Looks like this trip wasn't a complete waste after all.
Although he didn't see the courtesan,
the relationship between Si Nan and Shi Sheng has gotten a lot better—no wonder people say, men's friendship is all in the wine.
After a brief exchange, he parted ways with Si Nan and the others.
Upon returning to the residence, the first to greet him was the maid Xing'Er.
"Master drank today?"
While helping Ye Liuyun change his clothes, she caught a whiff of alcohol on his robes, and asked curiously.
For quite some time now, Ye Liuyun hadn't gone out drinking.
"My men treated me, so I just had a few cups."
Ye Liuyun explained casually.
Hearing this, Xing'Er smiled gently.
"Should I brew some sober-up tea for Master then?"
"No need, it's late already. You should rest early, too."
"It's fine, I'm not tired."
Hanging the clothes aside, Xing'Er smiled and shook her head.
"This is what I'm supposed to do. Once Master finishes his tea, I'll bring hot water for your feet, so Master can sleep nice and warm."
With that, Xing'Er walked out of the room.
Ye Liuyun, though he'd gotten used to this era, couldn't help but sigh.
Before crossing over, to marry someone as pretty as Xing'Er? Without spending at least a few hundred thousand in betrothal money, there was no way—even then, she'd just sit pretty at home.
Expecting her to fetch water and wash your feet? Dream on.
,,,
The next day, Ye Liuyun stretched his limbs and headed to the Embroidered Uniform Guard to check in.
Roll calls in the morning.
Reading case files for most of the day.
And just as he was getting ready to leave in the afternoon, Si Nan and Shi Sheng came over.
"Sir!"
Judging by Si Nan's cheerful face, something good must have happened.
"What's happened?"
"Golden Saber Sect in the north city, their whole sect was wiped out! I snagged this case!"
"???"
Whole family wiped, and you're this happy?
Ye Liuyun suddenly figured it out—the whole sect wiped out, the gold and silver in there, whoever gets the case gets the loot?
Definitely a nice, greasy job.
"Golden Saber Sect?"
But Ye Liuyun's attention wasn't on that.
He'd heard about Golden Saber Sect before.
It's a rather well-known medium-sized sect. There are plenty of similar sects in the Imperial City, and rumor has it the sect leader's saber skill is extremely vigorous.
Few can rival him below the First-class Realm.
A massacre that takes place in the Imperial City, naturally falls under the Embroidered Uniform Guard's jurisdiction.
"Let's go take a look!"
He had nothing urgent, and this was the first case he'd gotten since joining the Embroidered Uniform Guard—he was curious.
He told Si Nan and Shi Sheng to gather the men and set out for the south city.
,,,
When they arrived, they saw the Golden Saber Sect's courtyard littered with corpses.
"All killed with a single stroke!"
On this, Shi Sheng was more experienced.
After checking a few bodies, he confirmed it was done by a saber expert—and a strong one.
"Did Golden Saber Sect have any enemies?"
Wiped out to the last man—that's not something you do over a simple grudge.
"Haven't heard of any!"
Si Nan scratched his head—he liked gathering gossip, and had heard all sorts of bizarre stuff in the Imperial City.
But as for Golden Saber Sect, he'd never really heard anything.
"The sect leader, Jin Yuanba, is known for being bold and generous, well-liked in the city. No rumors of deadly grudges, though..."
He paused, then continued.
"Originally, Golden Saber Sect wasn't well known. But three years ago, Jin Yuanba's strength suddenly surged, and that's how the sect gained its reputation!"
Looks like something happened three years ago that's still a mystery.
Ye Liuyun nodded and didn't say much, leading the group deeper into the sect.
It was obvious,
a big fight had broken out here not long ago—the walls and pillars everywhere marked with saber cuts.
Ye Liuyun lifted his hand and touched one of the marks.
"Postnatal!"
Ye Liuyun was currently at the Postnatal Realm himself, so from the marks, he could roughly gauge the opponent's cultivation.
To wield saber energy of this level, the culprit must be at least Postnatal Realm or higher.
"Sir!"
Right then, one of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, spotting something, dashed over.
Ye Liuyun and others followed him to the backyard.
There, at the center of it, was a corpse kneeling on the ground.
"Jin Yuanba!"
Si Nan gasped; this was the sect leader of Golden Saber Sect, Jin Yuanba.
"These wounds? Torture!"
Shi Sheng paid attention to the fact that Jin Yuanba was covered in countless scars.
The marks didn't look like they'd come from fighting, more like torture.
Clearly, the killer and Jin Yuanba had a deep hatred—the killer beat him, didn't kill him right away, but tortured him first.
Ye Liuyun's gaze,
stopped on Jin Yuanba, where some glowing points still flickered.
"Detected lootable tags: Swordsmanship Talent (blue), Great Strength (blue), Upright Appearance (green)."
"Great Strength (blue): Possesses strength surpassing ordinary men."
"Upright Appearance (green): Seems righteous on the surface, easily wins people's trust."
Quite the unexpected bonus. Ye Liuyun raised his eyebrow and discreetly took Swordsmanship Talent and Great Strength.
As for Upright Appearance, it seemed Jin Yuanba wasn't really a decent guy anyway.
"Looks like we're too late—the murderer is gone!"
At this point, Shi Sheng looked around mournfully and sighed.
Causing trouble in the Imperial City, for whatever reason, Shi Sheng always wanted to catch the culprit.
"Who'd dare stick around after such a huge crime?"
Si Nan wasn't surprised at all.
Who in their right mind, after murdering an entire sect, would stick around to admire their handiwork?
"No!"
Ye Liuyun suddenly spoke up, cutting off Si Nan and Shi Sheng's guesses.
"The killer is still here!"
He was sure mainly because of the tags on Jin Yuanba.
Normally, once a person dies, the glowing tags gradually fade away and completely vanish soon after.
Yet Jin Yuanba's tags were still shining pretty brightly—meaning he hadn't been dead long.
And when they arrived, they hadn't seen anyone leave the Golden Saber Sect—clearly, the killer must be hiding somewhere inside.
Plus, in Ye Liuyun's experience,
there really are twisted creeps who, after killing someone, don't flee but stay behind to savor their own handiwork.
"What!"
Despite feeling uneasy, Si Nan and Shi Sheng trusted Ye Liuyun's judgment without hesitation.
They immediately organized people to search every corner of Golden Saber Sect.
,,,,,