Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Chapter 24 Under the power of authority, people are like ants; a single word can determine life and

A reward of a thousand coins is offered.

If the Night Patrol Bureau wants to cover the reward cost with its public treasury, it needs to submit a report to the Road Bureau and wait for approval. This wait could take anywhere—perhaps ten days, perhaps a month.

In investigating cases and apprehending criminals, every second counts; opportunities are fleeting, and there's no time to wait.

Zhou Qingfeng was eager to make a great contribution, so he didn't care about a little money and simply paid for it out of his own pocket.

Once I receive this month's wages, it will be enough to pay the reward.

They even had spare money to buy cultivation resources.

……

Inside the prison's torture chamber, Ye Tingxiu casually ate an orange, while Xiao Hongyun sat beside him fiddling with the torture instruments.

Ye Tingxiu chewed on an orange and said, "Wow, Old Zhou has been holed up in the archives these past few days without making a sound, but he's made such a big fuss as soon as he comes out. Old Xiao, do you think Old Zhou can solve this kidnapping and disappearance case?"

"Difficult, extremely difficult." Xiao Hongyun shook his head and made a direct conclusion. Now, apart from himself, Ye Tingxiu, and a gatekeeper servant, everyone else in the entire Night Patrol Division had been dispatched by Zhou Qingfeng to investigate cases.

Ye Tingxiu asked with a curious smile, "Why?"

Xiao Hongyun picked up a leather whip and casually swung it: "Guess why the kidnappers didn't want a ransom?"

Ye Tingxiu frowned: "Aren't you annoying? Just say what you want to say, why are you beating around the bush?"

Xiao Hongyun smiled faintly: "There are two possibilities. One is that it was done by demons and monsters. In order to cover up the fact that the person is dead, they made Mu Zili disappear from the world, so that people would mistakenly think it was an ordinary missing person case."

"Another possibility is that the person who kidnapped Mu Zili was only after him. People are valuable, they're treasures from head to toe. They can be used to refine magical artifacts to enhance their power, or to refine pills for great nourishment. At the very least, they can be sold as slaves."

Ye Tingxiu's eyes widened: "Holy crap, you deduced so much from just this little bit of information you heard? That's amazing! I'm going to tell Lao Zhou, this will definitely help him solve the case."

Xiao Hongyun grabbed Ye Tingxiu, pointing to his temple with a mixture of anger and helplessness: "Old Ye, a brain is a good thing, I hope you have one."

"Old Zhou's talent and ability far surpass ours. Would we really help him gain merit? Wouldn't that be digging our own graves?"

"At this point, our detachment from the situation and our lack of interference is already the greatest act of kindness we can show."

"You should know that the more unlucky, unsuccessful, and unsuccessful Lao Zhou is, the more it will benefit us."

Ye Tingxiu shook off Xiao Hongyun's arm and said disdainfully, "Old Xiao, you're really cunning. It seems I'll have to be careful when dealing with you in the future."

Xiao Hongyun chuckled twice: "I have never regarded you as an opponent. We are equally talented and will support each other. There will definitely be spots left at the end of the year for both of us, so you don't need to be wary of me."

Ye Tingxiu said disdainfully, "I'd never believe you, you old fool!"

The next day, before dawn.

Zhou Qingfeng sat cross-legged in his room, cultivating and waiting for news, until Xiao Qi Jin Wei rushed back to report.

Jin Wei placed the collected information on the table, took a step back, bowed, and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Commander Zhou, I have not failed you. I have found everything you asked for."

As soon as the words were spoken, the crowing of a cricket came from the air.

Jin Wei wiped away his cold sweat, reported back on time, and finally felt relieved.

Zhou Qingfeng opened his eyes, slowly released the Food-Eat-Turbidity Hand Seal to finish his practice, got off the bed, picked up a thick stack of letters on the table, and paced around to read them with an expressionless face. After reading a page, he casually threw it on the ground.

Seeing this, Jin Wei bent down and followed behind to pick up the items, not daring to show the slightest dissatisfaction.

