The next day.

Before the morning mist had dissipated, Su Yu arrived early at the Public Security Bureau. He walked straight into his senior sister Lin Wanzhu’s office and handed her the secret letter that Duan Ya had delivered the previous night.

"Senior Sister, what are your thoughts on this matter?"

Lin Wanzhu glanced over the contents of the parchment scroll, and her lazy expression instantly turned grave. She gently slapped the secret letter on the desk and nodded slightly. "Regardless of whether this is true or false, we must investigate it thoroughly! If the Water Snake Gang is really helping the Black Lotus Sect, this is a heaven-sent opportunity for us!"

"And what if it’s false?" Su Yu asked, picking up his teacup and gently prodding the floating leaves.

"That doesn’t matter either." Lin Wanzhu chuckled. "With your current status, are you afraid of offending them? Besides, you already have a grudge against them! Even if they really have someone backing them, the highest they could reach would be one of the few great commanders, and you don’t need to worry about them!"

Su Yu nodded in agreement. "That’s what I was thinking, too. However, if we’re really going to move against the Water Snake Gang, we can’t let a single word get out. It must be a lightning strike that crushes them completely! Especially their leader, Hong Lei. He’s a genuine Muscle Forging Realm Perfection expert. If he senses something is wrong and escapes, we’ll be exposed while he’s in the shadows. That would be a huge problem."

Hearing this, a contemplative glint flashed in Lin Wanzhu’s beautiful eyes. "You’re right. We must first secretly verify the evidence. If we are to make a move, we must also report to Commander Li and might even need to ask Mansion Master Pang to personally dispatch two great commander-level experts to keep things under control."

"Alright. I’ll have Song Mirror take some men to investigate covertly later. He’s always been reliable, and he was in charge of monitoring the Water Snake Gang’s activities before."

Lin Wanzhu nodded. "Tell Song Mirror to hurry. Mansion Master Pang only gave us a seven-day deadline. Two days have already passed. This matter cannot be delayed."

...

After leaving his senior sister’s office, Su Yu immediately summoned Song Mirror and Zhao Tie and gave them some quiet instructions.

Song Mirror’s expression changed drastically after hearing Su Yu’s words. He leaned in closer and said in a low, trembling voice, "Sir, I’ve actually felt for a while that the Water Snake Gang’s growth has been strangely fast. They’re just an Outer City gang, so how can they be transporting goods into the Inner City? Do you think it’s possible the Black Lotus Sect is secretly funneling benefits to them, or even that a major power within the Inner City is colluding with those fiends...?"

"Silence!"

Su Yu’s face darkened as he cut him off. "Until you have solid evidence, keep those words to yourself!"

Song Mirror immediately understood Su Yu’s meaning and said with a solemn expression, "I misspoke! I will take Zhao Tie now to secretly investigate the hidden locations marked in the letter. If we truly find traces of the Black Lotus Sect fiends, I will not alert the enemy and will report back to you at the first opportunity!"

"Mm, go on. Be extremely careful."

After sending Song Mirror and the other man off, Su Yu had just stepped into the main hall of the Public Security Bureau.

"Commander Su, a moment."

A clear, bright female voice called out from the side.

Su Yu turned to see Vice Commander Feng Ting striding towards him.

She was wearing a set of extremely form-fitting, teal leather armor that perfectly accentuated her explosive figure. Her long, straight legs, in particular, were wrapped in leather combat boots, giving them a wild, powerful look.

Her healthy, wheat-colored skin had the unique luster of a Martial Artist, and her features radiated a heroic aura. She walked with a brisk, confident stride that caused many passing Security Guards to turn their heads.

"Commander Feng, is there something I can help you with?" Su Yu stopped walking.

"There are too many people here. Commander Su, are you free to talk in your office?"

"This way."

The two entered his office, and Su Yu personally poured her a cup of top-grade Yun Jin spiritual tea.

Feng Ting was nothing like the prim and proper ladies from noble families. She picked up the teacup, drained it in one gulp—GULP—and then briskly wiped her red lips.

"Good tea! Commander Su, I’ll get straight to the point."

