No one could answer this question.
Li Yuchun asked, “What’s the reason for the supernatural creature stealing the tax silver?”
Prefect Chen pondered briefly: “Supernatural creatures act without conscience, doing as they please. Seeking a reason is just inviting trouble for ourselves.”
The yellow-dressed girl, however, had a different opinion: “Isn’t human flesh tastier… Hmm, wait a moment, let me finish these buns first.”
She gobbled down two large meat buns, her face puffing up like a steamed bun. After swallowing with effort and taking a sip of tea, she continued the previous topic, now free to discuss human flesh:
“Supernatural creatures act without restraint. Silver might not be as tempting to them as living humans. Even if they wanted silver, theft or robbery would be safer than directly stealing tax silver.”
In the capital of Great Feng, stealing tax silver in broad daylight was too risky.
Prefect Chen nodded: “That makes sense. We can’t rule out the possibility of human instigation.”
Li Yuchun narrowed his eyes: “Then who would instigate supernatural creatures to steal tax silver? What’s the reason? Why specifically this batch of tax silver, and why exactly 150,000 taels?”
“We can think of it this way: the mastermind needs a huge sum of money but can’t make too big a commotion… More precisely, they can’t accumulate wealth recklessly,” Prefect Chen had a sudden thought.
“So they targeted the tax silver?” The yellow-dressed girl pursed her brightly colored lips.
“The tax silver transport route is randomized, decided on the spot by Centurion Liu Pingzhi of the Imperial Sword Guard. Yet the supernatural creature was able to ambush them in the river in advance… There’s likely an insider in the transport team,” Li Yuchun said, glancing at Prefect Chen:
“Shall we go to the Yunlu Academy and ask a Confucian expert to read minds?”
The yellow-dressed girl gave him a sidelong glance: “Are you looking down on our Astrology Bureau’s aura-reading skills? I’ve already said that all the soldiers transporting the tax silver were completely unaware.”
Their train of thought hit another dead end, and the three fell silent.
The air suddenly became quiet.
Li Yuchun lowered his head to examine the case files closely, while Prefect Chen sighed deeply. The yellow-dressed girl fiddled with the feng shui compass at her waist, thinking that she needed to leave the Metropolitan Prefecture before sunset to sneak a meal with the Elder Princess in the palace.
The palace chefs’ culinary skills were world-class!
Compared to them, the yellow-dressed girl named Caiwei acted more as a guest consultant, assisting in the investigation.
She held no official position, and although she was one of the case leaders, she didn’t need to shoulder too much responsibility.
Prefect Chen’s eyes flickered slightly as he probed: “The case is progressing slowly, and time is of the essence. It’s truly anxiety-inducing. Master Li, why don’t we seek advice from Lord Wei?”
The middle-aged man glanced at him sideways and snorted coldly: “You civil officials have your court inspections, and we night watchmen have ours. To be frank, this is the assessment Lord Wei has given me.”
Prefect Chen smiled bitterly: “If we can’t solve this case, I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep my position either. The entire court and populace are watching us.”
The two men fell silent, gazing at each other, the atmosphere heavy.
…
“If it’s the work of supernatural creatures, then I’m completely helpless!” Xu Qi An’s face turned pale as he felt the deep malice of the heavens.
This world had supernatural creatures. The supernatural races had existed since ancient times, hunting and devouring each other alongside humans.
In the Ten Thousand Mountains of the Southern Borderlands, there was a kingdom of supernatural creatures, the largest gathering place for their kind.
Five hundred years ago, the Western countries, led by the Buddhist sect, declared war on the supernatural kingdom in the Southern Borderlands. The war lasted for sixty years, eventually annihilating the supernatural kingdom.
Historical records named this campaign the “Sixty-Year Supernatural Purge.”
Since then, the supernatural races’ destinies have been damaged, and they gradually declined. The Buddhist sect, on the other hand, soared to prominence, and Buddhism flourished.
Using Xu Qi An’s knowledge from his previous life, he understood that humans had won this battle for the top of the food chain.
If the tax silver theft was the work of supernatural creatures, then he could only save himself and the Liu family by recovering the silver.
As a peak, Qi Refinement cultivator, equivalent to an unyielding silver rank, Xu Qi An felt he had no way to turn the tables.
In the autumn season, the weather was damp and cold. Xu Qi An broke out in a cold sweat.
He was afraid!
Having integrated the original owner’s memories, he knew he had no chance of escaping prison. He also knew that in this society where imperial power reigned supreme, human rights were extremely weak.
Life and death were at the whim of others.
He had previously fantasized about traveling back in time to ancient times to show off by reciting poems, thinking it would be cool. Reality had given him a harsh slap.
Even after transmigrating, he still had to face society’s cruel beating.
“No, this is just speculation. This is just the Metropolitan Prefecture’s conjecture. I can’t be influenced by their guesses. I’ll analyze it myself… There’s still hope, still hope…”
A strong survival instinct made him quickly calm down, his logic becoming rigorous and clear once again.
“Why would supernatural creatures steal tax silver? Isn’t human flesh more appealing… Even if they needed silver, they wouldn’t necessarily target tax silver… I’ve heard that supernatural female creatures are all alluring and graceful… I wonder if there are cat girls or dog girls…”
“Slap!” Xu Qi An slapped himself. “Back to deduction!”
The most important aspect of the deduction is the elimination, listing the clues one by one and sorting through them.
Otherwise, it becomes a tangled mess, getting more confusing the more you think about it.
There were two most obvious clues in the tax silver case:
One: Supernatural wind!
Two: The tax silver exploded after falling into the river!
