"After taking your commission, I sent people to investigate right away. But when they reached the village, they learned the two brothers were already dead in the tall grass by the riverbank. A civet demon foraging for fodder was the one who found them. As for the fatal wounds, Chen Da took it in the throat, and Chen Er in the back, right through the heart. Chen Da had some other wounds on him too—scratches from struggling, or maybe he scuffled with the killer. Oh, and the wound on his right arm cut down to the bone."
"Time of death?"
"The coroner sent by the authorities reckons they died around dusk the day before yesterday—the day after the posthouse exploded."
He Lingchuan gave an understanding grunt. "Silencing the witnesses."
Just as expected.
Old Ge asked for instructions. "What do you think? Should we keep digging?"
"If you dig any further, the best you'll get is a middleman, right?"
"Perhaps." Old Ge didn't deny it. "The noble lords up above don't like getting their own hands dirty. They usually hire middlemen—and seasoned ones at that."
He knew the game inside and out, being a middleman himself.
"Then don't bother. I already have a good idea who it is."
Among He Lingchuan's adversaries, the Minister of Agriculture was likely a shrewd man who wouldn't make trouble for a Chiyan envoy over a son-in-law already convicted; the cost far outweighed any gain. While Lady Cen, Yao Xingning, was willful, she knew full well that targeting the Crown Prince of Chiyan at a juncture like this would do nothing to win her husband a chance at survival. As for poisoning, that hardly seemed like something the Grand Commander of the Tongxin Guard would do.
That left only the Cen family or the Zhongsun family.
Given that Fu Shanyue had relentlessly mocked Zhongsun Ce at Dun Garden just a few days ago, He Lingchuan considered him the prime suspect.
After the posthouse blew up, Zhongsun Ce was likely sick with regret. Now that the Chen brothers were silenced, the Zhongsun family probably wouldn't dare make another move in the near future.
No one wanted to bring ruin upon themselves.
Still, He Lingchuan had no intention of mounting an eye-for-an-eye retaliation right now.
As long as the real mastermind behind the elixir of immortality case was uncovered, the Zhongsun family would almost certainly be dragged down with them. If an opportunity arose later, his best course would be to hand Bai Ziqi an assist.
Having thought it through, He Lingchuan felt at ease. As the donkey cart trundled along, he chatted idly with Old Ge the entire way.
Old Ge's attitude toward him was so warm he seemed like an entirely different ape from the tour guide of last time. He answered every question untiringly, grinning so broadly that his eyes crinkled into slits.
He Lingchuan had previously assumed only humans were so snobbish, groveling after being haughty. Yet this gibbon was clearly a master of the art as well.
He knew that aside from his halo as a Chiyan envoy, the main reason was that he had made quite a name for himself in Lingxu City.
Befriending a celebrity always had its perks.
From their conversation, he learned Old Ge hailed from the Shanyu Kingdom. Twenty years ago, he had left his homeland for Lingxu City, steadily expanding his business here. His primary trade was wholesale fish—which, in He Lingchuan's mind, made him the local "fish despot"—while his side business was, well, practically anything.
If the Chen brothers hadn't died, Old Ge would have gladly taught them a lesson for a bit of coin from He Lingchuan.
To borrow a phrase He Lingchuan had learned in another world, it suited Old Ge perfectly:
A creature of the shady underworld.
As they spoke, the donkey cart rolled past a bustling thoroughfare. Crowds bustled like a tapestry, far more prosperous than Nanli District. Yet alongside the road, He Lingchuan spotted an expansive stretch of scorched rubble.
A compound spanning several hundred square meters had been burned down to broken tiles and ruined walls, with only a few blackened pillars barely left standing.
Not many people were around, just a few coming and going to clear the debris, their movements languid and unhurried.
"Where is this?" He Lingchuan had a rough guess.
"Qingfu Temple." Due to roadside work and congested traffic ahead, the donkey cart slowed. "Caught fire a few days back. In just over an hour, the temple and everyone inside were burned to cinders."
"This is Lingxu City. Did nobody use fire-quenching spells?"
"They say the fire started in multiple places at once, and a north wind was blowing that night. The flames fed on the wind and roared up in an instant," Old Ge said. "The locals around here told me the fire had a bluish tint in the red—definitely no ordinary flame. The government sent water-spraying wagons and brought several spellcasters to perform arts, but it did no good!"
"So many buildings burned to nothing within an hour?"
"Aye, completely incinerated." Old Ge shook his head. "By the time great experts caught wind of it and rushed over, Qingfu Temple was already gone."
"How many died?" *Heh, do the nobles in Lingxu City really love silencing witnesses this much?*
"Not sure of the exact number, but at least seventy or eighty, I'd say?" Old Ge scratched his head. "The incense offerings used to be booming here, and travelers loved coming to pay their respects."
"Which deity was enshrined here?"
"Tongming Zhenjun."
"..." He Lingchuan couldn't quite describe what he felt upon hearing this celestial god's title. He Chunhua's entire household had nearly been executed because the He family was reported for worshipping Tongming Zhenjun.
And yet, look at Lingxu City. A temple dedicated to him stood openly beside the most bustling thoroughfare, worshipped by tens of thousands.
"This temple seems to have been implicated in the elixir of immortality case too," He Lingchuan asked him. "Have you heard anything?"
"Elixir of immortality?" Old Ge didn't even blink. "Never heard of it. Does that sort of thing have anything to do with ordinary folks?"
He Lingchuan smiled. "Of course not."
Old Ge bared his teeth. "I only bring tourists over to light incense. Don't know a thing about anything else, haha."
