Chapter 474: Wan Song and Self-Heal

Jiao Yu flicked his tail: "Inspector has long been an empty title." General Ling was stunned: "He represents Spirit Void City, which means Spirit Void City knows these killers are killing my clansmen to take beads?"

Running along the road didn't hinder the monsters' conversation. Jiao Yu shook his head: "Spirit Void City's power is complex and intertwined; it cannot be summarized in a simple sentence."

He Lingchuan continued: "There is a paradox here. Zhongsun Mou said the Monster Emperor... uh, the Emperor believed the White-Shouldered Eagle messenger was killed by a spy, which is why he sent him down to investigate, yet Zhongsun Mou understands the matter of killing monsters to take beads."

He Lingchuan sighed: "The water is very deep; I'm afraid this matter is not simple."

He smelled the scent of a conspiracy.

Jiao Yu couldn't help but say: "If Zhongsun Mou knew that you analyzed so much just because he missed a sentence, he would definitely regret it until his intestines turned green."

He Lingchuan laughed: "I don't think he's necessarily someone who knows how to regret."

"I hate it when these things get involved with Spirit Void City." Jiao Yu seemed a bit irritable. "There's never a good outcome."

The news that the Chi Yan Crown Prince's special envoy had left Frost Dew Town overnight was soon presented to Zhongsun Mou.

Zhongsun Mou was stunned: "What, where did you say they went?"

"Went east."

What's in the east? They came from the east; are they retracing their old path? And overnight at that.

What important clue could the guy surnamed He have received? But the clues in Zhongsun Mou's hands all pointed north.

He pondered for a moment and said: "Send someone to follow and see."

As for himself, he remained still, preparing to set off for Qi Prefecture the next morning.

The return trip wasn't as urgent as the journey there, and traveling by night meant slowing down, so it took He Lingchuan an extra hour to reach Youtian Town.

It was already late at night, and the town was quiet, without a soul, not even the dogs were barking.

So many messy things had happened in town, and the Bai Shi County Magistrate had spent a great deal of effort dealing with them during the day, feeling as if his blood pool had been drained, so he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, snoring like thunder.

Fortunately, he continued the dream from last night; after finishing the celebratory banquet, he embarked on that standard process: promotion, getting rich, and his wife dying.

After his sallow-faced wife died of illness, his new wife was as beautiful as a flower, soft as boneless, and he spent every night singing and dancing with her, every night...

He was just feeling proud of himself when his shoulder was shaken vigorously: "Wake up, wake up quickly!"

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw his sallow-faced wife glaring at him: "What kind of dream are you having, smiling so lewdly?"

"Nothing..." No, he had been woken up! The County Magistrate's courage grew. "Why are you bothering me in the middle of the night!"

"The county government office sent word that the Crown Prince's special envoy has come again and is now interrogating prisoners in the jail."

"Ah?"

At this time, He Lingchuan, relying on his status as a special envoy, was already re-interrogating Wealthy Wan in the jail.

Wealthy Wan was now disheveled and exhausted, lacking the energy he had in the morning. He Lingchuan saw that his fingers were bruised and swollen, clearly having been tortured and suffered. This man was used to being pampered, and after a day of suffering, he had become obedient, basically answering every question.

He Lingchuan asked for the confession to read.

Although he and Jiao Yu and the others had left town in a hurry, the county government office had its own procedures to follow, so they had subsequently arrested Wealthy Wan for interrogation.

A new piece of information had been added to the confession:

The address of Wealthy Wan's nephew, Wan Song.

This guy hadn't done well in his early years, and although Wealthy Wan found him some work, it was only enough to make ends meet. However, two years ago, he had bought a house in town, and although it couldn't be called a mansion, at least it was comfortable to live in.

In addition, Wan Song had purchased several acres of paddy fields, truly becoming a landlord and achieving class mobility.

"Sure enough, crooked paths make money fast." He Lingchuan said while reading. "How much money has he made in the past few years by catching monsters and taking beads?"

"I, I don't know very well." Wealthy Wan said in a low voice. "He never told me."

At this time, the Bai Shi County Magistrate also rushed over and said to He Lingchuan: "Special Envoy, we have already sent people to watch Wan Song's house; in addition, the county has a unified statement for the outside world, saying only that Wan Xian-neng had serious tax evasion, which is why we came to investigate, so as not to leak the news."

"Hmm, well done." He Lingchuan asked Wealthy Wan again: "He didn't marry or have children?"

"Uh, no."

"Then he has a lover?" Once a man has money, how many things can he be thinking about?

"Yes, yes, I know he often goes to the Lan Cui Pavilion, and his familiar lover is called Qing Gu."

He Lingchuan looked at the confession, but it wasn't recorded.

"When does Wan Song usually come home?"

"He comes home whenever he wants, there's no pattern; sometimes he disappears for months and then suddenly appears." Wealthy Wan said weakly. "My lord, that's all I know."

"Since Wan Song usually lingers outside, these properties under his name are not easy to manage." He Lingchuan looked at him and said, "Are they all entrusted to you?"

"... Yes."

"Then why didn't I see a list?"

Wealthy Wan indicated he would write it now.

But his hands were swollen like radishes, and he couldn't even hold a pen steadily. The Bai Shi County Magistrate immediately took the paper and pen, dipped the brush in ink himself: "I'll do it!"

Next, Wealthy Wan spoke, and the Bai Shi County Magistrate wrote it down.

