Chapter 1124

"This case is only difficult because the stolen tribute is heavy, not because the case itself is hard, nor is every case as tangled as the Immortality Pill case. You're overthinking it." Dong Rui saw it as nothing unusual, "When Fang Chanran assigned you this mission, the case hadn't been solved yet. In a few days, the State Preceptor will update the intelligence, and you'll roughly know that killing a chicken doesn't require a cattle knife."

"Then, in your view, when Zhao State stole the Bright Lamp, did they know they were taking Mu State's treasure guard?"

"Uh..." Dong Rui choked for a moment, "This, this, perhaps they knew?"

"How so?"

"If they didn't know, then they didn't even do the most basic homework before acting—how could they possibly steal the tribute from the Yingya Guard without a sound?" Dong Rui had done this kind of thing before and knew the key points well.

"Exactly." He Lingchuan nodded, "But if they did know?"

"If they did know—" receiving He Lingchuan's affirmation, Dong Rui's thoughts flowed smoothly, "Then it's not a big deal, is it? This isn't Mu State's territory—can they really reach this far?"

"The Bright Lamp was stolen just over a month ago, and Zhao State's Second Prince's madness has improved. Zhao State's ruler specially held a three-day grand celebration, fearing Mu State wouldn't know or wouldn't get angry?" He Lingchuan mused, "His son's madness isn't something that just appeared in a day or two—waiting a bit longer to treat it, at least until the fuss over Mu State's stolen tribute dies down, doesn't he even have this bit of patience?"

"Maybe they're just thick-headed and unafraid!" Dong Rui jabbed him, "How many people like you have to weigh every move, look left and right, and proceed with extreme caution?"

"Anyway, this matter is a bit strange."

Dong Rui snorted, "Did the Bright Lamp end up in Zhao State's royal hands?"

"Very likely."

"Then it's settled!" Dong Rui, holding to the principle of 'better to do less than more,' said, "As long as you confirm this point, slap—your mission is done, and quickly!"

This mission is great—little work, lots of pay, the only hassle being far from home.

"But this method of the crime is interesting." He Lingchuan pondered, "Even the Yingya Guard couldn't spot a clue."

The dark guards beside the emperor are skilled in assassination, stealth, and various heretical arts. Especially Mu Emperor's Yingya Guard—though He Lingchuan had never dealt with them before, he thought they certainly shouldn't be nobodies.

Even the Yingya Guard didn't understand how they were caught—Zhao State's theft technique is truly superb.

"Besides, if they could steal right under the Yingya Guard's nose, why not just kill and silence them on the spot?" Killing is easier than stealing, requires no skill. The reason 'killing to silence' endures is because 'no living witness' truly stands the test of time.

As long as they kill the treasure guard on the spot, Zhao State can cover up many, many case details.

Even if Mu State later discovers Zhao State's Second Prince's madness is cured, but without the treasure guard as a witness, the investigation becomes very troublesome.

Having a witness and not having one—these are two different levels of difficulty. He Lingchuan recalled the case of the missing Lingxu courier he once handled—why couldn't so many officials from Chiyan State find any clues before? Because the courier, the key witness, was gone—there wasn't even an eyewitness.

But Zhao State people wouldn't do that.

Dong Rui still didn't care: "Chaotic decision-making—common enough in Beijia, let alone Zhao State? Maybe there are a few people in their organization fighting each other, causing external orders to contradict themselves. Look at Julu Port—you can tell their governance ability really isn't much."

He Lingchuan gave him a sideways glance: "In this past year and a half, your level has improved a lot." All this talk of multi-front conflicts and external strategies—you actually understand.

Dong Rui gave a dismissive snort, but the proper terms he could blurt out were just these few—so he quickly switched topics: "By the way, the spiritual energy here is a bit thin. Have you noticed?"

He took a deep breath: "Still… or is it that our place has dense spiritual energy? I thought spiritual energy between heaven and earth was roughly the same everywhere."

He Lingchuan didn't mind: "The world is so vast, places differ. All we can say is their fortune is too shallow."

These past two years have seen several spiritual rains, spiritual density rising rapidly—cultivators feel it most deeply, like fish sensing water quality changes most acutely.

But the spiritual energy environment in Julu Port—well, how to put it?

He Lingchuan felt it was about the same as when he first took charge of the Yangshan Islands.

Over a year ago, three or four imperial elixir rains—didn't any of them fall on this land?

The world is vast, so spiritual environments naturally vary—this depends on the scale of the spiritual rain, ground permeability, and even terrain, landforms, and whether there are dragon veins.

In short, Julu Port's spiritual level is far below that of the Yangshan Islands.

No wonder the locals look listless.

In places with dense spiritual energy, flora and fauna thrive, grain yields are high, and the number and quality of sustainable life increase.

Zhu Xiuer once estimated that if imperial elixir rains could fall another hundred or eighty times in a short time, the density of heaven and earth's spiritual energy could approach that of the ancient era—provided human turmoil is limited and demonic energy isn't massively siphoned by the Luo Star.

