Lin Youxie held a most peculiar identity.

She was the sole remaining scion of the Four Great Azure Card Clans.

These once-magnificent Four Great Azure Card Clans were the earliest cornerstone of the Azure Card system. They commanded the Azure Card cultivators across the Eastern Continent, apprehending lawless elements, tirelessly pursuing evildoers, their renown echoing far and wide!

To this day, the Capital Prefecture’s Surveillance Office remained the absolute heart of the Azure Card system. The Commander of the Northern Office, answering directly to the Emperor’s command, held sway over all prefectural head constables. Their every word and action truly represented the will of the entire Azure Card system. Despite holding no particularly high official rank, they had become a core power within Linzi City.

The glorious surnames of Lin, Li, Wu, and Cheng had long since faded in the torrent of history.

The only remaining Divine Presence realm experts, Wu Lie and Li Youjiu, had met their ends one after the other.

The former perished, yet earned an honorable posthumous title. The latter died, however, as a condemned criminal.

The final afterglow of the Azure Card Clans then scattered with him.

As the orphan of the renowned constable Lin Kuang, Lin Youxie, after the Feng Gu case, also chose to depart the State of Qi and pursue advanced studies at the Three Punishments Palace.

Jiang Wang could not help but overthink her disappearance.

Thus, why he personally visited the Northern Office, why he needed to look into Zheng Shangming’s eyes.

He understood, of course, that given the current Qi Emperor’s temperament, he could completely tolerate a Lin Youxie who had abandoned her state. Even if a successor of the Azure Card Clans like Li Youjiu harbored deep resentment towards the Qi Court, believing the Jiang clan dynasty had betrayed the Azure Card Clans. Even if Lin Youxie, the sole remaining successor of the Azure Card Clans, had a significant chance of becoming a weapon of public opinion for other states.

Since the Qi Emperor had bestowed honorable titles upon Lin Kuang and Wu Lie, he would not again act against Lin Youxie. He was a scion of the Inclining Mountain, and would not dwell on such a petty corner.

But Jiang Wang had no confidence in that great Qi Empress.

After all, she was a figure who dared to commit murder before the Emperor’s very eyes, personally extinguishing all past clues. She was capable of throwing a father’s corpse before his young daughter.

Call it decisive, call it ruthless, in Jiang Wang’s heart, it was ‘not appearing like a mother of the state’.

Of course, the current Empress, capable of firmly occupying the Empress’s position within the great Qi palace for many years, standing undefeated, earning the Emperor’s respect, and widely beloved in court and wilderness, was certainly no ordinary person.

What Jiang Wang had witnessed and observed was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Yet, precisely this one corner chilled him to the bone…

Zheng Shangming swiftly elevated the investigation into Lin Youxie’s whereabouts to a matter of utmost importance for the Surveillance Office, prioritizing it highest among numerous missing person cases.

He then said to Jiang Wang: “Come to my room and sit, let’s discuss this matter in detail.”

Based on Zheng Shangming’s demeanor, he seemed unaware of Lin Youxie’s disappearance, and even harbored some uneasy suspicions himself.

But Azure Card constables were all a group keenly perceptive of subtle cues, and Zheng Shangming’s family background was particularly profound. Jiang Wang was not entirely certain of his judgment.

So he merely calmly replied: “Good.”

The two quickly exited the Northern Office hall and entered Zheng Shangming’s private office.

The room’s layout was exceedingly simple.

A scroll depicting the law-beast Xie Zhi hung on the front wall, the brushwork lively and vibrant, the aura majestic.

Before this grand portrait sat a desk piled high with documents. Within the sixteen-step square room, there were only two chairs, one in front of the desk, and one behind.

The right side wall of the desk was completely bare. On the left side wall, however, were pasted numerous drawings. Some depicted people, some crime scenes, all rendered with fine detail, as if witnessed firsthand.

Regarding the path of painting masters, there were also schools of thought with particular leanings in contemporary prominent studies. For instance, painting masters of the Daoist and Confucian schools often emphasized freehand techniques. Painting masters of the Military and Law schools, however, were more focused on realism. Buddhist painting masters had no fixed style, embracing various approaches, depicting whatever they wished.

Of course, this was not absolute, merely the general mainstream style.

Bai Ge Xiao, the dean of Qingya Academy,’s “A Stream First Enters, A Thousand Flowers Bright” long scroll from that year, depicting a thousand different flowers, each exhausting its beauty, was still considered a pinnacle of realism.

But painting masters from Qingya Academy had always predominantly produced freehand masters.

Returning to Zheng Shangming.

His painting skills, one could not readily comment on their quality. At least, this humble Jiang could not discern any particular merit. He only saw a meticulous attention to every stroke. Along the edges of the paintings were strips of paper covered in annotations.

The effort he dedicated to handling cases was clearly embodied in these tangible details.

Zheng Shangming closed both the door and windows and gestured, “Sit.”

