Supervisor Heng Qing stammered, “How does Your Excellency know?”
The Dharma name Heng Yuan was told to him by Liu Er’lang. That day, Liu Er’lang was sent to the Health Hall to look for Number Six, but Number Six had already left. When Liu Er’lang relayed this to Liu Qi’an, he said: “The clerk told me that Master Heng Yuan had left, supposedly having found a clue about his junior disciple.”
“Never mind how I know. I’m the one asking questions now,” Liu Qi’an said sternly, showing no kindness to this monk who was practicing non-violent non-cooperation.
Although in a one-on-one fight, this supervisor of Qinglong Temple might be able to overwhelm him, Liu Qi’an had his brothers and the backing of the court.
Supervisor Heng Qing hesitated slightly before saying, “Heng Yuan was a warrior monk in our temple. He had an impulsive nature and a hot temper, often being punished by the abbot for accidentally injuring fellow monks. Last year, he was expelled from Qinglong Temple.”
So Number Six was indeed a monk from Qinglong Temple, a warrior monk? No wonder his build was as sturdy as Lu Zhishen… Number Six mentioned his junior disciple being kidnapped by human traffickers… Could the junior disciple Number Six be looking for Heng Hui?
But Heng Hui had eloped with Princess Pingyang… However, Heng Hui had stolen a magical device from Qinglong Temple, yet that device appeared on Zhou Chixiong, the Centurion of the Imperial Guards. Did this mean that Monk Heng Hui had met with an accident?
Or was he also involved in the Sang Bo case? If it was the latter, what was his purpose? And where had Princess Pingyang gone?
This trip to Qinglong Temple had yielded more than he had expected.
…
Despite deliberately rushing, riding at full speed, it was still over an hour later when they returned to the Night Watchmen’s Office.
Liu Qi’an let the team members take a short rest while he closed the door to organize and summarize the case.
Then he took out the Earth Book fragment and input the information: [Three: Still no news from Number Six?]
No one responded.
After a long while, Daoist Jin Lian jumped in to save face: [Nine: Still no news.]
Liu Qi’an keenly sensed that Number Six might have discovered something, or was in an extremely dangerous situation. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone so long without replying.
[Three: Daoist Jin Lian, have you still not located the Earth Book fragment?]
[Nine: It must be blocked by some secret technique.]
[Two: Why does Baldy always run into trouble?]
Number Two chimed in.
[Nine: He’s been investigating the case of his missing junior disciple. Perhaps he’s encountered retaliation from the forces behind Earl Pingyuan.]
No, he had found a clue about his junior disciple… but the result was the same. Either way, Number Six was in big trouble.
[Four: If the Earth Book fragment falls into the hands of outsiders, we can only do as we did before and stop all transmissions.]
[Two: If it ends up with the Earth Sect, we might all be in danger.]
At this point, all members of the Heaven and Earth Society felt anxious and under psychological pressure.
Not only were they worried about Number Six’s safety, but if they stopped using the Earth Book for communication, the information exchange system they had painstakingly established would become obsolete.
In the worst-case scenario, if it fell into the hands of the Earth Sect, ordinary members of the Heaven and Earth Society wouldn’t be afraid. But what if the Earth Sect’s leader personally came to retrieve the Earth Book?
Numbers One and Three were fine, hiding in the capital where the Earth Sect’s leader would have reservations. The others would be in danger.
[Two: By the way, let’s ask Number Three for help.]
[Four: Yes, if Number Three could use his connections with the Cloud Deer Academy to secretly assist Daoist Jin Lian, it would greatly reduce the difficulty in finding Number Six.]
Unknowingly, the Heaven and Earth Society members’ reliance on Number Three had surpassed that of Number One, who always liked to lurk.
Whenever anything happened within the capital of Da Feng, they instinctively thought of Number Three.
…Why do I feel like I’ve become a tool?
Number Six’s identity and current situation were first-hand information I had just obtained. If I share it now, the risk of exposing my identity would be high. I need to create a time difference… Unless all the Heaven and Earth Society members already know Number Six’s background.
