Chapter 1122

He Lingchuan was also surprised by his words: Already found out?

Jin Bai's wording was polite, saying he came "in time," but during He Lingchuan's boat trip east, Jin Bai and the others had already found the whereabouts of the tribute themselves and had sent another request for instructions back to the Mou state.

The Soul-Absorbing Mirror in his arms shouted: "Oh my, did you make a wasted trip?"

He Lingchuan shook his head imperceptibly.

Not a wasted trip. As the Vice Commandant of the Shadow Tooth Guard, Jin Bai naturally had autonomous authority when executing tasks in a foreign land. If the tribute was only stolen by a petty thief, they could just retrieve it themselves; why go to the trouble of sending another message back to the Mou state? The two words "ask for instructions" indicated that this matter was tricky and they couldn't make decisions on their own.

So he asked: "Is the thief hard to catch, or is the identity special?"

"Bo state," Jin Bai's face was as heavy as water. "It really is the Bo state."

This Cloud-Turning Envoy was a bit sharp.

"How did Commander Jin find out?"

"After the tribute was stolen, we returned to the Carefree Sect to look for clues. Sect Master Li mentioned that the Bo state suddenly sought to purchase the Bright Lamp Cup from the Carefree Sect two months ago. The Carefree Sect naturally wouldn't sell the tribute."

The Bright Lamp Cup was a tribute offered by the Carefree Sect to the Mou state; the quantity was so small that it couldn't be sold, and they had to strictly seal this secret.

He Lingchuan hummed: "Do surrounding countries and forces not know that the Carefree Sect offers the Bright Lamp Cup to the Mou state?"

Jin Bai shook his head: "They don't know; this has always been a core secret passed down through generations in the Carefree Sect, and only a few people have always known about it."

"Is the existence of the Bright Lamp Cup itself a secret?"

Jin Bai hesitated: "That might not be the case."

"Good, I read the information; Commander Jin has long been suspicious of the Bo state?"

Jin Bai asked him: "Does Mr. He know the efficacy of the Bright Lamp Cup?"

"Only heard a little."

"It is a treasure for protecting the Dao heart and awakening the original heart," Jin Bai said in a deep voice. "The second prince of the Bo state monarch went into qi deviation while practicing, and has been insane for more than a year; good doctors were helpless, and medicine was ineffective. The Bo state monarch even killed the Imperial Physician for this, but couldn't find a way to make his son return to normal. The Bright Lamp Cup matures every thirty years; if he knew about it, he wouldn't let this opportunity go."

"Does the Bright Lamp Cup really have such magical effects?"

"Even ordinary people will seek medical advice in a hurry when they are sick. Not to mention the Carefree Sect flipped through the scrolls left by their predecessors, and there is indeed a method for refining the Heart Lamp, which mentions that if the patient's insanity is seized by inner demons, then a Heart Lamp made from the Bright Lamp Cup might be able to cure it."

This Carefree Sect predecessor truly had the demeanor of a famous doctor, never speaking in absolutes. He Lingchuan said bluntly: "Commander Jin, is this just a suspicion, or is there solid evidence?"

There can be thousands of suspects, but there is only one truth.

Jin Bai was silent for a few breaths before saying: "Just five days ago, the insanity of the Bo state's second prince improved greatly; I heard he can recognize people. The Bo state monarch was overjoyed and announced a two-day national celebration."

Ah, this is indeed very suspicious. He Lingchuan thought for a while: "How long after use can this so-called 'Heart Lamp' take effect?"

"Not clear. But the Carefree Sect says that the process of refining the Heart Lamp takes at least half a month, and for the patient to recover as normal, they must wear the Heart Lamp for at least a period of time; this varies from person to person, some need a year or half a year, some only need three months," Jin Bai picked up the teacup on the table and drank it in one gulp. "From the timeline, it also fits very well."

The Bright Lamp Cup was stolen nearly forty days ago, the Bo state's second prince's sanity improved in the last few days, and the "Heart Lamp" takes at least half a month to refine... How could there be such a coincidence in the world? He Lingchuan had to admit that Jin Bai's deduction seemed to have no problems: "Assuming the Bright Lamp Cup has already been refined into a Heart Lamp and has indeed been used by the Bo state's second prince, what will the Emperor decide?"

"If I were to presume the Saint's will, he would probably want to take back the Heart Lamp," Jin Bai said sternly. "No matter what the Mou state's tribute has become, it is still the Mou state's tribute; if another country dares to touch it, they must pay the price!"

He Lingchuan said pragmatically:

"Although Commander Jin already has a conclusion, I still want to hear Commander Jin narrate the theft process, the more detailed the better."

He came to the Bo state to do this.

The Shadow Tooth Guard on the side poured tea for the two again, and Jin Bai narrated slowly.

Long before the Bright Lamp Cup matured, their group had arrived at the Carefree Sect and stayed in the sect for five days. On the day the Bright Lamp Cup matured, he successfully harvested it in the company of the Sect Master and personally put it into his pocket.

The escort mission of the Shadow Tooth Guard started from here.

The Bright Lamp Cup only matures every thirty years; this was also Jin Bai's first time escorting such a treasure.

After getting the treasure, he didn't dare to slack off for a moment, leading a guard of more than ten people and rushing day and night, rushing directly from the Carefree Sect to Giant Deer Port, only resting for two nights in between.

By the way, both nights were spent within the Bo state.

