That evening, scouts dispatched to Wushe County and Fuli County returned to report that there were no signs of passage along either mountain trail.
The prefect of Daxing looked thoroughly crestfallen, and Zongjian and his monks were just as perplexed.
To tell the truth, had cart ruts been discovered heading north into Kaiyan Prefecture or east toward Hangu Prefecture, Great Vajra Monastery could have cleared its name. But with no leads whatsoever, could the stolen treasure still be hidden right here in Daxing Prefecture?
Seeing Zongjian's white brows knitted low and his face dark as water, and noticing Wang Yu slumping in utter boredom without a care in the world, cold sweat broke out along the Daxing prefect's temples.
"Prince Zhao..." The Daxing prefect licked his lips. "What should we do next?"
Compared to Zongjian and Wang Yu, the Daxing prefect was by far the most anxious. One represented an orthodox pillar of the Buddhist sect, while the other was the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor, a veritable state within a state.
Even if the treasure remained lost, Great Vajra Monastery would at most suffer some slander, while the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor would face a reprimand. The imperial court would never truly move against either of them.
In fact, unless either power openly rebelled, the imperial court would not—and frankly dared not—lay a finger on them.
Yet the Daxing prefect possessed no such leverage before the Emperor; he could easily be stripped of his post and thrown into prison.
Wang Yu looked at Zongjian's group with an amused smirk. "Perhaps the more you do, the more mistakes you make. So those thieves who snatched the treasure didn't even bother fabricating an escape route. I wonder if they feared leaving behind clues."
Hongyue glared at him. "Prince of Zhenxi! Mind your words! If you cannot prove Great Vajra Monastery did this, what will you say for yourself?"
Wang Yu arched a brow. "Did I say Great Vajra Monastery did it? Isn't that an unprompted confession on your part?"
Hongyue bristled with rage, his fists clenching so hard he looked ready to smash one right into Wang Yu's face.
"Amitabha!" Honghai chanted a Buddhist prayer, raising his hands in a respectful salute. "The thieves leaving no false trail only proves Great Vajra Monastery had no hand in it. After all, had we wished to do so, faking an escape route would have been effortless."
Wang Yu glanced at Honghai and tapped the table. "Actually, this prince also believes your monastery didn't do it."
At these words, not only Hongyue but even Zongjian shot Wang Yu a surprised look, wondering what game he was playing.
"However, the treasure vanished in Daxing Prefecture, making your monastery the prime suspect." Wang Yu sighed with exaggerated solemnity. "By all rights, no one should have been able to carry off such a fortune right under Great Vajra Monastery's nose."
Zongjian raised a white brow and said impassively, "Speak with care, Prince of Zhenxi. Great Vajra Monastery is a sacred, tranquil Buddhist sanctuary that meddles in neither military nor civil administration. It is no warlord domain occupying Daxing Prefecture."
There were needles hidden in Zongjian's words, but Wang Yu paid them no heed, offering only a beaming smile. "Yet if the real culprit isn't caught and no evidence shows the treasure leaving Daxing Prefecture, washing this dirty water off Great Vajra Monastery won't be easy!"
Strictly speaking, without ironclad proof that Great Vajra Monastery had stolen the treasure, no one would dare touch them, and even the imperial court would not lightly mobilize troops.
Yet even if others dared not strike openly, whispering behind their backs, harboring private suspicions, and stirring up future trouble were inevitable.
Wang Yu knew this, and Great Vajra Monastery knew it as well; otherwise, Hongyue would not have flared with such anger at Wang Yu's sarcastic jabs.
If the treasure stayed missing, rumors surrounding Great Vajra Monastery would only multiply, eventually whipped into a raging storm by interested parties until the mud stuck for good.
As for who those interested parties might be...
Zongjian glanced at Wang Yu, harboring zero illusions about his character.
"Say what you wish to say, Your Highness," Zongjian said coolly.
