Scholar Demon Venerable

Cheongun suppressed the laughter that was about to come out and urged Song In-ho.

"So you're saying you missed the culprit?"

"I am sorry."

Thousand-household Commander Song In-ho could not raise his head in front of Cheongun.

"How did you guard that an enemy could invade and even set a fire? What have you been doing all this time?"

"I am sorry!"

"What about the casualties?"

"Fortunately, no one died, and there are only three or four injured who were burned while putting out the fire."

Cheongun let out a sigh of relief and said to Song In-ho.

"That's a relief. Go back and rest."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Song In-ho, who had no words to say even if he had ten mouths, considered it fortunate that he had not been punished and immediately returned.

Only after he had left did Cheongun smirk.

* * *

Two days after the Zirong Palace was engulfed in flames, the long-awaited inspection team arrived.

"Welcome. You have worked hard on your long journey."

Cheongun greeted them from the entrance of the Zirong Palace. No matter how much of a weakness he had caught, there were many eyes watching.

Seok Deok-jo was in charge of their reception. Cheongun briefly attended the banquet for them and then left.

As Cheongun left, the two inspectors moved together.

After a while, a secret meeting between Cheongun and the two inspectors took place in a pavilion prepared deep in the Zirong Palace.

It turned out that the two were from the Censorate.

The Censorate was an inspection agency that evaluated the performance of officials.

"I am the Right Vice Censor-in-chief of the Censorate, a third-rank official, Dokgo In-chan."

"I am the Left Vice Censor-in-chief of the Censorate, a fourth-rank official, Jo Eom."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am the Pacification Envoy, Lee Cheongun."

Cheongun exchanged greetings and drank tea.

A few days ago, he had not been able to have a deep conversation with them. Even Cheongun had not been able to grasp their exact identities.

So he had given a hint.

"I have heard that you two are from the Five Military Governor's Offices and the Eastern Depot, respectively."

"That's right. I also serve as the Vice Commander of the Five Military Governor's Offices, a second-rank official, and Mr. Jo Eom here is a Grand Eunuch and is in the Eastern Depot."

It was an unexpected fact.

Although Dokgo In-chan's status was higher, it meant that the cunning-looking Jo Eom was the real power.

Cheongun cupped his hands in a fist and said to the rat-faced Jo Eom.

"Oh, I have been very rude. Since Your Excellency Dokgo's rank is one step higher, I almost committed a great discourtesy."

"Don't worry about it. It is also true that Your Excellency Dokgo is higher in this mission."

Cheongun, who had sat down, brought the teacup to his mouth. Jo Eom, who was from the Eastern Depot, opened his mouth first to such a Cheongun.

"More importantly, thanks to the guard you sent last time, I was able to escape a calamity."

"I have heard the story. Did that vicious guy dare to disturb the integrity of you, Your Excellencies?"

"Yes, thanks to the Pacification Envoy, I was able to clear up the misunderstanding."

They began to probe each other, giving and taking.

It was natural that if there was something given, there should be something received.

This time, Dokgo In-chan said to Cheongun.

"Do you have any other requests?"

"It's nothing special. I just hope that you will check the documents I have prepared well and do your original duty."

"That's a matter of course. This time, while questioning Ou Huliang's fourth son, I found out several things, and after finishing the work here, I plan to go straight to the Hyeokryeon Manor and find out the rest."

At Jo Eom's words, Cheongun put down his teacup and said.

"That's a relief. I don't know what kind of vicious plot they are plotting, but they should be made an example of."

"Don't worry. I will thoroughly investigate."

Cheongun was relieved to hear Jo Eom's definite answer. After that, they talked about various issues.

"There has been such an incident here recently."

Cheongun informed them that people of unknown identity had attacked the Zirong Palace, and that the Zirong Palace master and many elites had died.

Jo Eom slapped his knee and said to Cheongun with a pitiful expression.

"Did such a thing happen?"

"Yes, moreover, a few days ago, a big fire broke out, and many buildings of the Zirong Palace were burned."

"Oh, really, was the damage great?"

"Fortunately, we dealt with it quickly, so there were no casualties other than a few injured."

"That's a relief. But... by any chance, was the safe also burned?"

"No. We dealt with it quickly, so the safe is fine. It's just a pity that the library was burned."

Cheongun answered calmly.

In any case, the safe was not just the secret safe in the secret passage. In addition to that, there were two other safes, and most of the high-ranking officials of the Zirong Palace knew their locations.

Of course, that place was fine.

Jo Eom and Dokgo In-chan made a relieved expression after hearing Cheongun's words.

Although Cheongun, who was a scholar, might be sad that the books were burned, the books in the library did not even enter their eyes.

To them, gold was more important than books.

"That's a real relief. Hahahaha."

"We were saved thanks to the Pacification Envoy. We were saved."

A bright color appeared on the faces of Jo Eom and Dokgo In-chan. It seemed they didn't have to worry about the money to offer to their superiors.

* * *

While the inspectors' investigation was being conducted, Cheongun tried to obtain information.

In particular, the part he focused on was to grasp the places that maintained a close relationship with the Zirong Palace.

For now, for that, he utilized the scholars that Master Miao Qing had sent as much as possible.

"Samwon, as you can see here, the data is too vast."

In a wide room, about a dozen scholars were organizing the documents. There were also more than ten other scholars who were helping them.

They were all scholars who had been put in to grasp the reality of the Zirong Palace.

The period was ten days, and they had to finish everything within that time.

He couldn't drag it out any longer.

