Unsheathed

Chen Ping'an looked at the guarded expression of Lake Lord Yin Hou and chuckled, "You should be keenly aware of the fact that I could kill you with relative ease if I were hellbent on doing so."

Yin Hou nodded and replied, "This is indeed the case, so I'm actually very curious about why Sword Immortal is choosing to spare me."

Chen Ping'an looked around and didn't say anything.

Lake Lord Yin Hou's feet remained in the water the entire time.

Not only that, but a sea of dark clouds started to gather above the jurisdiction of Verdant Bamboo Lake again.

"What actually happened with the secret letter that the prefectural overseer of Imperial Accompanying City sent to the capital back then?" Chen Ping'an asked.

Lake Lord Yin Hou didn't hesitate in the least as he replied, "The contents of the letter aren't anything new, and I presume that Sword Immortal is able to guess what the prefectural overseer wrote. He naturally expressed hope that his good friend in the capital could help him continue to investigate the case and eventually overturn the verdict following his death. At the very least, his good friend should find an opportunity to publicize the truth regarding the case.

“However, there was one remark in the letter that Sword Immortal probably hasn't been able to guess. At the end of the letter, the prefectural overseer said that his friend didn't need to rush and endanger himself by investigating the matter if he were unable to become a high-ranking official of the immortal court, lest he fail to overturn the verdict and become another victim."

Chen Ping'an grabbed a pot of wine from thin air, cracking open the clay seal and starting to drink slowly.

Lake Lord Yin Hou continued his explanation, saying with a smile, "I have some networks in the capital, and Sword Immortal is also aware of my terrible relationship with Imperial Accompanying City. As such, I hadn't been harboring any ulterior motives when I instructed the canal master of Algae Stream to follow the messenger, and I had simply wanted the secret letter to be successfully delivered to the capital. Moreover, I also have some subordinates and good relationships in the capital, so I told the canal master to help the prefectural overseer's good friend enjoy a smoother journey through the imperial court as long as he was willing to investigate the case and overturn the verdict.

"However, I hadn't anticipated that the city god of Imperial Accompanying City would be so resolute, directly killing an official of the imperial court, someone who was already a prefectural overseer. Not only that, but the city god hadn't shown any patience at all, not even waiting for the prefectural overseer to leave Imperial Accompanying City before he killed him. This was actually quite troublesome, and the city god was presumably acting out of desperation, having no time to care about anything else and simply trying to eliminate the root of the problem first.

"Afterward, word somehow got out that the canal master of Algae Stream was in the capital, and this caused the city god of Imperial Accompanying City to start scheming as well. He instructed a trusted subordinate to take the half-formed incense person and bring it to the capital to deliver to the prefectural overseer's good friend. The hand-picked scholar was yet to fill a vacant spot in the imperial court at the time, so he had agreed to the conditions of Imperial Accompanying City's city god temple without any hesitation.