97: Poor Inspector Zou

Everyone frowned upon hearing this.

It was an open secret that the Qiyang City Lord was a good-for-nothing, otherwise the Five Spirits Gang wouldn't be in charge of Qiyang City.

Could this Inspector Zou be looking for trouble?

Thinking of this, Qi Longhu and the other two Hall Masters glared fiercely at him.

That Old Qi had completely forgotten what he had told Chen Heng that morning.

"Alright, alright, everyone, please don't mind it. I'm just asking as a matter of routine."

Seeing the atmosphere turn sour, Inspector Zou quickly waved his hands and changed the subject.

He had intended to suppress these local powers to make them obedient.

But who would have thought that these people were completely unafraid of him.

"Poor mountains and bad waters breed unruly people..." Inspector Zou could only mutter to himself, not daring to say it out loud.

"Please, Inspector Zou, get to the point quickly. We have other matters to attend to later."

Qi Longhu cupped his hands towards Inspector Zou, speaking with an impatient look.

This dead fatty was dripping with oil; he didn't look like a good person at all.

He wanted to beat him...

"Old Qi, don't be rude!"

Gang Leader Gou Long had to give the imperial court some Face, at least they couldn't start fighting on the spot.

Qi Longhu glanced at Inspector Zou and said nothing more.

"The Sixteenth Prince left the imperial capital half a year ago and eventually settled near Qiyang City."

"But a few days ago..."

Inspector Zou vaguely recounted the matter of The Sixteenth Prince.

He did not elaborate on the details, only stating that it had been confirmed that The Sixteenth Prince had died.

Chen Heng listened silently, not saying much.

No one knew that the murderer who killed The Sixteenth Prince was sitting right there, listening to him babble.

"I ask all of you brave men to lend me a hand."

Inspector Zou's attitude was very respectful, completely lacking the Aura of a superior.

"This matter must yield results within a week, otherwise, none of us will have it easy."

"I'm not threatening you brave men, but this is a document issued by the Ministry of Justice."

"Please, Gang Leader Gou Long, take a look."

Inspector Zou pulled out a scroll from his Huai and handed it to Gou Longxun.

Gou Longxun took it and read it word by word.

"I understand."

Soon, Gou Longxun finished reading all the content on the document.

He nodded and returned it to Inspector Zou.

"The Five Spirits Gang will do its best to assist the imperial court in investigating this matter, but we cannot guarantee that we will find the murderer."

"After all, the culprit who could kill The Sixteenth Prince must not be simple."

"And we are just a group of ordinary martial artists; there's not much we can do."

Gou Longxun's words, which clearly shifted responsibility, made Inspector Zou's expression a bit grim.

He actually guessed that these martial artists wouldn't cooperate much with him, but he had no choice.

Qiyang City was already close to the border, and the imperial court was truly powerless to investigate.

They could only send out an inspector like him, whose rank was neither high nor low.

And he was only given two Aristocratic Clan disciples; not one more person.

Those two Aristocratic Clan disciples didn't do any work; they were still in Goulan Street, probably in some brothel.

With no other options, Inspector Zou could only turn to the local Gangs.

"Then I thank all you brave men for your hard work."

Forcing a smile, Inspector Zou had nothing more to say.

"Hall Master Xu, this matter will be handled by your Azure Dragon Hall to assist Inspector Zou."

"Yes!" Xu Lieying glanced at Inspector Zou, whose fat was trembling, and felt an indescribable disgust.

"Well, then I won't disturb you all."

Inspector Zou was startled by Xu Lieying's gaze, touched the oily sweat on his forehead, and wanted to slip away.

Although those two Aristocratic Clan disciples could wipe out this small Five Spirits Gang, he was alone right now.

What if these unruly people got angry and killed him?

"Inspector Zou, wait!" Gou Longxun called out to Inspector Zou, who had just lifted his foot.

"We will still need your help for our next matters, Inspector Zou."

"Stay and listen."

"This..." The sweat on Inspector Zou's forehead grew more and more; he regretted asking these people for help.

Qiyang City was far from the emperor; even if he died here, there was nothing that could be done.

"Gou Longquan, how can you be so thoughtless!"

Gou Longxun shouted at Gou Longquan, and only then did Gou Longquan grab a stool and place it under Inspector Zou's backside.

"What I'm about to say concerns the survival of Qiyang City."

Upon hearing this, Inspector Zou's forehead sweated even more.

He finally understood why Gou Longxun, this old fellow, had kept him here.

It would have been fine if he hadn't known about such a matter, but once he knew, he had to get involved.

This was clearly written in the laws of the Great Liang Kingdom.

"Everyone should know about the infamous Ghost Corpse Temple."

"These people are now targeting Qiyang City, wanting to sacrifice us with blood as Cultivation Materials for their evil techniques."

Chatter, chatter... Including Xu Lieying and Wu Tianba, everyone's old Faces turned pale, clearly scared stiff.

Who in the western part of Great Liang didn't know the notorious name of Ghost Corpse Temple?

They were cruel and bloodthirsty, specializing in torturing and killing living people to collect vengeful souls.

And those vengeful souls and the remaining corpses were used by them to refine fierce ghosts and zombies.

Basically, every year, one or two small counties or villages would be used as Cultivation Materials by them.

But no one expected them to actually target Qiyang City!

Of course, the people of the Five Spirits Gang had no idea about the soul suppressing bell and the broken gong.

Even less would they know that these two items were the keys to opening the Hundred Corpse Tomb.

"Silence!"

Gou Longxun's thunderous shout, full of inner Qi, quelled the noise below.

Only then did everyone remember that their Old Gang Leader had fully recovered from his injuries and returned to the Innate realm.

"Such panic, what kind of behavior is this?"

"Starting today, Qiyang City will begin to set up its city defenses."

"But Gang Leader, the Ghost Corpse Temple practitioners are Dao Cultivators; how could we martial artists possibly be their match!"

An Internal Steward's Face was ashen, clearly terrified.

"You just need to do your part, and Qiyang City will be safe."

Gou Longxun actually felt uncertain in his heart, but as the Gang Leader, he certainly wouldn't show it.

"Qi Longhu!"

"Here!" Qi Longhu stepped forward, cupping his hands in salute.

"Depart immediately today. Regardless of the outcome, you must return within seven days."

"Do you understand?"

Gou Longxun didn't say what he was sending Qi Longhu to do.

But for some reason, a glimmer of hope lit up in everyone's eyes.

"Understood!" Qi Longhu replied loudly.

"Inspector Zou, Qiyang City is facing a great disaster. Shouldn't you do something?"

Gou Longxun's gaze fell on Inspector Zou, who was pretending to be mute, and he asked very gently.

"Of course..."

Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, Inspector Zou stood up and cupped his hands towards Gou Longxun.

"I will lead two Noble Families experts to confront the Ghost Corpse Temple together."

"No, no, Inspector Zou, there's no need for that."

Gou Longxun shook his head, clearly dissatisfied with Inspector Zou's answer.

"What I mean is, do you think you could ask the imperial court to..."

"This..." Gou Longxun's question immediately put Inspector Zou in a difficult position.

He beat around the bush, precisely avoiding the topic of asking the imperial court for help.