"Senior Sister Mingyue."
"Senior sister."
The Taoists hurriedly greeted him.
The female cultivator Mingyue is a servant follower of the sect's saint, and because she is very successful in taming beasts, she is favored by the saint Wu Qingxin.
So her status naturally rose as well. Although she was a servant, it was slightly higher than that of ordinary immortal disciples, not to mention the servants at the gate of the Taoist temple.
"You are... the head constable Qiao Pifu?"
The female cultivator Mingyue identified the person after some identification.
She would not have taken the name of a mortal to heart, but this person had contradicted her several times in a row and almost caught her letting the tiger commit a crime last night, so she had a deep impression of him.
"Since the real master is here, I won't say any more nonsense." Qiao Mu said:
"Mingyue Immortal, I have found the true form of that monster."
"Oh? You came here specially to tell me? That's thoughtful of you." Mingyue's face showed obvious joy.
Without saying a word, Qiao Mu lit the green lamp that was a magical instrument. The green flame trembled violently as soon as it appeared and floated towards the little cat lying at Qiao Mu's feet
"Is this the true form of the demon cat?" Mingyue was slightly surprised.
It's not like she had never dealt with this impermanence monster before, but she just hadn't succeeded in catching it. But she didn't expect that the impermanence monster that she tried so hard to catch could be the little cat lying on the ground
"Well, you did a good job." She quickly suppressed her surprise and walked forward:
"This impermanence monster has committed many evil deeds and many murders in the city. This beast should be brought into our immortal sect to be punished and spend a long time to pay for its sins."
But Qiumu didn't move.
"So, Immortal Mingyue has also confirmed that the monster that this green lamp is pointing to is the true form of the monster Wuchang?" Qiao Mu asked.
"Of course." Mingyue stared at the cat at Qiaomu's feet, her voice a little anxious.
Isn't this captain a bit stupid? Why didn't he hand the monster over to me in private? Why did he do it in front of the Xuantian Temple? If other disciples of the sect saw this, they might try to steal my credit... Mingyue felt a little dissatisfied.
However, Qiao Mu still stood there motionless, with no intention of handing the demon cat over to her.
"Since this is the so-called impermanent monster, then... what kind of monster was it that appeared at the murder scene in the west house with the Immortal Mingyue last night?"
Qiao Mu's eyes turned cold, and his speech became faster and faster:
"Mingyue Immortal, your whereabouts last night were suspicious, and you suddenly appeared in the house of the deceased Jiang Long."
"And next to the body of the deceased Jiang Long, I found this long hair."
Qiao Mu took out the animal hair that he had prepared in advance from the small cloth bag and held it in his hand.
He held the animal fur in one hand and the limp little cat in the other.
The animal's fur is obviously longer and thicker, and its texture is also harder. The most special thing is that the fur has a light white luster under the sun.
Even without any immortal means of detection, a mortal with the naked eye can easily tell that this long-haired cat is definitely not the little calico cat in Qiao Mu's hand.
Having said this, Mingyue finally stopped.
She had already realized that Qiumu had come with ill intentions.
"What do you want to say?" She was a little anxious.
Qiao Mu said: "In order to thoroughly investigate the case of the impermanence monster, this captain will enter the Xuantian Temple and compare the hair of the spirit beasts raised by the Xuantian Sect one by one to find the murderous monster in the case of the impermanence monster..."
Qiao Mu was just halfway through his words when the female cultivator Mingyue interrupted him with a wave of her hand:
"shut up!"
"How can we allow a mere police chief like you, who is not even an official, to slander the reputation of the Immortal Sect?"
"You can enter if you want to? This is a sacred place, not a place where you can mess around."
Before anyone knew it, the crowd outside the Taoist temple had grown larger and larger.
Many pilgrims were attracted by the commotion here. After all, a police chief was arguing with the immortal from the immortal sect at the gate of Xuantian Temple... This would have been impossible in the past!
"The Immortal of Xuantian Sect allowed the monsters to commit murder? Impossible?"
"But the detective was very confident and brought physical evidence..."
"The Immortal of Xuantian Sect seems to be innocent, so why not open the door of the Taoist temple and let the police officer go in to take a look? It won't be a big deal."
"Those are the immortals of Xuantian Sect. They have always blessed our Heyang City with peace and tranquility..."
People were talking about it.
The trend of public opinion is almost one-sided in the direction of Xuantian Sect.
after all...
Qiao Mu, dressed in the black uniform of a constable, represents the government and the grassroots law enforcement officers of Dayan.
In the forty years since the Alien War, the Great Yan court has imposed heavier taxes, the people have suffered for many years, and naturally the government does not have a good impression in the eyes of the people.
The immortals of Xuantian Sect are all masters who have attained enlightenment. They can live forever and are not contaminated by the mundane world. They are what people yearn for.
There was a conflict between the two, and right at the gate of Xuantian Temple, so it was natural that they didn't know who they favored more.
"Captain of the police over there, stop making trouble." At this time, another shout came from the distance.
A middle-aged man in official uniform with a big belly walked over quickly, with sweat on his forehead.
Today is the fifteenth day of the lunar month. He had originally come to Xuantian Temple to burn incense, but he heard that something had happened here before he even arrived at Xuantian Temple, so he had to rush here.
"Captain over there, why don't you retreat!" the official shouted immediately:
"Having disturbed the tranquility of this immortal sect, do you still want to ruin its reputation?"
"What do you mean by investigating the case? How come I have never heard that this matter is related to the Immortal Sect? Don't do anything stupid!"
Qiao Mu turned his head to look at the official who suddenly appeared and suddenly asked:
"May I ask what your official position is, sir?"
