Chapter 214: Disappearance

The Liu family took away the body, and the matter was thus closed.

The Ministry of Justice did not pursue the matter, and Niu Yucheng felt a great weight lifted. Chen Guanlou kept his promise and took the jailers to Guanmei Tower for a drunken binge.

The court was in chaos, but it had little to do with the Heavenly Prison. The Embroidered Uniform Guard, however, was extremely busy.

That day, the sky was overcast, and Chen Guanlou was assigned night shift.

Since arriving at the Heavenly Prison, Chen Guanxin had gradually grown flush with cash and, feeling wealthy, began showing off. After being scolded several times by the other jailers, he finally began to rein himself in.

He had always had a gambling habit, and the night-shift gambling den at the prison suited him perfectly.

Chen Guanlou had expected the boy to lose everything down to his underwear, but surprisingly, he won some and lost some, ending up with a small net profit overall.

For this, Chen Guanxin was especially proud.

Chen Guanlou found it hard to believe. "If you're this skilled, why did you lose everything at the gambling dens?"

"You don't understand, Chen Tou." By protocol, Chen Guanxin addressed Chen Guanlou as Chen Tou inside the prison; only when off-duty did he casually call him Lou-ge.

"The jailers here are this level." He held up his little finger. "Outside, the gambling dens have masters on the floor—they never let gamblers win. Even if someone does win, it's to lure bigger fish."

"If you know how gambling dens work, why do you keep going there every few days?"

"I'm after the atmosphere! Chen Tou, don't you think the gambling dens have a great vibe—with courtesans to keep company? Here in the prison, it's just a bunch of roughnecks. That smell—I still can't get used to it."

Chen Guanlou gave him the middle finger. "I won't try to get you to quit gambling—you won't anyway."

"If only my father were as reasonable as you," Chen Guanxin sighed.

"All I ask is that you don't stake all your money on the table. Your father sent you here to make money, not to lose it. These past months, you've earned a little alongside me. Put it together—you can easily afford a small house. Don't end up with no money and no house, and your father blaming me for corrupting you."

"No way. Most of what I earn, I give to my mother to hold for me. Put it all together, and I really can buy a small house. Hehe…" Chen Guanxin beamed.

"Good. Get to work."

"Got it! Hey, there's something I'm not sure whether I should mention."

"What is it?" Chen Guanlou didn't think the man could say anything important.

Chen Guanxin scratched his head. "It's not anything urgent. I heard that the Liu family's steward has gone missing."

"Who? Which Liu family?" Chen Guanlou froze, asking instinctively.

"The Liu family of Liu Daowen! His steward used to come to the prison often—I knew him well. A few days ago, I heard he vanished—no trace alive or dead."

Chen Guanlou snapped back to awareness, his expression startled. "Missing? Embezzled and fled?"

"How could he? The Liu household was confiscated, the family exiled—the steward was on the exile list too. Now people suspect he couldn't bear the hardship of exile and ran away secretly. Nothing was taken—there wasn't much left anyway."

Naive.

Rabbits have three burrows—even a three-year-old knows that. Liu Daowen must have hidden money elsewhere. Now that Liu Daowen is dead, the only person who knows where is the steward. Even Lady Liu probably didn't know about her husband's outside affairs.

The steward disappearing now? Either he stole the money and fled, or he was captured and interrogated.

"He was a household-born servant—so loyal. Would he really run away?" Chen Guanlou recalled the steward's every action and manner. He was unquestionably loyal. A loyal servant, favored by his master, would flee now and end up on a wanted list?

He just couldn't believe it.

If he truly wanted to escape, he could wait until exile, retrieve the money, and vanish far from the emperor's reach—there were countless ways to fake death and assume a new identity. In the exile lands, no one knew him except the Liu family. He could start a completely new life, even protect the Liu household.

Disappearing now, with a manhunt notice out—it made no sense at all.

"Chen Tou, is this matter serious?" Chen Guanxin hesitated.

Chen Guanlou shook his head. "Not serious. By the way, who told you this?"

"I can't remember exactly who said it. So many people come and go—I just overheard it once."

"Alright, I understand."

Chen Guanlou lingered in the duty room a while, then summoned Qian Fugui. "Is Liu Daowen's cell occupied now?"

"No. It's been empty all along."

Hearing this, Chen Guanlou immediately rose and headed for the cell.

Qian Fugui followed behind. "Chen Tou, if you're looking for something, let me find it."

Chen Guanlou stood inside the cell, expression grim. He kicked aside the straw, searching for traces. He ordered Qian Fugui: "Look for any notes, check the walls for writing."

Qian Fugui, confused, obeyed anyway. "Chen Tou, nothing's here. The walls have scratches, but the marks are years old. No notes at all."

Chen Guanlou sighed—and secretly exhaled in relief.

"Alright, that's enough."

Later, Chen Guanlou took time to visit the Liu residence.

The Liu residence was long empty, its doors still sealed with official wax. He scaled the wall. The once-luxurious estate had, in mere days, fallen into ruin—everything valuable had been seized, leaving only broken copper, rusted iron, and furniture with broken legs.

Inside the rooms, apart from ruined furniture, everything was bare—not even a scrap of paper remained. The study had been stripped bare: only walls and ceiling left.

The courtyard was pockmarked with holes, walls smashed with large gaps, even the latrine hadn't been spared.

The confiscation was thorough—left not even a speck of mosquito flesh.

He brushed his fingers across the window frame's dust. These days had been sunny, dust swirling everywhere. The amount of dust matched the timing of the confiscation.

No clues at all.

Yet the steward's disappearance remained lodged in his mind, stubbornly lingering.

Without reason, only instinct—he felt the steward's disappearance was directly tied to Liu Daowen's sudden death. He now increasingly suspected Liu Daowen's death concealed unknown details. But no matter how he thought it through, the logic didn't hold.

Yet he trusted his instinct.

His instinct had never lied—it had even saved his life. Like when Qi Wuxiu had been wounded and stumbled to his home at night—if not for his instinct warning him to act first, he would have died at the hands of the Ghost Domain Sect disciples. The corpse buried in the corner of his house wouldn't have been one of them.

From the moment Liu Daowen fell ill to his death, his instinct had persistently warned him something was wrong—yet he could never find what.

Until the steward vanished—his intense instinct gave rise to a wildly absurd guess: Could it be that Liu Daowen never died at all?