He Lingchuan strolled around Julu Port—just needing to feel the local spiritual energy level to know the grain yield here falls far short of Yangshan Islands and Bailie.

Back then he really picked a good place to settle down—wise! "What are you planning to do now?"

"I'm wondering why the thieves chose to act at the port?" He Lingchuan's thoughts still hadn't left the case, "Originally we thought they'd need to flee by boat after the theft, so acting at the port would be easiest for escape. Now it seems not."

The Bright Lamp was stolen by people from the host state and finally sent to Zhao State's palace—no need to go out to sea by boat. Dong Rui thought: "Maybe it's because these Yingya Guard ran too fast, beyond their expectations? If they didn't act soon, the others would just sail away."

"Hmm, using driftwood to block the sea exit—yes, that was to stop Jin Bai and others." He Lingchuan mused, "But this method is a bit odd—Zhao State officials could just order the harbor to suspend sailings, needing only any excuse, like sea monsters passing outer waters, heavy sea fog, or high waves, to close navigation for two days. Why insist on blocking the channel? Won't cleaning up later be a hassle?"

"You mean it wasn't Zhao State who did it? Then who has the Bright Lamp?" Dong Rui's question struck the soul, "How did Zhao State's Second Prince's madness suddenly improve?"

"So we need to examine the method. The method often reveals intent and destination." He Lingchuan stroked his chin, "Jin Bai and others were the mighty Yingya Guard in Mu State, but after crossing the ocean to come here, they couldn't storm the Zhao royal palace, point at the ruler's nose and shout 'thief,' demanding he return the heart lamp."

A strong dragon does not crush the local snake.

"If Mu State hopes to resolve this through diplomacy, they at least need to produce evidence so undeniable that no one can quibble."

Otherwise, how would Mu Emperor write a notice to the Zhao king? 'You stole my family's tribute to treat your son?'

Where's the evidence? Otherwise, it's just slander! Zhao State's prince's sudden recovery—this isn't evidence, it's a lucky break, it's heavenly blessing on our king.

The two walked around the harbor, then left the main road and turned into a quieter side street.

The two loafers following behind perked up and strode after them.

Both sides of this alley are low, yellowish walls, the ground uneven, and the graffiti on the walls has faded.

The two stood at the alley entrance looking around, when the taller one suddenly said to the shorter: "Go on."

Hearing the shout, the shorter one shrank his shoulders, still hesitating, when the taller one shoved him from behind, pushing him into the alley: "Remember to bring back those two fat monkeys too—plenty of meat, fragrant when roasted."

The short loafer had no choice but to step forward into the alley.

He walked several dozen steps, then glanced back, confirming the taller one couldn't hear his voice, before muttering a few curses under his breath.

Very filthy and vicious.

The alley was empty—those two were gone.

He walked forward another hundred or so steps, confirmed no one was in the alley, then returned listlessly.

"Trash!" the taller one slapped him on the back of the head, "And you lost money—how are you going to report back like this?"

The short loafer dared to be angry but dared not speak.

They were also a bit alert—heels turned, they headed out: "Forget it, let's go back."

Just as he turned around, something fell from the roadside pagoda tree with a swish, nearly landing on one of their faces.

A monkey.

A fat monkey hanging upside down from the tree.

The man let out a startled "ah" and jumped back; the monkey bared its teeth and screeched twice at him, as if mocking him.

"You damned monkey!" the man shouted, furious, about to throw a punch, when he heard a "bang" behind him.

He turned to see the target who had vanished earlier—He Lingchuan and Dong Rui—now standing behind them for some unknown reason.

He Lingchuan pressed his companion's head against the wall and slammed it, producing that crisp sound.

Blood flowed all over his face.

But the companion hadn't passed out yet—just seeing stars.

"Head's still pretty hard," He Lingchuan muttered, then struck again.

This time, the companion finally went down unconscious.

Realizing things were bad, the man turned and bolted.

But as soon as he turned his head, a hairy monkey fist was right in front of him...

Dong Rui stood in the alley, dissatisfied: "Hey, they're knocked out—how are we supposed to question them?"

The ghost ape bared its teeth; these two thugs had just been thinking of eating it and Lingguang, but since the master left them with a use, it hadn't crushed them yet—otherwise, it would have eaten them one by one.

Let's see who ends up eating whom.

Lingguang on He Lingchuan's shoulder immediately pulled out a bottle of smelling salts and picked one at random from the ground.

It chose the tall one, about to wake him, but He Lingchuan deliberately pointed to the short one: "Use this one."

Lingguang then brought the smelling salts to the short man's nose.

After a few breaths, the small man knocked out by the ghost ape slowly came to.

As soon as he opened his eyes and saw Lingguang, he screamed "ah" and shrank back against the wall, his left eye still bearing a large bruise.

He really hadn't shouted so little today.

(End of chapter)