The fat official immediately understood: this captain of the police didn't even recognize him, it seemed that he was indeed just a small-time character.
He said coldly:
"I am the co-magistrate of Heyang Prefecture, and hold the rank of fifth rank."
"According to the laws of Da Yan, public security officers are not allowed to trespass into the residence of immortals. What exactly are you up to?"
"You, the captain of the police, have already committed a serious mistake. If you cause trouble in front of Xuantian Temple again, I will dismiss you on the spot!"
In the Heyang Prefecture, a fifth-rank Tongzhi is actually equivalent to the deputy of a fourth-rank prefect, so his status is naturally respected.
Given his status in Heyang Prefecture, he naturally didn't need to step out to defend Mingyue, a female cultivator and a disciple of the immortal sect. It would be too embarrassing.
A female cultivator named Mingyue is not that important, but that flying tiger with green eyes is the spiritual pet of the Saint Maiden of the Immortal Sect.
Qiao Mu has now exposed this matter in public, and this concerns the reputation of the Immortal Sect, so he had to stand up and scold Qiao Mu, a small constable.
Hearing such a noise, the female cultivator Mingyue felt a little relieved.
She was a little panicked because Qiao Mu had just revealed the truth to her in front of so many people.
But now looking at it this way... .
The opinions of the people in Heyang Prefecture clearly favor the Immortal Sect. Now even the officials of the Great Yan court are scolding that Qiao Pifu and want him to be dismissed from his post.
Even the people and officials of Dayan are on her side, why is she panicking
On the contrary, Qiao Pifu, who insisted on investigating the case, was alone at this time and was almost drowned by the saliva of the crowd.
The one who should be panicking is that Pifu Qiao!
It was a mere common man like him who was against the rules of Heyang City!
But at this moment, Qiao Pifu still looked calm.
No matter how the officials scolded and threatened, no matter how the people talked, he just stood there alone, unshakable and without fear.
"Remove me from my job?"
At this moment, Qiao Mu suddenly smiled.
As the chief constable of Heyang Prefecture, he is naturally subject to many restrictions and limitations in his work.
"Is there a possibility that it's not me who is wrong, but the law of Dayan?"
The fat official was stunned at first, then his face turned gloomy and the skin on his face trembled with anger.
He heard the captain continue:
"If I am a police chief and cannot uphold justice... then what is the point of wearing this official uniform?"
The words fell.
He stood in the middle of the street and tore off his constable's uniform in front of everyone.
Under the white clothes, he was wearing a martial arts outfit that was convenient for movement. It was obvious that he had prepared for this and it was not just a spur-of-the-moment decision.
"Captain of the Police? I am no longer one now."
Taking off his official uniform also meant that Qiao Mu was no longer a government official and no longer represented the laws of Dayan.
Qiao Mu held a sword in his hand, standing alone at the gate of Xuantian Temple, facing the surging voices of the people, the sullen face of the fat official, and the immortal gate Xuantian Temple standing in the north of the city.
He walked closer to the gate of Xuantian Temple step by step, and his voice became louder and louder with his steps, echoing in the ears of the people around him.
"Now I am no longer a police chief, but just a common man without any official position or job."
"Can immortals take human lives lightly and allow beasts to kill people?"
"If the laws of Da Yan can't control the immortals, then I, Qiao Pifu, will do it!"
Everyone was shocked.
Even the Taoists guarding Xuantian Temple were stunned for a moment and failed to react immediately.
The eyes of the people also changed slightly after Qiao Mu took off his constable's uniform.
The white clothes worn by the constable represent his official background.
The people did not have much good feelings towards the officials of the Dayan government. They often feared them more than respected them. Most of them felt that what these petty officials did was to make money from them or to get promoted.
But if a police captain took on the pressure of being a fifth-rank official and took off his official uniform in public, he would break into Xuantian Temple...
This obviously has nothing to do with promotion or wealth, it's more like getting a higher position or wealth.
This captain of the police, who was willing to give up his official uniform to break into Xuantian Temple, seemed really different from the officials they usually saw
Sudden.
The little cat at Qiaomu's feet suddenly stood up its ears.
It was originally limp on the ground, but at this moment it seemed to have sensed something. Its pupils shrank and it became alert, hiding in the shadow behind Qiao Mu.
The next moment.
A thunderous tiger roar sounded from a distance, and the rolling sound waves vibrated the air.
The sudden roar made the pilgrims cover their ears involuntarily, and those who were close were even blown back a few steps by the sound waves.
"The Saint's Flying Tiger?"
The Taoist priest from Xuantian Temple, who was about to step forward to stop Qiao Mu, suddenly changed his expression.
The ferocious tiger of the saint lady was quite famous in the Xuantian Temple. It was not yet an adult and had a savage temperament, making it impossible for the low-level Taoists like them to hide from it or fight it.
The one whose facial expression changed the most was the female cultivator Mingyue.
Although the roar of the Green-Eyed Flying Tiger was far away, the source of the sound was not on the back mountain of Xuantian Temple, but near the foot of this mountain
"Did this Jade Eyed Flying Tiger break free from the spirit beast cage?"
"I clearly fed it a sixth-grade blood food last night, so I thought it would be well-behaved for a while. How could it go crazy again so soon?" Mingyue was shocked.
...
The side entrance of Xuantian Temple also faces a street, and is separated from the main street where Qiao Mu is located by a corner.
There was quite a commotion over at Qiaomu's place, but this street was quite peaceful.
Today is the fifteenth day of the lunar month, and there are more pilgrims walking on the streets than usual.
On the street paved with bluestone slabs, a family was carrying a table out of their home and placing it in front of their door. They then placed incense, candles, steamed buns, sake and other things on the altar, as well as a statue of an immortal in fluttering white clothes.