[Three: Do you know Number Six’s identity, besides the information about him being a Buddhist disciple?]
[Two: We don’t know. Number Six claimed to be a wandering Buddhist disciple planning to stay in the capital for a while.]
Number Six was pretending to be from out of town… Well, this monk’s brain is a bit sharper than Lu Zhishen’s!
Liu Qi’an understood and input the information: [You don’t need to worry about this. I’ll liaise with Daoist Jin Lian. Regarding Number Six’s situation, I know more than anyone else. Daoist, can you come to my place tonight? I have something to discuss with you.]
“!!!”
Seeing Number Three’s words, for some reason, all the Heaven and Earth Society members felt a chill down their spines.
Number Three had figured out Number Six’s background, and from the tone of his message, he seemed to have a grasp on his recent situation. They had only briefly crossed paths… Indeed, the scholars from Cloud Deer Academy were all very capable… Number Two thought warily.
Number Three is quite interesting. He joined the latest, but the skills, abilities, and acumen he’s shown are astounding. I look forward to meeting him when I return to the capital in the future. I’ll have to properly experience his abilities then… Number Four is sincerely admired.
[Five: Wow, then please don’t investigate my identity, or I’ll be angry.]
Number Five directly expressed her thoughts.
[One: Number Three, do you have more accurate information about the Sang Bo case?]
[Three: I haven’t been focusing on the Sang Bo case these past few days.]
Seeing this, Number One went back into lurking.
After arranging the meeting time with Daoist Jin Lian, Liu Qi’an left the side hall and went straight to the Haoqi Tower to seek an audience with Wei Yuan.
In the bright and spacious tea room, Wei Yuan sat alone at the table, playing chess, left hand against right hand, as if performing a lonely one-man show.
Without raising his head, Wei Yuan smiled and said, “I’ve been playing chess for half my life. At first, I lost repeatedly but kept fighting. Later, I gradually improved, defeating one national champion after another. Before I knew it, I could no longer find opponents.”
Didn’t you just draw with the Imperial Astrologer last time you played chess? Liu Qi’an thought to himself.
“But the enemies outside the chessboard are numerous enough to give one a headache,” Wei Yuan put down the chess piece, rubbed his brow, and said:
“What’s the matter?”
“Your humble servant wishes to report the progress of the case to Lord Wei,” After a pause, Liu Qi’an said, “Yesterday at dawn, Magistrate Zhao of Taikang County was silenced on the night he was imprisoned. The magistrate’s office is temporarily keeping this secret.”
“Magistrate Zhao’s manner of death was quite strange. There was no poisoning, no wounds, he died naturally.”
Wei Yuan’s expression suddenly froze. After a few seconds, his eyes flickered, “What’s your view on this?”
“Your servant has consulted materials and found that besides Daoist Yin spirits, only the Shaman Cult from the Northeast could achieve this,” Liu Qi’an took a deep breath:
“The Sang Bo case involves the demon race and the Northeast Shaman Cult. Your servant has racked his brains, thinking left and right, and in the court, besides that person, who else could collude with these two major forces simultaneously?”
Bang! Wei Yuan’s palm slammed on the chessboard, causing all the pieces to shake. He stared at Liu Qi’an with piercing eyes, “Once you leave here, you must not speak of these things to anyone.”
Liu Qi’an quickly lowered his head and explained, “But, your humble servant finds it difficult to investigate further…”
“Dismissed,” Wei Yuan said coldly.
“Yes!” Liu Qi’an retreated from the tea room.
Listening to the footsteps gradually fading away, Wei Yuan methodically gathered the chess pieces and cleaned the tea tray. He changed into a set of blue clothes, walked to the stairway, and instructed the clerk on duty:
“Prepare the carriage. I’m going to the palace.”
…
Liu Qi’an only wished he had a cigarette. When thinking, he could only sit there dryly. He listened to Lu Qing and the three Silver Gongs discussing the case while his mind wandered.