Wang Yu crossed his legs. "To be blunt, I have little interest in finding the Emperor's treasure. In any case, it went missing in Daxing Prefecture, and poisoned official provisions caused the mishap. At most, I'll bear a charge of dereliction of duty, and the old Emperor won't truly punish me."
Sweat poured down the Daxing prefect's forehead.
Wang Yu continued, "Furthermore, to put it bluntly, the master here barged into the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor not long ago to cause trouble for this prince. Now you expect me to expend painstaking effort clearing your names? It doesn't sit comfortably with me."
The beads of sweat on the Daxing prefect's brow grew denser. While he knew ill will existed between the monastery and the manor, he had no idea they had already come to blows on each other's doorstep.
Hongyue's eyes widened. "If it doesn't sit comfortably, then leave!"
Wang Yu sat straight up, his eyes shining. "You said it! A deal is a deal, no taking it back!"
"Hongyue, silence!" Zongjian barked.
If word got out that Great Vajra Monastery had driven the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor from the joint investigation, the mud heaped on the monastery's head would only turn darker.
Honghai stepped forward. "What advice does Your Highness have?"
Wang Yu slouched back into his chair, picked up his teacup, and took a slow sip. "Simple. Make me feel comfortable, and I'll investigate thoroughly—and guarantee Great Vajra Monastery's innocence is restored."
Honghai inquired further, "And how might Your Highness find comfort?"
Wang Yu smiled faintly. "Last time, I had one of your monastery's Tendon-Changing Bone-Forging Pills. It tasted quite good—went nicely with wine. Give me another dozen or so, and I'll feel plenty comfortable."
Hongyue gaped in disbelief. "A dozen or so? Keep dreaming! Do you think Tendon-Changing Bone-Forging Pills are cabbages sold on the street?"
"Amitabha!" Honghai pressed his palms together. "Forgive us, Your Highness. Great Vajra Monastery barely refines a single batch of Tendon-Changing Bone-Forging Pills every two or three years. There are not even ten pills in the entire temple. Please name another condition."
Wang Yu arched an eyebrow. "Great Vajra Monastery possesses tens of thousands of mu of fertile farmland, thousands of storefronts, solid-gold Buddha statues, and vaults holding millions in silver. You're telling me you don't have ten Tendon-Changing Bone-Forging Pills?"
Honghai offered a placid smile, showing no irritation. "Farmland and storefronts exist only to sustain the living. Gold statues serve only devotion. As for millions in silver, that is mere hearsay."
Wang Yu tapped the table. "Then how many Tendon-Changing Bone-Forging Pills do you have?"
Honghai shook his head. "Those Tendon-Changing Bone-Forging Pills are refined exclusively to complement our temple's secret Vajra Dragon-Elephant Art. They are of no use to Your Highness. If Your Highness does not object, this poor monk is willing to present a bottle of Sanyang Qi-Invigorating Pills to enhance Your Highness's pleasures in the bedchamber."
Wang Yu's eyes lit up, and he nodded. "I want those too, and I still want the Tendon-Changing Bone-Forging Pills."
Honghai looked up. "Your Highness?"
Wang Yu stared back. "Whether I need the Tendon-Changing Bone-Forging Pills isn't important. What matters is that you don't have them. Understand?"
Honghai's eyes flickered with comprehension.
Wang Yu was plainly trying to weaken Great Vajra Monastery's strength.
At the thought, Honghai shook his head inwardly, finding it almost laughable. Great Vajra Monastery's stature as an orthodox Buddhist power and its steady emergence of Xiantian masters certainly did not rely on a few mere Tendon-Changing Bone-Forging Pills.
While the pill accelerated cultivation of the Vajra Dragon-Elephant Art, whether one could break into the Xiantian realm depended entirely on individual talent and comprehension. The pill might speed the process, but it guaranteed nothing.
