It was dusk by the time He Lingchuan and the fierce tiger strolled back to the inn, accompanied by Commander Lu.
Having worked together on official business over the past few days, the two had met frequently. Just now, they had spent over an hour drinking together at a tavern, so their rapport was in excellent shape.
Moreover, He Lingchuan had keenly noticed that while others dreaded the formidable clout of Lingxu City, Commander Lu, who appeared blunt and simple on the surface, had actually hit a ceiling in his career. Instead of cowering, he was eager to take a gamble and fight for a chance at promotion.
The five hundred soldiers under his command were an important source of support for He Lingchuan.
Cen Boqing naturally hadn't lingered around waiting; he had long since departed, though the outside of the inn was crawling with Cen family informants.
He Lingchuan frowned the moment he stepped into his room.
The guest room was somewhat messy. While not rummaged through like a gale blowing through open chests and cabinets, everywhere bore traces of having been searched.
The visitor that morning had come up empty-handed, yet he still made a blatant display that he had been there—and seized the chance to humiliate the special envoy of the Crown Prince.
Jiao Yu was right: these noble figures from Lingxu City truly were outrageously arrogant.
He Lingchuan turned and called for the inn's attendant to tidy up the room and fetch hot water.
Yet before the hot water arrived, Cen Boqing showed up first.
Who knew where the man had been staying, to arrive on the scene so quickly.
This time he didn't make such a grand display either; bringing only two attendants along, he knocked on He Lingchuan's door.
"He Xiao?" Hands clasped behind his back, he said indifferently, "I am Cen Boqing."
He Lingchuan smiled. "Lord Cen, please come in."
As if by unspoken agreement, neither mentioned what had happened that morning.
Commander Lu was also present, and he stood up to salute upon seeing Cen Boqing.
Cen Boqing waved a hand dismissively, took a seat with broad, brazen confidence, and cut straight to the chase with his very first words: "You wrongly arrested guards from my estate. I've come to take them back."
"Wrongly arrested?" He Lingchuan's brow furrowed. "I laid a trap to catch a wanted criminal. Nobody else came, so why did your men leap right in?"
"Portraits of the wanted fugitive are posted all over the streets and alleys. They recognized him at the base of Chaohu Pagoda and wanted to act courageously for a good cause." Cen Boqing didn't even blink. "Is there anything wrong with that?"
"The orders they received were to bring him back, and if they couldn't, to execute him on the spot." He Lingchuan stroked his chin. "Who issued that order?"
His gaze shifted behind Cen Boqing, where a familiar face stood.
He Lingchuan recognized him at once: this was indeed the wealthy merchant from Chaohu Pagoda back then, one of the patrons at those three tables.
So this was Uncle Wu?
"It's merely a misunderstanding," Cen Boqing replied placidly. "The orders they heard were to do their utmost to capture him while prioritizing self-defense. He is a habitual murderer, after all; my guards couldn't afford to tie their own hands."
"Oh? And who gave those orders?"
Cen Boqing grew a little impatient. "That is the factual sequence of events. My people assisted the authorities and eagerly moved to apprehend a suspect, yet Envoy He detained them. Surely that defies reason?"
"Lord Cen is truly thorough. I have nothing to say." He Lingchuan nodded to Commander Lu, who called out loudly, "Bring him in!"
Two soldiers escorted a prisoner inside and released him on the spot.
Cen Boqing's gaze darkened slightly. "Why is there only one?"
"The other was requested by the Crown Prince." He Lingchuan spread his hands. "He is already being escorted to the capital. Lord Cen may have to write a letter to the Crown Prince to ask for him back, I'm afraid. My apologies."
Fu Shanyue wasn't here anyway, so he could bluff however he pleased.
Zhongsun Mou had been right; this kid truly was an incorrigible rascal who feared nothing. Cen Boqing sneered faintly. "Envoy He handles cases with such crisp efficiency. I will be sure to submit memorials of praise to both the Ruler of Chiyan and Lingxu City."
