Chapter 908: Chapter 110: Debts and Creditors (2/2)

Liangzhou City, Ministry of Punishment—

The lights were bright.

Though usually there might be occasional dangers, most of the time the Ministry of Punishment was quite leisurely. But now it had become the busiest department in the entire Liangzhou City’s six ministries.

This yamen had three entrances and exits, extremely spacious, with a main hall, a restored sand table of the entire Liangzhou City inside, side halls on the left and right, and twenty-seven rooms for dispatches and compiling information.

For several days and nights, the candles burned brightly.

Especially in the main hall, according to the servants who delivered hot water for tea every night, the superior who had a cold demeanor and a pair of beautiful eyes hadn’t closed those eyes for almost three days and nights.

In the yamen’s main hall, Tie Lin had shed the anger and unwillingness from the daytime, regaining his rationality and calmness, sitting in a chair, hands clasped around a rather simple tea bowl, opposite Wuxin.

Under the high-standing candles nearby, those gentle eyes remained serene, showing no sign of wavering.

Tie Lin briefly recounted the events of the day, feeling a bit parched, lifted his hand to drink some tea and chewed on the slightly swollen tea leaves, saying:

“That’s how it happened, those two from Qunxing Pavilion appeared in Rongyue City.”

“That Lv Qiong used that set of ‘Starfall’, though the technique of that martial art was a method from the extraterritorial Jianghu, not as exquisite as our Great Qin Jianghu, but the internal energy circulation method was indeed extremely sophisticated, not inferior to first-class martial arts in Jianghu.”

“In the Ministry of Punishment Armory, there were three incomplete moves, which we had the privilege to observe before we left the capital, I could not be mistaken.”

Wuxin lowered his eyes and said:

“Did Lv Qiong make a move against ‘Qiong Qi’?”

Tie Lin nodded, “Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. If it weren’t for the intervention of the ‘Sword Master’ of the Sword Forging Valley, ‘Qiong Qi’ would have died at Lv Qiong’s hands.”

Wuxin said, “But if Lv Qiong wanted Qiong Qi’s life, a single palm strike would suffice.”

Tie Lin furrowed his brows and said, “So I think Lv Qiong’s real purpose is likely those divine weapons collected over millennia in the Sword Forging Valley, or at the very least, plans to take the ‘Sword Master’ under his wing.”

Wuxin nodded. Tie Lin’s judgment was based on the situational changes at that time, reasonable and sound, with nothing visibly wrong, but for some reason, he felt there was something off.

As if this reasonable situation was shrouded in a thin layer of mist, not genuine, as though intentionally arranged for him to see. If so, then there surely was a master strategist behind it whose threads were yet to be found.

Unfortunately, he had been in Liangzhou City the whole day and hadn’t been able to go to Rongyue himself; otherwise, he might have discovered something unusual. Now, learning everything from Tie Lin, though detailed, there were still gaps.

As for whether those two from the Qunxing Pavilion had left, he wasn’t worried.

Having acted for several days, by now he was confident enough that the counterpart still couldn’t leave Liangzhou; even if they did, they would return, as Tie Lin said, the probability was high that it was a feigned move.

Tie Lin took another sip of tea and said:

“I wasn’t there today, did Xu Sixing reveal any information?”

Wuxin set this matter aside and shook his head:

“No.”

“His mouth is very tight, hard to pry open. He only claims he came for the Dongfang Clan’s Dongfang Ningxin of this generation. Beyond that, regarding the secrets of the Sword Forging Valley, he refuses to speak, or even if he speaks, it’s pure nonsense, contradictory, unreliable.”

Tie Lin couldn’t help but curse silently, then noticed something, furrowed his brows and said:

“Dongfang Ningxin… is she Wang Anfeng’s cousin?”

Wuxin’s expression fluctuated slightly and said:

“No.”

“From Wang Anfeng, it can be known Xu Sixing and his group went through great efforts that day, likely capturing the wrong person.”

Tie Lin expressed astonishment on his face and asked curiously:

“Captured the wrong person? Though the Sword Forging Valley doesn’t have as many informants as the Number One Manor in the World or the Xue Family, surely they wouldn’t catch the wrong person. Dongfang Ningxin must be in Liangzhou City, but where is she now? Has she been hidden away by Wang Anfeng?”

Wuxin’s lips curled slightly, saying:

“It’s said that Dongfang Ningxin is of extraordinary beauty, unrivaled in the East.”

“He probably doesn’t have the courage.”

Tie Lin paused, then laughed and said:

“Indeed.”

Wuxin tapped his knee, signaling the end of occasional chatter, said:

“Let’s leave it here for now, take a look at this.”

After speaking, he raised his hand and took a file from the table, slightly pushed it, letting it slide towards Tie Lin, who caught it, glanced over it and saw the two ink-black characters of the Ministry of Households, showing slight astonishment, then realized something, his body straightened sharply, causing the table and chairs to clatter, saying:

“Found it?!”

Wuxin nodded, saying:

“Although only a general range has been decided, five people who meet the standards have been selected, located in three different district markets.”

