Chapter 95: 94 Treasure Flower and the Lion

94 Treasure Flower and the Lion

Are you even aware of what you’re saying?

Upon hearing Li Ang’s reply, the female police officer’s expression was no longer describable as merely complex.

A man whose views were considered radical even among rebels had just interrogated high-ranking rebels—and the questions he asked seemed deadly, driving the suspect to slam his head against the wall and kill himself.

And after finishing his interrogation of the rebels, he calmly instructed her to watch out for the Raines family’s desperate retaliation, while simultaneously telling her with perfect composure that he planned to go to the Raines estate to claim kinship…

Wait… which side are you even on?

Completely bewildered by Li Ang’s response, the female police officer had a thousand questions burning inside her, but seeing his exhausted expression, she didn’t dare disturb him further. Instead, she carried the unconscious female prisoner to the far end of the vehicle and sat down.

…

Since the entire carriage had been chartered, there was no need to slow down or stop frequently for passengers boarding or alighting, and to reach their destination sooner and be rid of these unusually troublesome passengers, the steam-powered carriage was pushed to its maximum speed.

Thanks to all these factors, the carriage arrived at Raines Avenue—home of the Raines family—in less than half the usual time, and promptly ejected the four “plagues” from its doors.

Li Ang, who had dozed briefly on the carriage, had regained a little strength; his complexion had improved noticeably, and after stepping out into the cold wind, no trace of abnormality remained.

Ignoring the female police officer’s hesitant, unspoken gaze, Li Ang picked up the ram’s head and the broom, assessed the surroundings of Raines Avenue, then walked toward the two towering trees at its far end.

Yes, Raines Avenue was exactly as its name suggested—it truly housed two colossal redwoods.

These trees, with reddish-brown bark, reaching over a hundred meters in height and averaging more than eight meters in trunk diameter, should not exist in a capital city like this, let alone on Raines Avenue, where every inch of land was priceless.

But for certain groups, these facts posed no obstacle—in fact, the more difficult and unreasonable the act, the more it demonstrated their superiority and distinction.

These two redwoods at the end of Raines Avenue had been forcibly transplanted by the royal family from hundreds of li away, then gifted to the kingdom’s two most noble families, planted at the gates of their private estates.

According to the royal family’s original explanation, they intended these trees—capable of living over a thousand years—to symbolize the two most loyal supporters of the throne, destined to endure alongside the nation through generations.

Unfortunately, the royal family had been, quite frankly, a bit too self-important in sending these two giants.

The Treasure Flower family did not even last a few years after receiving the trees before launching a violent coup, attempting to overthrow the monarchy entirely—only to be betrayed, their entire clan executed, the execution platform set directly beneath the very tree gifted to them.

The other family, though they never staged a coup, had transformed from the once ambitious, expansionist Lionheart family into the Raines family—one of the kingdom’s three greatest blights, a massive abscess festering at the heart of the realm…

Honestly, these trees being this unlucky might not be a coincidence.

Using his Clearance Bureau credentials, Li Ang successfully entered this private road, closed to the public. He did not admire the villas and gardens lining either side, but strode past the opulent mansions, heading straight for his target.

“Hey? You’re going the wrong way!”

Seeing Li Ang reach the end of Raines Avenue and turn right instead of heading toward the Raines estate, the female police officer, still carrying the prisoner, hurried to warn him:

“Not that way! That’s the Treasure Flower estate! The Raines family is on the other side!”

“I know.”

Following the road to the right, he reached the abandoned, overgrown ruins of the Treasure Flower estate, where faint traces of its former grandeur still lingered at the gate.

Li Ang first inspected the ground—once an execution platform, soaked through with blood—then cautiously approached the slightly withered giant tree, running his fingers over its cracked, dark-brown bark.

No reaction.

It seemed the tree that had witnessed the Treasure Flower family’s downfall and contributed much of its wood to their execution platform had not become abnormal—it remained merely an ordinary redwood.

With a mix of regret and relief, Li Ang withdrew his hand. Having confirmed the tree showed no anomaly, he turned back the way he came and walked toward the Raines estate.

You really are… if there are two opposite choices, you have to step on both?

After chasing after him for half a mile while carrying a prisoner heavier than herself, she’d barely caught her breath when she had to turn around again—exhausted, the female police officer secretly glared at Li Ang from behind, just as he had once suspected her, now wondering if he was mentally unwell.

This suspicion reached its peak when Li Ang led her to knock on the Raines family’s front door and told the butler their purpose.

…

Wait… you’re really here to claim kinship?!

After calming down during the carriage ride, the female police officer had assumed Li Ang was simply too tired, annoyed by her questions, and had just brushed her off with a lie.

But after being led into the Raines estate and guided by two attendants into the three-story building housing the family genealogy, she watched as he actually began flipping through the permitted genealogical records. Unable to hold back any longer, she crept over and whispered:

“Li Ang, I’ve read your file—your parents were ordinary people from Raines County, with no connection to this Raines family!”

“I know.”

Without looking up, he replied, then, overwhelmed by the two massive cabinets of books before him, he promptly delegated the free labor.

“Put the prisoner down and help me go through the Raines family genealogy.”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean ‘huh’? Forgot you’ve been conscripted by me?”

“…”

Remembering her current “status,” the female police officer, who needed his help, obediently complied.

Rejecting the two attendants who offered assistance, and amid their strange glances, she tightly bound the prisoner. Then, as if struck by an idea, she hurried back and leaned close to Li Ang’s ear, whispering excitedly:

“I get it! You’re going to check the Raines family genealogy first, looking for those with abnormal life paths or sudden rises to wealth—then dig into their crimes, right?”

“…”

You know what? I actually was thinking that…

But I’m not looking for crimes—I’m looking for traces of profit gained through abnormal objects. Those whose “rags-to-riches” stories clearly don’t add up are more likely to have had contact with the Ram’s Heart.

Li Ang glanced at her, slightly surprised, then nodded slowly, half-truthfully:

“Something like that.”

“I knew it!”

Confirmed in her suspicion, the female police officer clenched her fist triumphantly, then, like a thief caught in the act, glanced furtively at the attendants across the room before whispering:

“How can I help?”

“You? Just handle this.”

After a moment’s thought, Li Ang rummaged through the shelves and pulled out a relatively thin register, handing it to her.

“You’re a police officer—you should be good at this.”