Chapter 164: 164 The Investigation Hits a Dead End

The tense atmosphere in Wushan Fortress was dispelled by the arrival of Princess Blanche.

As an eyewitness to the event and the core figure whom Buluoer and Hesusu were protecting, her account would determine the direction of the entire matter.

If she wished, she could hold Wushan Castle accountable and bring immense trouble to Lulansi and the others;

at the same time, if she were willing to put in a good word for Wushan Castle, the matter could be resolved very simply.

In fact, her stance had already been made clear the moment she spoke her first words upon entering the fortress: this matter had no direct connection to Wushan Castle.

Not only that, she praised Wushan Castle's speed of response and expressed high praise for Luoning's composure in the face of danger.

Although the Princess did not pursue the matter, Lulansi still apologized for the lack of proper planning for the itinerary and expressed his gratitude for Her Highness the Princess's magnanimity.

A dispute thus ended in such an atmosphere of exchange.

Of course, what needed to be investigated still had to be investigated; this matter could not end so easily, and now it depended on the results from Regiment Commander Tolu's side.

Night.

When night fell, Wushan Castle ushered in a moment of celebration.

In the luxurious hall, golden murals shimmered under the illumination of the lights, reflecting a luxurious and solemn atmosphere.

The air was permeated with a faint incense, which intertwined with the music played by professional zither players and musicians to form a magnificent movement.

Nobles dressed in various exquisite formal wear moved through the crowd, enjoying the lively atmosphere brought by the banquet under the service of those meticulously dressed attendants.

The evening banquet Wushan Castle had arranged for Her Highness the Princess was neither canceled nor postponed.

Everyone, including the host of this banquet, Princess Blanche, showed no signs of anything unusual, as if the assassination attempt experienced during the day had never happened.

Luoning did not attend this banquet; following Lulansi's instructions, he was currently lying on his bed, recuperating his Mental Power while listening to Maiken's report.

After the Wushan Castle Knights took over the Colosseum in the afternoon, Tolu had led his men to conduct detailed interrogations and screenings of all the Colosseum staff and the spectators who had come to watch that day.

However, no valuable intelligence had been obtained.

First of all, among all the assassins in this incident, except for the Golden Knight who had successfully escaped, everyone else had died.

Even for assassins from the Skull Society, there would usually be a mark of the Skull Society on them, but this time Tolu had not found any valuable clues on the corpses or clothing of these assassins.

As for the identities of these people, they were registered, but the Colosseum allowed entry to anyone who could pay, so expecting it to establish a rigorous real-name system was impossible.

"The most critical thing is that Mondo who posed as a gladiator."

Luoning put forward his own thoughts, "Has there been any investigation into this person?"

Maiken nodded, but then shook his head.

"According to the Colosseum's records, this gladiator Mondo had already appeared at the Wushancheng Doushouchang a year ago, and he has won many matches since then; many spectators have an impression of this gladiator."

Luoning raised an eyebrow—the other party had been there over a year ago?

At that time, his predecessor hadn't even died yet, and Lulansi hadn't had any thoughts of a marriage alliance; it was impossible for the other party to have foreseen that Princess Blanche would come to the Wushancheng Doushouchang.

Luoning did think of one possibility.

That was that this Mondo was an assassin who had been lurking in Wushan City under the guise of a gladiator, and his purpose here was to wait for the right opportunity to assassinate some figure—a figure who was not Blanche.

However, it was due to Blanche's sudden visit that the other party changed their target.

"How did he join the Colosseum?" Luoning asked.

If they could find clues about relationships like an introducer, then there would be something to investigate.

"According to the Colosseum management, Mondo was a down-and-out Knight at the time, and hearing that one could earn a decent income by completing a performance at the Colosseum, he signed up."

Maiken replied, "At that time, in order to enter the Colosseum, Mondo bribed the screening personnel, willing to donate ten percent of his income to them for free, so he became a gladiator."

This was like duckweed without roots; no matter how one investigated the surface, if the bottom was gone, it was impossible to find where the source lay.

"Then has there been an investigation into the green-skinned giant troll?"

Luoning pondered for Along while and asked again, "I heard from Blanche that this kind of green-skinned giant troll is not common in the Wushan Magical Beast Mountain Range, but is more common in the Miwu Mountain Range. Has Tolu investigated where the green-skinned giant troll was transported from?"

Although the distance from Wushan Castle to the Miwu Mountain Range was shorter than to Shanlin Town, the cost of transporting a Level 3 Magical Beast from there would not be small.

The Wushancheng Doushouchang was, after all, a commercial enterprise, and as long as it was business, it had to pursue profit.

Knowing that it would cost a huge price, yet still insisting on transporting the green-skinned giant troll over—was there some other purpose?

Maiken was startled and shook his head, "It seems this hasn't been investigated."

Luoning urged, "Then go notify Tolu and have him investigate from this angle to see if there will be any gains."

"Yes, My Lord!"

Maiken acknowledged the order and immediately walked out.

Luoning couldn't help but rub his temples; if this assassination ended with nothing found, it would be too embarrassing.

No matter how biased Blanche was, it was only reasonable for Wushan Castle to provide an explanation one way or another.

"Could it be that in the end, we just let the Colosseum's screening officer take the fall?"

While he was distressed, an unexpected figure appeared in the room.

Luoning looked up and saw Lulansi standing before the bed.

"Hmm?"

He looked toward the door in surprise, feeling puzzled that Tangmu had not announced him.

Tangmu spread his hands with a helpless expression; it wasn't that he didn't want to announce him, but that Lulansi had signaled him not to move.

"I thought you had fallen asleep."

Lulansi pulled over a chair and sat by the bed, "If your Mental Power is depleted too much, your head will ache severely. How are you feeling now?"

Luoning hadn't expected the old man to come over specifically to ask about his condition.

"Thank you for your concern, Grandfather. I slept for two hours this afternoon, and I feel like I've recovered quite well now."

Luoning asked with a smile, "How was the evening banquet?"

"Very grand and lively; Princess Blanche received the reception she deserved."

Lulansi tightened the scarf around his neck and sighed faintly, "It is just a pity that this banquet was missing one protagonist."

Luoning's heart skipped a beat, "Oh? Who is it?"

Lulansi wore a smile that was not quite a smile, "Naturally, it is that heroic Knight who saved Her Highness the Princess and single-handedly killed two Advanced Knight assassins in return."

Speaking to this point, he looked straight into Luoning's eyes, "My grandson, Ronin Wushan."

Luoning revealed an awkward yet polite smile, "Grandfather, the stories outside are too exaggerated; I didn't kill those two in return so easily."

"This is not what I said."

Lulansi emphasized, "This was stated by the witness to everything, Her Highness the Princess."

Luoning felt helpless; he had only focused on having the other party conceal the fact that he was a Magician, but he had forgotten to mention the details of the battle.

"Speak, boy, what exactly is your strength right now?"

"Advanced Peak?"

Lulansi shook his head, "That is unlikely."

(End of this chapter)