Chương 57: Reading Abai's Detective Files

"What the hell is the Land God Self-Help Association?" A giant question mark appeared over Fang Cheng's head. Ever since the celestial realm's troubles began, all kinds of weird and demonic organizations had been popping up everywhere. The killing-happy Dark Night. The mortals-should-stand-up-for-themselves Anti-Cultivator Alliance. The loving Land Gods. And that cult that stabbed its brothers. Truly, human creativity was limitless. After his rant, Fang Cheng took out paper and brush and began writing a reply.

Han Bingxuan's letter had been formal and refined, so he could not be too casual either.

"Brother Han, a day apart feels like three years. Thank you for your concern. I truly admire your life as an Underworld Officer, punishing evil and upholding justice. But I am sorry. I made a promise to Lord Pei Tang to rebuild White Flower City after the disaster. So I cannot go to the Underworld Bureau. Please forgive me. As for the Land God Self-Help Association, I had not heard of it when I was in Xijiang Prefecture. It must be new. I do not think you need to worry. Land Gods are all weak cultivators.

They are just banding together for warmth. They cannot do much harm." Fang Cheng paused here, then began recounting his experiences in Xiangshi City, including the secretary's Anti-Cultivator Alliance and Li Jinghong's Dark Night. After that, he gave his thoughts:"Brother Han, be wary of Dark Night. They are extremely bloodthirsty and reckless. They killed many of Zhu Youchang's accomplices. Do not let the Hall of Eternal Life know about your investigation, especially the Chief's subordinates.

They are in league with Dark Night. Also, Brother Han, please help me look into the Anti-Cultivator Alliance while you are in the capital. I feel this organization is not as simple as it seems. The Cultivation Manual says not to underestimate the power of mortals. They are like a small stream. When calm, they nourish silently. But once they burst forth, they become a devastating flood. We cannot ignore them."

With that, he placed the letter in the flying sword's storage space, set the location with the sword talisman, and launched it. The sword shot into the sky and vanished into the clouds. After that, Fang Cheng picked up The Abai Detective Files and began reading carefully. The book opened with a background story set in the Great Sheng Dynasty two hundred years ago. Back then, Great Sheng was more prosperous than now.

Large cities and prefectures were everywhere, merchants thrived, and the people lived in peace and prosperity. Then it mentioned the Xijiang River. At that time, the Xijiang was the largest river in Great Sheng, also known as the Great Western Lake. The Great Western Lake began at the Taiping Ridge of the Great Li Dynasty in the north and connected to the Everlasting Mountains in the east. Its waters flowed mightily and endlessly, passing through White Flower Prefecture before emptying into the sea.

But later, a great demon descended. Demonic energy shrouded the entire Great Western Lake. Countless demonic beasts poured out of the Everlasting Mountains and joined the great demon's army. They were brutal by nature, pillaging cities and villages along the riverbanks, causing widespread suffering and displacing countless people. The Great Lake fell, and the river was cut off. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Though the great cultivators of the Hall of Eternal Life united and killed the great demon, Great Sheng was severely weakened. Its former prosperity never returned. The golden age was gone. This was a typical opening for cheap street novels. The decline of the dynasty was blamed on demonic beasts or natural disasters like ice ages. After all, under the rule of Great Sheng, if you blamed the decline on human failings or bad governance, the authorities would throw you in prison. Next came the protagonist, Ahei.

He was born in Great Lake City, a place overrun by bandits, located northwest of present-day White Flower City. After the great demon's attack, Great Lake City fell into poverty, chaos, and turmoil. In short, the people were all bad, and only the Yamen constables were righteous. Ahei, as an even more righteous protagonist, was determined to eliminate evil and save Great Lake City. The first episode was the patricide case, just as Qin Hao had described. The son killed his father and lived with his stepmother.

A rather twisted storyline. The second episode was the husband-killing case. The husband took a concubine and neglected his wife. Out of jealousy, the wife killed her husband, boiled him, and ate him to destroy the evidence. But Abai, the spirit bird, used its sharp eyes to spot a curled hair tangled in the wife's teeth. The concubine confirmed it was the dead husband's pubic hair. And so, the culprit was caught red-handed. What the hell. Such a ridiculous plot. And why was it always about taking concubines?

Could men only take concubines when they had money? And cooking and eating a person? That was too gruesome. And how could the concubine be so sure that pubic hair was her husband's? Did she have DNA testing abilities? Fang Cheng, as a righteous and good person, could not stand it anymore. He put down the book, walked out of the main hall, and looked up at the stars. Just then, a flying sword came down from the sky. He caught it and opened the letter inside. It was Han Bingxuan's reply.

He said he would keep an eye on Dark Night and the Anti-Cultivator Alliance, but he also hoped Fang Cheng would pay more attention to the Land God Self-Help Association. His reason was the same as Fang Cheng's: do not underestimate the Land Gods. Without their celestial superiors, if they went mad, even Heavenly Demons would be afraid. Hmm? Heavenly Demons? Fang Cheng felt like Han Bingxuan was talking about him. He rolled his eyes and dismissed the letter's contents.

With nothing better to do, he returned to the main hall and continued reading The Abai Detective Files. The night passed without incident. The next morning, Qin Hao and He Chunhua came to visit, saying they were going to the prefecture city. Fang Cheng patted both their shoulders, gave them an encouraging look, and secretly placed a top-grade Immortal Crystal in Qin Hao's hand, telling him to use it freely when he needed money. After seeing them off, Magistrate Li Sanshui arrived not long after.

He reported that the fifty thousand new residents had been settled. Then he made a request.

"City God, half of these fifty thousand people are able-bodied men. We should not let them sit idle. There is a lot of wasteland south of the city. It used to be farmed by White Flower City's residents, but after the demon attack, the people died, and the land was left barren. What do you think?" Fang Cheng understood Li Sanshui's meaning. People indeed needed something to do. He thought for a moment. Farming was something he knew well, but as City God, he could not do everything himself.

He said to Li Sanshui, "You are the magistrate. Handle it. But balance work and rest. No forced labor. And follow the principle of harmony with nature."

"What is the principle of harmony with nature? I do not recall seeing it in Great Sheng's laws." Li Sanshui scratched his head in confusion. Fang Cheng replied, "Go ask Squad Leader Zhang or Lin Gang. They know better than I do." Li Sanshui left, full of questions. Fang Cheng was alone in the City God Temple. No one came to pray. Bored, he continued reading The Abai Detective Files. Time flew by. By noon, he had reached the sixth episode, the final case in the book.

After reading it, he could only describe it as mind-blowing. The killer was a milkman. He hid the murder weapon inside the cow's reproductive organ, led the cow to the victim's home, quietly retrieved the weapon, quietly stabbed the victim to death, quietly hid the weapon back inside the organ, then led the cow away in plain sight. Author, oh author. I really want to meet you and ask how you came up with this. Fang Cheng sighed, feeling a bit empty inside. He had not had enough.

He wondered when the author would write a sequel. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he slapped himself twice. How could he think such a thing? He should not read this. He should not. If he kept reading, his IQ would drop to nothing. Hiss, hiss, hiss...