Unsurprisingly, amidst the young woman's high-decibel screams that nearly pierced the heavens, Li Nan Ke, the “flower-plucking thief,” was put on trial in the main hall like a common criminal.

Everyone’s gazes were exceptionally strange.

It was as if they had just discovered that Ultraman was actually a little monster in disguise.

If that rascal Iron Ox had been there, he would surely have tut-tutted, “Who would’ve thought, who would’ve thought… that even an honest-looking, thick-browed fellow like you would turn out to be a flower-plucking thief.”

“I can explain.”

Li Nan Ke calmly met Leng Xinnan’s cold, frosty gaze.

“It wasn’t intentional. I was originally looking for you, and in my haste…”

Fine, the man couldn’t bring himself to continue with such a flimsy excuse.

“I believe you.”

The next moment, however, someone spoke up in support of Li Nan Ke.

It was none other than the quiet Guo Gang.

Li Nan Ke was instantly moved to tears internally. Our Brother Gang is the one who truly understands me.

Using what he believed to be a mind in no way inferior to Li Nan Ke’s, Guo Gang deduced, “Brother Li must have been planning to secretly peep on Sister Leng while she bathed, but went to the wrong room by mistake, resulting in this misunderstanding.”

Li Nan Ke: “???”

No wonder you can’t do crosstalk with a surname like Guo. Turns out you’re short on ‘De’ (virtue)!

Fortunately, Caiyun, Caiyue, and the others voiced their support for Li Nan Ke, believing he was not the type to engage in such debauchery.

This finally allowed Li Nan Ke to breathe a sigh of relief.

See that? This was the benefit of having made a good impression.

The man’s tall and noble image was already deeply rooted in everyone’s minds, so they would naturally help prove his innocence.

“The rest of you, leave first.”

Leng Xinnan raised a hand to dismiss the others. She then turned to Li Nan Ke and asked, “I believe you, too. But I must confirm one thing: did you actually see Little Rabbit’s body?”

The woman’s expression was serious, her sharp, almond-shaped eyes fixed on his.

A young woman’s innocence was not a laughing matter.

Li Nan Ke met her gaze directly and raised two fingers.

“I swear, apart from the hair on her head and her eyebrows, I didn’t see a single other hair on her body.”

The woman stared at him without speaking, trying to discern if he was telling the truth.

The eyes cannot lie.

Leng Xinnan could indeed see forthright honesty in his eyes. If he said he didn’t see a single hair, then he truly didn’t see a single hair.

The young woman’s gaze softened considerably. “What did you need to see me about?”

“I saw the mysterious woman today in Qinqin’s Red Rain dream,” Li Nan Ke said, wiping non-existent sweat from his brow.

Leng Xinnan, who was just about to pour him some tea, froze mid-action. She turned to look at him, her brows furrowing.

“Are you saying she’s a Dream Weaver, too?”

“Yes, and a very powerful one.”

Li Nan Ke’s expression was extremely grave.

Although he didn’t know her cultivation level in the real world, her self-assurance suggested it couldn’t be bad. Coupled with the fact that she was a high-level Dream Weaver, this woman was definitely not to be underestimated.

“Why are you only telling me now?” the woman asked, displeased.

Li Nan Ke explained, “There were just a lot of suspicious points I didn’t understand, and I was planning to figure them out by myself.”

This was consistent with his character; he had done the same during the Lin residence case, deliberately holding things back.

Leng Xinnan said, “If she’s a Dream Weaver, I can check the archives. I might be able to determine her identity.”

“She didn’t hide her identity,” Li Nan Ke said. “She’s the daughter of the Heavenly Dome Cult’s Master.”

“The Cult Master’s daughter?”

Leng Xinnan made no effort to hide her astonishment.

“Tell me about this Heavenly Dome Cult.”

Li Nan Ke’s interest was piqued.

Leng Xinnan stood in a daze for a long time before she began to speak.

“The Master of the Heavenly Dome Cult was a man named He Nantian, and his cultivation was exceedingly high. He also had two sworn brothers, Wan Wuya and Nangong Ge, who were also incredibly powerful.”

“Nine years ago, He Nantian suffered a Qi Deviation during his cultivation and died in the secret chamber where he was in seclusion. Afterward, Wan Wuya and Nangong Ge temporarily took charge of the Heavenly Dome Cult.”

“After his death, He Nantian left behind a wife and a pair of ten-year-old twin daughters.”

“The elder daughter is named He Panjun, and the younger is named He Xinyue.”

“Because Mrs. He was from the Gulan Kingdom, both girls are of mixed blood.”

“Originally, Wan Wuya proposed that the elder daughter, He Panjun, inherit her father’s title of Cult Master, but this was met with opposition from Nangong Ge. Due to the constant conflict between them, the Heavenly Dome Cult gradually split into two factions.”

“The ‘Pro-He Faction,’ headed by Wan Wuya, and the ‘New Faction,’ headed by Nangong Ge.”

“And so, to this day, the Heavenly Dome Cult still does not have a new Cult Master.”

Leng Xinnan paused to let Li Nan Ke digest the information before continuing.

“Although Wan Wuya leads the ‘Pro-He Faction,’ he is an incredibly ambitious man himself. He merely wants to use He Nantian’s family as political leverage for his own schemes.”

“In such an environment, it was difficult for Mrs. He and her two daughters to grasp any of the cult’s core power.”

