Lucian clasped his hands together in a polite gesture. "Alright, thank you for your explanation. We won't take up any more of your time."
Qihong returned the gesture and then left.
Lucian: "Seems the time is confirmed—it's definitely the Hour of Wei."
Rover: "Now that the time is settled, as for the location..."
"While we can mostly confirm it's a high place with a full view of Hongzhen, just to be safe, let's ask about this 'next to a ring and hanging eaves' spot too."
Lucian glanced at a suspicious-looking young man wearing a knit cap in the corner.
He walked over and patted the young man on the shoulder.
The young man jumped in fright, as if he'd been caught doing something shady.
"What do you want?! I haven't done anything!"
Lucian raised an eyebrow. "Did I say you did?"
The young man: "...Oh. Right."
Lucian's expression turned stern. "But now I suspect you've committed an act that violates Jinzhou's laws!"
"I'm a patrol officer from the Surveillance Bureau. You're coming with me!"
"You have the right to remain silent, but anything you say will be used as evidence!"
The young man shrieked: "A—A patrol officer?!"
"Don't arrest me!"
The young man felt like the sky was falling—but then he took another look at the man and woman in front of him and grew suspicious. Didn't Surveillance Bureau officers carry identification tokens?
Why didn't these two have any?
Trembling, he hesitated before asking, "You say you're a patrol officer... then where's your token?"
Lucian replied shamelessly, "Left it at home. Got a problem with that?"
The suspicious young man saw the faint smirk on Lucian's face and immediately understood.
Furious, he spat, "Oh, so you're just messing with me?!"
With that, he threw a punch at Lucian. Since they were in a corner, he wasn't worried about being seen.
Watching the fist rapidly approaching his face, Lucian merely tilted his head slightly to dodge.
Then, he lifted his knee and drove it into the young man's stomach.
The young man groaned in pain, collapsing onto his back and clutching his stomach. "Oww—!"
Lucian chuckled. "Alright, answer a few questions for me, and if I like what I hear, I'll let you go."
Realizing Lucian wasn't someone to trifle with, the young man immediately caved.
"Fine, fine! You're magnanimous, sir! Don't hold it against me!"
"Ask away! I'll tell you everything I know!"
So Lucian repeated the words from the letter.
The young man propped himself up against the wall. "That stuff... I'm not from Hongzhen, so I can't help you, sir!"
Then, he took a closer look at Lucian and suddenly gasped. "Y-You... You're the one who was just talking to Counselor Changli, aren't you?"
Lucian crossed his arms and grinned. "Yeah, what about it?"
The young man glanced around nervously, making sure no one was watching, then lowered his voice.
"Sir! I'd advise you to stay away from her! That woman's mind is inscrutable—she especially enjoys toying with people's hearts. She's a downright schemer! Watch out, or you'll be used without even realizing it!"
He spoke as if offering well-intentioned advice.
Lucian and Rover exchanged glances.
Lucian crouched down with keen interest. "Oh? Do tell."
Seeing his curiosity, the young man whispered as if revealing some hidden secret:
"You don't know? She gave up a high-ranking position to come to this backwater town—there's definitely some conspiracy behind it."
"On the surface, she says it was voluntary, but who's to say she wasn't demoted here because she did something shady in the Ming Court...?"
Ming Court?
Lucian pondered this.
The Ming Court was essentially Huanglong's equivalent of a "royal court"—in Huanglong, it'd be called the "Central Court."
Meanwhile, Jinzhou was considered a border region.
He'd heard before in Jinzhou City that Changli had indeed been transferred from the Ming Court to Jinzhou.
Some said she was a direct disciple of the Master Xuanmiao, recommended by the previous Chief Secretary.
Others claimed she was the descendant of some reclusive noble family, sent to Jinzhou to fulfill some grand ancestral mission...
Rumors ran rampant among the people, with all sorts of wild theories. It seemed this young man belonged to the faction that believed Changli was a schemer.
But Lucian only trusted what he personally experienced—he wouldn't believe baseless gossip.
With a faint smirk, Lucian said, "Isn't it a bit unfair to slander someone without proof?"
The young man, seeing Lucian's skepticism, grew agitated. "Sir!"
"You've been fooled by her facade too! She'll stop at nothing to get what she wants, and she's so good at it that you won't even realize until you've already fallen into her trap."
"Besides, in all her years in Jinzhou, what has she actually accomplished? Could it be that the Magistrate has been deceived by her sweet talk, letting her laze around in a cushy position?"
Seeing the young man still spouting nonsense, Lucian smirked. "Oh?"
"Then how come I heard that as soon as Counselor Changli arrived at the City Hall, she eliminated two long-standing bandit groups plaguing Jinzhou's outskirts?"
"Not only that, but once the Magistrate came of age, Counselor Changli returned all governing authority to her and was appointed as an advisor."
"All these years, people only see the Magistrate working diligently for the people—but how much of that is thanks to Counselor Changli's guidance behind the scenes? Who really knows?"
"And what makes you so sure she's trying to replace the Magistrate?"
The young man was left speechless. But he only believed what he wanted to believe—the truth didn't matter to him.
He scoffed stubbornly and changed the subject. "Hmph... I think you're underestimating Changli's methods."
"Rumor has it she once lured that important guest of Jinzhou into Mt. Firmament—along with the Magistrate's personally appointed intelligence officer!"
"Just think about how dangerous Mt. Firmament was back then!"
"Mark my words, she was afraid that if that person got too close to the Magistrate, it'd ruin her plans. And that intelligence officer? I heard he's got extraordinary abilities too—she was probably worried the Magistrate's faction would grow too strong!"
"Her intentions are downright treasonous! Thankfully, that guest and the intelligence officer were skilled enough to escape unscathed."
"Don't take this the wrong way—I'm only telling you this because you seem like an honest person, the type who'd be easily fooled... Judging by your outfit, you're not from Jinzhou, are you?"
Lucian chuckled. "What if I told you I'm that 'extraordinary intelligence officer'?"
Rover stepped forward. "And I'm that 'skilled guest.'"
The young man: "?"
Wiping cold sweat from his brow, he forced a laugh. "Uh... Now that I think about it, I just remembered I have something to do... Hahaha... I'll be going now..."
As the young man scurried off, Rover frowned. "You're just letting him go?"
Lucian grinned. "I slipped a tiny tracking device on him. It's sending real-time coordinates to Chixia's terminal."
Rover nodded in satisfaction. "That's more like it."
She was also annoyed by how this guy had slandered Changli.
Letting the Surveillance Bureau arrest him was the right call—though she wasn't sure if Jinzhou had a specific law against "defaming high-ranking officials."
Still, given his behavior, he probably wasn't a good guy to begin with... Either way, hauling him in for questioning couldn't hurt.
"Alright, let's ask someone else."