General Ling was impatient and had no wish to waste a single second. With a high leap, it vaulted straight over the wall into the courtyard.
A dignified general had no qualms whatsoever about scaling other people's walls or smashing their windows.
The spectacle drew stares from passersby on the road.
Seeing this, the two wind-boring beast guards followed suit.
He Lingchuan heard the rapid clatter of their hooves striking stone and timber—a dense clack-clack-clack that darted back and forth in an instant.
Evidently, they had casually tapped into their innate ramming ability, scouring the entire residence from front to back in mere breaths.
By the time He Lingchuan and Jiao Yu leaped into the courtyard, General Ling had reappeared before them.
"Nobody here!"
Jiao Yu immediately said, "I'll see if there are any secret passages."
He Lingchuan, on the other hand, made a beeline for the study without a second thought.
This was a private residence, not an inn; the furniture and household items were arranged for everyday living. Since that Mr. Mai stayed here on a regular basis, he was bound to have left traces.
The study's furnishings were simple: only a bookcase, a curio shelf, and a desk with chairs.
Beside the curio shelf stood a vase.
He Lingchuan immediately began rummaging through the drawers and shelves.
The bookcase and desk drawers were packed with account ledgers and balance sheets. Judging from the recorded items, Mr. Mai was also a merchant dealing in medicinal herbs.
Naturally, based on Master Wan's confession, all of this was likely just a front.
Suddenly, He Lingchuan felt warmth at his neck—
The divine bone necklace was glowing with a faint red light.
Did that mean there was something hidden in this study?
He Lingchuan got up at once and paced around the room.
The space was not large to begin with, which made it hard to gauge the warmth of the divine bone necklace. He only noticed that when he approached the curio shelf, the divine bone settled down.
In other words, whatever was important lay on that shelf?
He looked it over. On the curio shelf sat a carved ivory-and-jade puzzle ball, a gold-inlaid jade Pixiu ornament, and a set of celadon teaware. On the floor beside it stood a wide-bellied, long-necked vase holding several scrolls.
The vase was placed in the dimmest corner. The master of the house probably rarely went near it, so the servant boy cleaning the study had slacked off, failing even to dust the vase itself.
Just as He Lingchuan was about to examine them one by one, a commotion arose outside.
He even heard General Ling's furious roar.
It sounded like someone was heading this way.
With time running short, He Lingchuan didn't hesitate. He pulled all the scrolls from the vase and swept them into his storage ring.
He had barely finished when several people barged in, accompanied by a sharp bellow: "Freeze! Drop what you're holding and turn around!"
Jiao Yu dashed over as well, letting out a roar to confront the intruders. "The Crown Prince's special envoy is conducting an investigation! How dare you barge in like this?!"
Yet, in the end, he didn't strike out with his claws right away.
He Lingchuan turned around to see the uninvited guests. They were mostly humans, though out in the courtyard stood a gigantic demon beast facing off against the wind-boring beasts.
The leader of the group was draped in a heavy cloak. He looked human, yet his skin was a pale blue.
Extremely familiar.
When this man spotted him, his gaze also sharpened. A guard beside him barked, "Lord Zhongsun, Inspector from Lingxu City, is conducting an inspection on imperial orders! Mind your manners!"
An Inspector from Lingxu City?
Oh, so it was Zhongsun Mou.
As the saying went, enemies were bound to cross paths.
Even though Zhongsun Mou's hostility had been mainly aimed at Fu Shanyue, He Lingchuan still remembered what the man had said to him back at the Twilight Plains checkpoint.
How did it go again? Threatening to cut out his tongue?
Good, good. Now that official business for Fu Shanyue had a personal grudge mixed into it, things wouldn't be boring anymore.
Facing He Lingchuan, Zhongsun Mou's face darkened instantly, clearly recognizing him. "How did this case end up in Fu Shanyue's hands?"
He Lingchuan could see naked disgust written in the man's eyes. He stroked his own cheek—he was obviously such a handsome young man.