He was a clever ape, knowing full well what he could dabble in and what he needed to steer clear of.
Before long, the donkey cart pulled up at a small plaza.
He Lingchuan needed to change carts here, joining other passengers on a deer cart to Mount Xu.
Mount Xu was the core objective of his trip to Lingxu City. No matter how much trouble was dogging his heels, he had to see it for himself on the ground.
Two moose had bellies half-full of fodder, holding their heads high and full of vigor. Once a dozen or so passengers boarded, the pair trotted forward, chewing their cud as they went.
Trotting at this pace was practically a stroll to them, not interfering with their meal in the slightest.
Judging from the tourists' attire, they came from all corners of the world.
The two burly shanxiao He Lingchuan had seen on his previous tour were the last to board. A passenger looked at them and asked timidly, "And who might these two be?"
With their scowling, meat-thick faces, they hardly looked like good monkeys.
"Guards traveling with the cart," Old Ge said with a benign smile. "Hired at great expense to protect you all."
The passenger grew more apprehensive instead. "Is Mount Xu unsafe, or is the road unsafe?"
"Both are safe," Old Ge said expansively. "Just because it's always been safe doesn't mean you skip out on security. If someone loses their footing while climbing, these two will come in handy!"
On the deer cart, two young men barely in their twenties were chatting away as if no one else were around. One had a square face and large ears, while the other was handsome. Seeing that they traveled together and wore similar attire, He Lingchuan assumed they came from the same background.
Upon closer inspection, they looked somewhat familiar.
With few empty seats remaining, He Lingchuan sat down beside them.
Seeing He Lingchuan's imposing presence and a bearing distinct from ordinary men, the handsome youth promptly cupped his fists and smiled. "Well now, didn't we meet at the Dun Garden auction?"
He Lingchuan returned the courtesy. "I was wondering why you looked familiar. So it's you two."
These were the guests who had bought the unknown curiosity the divine bone necklace had set its sights on at the Dun Garden auction.
"Did you have anyone appraise that horn-shaped object after taking it back?"
The two shook their heads. "No, it was stolen."
"Sto... len?" He Lingchuan echoed. "What happened? Did you report it to the authorities?"
"The day after we left Dun Garden, just as we planned to find some experts in Lingxu City to appraise it, the thing vanished into thin air. I remember clearly that I put it inside my storage ring before going to sleep, but when I woke the next morning, it was gone," the handsome youth said. "I went to the local government office to report it, but so many days have passed without any word."
He Lingchuan clicked his tongue. "You were probably targeted long beforehand." The starting price for that item hadn't been steep, so why hadn't whoever wanted it bid for it on the spot instead of resorting to theft afterward?
*What was their angle?*
A thought struck He Lingchuan. Back at the auction showroom by the display case, the soul-snatching mirror had warned him that several people were tailing or watching closely. But once he walked away from the case, they hadn't followed him.
So were they actually watching those unknown curiosities? Did they want to see who the buyers were?
"Forget it, forget it. It wasn't expensive anyway—just spending money to ward off bad luck." Guests invited to Dun Garden were certainly no commoners, so the youth grew even warmer. "Come, let us introduce ourselves properly. I am Jiang Tao, and this is Gao Jilin. We hail from the Zhi Kingdom. May I ask how we should address you, good sir?"
"He," He Lingchuan blinked. "Given name Yun. I hail from the Fu Kingdom."
He picked an alias off the cuff because this Jiang Tao was clearly a chatterbox. If he gave his real name, he probably wouldn't get a moment of peace the entire trip.
The Fu Kingdom was a tiny place. Jiang Tao let out a couple of "ohs." Although a smile still hung on his face, his attentiveness visibly cooled.
"I seem to recall that the Fu Kingdom produces an aromatic timber that's refreshing and rot-resistant. My family always keeps some on hand."
He Lingchuan gave an affirmative nod. "Cloud incense wood."
"Yes, exactly! Where does Brother He currently serve?"
He Lingchuan replied vaguely, "Nothing settled yet. I'll see after I return from these travels."
Jiang Tao let out two more "ohs," his enthusiasm dropping another notch.
*So he's just a wandering student. With a bit of family wealth and connections, he came to Lingxu City to gild his credentials with study abroad. In a backwater like the Fu Kingdom, greasing a few palms would easily land him a respectable official post.*
When He Lingchuan asked questions in turn, he discovered that these two were scholars dispatched by the Zhi Kingdom to Lingxu City to observe and study. In their homeland, they were scions of high officials.
So they were state-sponsored exchange students.
Many foreign scholars resided in Lingxu City. They studied in the academies while taking in the local sights, customs, laws, and culture of Lingxu City. The outstanding among them could even enter the royal court as officials.
The Zhi Kingdom was a minor state in the northeastern reaches of Beijia, with a population of less than five million—smaller than that of Lingxu City alone. Yet nestled on the coast of the Earth Sea, it possessed two natural deepwater ports that didn't freeze over in winter. Living off the waters, it thrived reasonably well through maritime commerce and freight.
Jiang Tao was so talkative that recounting his experiences in Lingxu City turned into an endless torrent; even if nobody said a word, he could carry on a one-man show indefinitely.
His praise and veneration for Lingxu City flowed without end, backed by a ceaseless stream of examples.
Sitting in the back row, one of the shanxiao kept digging in its ear, visibly struggling to endure it.
Old Ge rolled his eyes several times as well. This fellow rambled on so much that his voice filled the whole road, completely killing Old Ge's motivation to provide any tour commentary along the way.
Chapter 574