Feng Ting sat down commandingly and said bluntly, "Mansion Master Pang has given a strict order, and now all the Vice Commanders in the bureau are scrambling into action. I heard that those two, Qian Langxing and Zhao Mu, have already formed a private alliance and are leading a large group on a carpet search of the west side of the city. Going it alone is too much of a disadvantage, so I’d like to team up with you, Commander Su, to expand our search area. What do you think?"

Su Yu’s gaze flickered. "Commander Feng, do you have a specific target in mind?"

"The Zhenyuan Escort Agency!" A sharp glint flashed in Feng Ting’s eyes. "This Escort Agency has developed rapidly over the past two years, and the timing coincides with the appearance of the Black Lotus Sect! Moreover, the agency has a complicated background, making it an easy place to hide illicit activities. I received a tip yesterday that made me suspicious. I was planning to take people to seal it off and search it today. However..."

Feng Ting paused, her tone growing more serious. "The head of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency, Pei Zhan, is a tough nut to crack. He’s a veteran Flesh Refining Realm Perfection expert with extremely strong body conditioning skills. I’m afraid he’ll use his seniority to resist the search. If it comes to blows, I’m not confident I can handle the situation alone. Commander Su, your combat prowess is astonishing. If you’re there to intimidate him, Pei Zhan would never dare to act rashly!"

Su Yu pondered this for a moment.

’Song Mirror just left to investigate the Water Snake Gang, so there won’t be any results soon. If this Zhenyuan Escort Agency really is involved in something, it would be a significant accomplishment. Besides, Feng Ting is straightforward. An ally who comes to you like this presents more advantages than disadvantages.’

"Since Commander Feng is being so candid, I will go with you!" Su Yu declared, abruptly standing up.

"Excellent! Then let’s set out immediately!" Feng Ting’s eyes lit up, and she slammed her hand on the table as she shot to her feet.

...

「An hour later.」 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Zhenyuan Escort Agency, Outer City of Black Stone City.

Fifty or sixty armored Security Guards had surrounded the entrance of the Escort Agency. The agency occupied a vast area; besides the standard three-courtyard layout, the backyard was connected to a large expanse of warehouses and an internal dock used for storing various transported goods.

Inside the agency’s main hall, Chief Pei Zhan was personally attending to them. He was a man in his late forties, built like a bear with a face full of brutish muscle. Although he greeted them with a smile, his eyes held the fierce aura of someone who lived a dangerous life.

"Aiya, for the two Commanders to grace us with your presence truly makes my humble Escort Agency shine." Chief Pei cupped his hands, his face wreathed in smiles. "I will, of course, cooperate fully with the Public Security Bureau’s search warrant. Please, search for whatever you wish. My Zhenyuan Escort Agency is an upright establishment; we would never harbor a single fiend!"

After the pleasantries, Feng Ting gave a blunt order, and a large group of Security Guards poured into the backyard to begin searching area by area.

However, after an hour passed, the backyard and the warehouse district had been thoroughly inspected. Aside from some smuggled medicinal herbs and furs, they found nothing else out of the ordinary.

"Commander, we didn’t find anything," a Security Guard reported, jogging over.

Hearing this, the smile on Chief Pei’s face broadened. He immediately stepped forward, pulled two exquisite brocade boxes from his sleeves, and smilingly pushed them toward Su Yu and Feng Ting. "You two Commanders have worked hard. My agency occasionally takes on some private escort jobs that can’t see the light of day, just moving a few little things to make a living. Please be lenient. This is just a small token of appreciation for your men to buy some tea. I insist you accept it."

Neither Su Yu nor Feng Ting reached for the brocade boxes. They hadn’t brought men here with such fanfare just for a bit of illicit income.

Feng Ting’s willow-like brows furrowed slightly, a trace of unwillingness flashing in her eyes.

The Zhenyuan Escort Agency seemed to have no problems at all. Although they had found some minor smuggling, that was a perfectly normal, unspoken rule among the major businesses in the Outer City.

’Could my intelligence really have been wrong?’

Just as Feng Ting was thinking of retreating.

Su Yu, who had been silent all this time, closed his eyes slightly and recited a phrase in his mind.

’Eagle’s Eye, activate!’

In an instant, his vision connected with a Green-scaled Eagle circling high above. His line of sight swept rapidly over the agency’s many roofs and brick walls, and the entire layout of the buildings appeared in his mind like a three-dimensional model.