“On that day, Wang Anfeng managed to make that gambler speak, but after all, that gambler had no martial arts skills, and his last moment of clarity was vague. He hasn’t learned the techniques of our Ministry of Punishment, so he couldn’t determine exactly which district market it is.”

“We only know it’s one of Shanyue Market, Sanyue Market, or Shanle Market.”

As they were speaking, Tie Lin already flipped open the dossier in his hand, which contained the Ministry of Household’s records, with each page depicting a household, including a portrait drawn on each, and some general life information written in fine print below, mostly trivial details like a fair complexion without a beard or a small mole on the left cheek.

He ignored the rest, directly opening the pages marked with willow leaves, his expression becoming sharp as he rapidly flipped through them, spending several moments before he closed the dossier, placed it on a side table, and exhaled a long breath, seemingly relieved, and said:

“Three people in Shanyue Market, one person in Sanyue Market, and the most in Shanle Market, with four people.”

“For just these people, one night should be enough.”

Wuxin did not respond, seemingly unmoved.

Tie Lin felt a slight chill in his excitement after a moment’s thought and realized the problem—although the number of people isn’t much, the scope involved is quite wide. The three district markets are interconnected, almost spanning the entire Liangzhou City.

Charging over a hundred miles, although one night is enough, there’s no way to deploy enough manpower and force to blockade the three district markets, and the likely result is that, even if they find the target, the target might forcibly break through the blockade, leading to failure.

Thinking of this, Tie Lin felt as if a bucket of cold water was poured over his head, he sighed with frustration and leaned back in his chair again, the sword scabbard collided with the table and chair, making a light sound. Looking at the still calm Wuxin, he said:

“What can be done about this now?”

Wuxin succinctly said: “Wait.”

Tie Lin muttered, repeating it, and smiled bitterly:

“Wait? Wait for what?”

Wuxin said: “Wait for someone.”

Before Tie Lin could digest this sentence, an extremely dense flapping sound came from the originally quiet night sky. Wuxin tilted his head slightly, looking towards the night sky that was gradually darkening outside.

He immediately stood up, the window was wide open, and the night and stars were visible outside. In no time, a gray shadow flew in directly through the window, landing on his outstretched finger, looking very close, rubbing against his palm.

Tie Lin’s eyes brightened, recognizing the owner of the gray pigeon.

Wuxin removed the letter from the gray pigeon’s claw, glanced over it, his lips slightly curved, then his hand shook, directly handing it over to Tie Lin, who also read it, his expression immediately filled with joy.

This letter was from Wang Anfeng, and it contained intelligence related to the gambler. Seemingly of no use anymore, it did not completely overlap but rather intersected with what the Ministry of Punishment had gathered.

It included hidden details about who was imprisoned in a certain place, who was chased after a gambling loss—such secrets only circulated among the underworld rats. If the Martial Soldiers of the Ministry of Punishment were not sharp enough, they would not easily detect these doubts within a short period, reporting these dubious people as well.

The Ministry of Punishment also had many information channels inaccessible to the underground rats, allowing them to eliminate several people from the other set of intelligence.

Comparing both, only two people remained in an instant.

One person in Sanyue Market, and one in Shanyue Market.

They are only fifty miles apart.

Tie Lin instantly figured out the result, his eyes brightening as he looked at Wuxin, who calmly stood up and said: “Tonight’s operation, this matter has been dragging for half a month, and now it’s time to conclude.”

Tie Lin had always known that Wuxin laid meticulous plans before acting, and once started, it was like a relentless tide, unending. He got up, about to put the gray bird into the original cage when Wuxin said:

“Wait a bit, there’s no need to put it away yet.”

Tie Lin paused slightly, subconsciously glanced at the gray bird, which was now obediently perched in the cage, pecking at grain and water, appearing quite hungry. Although it’s swift, its consumption was significant, and it’s quite hungry by now. This bird, what use does it have anyway?

Feeling puzzled, he asked:

“Why?”

Wuxin succinctly said: “To call someone.”

Tie Lin knew whom he referred to and said: “… Wuxin, Wang Anfeng is the Mansion Master of the Divine Martial Mansion after all, even though he’s no longer in the court, he’s a significant force in the Jianghu, a grand figure in the Northern Lands, head of a faction, how can he simply be called?”

Wuxin didn’t reply, already preparing ink, clearly intending not to give Wang Anfeng any excuse of already being asleep, immediately writing back while preparing the ink, he casually answered:

“His silver is with me.”

Tie Lin thought of the hundred taels of ‘subsidy’ mentioned at the end of the letter, his lips twitching slightly, he said: “So, he’s your creditor?”

Wuxin’s lips curled slightly, lifted the brush and controlled his wrist, saying:

“Precisely because he’s the creditor, he will come.”

“Besides…”

Tie Lin asked: “Besides what?”

A rarely seen slight smile appeared on Wuxin’s icy face, which immediately faded, as he finished writing the letter, placed the wolf-hair brush onto the brush holder, and said leisurely:

“This matter, I cannot tell you.”

PS: Presenting today’s second update… three thousand words