Chapter 10

The leather waist pouch was very small. Li Shiming tried to open it but found that the opening was fake; there was no place to open it at all.

This only made him more convinced that the leather waist pouch was likely a cultivation item. With a slight movement of his consciousness, he put the leather waist pouch into the server room space.

"Master, it's dangerous here. Please wait to one side while we investigate and then report to you!" Zhang Guard and a group of guards hurried over. Seeing that Li Shiming had arrived early, they quickly said.

"Alright, I'll go see Father!" Li Shiming nodded and said.

This place was not so simple to inspect; the constables from the county office would come to investigate and form a dossier to report.

Li Wenyuan was working at the county office. Upon hearing the explosion, he immediately inquired about Li Shiming's situation. Only after learning that Li Shiming was unharmed did he feel relieved.

He did not immediately go to the scene; the investigation was to be conducted by professionals. If he went, he would bring a group of people, which might destroy evidence at the scene.

When Li Shiming arrived at Li Wenyuan's office, he saw Li Wenyuan pacing back and forth in the room, looking deeply troubled.

"Shiming, you're here. Surprised, right?" Li Wenyuan saw him enter and put on a smile to ask.

"Father, I went to the scene. The damage is not something an ordinary person could cause!" Li Shiming replied calmly, bowing.

Li Wenyuan was very satisfied with Li Shiming's composure, but he still had some reservations about him going to the scene.

"A gentleman does not stand under a crumbling wall. When you encounter such situations, let the subordinates investigate first. Only go when it's safe!" Li Wenyuan said sternly.

"Yes, Father!" Li Shiming replied.

"The damage is not something an ordinary person could cause. It seems a cultivator is involved. I wonder why such a commotion was made in the garden!" Li Wenyuan continued.

"How will it be handled?" Li Shiming was curious about how the officials would deal with matters involving cultivators.

"I have already reported urgently to the capital. Matters concerning cultivation are handled by the capital. Fortunately, it involves cultivation; otherwise, I would have a lot of trouble this time!" Li Wenyuan, thinking about recent events, shook his head.

As the governor of Nanling Prefecture, he would be in serious trouble if a massacre of over thirty people occurred in his jurisdiction, especially with the county office involved.

If thoroughly investigated, he might lose his position.

But since it involves a cultivator, it is different. Cultivators are beyond human control, and the government cannot be blamed for incompetence.

"Will the capital send a cultivator?" Li Shiming asked again.

"Cultivators are not under the command of the capital. We have never encountered such a situation before; who knows!" Li Wenyuan could not answer this question.

The two sat for a while, then Chief Zheng arrived.

"Your Excellency, Master!" Chief Zheng entered the room, bowing to both of them.

Li Wenyuan nodded slightly, and Li Shiming returned the bow with a scholar's gesture.

This was the first time Li Shiming truly met Chief Zheng, who was the top expert in Nanling Prefecture.

Chief Zheng gave him a sense of oppression, making him very uncomfortable. Noticing this, Chief Zheng quickly reined in his aura.

He had been angry about the incident in the back garden and had not controlled his aura in time.

"Chief Zheng, have you found any clues?" Li Wenyuan asked sternly.

"Your Excellency, I am about to report. The coroner found shattered flesh and bones at the scene, along with fragments of a very special white cloth!" Chief Zheng said, handing over a small piece of white cloth.

Li Wenyuan took the white cloth, which was about the size of a palm, with charred black edges from fire. It looked like ordinary white cloth.

"What is special about this white cloth?" Knowing that Chief Zheng and the coroner would not lie, he asked directly.

"Your Excellency, please allow me to use my weapon!" Chief Zheng bowed and requested.

This was the governor's office, and he needed permission to draw his weapon.

"Granted!" Li Wenyuan waved his hand.

Chief Zheng drew the knife from his waist, placed it next to the cloth, and applied a little force. The knife moved the white cloth but did not cut it.

Li Wenyuan's expression turned serious without needing an explanation from Chief Zheng.

The knife Chief Zheng used, though not a divine weapon, was not ordinary. Even without force, it would cut ordinary cloth in half.

This seemingly ordinary white cloth had extraordinary protective properties.

"We suspect that the white cloth fragments come from the white-robed person at Tianxiang Tower. I also examined the flesh and found it contained mysterious energy, different from that of martial artists, which supports my judgment!" Chief Zheng continued.

Li Shiming was impressed. Nanling Prefecture was truly full of talent. In such a short time, they had analyzed the scene and were close to the truth.

"So, someone in the garden killed the white-robed person?" Li Wenyuan, looking at the white cloth in his hand, asked incredulously.

He was incredulous because he could confirm that the white-robed person was a cultivator, and a cultivator should not be so easily killed.

The seven heads of the Weiyuan Escort Agency and the grandmaster Wang, who had the strength of a grandmaster, were like ants in front of the white-robed person, with no ability to fight back.

"Your Excellency, this is the opinion of both the coroner and me. We will submit a detailed report later!" Chief Zheng replied confidently.

"Could it be the white-robed person's enemy? Is there another cultivator in Nanling Prefecture?" Li Wenyuan muttered to himself, puzzled.

Li Shiming remained silent, as there were too many things that were hard to explain, and he could not reveal his actions to his father.

He thought about the body of Grandmaster Wang, wondering when he could find a place to dispose of it, as it was uncomfortable to keep it in the server room space.

Although he had obtained the *Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique*, *Introduction to Runes*, and the small wooden sword, he had not studied them.

He had not studied them because he was worried that studying cultivation items might be detected by the cultivator.

Now that the cultivator was dead, he planned to study the items he had obtained when he returned.

"Shiming, there will be some commotion in the next few days. I will try to keep them away from your courtyard so as not to affect your studies. You look tired; go rest!" Li Wenyuan, seeing Li Shiming's distracted look, thought he was shocked and said.

Li Shiming took the opportunity to take his leave. Since they already knew about the cultivator's death, the subsequent matters would be easier to handle.

The entire Nanling City was affected by the explosion. The government sent constables to calm the people in various areas, and the city troops patrolled the streets, putting Nanling City under martial law.