The Ming Dynasty's henchmen, working from nine to five

Chapter 64 Weaving Fate with Silk, Rank 6 Fate Master!

"This is absurd, how could the princess..." Yan Zheng shook his head abruptly.

Shen Lang said, "Whether it is or not, a simple investigation will tell."

As he spoke, he turned to Zhang Xian and asked again, "Sir, may we request a coroner to examine the body?"

Zhang Xian frowned slightly: "Princess Yongci is of royal blood. Without His Majesty's permission, neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Embroidered Uniform Guard is qualified to examine her body."

"Lu Gongming said that this case must not be brought to the Emperor's attention until it has been thoroughly investigated. The matter of the autopsy is somewhat difficult to handle."

Zhang Xian pondered for a moment, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes: "This matter is of great importance; we must know the exact result no matter what."

"Don't worry, I'll find a way to resolve this."

Chu Hongye frowned slightly as she pondered, "The person who came to report the case was Princess Yongci's personal maid. She looked extremely flustered and on the verge of a mental breakdown, which doesn't seem like she was faking it."

"According to her, she has personally taken care of the princess's daily needs for the past month."

"If Shen Lang's deduction is correct, she stayed with the princess's corpse for a month without discovering anything unusual..."

As Chu Hongye spoke, her expression became extremely solemn.

Yan Zheng exhaled and said in a deep voice, "Weaving fate with threads."

"This is a technique only a sixth-rank fate master possesses!"

A sixth-rank fortune teller?

Shen Lang's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "This subordinate doesn't know much about the art of fate masters. Could you please enlighten me, Lord Yan?"

Yan Zheng glanced at him and slowly said, "The fortune teller is mysterious and unpredictable, a secret of the royal family. I don't know too much about him."

"According to information gathered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard over many years, fortune tellers, like martial artists, are divided into nine ranks."

"Those who observe qi receive a pardon from the emperor, abandon their physical bodies, and transform into ethereal forms that cannot be seen without divine consciousness; thus, they are considered to have entered the ranks."

"Ninth-rank fortune tellers are weak, possessing only superficial methods such as observing qi and predicting fortune. Half of the fortune tellers in the Imperial Observatory are at this level."

"From the eighth rank onwards, the Fate Master gains the ability to break through the illusory and manipulate the secrets of heaven."

"In the case of the flower thief, those people who claimed to have seen strange things and wandered around in the dark, unable to escape, belonged to this category."

Shen Lang nodded slightly. Deceiving people's cognition and five senses to create a near-realistic illusion is somewhat similar to "being trapped in a maze".

Yan Zheng continued, "A seventh-rank Fate Master has already made initial contact with the Dao of Cause and Effect."

"If Princess Yongci really died a month ago, but her body is not decayed, then there is only one possibility: a seventh-rank fate master severed her karma and temporarily obscured the secrets of heaven, preventing her from falling into the five elements."

"As for the sixth rank..."

At this point, Yan Zheng frowned, looking as if he wanted to say something profound.

Zhang Xian continued, "A sixth-rank Fate Master has mastered the art of unorthodox methods. With a wave of his hand, he can manipulate the threads of fate, drawing them, severing them, or turning them around."

"Fortune and misfortune are determined by a single thought; words spoken carry the law."

"What the maid saw must have been an illusion created by the fortune teller using Princess Yongci's life force."

Shen Lang's eyes flickered slightly as he severed cause and effect, woven together destiny, and made his words law...

The fortune teller's methods were far more mysterious and bizarre than he had imagined!

But so what?

Recalling that fleeting glimpse at the Prince's mansion, a cold glint flashed in Shen Lang's eyes.

Only now did he realize that the illusory light and shadow that appeared in the Jing'an Prince's Mansion was the Fate Master's 'illusory appearance'.

The fact that the main body had arrived but retreated without a fight indicates that this person had reservations.

"Those who are timid should retreat first; those who are brave and fearless should forge ahead!"

