"Right now?" Zhongsun Mou rose immediately. "Let's go."
The group strolled along the lakeside toward the city center. Willows swayed gently along the path, bathed in a refreshing breeze.
Catching the cool currents rolling off the water, Baishaqu naturally enjoyed lower temperatures than surrounding areas, making it a well-known summer resort. Even in the sweltering heat of midsummer's seventh lunar month, walking along the lake for fifteen minutes would not leave one's clothes drenched in sweat.
Before long, they arrived at Tianxiang Pavilion.
This was one of Baishaqu's premier restaurants, where the price of a single signature dish was enough to match two or three months' wages of an ordinary laborer.
Zhongsun Mou climbed the stairs and, sure enough, found a familiar face waiting at the best windowside table.
It was indeed Cen Boqing.
Cen Boqing rose to greet him. After exchanging polite pleasantries, the two took their seats.
A flowing succession of delicacies was served.
Zhongsun Mou had little affection for human cuisine, and his expression was initially rather aloof. Yet the dishes brought to the table were all prized cuts of raw fish, and there were even jade crabs transported thousands of li from the sea. Marinated in yellow rice wine, once diners lifted the top shells and took a sip, the quivering crab butter and meat slipped in like silken tofu, carrying the savory, briny fragrance of the ocean.
This was Zhongsun Mou's favorite indulgence. He devoured two before pausing. "Impressive. I never expected to find such fine delicacies in Chiyan Kingdom."
"Where are good delicacies not found? It is simply a matter of price."
After discussing court affairs for a while, Zhongsun Mou asked Cen Boqing, "Your men didn't run into me by accident, did they?" Baishaqu was no small place; casual encounters simply did not happen so easily.
He suspected this had something to do with the case he was investigating, as the leads were gradually pointing toward the northwest section of the city.
Zhongsun Mou was beginning to feel a pang of regret.
He had only meddled in the first place because he heard the case of the missing courier had been handed over to Fu Shan'yue. On the one hand, he wanted to claim a major achievement; on the other, he wanted to watch Fu Shan'yue make a fool of himself.
He had not expected to drag himself into the mud as well.
Cen Boqing set down his chopsticks and chuckled. "I wonder how your esteemed father is doing lately? I hear the old gentleman has looked healthier and more radiant by the day over the past two years."
A flicker of displeasure crossed Zhongsun Mou's eyes. These humans always loved beating around the bush when they spoke.
Clearly, Cen Boqing was giving him a reminder.
"Brother Cen, please speak plainly."
Cen Boqing let out a sigh. "It's like this..."
Three days later, He Lingchuan finally reached Baishaqu.
All along the road, lakes linked together like strung pearls, and grassy plains unfurled in vast expanses. When a hundred thousand gulls and egrets took flight, they blotted out the sky and sun. Wherever one looked, the scenery was magnificent. Unfortunately, he had no time to stop and admire it.
Upon arriving in Baishaqu, He Lingchuan went straight to the county yamen with Jiao Yu to notify the local magistrate.
Unfamiliar with the place and its people, he intended to borrow every bit of leverage available. He was certainly not one to insist on doing everything with his own bare hands.
After entering the yamen and sitting down, just as a servant offered tea, He Lingchuan announced he needed to find the latrine.
Naturally, no one could stop him.
He walked alone beneath the shadow of a high wall when a tiny silhouette leaped down from the top of the wall and landed on his shoulder.
The eyeball spider, away on assignment for days, had finally returned to its post.
"Why are you here?" The moment He Lingchuan entered the yamen, he had sensed that he could share the eyeball spider's vision, so he had slipped away to a secluded spot to retrieve it.
Wasn't this fellow supposed to be tailing Zhongsun Mou?
"What? You were discovered?"
"He even tried to kill you? Right, right, that bastard deserves to die!"
"Then did you find anything during the first three days you followed him?" He Lingchuan couldn't help digging at his ear. The eyeball spider was furiously venting its grievances, chattering so loud it nearly ruptured his eardrums. "No, no, it's not that I don't care about you! I'll definitely avenge you later!"