He himself strode to the desk, his hands and feet nimble as he tidied the files. He categorized them, meticulously and orderly.

It was difficult to imagine that he had once so detested the work of an Azure Card constable.

Now, seated at the long desk, after gathering all the files, an undisguised heaviness weighed between his brows. After a moment of contemplation, he asked: “Brother Jiang, when was the last time you saw Lin Youxie?”

“Early in the fifth month, in Lushuang County.” Jiang Wang stated clearly: “At that time, she said she wanted to go to the Three Punishments Palace for study. After that, there was no more contact. Until recently, after I returned from my envoy to the grassland, I wrote a letter to the Three Punishments Palace, asking her some questions. The letter was returned intact, stating that they had no record of such a person.”

“Could there have been some misunderstanding at the Three Punishments Palace? I mean, is it possible she is studying in some important location, or perhaps ordinary Three Punishments Palace disciples are unaware of her going to the Three Punishments Palace?” Zheng Shangming continued to ask.

“It shouldn’t be. But I have already sent people to reconfirm,” Jiang Wang replied.

Zheng Shangming said: “Good. I will dispatch elite Azure Card constables to track her whereabouts and will focus the search starting from Lushuang County. The Azure Card system’s intelligence network will be fully utilized. But you still need to be psychologically prepared. So much time has passed, and it will be very difficult to track her traces in Lushuang County. This will likely be a long-term process…”

Jiang Wang merely said: “Then I will trouble you.”

“No trouble, no trouble.” Zheng Shangming waved his hand, hesitating to speak.

Jiang Wang said: “Brother Shangming, if you have something to say, please don’t hesitate to speak directly.”

Zheng Shangming was silent for a moment, then said: “If…”

He hesitated again for a while, then continued: “Have you not considered what you will do?”

He did not say “if” what, but both parties understood.

After all, the case of the chief eunuch Feng Gu’s death that unfolded in the Changsheng Palace was one they two and Lin Youxie had jointly investigated.

They were all aware of the various changes that had occurred in between. They all grasped the important clues in the case. And it was precisely in this case that they confirmed their paths were different and they could not become close friends.

That enormous shadow never only shrouded Lin Youxie alone.

Just that some people died, some people remained silent, and some people did what was within their power.

‘If Lin Youxie was truly killed by the current Empress, just like her dead father, just like her dead grandfather Wu Lie, what do you think you will do?’

This was the question Zheng Shangming did not truly voice.

This question was too serious, too heavy.

Thus Jiang Wang also thought seriously for a moment, then slowly said: “Before that result is confirmed, I also do not know what I will do.”

Perhaps he had another answer in his heart, but it was not necessary to tell Zheng Shangming, nor would he tell Zheng Shangming.

But even just this answer still silenced Zheng Shangming.

Facing that terrifyingly huge shadow, how could your answer be “do not know”?

Not knowing meant that there still existed a very large possibility of acting on impulse.

However, facing that kind of existence, how could you act on impulse? If the Emperor is the great horizontal sun in the heavens, then the Empress is the bright moon across the sky. All the rest, no matter how dazzling, are merely stars. You are the youngest Military Merit Marquis of the State of Qi, how much does that matter?!

But Zheng Shangming also understood.

This was where Jiang Wang and he differed.

So he remained silent.

After a very long time, he barely managed to calm his emotions: “I think it won’t be like that. It’s just that contact has been lost for now. There are too many possibilities, I think we won’t so easily encounter the worst possibility.”

Jiang Wang said: “Yes. Perhaps she is simply tired of the State of Qi and also wants to distance herself from me, this old friend, so she has quietly wandered the world. This is not a difficult thing to understand.”

“This possibility is very high.” Zheng Shangming also tried to make his tone lighter: “I know Constable Lin, she is the kind of person who doesn’t show it outwardly but has very clear ideas in her heart. Perhaps she is carrying books and traveling far, experiencing the world and cultivating her law.”

Those who wear the Azure Card are not really suited for optimistic guesses. Because they often start from the worst possible situation.

The two were silent for a moment again.

“Shangming,” Jiang Wang suddenly said.

“Speak,” Zheng Shangming looked at him.

Jiang Wang’s voice was unusually serious: “You can get no result, but you cannot deceive me.”

Zheng Shangming paused for a moment, then nodded seriously: “I understand.”

He understood very clearly that if he deceived Jiang Wang this time, then later they would not even be ordinary friends.

So he performed with extreme caution.

However, what he understood even more clearly was…

If necessary, he would.

This “if necessary” referred to the will of the current Qi Emperor.

This was the path he had chosen early on.

Apart from this, he was willing to fulfill the duties of a friend.

Having to fulfill a friend’s duty only within this limit could truly be called a kind of sorrow.

However, he who always made mediocre efforts, where did he have the qualification to say ‘I do not know what I will do’? He and Jiang Wang were not the same. He had to know what he would do, he had to understand what he could do, and what he could not do.