"So what if he's a sixth-rank fortune teller?"

"Strike while the iron is hot; the advantage is in my hands!"

Seeing Shen Lang's eyes gleaming as he fell into deep thought, Zhang Xian added, "Although the methods of a Fate Master are mysterious and unpredictable, we martial artists need not belittle ourselves."

"A martial artist cultivates his physique, making his blood and qi as powerful as molten lava. When his essence and qi are refined to the extreme and break through the shackles, even a master of destiny must give way."

"Third-rank martial artist...Transcendent Realm."

Shen Lang couldn't help but feel a longing.

Xu Jingde once said something similar: only after a martial artist breaks through to the third rank and condenses their divine sense can they see the true nature of the world.

The way of the martial artist is a chasm of one rank; every improvement is a qualitative leap.

He is currently an eighth-rank martial artist, and there is still a long way to go before he reaches the third rank, but he believes that he will reach the end one day.

And that day will never be too late.

"Red Leaf, bring all our people back."

"Also, release all those people from the Princess's residence. Let the Ministry of Justice investigate this matter, so as not to alert them."

"Understood." Chu Hongye nodded and left to carry out the order.

Zhang Xian turned to look at Shen Lang and said, "You don't need to follow up on this case anymore. Hand it over to the yamen."

"I will inform Lord Lu and find the real culprit as quickly as possible!"

"Yes, sir!" Shen Lang clasped his hands in a fist salute.

It was exactly what he wanted that the Embroidered Uniform Guard could take over the most troublesome and dangerous parts of the case. Now that the case had reached this stage, he had done everything he could.

How Lord Lu will maneuver and how he will use this matter to secure the greatest benefit for the Embroidered Uniform Guard is none of his concern.

Next, he had something even more important to accomplish.

Zhang Xian was discussing the details with Yan Zheng when Shen Lang seized the opportunity to interrupt:

"My lord, where was Princess Yongci's body found?"

"Qingyun Temple, on the outskirts of Yujing City." Zhang Xian turned his head and looked over.

"Princess Yongci began practicing vegetarianism and reciting Buddhist scriptures with the Empress Dowager at the age of ten. Three years ago, after the Empress Dowager passed away, she formally entered Qingyun Temple and became a lay disciple."

"In recent years, the princess has been staying at Qingyun Temple to cultivate herself in order to pray for the Empress Dowager's well-being. Everyone in the court praised the princess for her filial piety and said she was a model for the royal family. I never expected..." Zhang Xian shook his head.

"Qingyun Temple".

Shen Lang silently recited the question in his mind, then asked, "Sir, how much contribution will I receive after this case is closed?"

Zhang Xian was taken aback, then chuckled, "You've already stirred up a hornet's nest, aren't you worried about your own safety, but instead you have the mind to think about these things?"

Shen Lang cupped his hands in greeting: "It was precisely because I was worried that I dared to ask for credit from you, sir."

"As you know, I am just a country bumpkin, and all I have learned are some martial arts skills. Now that I have heard that the fortune teller's methods are strange, I am quite uneasy."

"I wonder if you would allow me to use some of my contribution points to exchange for a few cultivation techniques to protect myself?"

Zhang Xian chuckled: "Changing your main cultivation method is not something that can be done overnight. If you start learning it now, it will probably be difficult to put it to use for several years."

Shen Lang didn't explain further, insisting, "Please grant my request, sir, just to put my mind at ease."

Zhang Xian thought for a moment, then got up and left the quiet room. He quickly returned with a slightly worn ancient book, handed it to Shen Lang, and said:

"The rules of Zhenwu Pavilion were set by Lord Lu, and I have no right to change them. You may enter only after the case is closed and the merits are rewarded."

"This technique is from my collection; you can practice it first."

"Thank you, sir!"

Shen Lang bowed and then looked down.

On this yellowed ancient book, six large characters were clearly written—

The Heart Sutra for Subduing Demons and Suppressing Prisons