Chapter 895

Wang Hai tailed him for several nights in a row and finally had something to show for it.

"Last night, Xiao Jincheng went to see Eunuch Wei. Eunuch Wei is a Grandmaster; I didn't dare get close to eavesdrop and could only slip away from afar. I didn't find out what exactly they talked about."

Wang Hai appeared somewhat frustrated, frustrated by his own low cultivation.

Chen Guanlou, however, burst into laughter, looking very satisfied, "I knew there was something fishy going on. I just didn't expect this matter to actually involve Wei Wubing."

"You don't think this case is related to Eunuch Wei, do you?"

"Even if it's not related, barring any accidents, they are both in the know. Who the Blood-Sucking Demon King is, and which warrior suffered Qi deviation—the answer is already about to emerge. Hahaha..."

Chen Guanlou laughed smugly.

Wang Hai was completely bewildered and didn't quite understand.

"Who is the culprit? You really guessed it?" He didn't quite dare to believe it.

Chen Guanlou smiled with feigned mystery, "Knowing too much is no good for you. The tailing mission ends here. Happy to have worked with you."

Upon hearing this, Wang Hai was displeased, "The answer hasn't been revealed yet, and the culprit hasn't been caught, yet you're already burning bridges. Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, this is not the attitude for cooperation."

"You took money to do a job; the job is done, the cooperation is over. How is that not the attitude for cooperation? Brother Wang, Eunuch Wang, you need to abandon your mindset as a eunuch and re-establish the logic of a businessman. Doing business is all about money and goods being settled. Tell me, are we square or not?"

"You at least have to tell me who the culprit is."

"You're not even a case-handling officer, not even a staff member of the Three Judicial Offices, why should I tell you? Get out, get out, get out!"

Chen Guanlou turned his back on him and refused to recognize him.

When the other party was useful to him, he called him brother and addressed him as Brother Wang.

Now that the mission was complete and he was useless, he kept telling him to get out.

He performed the act of turning cold and heartless to perfection.

Wang Hai was so angry he was stunned; he could just keep tailing him anyway.

Chen Guanlou saw through his thoughts, "Don't say I didn't warn you; you'd better not get involved in what comes next, because those people are not ones you can afford to provoke. Watch out for your little life! Also, I'm not telling you who the culprit is because I'm only guessing, and it's fraught with danger; I'm afraid of implicating you. If something happened to you, wouldn't that be my fault?"

He changed his previous "get out" attitude and spoke earnestly, trying to use an emotional appeal to drive Wang Hai away.

Wang Hai sat in the chair and snorted coldly, "Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen has a silver tongue; you make burning bridges sound so fresh and refined."

"Not at all! This is not burning bridges. Do you understand the rules? Where is it that the person executing the task turns around and demands answers and the truth from the employer? If you had this style of working in the gangs, you would have been beaten out with sticks long ago."

Chen Guanlou found the other party very annoying and was quite disgusted; he was just short of physically sending him away.

Wang Hai smiled enigmatically, "If you won't say, I can probably guess a little bit. Farewell!"

"Walk slowly, I won't see you out! Don't try to be a hero! I don't want to be sending you funeral offerings tomorrow!"

"Nothing good ever comes out of a dog's mouth! I'll still be alive when you're dead!" Wang Hai left behind a parting shot and walked far away.

Chen Guanlou chuckled; he was going to let Brother Wang down. He had the Fruit of Longevity; he would still be alive when everyone else in the world was dead.

After pondering for a while, he decided to tell Sun Daoning, lest he fall into a trap and be used as a stepping stone.

He went to the Ministry of Justice, saw Sun Daoning, leaned in close, and whispered a sentence.

Upon hearing this, Sun Daoning's complexion changed instantly, and his eyes darted around, looking very panicked.

"Really?"

"It should be eight or nine parts certain. Old Sun, the water here is deep; hurry up and withdraw. The fifth corpse has already appeared, yet the Embroidered Uniform Guard hasn't made any big moves. The daily investigations are just a sham, just for show. It's very clear that the Embroidered Uniform Guard, at least Xiao Jincheng, has long known the culprit's identity and has just been holding back and not saying anything."

Sun Daoning frowned tightly, "What should be done then? Withdrawing is easy to say, but hard to do."

"Don't you know how to slack off? It's nothing more than being scolded a few times; it won't cost you a pound of flesh anyway. Hurry up and pull back the people outside; don't investigate this case anymore, just slack off completely. Just muddle through it! Even I have to keep my distance; for people I have to detour around when I see them, the Six Sects rushing in would purely be throwing their lives away!"

Chen Guanlou was genuinely thinking for his brother unit, not wanting everyone to die in vain. He was advising Old Sun with one hundred percent sincerity not to take risks. Being scolded by the Emperor a few times wouldn't do anything. It wasn't like he was being dismissed from office. Even if he were dismissed, he could eventually be reinstated.

"Once I withdraw my people from outside, the other yamen will definitely suspect something."

"Let them suspect. Old Sun, you can't worry about other things now; the most important thing is to take care of yourself. Your own safety is more important than anything else."

Sun Daoning nodded slowly, accepting Chen Guanlou's point of view.

But he asked curiously, "Don't you plan to do something?"

"What kind of person do you think I am? I'd have to be crazy to go join in the fun." Chen Guanlou had an expression of firmly drawing a line, which made people very helpless.

"What a pity!" Sun Daoning sighed.

Chen Guanlou silently raised a middle finger. He knew what Old Sun wanted him to do—nothing more than fishing in troubled waters. However, the fish weren't that easy to catch; if you weren't careful, you'd be seriously injured at best, or lose your life at worst.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about playing dirty, but after assessing his strength, he silently dismissed the idea.

"What's a pity! You should be happy that you can finally withdraw. The ten-day deadline is approaching. Barring any accidents, Xiao Jincheng will make a ruthless move before the deadline. Just watch the show when the time comes."

Sun Daoning nodded; as the case had developed to this point, watching the show was indeed the only option left.

Since the Embroidered Uniform Guard was taking full responsibility, the Ministry of Justice should naturally accommodate them.

That very day, he issued an order to withdraw all personnel handling the case outside, organized the files, and prepared to hand them over at any time.

Chen Guanlou, meanwhile, hid in the Heavenly Prison, counting money!

It's easy to spend money you didn't earn.

When an imprisoned official came to him to sell antiques and paintings, he accepted them gladly. Following the old rules, the Hou Fu would look at the goods first. If the Hou Fu liked them, they would be sold to the Hou Fu; if the Hou Fu didn't like them, he would contact other buyers.

Over the years, the Hou Fu had acquired many antiques and paintings from him at low prices, and the warehouse was almost full. A rough calculation showed the transaction amount was already an astronomical figure.

The Hou Fu was rich!

With hundreds of years of accumulation, plus the Master having been raking in money in the Northwest all these years, the wealth of the Hou Fu could only be described as a mountain of gold and silver.

For this batch of goods, the Hou Fu bought everything and even said the more the better. They told him to find ways to fleece the imprisoned officials for more.

Chen Guanlou:...

He loved money, but he wasn't greedy.

Better to follow the normal procedures; don't push people too hard and ruin his reputation.

When leaving the Hou Fu, he didn't forget to nag, "It hasn't been peaceful these past few days; everyone should keep the doors locked and watch the children. Don't be thinking about going out to play all day. It won't be too late to go out after this period passes."