However, after the Eagle’s Eye scanned the area, Su Yu’s gaze found nothing unusual about the building structures.

’Is there really nothing wrong?’

As Su Yu was pondering, inspiration suddenly struck.

’If I can’t see any clues in the architecture, I’ll start with the people!’

The Eagle’s Eye view instantly zoomed in like a crossbow bolt, its sharp gaze sweeping over every martial master on guard duty or patrol within the Escort Agency.

Soon, his gaze settled on a spot behind a rockery in the southwest corner of the agency’s backyard.

Around a stone wall piled with clutter, which looked completely normal, a few agency disciples stood chatting idly. But from a high-altitude view, one could see that their positions were extremely deliberate, vaguely forming a formation with overlapping fields of vision and no blind spots. They were clearly guarding the area behind the rockery with vigilance!

Su Yu abruptly retracted his vision. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he discreetly touched Feng Ting’s arm.

"Since Chief Pei is being so cooperative, Commander Feng, why don’t the two of us go and search again ourselves?" Su Yu said with a faint smile, stepping out of the main hall and heading towards the backyard.

Feng Ting had no idea what Su Yu was planning, but she immediately put a hand on her sword hilt and followed, asking in a low voice, "Commander Su, did you find something?"

Su Yu shook his head, his tone flat. "Commander Feng, my five senses have always been sharper than most. I just feel that something might have been missed in this courtyard. I’ll feel more at ease if I investigate it myself."

"Oh..."

Hearing this, the hope that had just begun to rise in Feng Ting’s heart immediately sank again.

The Security Guards were elites handpicked by the Public Security Bureau. More than half of the ones they brought this time were Martial Artists who had entered the Skin Tempering Realm. Their carpet search would never miss any obvious flaws.

’Even if Su Yu is incredibly talented, he probably won’t find anything special by personally taking on a menial task like searching.’

Upon entering the backyard, Su Yu didn’t head straight for the rockery. Instead, he wandered around, tapping and knocking on things, searching warehouses that the Security Guards had already turned upside down.

Although Feng Ting felt helpless, she patiently followed behind him.

At first, a trace of nervousness had flickered in the eyes of Chief Pei, who was following behind them. But after seeing the two of them fruitlessly inspect the warehouses again and still come up empty-handed, his taut nerves finally relaxed completely.

He gave a look to a trusted subordinate behind him, who understood immediately and quietly withdrew.

A short while later, the subordinate returned, now holding two more exquisite and heavy brocade boxes.

Chief Pei took the four brocade boxes, hurried to catch up with Su Yu and Feng Ting, his smile growing even brighter. "Commanders, my Zhenyuan Escort Agency has always been a law-abiding and decent establishment. The Black Lotus Sect is a group of treasonous rebels that everyone wants to see eliminated. How could we possibly have any connection with them?"

"I’ve added two more humble gifts. Why don’t you two open them and take a look? Just consider it doing me, Pei Zhan, a favor and making a friend."

Looking at the heavy gifts Chief Pei was offering, Feng Ting was now ready to give up.

’Continuing to waste time here is pointless. It seems the Zhenyuan Escort Agency really is clean. We should hurry up and take our men to search other suspicious places before the other Vice Commanders beat us to it. Besides, Chief Pei has been perfectly courteous and has given us more than enough face. If we keep pestering him like this, we’ll be the ones breaking protocol.’

She turned her head and gave Su Yu a subtle look, signaling that it was about time to leave.

However, Su Yu’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He ignored Feng Ting’s hint and didn’t even glance at the brocade boxes in Chief Pei’s hands.

He just continued to walk forward, seemingly without a care.

This dismissive attitude immediately made Feng Ting’s fine brows knit tightly together.

’What’s going on?’

’Doesn’t this Commander Su understand how these things work?’

’I hadn’t interacted with him much before. I only heard that his talent in Martial Arts was demonic and that he had performed many miraculous deeds. I thought he was a profound and extremely capable person.’

’I never expected that in a situation like this, he’d turn out to be an inflexible hothead.’

Of course, Su Yu paid no mind to Feng Ting’s thoughts. He continued at a steady pace, and after a few twists and turns, he had led the group straight to the rockery in the southwest corner of the backyard.