Apart from martial artists, all major cultivation systems possessed the ability to summon supernatural winds. Therefore, “Clue One” could only serve as evidence of a “cultivator’s” involvement, without providing more detailed targets.
This lessened the suspicion of his Second Uncle, who came from a martial arts background, though it didn’t rule out the possibility of him conspiring with others.
Clue Two, the explosion, was an unreasonable point. Explosions were normal in battles between high-level cultivators. However, in this tax silver theft case, there was no physical confrontation, so the occurrence of an explosion was unreasonable.
“Unless the explosion was necessary!” Xu Qi An muttered.
“Among the major cultivation systems, which profession needs to rely on explosions to achieve its goals?”
Xu Qi An thought for a moment but couldn’t come up with anything. Then he realized he had made the same mistake as the Metropolitan Prefecture.
The Metropolitan Prefecture’s line of thinking had gone wrong from the start. Based on the most obvious clues in the case, they had determined that the culprit was a supernatural creature, and then they had run wild with this idea, never to return.
This wasn’t wrong in itself; the problem was that this judgment was too hasty.
Although Xu Qi An had integrated the memories, his modern way of thinking still dominated, primarily based on his previous life experience. He preferred to dissect the case files meticulously, chewing over those easily overlooked details before concluding.
“I can’t figure out this path for now, so let’s change the approach and breakthrough from another angle. First, I’ll rule out supernatural creatures causing trouble and assume this is a carefully planned, man-made event.
“If so, there must be flaws left in the case.
“Locard’s exchange principle tells us that any crime will inevitably leave direct or indirect traces at the scene…
“All sorts of traces can be divided into two main categories. I can’t remember the specifics, but they should include hand and footprints, fingerprints, vehicle and horse tracks, tool and equipment marks, and so on.
“The flaw isn’t in the two most obvious clues, but in these various traces…”
Based on the case file description, Xu Qi An replayed the process of his Second Uncle transporting the tax silver in his mind.
Adrenaline was secreted frantically, and brain cells were highly active. If information could be personified, they would be like koi in a pond, frantically competing for food, the surface boiling.
He replayed and pondered over and over again.
Various information and clues from the case files converged, his brain like a high-speed running CPU.
As different pieces of information came together, the case became clearer and clearer.
Without realizing it, Xu Qi An felt he had entered a certain state. His soul floated lightly, breaking through his mortal body, breaking through the building, and arriving above the capital.
Time seemed to flow backward. In the east, dawn was breaking, and the sun was about to rise. Liu Pingzhi led a group of heavily armed soldiers, escorting the tax silver to the Ministry of Revenue.
At this time, it was the second quarter of the Mao hour… As they reached Guangnan Street, suddenly a gust of supernatural wind blew, startling the horses, which plunged into the river.
Boom!
The river surface exploded, muddy waves surging skyward.
This explosion seemed to resound in Xu Qi An’s heart as well. He reflexively kicked out his legs and came to his senses.
His eyes were filled with fatigue, but his face was full of excitement and wild joy.
“I know, I know, haha, I’ve solved the puzzle!!”
Xu Qi An laughed wildly, pounding on the bars: “Someone come! Someone come quickly!”
The jailer on duty was alarmed and came over with a fire stick, cursing: “All this noise, are you tired of living?”
He banged the fire stick against the bars to frighten Xu Qi An.
Xu Qi An took a step back, releasing his grip on the bars to avoid having his fingers broken. He said in a deep voice: “I need to see the Prefect.”
“A prisoner wanting to see the Prefect… Why don’t you take a piss and look at yourself?” The jailer laughed angrily, extending the fire stick through the bars to poke at Xu Qi An.
Xu Qi An retreated again to dodge.
“You dare to dodge?” The jailer fingered the keys at his waist, sneering: “I’ll break your legs today.”
“I have important clues about the tax silver theft case. I need to see the Prefect. If the case is delayed, you’ll be responsible,” Xu Qi An stared at him.
The jailer’s face froze.
…
In the inner hall, the girl who had finished eating meat buns was now chewing on sugarcane, occasionally taking out some preserved fruits from her deerskin pouch to eat with it.
On one side, gloom and despair; on the other, carefree indifference.
“His Majesty has ordered us to solve the case within five days because if too much time passes, the tax silver might never be recovered,” Prefect Chen paced back and forth in the hall, unable to sit still:
“But with time so pressing, we’re at a loss for what to do.” Solving cases takes time.
The Prefect clapped his hands and said firmly: “I’ll personally go and ask Lord Wei for the case files.”
Li Yuchun hesitated: “I’ll go with you.”
The yellow-dressed girl glanced at him, smiling charmingly: “That works. With our Great Feng’s master strategist taking charge, you two won’t have to face His Majesty’s questioning.
“But losing points in Lord Wei’s eyes is much worse than facing His Majesty’s questioning.” She smiled, revealing two small, pearly white canine teeth.
The middle-aged man’s face darkened.
A yamen runner in black clothes hurried in, bowing as he reported: “Prefect, the jailer reports that Liu Pingzhi’s nephew, Xu Qi An, just said he has important clues about the tax silver theft case and wishes to see you, sir.”
The three’s gazes sharpened simultaneously.
Xu Qi An… If memory served, he was just a peripheral figure unrelated to the case. After initial questioning and torture, he had been deemed an irrelevant bystander.
Prefect Chen pondered for a moment, then said: “Bring him here.”
Shortly after, Xu Qi An, wearing prison clothes with dried blood stains, was brought up by the yamen runners. As he walked, his handcuffs and shackles clanked noisily.