Chapter 362: Secret Investigation

"Who could dare commit a crime right under the nose of the Myriad Dao Shang Alliance, one of the three great powers in Great Jin?"

"Do they not fear the Shang Alliance's retaliation? That is no joke."

"There seems to be something slightly strange about this entire affair."

"Furthermore, with such a major incident occurring within the Shang Alliance, why hasn't that fellow Hua Tianxiong reported it to me?"

Qin Ming took Han Yuan's three warnings to heart, daring not to be negligent or complacent.

He raised the wine cup in his hand and thanked the three: "Many thanks to the three Daoist friends for the reminder; otherwise, I, Lu, would still be kept in the dark."

"I offer a toast to the three of you."

Han Yuan and the other two also lifted their wine cups. "Daoist Friend Lu need not be so polite; it was merely a trivial matter. However, you should keep this matter to yourself and do not spread it externally; otherwise, if our superiors blame us, we cannot bear the punishment."

"I, Lu, understand; naturally, I will."

After three rounds of wine.

Qin Ming took three spirit pills from his bosom, placed one before each of the three, and put on a smile as he said, "This is a small token of my appreciation; please accept it, three Daoist friends."

Liu Ye picked up a spirit pill, and her pretty face immediately showed emotion as she exclaimed, "A second-rank top-grade Yu Xuan Dan!"

Seeing this, Han Yuan and Gao Feng were also utterly astonished.

"Daoist Friend Lu, such valuable elixirs—how can we accept them?"

Qin Ming waved his hand and said, "The three of you must not decline. Since I, Lu, traveled from the Southern Desolation to Great Jin, I have repeatedly received guidance and care from the three Daoist friends. This time, you even risked punishment from the Shang Alliance's upper echelons to inform me of such crucial news; this is merely a slight expression of my gratitude."

Upon hearing this, the three exchanged glances.

"Then we thank Daoist Friend Lu."

Han Yuan and the other two were also internally excited; they had not expected Shopkeeper Lu to be so generous.

After all, this Yu Xuan Dan was one of the most precious spirit pills among all second-rank elixirs.

Only a very small number of Great Alchemists know how to refine it; it is a miraculous elixir that Foundation Establishment cultivators dream of obtaining.

Qin Ming, however, did not mind much; these few pills were leftovers from his earlier consumption, and leaving them in his storage bag would only let them gather dust.

It was better to do Han Yuan and the other two a favor along the way.

In the future, these three might possibly prove useful.

"The situation is urgent; I, Lu, will not stay longer."

"I must return to the trading house to instruct the caravans below to exercise extra caution," Qin Ming said as he rose to take his leave.

"Indeed, Daoist Friend Lu; if there are no particularly important goods to transport recently, it is best not to ship anything out for now."

"To avoid losing both people and cargo would be far too unworthy!"

After Qin Ming departed.

Inside the restaurant, Han Yuan and the other two exchanged glances and couldn't help but sigh with emotion:

"We must keep Daoist Friend Lu's kindness firmly in our hearts..."

After leaving the Yufeng Tower, Qin Ming purchased some necessary spiritual materials within the market town but did not return to the spiritual fields.

Instead, he flew without stopping toward the Lingxu Market Town.

Upon entering the Mirror Jing Xue Ge, he immediately summoned Jia Heyi.

Jia Heyi found it quite strange; usually, this hands-off Shopkeeper never came to the store.

What wind had blown him here today?

Nevertheless, despite his confusion, Jia Heyi still respectfully bowed to greet him: "Oh! Shopkeeper Lu, you have come to the store for an inspection."

"The store has just received a batch of Snow Soul Tea from Moon-Watching Island in the Southern Desolation; I will brew some for you to taste immediately. According to the Gu Gezhu, this is top-grade spiritual tea personally cultivated by True Person Moon-Watching himself; it is rare and hard to come by."

Having said this, Jia Heyi took out a packet of tea leaves and skillfully began brewing spiritual tea for Qin Ming.

Ever since Shopkeeper Lu took over the Great Jin branch of the Mirror Jing Xue Ge, not only had he acquired two hundred mu of fourth-rank tributary spiritual fields, achieving a huge harvest of spiritual plants and doubling profits, but he had also been invited to join the Myriad Dao Shang Alliance.

In the past, this was something Jia Heyi would not have dared to imagine.

Moreover, some time ago when Jia Heyi returned to the Southern Desolation to report on his work, Gu Gezhu Gu had praised him highly.

However, Old Jia also knew that he owed all this to Shopkeeper Lu's good fortune.

His view of Shopkeeper Lu had already undergone an earth-shaking transformation.

Qin Ming accepted the spiritual tea and took a sip. "Shopkeeper Lu, how is the taste?" Jia Heyi asked, his mature face revealing anticipation in his eyes.