These words were naturally meant sarcastically, but He Lingchuan took them as a sincere compliment, laughing heartily. "You flatter me."
Did he and Zhongsun Mou share the exact same script of threats, capable only of dragging out Lingxu City to exert pressure?
Cen Boqing stood up. "Then I wish the envoy smooth sailing in solving the case, and may you soon achieve the desired results."
With that, he led his men out.
Only after Cen Boqing's back disappeared around the street corner did Jiao Yu grumble in irritation, "He took the witness right back."
No wonder He Lingchuan had avoided seeing him this morning.
"With insufficient evidence, letting him go was only a matter of time. Keeping Fu Songhua detained here is already the limit of what I can hold."
Commander Lu did not understand. "Doesn't that make all our previous efforts for naught?"
Truth be told, the other side had already clawed back a round.
The grudge over He Lingchuan snatching Fu Songhua had been avenged by Zhongsun Mou and Cen Boqing in turn.
He Lingchuan shook his head. "When I set the trap at Chaohu Pagoda, I never harbored high hopes of taking them down in a single blow. But at the very least, I needed to know who was behind the scenes." Otherwise, the enemy would be in the dark while he was in the light—far too passive.
That point was more important than anything else.
"Now that I know, those two captives are of no further use."
***
Once inside the carriage with the compartment doors shut, Cen Boqing said nothing, his face dark as he lit a burner of incense by himself.
Neither Uncle Wu nor the newly rescued guard dared make a sound.
After a long silence, Cen Boqing finally addressed the guard: "After you were captured, what did you tell them?"
At those words, the guard fell to his knees with a thud. "This lowly one didn't breathe half a word! It was Wu Fang—his mind was charmed by them, and he spilled everything, detail for detail."
He then recounted the entire interrogation process He Lingchuan had conducted.
Having heard this, Uncle Wu felt half of his worries dissipate.
What those two knew was limited, so the clues they could confess to were minimal; there was no way to connect them to Mr. Mai or the courier case at all.
Yet Cen Boqing asked with a frown, "Wu Fang gave up Uncle Wu?"
"Y-yes."
Cen Boqing cast a glance at Uncle Wu. "That man surnamed He asked quite a few questions, and all of them were related to you. He might set his sights on you."
Uncle Wu's heart skipped a beat, and without a second thought he bowed and said, "This old servant had best return to Lingxu City first! Remaining here, I fear the enemy might take advantage of me!"
Cen Boqing waved a hand. "You are the one handling so many matters and maintaining contact with so many people. If you return to Lingxu City, who will manage these affairs and connections for me?"
Uncle Wu mumbled hesitantly.
Cen Boqing said flatly, "Just stay. Right now, by my side is the safest place to be. No matter how foul He's mouth is, the Chiyan people won't dare touch a hair on me."
"Yes."
Cen Boqing smiled. "Very well. Has the reply from Lingxu arrived?"
"Not yet..." Before Uncle Wu could finish answering, Cen Boqing's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly drew a short sword, thrusting it straight forward!
Uncle Wu felt a gleam of cold light flash before his eyes and instinctively tried to dodge, but Cen Boqing moved with astonishing speed. The tip of the blade brushed past his chest and struck straight for his ribs.
"Don't move!"
Something leaped away from Uncle Wu's armpit.
It was tiny, and remarkably agile.
With a flick of his wrist, Cen Boqing threw the sword. The point struck the carriage wall with a sharp thud, the hilt vibrating endlessly.
Uncle Wu and the guard focused their eyes, only to discover a fingernail-sized thing pinned by the tip of the blade.
Was this... a spider?
"That He fellow really does have eavesdropping tricks up his sleeve." Cen Boqing retrieved the sword and examined the creature. "This thing is truly hard to detect. Fortunately, Zhongsun Mou warned me beforehand."
He snuffed out the incense.
