With him gone, both master and servant could absolve themselves of guilt.
Though Cen Boqing was furious, upon reflection he would probably have to thank him.
Fu Shanyue was genuinely disgruntled. If he couldn't crack the case before the special envoy from Lingxu City arrived, what was the point of the crown prince personally visiting?
Was it merely to pin down Cen Boqing and keep him from fleeing Baishaqu?
He Lingchuan comforted him, "Look on the bright side. Master and servant have already drifted apart—their bond isn't nearly as tight as it seemed on the surface. Once we capture Wu Kai, getting him to testify against Cen Boqing won't be nearly as difficult."
Fu Shanyue said grumpily, "That still requires us to catch Wu Kai first."
He Lingchuan pondered for a moment. "Tracking Wu Kai isn't entirely hopeless. I still have a lead."
Fu Shanyue was overjoyed. "I knew you had something up your sleeve! What time do you think it is? We can't afford delays—out with it!"
Only then did He Lingchuan pull an oiled-paper packet from his breast.
Unfolding it, several strands of hair lay inside, some long and some short.
Fu Shanyue leaned in for a closer look. "Could this be Wu Kai's hair?" He took a habitual sniff. "Wait, no. It smells of wood-shaving oil! This is a woman's hair."
Incredible. With a freakish sense of smell like that, even a hound would bow in defeat.
Wood-shaving oil served as the era's pomade or hair tonic, with the added benefit of conditioning hair. Why would an elderly man like Wu Kai bother with hair care?
He Lingchuan gave a thumbs-up. "Impressive. This hair belongs to Wu Kai's daughter-in-law and grandson. Wu Kai should be with them right now. You have capable people under your command—I'll leave the tracking to you."
Fu Shanyue was delighted. Jiao Yu had just gone to search for Wu Kai's family, but unfortunately that residence had been sanitized; no useful clues could be found, and even stray hairs and nail clippings had been swept clean.
"How did you get this?" Fu Shanyue didn't dally. He turned to bark an order, then looked back at He Lingchuan with a peculiar expression. "Hey, isn't his daughter-in-law just in her early twenties?" In the prime of her youth.
"I asked Old Master Xiang Yan to procure it," He Lingchuan said testily. "The servants in his household keep their ears to the ground and know every scrap of gossip; finding out where Wu Kai's family lived was a piece of cake. Old Master Xiang also has a pair of zebra finches that could retrieve hair from a comb for me."
Those two little avian demons were more than just decorative.
"Why were you keeping tabs on his family?"
"Just preparing for a rainy day. I always felt there was something off about this Uncle Wu." He Lingchuan shrugged. "Not just these two family members, either. I also sent someone to look into his hometown. The Wu family's ancestral home is Yangshui in the Chiyan Kingdom—heck, turns out they're Chiyan locals too. But Yangshui is a bit far, so intelligence probably won't be back for several days."
Just then, an adept under Fu Shanyue arrived. After bowing to the prince, he listened to his master's orders.
Realizing he was to track down the hair's owner, he took a crystal box from his robe, explaining that it contained rootless water. He then used true fire to burn a long strand of hair to ash, dissolving it into the water.
Next, he produced a carved wooden fish half an inch long, dropped it into the box, and fastened the lid.
Strangely enough, the shriveled wooden fish gradually swelled upon entering the water. Its belly filled out, and it wagged its head and flicked its tail, virtually indistinguishable from a living fish.
He Lingchuan had assumed this was some kind of animation ability, but after closer inspection, he realized the fish might have been real all along—dehydrated into a dried husk, which actually allowed it to preserve its vitality much longer...
In short, the little fish swam about vigorously in the box, looking entirely healthy.
Fu Shanyue waited several breaths without seeing anything unusual, and couldn't help asking, "Has the tracking started yet?"
"Please wait a moment longer."
Waiting idly wasn't helping, so He Lingchuan asked, "Right, did you check the other leads Mai Xuewen provided?"
"You mean Wu Kai's other hunters?" Fu Shanyue said. "After receiving your message yesterday, I already dispatched an elite squad to Xiaohulu Town in Baiting County to seize Yang Song and bring him here under escort."
Yang Song was the leader of another demon-hunting squad, essentially at the same rank as Mai Xuewen, with five or six men under him.
He Lingchuan had always wondered why someone of Mai Xuewen's caliber hadn't managed to compile full profiles on the other groups. Seeing the precautions Wu Kai had taken regarding his family, he understood now: the old man truly was cautious at all times and circumspect in every matter.
"Even if they identify him, Wu Kai wouldn't care," He Lingchuan mused. "However, you can obtain more physical evidence of Beijia demon citizens being slaughtered for their pearls."
Fu Shanyue said deeply, "That evidence is all very useful—hey, what's wrong with this fish?"
They had already waited the time it took to drink a cup of tea. Did this guy's method actually work or not?
Faint beads of sweat dotted the adept's forehead. He murmured, "Strange. By rights, it should be showing the way by now."
"Huh?" At Fu Shanyue's grunt, the adept hurriedly explained, "The fish should swim toward the direction of the hair's owner."
So it was an animated compass for finding things? "Then why has it failed now?"
"Well..." The adept pondered. "The other party might have set up a concealment formation to prevent being tracked."
"A mere woman would know how to do that?" Fu Shanyue asked the tiger demon Jiao Yu beside him. "Is his daughter-in-law a cultivator as well?"
"Apparently not."
"Then it's the effect of a magic artifact." Fu Shanyue stroked his chin. "That old bastard Wu Kai is thorough indeed, even thinking to equip his daughter-in-law and grandson with something like that."
