Chapter Seventy-Nine: On the Origin of Qi and Zhang Taixu…

Kong Qing crouched halfway, and before him knelt a woman lavishly adorned in pearls and jewels, yet her face was pale with terror.

He gripped her chin tightly, his voice harsh as he demanded, "I'll ask you one last time—where did Li Lezhi hide his ill-gotten wealth?"

"My lord... I swear... I truly do not know..." she stammered.

"You are his wife, and you claim not to know?"

"......"

"Fine! Let’s see how stubborn you can be!"

With a cold sneer, Kong Qing straightened up, snatched a nearby whip, and brought it crashing down upon her. The cries and pleas for mercy echoed from her lips.

Xu Boqing paused at the scene, momentarily stunned. He realized he had misjudged the situation. His subordinate had indeed used force, but not excessively so.

Noticing the arrival of the Inspector, Kong Qing halted, quickly tossed aside the whip, and bowed low. "Your humble servant greets the Inspector!"

"What’s going on?" Xu Boqing asked.

Kong Qing explained, "When we searched the house as ordered, we found many antiques and paintings, but very little cash or silver. This led us to believe there must be a secret chamber here. This woman is Li Lezhi’s wife. I questioned her, but she refused to reveal its location. In my anger, I resorted to harsher methods..."

Xu Boqing nodded slightly. "Isn’t Li Lezhi still hanging on the city gate? Send someone to question him. If he refuses, make him suffer a little."

"Uh..." Kong Qing’s lips twitched, and he answered timidly, "I’ve already sent someone, but Li Lezhi was struck on the head by a stone thrown by the crowd and has just breathed his last."

He paused, quickly adding, "Your humble servant failed in his duty. Please punish me, Inspector."

Xu Boqing was taken aback. When he entered the city, he saw people throwing eggs, rotten vegetables, and stones. He had wondered if someone might be killed. And now, so soon, Li Lezhi was dead.

Li Lezhi’s wife, tears streaming down her face, sobbed, "My lord, the household finances were always controlled by my husband. Though I am his wife, I truly do not know where the secret chamber is. I beg you to investigate thoroughly..."

Her hair was disheveled as she knelt, blood streaks visible on her back from the whip.

Suddenly, she paused mid-bow, as if recalling something, and cried out, "My lord, the study! The secret chamber might be in the master’s study!"

"Oh?" Xu Boqing raised his brows in surprise. "Didn’t you just say you didn’t know where it was? How did you remember now?"

"I remembered, I remembered!!"

The woman clung to this hope as if it were a lifeline. "The master often stayed alone in the study and wouldn’t let anyone approach. The secret chamber must be there!"

"Enough..." Xu Boqing, seeing her demeanor, could tell she was not lying. He waved his hand. "Take her away."

As the woman was dragged out, several supervisors from the Western Bureau gathered in Li Lezhi’s study, searching for the hidden chamber. Xu Boqing, with nothing else to do, joined them.

Though Li Lezhi was greedy, he was not foolish. He knew the study would be scrutinized, so he had decorated it with care. The room was filled with the fragrance of ink, famous calligraphy hung on the walls, ancient books lined the shelves. Anyone entering unaware would think it belonged to a great scholar.

Watching his men struggle to find the chamber, Xu Boqing shook his head. He activated his "Heavenly Eye Technique," swept the room, and casually pointed to the southwest corner. "The secret chamber is behind the bookshelf in the southwest corner."

The supervisors paused in surprise. Though they didn’t know how the Inspector had deduced this, they obediently moved to check the indicated shelf.

Unable to find any mechanism, but being strong men of the postnatal realm, they simply overturned the suspicious bookshelf. Together, they broke through, revealing the hidden compartment behind it.

They exchanged glances and ventured inside, nearly blinded by the gleam of several chests filled with gold, silver, and jewels. There was also a small box stuffed with thick stacks of silver notes and land deeds.

Carefully, they carried the treasures from the chamber and summoned experts and accountants to evaluate the haul.

Xu Boqing had no interest in the secret chamber or its riches; his attention was drawn to the books on the shelf. While searching earlier with the "Heavenly Eye Technique," he had inadvertently noticed an unusual book.

The book looked unremarkable, but unlike the others, which were coated in dust, it was completely pristine. Under the "Heavenly Eye," it seemed as if even airborne particles avoided it—spotless, unnaturally clean.

It perfectly embodied the phrase "untainted by a speck of dust."

He carefully took the book down.

It was heavy and ancient, its cover inscribed with three characters: "On the Origin of Qi," authored by Zhang Taixu.

On the Origin of Qi? Zhang Taixu?

Xu Boqing frowned. The name Zhang Taixu sounded vaguely familiar; he must have heard it during his schooling—likely a renowned figure in this world, though he couldn’t recall the details.

But this "On the Origin of Qi"...

It seemed to be a treatise on cultivation.

While others counted coins, Xu Boqing found a chair and sat down, intrigued by the ancient book in his hands.

Yet after a brief glance, his brow knotted.

Zhang Taixu was not a cultivator, but a deceased scholar, his era not that of the current dynasty. His "On the Origin of Qi" was not a manual for cultivation, but a treatise on the world and the origins of the universe.

More akin to philosophy or science...

In these times, people’s understanding of the world and universe was rudimentary—almost nonexistent.

Zhang Taixu’s "On the Origin of Qi" argued that all things originated from "Qi." Taixu is Qi; Qi transforms all things. The essence of the universe and the source of all things is Qi. Everything comes from "Qi," and the myriad forms of existence are simply different manifestations of it.

It included the interplay and mutual dependence of Yin and Yang, their opposition and unity, the rise and fall, transformation, and the resulting creation of humans and all things...

For ordinary people, this treatise would be as meaningless as scrap paper. Even after exhaustive study, its true meaning would remain elusive.

But Xu Boqing, possessing memories from two lifetimes, found some of its concepts aligned with his own understanding.

The book’s descriptions were like revelations from heaven; each word seemed to shine in his mind, every phrase was a gem, extraordinary and mysterious.

He read with hairs standing on end, sweat pouring down his back.

He had no idea how much time had passed. When he finally regained his composure, his throat dry, he saw the experts and accountants had finished evaluating the chamber’s contents and were preparing to move on. His eyes brightened.

"Gentlemen, please wait!"

The elderly men, all over fifty, were startled. They’d been warned by the Western Bureau that the Inspector was present and they must be careful. They knew that offending the Inspector could spell disaster for their families, so they had counted the valuables with utmost caution.

Now, finally finished and ready to leave, they heard the Inspector call out.

They feared they’d made a mistake and turned, trembling, to kneel before him.

"We humble citizens greet the Inspector. Whether we live or die, we have no complaints—only beg the Inspector to spare our families..."

Xu Boqing was momentarily surprised, then quickly stepped forward to help them up, reassuring them, "I merely wish to consult you on something, gentlemen. Please don’t be anxious."

"We dare not..." the old men shook their heads rapidly, but relaxed a little.

Xu Boqing handed them the "On the Origin of Qi," saying, "Please, could you help me identify which era this book is from, and who Zhang Taixu was?"

"......"