“Dead?” Chen Ping'an’s expression was somewhat grim as he listened to Cheng Renjing’s report.

“You mean, the new Commander Fu died on his way to his post?”

“Yes, Sir.” Cheng Renjing’s face was not just grim, but also a little pale.

“He died right on the official road. A group of eleven people, all died horribly!”

The new Commander dying on his way to his post—this was simply… simply a provocation to the Zhenfu Division.

No, it was not just a simple provocation; it was tantamount to a declaration of war!

This matter was far more egregious than imaginable!

Go back ten years, no, twenty years, thirty years, when had such a thing ever happened!?

“Who did it? Any clues?” Chen Ping'an asked.

Cheng Renjing shook his head: “Not yet.”

Chen Ping'an glanced at Cheng Renjing, but said nothing. He stood up from his chair, walked to the window, and looked outside.

“All Chief Warrant Officers and Deputy Total Affairs Offices from each city district, all department heads and deputy heads... call everyone over for an emergency meeting!”

.......

Weishui Town Pacification Bureau.

Inside the council pavilion, the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive. Clearly, Fu Wanyu's death was like a harsh slap to their faces, stinging them painfully.

They had just appointed someone, and the person died on the way before even taking office. What could be more ironic than this?

“Who did it? Ten Thousand Demons Sect? Rising Dragon Path? Tianlian Sect? Or some other force?”

Elder Liu of the Weishui Town Pacification Bureau slammed his hand heavily on the table. Fortunately, he held back, otherwise, the table would probably not have survived.

“This is outrageous! Absolutely audacious!” An elder of Commander rank was filled with rage.

Feng Shixian’s matter had not yet concluded, and now Fu Wanyu’s death was placed before them. This truly caused their anger to surge.

“Are they trying to bully our Weishui Town Pacification Bureau, thinking we have no one!?”

Everyone present was venting their anger. It took a good while before they gradually calmed down and began to discuss the matter rationally.

“Fu Wanyu’s combat power was considerable; perhaps some in the Inner Qi Realm could defeat him. But there were almost none who could kill him. Could it be someone from the Profound Light Realm who made the move?”

“Profound Light Realm? I checked the intelligence. On the day Fu Wanyu died, there were no unusual movements from the Profound Light Realm experts within the Weishui County city’s various Families! It’s unlikely to be a Profound Light Realm expert!”

“Couldn’t it be forces from outside the County City!?”

“Hmm... that is indeed possible. Although if Profound Light Realm experts from Gangs like the Ten Thousand Demons Sect or Rising Dragon Path were to appear, we would generally be aware. But we cannot guarantee 100% monitoring.”

“Whether or not a Profound Light Realm expert made the move is not the main point of the problem. The urgent task is to figure out who is making moves in the dark.”

“Exactly! Investigate thoroughly!”

“......”

The Weishui Town Pacification Bureau discussed intensely and finally settled on a series of strict investigation plans, including but not limited to dispatching arrest and investigation teams, and targeted searches by undercover teams.

“Everyone, quickly implement the newly established regulations to uncover the mastermind as soon as possible. Be aware, this time we have no retreat. If we don’t have a strong countermeasure again, our authority will likely be completely swept away!”

“Yes, exactly.”

Everyone present declared with shared animosity.

They reached a consensus on this investigation. During the implementation phase, they would temporarily set aside prejudices arising from conflicts of interest and put aside their individual agendas, focusing primarily on getting the job done.

“With Fu Wanyu’s death, the positions of outer patrol of the trade route and Baishi City Commander are vacant again! Regarding the candidates, let’s discuss them again.”

Silence filled the pavilion, and no one spoke up.

Two Commanders had died in succession, and the mastermind behind it had not yet been caught. Who knew if the next person sent would repeat the same mistake?

In this matter, the enemy was in the dark, and they were in the open, making it impossible to guard against.

