Chapter 1390: Diverse Aspects of Life

Bedchambers, study, training ground, memorial hall, garden, quiet chamber, even hidden doors and secret rooms...Divine soul like water, flowing back and forth.The saying goes, "Environment changes temperament, nurturing changes physique." Conversely, a person also influences the environment in which they reside.Observing this palace with such detail is also a way of understanding Jiang Wuqi from another perspective.His past radiance, his present sorrowful clarity, all stemmed from one person.One person, one life, one thread of vital energy and spirit.Jiang Wang observed very seriously. An unparalleled person like Jiang Wuqi, aiming for the One-Step Insight Realm, must have his unique understanding of this world. This understanding might not be uniform, but it is definitely worth knowing and learning from.As the saying goes, "See a virtuous person, strive to be like them; see an unvirtuous person, examine oneself."The process of further understanding Jiang Wuqi is also a process of self-enlightenment.With the help of the Crimson Mirror, Jiang Wang missed almost no details.He saw quite a bit of valuable information, but he couldn't find any information possibly related to Consort Lei's assassination.Looking at the two Azure-Badge constables still busy before him, Jiang Wang swallowed a sigh into his heart.He understood there was another possibility – perhaps he had already seen the relevant clues, but simply didn't know they were related to Consort Lei's assassination.After all, he only knew scattered bits and pieces about that major case in the thirty-eighth year of Yuanfeng.Who was involved, who was the prime suspect back then, why did it end up a cold case... he knew nothing.Perhaps the clues were laid out before him and he didn't recognize them. What he thought before was indeed a bit naive.After all, everyone has their specialization. Perhaps he could only wait for the search results of Lin Youxie or Zheng Shangming...Jiang Wang scanned aimlessly with the help of the Crimson Mirror, his attention suddenly returning to the screen wall in the front hall.When Feng Gu sent him off that day, he stopped before this screen wall and said a few words. That was also Feng Gu's last conversation with him.At that time, Feng Gu's first question was – "My lord, do you believe in the Eleventh Prince?"Thinking about it now, did that question hold a deeper meaning?Could there be some hidden information in the place he specifically stopped?Since Feng Gu hoped in his suicide note that he would supervise the progress of the case, according to normal reasoning, he should have left him some clues... just like the small knife Lin Youxie received.But Jiang Wang had recalled it many times, and hadn't found anything particularly special.Feng Gu's words did reveal that he wanted to do something, but he didn't mention any more specific details.Jiang Wang had seen this screen wall several times going in and out of the Palace of Longevity. The back of the screen wall was a very exquisite painting, with the title "Aspects of All Beings" written on the right.The signature was "Master of the Palace of Longevity."Jiang Wuqi himself was skilled in calligraphy, painting, poetry, and literature, and left many ink treasures in the palace. Jiang Wang had seen many of them, and while he knew they were excellent, truthfully, his ability to appreciate these things was currently limited to the level of clapping in approval. He could hardly articulate where they were good...Therefore, he had only taken a cursory glance at the painting on the screen wall earlier and hadn't paid attention. Now, as he focused and observed carefully, he couldn't help but be amazed.On this painting, peddlers and porters, kings and generals, thousands of faces, all were lifelike.Moreover, there were carved railings and painted beams, carriages and horses flowing like water. There were distant mountains with faint outlines, deep flowing quiet water, flowers and birds on verdant trees, old men and playful children.Upon closer examination, it was truly "one painting encompassing all beings."It wasn't just that people were fulfilling their duties, but also that some stories were unfolding in certain places.Those playing and roughhousing, those with arms around shoulders, those greeting and seeing off...For example, in the lower left corner of this mural, there was a person dressed neatly and appropriately, gently touching his ear with his left index finger, and pointing at the paper on the table in front of him with his right hand... It was obvious that his hearing was inconvenient, and he was asking for communication through text.And the person opposite him, talking eloquently with his head tilted back, was wearing patched clothes, with dull eyes, and one hand was leaning on a blind cane, clearly someone with impaired vision...The deaf communicating with the blind, the former gesturing, the latter talking voluminously, truly strange and wondrous.For example, there was a farmer carrying manure walking on the riverbank, and passersby covered their noses.Only a fisherman with a rod stood still, calm and composed... It was clear that his nose was damaged.Because of this lost sense of smell, he missed some wonders, but also avoided some troubles.Such examples were numerous and varied.The more one looked closely at such a mural, the more ineffable its wonder felt.Truly, every part was brilliant, as if it had depicted "people" and painted "life" to their fullest.Having walked this path, Jiang Wang had seen grand waves and gentle ripples, observed many people, and recognized not a few. He had independently created the Character Sword (人字劍), seeing all beings, and evolving