Chapter 475: Unjust Death

Chapter 475: Chapter 475: Unjust Death

The "Ma San Case" was officially concluded, but there was still an unresolved aftermath, and even a crucial piece of information was ultimately not transcribed for Shen Hao. That was the final interrogation result regarding Xu Hong.

At the time, Shen Hao couldn’t stand the method of using torture on the Xu family’s youngest son to force Xu Hong into opening up, so he chose to avoid the process. Jiang Cheng agreed, but thereafter, the results of Xu Hong’s interrogation were never discussed.

Previously, when submitting the stamped copy of the closure documents, Shen Hao left a blank space, thinking Jiang Cheng would notice and fill it in, but Jiang Cheng directly ignored it and didn’t mention it at all.

This left two possibilities. Either Jiang Cheng took issue with Shen Hao’s compassion and used this as an opportunity to warn him, or Xu Hong confessed, but what he confessed wasn’t suitable for someone in Shen Hao’s position to know, nor appropriate to be included in the case files.

The first possibility Shen Hao dismissed without much thought. He has followed Jiang Cheng long enough to be clear about Jiang’s straightforward nature: he always speaks his mind, especially with his own people, never hiding anything.

So Shen Hao believes the reason Jiang Cheng didn’t bring up Xu Hong’s interrogation must be that Xu Hong couldn’t withstand forced interrogation, confessed, and Shen Hao simply isn’t qualified to know.

After lunch in the dining hall, Shen Hao received the stamped record sent from Wang Jian, detailing the daily movements of a zither master named Binding Princess in the Imperial City, as well as nearly all publicly accessible information about her.

Just as Wang Jian previously stated, this zither master appeared to have no unusual activities. Either staying at home, teaching disciples in the piano studio, or performing at prominent mansions within red walls. The only thing that caught Shen Hao’s attention was her earnings for each performance, rivaling those of medium-sized businesses—something the average person would never believe.

Making money hand over fist? That would be looking down on this zither master.

Of course, all this information is what’s currently available. Once Wang Jian commits more resources to gathering intelligence, perhaps new discoveries will emerge, warranting constant attention.

Since he had not yet been assigned elsewhere, Shen Hao got up, left the Thousand Households Station, and headed to the Imperial City—not to see Jiang Cheng, but through Jiang Cheng’s deputy, submitted an application for review access. After approval, he arrived at the Library of the Jingxi Town Governor’s Office.

"Waist token and credentials."

"Here you go."

Compared to the Library at the Fengri City Thousand Households Station, the Jingxi Town Governor’s Office Library was several times larger, truly living up to the term "library"—three floors above ground with thousands of shelves, and reportedly two underground levels with nearly another thousand shelves, covering the vast majority of documentary materials from the Jingjiu Dynasty. There were even numerous documents concerning military and local government offices here.

Many things that were unavailable in the Fengri City Library could be found here.

Shen Hao had inquired before, but his current rank and position were insufficient for access unless he obtained temporary special permission from the Governor, Jiang Cheng. This time, Shen Hao acquired such permission from Jiang Cheng under the pretext of "deep investigation into the origins of the Pseudo-Evil Cultivator."

"All set, Hundred Households Shen. Here’s your temporary pass; wear it inside, and simply show it to the staff at the Yi Storehouse. But your temporary pass is only valid for two hours, so please mind the time."

"Alright." Shen Hao took a copper medal engraved with array markings, then proceeded down the left-hand stairs in the library lobby to reach the second underground floor.

Finding the "Yi Storehouse," he handed over the copper medal and was granted entry.

"Lord Shen, which case files do you wish to review?"

"I want to review all information related to the City of Unjust Death."

"Please wait a moment, Lord Shen, let me verify your credentials." After a moment, the Yi Storehouse’s Small Banner Officer said, "Sorry, Lord Shen, your temporary access only allows you to review about seventy percent of the City of Unjust Death case files; the rest requires additional permissions. Would you still like to proceed?"

Shen Hao was genuinely surprised—he hadn’t expected the City of Unjust Death files to be so troublesome.

"Yes, gather all files within my permission for me first."

"Understood, Lord Shen, please wait a moment."

Nowadays, even if Shen Hao didn’t show his waist token, most people in the Jingxi Town Governor’s Office recognized him and treated him well, even pouring a cup of hot tea for him at the desk.

After waiting about half a stick of incense’s time, Shen Hao saw the Yi Storehouse Small Banner Officer carrying a hefty stack of files over.

"Lord Shen, all the City of Unjust Death case files you are permitted to review are here—seventeen volumes in total, here’s a checklist. These are classified documents: you may read them but not stamp or take them away, please bear this in mind. Lastly, your review time is two hours, I will notify you as the deadline approaches."

"Mm, understood."

The materials were much more than Shen Hao had expected.

He first examined the checklist, which divided the seventeen volumes into three categories: one detailing the origins of the City of Unjust Death, one introducing its surrounding area, and one describing various matters within the city itself.

He prioritized the section on the city’s origins—these were the fewest files.

The documents recorded the sources of the information, which Scouts of the Xuanqing Guard had gradually relayed from the City of Unjust Death over the years.

According to the materials, the City of Unjust Death originally was an ancient tomb complex, first documented over twelve hundred years ago, when a group of Wandering Cultivators discovered it and gained immense benefits: cultivation techniques, pill formulas, magical artifacts, and even some medicinal herbs that were already extinct at the time.

Such a treasure trove couldn’t be kept under wraps. News quickly spread, from Super Sects to ordinary Loose Cultivators, everyone flocked there in droves.

Based on their individual strength and the backing of their factions, those who went were either after the leftovers or the main prize—some were there to scavenge, others just to watch the spectacle.

However, after the initial influx gleaned most of the benefits, the tomb complex turned into a deadly place that swallowed people whole. Many cultivators who lingered to dig deeper fell into one tomb after another, suffering considerable casualties; though some powerful cultivators managed to escape, bringing back information about the deeper parts of the tomb complex.

Rumor had it that beneath the tomb complex was a massive underground palace, shrouded by a mysterious and formidable array. Upon entering, one would face deadly traps and a swarm of magical artifact puppets, and even be subjected to immense True Qi pressure, severely weakening one’s strength.

Risk came hand in hand with opportunity. The outer tombs had yielded great rewards—so what about the underground palace? Thus, various factions waged open and covert battles for hundreds of years over the ancient tombs and deeper underground halls, eventually spawning a twisted local power amidst mutual checks: the City of Unjust Death.

This local power grew rapidly; over the next centuries, not only did the City of Unjust Death establish dominance around the tomb complex, it also minimized the influence of all other factions—only retaining their allotted quotas for ongoing expeditions into the tombs and deeper underground palace.