Fu Shanyue hadn't been wrong: this fellow was just as petty and vindictive as he was.
He was about to speak when the Lord Inspector looked down his nose at him and said condescendingly, "Fu Shanyue only sent you?"
His gaze dripped with utter contempt; his demeanor oozed supreme arrogance.
He Lingchuan felt all his years of playing the spoiled young master had gone to waste. Look at this man's expression! Look at this attitude!
It seemed the "surprise" Fu Shanyue had turned back to give him back then hadn't been big enough.
In any case, Zhongsun Mou still bore the title of Lingxu City Inspector and looked entirely unscathed. At least Fu Shanyue hadn't laid a finger on the man himself.
Since this was someone even Fu Shanyue hadn't dared to kill, perhaps He Lingchuan, as the Crown Prince's special envoy, shouldn't be too rough with him openly?
He Lingchuan offered no reply. Instead, he turned his back on Zhongsun Mou and went back to fiddling with the ivory ball on the curio shelf.
He pressed it, gave it a shake, and brought it to his ear to listen. Hmm, solid.
Zhongsun Mou said coldly, "Put it back."
Turning a deaf ear, He Lingchuan moved on to touch the next item—the Pixiu ornament.
Furious, a guard behind Zhongsun Mou charged forward to grab He Lingchuan by the shoulder. "He told you to put it back!"
How could Jiao Yu just stand by? He swiped a paw at the man's arm.
The hooked claws on the tiger paw were over an inch long, glinting with cold light. If they struck flesh, they could easily tear away half a jin of meat.
The guard dodged in haste. Jiao Yu hadn't intended to actually take him down either, pulling back after a warning swat without pursuing.
"Insolence!" The rest of Zhongsun Mou's guards lunged forward two steps, while Jiao Yu dropped into a crouch, ready to pounce, every hair on his body bristling.
The tension was on a hair-trigger.
With a deafening crash, the two wind-boring beasts smashed right through the door and wall, planting themselves in front of He Lingchuan with an air that said: If you want to fight, cut the crap and bring it on.
Ptui! Ptui! Each spat a glob of saliva toward the other side.
A wind-boring beast's saliva was sticky and foul-smelling, soaking into anything it touched in an instant. If it hit someone, scrubbing like mad with several bars of scented soap wouldn't wash it out; the stench would linger for at least half a month.
This was their way of issuing a challenge to battle.
Everyone else on both sides: "..."
They were truly General Ling's subordinates, having inherited his very essence.
He Lingchuan finally spoke at his leisure. "Do you know where you are?"
Faced with such an abrupt question, Zhongsun Mou frowned and did not answer.
In truth, he had long forgotten what he had said to this kid back then, assuming only that he was one of Fu Shanyue's lackeys.
"This is the territory of the Chiyan Kingdom, and I am the Crown Prince's special envoy." He Lingchuan produced the special envoy medallion and slapped it against his palm twice. Smack, smack. "If you dare act wildly here, I'll smash your mouth to pieces and break your legs."
Even Jiao Yu cast a sidelong glance at him.
Truly worthy of being the Crown Prince's friend—that reckless audacity to tear the heavens open was cut from the exact same cloth.
Ever since becoming an Inspector and touring the various demon kingdoms, Zhongsun Mou had never been cursed at so crudely. His face flushed a dark, purplish sauce-red with rage. His guards, unable to endure it any longer, charged forward.
He Lingchuan slapped the tiger's back. "Get them all!"
Their lineup was star-studded: a Household General of Baishan, a Feitian Vanguard General—both seasoned brawlers. What the hell was there to fear?
Besides, this was Chiyan territory!
Jiao Yu lunged first, taking on two at once, while General Ling lowered its head so fast it left an afterimage, scooping up an unprepared guard on its horns and hurling him into the wall.
With chaos erupting in an instant, the giant monster outside heard the commotion and turned to charge in.
It was only two sizes smaller than Zhu Erniang and couldn't fit through the doorway. Forcing its way inside would only bring the entire study crashing down.