"Useless trash! I ordered you to investigate to find something useful. What use are these pieces of paper? I wouldn't even use them to wipe my butt!" Zhou Qingfeng threw all the papers at Jin Wei's face and coldly rebuked him.

Zhou Qingfeng was furious. He had given them enough manpower, and Jin Wei and the others were all professionals who investigated and apprehended criminals, but they just came up with a bunch of nonsense to fool him.

I may be an amateur, but I'm not stupid!

Jin Wei was terrified and secretly lamented that having such a devilish boss was going to be the death of him.

"Commander Zhou, I really can't find anything suspicious. I suspect it's the work of demons and monsters." Having exhausted all other options and unable to gather any useful clues, Jin Wei could only shift the blame onto demons and monsters.

Zhou Qingfeng said coldly, "I need evidence. At the very least, provide me with clues. Suspicion? What's the use of suspicion? Even if you suspect someone, you should at least provide me with a suspect!"

Jin Wei broke out in a cold sweat, feeling immense pressure. The young man's cold and fierce aura was like that of a terrifying demon thousands of feet tall, while he himself was just a tiny ant. Fear began to grow in his heart.

Finally, unable to withstand the relentless pressure, his knees buckled, and he knelt down, pleading for mercy: "Commander Zhou, my abilities are limited, please have mercy."

"I have an eighty-year-old mother to support and a crying infant to feed."

"Your whole family depends on your subordinate's earnings, so please don't dismiss him."

"Please, I will follow your lead from now on."

Zhou Qingfeng coldly stared at Jin Wei, who was prostrate on the ground. No amount of excuses could cover up the fact that Jin Wei was a good-for-nothing. He was a professional but not a professional. Did Zhou Qingfeng expect him to investigate by himself? What use was he then?

Just like what Steward Qiu said to me when I first entered the manor, the first family has no need for useless people.

And I don't need to be a waste.

However, Jin Wei is not without his merits.

He was at least a cultivator at the Food Disaster Realm, and Zhou Qingfeng acknowledged his combat abilities.

Now that Jin Wei has already expressed his willingness to obey orders,

Keeping him around as a henchman wouldn't be a bad idea.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qingfeng's expression softened slightly. He reached out and helped Jin Wei up, saying, "When did I say I was going to fire you? Get up now."

Xiao Qi Jinwei was almost in tears. Upon hearing Zhou Qingfeng's words, he burst into tears of joy: "Thank you for your forgiveness, Commander. I am deeply grateful and will repay you with my life."

Zhou Qingfeng patted Jin Wei's arm: "Forget about life or death, solving the case is the priority right now. I'll give you another half a day. Before noon, can you find any clues about Mu Zili?"

Xiao Qi Jinwei said firmly, "I will definitely not let you down."

Zhou Qingfeng nodded: "Go ahead."

Xiao Qi Jinwei clasped his hands in farewell and quickly ran away.

Zhou Qingfeng casually closed the door and returned to his bed to continue his cultivation.

Solving cases and making meritorious contributions are important, but self-cultivation should not be neglected.

In this world, cultivators are the mainstream, and power is merely a tool to protect oneself when one is weak.

Only by tirelessly strengthening oneself can one become one's own support and asset.

Half a day has passed, and noon is approaching.

Ah Gou carried the food to Zhou Qingfeng's room: "Commander Zhou, lunch is ready. I know you have a great craving for meat, so I specially asked the kitchen to prepare a roast suckling pig for you today."

"Ah Gou, thank you." Zhou Qingfeng walked to the dining table, straightened his clothes, drew his Demon-Slaying Blade, cut the roast suckling pig into small pieces, then sheathed the blade, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat the small pieces of roast meat one by one.

Ah Gou carefully observed Zhou Qingfeng's words and actions, and couldn't help but feel that he was very elegant and pleasing to the eye, like a noble young master from a wealthy family, who could even make eating roast suckling pig taste different.

He silently made a note of it and decided that he should eat as elegantly as General Zhou from now on.