Chapter 144: The Weight of the Nation

.Maple Forest Territory.Almost all life had extinguished, only a faint ember of vitality burned in the body of a withered husk.I don't know how long it has been.In the territory of Fenglin City, time...Compared with the capitals of other countries, Xincheng is not grand.

Not to mention compared with Yongguo, even Mo Guo's capital, Dingwucheng, is inferior.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

At the beginning, when Zhuang Chengqian, the ancestor of the state of Zhuang, founded his capital in Hualin County, the country was utterly impoverished and lacked everything.

After several generations of hard work, they gradually accumulated some wealth and made gradual renovations and expansions. But this capital city always retained that air of small-mindedness.

The content within the tags > is empty. Therefore, the translation is:

There was a proposal from a minister to tear down and rebuild this city, but it was stopped by Du Ruhui.

Du Ruhui advised: "The solidity of mountains and rivers, the importance of the ancestral temple, depend on whether people are in place, not on the location of the city."

Zhuang Gao was delighted and readily accepted, stating that as long as the country remained weak, not even a single brick would be added to the capital city.

Before Lin Zhengren arrived in the city with a cautious heart, he saw a sharp and prominent figure sitting on the city wall like a door god, guarding Xinan.

Last night's heavy rain has passed, and now the sun is just rising.

Sunlight broke free from the long night, illuminating Zhu Wei me so brightly.

He alone stood guard here, signifying his presence as the protector of this city, assuring the people of its safety.

No matter what opponent, no matter what enemy, before his wages are spent and his guns are broken, he will not be able to take a single step into Xin'an City.

Lin Zhengren narrowed his eyes.

It was too bright. He thought.

>

But he had to admit, when he saw Zhu Wei standing across from him on the city wall at that moment, the apprehension in his heart had vanished.

The new Ancheng is very safe now. I hope that's the feeling I can bring to people.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

"Greetings, fellow disciple!" He greeted him with neither humility nor arrogance.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

I only glanced at him, without saying a word.

Lin Zhengren's expression was calm. He had always known that Zhu Wei looked down on him.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

"I have returned from the front lines, following the orders of the Grand Master of Wine, to investigate the current state of the capital."

He still explained to Zhu Weimi before turning to the guards standing tall at the city gate, "Where did Dong Yueming do wrong Take me to see the scene."

The street where the battle took place had been completely sealed off, and all evidence was preserved as much as possible. Because the strongest people in the Zhuang Kingdom were not currently in the capital, and the death of such a high-ranking official as the vice prime minister had to be investigated, they could only seal the scene and wait for those big figures to return.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

Houses on both sides of the long street could only enter and exit through the back door before the lockdown was lifted.

Dǒng 's head and limbs had all been severed, and his body remained on the street, untouched.

The two disciples who returned together to Xin'an City were both pale.

Lin Zhengren, with a blank expression, carefully examined the details of Dong A's corpse.

Everything, including the storage box, had been left untouched. The ruler of two worlds lay across his severed hand.

On the torso, right over the heart, was a jade pendant of a blue hue. It wasn't particularly valuable.

This is an HTML tag, it should not be translated.

The incisions on the limbs and skull were extremely smooth, indicating a sword was used as the weapon. It was a very sharp sword that cut through the body of a skilled practitioner of internal energy with little resistance at all.

The content within > is:

Let me know if you have other text you'd like me to translate!

On the severed limbs and head, there were fine slits, as if inflicted by a needle-like instrument, but thicker than ordinary needles...

Lin Zhengren observed very carefully, even checking Dong A's hair several times, before standing up to inspect the entire battle environment.

Last night's heavy rain washed away many traces, but some traces cannot be washed away by the rain.

For example, broken tiles, traces left by various magical arts...

Lin Zhengren bent down and picked up a lump of dull-colored object at his feet. He rubbed it with his fingers, confirming that it was a piece of rotten wood.

"You go back and tell the Master of Ceremonies. " He turned to his two junior disciples and instructed, “Dong Xiang has been killed, the murderer is alone and has already escaped. Xin'an City is currently safe with my senior brother Zhu Wei in charge. There is no worry at our rear, please allow them to fight bravely on the front lines."