Wan Song's properties weren't many: a house, seven acres of paddy fields, five acres of medicinal herb fields, two storefronts, and a warehouse near the medicinal herb fields, which was why the price was very cheap.

"A warehouse?" He Lingchuan pointed to this item and asked, "He's not a merchant, what could he store in a warehouse?"

"Medicinal herbs harvested from the fields." Wealthy Wan swallowed his saliva. "He also asked me to help collect medicinal herbs regularly, all stored in the warehouse. Every once in a while, he would come back to resell the herbs and clear out the warehouse."

The Bai Shi County Magistrate was annoyed: "Such an important matter, why didn't you say so before?" When he was interrogating, why didn't this guy surnamed Wan say these things?

"This, these are all small matters." Wealthy Wan mumbled. "I thought they weren't worth mentioning."

He Lingchuan stared at him and said: "Your nephew only has the ability to kill, but knows nothing about business. He resells medicinal herbs himself, and you aren't surprised?"

After meeting Hong Chenglue, he realized there really were people in the world who couldn't do business; ten attempts, nine losses, and the last time they'd have to pawn their underwear.

"I, I..." Wealthy Wan of course knew his nephew was just making up an excuse, he just didn't care.

"Still remember our agreement?" He Lingchuan yawned; having traveled for more than ten hours, he was a bit sleepy. "If you aren't honest, the agreement will be void!"

"I don't know where he sold the herbs, and I haven't seen the buyer!" Wealthy Wan said hurriedly. "But every time the warehouse was empty, that's true!"

"What kind of herbs did he bring in?"

Wealthy Wan recited a string of herb names.

They were all common medicinal materials; collecting these in Zhitian Township was truly as easy as could be.

Seeing that Wealthy Wan had been squeezed dry and there was nothing left, He Lingchuan stood up and said with satisfaction: "Not bad, very fruitful."

Afterward, he gave a few instructions to the Bai Shi County Magistrate and then took the monsters who had been listening to the whole thing to check into an inn.

Sleep was still necessary; investigating cases was very energy-consuming.

An hour and a half later, which was just as the sky was turning light, He Lingchuan woke up.

He woke up the old sheep who was snoring downstairs, and the group went to unlock a new location: Wan Song's house.

This guy had a pretty good eye for locations, choosing a spot by a pond in the west of town, quiet amidst the noise. The area of the house was actually larger than Mr. Mai's, at least seven or eight hundred square meters. Almost every room could get sunlight, and the windows were bright and clean.

Before entering, He Lingchuan saw a white-faced owl on a large tree by the house; this guy was standing on one leg and was steady as a rock, looking at them expressionlessly.

The Bai Shi County Magistrate had said that there were people specifically watching Wan's house, and they didn't have to worry about being discovered.

Actually, it wasn't a person, but this owl monster.

But clearly, Wan Song hadn't been home, at least the owl hadn't seen him, otherwise it would have flown to the county to report.

He Lingchuan and Jiao Yu walked back and forth in the house a few times, but didn't find any useful clues.

They could tell that Wan Song didn't live here often, because there were only a few sets of clothes in the chests and cabinets, and only two or three dirty bowls left unwashed in the kitchen.

He Lingchuan suddenly said: "This guy is far less meticulous than Mr. Mai."

In Mr. Mai's house, everything was placed in its proper place, meticulous; but in Wan Song's house, the placement of objects was much more casual, with a storybook thrown in the kitchen and a few dried pomelo peels dropped in the courtyard.

Jiao Yu turned to the backyard, his tiger nose sniffing around on the ground, occasionally making a snorting sound like a sneeze.

"Smell something?"

"Hmm." Jiao Yu was still circling. "It's full of the fishy smell of that monster! It really spent a long time here."

Wan Song's backyard was also a patch of mud, but unlike Mr. Mai's, it wasn't planted with plants, but was directly abandoned, with debris everywhere.

He Lingchuan picked up a bit of mud and rubbed it in his hand: "Very damp, almost enough to squeeze out water. It seems we've found its lair."

The dampness was so heavy that even he could smell it.

"Outside is the lake." General Ling stretched his hoof and dug a few times in the mud. "What should we be looking for?"

He Lingchuan's gaze wandered over the mud, and seeing something General Ling had dug out of the mud, he suddenly walked over, picked it up, and looked at it closely in his palm.

This was a small segment of a flower spike, with a few small purple flowers growing on it.

He asked General Ling: "Know what this is?"

General Ling leaned in and sniffed, his mouth moving a few times: "Oh, this is self-heal. I've eaten it."

He was a ram, after all.

He Lingchuan said: "Mr. Mai's backyard is planted with self-heal."

"This kind of grass is too common in Zhitian Township; it's everywhere in the fields, and I've seen farmers cut it to feed pigs and rabbits, it doesn't even need to be specifically planted." General Ling said. "Maybe Mr. Mai didn't plant it, it just grew by itself."

"In this patch of mud, have you seen self-heal growing by itself?"

The weeds in this patch of land were all flattened, as if pressed by a heavy object. But General Ling looked around, and those few self-heal plants were exposed at the roots, not rooted in the soil.

It was as if someone had sprinkled them on the ground.

General Ling didn't understand: "What's so important about this self-heal?"

Isn't it just a common medicinal herb? "Self-heal, self-heal..." He Lingchuan vaguely remembered hearing about this medicinal herb from someone.

Revised the opening of *Immortal*, everyone don't mind.

Actually, this was the earliest original opening of *Immortal*, it was only changed because of submission review, now it's changed back.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 475 =====