Though fuming with rage, the eyeball spider remained quite dedicated and passed along its intelligence.
By the time He Lingchuan returned to the hall, the County Magistrate of Baishaqu had already hurried over. He was conversing with Jiao Yu and immediately stepped forward to salute upon seeing He Lingchuan.
This man's etiquette was even more exaggerated than that of the Baishi magistrate in Zhitian Township. His deep bow was so low that his fingertips nearly touched the floorboards.
His waist was remarkably flexible.
The Baishaqu magistrate was surnamed Tian, fair and plump, with a pentagonal face. Whenever he smiled, his eyes vanished into creases.
He Lingchuan was genuinely curious: with a belly that large, how could the man bend down and still touch the floor?
However, He Lingchuan now put on the airs of an official, looking serene and aloof, offering only noncommittal grunts and hums to the magistrate's various inquiries and greetings.
Once the posture was fully struck, he looked every bit like a seasoned veteran of officialdom.
It was only when the Baishaqu magistrate asked the core question that the dynamic shifted: "Has the Special Envoy come regarding the murder of the Lingxu City courier?"
He Lingchuan showed a trace of surprise. "How did you know?"
Then he immediately realized. "Oh, you've already met Zhongsun Mou?"
"Yes, yes, I met him several days ago."
He Lingchuan felt a quiet disdain. Shouldn't an Inspector travel in plain clothes to observe the conditions of the people? Wherever Zhongsun Mou went, he couldn't wait to flash his badge. What kind of inspection was that? Wasn't it just flaunting authority and throwing his weight around under the guise of sightseeing?
And all on the public dime, no less.
The Baishaqu magistrate smiled, deepening his laugh lines. "Lord Zhongsun has already cracked the case. The suspect has also been apprehended and will soon be escorted to Lingxu City."
He was merely the magistrate of a vassal state, while the other was an Inspector from Lingxu City tasked specifically with overseeing officials of various realms. It was far beyond a matter of being a single rank higher.
Whenever the Baishaqu magistrate mentioned him, it had to be with utmost deference.
He Lingchuan was genuinely stunned. "What did you say? He caught the mastermind?"
After driving the eyeball spider away, Zhongsun Mou had cracked the case at lightning speed and even apprehended the primary culprit?
He was that capable?
The tiger demon Jiao Yu stood up as well, his tail twisting like a serpent, clearly just as astonished.
Once He Lingchuan gathered his thoughts, his questions fired off like a barrage of cannonballs: "When? Is the primary culprit Mr. Mai's superior? What is his identity, where does he live, and how was he captured?"
"This humble official did not participate in the investigation or the arrest. I only know that Lord Inspector followed the trail to the northwest of the city, tracked down the suspect's movements, and captured him in one fell swoop yesterday," the Baishaqu magistrate said admiringly. "The arrest went extremely smoothly, causing no destruction and harming no innocent bystanders."
He Lingchuan did not reply, turning instead to Jiao Yu. "What do you think?"
Jiao Yu shook his head. "Far too strange."
"Don't underestimate the Inspector. Perhaps he truly caught the real culprit with thunderous speed." He Lingchuan asked the magistrate again, "Just who is this primary culprit?"
"Interrogated overnight, it was revealed that he went by the alias Fu Hua in Baishaqu, but his real name is Fu Songhua. On the surface, he is a merchant, but in truth, he has multiple murders on his hands—a fugitive wanted by Lingxu City for many years." The Baishaqu magistrate weighed every word carefully. "Beyond that, this humble official knows nothing."
He Lingchuan's face darkened, his voice turned icy, and his aura sharpened abruptly. "A murderous fiend and a long-sought fugitive appeared right in your county, and you dare claim ignorance?"
The Baishaqu magistrate froze. "Lord Zhongsun handled this case personally. I... I truly had no way to intervene..."
An Inspector from Lingxu City could stand tall and unbowed even before the demon kings of the various realms. How would he dare act out of line?