Military situation urgent, this mission was mainly for Zhu Wei. Two disciples from the National Institute received orders and flew to the front line in a hurry.

Lin Zhengren was very patient and walked back and forth from one end of the street to the other four times, making sure he didn't miss any details.

Finally, he walked up to the city wall and stood beside Zhu Wei.

"Greetings, fellow student," he called out.

Wei turned her head to look at him, waiting quietly for his next words.

“I carefully observed Dong Xiang’s corpse. I found that his severed limbs and skull bore numerous tiny slits, inflicted by a needle-like weapon. I surmised that this type of tool was designed to effectively counteract Dong Xiang’s immortal powers.”

Lin Zhengren had already prepared his thoughts and slowly said, "This is enough to prove that the murderer was targeting Dong Xiang, very familiar with him, and specifically prepared for this."

Wei still remained silent.

“From the traces of battle on the scene, I found that both sides were consciously controlling the range and did not involve civilians living on both sides,” Lin Zhengren continued. “Dong Xiang is the deputy prime minister of the country, it is his duty to protect the people, so what about the murderer”

“I guess the murderer should be from Zhuang Guo. At least he used to be from Zhuang Guo.” He analyzed this, and then jokingly added: "Or maybe the murderer is a really good person."

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

Wei seemed utterly disinterested in his humor, her face a blank slate as she replied with cool detachment: “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Before Lin Zhengren, Zhu Weiwu must have also inspected Dong A's crime scene. The details that Lin Zhengren could see, Zhu Weiwu would not have missed either.

As for Lin Zhengren's impatience with Zhu Wei, he didn't get angry.

He merely became more serious in expression: "I wonder if, Senior Brother, you've heard about the Lin family being wiped out"

I also looked different now: "What's changed"

“That person was also a cultivator with extraordinary powers. He certainly had the possibility of killing Minister Dong. Moreover...”

Lin Zhengren said, "There is one thing that everyone may have overlooked at the time, or perhaps not paid too much attention to it. I myself was the same. That person broke into the Wangjiang City Daoist Temple and forcibly extorted a Dao technique from the headmaster of the Daoist Temple, called 'Decaying Wood Decision'!"

"You sure it's the same kind of sorcery"

"Much more powerful, but undoubtedly from the same source. That power... I am very familiar with."

Speaking of this, Lin Zhengren was also quite annoyed. At that time, why didn't he mention the attention to the Muxi Jue A Taoist technique that could be favored by a powerful inner-cultivation practitioner, it certainly wouldn't be simple! There must be potential that Jiang Cheng Dao Institute's headmaster failed to discover!

He continued, "Fu Baosong from the National Art Institute also practiced this technique, so we can be certain of this."

"So, what do you know about this person"

“At the time, I was very strange. That person seemed to hate my younger brother Zhengli for some reason, and he wanted to kill him. Moreover, he specifically chose to drown him. This reminded me of a disciple from Fenglin City Daoist Academy who borrowed your senior brother's spear and came to our Lin family's residence to block the door.”

Though Wei was expressionless, the air around him had become scorching hot.

Lin Zhengren’s heart was as calm as a still lake, not at all affected by Zhu Weimi’s attitude. He continued to speak in his own unique rhythm, slowly saying: “My younger brother Lin Zhengli is just a spoiled young master from a small town. What possible connection could he have with the esteemed Minister Dong I only want to know about one person, that young cultivator named Jiang Wang.”

“Perhaps not everyone in Fenglin City perished back then. That person named Jiang Wang has returned…”

"Just..."

Lin Zhengren looked puzzled: "If that person was Jiang Wang, why would he kill Dong Xiang Wasn't Dong Xiang his teacher at the time Could it be that something happened in Fenglin City back then..."

He stopped there.

That's enough said on that.

> Too much of a good thing is as bad as too little.was inevitably enveloped by the thunder of tribulation.The electric snake writhed, leaving a trail of charred remains.And there was even a faint smell of meat.He seemed to be dead. But his hand... was...