After arriving at the port, they should have boarded the ship directly to return to Mou; after all, in this season, sea travel is safer than land travel, and the environment on the ship is closed, with no personnel flow. But after the Shadow Tooth Guard rushed to Giant Deer Port, they found that the port was blocked by driftwood washed out by the river, and ships could not sail.

Everyone was stranded at the port, waiting for the shipping lane to be cleared.

In those two days, Giant Deer Port was full of people everywhere.

By the time navigation was restored, the port was bustling with people, and ships were coming and going like shuttles, ten times more chaotic than the pier He Lingchuan saw today.

It was at this time that Jin Bai discovered the tribute had been stolen.

This shock was truly extraordinary.

"Had you boarded the ship at that time?"

"Not yet. Just before reaching the pier, I discovered the tribute had disappeared," Jin Bai pointed to the storage ring on his hand. "The Bright Lamp Cup had always been in this ring and never left my body."

The ring was still there, but the Bright Lamp Cup inside had vanished? This is interesting. He Lingchuan pondered:

"Can Commander Jin confirm the time and place of the loss?"

"I can," Jin Bai said decisively. "After we entered Giant Deer Port, I checked the storage ring once, and the tribute was still there."

That is to say, the Bright Lamp Cup wasn't lost on the journey from the Carefree Sect to Giant Deer Port.

"Before the port restored navigation and we rushed to the pier, I checked once more, and the tribute was still there."

That is to say, they lost the Bright Lamp Cup on the way to the pier.

This is eerie. In broad daylight, more than ten people were all watching, how could they steal the treasure in the storage ring?

"During the two days at the port, did no idlers walk near you?"

"On the night we arrived at Giant Deer Port, I bought water-fried buns and side dishes at the Lu Bo stall at the street corner. After checking into this inn, we ate in the guest room and didn't go out."

He Lingchuan hummed: "Did you stay at Old Qian's Inn the whole time you were in Giant Deer Port?"

"Yes." This inn was considered high-end in Giant Deer Port, suitable for guests with some status and some spare money.

Jin Bai replied: "After the tribute was stolen, we also suspected that the thief was nearby at the time, so we still stayed here. However, we secretly turned this inn upside down, asked the inn and the waiters, and also..."

He shook his head.

And didn't find any useful clues.

"For the thief to commit the crime, they must know at least three pieces of information," He Lingchuan held up three fingers. "First, they know the maturity time of the Bright Lamp Cup. Commander Jin, I am not familiar with this treasure. Is its maturity period hard to predict?"

"Not hard, it can be calculated from the calendar," Jin Bai explained. "The Bright Lamp Grass absorbs the power of the golden sun, and the time it opens the cup has nothing to do with the amount of spiritual energy in heaven and earth. When the day arrives, the Bright Lamp Cup matures, very accurately."

He Lingchuan confirmed with him again: "Then, the maturity period of the Bright Lamp Cup is not a secret, and others can calculate it too?"

"If others know the last maturity period of the Bright Lamp Cup, they can also calculate this one."

He Lingchuan nodded: "The thing is already lost, which shows that not only does someone know, but they also calculated the time."

The tribute wasn't lost in the Carefree Sect territory, but this doesn't mean the Carefree Sect has no responsibility at all.

Jin Bai indeed said: "We returned to the Carefree Sect to investigate this matter and found all those who knew. Besides Sect Master Li, two others also knew about the existence of the Bright Lamp Grass; these two are still in the sect and can be questioned at any time. However, Sect Master Li also said that the news of the Bright Lamp Cup might have leaked once a few years ago; a mountain guard suddenly resigned, and not long after, someone secretly sneaked into the back mountain of the Carefree Sect, fortunately discovered by someone. Later, the Carefree Sect investigated and found out that the mountain guard went home for the New Year, drank too much wine, and talked nonsense, leaking the news of the Bright Lamp Grass. He was scared after sobering up, so he hurriedly resigned and left."

"Calculating the time, the thief also had to calculate your itinerary," He Lingchuan stroked his chin. "The blockage of the waterway in Giant Deer Port was too coincidental. How did they know you would definitely take the sea route?"

Jin Bai said in a deep voice: "The land route is not safe; two countries are at war on the only way back to Mou."

So the sea route was their first choice.

The thief had the time and place of the crime, just missing the method of theft.

How to steal the treasure in Jin Bai's storage ring in broad daylight without anyone noticing? Even from He Lingchuan's perspective, he felt this matter was incredible.

Without taking the ring off, it was impossible to steal the tribute at all.

That is to say, this storage ring must have left Jin Bai at some point.

But how could he be completely unaware? He had more than ten Shadow Tooth Guards following him; were they all blind? "Has Commander Jin collected any clues recently?" Jin Bai had been here for more than a month, so he wouldn't have found nothing, right?

"Floating Island Ghost Market, someone was asking everywhere for information about the Bright Lamp Grass there a few months ago. But he covered his face and hid his identity; the people in the Ghost Market didn't know his appearance or origin," Jin Bai leaned back. "There is no shortage of such characters who go to the Ghost Market to buy things and inquire about news."

"Two days ago, we found another clue in the Ghost Market: about a month ago, someone sought to purchase Du Yun Stone. This thing doesn't have many uses, but it is indispensable for refining the Heart Lamp."

He Lingchuan tried to ask: "How will the Bright Lamp Cup be used after it is returned to the Mou state?"

"That is not clear, it is not my responsibility."

Thanks to the rewards from Excitation Current and Only Seeking Peach Blossom Spring.

(End of chapter)