all beings.In just a few short years after reaching the Transcendent realm, he had witnessed brilliance that many people never witness in a lifetime.But after all, it was only "a few years."He never dared to say that the Character Sword was complete, much less that he had seen the entirety of humanity.At this time, meticulously examining this painting was like experiencing the painter's experiences, observing thousands of lives in the world constructed by the painter... the harvest was bountiful.Zheng Shangming, who was using a secret method to search for secret marks in every book, was startled and turned back abruptly, having already sensed the terrifying sword intent emanating from Jiang Wang, contained but not yet revealed, yet possessing the power to destroy mountains.He had long known that Jiang Wang's strength was formidable, and he firmly believed that Jiang Qingyang was the foremost prodigy of Qi.After all, the lesson from their encounter at Mount Ganma was deep enough. Afterwards, Jiang Wang advanced by leaps and bounds. Every battle record that arrived almost left people speechless, step by step breaking legends and creating history.But those battle records were, after all, distant.Now, right before his eyes, this person stood by the door for half a day, and his swordsmanship improved?Is this the mark of an unparalleled prodigy?First there was Jiang Wuqi suppressing his cultivation progress by drinking medicine, and then there was Jiang Qingyang gaining insight into swordsmanship just by standing guard for a while.Zheng Shangming looked at the military treatise he held in his hand, "Nine Discussions on Generals, Eight Methods of Selecting Soldiers," and suddenly felt life becoming utterly dull.If talent were likened to generals, then perhaps people like Jiang Wang and Jiang Wuqi were generals of the first discussion, while he was probably at the fifth or sixth discussion...The weight of his gaze instantly touched Jiang Wang. He subtly withdrew his sword intent and temporarily released his observation of the "Aspects of All Beings" mural. He looked at Zheng Shangming and Lin Youxie, who also showed surprise in their eyes, and asked softly, "Found any clues?"He almost transmitted his voice separately to ask, but fortunately, his state of mind was still clear and he didn't cause an awkward situation.Zheng Shangming shook his head: "Feng Gu's death is full of doubts, and the clues are very scattered. Although some information has been gathered, we cannot be sure if it is useful and still need to go back and compare it with the testimonies to be sure... How about Vice-Envoy Lin?""Similar to you," Lin Youxie said coolly.Zheng Shangming discussed and asked: "Then shall we go back first, or continue?"Lin Youxie said: "Let's go back first, I'll examine that bowl of medicinal soup."The examination of the medicinal soup could certainly only be done in the Inspection Office. Although Lin Youxie said she would examine it herself, it was impossible without others supervising. Therefore, Zheng Shangming didn't care much, and only carefully put the military treatise in his hand back in its original place."Then we'll go back first and come back tomorrow," he looked at Jiang Wang: "Would Lord Jiang go back first, or return to the Inspection Office with us? You now have the right to examine Feng Gu's corpse, investigate related case files, and interrogate related personnel."Jiang Wang looked at these two people, completely unable to determine if they had found the clues they wanted...This was good too, avoiding worry."Let's go to the Inspection Office," he said.The carriage had already started moving, and the palace gate behind them was locked once again.The Palace of Longevity returned to cold silence.Jiang Wang was still thinking about that screen wall.The location of this screen wall was not far from the main gate of the Palace of Longevity, and the mural was personally painted by Jiang Wuqi, so it could certainly represent some of Jiang Wuqi's ideas, or perhaps tendencies.One brushstroke encompassing all beings, of course, showed great vision.But this "Aspects of All Beings" mural, did it mean "seeing all beings, being inclusive of all beings"?Or did it mean "ruling all beings, first understanding all beings"?Did the things that kings, generals, peddlers, and porters were experiencing represent Jiang Wuqi's view of the current situation?Was there some mystery in Feng Gu's stop here at that time?In such a painting of a thousand faces, Jiang Wang silently recalled the figures who stopped within it, observing what they were doing, hoping to find possible connections.This was a meticulous and lengthy task, making it difficult to be distracted.The carriage stopped."We're here," Zheng Shangming was the first to get out of the carriage.Lin Youxie followed closely.The three of them were each preoccupied with their own thoughts, and there was no communication.Jiang Wang followed behind them and entered the North Bureau once again.Such a yamen that held immense power covered a vast area. Jiang Wang had been here several times, but what he saw was still limited, and he did not have a complete picture of the North Bureau in his mind.Today was the first time he saw the North Bureau's prison –A iron house stood on a barren plain, with no other buildings around, and the stone slabs were exposed. The iron house itself was merely a place for guards to verify identities; the real prison was underground.Zheng Shangming went to interrogate the maids and eunuchs of the Palace of Longevity, while Lin Youxie had already gone ahead to examine the bowl of medicinal soup.Jiang Wang did not follow either of them, and went straight to the morgue.The North Bureau