"He is a man of Lingxu City, not an official of Chiyan Kingdom, and certainly not your superior. On what authority do you allow him to overstep your jurisdiction and still make excuses for it?" He Lingchuan said coldly. "Or is it that you view him as your superior, while treating the laws and authority of Chiyan Kingdom as nothing?"
The Baishaqu magistrate panicked. "This humble official would never dare! Special Envoy, your words are too severe!"
He was also a clever man and immediately kicked the dilemma back to He Lingchuan. "This humble official did inquire twice, but Lord Inspector refused to hand the suspect over to me. I wasn't even allowed to touch the case files, and I could hardly resort to force. What... what do you think should be done?"
Tell me how to resolve this; don't just put me on the spot.
He Lingchuan stared intently at him. The Baishaqu magistrate felt his gaze bore into him like a blade, piercing straight to the depths of his heart. The mounting pressure made him feel as though he were sitting on pins and needles.
"You have a rather comfortable life as the magistrate of Baishaqu, doing nothing all day but receiving guests and sending them off, careful not to offend a soul."
The magistrate dared not answer.
Baishaqu had pleasant scenery and remained cool in summer and warm in winter, frequently drawing high-ranking nobles for health retreats and extended stays. As a minor county magistrate who had to face the dignitaries of various nations every other day, how could he have held onto this post for so long without a pliable spine?
"Where is Zhongsun Mou?"
The Baishaqu magistrate checked the sky; it was only just past noon. "He should be resting at the Bailu Inn."
"And the prisoner?"
The Baishaqu magistrate pointed behind him. "Also at the Bailu Inn."
"He actually keeps the suspect with him?" He Lingchuan gave a faint sneer. "Just how little does he trust you?"
There was definitely something fishy going on.
The Baishaqu magistrate could only force a placating smile.
"He couldn't have arrested just one person, right? What about the other accomplices?" He Lingchuan asked him. "Did Zhongsun Mou take all of them to the inn as well?"
"There are also several guards and servants from the Fu household, one head housekeeper, one concubine, two managers, and three merchants who maintained close dealings with him. Lord Zhongsun did not take them to the inn; they are temporarily held in the county jail."
"Now that's more like it." He Lingchuan dusted off his robes and stood up. "Lead the way. I want to interrogate them."
"Ah?" The Baishaqu magistrate froze, but meeting He Lingchuan's gaze, he quickly corrected himself. "Understood."
This was his direct superior, and He Lingchuan's reprimand was still ringing in his ears.
Besides, the prisoners were in his county jail; why shouldn't a local official be allowed to interrogate them?
Baishaqu's county jail was just like any other—dark and damp, with insects and rats scurrying in and out in neat rows.
The magistrate led He Lingchuan and Jiao Yu inside, pointing toward an entire row of cells. "These are all the accomplices in Fu Songhua's case. Which one would you like to interrogate?"
He Lingchuan looked over. Several female relatives and maidservants were locked in one cell, while the remaining men were divided across three.
"Start with the women. Didn't you say he had a concubine?"
The concubine was surnamed Li.
When Lady Li was brought out alone for questioning, she cried out her innocence ceaselessly to He Lingchuan. She appeared to be seventeen or eighteen years of age, and even with tears streaming down her face, her delicate beauty remained unmistakable.
"I was sold to the master—ah, to Fu Songhua—when I was only fourteen. I knew nothing at all!" Lady Li wept. "I didn't know he was a fugitive, and I didn't know he had killed people!"
He Lingchuan leaned back. "Has anyone interrogated you yet?"
"Y-yes, once. A few lords came to question me, but they didn't look like government officials."
The Baishaqu magistrate chimed in from the side, "Lord Inspector's guards did come to interrogate Lady Li once."
"Were you present the entire time?"
"Uh..."
Sweat broke out on the Baishaqu magistrate's back once more. It was truly hot inside this jail.
He Lingchuan scoffed and ignored him, turning back to Lady Li. "What did they ask?"
From Lady Li's answers, he gathered that they had only asked generic, cookie-cutter questions: how long she had been with Fu, whom he typically associated with, and where he went.
It sounded like nothing more than routine procedure.
Chapter 475