The matter of the Baishi City Garrison Command Commander candidate undoubtedly fell into a stalemate.

“I do have a suggestion. For the two positions of outer patrol of the trade route and Baishi City Commander, we can temporarily set aside the idea of concurrent appointments and separate the two positions. Various pieces of information indicate that the trade route involves significant interests, and the forces behind it are clearly making successive moves because of the trade route patrol. If the person sent to this position is too weak again, it might not be suitable.

Instead of having more problems later, it's better to get it right in one go and transfer a Profound Light Realm master to take charge.”

“That makes sense. What are your thoughts on the specific candidate?”

“The trade route is about to commence operations, and Guan Yuping’s task of opening up and assisting in defense has eased up a bit. Transferring him to be the outer patrol of the trade route is perfectly suitable! He can even be promoted exceptionally in rank!”

“Alright! Then what about the position of Baishi City Commander.......”

The pavilion once again fell silent, completely still.

Aside from the concurrent post of outer patrol of the trade route, the position of Baishi City Commander alone was somewhat lacking in weight. In terms of rank, it was only equivalent to a Chief Warrant Officer in Weishui County City.

Such a position, the strong were unwilling to take, and the weak dared not take.

“No one is speaking? The position of Baishi City Commander can’t just be left vacant!”

After a moment of silence, a voice broke the stillness.

“In my opinion, why not promote Chen Ping'an to the position of Baishi City Garrison Command Commander! How about it?”

“Excellent!”

“Agreed.”

“No objection.”

“......”

......

The news of the new Commander Fu Wanyu dying halfway to his post spread widely in Baishi City, causing a huge uproar.

This incident was a severe blow to the Zhenfu Division’s prestige.

If Feng Shixian’s death had prompted swift action from the Weishui Town Pacification Bureau, it could have salvaged some authority. But Fu Wanyu’s death completely disgraced the Weishui Town Pacification Bureau.

This made some forces within Baishi City eager to stir up trouble.

However, everyone was still observing and dared not make too many moves for the time being, fearing that the Weishui Town Pacification Bureau would retaliate fiercely.

But when the news came that the Weishui Town Pacification Bureau had appointed Chen Ping'an as the Baishi City Garrison Command Commander, the hearts of these forces in Baishi City completely relaxed.

“Hahaha... an Inner Qi Second Level Commander!”

“It seems the Weishui Town Pacification Bureau is also short-handed, otherwise, they wouldn’t have promoted Chen Ping'an under the current circumstances.”

“Inner Qi Second Level is good, but trying to suppress the situation in a city is probably a bit too green!”

“Can’t suppress it? Even better! Then we can profit from it!”

“Hahaha, exactly, exactly!”

“......”

When the news reached the Baishi City Garrison Command, everyone reacted differently; some were optimistic, while others were not.

“Lord Chen... can he do it!? Of course, I don’t mean to insult Lord Chen; I greatly admire Lord Chen’s methods. It’s just his martial Dao Realm, if he were to suppress a region... isn’t that a bit hasty? All those Families and Alliances in the city have Inner Qi Second Level Perfection experts!”

“Several major forces, except for the Iron Fist Gang, all have Inner Qi Second Level Perfection experts in charge, whereas our Zhenfu Division does not. This means we are behind in terms of top-tier combat power. What will we do later!?”

“Yes! Although we won a round before, that was because of the Weishui Town Pacification Bureau, because of Commander Feng. Now Commander Feng is dead, and the Weishui Town Pacification Bureau is preoccupied. This...”

“What are you talking about? Haven’t you seen Lord Chen’s methods!? Trust Lord Chen; he will lead us to glory!”

“Glory!? With just Inner Qi Second Level cultivation?”

“Old Li, it’s not that I don’t think highly of Lord Chen. To be honest, I truly admire Lord Chen’s character! It’s just that Lord Chen is still too young, and compared to others, his cultivation is ultimately a bit weaker!”

“......”