Chapter 52: People Are Always Different from Their Youth

Li Jingxing understood the Sage's profound intention immediately upon hearing these words.

The Sage wanted him to follow the network of interpersonal relationships left behind by his late wife, Yang Xiuhua, attempting to unearth clues that might be linked to the "Necessary Evil" organization.

At the same time, this was the Sage showing compassion for him as the Prime Minister, granting him an opportunity to exert his strength in this case.

In a sense, it could also be considered avenging his wife.

He quickly retraced the memories of his life with his wife in his mind.

At home, they had always avoided discussing official business; his wife would endlessly chatter about the gossip she heard during gatherings with the wives of various ministers, ranging from movie stars' scandals to the latest designer handbags, or the education and advancement of their children.

Li Jingxing would always put on an expression of earnest listening, while his mind had actually long since flown to the complicated affairs of state.

The harder he tried to recall, the more shocked he was to realize that he knew nothing at all about his current wife.

The two of them had known each other since the first grade of elementary school and later graduated from the same university.

At that time, she was the complete opposite of the housewife she had become; she always spoke of wild and untamed ideas, loving to draw all kinds of small animal patterns on her textbooks and notebooks.

He remembered the day of their proposal: she was wearing a simple white dress, with smiles dwelling at the corners of her eyes and brows, secretly writing the four characters "never to part in this life" in the palm of his hand.

Yet, the last time Li Jingxing had held his wife and whispered intimate words to her seemed to be back when he was serving as a town mayor.

A sharp pain pierced through his chest unawares.

Li Jingxing's Adam's apple bobbed violently, his vision suddenly blurring as he said, "Reporting to the Sage, this subject... this subject was negligent in the past and showed far too little care for Xiuhua...

I only knew she was on good terms with the wives of several ministers and frequently attended gatherings, but apart from that, I knew nothing else."

At that moment, even Li Jingxing himself could not tell whether these surging tears were shed for his forever-lost wife, or for a husband's belated, useless remorse?

Or perhaps, this was merely an unconscious, deeply affectionate performance he was staging in front of the Sage?

He could not figure it out; only the lukewarm tears continuously slipped uncontrollably from the corners of his eyes.

Lucia, standing to the side, was deeply shaken. This was the first time she had witnessed with her own eyes a man over fifty grieving and weeping.

A trace of imperceptible curiosity flashed across Nangong Rin's eyes.

She urgently wanted to know whether the Prime Minister's display was genuine emotion or superb acting.

She had always denied the existence of "love," and therefore, whenever she encountered behaviors seemingly related to "love," she could never resist the urge to probe and test them.

Only in the presence of Bai Yujing did she restrain this impulse.

Li Jingxing also quickly wiped away the tear tracks at the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand.

After all, he was no ordinary person.

After a brief moment of loss of control and confusion, the outer shell belonging to a creature of power once again enveloped his heart.

"Xiuhua had a very close relationship with our daughter."

He regulated his breathing, his voice returning to its usual composure. "I will call my daughter and ask. Perhaps she knows who else Xiuhua kept close company with, besides those ministers' wives."

"Good."

Bai Yujing nodded in agreement.

Li Jingxing immediately took out his phone and dialed his daughter's number.

The ringing tone sounded only once before the call was quickly answered, and his daughter's voice, laced with sobbing, came through: "Dad, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Li Jingxing answered briefly, then cut straight to the point. "Do you know who else your mom was close with besides the wives of those ministers?

Especially anyone who might have known about her itinerary when she went out today?"

"This..."

A brief silence and hesitation fell over the other end of the line.

Li Jingxing immediately deepened his tone and rebuked sternly, "Things have come to this, and you're still not telling the truth?!"

Startled by her father's severity, the daughter immediately confessed. "It—it should be Daoist Fengyue.

Mom frequently consulted him for fortune-telling, saying his predictions were remarkably accurate...

Mom also said that the only reason you were able to become Prime Minister was entirely due to the Daoist's behind-the-scenes maneuvering and spell-casting to help you. Therefore, she listened to the Daoist in everything. Whether today was suitable for going out, what could be touched and what could not, she would always ask the Daoist first.