"Incompetent. Demoted by one pay grade!" He casually waved the adept away.
He Lingchuan put the oiled-paper packet away. He had an idea, but it would have to wait until nightfall to be carried out.
"There's one more thing—"
Fu Shanyue pricked up his ears. "Mm-hmm, go ahead."
"Once Lingxu City sends someone down to handle this, will you hand the case over?"
The missing courier was from Lingxu City.
The missing Inspector was from Lingxu City.
There were suspects and some physical evidence; with the Chiyan Kingdom's investigation having reached this stage, it was completely reasonable for an envoy from Lingxu City to take over.
Besides, when had Lingxu City ever needed to bother with legal propriety when doing things?
Fu Shanyue paused, then said, "Many of the victims were demon citizens of our kingdom; our nation owes them an explanation. Therefore, I intend to see this case through from start to finish."
So that was it.
He Lingchuan drew a scroll from his robes, unrolled it, and pointed at the flute-holding woman in the painting. "Do you recognize this person?"
"Eh? Isn't that National Preceptor Qingyang?" Fu Shanyue asked in surprise. "Why do you have a portrait of her? Don't tell me she's your type?"
He Lingchuan rolled his eyes. "I'm not into older women."
He was only seventeen, for crying out loud. Seventeen!
"Who can say for sure... Oh!" Fu Shanyue remembered. "Is this the portrait you took from Mai Xuewen's study?"
"Yes." He Lingchuan knew Jiao Yu would report on the progress of the investigation, so it was no surprise that Fu Shanyue knew the details. "I questioned him, but he wouldn't talk. Yet there is definitely some connection between them."
"Despite her youthful appearance, National Preceptor Qingyang is actually the oldest among the four National Preceptors. She just celebrated her one hundred and ninetieth birthday last year; even my royal father sent someone to Lingxu City with gifts to offer congratulations."
Nearly two hundred years old, yet looking thirty? He Lingchuan inhaled sharply. "Is she human?"
Two hundred years had long exceeded the upper limit of a normal human's lifespan in this era.
"Yes," Fu Shanyue replied. "I've heard that National Preceptor Qingyang had a miraculous encounter in her youth, obtaining a secret art of youth preservation that keeps her appearance ageless until death."
"I thought that was a technique belonging only to the ancient immortals."
"Who's to say it isn't?" Fu Shanyue shrugged. "I've only heard rumors myself. The National Preceptors can manipulate origin power, which is even better than spiritual energy. Who knows how many methods she has at her disposal?"
"One hundred and ninety years old..." In that case, one hundred and sixty years ago she would have been under thirty. He Lingchuan's heart beat a little faster. He probed deliberately, "Over nearly two centuries, this National Preceptor Qingyang must have fought in many battles, right?"
"Naturally. As I recall, National Preceptor Qingyang accompanied military campaigns at least five times and was severely wounded herself; her meritorious deeds are distinguished indeed."
He Lingchuan expressed surprise. "As an exalted National Preceptor, even on a battlefield she should have been surrounded by heavy protection. What kind of opponent could have wounded her?"
"I heard it was the Battle of Panlong City."
"What?" He Lingchuan's heart jolted. It really was so!
"I heard that two countries requested Lingxu City to conduct joint military operations, and the Demon Emperor dispatched National Preceptor Qingyang to accompany the army. That battle turned out to be brutally tragic," Fu Shanyue recalled. "But that's an ancient tale from long before I was born, so I don't know the exact details either."
At that moment, an official arrived to visit the Crown Prince. He Lingchuan seized the chance to say, "I'll head back first and tinker with the bronze automaton."
He couldn't ask any further, lest he arouse suspicion.
"By the way, when are you going to reimburse my travel expenses?"
"Is that really necessary? Didn't you just win fifty thousand taels?" Of all the talented men Fu Shanyue had met, they either pursued power or fame; someone who pinched pennies like this He Xiao was a first.
"One thing has nothing to do with the other, and talking about money hurts our friendship," He Lingchuan shrugged. "Besides, the silver in my hands is stagnant capital. If I don't create new revenue, I have to cut expenses."
Helpless, Fu Shanyue had no choice but to agree.
Thus, taking advantage of the public reimbursement, He Lingchuan immediately switched to a top-tier premium room.
In size, lighting, furnishings, bedding, and soundproofing, it was vastly superior to his previous quarters. Naturally, the price was quite handsome as well; he hadn't shown the slightest courtesy toward Fu Shanyue's wallet.
With the arrival of the Chiyan Crown Prince taking most of the pressure off his shoulders, he could finally spare time to study the gold-armored bronze automaton.
He had used the thing several times now. Summarizing his experience, aside from his own lack of refined control, the automaton's hide and bones simply weren't tough enough: its head had been sheared off by Hong Chenglüe during the battle at the Han River, its arm had been pierced by an arrowhead while riding the simurgh in the mirror world, and it had sustained heavy damage during the battle at the Lotus Palace.
Of course, it was still merely a bare-bones bronze automaton, completely unadorned. Once upgraded to a bronze sentinel, all of its capabilities should receive a substantial boost.
To He Lingchuan's surprise, Fu Shanyue had actually brought along a master smith exclusive to the Chiyan royal palace.
"Aren't you trying to upgrade it to a bronze sentinel? How could a layman compare to a seasoned expert?" Those had been Fu Shanyue's exact words. "He's already heating the furnace. Take your materials and go find him."
What a fellow. He Lingchuan finally understood why, despite Fu Shanyue's domineering and brutal temperament, he still commanded so many loyal followers.
When he treated someone well, he truly gave without measure.
Chapter 515