“The elder daughter, He Panjun, however, inherited her father’s talent. At thirteen, she went to the Tianshan Mountains to cultivate and has some connection to my Master’s sect. She later traveled beyond the Great Wall to the northern deserts, where she developed formidable skills.”

“She returned to the Heavenly Dome Cult last year and, with her mother’s help, gathered a number of followers in an attempt to seize control.”

From Leng Xinnan’s account, Li Nan Ke gained a general understanding of the Heavenly Dome Cult’s current situation.

It was clearly not as united as it seemed.

The plot to seize power had already reached a fever pitch.

“It seems the mysterious woman who’s been testing me is He Panjun,” Li Nan Ke murmured, stroking his chin.

“Now I understand why she wants to recruit me into the Heavenly Dome Cult.”

“What kind of major case do you think will happen in three days?” Leng Xinnan asked, her face full of worry.

Li Nan Ke chuckled.

“Who cares what it is. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. As long as it doesn’t involve me, I can’t be bothered to deal with it.”

……

Three days isn't a short time, but it isn't long either.

If you weren't a premium member, it would be over in the time it takes to download a movie.

Over these three days, apart from visiting Luo Qian Qiu for massages, Leng Xinnan spent all her time leading her team in pursuit of the Yun City Demonic Creature, and they actually managed to track down a lead.

However, when they were closing in for the capture, an unexpected incident occurred, allowing the Demonic Creature to escape.

Li Nan Ke was not the least bit surprised by this.

He had already figured it out when they were dealing with the Demonic Creature Old Qin. Apart from Leng Xinnan and Meng Xiao Tu, the rest of the group were just slackers without any real ability.

Now, with Leng Xinnan seriously injured and Little Rabbit’s true skills only effective within a Red Rain dream, it would be a wonder if they managed to catch it.

It seemed that the Vermilion Bird Division’s past merits were basically all thanks to the efforts of that workaholic, Leng Xinnan, alone.

Sister Leng is working too hard. My heart aches for her.

Before his official appointment came down, Li Nan Ke had no intention of helping. He spent his days at home, cultivating his relationship with his wife.

Things like playing Gomoku, accompanying his wife to the mountains to gather herbs, petting Sister Goose, thrashing Grandpa Turtle, and then practicing his skills… though his total training time never exceeded ten minutes.

But to his dismay, Little Rabbit was ignoring him.

Whenever they met, she would turn her head and pretend not to see him.

He even considered stewing Sister Goose as a peace offering to the girl, but then he remembered that Sister Goose was, after all, family. He couldn’t do that.

If he was going to stew someone, it would have to be the old bastard turtle.

……

On this day, Magistrate Shen Chun He suddenly summoned Li Nan Ke to the county yamen.

Ever since appointing Li Nan Ke as his advisor, Shen Chun He had immediately launched a county-wide PR campaign. By now, even the dogs on the roadside knew that Li Nan Ke had become the “dog-head advisor.”

“Ah, Nan Ke, you’re here! Sit, sit, sit…”

With three consecutive invitations to sit, the Magistrate very cordially seated Li Nan Ke in a chair, his face wreathed in smiles.

Li Nan Ke was overwhelmed by this favor and responded with repeated pleasantries.

“Aiya, this official had thought that many people would object to me making an exception to promote you to advisor, but it turns out they are all quite pleased. It seems your capabilities at work are well-recognized by everyone.”

Shen Chun He motioned for a servant girl to bring tea and said with a chuckle, “It also proves that this official is a good judge of character.”

Work?

I haven’t worked on a single damn thing.

Li Nan Ke thought sarcastically, but on the surface, he cupped his hands in a fist.

“It is all due to your Lordship’s excellent guidance.”

Shen Chun He smiled and changed the subject

“I’ve seen Lord Leng and her team have been quite busy these past few days. How is the hunt for the Demonic Creature progressing? Is there any assistance our county yamen can provide?”

Clearly, he was fishing for inside information.

Li Nan Ke said apologetically, “For the past two days, your humble subordinate has been at home with his wife, so I am not clear on the specifics of the situation.”

“Oh, at home with your wife, you say…”

Shen Chun He paused for a moment, then said with a smile, “Nan Ke is quite the family man. A virtuous wife at home, a talented groom and a beautiful bride… such a loving couple is truly the envy of others.”

These were purely conventional pleasantries.

Shen Chun He had met Luo Qian Qiu and knew that her appearance was plain and unremarkable.

Li Nan Ke said humbly, “Your Lordship overpraises me. My wife is but an ordinary physician; in terms of appearance, she naturally cannot compare with your esteemed wives.”

“Now those words are a bit shallow. One cannot judge a person by their appearance alone.”

Shen Chun He sighed. “Take my Third Madam, for instance. She looks so charming and exquisite, but that little cherry mouth of hers can hold a half-jin peach. How to put it…”

Shen Chun He lifted his teacup, blew on the surface, and said languidly, “It’s like the display at a coffin shop. They put a small coffin out front for show, but the ones inside are enormously out of proportion. A complete waste of this official’s interest.”

Li Nan Ke gave a dry cough and remained silent.

There was no way to respond to a topic like that.

Once the chitchat was more or less over, Shen Chun He finally got down to business.

“This official has just received a notice. A troop of Shadow Guards will be arriving in our Dongqi County tomorrow. I’ve no idea what their business is.”

Shen Chun He looked at Li Nan Ke, an inexplicable meaning floating in his eyes, and said with a smile,

“Unfortunately, this official has taken ill. Therefore, you will be the one to host them. Consider it a chance for you to curry favor with your superiors.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com