Chapter 48: If My Lord Said That He’s In There, Then He’s In There.
Astonishment appeared on Yuan Yu's face, and she looked at Fang Chen with disbelief. How could he know the whereabouts of her cousin just by closing his eyes and meditating?
"Lord Fang, is my cousin really in the station of the Valiant Saber Guards of the Inner City?"
"If my lord says he's in there, then he's in there," replied Xu Ge with a faint smile. "Don't doubt anything the lord says. Even if Lord Yuan wasn't there before, he will be now."
Yuan Yu’s expression turned strange and she cast a glance over at Xu Ge. By the time she was about to open her mouth again, Fang Chen had already stood up and walked toward the door. Seeing that, she didn't dare say much else and quickly followed him.
The Fang manor was close to the imperial city, and the Valiant Saber Guards Station wasn’t far away. In about the time it took to brew a cup of tea, the three of them arrived.
Coincidentally, they ran into a group of officials from the Grand Brilliance Bureau, led by Zhao Sixing and several officials, along with dozens of constables. They were taken aback when they saw Yuan Yu, their faces showing a mix of surprise and confusion. How could a junior constable be walking with Divine General Fang Chen? Many of them suddenly tried to recall if they had offended Yuan Yu recently by any chance, just for good measure!
"Divine General Fang." Zhao Sixing bowed courteously.
"So, Official Zhao is also here.” Fang Chen smiled. "What brings you to this place?"
"I am ashamed to admit it, but one of my investigators went missing. After searching for a few days, I found out that he might be in the Valiant Saber Guards Station. That's why I came over," explained Zhao Sixing.
Fang Chen nodded slightly. To the onlookers, it seemed as though they had met by chance, but Zhao Sixing had already confirmed that Yuan Zhuang was really inside the station upon seeing Fang Chen.
Yuan Yu's face still held a hint of shock. She recognized Zhao Sixing, who was her superior's superior. Hearing that he was there to find Yuan Zhuang, she couldn't help but feel amazed.
Didn’t that mean that Fang Chen merely spent some time meditating to uncover what the members of the Grand Brilliance Bureau had spent days trying to find out? Wasn’t that a little too terrifying?
Suddenly, a captain of the Valiant Saber Guards stepped out of the station. He impatiently addressed Zhao Sixing. "The person you’re looking for is not here. How can an investigator of your Grand Brilliance Bureau be here, anyway? Go look for him elsewhere."
"I’ve received credible news that Lord Yuan is in your station. To avoid any misunderstandings, perhaps I should meet your commander?" Zhao Sixing politely suggested.
"What's this? Do you think that you, a mere captain of the Grand Brilliance Bureau, is worthy of my commander’s time?!" the captain retorted unkindly. "If you want to see the commander, you'll have to show your credentials. The commander isn’t someone you can see whenever you wish. I've already said that the person you're looking for isn't here. Don't waste your time. Leave quickly!" He waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away flies.
One of the chief constables behind Zhao Sixing couldn't tolerate such insolence and snapped. "You arrogant brat! Do you know who Official Zhao is? His rank is higher than yours! How dare you be so disrespectful?"
The captain smirked and glanced at the person who spoke. "Zhao Sixing? Hehe. In the past decade, I've seen several investigators, even some generals, who bowed and scraped before us. Does being the head investigator at the Grand Brilliance Bureau really make Zhao Sixing such a great official? It's only a rank five position, after all."
"And that's already two ranks higher than yours. Don't think you can disregard others just because the Valiant Saber Guards arrested many criminals in the past few years. If you don't hand over Lord Yuan today, we won't leave!" the other chief constable roared.
"Someone dares to cause trouble in front of the Valiant Saber Guards Station?"
"Shhh! Those people are from the Grand Brilliance Bureau."
"Oh, that explains it. But the Grand Brilliance Bureau is still inferior to the Valiant Saber Guards. Why are they causing trouble here?"
Seeing the many onlookers gather around, whispering as they pointed their fingers at them, the captain of the Valiant Saber Guards felt annoyed. He flew into a fit of rage and bellowed to his subordinates. "The members of the Grand Brilliance Bureau are causing trouble in our territory! Brothers, arrest them all!"
With that shout, a large group of guards rushed out to apprehend Zhao Sixing and the others. Zhao Sixing's constables and officers didn't back down, and the two sides engaged in a scuffle, exchanging punches and kicks.
Zhao Sixing stood in silence and maintained a stern expression. After about fifteen breaths had passed, he ordered coldly, "Stop, all of you!"
The constables and officers quickly obeyed, but the Valiant Saber Guards didn’t seem willing to stop. Zhao Sixing sneered, and with a palm strike, his internal qi surged, creating a palm imprint that instantly sent one of the Valiant Saber Guards flying. The others stopped when they saw Zhao Sixing had reached the Qi Detonation Stage.
"You people from the Grand Brilliance Bureau think too highly of yourselves. How dare you come here and provoke us? You even injured one of the captains under me!" A voice rang through the air, then a figure emerged from the Valiant Saber Guards Post, swinging a sword at Zhao Sixing. Internal qi was wrapped around the blade, creating a sonic boom as it tore through the air.
Zhao Sixing's expression changed. The person attacking him was in the mid Qi Detonation Stage, while he was only in the early Qi Detonation Stage. He wouldn’t be able to take this strike.
"Xu Ge," Fang Chen called out calmly.
"Understood."
Xu Ge chuckled and swung his sword toward the assailant. The force of his strike was several times stronger than the latter’s. With but a single swing, he sent the Qi Detonation expert flying back dozens of yards.
"Commander Niu?!" The Valiant Saber Guards exclaimed in surprise.
"Windy Cloud Swordsman, Xu Ge?!"
Commander Niu was shocked and furious.
However, suddenly, he noticed Fang Chen standing beside Xu Ge, causing his face to turn pale. He pushed away the guard trying to help him up as he hurriedly walked to the gate and bowed to Fang Chen, "It's an honor to meet you, Divine General Fang!"
Divine General Fang?! contemporary romance
Even the Valiant Saber Guards who came out earlier were shocked, and the people around stared at them with strange expressions.
"You look familiar." Fang Chen smiled faintly.
"Divine General Fang, I served in the military before, and I’ve had the honor of fighting alongside you in battle," Commander Niu replied with a bit of excitement, his voice trembling.
His mannerism caused The Valiant Saber Guards around to turn even more surprised. Commander Niu, known for his explosive temper, was actually that excited to meet the Divine General? Among the Valiant Saber Guards, he was known to be the most temperamental of the commanders.
"I see." Fang Chen nodded with a smile. "Commander Niu, the head investigator from the Grand Brilliance Bureau, Zhao Sixing, has reported that one of his subordinates, Yuan Zhuang, is missing, and is possibly in your station. What do you have to say about that?"
"Grand Brilliance Bureau?" Commander Niu's expression became weird. He glanced at Zhao Sixing and said, "Why would we capture someone from the Grand Brilliance Bureau? What's his name again?"
"His name is Yuan Zhuang. He’s a subordinate working under me," Zhao Sixing replied.
"No clue.” Commander Niu looked at the surrounding men and asked, “How about the rest of you?"
They shook their heads as well.
"Let's go inside and take a look," Fang Chen suggested with a smile.
"Right, Divine General Fang, please come in," Commander Niu responded quickly while nodding.