had a dedicated morgue, located not far from the North Bureau's prison...Of course, this arrangement inevitably carried a sense of intimidation, as if those tortured in the prison would be directly taken to the morgue.But in reality, such occurrences were relatively rare.The North Bureau had strict review procedures for killing. Those who abused their power to kill today would be inmates of the North Bureau's prison tomorrow. Those who killed without orders would be held accountable.Compared to the heavenly prison supervised by the Night Watchmen, the North Bureau's prison was much gentler.The maids and eunuchs from the Palace of Longevity were temporarily held here simply for the secrecy of the case. Once the case was closed, they could leave, so they would generally not suffer any harm.Of course, the internal levels of the North Bureau's prison also varied, corresponding to different types of prisoners. The term "gentle" was only relative.A deceased person of Feng Gu's status was naturally of a relatively high level in the North Bureau's morgue, enjoying a quiet chamber alone.There were dedicated guards at the entrance, and entry and exit were not allowed without the North Bureau's seal.Even when Jiang Wang entered, an Azure-Badge constable from the North Bureau accompanied him, standing silently in the room, overseeing the proceedings as a routine.Under such measures, it was extremely difficult to tamper with Feng Gu's corpse. It was even more impossible to tamper with it and not be discovered by the seasoned Azure-Badge constables.A lonely stone coffin stood in the center of the room.This kind of stone coffin used for laying out the dead was extremely precious, and certainly not everyone was qualified to use it. The stone coffin itself was engraved with formation patterns to prevent the body from decaying, preserving the state at the time of death to the greatest extent.Therefore, when Jiang Wang saw Feng Gu, the body had not yet undergone any changes.It was naked, with some extremely fine knife marks, which had been examined by the Azure-Badge constables countless times.Jiang Wang recognized that some of the marks were left by Lin Youxie. He had personally witnessed Lin Youxie dissecting bodies and recognized her unique technique.He gently closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his left eye had turned crimson.In the state of the Dry Yang Eye, he examined the body, capturing details...Naturally, the result was nothing.He found no injuries other than the ligature marks on the neck, and no traces of anyone tampering with the body.Jiang Wang hadn't expected to find anything anyway. After the examination, he secretly used the technique of Recollection, wanting to see if he could replicate a bit of Feng Gu's divine soul aura...But he was completely dead. His divine soul had dispersed cleanly, leaving no trace behind.Looking at Feng Gu's eyes, which were still wide open in death, Jiang Wang asked in his heart: "Do you know that what you wanted may never be realized?"This question, of course, would have no answer.Jiang Wang withdrew his Dry Yang Eye and turned to leave.The Azure-Badge constable who accompanied Lord Jiang in examining the body was a middle-aged man of about forty years old.He seemed very reserved and reliable.From beginning to end, he did not utter a sound.Only after Jiang Wang left the room did he follow behind, walking quickly outwards.Passing by the stone coffin, he extended his palm and quickly swept it above Feng Gu's body, then clenched his hand into a fist, as if he had grasped something. Following closely behind Jiang Wang, he stepped out of the morgue, smoothly closing the door and locking it.The entire process was effortless, natural as flowing clouds...It should not have been noticed by anyone.He had such confidence. He lowered his eyes discreetly, not saying a word.But what he failed to see was...Jiang Wang, who was walking outwards along the corridor, flipped his left hand, and a small cosmetic mirror had quietly been put away.Jiang Wang's original intention in covering this morgue with the Crimson Mirror was to help himself find possible clues. He would look once himself, and then examine it again through the Crimson Mirror.He didn't expect to "see" this interesting scene.Whose side was this accompanying Azure-Badge constable on?What did this person want to do, and what had he already done?Jiang Wang didn't think that was the North Bureau's routine inspection of the body. If it was just an inspection, there was no need to do it so secretly, and it shouldn't have been hidden from Jiang Wang, the one who came to examine the body, at all.An unsupervised inspection was inherently unfair.Jiang Wang walked outwards without batting an eye.There was no need to expose him now. Firstly, those who came out to do things like this could easily have their subsequent clues cut off once exposed. Secondly, even with the Crimson Mirror, he hadn't discovered what this person had done to Feng Gu's body. Even if he caused a stir now and captured this person, he might not be able to seize the "evidence" and would instead alert the enemy.It was better to wait for what followed.Following the rules, he signed and fingerprinted at the person in charge of the morgue, confirming that he had visited the morgue and completed the supervision of Feng Gu's body.Only then did he leave.From beginning to end, Jiang Wang did not give the constable who accompanied him into the morgue another look, but he had firmly remembered this person's face in his heart –Thick eyebrows, deep eyes, a large nose.His eyes looked very gentle. But that right hand had definitely torn apart many people's hands.Too relaxed, and yet too steady.