Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

"My lord!"

Seeing Yi Chen walk out with a beaming smile, all members of the Public Security Division outside the Huang residence were stirred with excitement.

"Let's go back, get ready for work!"

Yi Chen waved his large hand, and the team immediately set off.

...

...

Inside the main hall of the Public Security Division.

Yi Chen gathered everyone and began an important speech.

"I've come to Tianfeng Prefecture to do only three things: investigate cases, investigate cases, and investigate cases!"

"Everyone's 'allowance' will be distributed shortly, today's share. I'll take twenty percent, Qi Yuan will take ten percent, Commanders and Hundred Household Heads will take ten percent, the brothers will share thirty percent, and the rest, thirty percent, will be given to those who perform their duties well."

"Starting today, I want you to begin taking action."

"Firstly, investigate! Find out where those missing people have gone, whether there are still disappearances happening. Everyone's livelihood is tied to the well-being of the citizens. The Public Security Division has the responsibility to defend the land, maintain peace, and settle the people's hearts. Such a blunder has occurred in Tianfeng Prefecture, how can you hold your heads high when you go out later?"

"From now on, when you drink with colleagues from other areas, you'll have to keep your cup half a notch lower."

"Therefore, I don't care what methods you use, I only want results. If trouble arises, you have my backing, so investigate rigorously."

"Second, sweep! Investigate thoroughly the inns, ships, gambling dens, and gangs. Those who confess or expose information regarding the disappearances can be treated leniently. I refuse to believe that with so many people missing, none of these trades are covering for them."

"Hmm, remember to bring back their ill-gotten gains, which I will distribute."

"Those who don't cooperate or resist can be executed on the spot. I hope that during my month in Tianfeng Prefecture, not another citizen will vanish without reason. If they're alive, bring them forward; if they're dead, present the body."

"Third, after the sweep, send people to promote everywhere, encouraging the public to report disappearances. Depending on the reliability of the information, rewards will range from one to one hundred taels, paid in silver on the spot. The necessary funds, tentatively two hundred thousand taels, will come from my share. Master Li will be responsible for this matter."

"All information on missing persons must be filed and archived."

After issuing three orders in succession, the entire Tianfeng Prefecture Public Security Division began to operate with a roar.

Yi Chen successfully stirred up everyone's enthusiasm.

After spending more than a day, Yi Chen finally got to make his move.

This was the plan Yi Chen had thought through before his arrival.

First, subdue the members of the Public Security Division, then, with the authority of the Division, press the local wealthy merchants and major families to pay up, divide and conquer, and subsequently use money to fully mobilize the Division.

With a sense of honor in defending their duty, with silver, and with the morale brought by subduing the major families.

Next came the sweep, a crackdown on evil forces. Those who dared show themselves would receive special attention. Without their lackeys' cooperation, the disappearances were sure to be alleviated significantly, clearing the atmosphere and showing determination.

The final step was an old strategy of Yi Chen's. The deepest power of war is rooted among the people. By cleaning up inns, ship operators, and gangs, he was establishing credibility.

It hinted to the public that the sky over Tianfeng Prefecture had changed,

thereby motivating the citizens to actively gather information on the missing persons.

Dig for information, find the threads. After years of accumulation, with all information converged, Yi Chen refused to believe that the person behind the scenes could achieve this scale without leaving any trace.

With such an arrangement, professionals would handle their respective tasks, and Yi Chen would only need to manage Qi Yuan and the few Commanders and Hundred Household Heads.

After the crowd dispersed with a boom, Yi Chen, looking up at the plaque hanging high in the hall, couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Xu Xiaoxun, the prefect, I have indeed tried my best."

"With this whistleblowing money coming out, I've lost at least a hundred thousand taels."

"It's all my money! My money!"

After making the arrangements, Yi Chen turned out to be the most idle person in the Public Security Division.

All he had to do now was wait, wait to see which forces were trying to obstruct his search for people, wait for someone behind the scenes to be unable to restrain themselves and jump out.

When the storm passes over the ridge, only the low-lying grass remains.

He had already promised to stay for a month. During this turbulent time, forces unrelated to the disappearance case would keep their heads down, and only those truly involved in this whirlwind would be afraid.

So, who would it be?

"Someone come!"

