I Cultivate in a Government Office

Chapter 181: Chapter 112: The Internal Affairs Inspection Case (2)

”Of course I’m free. I’ll be waiting at home.” A thousand things rushed through Yang Wenqing’s mind, but none of them connected. He could only wait quietly for Deputy Director Zhou’s arrival.

About twenty minutes later, an inconspicuous black Flying Shuttle landed silently at the alley entrance. Deputy Director Zhou, alone and in plain clothes, walked through Yang Wenqing’s door.

He didn’t linger in the front hall. After a quick glance at the courtyard gate guarded by patrol officers, he said to Yang Wenqing, ”Wenqing, find a quiet place for us to talk.”

”Alright!” Yang Wenqing led Deputy Director Zhou through the Moon Gate to the patch of dwarf bamboo that had been specially transplanted in the backyard.

The two of them sat down on a stone bench beneath the bamboo.

Deputy Director Zhou didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point. ”The letter you received, and the matter with Ye Yong... I have a general idea of what’s going on. This incident might be connected to a case our Internal Affairs Inspection Division is secretly investigating.”

Yang Wenqing had suspected as much, but a look of surprise still crossed his face. He asked, ”Director Zhou, you mean...”

”Over the past year, several officers within the county bureau—including those in the subordinate precincts—have started acting abnormally.”

Deputy Director Zhou’s voice was low, his gaze seeming to deepen in the bamboo shadows. ”Some suddenly picked up bad habits, like gambling or drinking, and went downhill fast. Others had drastic changes in personality and started acting erratically. And some just quietly resigned or transferred, never to be heard from again. Ye Yong’s situation is not an isolated case.”

As Yang Wenqing listened, a slight chill ran down his spine.

”They’ve done this sort of thing plenty of times before, but it’s rare for them to suddenly become so brazen in the last year.”

Deputy Director Zhou continued, ”They operate with extreme secrecy and leave very few clues. It was only recently, from a few seemingly unrelated accidents and incidents of corruption, that we started to piece together a faint trail. And the congratulatory letter you received today, along with Ye Yong who delivered it, is very likely part of that trail.”

Yang Wenqing fell into thought, then said, ”Something about this feels strange to me. Their methods are too crude.”

”You’re not the only one who thinks so. We find it even stranger.” Deputy Director Zhou’s voice was very low. ”That’s why we suspect they’re doing all this to cover something up.”

”Cover what up?”

Yang Wenqing asked.

Deputy Director Zhou shook his head. ”That’s what we need to investigate, because we don’t know.”

Yang Wenqing studied Deputy Director Zhou. ’His involvement in this case means he must know something. And for a deputy director to get personally involved, it has to be a major case, one that definitely involves the bureau’s upper management.’

”Director Zhou, what do you need me to do?” Yang Wenqing stopped asking questions.

”A two-pronged approach, one overt and one covert.”

Deputy Director Zhou said, ”The Major Case Team will be the overt investigation. Continue investigating Ye Yong according to your procedures. You can make a bit of a show of it, make it look like you’re pulling out all the stops. Meanwhile, we at Internal Affairs Inspection will be the covert investigation. We’ll use other channels and methods to dig deeper. The two teams will share information, but on the surface, you shouldn’t appear to be too connected.”

He paused, his tone becoming more serious. ”Wenqing, this is a risky business. If you notice anything unusual, or if anything feels wrong, contact me directly, immediately. Also, protect our investigators.”

Yang Wenqing nodded solemnly. ”I’ll make the arrangements.”

Deputy Director Zhou clapped him on the shoulder, said no more, and rose to leave. His arrival and departure were both silent, as if it had just been a casual visit from a colleague.

After seeing Deputy Director Zhou off, Yang Wenqing stood alone under the bamboo shadows. He waited until his mind was completely calm, pushing all his troubles to the back of his mind. Then, he turned and walked to the Quiet Chamber, where he sat down cross-legged.

He had been swamped with miscellaneous tasks since his promotion and hadn’t had a chance to properly experience the state of the Fifth Refinement or plan his next steps in cultivation. He first took the black notebook Director Qin had given him from his Storage Bag. Then, he pulled up the detailed Chapter on the Fifth Refinement, ’Meridian Expansion and Widening,’ from the Nine Refining Secret Skill stored in his badge. He carefully studied them both, comparing the two.

Director Qin’s notes were as insightful as expected. They not only outlined the key principles of practicing the Fifth Refinement but also pointed out several easily overlooked bottlenecks and risks. They especially emphasized the balance between the initial expansion of the meridians and the rushing flow of Spiritual Qi, as well as how to use the qi of the Five Elements from the viscera to nourish the newly expanded meridians and prevent damage to one’s foundation.

Comparing the notes with the Secret Technique, Yang Wenqing leveraged his foundation of having already mastered the Fifth Refinement’s meridians. He first circulated his qi along the prescribed route once. There were no obstructions, yet his cultivation progress didn’t advance in the slightest.

So, he pulled up the diagram for the auxiliary Array from the Secret Technique. This Array was called the ’Circulation Meridian Array.’

The Array’s core purpose was to use a gentle, guided flow of Spiritual Qi to help a Cultivator expand and clear the Twelve Main Meridians and their major connecting branches. This would reduce the pain and risk of meridian expansion while increasing its efficiency.

The Array Base required a piece of Meridian-Warming Jade as the core Array eye, which could stably release Spiritual Qi to nourish the meridians and harmonize the Array’s overall energy. This was surrounded by complex Spirit Gathering Array Runes.

And that was it. It was extremely simple. This indicated that cultivation in the Fifth Refinement was a matter of gradual accumulation over time. The accompanying ’Meridian-Passage Purple Spirit Ginseng’ also had gentle medicinal properties, so the cultivation process wouldn’t be too painful.

This was probably because while this step seemed simple, each cultivation session was actually very dangerous. Thus, it required a slow and steady approach. After all, if a problem occurred with one’s Spiritual Veins, their entire cultivation path could be cut short.

As for the Sixth Refinement’s auxiliary Array, it was even simpler: just a basic nourishing Array. The accompanying ’Soul-Condensing Spirit Calming Wood’ wasn’t used for cultivation either. Instead, it was burned to release its fragrance, which would then nourish one’s spirit and consciousness.