Chapter 490

Chen Yan's fingers holding the jade disc paused slightly, his brows furrowed, and he murmured in a low voice: "An iron-masked man?"

He paused, his eyes full of doubt, and asked again: "What kind of ghost is that?"

Yuan Shu knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, his eyes full of fear of the "three hundred punishments of the Mingjing Si," his voice broken beyond recognition: "Answering the Lord, it was late one night some time ago, a guy wrapped tightly in night-traveling clothes, wearing a black iron mask on his face, quietly found this lowly one and told this lowly one the location of the tomb..."

Fearing the other party would not believe him, he hurriedly raised his voice to emphasize: "This lowly one is absolutely not lying! This matter is true in every word; if there is half a falsehood, I am willing to accept any punishment from the Mingjing Si!"

Regarding the punishments of the Mingjing Si, Yuan Shu truly had a fear from the bottom of his heart...

After all, the rumors alone were enough to make one's heart tremble!

He would rather have a quick death than endure that kind of torture...

Chen Yan's fingers holding the mutton-fat jade disc tightened involuntarily. The warm jade quality could not suppress the heaviness in his heart, and his brows furrowed slightly, forming a shallow trench.

He lowered his eyes to look at Yuan Shu's trembling figure in the snow, but his gaze pierced through the miserable scene before him and drifted into the depths of the night.

The collar of his black fox fur was stirred by the night wind. He raised his hand to unconsciously stroke his chin, his fingertips brushing against the cold fabric, his thoughts already sinking.

"An iron-masked man?"

These three words circled repeatedly in his heart, carrying a lingering doubt—how is it another guy of unknown origin?

What is the relationship between this person and the one who got involved in the Shi family affair?

If these two are the same person, or the same group of people, then things would be very interesting...

Seeing his Lord lost in thought, Gao Jiong did not dare to disturb him. He immediately stepped forward, his sharp gaze falling on Yuan Shu, his tone carrying a bit of questioning and confusion: "You dare to believe information from such an unknown, head-hiding, tail-covering person?"

Yuan Shu knelt on the ground, his voice trembling with undisguised bitterness, and replied truthfully: "This lowly one's family business suffered a huge deficit some days ago, creditors were at the door, and I was truly at my wit's end; I had to believe it even if I didn't want to..."

"Besides, this lowly one is not stupid!" He hurriedly raised his eyes to defend himself, then quickly lowered them again. "I specifically spent a lot of money to find a tomb-raider to investigate that place, and only after confirming there was no problem did I dare to take the risk!"

The Liu woman kneeling to the side had already cried until she was a mess, her hair disheveled and sticking to her tear-stained cheeks.

She raised her head with a sob, her voice trembling uncontrollably, yet she tried her best to testify for Yuan Shu: "Lord, I beg you to investigate clearly! My master was truly forced to a dead end by the deficit; otherwise, even if you gave him a hundred guts, he would not dare touch the law!"

Tears dripped down her chin, hitting the accumulated snow and blooming into a small patch of dampness.

Chen Yan recovered from his deep thought, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's. As soon as he opened his mouth, he hit the nail on the head without any hesitation: "The iron-masked man gave you the news of the Han Dynasty tomb, so what did he ask for as a reward?"

There is no such thing as help for no reason in the world. Since they are not related, who would be so kind?

Yuan Shu was so frightened by this follow-up question that he trembled all over, almost blurting out: "No... nothing!"

His Adam's apple bobbed violently, and as if he had thought of something else, he hurriedly added: "After that person told this lowly one the location of the tomb, he didn't stay for a moment and turned and left directly!"

Chen Yan's pupils shrank suddenly, the sharpness on his face turning into obvious surprise, and he whispered in a low voice: "What?!"

He stared fixedly at Yuan Shu's pale face and panicked eyes, confirming that this expression did not look fake, and his tone suddenly deepened: "Say it again!"

Yuan Shu knelt in the accumulated snow, his knees already numb from the cold, and even his breathing carried a tremor. He raised his face covered in blood and snow, his eyes full of genuine fear mixed with confusion, and replied truthfully, word by word: "Lord, that person really didn't want anything!"