“The Zhen Bei Wang is far away at the border. I can’t go to the border to investigate, and I wouldn’t dare to even if I could. Unless His Majesty personally issues an imperial edict, a mere golden tablet isn’t enough to investigate such a powerful figure.”
“Being at the border… heh, it gives him a perfect alibi.”
“But there’s no such thing as a perfect crime in this world. As long as something is done, clues will be left behind. The key is whether I can grasp these clues… Hmm, Zhen Bei Wang isn’t in the capital, but he needs a spokesperson. That spokesperson must be someone in the court.”
The Zhen Bei Wang lead couldn’t be pursued for now because Wei Yuan refused to help. If Wei Yuan could request an imperial edict, everything would be fine.
Fortunately, a cunning rabbit has more than one burrow and a smart person always has more than one path.
Today’s trip to Qinglong Temple wasn’t in vain. Monk Heng Hui from Qinglong Temple was a breakthrough point. To investigate further along this breakthrough, he needed to find a way to locate Number Six.
This was why Liu Qi’an had arranged to meet Daoist Jin Lian at night.
“Knock knock…”
The knocking on the door interrupted the discussion between Lu Qing and the three Silver Gongs, causing them to furrow their brows and look towards the door.
The taciturn Zhu Guangxiao stood by the door and said, “Ning Yan, the Elder Princess requests your presence.”
Lu Qing and the others turned to look at Liu Qi’an.
What does Huai Qing want from me… Does she miss me? Oh my, didn’t we just meet yesterday? It seems absence makes the heart grow fonder!
Liu Qi’an’s mind conjured up the image of the beautiful, cold Princess, and her magnificent bosom that could be placed on a table.
Though her exterior was as cold as an immortal, her figure was like that of an alluring demoness.
…
Imperial Garden.
Curtains hung from the four corners of the pavilion to block the cold wind, while charcoal fire provided comforting warmth.
Emperor Yuan Jing in Daoist robes and Wei Yuan in blue clothes were playing chess. One was the emperor, yet rarely wore dragon robes.
The other was a powerful minister who monitored all officials, yet always wore blue.
Compared to these two eccentric old men, the young Crown Prince was dressed impeccably, standing respectfully beside Emperor Yuan Jing.
“Yesterday, the Imperial Preceptor refined a batch of golden pills. I’ll send someone to deliver one to you later,” Emperor Yuan Jing pinched a chess piece, looked at it for a long time, then cheated by removing three black pieces, smiling, “One golden pill for three chess pieces, not too much, right?”
Wei Yuan nodded, “Not too much.”
After a few more moves, Wei Yuan smiled and removed six of Emperor Yuan Jing’s white pieces, saying, “Your Majesty’s formation is a bit chaotic. I’ll clean it up for you.”
Emperor Yuan Jing’s face was expressionless as he said flatly, “Over these years, you, Wei Yuan, have been the one I rely on the most. I often think, if you hadn’t entered the palace back then, but had taken the regular path of the imperial examinations, the empire would have gained a master tailor, and I wouldn’t have to worry about these trivial matters.”
Wei Yuan’s expression froze for a moment, then quickly returned to normal. He smiled and said, “Am I not serving Your Majesty now?”
The Crown Prince frowned deeply, staring at the chessboard in silent contemplation.
It wasn’t that the chess battle between his father and Lord Wei was particularly brilliant or intense, but rather that he was pondering the conversation between the two.
There was a sense of seeing through a mist, of seeming to understand but not quite grasping it.
The two men sitting in the pavilion, one who had devoted himself to cultivation for twenty years yet still firmly controlled the court, his skills in statecraft refined to perfection.
The other, a eunuch who commanded the Night Watchmen’s Office, his literary and martial abilities putting countless scholars to shame.
The conversation between them must be savored, carefully savored.
As the Crown Prince was lost in thought, he heard Emperor Yuan Jing say, “How’s the investigation of the Sang Bo case going? The files submitted by the magistrate’s office and the Ministry of Justice are a mess. I remember the lead investigator from the Night Watchmen’s Office is that criminal Bronze Gong, surnamed Liu, right?”