He had merely paid He Lingchuan a visit, yet the boy had quietly planted a spy on them without a sound: "That rascal suffered a loss and immediately sought repayment."
Even with Zhongsun Mou's forewarning, he had searched for quite a while before spotting the spider's silhouette.
Fortunately, nothing of value had been said just now.
Cen Boqing added, "By the way, I heard your grandson came to Baishaqu to play as well. I had the kitchen make a few kinds of pastries. Go fetch them later."
Uncle Wu voiced his assent: "Thank you, Young Master."
***
He Lingchuan suddenly let out an "Ah!" of pain, covering his eyes with his hand.
Even Jiao Yu the tiger was startled, and Commander Lu repeatedly asked, "What is it? What happened!"
He Lingchuan rubbed his eyes vigorously and gave a bitter smile. "My eyes hurt a bit, nothing serious."
Commander Lu gasped. "Could those people have plotted against you in secret?"
"It's nothing." In his heart, He Lingchuan felt a twinge of regret.
At that moment, he had happened to be sharing vision with the eyeball spider, so Cen Boqing's thrust had felt as though it plunged directly into his own eye.
That had also been the final scene the poor spider witnessed.
The little thing was wonderfully useful. Although he had another one with him, he couldn't release it to eavesdrop on Cen Boqing or Zhongsun Mou anymore.
Commander Lu still had duties, so he soon took his leave as well.
Not long after, footsteps thudded up the stairs as a child of six or seven ran up, poking his head into He Lingchuan's doorway to peer around.
"What is it?"
The child handed over a slip of paper. He Lingchuan didn't even need to take it to read it clearly, for there were only two characters written on it:
Wu Kai.
The Uncle Wu at Cen Boqing's side had the given name Wu Kai.
He Lingchuan tossed a few copper coins to the boy, who caught them and ran off happily.
Beside him, the tiger saw it too and asked in wonder, "What does this mean?"
He Lingchuan laughed. "Someone is worried sick that I might miss an important lead like Uncle Wu, so they wrote a note specifically to remind me."
"Someone?" Jiao Yu rose from sprawling to standing, stretching in a downward dog pose in between. "We have another helper?"
"We followed clues to Baishaqu, and those clues pointed in a very clear direction. Do you remember?"
Jiao Yu paused in slight surprise. "Wait, are you saying this note was sent by that Mr. Mai—er, Mai Xuewen?"
"If he could send us the *Records of Reverence for the Gods*, sending another slip of paper is no big deal," He Lingchuan said slowly. "If it really was him, he might well be a third party in this case."
"Mai Xuewen won't deal with them himself, but chooses to borrow our strength instead?"
"You saw it yourself: Cen Boqing is not easy to deal with," He Lingchuan said. "Even bearing the title of special envoy of the Crown Prince, I find my hands tied and faced with resistance at every turn while investigating this case, and I hold zero deterrent against Cen Boqing in particular."
In fact, it was the opposite: Cen Boqing was the one who cast a chilling aura over the officials of the Chiyan Kingdom.
"The clues he left behind in Shuanglu Town were ample. But no matter how clever the man was, he couldn't have anticipated that two different groups would visit his residence: me, and Zhongsun Mou. And Zhongsun Mou didn't just take away most of the records and clues; he even meddled to obstruct the investigation, insisting on framing this whole case as an espionage affair."
"Now, seeing that I've made little headway and even returned a captive to Cen Boqing, he's growing a bit anxious himself."
Jiao Yu narrowed his eyes. "Looking at it this way, Mai Xuewen is also in Baishaqu?"
"He's the one stirring up trouble, so of course he'd be in Baishaqu. How else could he witness what unfolds with his own eyes?" He Lingchuan sighed. "Searching for someone here, though, is far harder than in Shuanglu Town."
"Hiding his head and showing his tail, yet he presumes to instruct us on what to do?" Jiao Yu snorted. "Does he think we didn't know to keep our eyes glued to the lead that is Wu Kai?"
Chapter 500