Immediately, his hands scratched the snow unconsciously at his sides, as if trying to draw a trace of composure from the cold touch, and he continued to add: "He climbed over the wall into this lowly one's study late at night, just stood in the shadows, his voice muffled through the iron mask, and told me the specific location of the tomb..."

"After saying this, he didn't even look at the silver I offered, turned around and climbed back the way he came, moving as fast as a gust of wind!" Yuan Shu's voice suddenly rose a little, carrying indescribable confusion. "This lowly one also felt it was very suspicious at the time; how can there be such a thing as free wealth in the world?"

"But he neither demanded money, nor forced this lowly one to take an oath, nor said he wanted to split the loot; he just appeared out of thin air and disappeared out of thin air!"

Houmochen Xiao, standing to the side, smelled something unusual. His brows twisted into a knot, his face full of confusion. He turned to look at Chen Yan, his tone carrying obvious bewilderment: "Lord, this matter is not right!"

He raised his hand to stroke the saber at his waist and analyzed in a low voice: "Since the iron-masked man gave the real location, why didn't he just go tomb-raiding himself?"

If there were any traps or terrifying things in the tomb, or if an old acquaintance let Yuan Shu come forward to raid the tomb while he sat back and reaped the benefits...

That would still be explainable!

But Yuan Shu led people to successfully raid the tomb safely and obtained so many treasures, and they were not taken away...

This problem is very strange!

And it is extremely inconsistent with human nature!

Chen Yan flicked his fingertips, a crisp snap cutting through the heavy night. A playful arc curled at the corner of his mouth, a smile that was not quite a smile: "Good question!"

His gaze swept over the crowd, his tone changing, full of hidden meaning: "And, after Yuan Shu raided it, he wasn't followed by an oriole!"

All kinds of details were full of tricks...

It doesn't make sense!

Normally, this should be a tool person being used, or a pawn being discarded!

Discarded, they were indeed discarded, but those treasures were also discarded...

Then what is the point of going such a big circle?

Yuan Shu knelt in the snow, his face full of confusion, and shook his head, his voice as weak as a mosquito: "This lowly one also doesn't know..."

The depth in Chen Yan's eyes did not diminish. He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, raised his hand, and ordered in a low voice: "Alright, first take Yuan Shu and his wife, as well as these unconscious house slaves, back to the city for custody. Seal all the stolen goods into the warehouse, and deal with them tomorrow!"

"As you command!" Gao Jiong, Houmochen Xiao, and others responded in unison, their voices sonorous and powerful.

Immediately, several Embroidered Attire Envoys stepped forward, took out ropes to tie Yuan Shu and his wife behind their backs, while the others carried the unconscious house slaves, executing the order in an orderly manner.

The night was like ink, and on the snow-covered official road, the horses' hooves made a "creaking" sound on the snow.

The team reached a fork in the road near the city gate, and two dark silhouettes came toward them like arrows; they were the Embroidered Attire Envoys who had previously been ordered to capture Yuan Wu and the others.

The two stepped forward quickly and saluted respectfully: "Lord!"

Chen Yan, riding on his horse, pulled the reins, his black fox fur fluttering in the night wind. He looked down at the two, asking in a steady tone: "How is it? Were those house slaves captured?"

The two Embroidered Attire Envoys looked at each other, a trace of gravity flashing in their eyes.

One of them spoke first, his tone carrying a bit of hesitation: "The people were in the Yuan mansion!"

His tone suddenly changed, and he lowered his voice to report solemnly: "But those who participated in killing the deceased are all already dead..."

Houmochen Xiao's pupils shrank, and he blurted out in shock: "What?! They are all dead?!"

His words were full of disbelief.

Chen Yan's face was so dark it could drip water, his brows furrowed tightly, his voice cold as ice: "Beaten to death?"

At that moment, Chen suspected that Yuan Shu was playing with him...

"No!"

The other Embroidered Attire Envoy hurriedly raised his head to add, "They were poisoned to death!"

He paused and continued: "And, the time of death was not long before we arrived at the Yuan mansion..."