Youjiu and her was more than just a matter of rank.

Jiang Wang thought for a moment and said, “Shouldn’t we focus on apprehending the culprit first?”

Li Youjiu said slowly, “Getting the truth out through the Patrol House first, so General Cao can be rid of the gossip sooner, is the top priority. Lord Jiang, you have the emperor’s favor; you should share his burden.”

Heavy Xuan Sheng had said the same thing, and Jiang Wang was already mentally prepared.

He glanced at Lin Youxie, who showed no reaction. It was as if the medicinal pot before her was her new case, her new lead.

“Making that medicine again?” Li Youjiu sniffed lightly, frowning with some distaste. “What’s the point of staying awake with this?”

Lin Youxie finally spoke.

She said, “Being awake is the point itself.”

Li Youjiu looked at her, then sighed. “Actually, I already have leads on the Yang remnants. You record the case details and report to Linzi first. Lord Jiang and I will go after them. We will put an end to this matter.”

Having said that, without waiting for Lin Youxie’s reaction, he turned to Jiang Wang directly. “Time is of the essence, Lord Jiang. Let’s talk as we go.”

Li Youjiu was a third-rank Qingpai, his official rank and cultivation even higher than the Patrol Commandant. Within the capital’s Patrol House, his status was quite extraordinary.

Of course, this was determined by the special mechanism of the capital’s Patrol House. In terms of actual power, he was far from comparable to Zheng Shi.

On official matters, Li Youjiu was a senior Qingpai, and personally, they already had a friendship, so Jiang Wang had nothing to say, just followed him out.

Lin Youxie’s slow pounding of the medicine gradually faded into the distance.

Leaving the hidden contact point and exiting Lucheng, Li Youjiu soared into the sky, flying west. Jiang Wang followed closely behind.

“Do you think I was a bit too harsh on Head Constable Lin?” Li Youjiu suddenly asked in the face of the night wind.

Jiang Wang found it inconvenient to criticize a senior and said slowly, “I just feel that Head Constable Lin is a head constable who is truly devoted to her duty and courageous in undertaking responsibilities. Some choices, I don’t know if they are right or wrong and dare not comment. But at least she always lives up to the Qingpai hanging on her waist.”

Li Youjiu said, “I heard that you seemed to have some conflicts and were quite distant before. I didn’t expect you to evaluate her so highly. Qingyangzi is truly a sincere gentleman.”

“It’s not really a conflict, just some misunderstandings,” Jiang Wang didn’t expect that his relationship with Lin Youxie would be discussed by others and immediately explained. “Head Constable Lin only sees the case. How could she have time to care about others’ feelings?”

“You’re right,” Li Youjiu sighed. “I mourn her misfortune and am angry at her inaction.”

Jiang Wang’s heart stirred slightly. “What do you mean?”

Li Youjiu didn’t answer immediately but countered, “Do you know about the Four Great Qingpai Families?”

Jiang Wang said, “I truly don’t know.”

“It’s understandable that you don’t, because they already exist in name only,” Li Youjiu said with a sigh. “After Emperor Wu restored the nation, he established the Qingpai system, rectifying good and evil, and defining Yin and Yang. The Qi Kingdom’s Qingpai were renowned everywhere, striking fear into the hearts of many villains! Qingpai spread throughout the Eastern Region, and wherever they went, evil retreated. Among them were the Four Divine Constables: Lin, Li, Wu, and Cheng, whose names were far-reaching. They apprehended criminals throughout the world and executed countless lawbreakers. The so-called Four Great Qingpai Families began with this.”

At this point, his emotions suddenly became agitated. “At the peak of the Four Great Qingpai Families, how could small fry like the Door to Hell dare to kill people in Linzi! And even escape!?”

Jiang Wang didn’t take up that topic.

He didn’t know the glory of the Four Great Qingpai Families, but the Qi Kingdom in Emperor Wu’s time was ultimately not as powerful as it is today.

The seven Yama Kings of the Door to Hell entered Linzi, completed the killing in a few breaths, and dispersed instantly. Their intelligence, timing, and execution were all top-notch.

Before this, Linzi had not experienced such a major case for many years, and the hegemonic country had been peaceful for a long time. It can be said that they only made an instinctive reaction under stress, but they still left behind five of the seven Yama Kings.

Jiang Wang had personally witnessed how Yin Guan escaped, truly walking on the edge of a cliff, a narrow escape from death. If he were to do it again, he might not survive.

At their peak, the Four Great Qingpai Families might not have been able to do so.

Moreover, where did Li Youjiu’s words place Yue Leng and the Night Watchmen?

Of course, Jiang Wang wouldn’t get involved in those discussions and just said, “I presume Head Constable Lin is from the Lin family, and you are from the Li family. Old Man Wu Lie is from the Wu family. I just don’t know who the descendant of the Cheng family is?”

“The Cheng family… Heh, the Cheng family is gone. Extinct.”

Li Youjiu sighed, filled with endless emotion.

But his emotions quickly subsided, and he immediately changed the subject. “Actually, the other three families aren’t doing much better. The Lin family only has Lin Youxie as a single offspring. Old Man Wu is even more alone and is likely to spend the rest of his life alone. As for my son, I don’t plan to let him be a Qingpai in the future either. The so-called Qingpai Families will finally cease in this generation.”

Jiang Wang thought for a moment but ultimately didn’t ask why.

There were certainly many stories behind why the once-illustrious Four Great Qingpai Families had vanished like rain and wind. Li Youjiu might not be willing to tell them, and might not even be able to tell them.

He just sighed, “Things are like this in the world, it makes one restless.”

Li Youjiu didn’t intend to continue talking about history either and changed the subject. “Although I am much older, Lin Youxie and I are actually considered to be of the same generation.”

He laughed at himself. “Look, one is Youjiu, and one is Youxie.”

The Four Great Qingpai Families even had the same generation name. Their deep friendship in earlier years was evident from this.

No wonder Li Youjiu lectured Lin Youxie as if he were lecturing his own child, and Lin Youxie didn’t resist.

And with the Four Great Qingpai Families having such intertwined relationships and such a glorious history, it’s no wonder that Lin Youxie is still thriving within the Qingpai today. Even Zheng Shangming, the son of the Northern Prefecture Commandant, said she was not easy to provoke.

Jiang Wang thought for a moment and apologized, “I guess you have your concerns that I didn’t understand. What I said just now was presumptuous and rash. Please don’t take offense, Lord Li.”

Li Youjiu smiled wryly and said, “You don’t know, this child Lin Youxie has phobia.”

“Phobia?”

Li Youjiu sighed. “When Lord Lin Kuang died, someone deliberately did something malicious. Without any preparation, Lord Lin Kuang’s body was thrown in front of the three-year-old Lin Youxie at the time. Since then, she has suffered from phobia. She is terrified of corpses. As soon as she sees a body, her phobia acts up, her three souls are disarrayed, and her seven spirits are terrified. She can only maintain herself with medication. What she was making there just now was that kind of medicine.”

“This…” Jiang Wang remembered Lin Youxie’s calm and indifferent demeanor when dissecting corpses, and for a moment, he was deeply shocked!

(Emm, ranked eleventh.

Maintained for more than twenty days