These “musts” were not the inherent “musts” of being human.

But they were the “musts” of the position of the Northern Office Commander.

The Zheng family’s many years of standing undefeated, the experiences passed down after retiring, were simply the two words: “loyal to the monarch.”

Time flies like a shuttle, the sun’s shadow moves quickly.

Three full days had passed since that trip to the Capital Prefecture’s Surveillance Office.

The Three Punishments Palace had already confirmed again. The Gui Tian Palace, Ju Di Palace, and Xing Ren Palace – the three law palaces – all had no record of a person named Lin Youxie. Lin Youxie had never gone to Tian Xing Cliff.

Even Zhuo Qingru, a true successor of the Ju Di Palace at the Three Punishments Palace, personally wrote a letter back to Jiang Wang to confirm this matter.

The letter also confirmed that the Ju Di Palace did indeed have a true successor spot, which had once been promised to the great Qi famous constable Wu Lie as a commendation for his innovation in corpse examination methods. Later, this spot was also transferred by Wu Lie to a person named Lin Youxie.

But Lin Youxie had never reported to the Three Punishments Palace.

To Jiang Wang, this confirmed news meant that Lin Youxie did indeed have the possibility of going to the Three Punishments Palace, consistent with the plan Lin Youxie described when they initially parted ways.

From this, it could be inferred that Lin Youxie’s disappearance was very likely against her own will.

In other words, Lin Youxie very likely had an accident…

And at the Northern Office, they had investigated for three full days, yet had not found even half a useful piece of news.

With the powerful intelligence capabilities of the Qi State’s Azure Card constables, they were actually completely unable to find any trace of Lin Youxie. Since the fifth month, she seemed to have completely… vanished from this world.

“Docks, border counties, overseas. We have sent people to check everywhere… If, I mean, if Constable Lin was determined not to let anyone find her, with her abilities, it is possible,” Zheng Shangming said slowly, carefully choosing his words, at the Wu An Marquis residence: “I am saying, perhaps such a possibility exists.”

“Good, I know, you have been troubled these past two days,” Jiang Wang said, standing up.

Zheng Shangming also stood up: “The Northern Office will not give up tracking. If there is any news, I will notify you immediately.”

“Good. Hard work,” Jiang Wang’s tone was calm.

Zheng Shangming looked at him, finally not saying anything else, just bidding farewell.

Specifically in this matter, did Zheng Shangming diligently search for people? He definitely searched diligently, even casting his net overseas.

But even Jiang Wang, a clumsy hand at handling cases among Azure Card constables, knew that to investigate a missing person, one must start with two aspects of clues.

One is the missing person’s movements, the other is their social relationships.

Docks, border counties, overseas, Zheng Shangming checked everywhere.

Could he dare to check the highly suspicious Tian family? Could he dare to check the Empress?

Not to mention a thorough investigation, even a slight extension towards that direction, Zheng Shangming could not do.

Jiang Wang did not want to demand Zheng Shangming to explore towards that terrifying shadow. He only understood after waiting for three days that all Zheng Shangming could do was this.

Indeed, the matter of Lin Youxie’s disappearance was not necessarily related to the current Empress. Up to now, there had been no clue that could link them together. But with such a natural black wall standing there, Zheng Shangming did not even dare to glance in that direction, so he was destined not to find any result.

So he only said thanks, and nothing else.

The borrowing of the Azure Card’s power would stop here.

Even if he went to find Yang Weitong, the new Northern Office Commander, it would not be any different from coming forward to Zheng Shangming.

Jiang Wang did not give himself time to hesitate and linger. As soon as he sent Zheng Shangming off, he left the residence alone.

Without concealment, he flew directly towards Lushuang County.

In the border regions of the State of Qi, it was very difficult for him to hide from those with malicious intent. He simply directly showed his own attitude—he wanted to personally find Lin Youxie.

Indeed, his tracking and searching skills were mediocre, even to say he was a complete outsider.

But besides him, before possibly touching that black wall, who else would go find Lin Youxie?

Besides himself, who else dared to treat it seriously, dared to exhaust effort for this?

The last time he met Lin Youxie was in a rarely visited dense forest within Lushuang County. At that time, it was because he was searching for Fourteen that he came here.

He had pleaded with Lin Youxie for Chong Xuan Sheng’s sake. Lin Youxie had agreed without a word and indeed, in a situation with no clues, she first found the person and pulled Chong Xuan Sheng, who was on the verge of collapse, out of his misery.

Now that Lin Youxie was missing, who else could find her?

Crossing the dense forest, startling a flock of flying birds.

Their calls were hoarse and noisy.

Revisiting the old place today, he saw thin trees and yellow leaves, quite unlike the old days.

The forest clearing was still there, the two opposing horizontal branches were still there.

Just that the clearing was piled high with fallen leaves, the horizontal branches bare, old, and thin…

All seemed lonely.

Jiang Wang thought in his heart, it was the reason for the autumn day.