Even... even accepting gifts was suggested by the Daoist. He said that as long as no favors were done in return, one could absorb other people's fortune through this method."

Hearing his daughter's words, Li Jingxing felt a wave of chest tightness and shortness of breath, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

He was a staunch atheist.

No, perhaps to put it more accurately, he was the most loyal servant of "power."

Whoever could grant him power, he would believe in.

In this world, the only one who could bestow upon him supreme authority was the Sage.

Therefore, he had always steadfastly followed the Sage's will and performed his duties to the utmost.

He had ascended to the position of Prime Minister entirely through his own political competence and the Sage's appreciation.

He never expected that his wife, a graduate of a prestigious university, would attribute all of this to a wandering charlatan.

He could even less imagine that his wife's reason for accepting gifts was so absurd and foolish.

Suppressing his surging anger, Li Jingxing pursued the questioning, "What is the name of that Daoist Fengyue? Where does he live?!"

"We don't know his real name; we only know he lives at Room 201, Building 17, North Thirty-Sixth Street, Imperial Capital."

The daughter quickly rattled off a string of addresses.

Bai Yujing turned his head slightly, glanced at Nangong Rin beside him, and said, "Just in time, let Us witness how magic is used to monitor distant places."

Nangong Rin did not refuse; she raised her right hand slightly, and her wide sleeves fluttered accordingly.

A stream of light shot out from her sleeve, suspended in mid-air within the Imperial Study, and rapidly unfolded like a clear, dynamic scroll, revealing the interior scene of a three-bedroom apartment.

The house was completely empty.

"It seems he has fled," Bai Yujing stated. "Try divining his whereabouts."

Nangong Rin pinched her slender fingers together in a slight calculation, her tone remaining soft: "He is dead, killed in the alleyway in the middle of the left side of North Forty-Second Street in the Imperial Capital."

The luminous scroll in the air shifted accordingly, the scene changing to a secluded, deserted alleyway where only the pale, cold light of a streetlamp spilled across the pavement.

"Can you not divine the murderer who killed him?"

"I only have a superficial grasp of divination arts."

Nangong Rin answered truthfully.

Her energy was primarily dedicated to the study of formations; as for divination and other magical arts, she merely dabbled in them during her leisure time, falling far short of the realm where one could snap one's fingers and comprehend all things in the universe.

If she truly possessed such divine abilities, her mind would likely have long since been eroded by the ubiquitous demonic seeds.

After all, peering too far into the future easily touched upon extraterrestrial heavenly demons, and that terrifying contamination was capable of transcending time and space to transform a person into a demon.

Her daring to directly divine Daoist Fengyue just now was based on the certainty that the man had no connection to demons.

Bai Yujing glanced at the light screen showing the alleyway, then turned back to Li Jingxing standing before him. "You've worked hard tonight.

The Disciplinary Bureau will conduct a necessary investigation according to procedures.

Go and prepare for your wife's funeral now. Handle everything according to the rules, and do not have any misgivings."

"Thank you for the Sage's grace!"

Li Jingxing bowed deeply.

He understood Bai Yujing's subtext: the investigation would not continue to hold Yang Xiuhua accountable.

Since the person was already dead, pursuing accountability ultimately amounted to nothing more than posthumous reputation.

Nailing someone to the pillar of historical shame.

Yet Yang Xiuhua's actions had not been egregious enough to warrant suffering humiliation after death.

She had only accepted gifts without ever performing any favors in return, and her motivation stemmed from being misled by that Daoist Fengyue.

In Bai Yujing's view, she had already paid with her life for her foolishness, and there was no need to inflict additional punishment.

Bai Yujing promptly issued an order through the internal affairs system to the Commissioner-General of the National Police: "Immediately thoroughly investigate all personal records of Daoist Fengyue.

And dispatch personnel to the alleyway in the middle of the left side of North Forty-Second Street in the Imperial Capital to find out who silenced him and capture the murderer!"