He had not yet discovered any decisive evidence that the Zirong Palace had plotted a rebellion. In addition, numerous people related to them, including the righteous path, were conducting a life-saving campaign for the Zirong Palace.

Moreover, since not only the palace master but also most of the key figures, including the elders, had died, it was also ambiguous to question them.

So far, there was only the suspicion that they had tried to bribe the inspection team.

Although the Hyeokryeon Manor remained, he had not found any decisive evidence there either.

From the beginning, it was a witness rather than evidence. The problem was that that witness had disappeared.

He had to find the whereabouts of the witness, Hyeokryeon Hui, the martial arts teacher, and the Yiqi Great Hero, Lu Zhongjing, somehow.

Cheongun looked over the documents and put them in his bosom. He, who had stood up from his seat, said to the middle-aged scholar.

"Scholar Kwon, please do your best for the remaining period."

"I understand. It won't be easy, but I will do my best. More importantly, leave this to us and try to find something somewhere else. If you find something, I will contact you right away."

"Thank you."

Cheongun entrusted the paperwork to the scholars and left the room.

The place Cheongun headed to was the newly discovered underground passage.

There were still hidden passages and secret spaces in the underground of the Zirong Palace. He had been able to find this place as well because the Blood Emperor had discovered it and had told him.

"I don't know why there are so many secret spaces."

[If they are related to the ones who held hands with the traitors and attacked the Heavenly Cult, this much of a secret is not a secret.]

They were people who had a huge power to face the Heavenly Cult. If they had not been known to the world for a long time, their skill in escaping would be enough to cover the sky.

Cheongun moved his feet towards the long and narrow passage.

'There's no particular mechanism set up.'

Other places had mechanisms installed, but this was just a passage. It was a narrow passage that only one person could barely squeeze through.

Perhaps because it was not managed, the musty smell was severe.

Moisture, moss, and all sorts of insects were crawling around.

Cheongun did not care and went forward.

How far had he gone, he saw the end of the passage.

But there was nothing, and it was blocked.

"This is strange."

Cheongun raised his inner vision. He looked around the blocked place and looked for any possible devices.

"It seems it was a wasted trip."

No matter how much he looked, he could not find any strange traces.

Just as he was about to turn back and leave, the Blood Emperor looked down at the bottom of the right wall and said.

[There's a footprint here.]

Cheongun's head quickly turned. In the place the Blood Emperor was looking at, although it was faint, he could see a slight trace of something having been stepped on.

[It's a trace of a footprint being erased. He has used his head quite a bit. And aren't you curious about what's beyond this wall? If you look at this wall well, it's split, right? Fresh air is faintly coming in from here. Take a look.]

Cheongun immediately went to the place the Blood Emperor had pointed to. As the Blood Emperor had said, cool air was flowing in.

Cheongun took a step back and then unfolded the Black Dragon Heaven-Breaking Fist.

Kwaang.

With a loud sound, the passage shook violently.

Stone powder fell with a rustle.

At the revealed sight, Cheongun felt something strange and asked.

"Did I break it? Or was it originally broken like this?"

[You didn't do it. It seems they broke it while escaping this way.]

Large and small stone blocks had fallen from the ceiling and were blocking the passage.

It was when he had approached a step closer and was examining the broken stone.

A fishy smell stimulated the tip of his nose.

Cheongun instinctively held his breath.

"Hup."

As Cheongun flinched and retreated, the Blood Emperor quickly stepped forward and looked around.

[Hah, these guys, they released poison in case someone would remove the broken stones and chase them.]

Fortunately, Cheongun could detoxify the poison.

[Although you would be fine, other people would have been poisoned and would have been in a predicament.]

At the Blood Emperor's words, Cheongun could feel it.

'I found it.'

He had finally found the traces of their escape. He had thought they might be hiding in the space of the Zirong Palace, but it was clear that they had escaped this way.

"Blood Emperor, please find out where the top of this is."

[I understand.]

At Cheongun's request, the Blood Emperor disappeared into the ceiling and then showed his figure after a while.

[It's a forest. If you look from the Zirong Palace, it's to the east, so it's above the Zirong Palace.]

Cheongun could not go any further because of the rocks that were blocking the front.

But since he had found the escape route they had escaped through, he had achieved half of his goal.

"I'll have to go out and search."

Cheongun immediately turned his body.

He quickly went out the way he had come in after walking for a long time.

* * *

Hundreds of Jinyiwei were scattered and were searching the top of Tangshan, where the Zirong Palace was located.

Although it was a place he had looked at several times, he was looking again at Cheongun's order.

"Your Excellency, no matter how much I look, I can't find anything strange."

The passage was clearly connected in this direction.

Since Cheongun was sure, he gave an order again.

"The secret passage clearly extended in this direction. Widen the search range beyond the hill and look again."

"Yes, I understand."

Cheongun, who had given an order to the Jinyiwei again, was in a difficult situation. If they had broken the middle of the passage, he wouldn't know where the destination was connected to.

'But where did the Blood Emperor go?'

He couldn't see the Blood Emperor. It seemed he had gone down to the underground, but he couldn't feel his presence.

After waiting for a while, the Blood Emperor showed his figure. As he had thought, he had come up from the underground.

He gestured to Cheongun. Cheongun quickly approached the place where the Blood Emperor was.

-Did you find anything?

[Wait a moment.]

The Blood Emperor soared into the air.

It seemed to be at least thirty zhang. But the Blood Emperor looked down and said.

[Soar as high as you can. I can't see from here.]

The Blood Emperor could not go beyond thirty zhang from Cheongun. To go higher, Cheongun had to soar into the air.

Pat.

Cheongun soared into the sky without delay.