"Bring me the information on the evolution of all major forces in Tianfeng Prefecture over the past hundred years. I want to review it."

Suddenly, an idea emerged in Yi Chen's mind. Discover exclusive tales at empire

He might consider another angle, seeking out the turning point where Tianfeng Prefecture went from prosperity to decline.

Which power grew and which settled in to cause Tianfeng Prefecture, the third largest city in Jiangbei Circuit, to decline to its current state? If he could focus on investigating this particular influence,

…

…

"Insolence!"

"Yi Chengzi, you cur, you take my money to bribe people and investigate mine!"

"And all the major families are a bunch of bastards too!"

Inside Jinyi City, Prince Seven once again couldn't help but smash a cup.

He never anticipated that Yi Chen's subsequent tactics would be so precise and ruthless.

Previously, under his planning and various overt and covert resistances, Xu Xiaoxun was basically powerless to take control of the entire Tianfeng Prefecture's Peacekeeping Division.

After all, Xu Xiaoxun's cultivation level and strength were evident, and he could push back on some matters.

Resisting Xu Xiaoxun had basically become an unspoken agreement among all the major powers.

However, no one expected Xu Xiaoxun to die within his own mansion, which drew the attention of Feng Linsu.

Resisting at this time could indeed lead to death.

No one wanted to be the sacrificial lamb.

Under Yi Chen's maneuvers, many powers turned into shrinking turtles, as if enduring a month to send away the plague god.

This made Prince Seven quite anxious.

Yi Chen's two moves that forced Gui Lao to self-destruct his Ten Thousand Ghost Flag to flee for his life — just the cultivation revealed now made it highly unlikely for him to kill Yi Chen.

"My lord, the peripheral people who work for us have been caught by the Peacekeeping Division. Now, the Peacekeeping Division is actively searching for information. What should we do?" asked the Huang Family Head cautiously.

"What else can we do? Clean up what needs to be cleaned, clear all the inventory at hand, and endure him for a month," Prince Seven said bitterly, but a bad premonition was surfacing in his heart.

"No, I have to meet Yi Chengzi myself."

"If he continues to investigate like this, even if we pull back all our feelers, I'm afraid we still can't cover everything."

Once he made up his mind, Prince Seven decided to cut off the external tails and then personally take a trip to Tianfeng Prefecture.

Everything has a price, and he wanted to probe the bottom line of Yi Chen.

…

…

"Heh heh, interesting, it really is interesting."

"This Tianfeng Prefecture was quite all right before, with extremely rich outputs in all areas, yet it began to slowly decline starting from fifty years ago."

"And the influence under Prince Seven also began to swell from that time."

"However, this does not explain the cause of Xu Xiaoxun's death. Is it a coincidence, or is the Yin Phantom Sect deliberately creating confusion?"

"Bring me the suspects brought back, I want to examine them personally in court. Summarize the information on all missing persons and hand it over to me immediately."

As the Peacekeeping Division's investigation and arrests continued, indeed many old cases were unearthed, and when pulling out radishes, the mud followed, and some local tyrants and evil gentry were suppressed, purifying the atmosphere in the entire Tianfeng Prefecture.

For a while, the citizens of Tianfeng Prefecture even started calling Yi Chen 'Yi Qingtian.'

Rumors began among the people.

"With Lord Yi's arrival, justice is restored."

"With Lord Yi's arrival, fairness has arrived."

The people were initially doubtful about Yi Chen's actions, but seeing that the local tyrants, evil gentry, and various forces made no move, some of the bolder ones began quietly approaching the Peacekeeping Division to report the disappearances of people around them.

Once the first person who dared take the risk came back safely and received benefits, many civilians, especially the families of the victims, could not restrain themselves and began to report to the Peacekeeping Division.

As more people were arrested and more reports came in, Yi Chen felt a shock as he reviewed the compiled information.

"Next!"

"Bring forward Zhang Daniu!"

Yi Chen noted down another piece of information, and then asked the burly man with a face full of flesh brought before him, "Zhang Daniu, have you ever trafficked people?"

As he spoke, a deep vortex flashed in the depths of Yi Chen's eyes.

His mesmerizing ability was activated.

"My lord, I have trafficked people."

"Good, confess it all!"