Mai Xuewen possessed far more patience than he did, and knew much better how to conceal himself.
Bai Ziqi pondered aloud, "This man spent ten full years infiltrating your inner circle. Unless he harbored a deep vendetta against you, he must be an enemy spy."
How long ten years was! Who possessed such perseverance to spend every single day for a decade nitpicking flaws and gathering evidence?
Wu Kai gave a wry smile. "I have been mulling this over repeatedly these past few days, but neither Cen Boqing nor I have any enemy surnamed Mai."
He Lingchuan's mind stirred, and he interjected, "What we should consider even more is why this person lay low for ten years, only to strike now."
Bai Ziqi clapped his hands. "A good question. What do you think?"
"Could the time simply have been ripe?"
"How so?"
He Lingchuan sneered inwardly, yet spread his hands with a look of innocent bewilderment. "I'm an outsider and know nothing of current affairs. Has anything happened in Chiyan recently?"
He immediately followed up, "Mai Xuewen would have to weigh the risks. If anything went awry, ten years of painstaking effort would go up in smoke. Therefore, his objective must be both clear and resolute."
Hearing the words "clear" and "resolute," a gleam flashed in Bai Ziqi's eyes.
Could it be related to the other case he was investigating?
Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that the courier case, the missing demon civilian case, and that object entrusted by the celestial gods and the Demon Emperor had all surfaced in Chiyan Kingdom almost at the same time?
Judging by the time and place of the deeds, Mai Xuewen fell squarely within the realm of reasonable suspicion!
The youth surnamed He was right; Mai Xuewen needed a suitable trigger to strike.
He pondered for a moment, then asked Wu Kai, "Was there any bad blood between Cheng Yu and Mai Xuewen?"
"Ah, this?" Now it was Wu Kai's turn to look baffled. "I'm not sure if the two of them ever met before."
By all logic, the two had nothing to do with each other. But Wu Kai could not be certain either, for he had realized he knew nothing about the real Mai Xuewen.
He Lingchuan also raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly.
Why was Bai Ziqi linking these two people together?
Bai Ziqi had mentioned earlier that Cheng Yu might be able to help him with another case. Did that mean he suspected Mai Xuewen was connected to that other case?
That other case which had drawn just as much attention from the celestial gods?
"For now, we should focus on bringing Cen Boqing to justice," He Lingchuan cleared his throat, reminding Bai Ziqi of their most pressing task. "If Cheng Yu intends to cast curses, the two of them shouldn't be able to get too far from Baishaqu."
"Indeed. The maximum range of a curse-kill is merely fifty-odd li," Bai Ziqi nodded. "At furthest, they can only reach the outskirts to find a secure spot and halt to cast their spell. Curse-killing isn't magic that can be flung about casually; the more potent the curse, the more constrained it is by celestial timing and terrain."
He turned to ask Wu Kai, "Where do you think Cen Boqing would hide?"
Wu Kai shook his head. "He really did prepare several hideouts beforehand. But he won't go to any place I know of."
"Could he really go somewhere you don't know?" He Lingchuan smiled. "You're his right-hand man. What he knows, you know; what he doesn't know, you ought to know as well."
Wu Kai furrowed his brow and thought for a long time, to the point that even Bai Ziqi was growing impatient, before finally speaking: "There are two places worth checking. The mistress's personal head maid, Xiaoqing, married a petty merchant surnamed Ye two years ago. Everyone assumed they had gone to another town, but her husband lost everything in business and had no choice but to return to the south bank of the Liu River, living in their old house in Xiaotan Town. Cen Boqing never mentioned this to me, and I only learned of it last month from a gossipy old woman who had bumped into Xiaoqing in Xiaotan Town.
"I suspect that if Cen Boqing knew their address all along, he might head there to lay low."
Bai Ziqi nodded. "And the other?"
"The other..." Wu Kai swallowed hard. "It's a manor I purchased in the western outskirts just before the new year."
Even He Lingchuan was taken aback. "He would go to your place?"
"That manor is near Mount Lang. It's secluded and quiet, and no one goes near it except the farmhands," Wu Kai said with a bitter smile. "I bought it for my retirement, and also so my..." He had almost said "so my grandson would have a place to play," but catching the piercing intensity in Bai Ziqi's eyes, he realized his slip of the tongue.
He could never mention his grandson in front of this man.
"But now that I've been captured, the manor has no master. Cen Boqing might very well hide out there."
"Well said. A place nobody would suspect is the best hiding spot." Bai Ziqi mused, "By the way, you must still have insiders among the officers, right? Cen Boqing didn't flee earlier or later, but chose the exact moment Commander Lu led troops to breach the Cen estate. That probably wasn't because he had nerves of steel, but because that timing was the most opportune."
He Lingchuan chimed in right away, playing along: "What does Emissary Bai think?"
"The coachman Old Chen was inside the estate as well, and would inevitably have been taken into custody by the officers. He couldn't possibly slip away on his own.
"If the magic artifact Ficus Grotto-Heaven could still be smuggled out, allowing Cen Boqing and Cheng Yu to escape, then there had to be someone on the outside aiding them!
"This person had to be able to contact Old Chen without arousing suspicion, which means—"
He Lingchuan drew out a long "Oh! An officer!"
When Commander Lu led the charge into the Cen estate, all the servants were detained and kept under watch; the only "outsiders" they could come into contact with were the soldiers and officers.
Given that Commander Lu's soldiers were brought in from elsewhere, those most likely to be bribed were Magistrate Tian's men.
As the saying went, when the upper beam was crooked, the lower beams leaned. Seeing the kind of official Magistrate Tian was, one knew his underlings were hardly clean either. If the Cen estate could bribe the jailer Pi Linhai, why couldn't they bribe another officer?
"Magistrate Tian's men must be investigated as well."