"Mm, it's passable," Qin Ming replied indifferently.

"Heh, so...?" Jia Heyi couldn't help but feel puzzled; what did 'passable' mean? Could it be that Shopkeeper Lu's palate had become so discerning?

For such top-grade spiritual tea, the evaluation from his mouth was merely 'passable'; but how could Old Jia know that the Snow Soul Tea he treasured as a gem was actually planted by Qin Ming himself, who drank it daily and had long grown accustomed to it.

In Qin Ming's eyes, it was fundamentally no different from ordinary spiritual tea.

Qin Ming did not wish to chat further with Jia Heyi about such matters; instead, he set down the teacup in his hand and, with a rather grave expression, asked, "Old Jia, has our trading house had any caravans transporting goods externally during this period?"

Seeing him so serious, Jia Heyi first stared blankly, then cautiously replied, "Ah? Reporting to Shopkeeper Lu, yes, we do; what is the matter?"

"Just this morning, not long after our pavilion's caravan departed, Elder Yu led the team."

"Sigh~ there is still time; hurry and notify the caravan to return. Recently, order all caravans not to go out," Qin Ming said with a sigh.

"Yes! I will go handle it immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Heyi also realized that something was not quite right; without asking further about the reason, he immediately executed Qin Ming's instructions with swift and decisive action.

Subsequently.

Qin Ming used the Black Talisman to contact Hua Tianxiong.

"Hua Tianxiong, what is going on with you?"

"With such a major incident occurring in the Shang Alliance, why have you not reported the situation to me?"

"Ah? Master, you already know about it?" Hua Tianxiong said in astonishment upon hearing the voice in his mind.

"You truly possess great supernatural powers; I was just about to report this matter to Master."

"Alas! Let's not speak of it; during this period, Elder Qian summoned me to run errands for him, and I have only just emerged from the Brother Li Huo Palace."

"Additionally, there is another urgent matter I must inform you of: it seems the people of the Yin Demon Sect are secretly investigating me."

"After all, on that day, when Tian Laomo died, he was rushing toward me, making me the prime suspect."

Speaking to this point, Hua Tianxiong could not help but feel somewhat afraid and guilty.

After all, being targeted by the Yin Demon Sect was no good thing, and he simply could not afford to provoke them.

Whenever he recalled the scene from that day at the Wufu Auction House, where he had defiantly challenged the Yin Demon Sect as if facing death without fear, Hua Tianxiong's intestines turned green with regret.

"Didn't you say they couldn't find any evidence against you? So why are they still fixated on you?" Qin Ming asked in confusion.

Hua Tianxiong smiled bitterly and said, "I heard that in recent years, the Yin Demon Sect has successively lost four Jin Dan elders; although they held only middle-tier status, it has nonetheless aroused high attention within the sect."

"After all, the Yin Demon Sect is a major Modaoda Sect of the Great Li Dynasty, so naturally, they will not let this matter rest easily."

"I heard that the other three Jin Dan cultivators of the demonic path died at the hands of True Person Wangyue in the Southern Desolate Immortal Realm, which has nothing to do with me."

"I heard that True Person Wangyue vanished into thin air in the Southern Desolate region; since the Yin Demon Sect cannot find him, could they possibly lump this debt onto my head as well, Master?"

Hearing this, Qin Ming could not help but curl his lips and said, "That will not happen, because those three Yin Demon Sect Jin Dan cultivators were also killed by me."

"Ah?!!" Upon hearing this, Hua Tianxiong instantly collapsed.

"You are True Person Wangyue!"

At the same time, Qin Ming paid no heed to his reaction; after all, the other's life or death rested solely on a single thought of his.

"Secretly investigate for me who is behind the recent robberies of merchant caravans, and do so as quickly as possible."

"The people of the Yin Demon Sect should not do anything to you."

"If they were to move against you, they would also have to consider the Brother Li Huo Palace behind you; doing so might even exacerbate conflicts between the two major powers, so rest assured."

"Yes, yes, yes! I strictly obey Master's orders," Hua Tianxiong hurriedly replied, never having expected that Qin Ming's true identity and background were so formidable.

"Then, Master, do you think the matter of robbing merchant caravans could be the work of the Yin Demon Sect?"

"After all, only cultivators of their demonic path act with such reckless abandon."

"Hmm, not necessarily; if it were the work of the Yin Demon Sect, Elder Jin Han would likely have already investigated and found out," Qin Ming pondered for a moment before replying indifferently.

Hua Tianxiong was instantly puzzled: "Then which faction could it be? To dare encroach upon the Shang Alliance's territory, their guts are unusually large; they seem to have no scruples whatsoever."

"Please give me some time; as soon as I dispatch people to clarify the situation, I will immediately report back to you, Master."

(End of Chapter)