I Cultivate in a Government Office

Chapter 180: Chapter 112: A Case for the Internal Affairs Inspection

Less than fifteen minutes after the call ended, the faint hum of a Flying Shuttle landing came from the courtyard outside.

The first to step into the courtyard was Li Yue, followed by Sun Yi and two other new members of the Major Case Team’s third squad. All four were in plain clothes, but the bulges at their waists made it clear they were armed.

Aunt Zhou led Li Yue into the main hall. Li Yue immediately strode up to Yang Wenqing and saluted. ”Yang Group Leader.”

Yang Wenqing nodded. Wasting no words, he pointed directly to the plain envelope on the large square table in the main hall. ”It’s over there. Inspect it first, then open it. Be careful.”

”Yes!”

Li Yue acknowledged the order and exchanged a glance with Sun Yi.

Sun Yi took several small detection-type Magical Artifacts and a pair of tweezers from his toolkit. Li Yue, meanwhile, pulled on a pair of special insulating gloves. Their coordination was seamless. First, they used the Magical Artifacts to scan the envelope from a distance, checking for any abnormal energy fluctuations or trap runes. Once they confirmed it was safe, they carefully moved the envelope to an open area in the center of the courtyard.

Sun Yi used the tweezers to open the seal with extreme caution, while Li Yue held up a small bronze mirror engraved with purification runes. A faint, pure light from the mirror’s surface enveloped the letter.

The entire process was silent and swift, showcasing the team’s exceptional professionalism.

Just as the siblings, Yang Wenjian and Yang Wenning, were about to come downstairs, Aunt Zhou and two maids intercepted them and led them back to the second floor.

Soon, Sun Yi had used the tweezers to pull out and unfold the single sheet of paper inside. It contained only two short lines of text. Li Yue quickly scanned the contents, then carefully placed the paper—still held by the tweezers—into a prepared transparent evidence bag and sealed it. Only then did she hand it to Yang Wenqing with both hands. ”Yang Group Leader, it is a letter. It might be related to the puppet you encountered in the alley.”

Yang Wenqing took the evidence bag. Through the transparent plastic, he read the words on the paper:

”To my fellow Daoist Yang, I’ve heard of your recent advancements on the immortal path—truly a cause for celebration. I recall our brief meeting in the alley; your bearing was truly captivating. I wish you continued smooth sailing on your journey!”

Yang Wenqing handed the evidence bag back to Li Yue, his tone calm. ”As for the letter itself, handle it according to the protocol for a Class B suspicious item. Seal it away directly, and don’t log it in the system for the time being.”

”Understood!” Li Yue and Sun Yi replied in unison.

Then, Yang Wenqing extended his left hand and, with a flip of his wrist, a Tracking Charm appeared in his palm. He gave his orders to the pair. ”Track this person. He’s the one who delivered the letter...”

He paused for a moment before adding, ”And go easy on him. He’s probably just a messenger.”

Li Yue and Sun Yi nodded.

Just then, footsteps sounded from outside. Led by Aunt Zhou, Xiao Liang hurried into the courtyard, followed by six fully-armed patrol officers.

He took in the scene in the courtyard, his eyes landing on the sealed evidence bag in Li Yue’s hand, and his brow furrowed.

”Wenqing, what’s going on?” Xiao Liang approached, lowering his voice. ”I’ve already sent people to keep an eye on Ma Wu, but that old fox is slippery. We might not get anything out of him. This letter...”

Yang Wenqing quickly summarized the situation.

After listening, Xiao Liang said, ”This isn’t exactly new. Some Evil Cult Organizations often send congratulatory letters when someone in our City Defense System gets a promotion. Jianchao has received them several times. The only difference is, they’re usually very secretive about it. This time, the delivery was so brazen, and they left us a lot of leads to follow.”

”Then let’s investigate,” Yang Wenqing replied. ”That Ma Wu is no innocent bystander. Bring him in for a long chat. After that, look into the people who were gambling with Ye Yong.”

His gaze fell upon Li Yue, Sun Yi, and their two colleagues. The four of them immediately understood his meaning, and they hurried out of the courtyard.

”How did Ye Yong end up like this?”

Yang Wenqing asked, turning to Xiao Liang after seeing Li Yue’s team off.

Xiao Liang shook his head, a helpless look on his face. ”I’m not too clear on the specifics myself. I just heard his parents washed their hands of him a long time ago. He resigned from the North City Public Security Office on his own about six months ago. I asked him about it then, but he just shook his head. I did some asking around later, and it seems he suddenly got hooked on gambling, getting in deeper and deeper... He was probably set up.”

He spoke with a look of deep regret.

Yang Wenqing fell silent. ’The Cultivation World has countless ways to make someone unknowingly fall into addiction or despair. For Ye Yong to have sunk this low... it probably wasn’t just a matter of bad luck.’

”I’ll leave these six men with you. They’ll guard the front and back doors.” Xiao Liang gestured to the patrol officers he had brought with him. After giving a few more instructions, he left in a hurry. He clearly took this matter very seriously and was likely heading back to investigate Ma Wu.

After seeing Xiao Liang off, Yang Wenqing returned to his study. He activated the Communication Array to contact Vice Director Gao and gave him a concise report about the letter from the Evil Cult Organization and the initial steps he had taken.

Vice Director Gao was silent for a few seconds before his deep voice came through. ”You handled it correctly. But don’t worry too much. When I was promoted, I received a ’congratulations’ from those guys too. It’s just their way of proving they still exist, but they never dare to show their faces.”

This was because Wanxuan had multiple systems of oversight; the higher an evil cultivator’s Cultivation, the stricter the surveillance. If they dared to show their faces, the ones who would be happiest were the old monsters in the various systems who had been fighting them for centuries.

Not long after his call with Vice Director Gao ended, Yang Wenqing’s Communication Array lit up again. This time, it displayed the name of Deputy Director Zhou. This was the first time Deputy Director Zhou had ever contacted him via the Communication Array.

”Wenqing, I hear you’ve run into a bit of trouble,” Deputy Director Zhou’s voice came through the Array, as calm and steady as ever. ”I happen to be in the area. There are a few things I may need to discuss with you in person. Are you free?”