Chen Jiuyang changed into his constable uniform and went to inspect the prison in the seaside port. Most of the inmates were ordinary people, some from Dragon Country and some from Dongying. Most of them looked listless, as if they hadn't been fed for days.
After a round, a voice in Chen Jiuyang's earpiece sounded: "Number One, we've all completed our onboarding and are ready to patrol. Why don't I see you?"
"..." Chen Jiuyang replied, "I've been assigned to guard the prison. This position is quite idle. Send me the information about the trafficking and smuggling ship. I'll investigate it myself later."
"Yes, that ship will enter Seaside Port in half an hour." Number One sent the information to Chen Jiuyang's phone.
Half an hour later, Chen Jiuyang arrived at the Seaside Port. The ship they had been monitoring had already docked and was undergoing customs clearance. It did not carry any containers.
Chen Jiuyang leaped onto the ship by controlling his qi. He placed a hand on a container and expanded his divine soul, searching each container one by one to see which one contained trafficked and smuggled people.
At the Earth Realm stage, the divine soul was particularly important. Unless absolutely necessary, one should avoid using the power of the divine soul, as it would delay progress in Earth Realm cultivation. This was also why Chen Jiuyang had not heard of many Earth Realm Grandmasters fighting in Fengcheng before; most people were diligently cultivating in seclusion.
As time passed, Chen Jiuyang felt increasingly that something was wrong. There were so many containers, and they were basically all normal goods. Not a single container held any living beings. To be safe, Chen Jiuyang even searched the lower decks of the ship, but found nothing.
Finally, Chen Jiuyang returned empty-handed. He frowned and asked Number One, "There were no trafficked or smuggled people on the ship. They were all normal goods."
Number One replied, "Number Zero, the accounts we were monitoring received a large sum of money ten minutes ago."
Chen Jiuyang frowned and pondered.
The case of human trafficking was serious. Ji Lengyue was almost killed because of it, and the Ning family of the Jiangnan Sect was also wiped out because of it. This matter could not be false.
However, Madam Ning and the Dongying businessman from Suzhou and Hangzhou had both given him clues, and the matters involving Wang Juyuan and Fu Niang had led Chen Jiuyang to come to Dongying to investigate personally.
Chen Jiuyang took out his phone and called the Dongying businessman. He said in a deep voice, "The goods on the ship are normal commodities. Are you lying to me?"
The Dongying businessman on the other end of the phone quickly replied, "Mr. Chen, how could I dare to deceive you? I will call and inquire immediately. Please give me two minutes."
Two minutes later, the Dongying businessman said, "Mr. Chen, the Ueda family seems to have realized they are being watched. This ship is a diversion. The real trafficking and smuggling ship will depart from Suzhou and Hangzhou in two days."
Chen Jiuyang said coldly, "If this is false again, you can wait to die, hmph!"
After speaking, Chen Jiuyang hung up the phone and returned to the constable dormitory of the police station to rest.
Lying on the bed, Chen Jiuyang began to ponder the case, bit by bit.
He always felt that something was not right, but he couldn't quite pinpoint it. On the surface, everything was reasonable and logical, but Chen Jiuyang felt uneasy.
The next morning, Chen Jiuyang put on his constable uniform and prepared to go to the prison for duty. However, as soon as he entered the police station, Chen Jiuyang received a notice that he did not need to go to the prison. He was assigned to a patrol team and told to report to the entrance to join the team.
At the main entrance, the Heartless Constable was leading a group of people who were resting. Upon seeing Chen Jiuyang, the Heartless Constable frowned, "You are the one assigned to my team?"
Chen Jiuyang cupped his right fist and said, "Captain, please take care of me in the future. My name is Chen Jiuyang. Brothers, please take care of me as well."
The nine people in the team cupped their fists in response.
"Although your cultivation is a bit weak, the patrol team is short of people, so it's acceptable," the Heartless Constable said. "My name is Lu Jueqing. You can call me Captain Lu."
Chen Jiuyang cupped his right fist again, "Yes!"
After a brief rest, the Heartless Constable stood up, "Let's go, investigate the case."
The team of eleven people stood up in unison and followed the Heartless Constable.
On the way, Chen Jiuyang asked one of his teammates, "What case are we investigating now?"
"Three constables died in the commercial street this morning. Their deaths were tragic."
"Are there any clues to the killer?" Chen Jiuyang asked.
"No, apart from the bodies, there are no other clues at the scene. This is a bit strange."
"What's strange about it?"
"This case occurred in the commercial street, which falls under the jurisdiction of another police station in the west. After someone reported it early in the morning, the constables from the west did not accept it, but specifically requested the Heartless Constable to investigate. The police chief issued an order, so we are going to investigate this case."
Chen Jiuyang nodded, "I understand."
After about half an hour's walk, Chen Jiuyang and his team arrived at the scene of the murder in the commercial street.
The scene was cordoned off by personnel from the West City Police Station, preventing ordinary people from approaching.
There were three bodies at the scene. One body was headless, its body gray and white. The other two bodies also had gray-white bodies, with sword marks of varying degrees on their chests.
Chen Jiuyang did not understand much about investigating cases, but the expressions of the nine people accompanying him changed slightly, and their gazes flickered towards the Heartless Constable.
The next moment, the Heartless Constable drew the long sword at his waist. The nine people around Chen Jiuyang also drew their swords in unison. Chen Jiuyang followed suit and drew his saber, pointing the blade at the constables from the West City Police Station.
The atmosphere at the scene immediately became heavy and tense.
Before the Heartless Constable could speak, a middle-aged constable from the team, holding his sword, asked coldly:
"What do you want? This is such an obvious trap to frame the captain. If you don't explain yourselves today, and we don't have a confrontation, none of you will leave safely!"
"That's right. Although Captain Lu had conflicts with your West City in the past, leading to many disputes, it's wishful thinking to try and frame Captain Lu with this matter!"
"You bullied Captain Lu and his family back then, wasn't that enough? Are you trying to get revenge now?"
With the existing grudges, Chen Jiuyang was inwardly alarmed. It seemed that the police station was not united.
But what was the reason?
Lu Jueqing's expression was calm, and his voice was cold, "You'd better give me a reasonable explanation."
The constable in charge from West City was a one-eyed middle-aged man. His voice was deep and calm, "You have misunderstood."
"Private matters are private matters, and public matters are public matters."
"Three of my constables died in West City. The wounds are all from the Heartless Constable's renowned Frost Sword technique. I really can't imagine who else would use such a sword technique besides Lu Jueqing."
"However, the three deceased constables happened to have had conflicts with Lu Jueqing in the past. If I truly had malicious intent, I would have reported it directly to the highest authority and had Lu Jueqing imprisoned. I called you here to clarify the truth of the matter."
"To avenge my three constables!"
Lu Jueqing frowned and sheathed his sword, "I will believe you for now."