Thinking he could weaken Great Vajra Monastery and reduce its number of masters by snatching a few pills was naive in the extreme.
Yet considering the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor had so few notable figures left, relying entirely on Zhao Rong to hold up the facade, such naivety was understandable.
Honghai could not help but glance back at Zongjian, silently suggesting they give him one as if tossing a coin to a beggar. Using a single Tendon-Changing Bone-Forging Pill to wash away this undeserved blame was a worthwhile trade.
In truth, though the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor was a longtime adversary, the monastery hated the mastermind behind the theft far more, as they had brazenly used Great Vajra Monastery as a shield.
If they could track down that faction, the cost of one Tendon-Changing Bone-Forging Pill was negligible.
And once the culprit was found, Great Vajra Monastery would never let them off lightly.
Zongjian raised his white brows. "If Your Highness desires a Tendon-Changing Bone-Forging Pill, it is not impossible. However, the thieves must be found first. If Your Highness can clear Great Vajra Monastery's name, this old monk is willing to reward you with one pill."
Wang Yu flashed his thumb and index finger. "Eight pills!"
Zongjian said flatly, "One."
Wang Yu raised a brow. "Seven pills!"
Zongjian replied firmly, "One."
Wang Yu glared. "Five pills! Not one less!"
Zongjian's tone did not waver. "One."
Wang Yu laughed out of exasperation. "Business is about give and take! Can't you add at least a little?"
Zongjian shook his head. "One."
*Thump!*
Wang Yu slammed the table. "Fine, one pill it is! But throw in ten bottles of Sanyang Qi-Invigorating Pills!"
Everyone fell silent.
Honghai smacked his lips. "It is not that our humble temple cannot afford them, but all medicine carries three parts poison..."
Before he could finish, Zongjian said coolly, "Agreed."
"Eh?" Honghai turned, caught on immediately, and said to Wang Yu, "Amitabha! It is a deal. As long as Prince Zhao uncovers the mastermind behind the theft, our monastery shall present one Tendon-Changing Bone-Forging Pill and ten bottles of Sanyang Qi-Invigorating Pills."
"Splendid!" Wang Yu smacked the table. "A gentleman's word!"
Though Honghai inwardly scoffed that Wang Yu was hardly a gentleman, he smiled on the surface. "Cannot be overtaken by a team of four horses."
Just then, a Xionglue Army soldier called out from outside the magistrate hall, announcing that Centurion Zhang requested an audience.
Li Yunxiu's eyes brightened, and Wang Yu immediately waved a hand. "Send him in!"
A moment later, Centurion Zhang hurried in. Though his expression was urgent, a gleam of excitement shone in his eyes.
Seeing that look, the Daxing prefect and the three monks twitched in unison. A surge of disbelief welled up in their hearts, and the three monks felt a distinct foreboding that they had just been played.
Could he really have found a lead already?
Centurion Zhang approached Wang Yu and Li Yunxiu, but after glancing at the Daxing prefect and the three monks, he hesitated, holding his tongue.
Wang Yu simply asked, "Did you find their trail?"
Centurion Zhang nodded repeatedly. "Your Highness and the Princess Consort are divine strategists! This subordinate has indeed found their trail!"
A smile spread across Wang Yu's face. If Li Yunxiu's deduction had merely been exceptionally logical before, Centurion Zhang's discovery had now practically nailed the truth down.
Wei Gutong remarked with feeling, "To think he truly possessed such audacity."
Yan Ziyu looked at Li Yunxiu. "His scheme was meticulous enough, but unfortunately, he was outplayed by a single move and fell short at the final hurdle."
Wang Yu turned toward Honghai, extending an open hand. "One Tendon-Changing Bone-Forging Pill and ten bottles of Sanyang Qi-Invigorating Pills. A fair deal, cheating neither young nor old."
Honghai could not help asking, "Might we know what traces Prince Zhao found, and who this mastermind truly is?"
Chapter 96