Wu Kai said in a low voice, "No need. I'll give you a few names."
Bai Ziqi looked at Wu Kai, then handed him the Mind-Cleansing Talisman for protection.
He was, after all, a vital witness; it would be best if he could be escorted back to Lingxu City alive.
Earlier, when Bai Ziqi sent a guard to relay the message to the Cen estate, Fu Shanyue immediately dispatched over a hundred horsemen each toward Xiaotan Town in the northern outskirts and the manor in the western outskirts.
Time was of the essence; they could not afford to give those two another chance to escape.
Once Wu Kai's additional intelligence arrived, the soldiers searched the Cen estate servants, dragged out the coachman Old Chen, and questioned him about the whereabouts of the Ficus Grotto-Heaven.
Old Chen still tried to conceal it, but Commander Lu had his wife and children hauled over, gleaming broadswords pressed against their necks. He caved instantly.
Once he confessed, the mole inside the county yamen was rooted out as well—a bailiff named Zhou Tailai, who was right on the list of names Wu Kai had provided. When the soldiers stormed the Cen estate, Zhou Tailai had gone to guard the servants, and the coachman Old Chen took the opportunity to pass the Ficus Grotto-Heaven into his hands.
Fu Shanyue ordered Zhou Tailai's kneecaps shattered, giving him no room for hesitation, so the man immediately confessed to delivering the Ficus Grotto-Heaven to an abandoned house on Hutao Street in the north of the city, close to the North Gate.
But he did not know this magic artifact could conceal people, much less that the fugitives were hiding inside; he merely assumed he was smuggling a treasure out of the estate.
In Beijia's nearly six-hundred-year history, countless nobles and elites had fallen from grace. When the raiding soldiers charged in to confiscate property, which of them was not like wolves and tigers, terrified of grabbing one handful of jewels fewer than their comrades? The treasures that had gathered dust in family vaults for a century or two could soon see the light of day again in the marketplace and fulfill their intended worth—wasn't that always made possible by the illicit pilfering of soldiers and guards? He thought this time was no different.
"North of the city?" Fu Shanyue sneered slightly. After He Lingchuan brought Wu Kai back this morning, the city gates had lowered their guard and stopped stringently inspecting those passing through, which inadvertently gave Cen Boqing and his accomplice an opportunity.
He redeployed his forces once more.
Commander Lu's three hundred men, along with dozens of the Crown Prince's personal guards, rushed toward Xiaotan Town in the northern outskirts. This was the primary focus of the pursuit.
As for the manor in the western outskirts disclosed by Wu Kai, he only dispatched additional bailiffs under Magistrate Tian to search it.
***
Western Outskirts.
With Fu Shanyue, Fan Sheng, and Commander Lu all heading north, Bai Ziqi opted for the west.
"I wish you all swift success. I'll try my luck in the west—perhaps a blind cat will stumble upon a dead mouse." Bai Ziqi did not vie for this credit, for once the Crown Prince of Chiyan caught the fugitives, Bai Ziqi would ultimately be the one escorting them to Lingxu City anyway.
At Fu Shanyue's behest, He Lingchuan followed along. The group galloped down the official road in the western outskirts.
Fortunately, the official road of Baishaqu was wide, flat, and straight, so riding through the night did not feel perilous.
Frankly speaking, he disliked being near Bai Ziqi. His sixth sense constantly warned him that this fellow was dangerous and best kept at a distance.
Yet reason told him that this was an excellent opportunity to observe the "Exalted Emissary" from Lingxu City at close range—under the cover of the Crown Prince of Chiyan.
Bai Ziqi's mount was a pureblood spirit deer, pristine white all over, with only a few pale blue patterns on its neck and haunches.
Mm, its eyes were blue as well.
Such an ethereal mount was indeed fitting for a Duyun Emissary of Zhaixing Tower.
He Lingchuan sized up the spirit deer a couple of times, which Bai Ziqi noticed immediately. Turning his head, Bai Ziqi smiled, "Your mount is quite fine as well."
Why did he say "as well"? Because this kind of spirit deer was bred by specialists in Lingxu City specifically for high-ranking nobles, ministers, and prominent figures, combining beauty and speed in one creature.
Naturally, appearance was paramount; the purer the bloodline and the finer the look, the steeper the price.
Yet among the finest, there were finer still. The most expensive were limited editions known as "Night-Illuminating," which gave off a hazy white glow in the dark. These could not necessarily be bought with money alone—such as the one Bai Ziqi was riding.
By comparison, He Lingchuan's bighorn rock sheep looked travel-worn and dull of coat, its head-to-body-to-leg proportions nowhere near as flawless as the spirit deer's.
He Lingchuan chuckled.
For the time being, he had no need for a vanity flex.
A glowing thing like that on a battlefield would be a walking target, even more conspicuous than a white horse; it would defy all logic if it didn't get shot full of arrows.
Bai Ziqi spoke again: "I heard you made a wager with Zhongsun Mou at Chaohu Pagoda and went down into the Lotus Palace yourself to gather tally sticks. Back then, did you not consider that Fan Sheng might take advantage of the chaos to seek revenge?"
He Lingchuan wore a solemn expression. "I thought the dignified deputy commander of the Tongxin Guard would hold himself in higher regard, and that if he wanted another bout, he would seek me out for an open and honorable spar."
He knew the emissary from Lingxu City would definitely take note of that incident.
Looking at Bai Ziqi, he let out a sigh. "Had I known Commander Fan as well as Emissary Bai does, I probably wouldn't have stepped onto the field myself. How safe it would have been to just stay up in Chaohu Pagoda."
Two sentences concealing two sharp barbs, yet Bai Ziqi seemed utterly oblivious to them. "He schemed against an unsuspecting target, and in the end, you still won."
Chapter 527