Wouldn't that needlessly complicate the search? Zhongsun Mou felt a jolt of alarm and bellowed, "Stop! All of you, stop!"
Though the scene looked chaotic, Jiao Yu and General Ling were both seasoned veterans of officialdom; holding back a third of their strength, neither had dealt fatal blows, conscious of the aura Zhongsun Mou carried as a Lingxu City Inspector.
Apart from He Lingchuan, the Chiyan demons still held some reservations.
Both sides broke apart as quickly as they had clashed, preventing any real disaster, and even the giant monster outside halted in its tracks.
Only now did He Lingchuan see that the monster resembled a hippopotamus, with a barrel-like torso, an enormous backside, and four squat, stubby legs. With bulk like that, whether sitting or lying down, it looked like a small mountain.
Weighing the martial strength of both sides, Zhongsun Mou knew he had no advantage. Refusing to suffer immediate losses, he was forced to swallow his anger and pulled out an auspicious-cloud-shaped black medallion.
A faint red glow flickered across its surface.
Before he could speak, however, He Lingchuan beat him to it: "Since we are both envoys, why are you obstructing my investigation?"
Who was "both envoys" with him?! Could a mere crown prince's envoy from a vassal demon kingdom compare to him? "You are handling the case of the missing eastern imperial eagle?"
"Indeed. Lingxu City ordered Chiyan to investigate thoroughly, so the Crown Prince ordered me to investigate thoroughly!" He Lingchuan smiled so broadly his dimples showed. "Official duties, you know—one must spare no effort in carrying them out."
"It is enough that I take over this case. You may return." Zhongsun Mou presented a gold-flecked letter bearing a vermilion seal and wax stamp. "Take this missive back to the Ruler of Chiyan; he will naturally accept it."
A guard took the letter with both hands and brought it before He Lingchuan, who merely clasped his hands behind his back and refused to take it. "Too busy. Send it to him yourself."
Looking at him, Zhongsun Mou felt as if he were looking at Fu Shanyue—infuriatingly in need of a thrashing to the point of making one's teeth ache with hatred.
Yet He Lingchuan continued to smile, sunny and serene. "As an Inspector, what are you doing meddling in the affairs of Chiyan territory?"
"The disappearance of Lingxu City's courier also falls within the scope of my inspection."
He placed heavy emphasis on the words "Lingxu City."
He Lingchuan had already asked Fu Shanyue about this before: the so-called Inspectors sent by Lingxu City outwardly carried out duties of travel, inspection, and supervision, while covertly spying and gathering intelligence on various vassal demon kingdoms to report directly to the imperial ear.
Just like in human realms, the Demon Emperor would never feel at ease regarding the demon kings he enfeoffed—never.
Therefore, while an Inspector held no grand rank, his actual authority was formidable.
Of course, Zhongsun Mou only bore the halo of "Inspector" while deployed on an inspection tour. Once his assignment concluded and he returned to the imperial capital, this authority would be stripped.
Now that he insisted on taking this matter into his own hands, it didn't seem entirely beyond his jurisdiction either.
But why?
Less than half a month ago, this fellow had been crossing swords with Fu Shanyue on the Twilight Plains. How had he slipped into Chiyan Kingdom to poke his nose into the courier's business now?
Mulling this over, He Lingchuan asked, "How far has Lord Zhongsun gotten in his investigation?"
Zhongsun Mou said indifferently, "That cannot be disclosed, lest we alert the enemy."
Putting on airs again, wasn't he? Before He Lingchuan could respond, General Ling could no longer hold back. Paying no heed to the monster facing off against it, it stepped straight over the collapsed doorway and wall into the room. "Hold on! Have you found the culprit or not?!"
Zhongsun Mou frowned with evident irritation. "And who might you be? What does this have to do with you?"
General Ling roared in anger, "I am an aggrieved party! Seven members of my wind-boring beast clan have been murdered—why shouldn't I demand answers?!"
Chapter 458