Chapter 126: Chapter Fifty-six [Field Investigation] (Part I)

Liu Kuohai brought Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan to Qingyun Qiao; the water of Tongji He had become much gentler, with several ferries crossing the river surface. Since Qingyun Qiao was washed away by the flood, ferries have become the main way for the populace to cross the river; otherwise they would have to go downstream seventy li to find Yongji Qiao.

Hu Xiaotian picked up a flat stone on the riverbank and skipped it across the water; the stone bounced and hopped all the way to the middle of the river before sinking. Liu Kuohai also tried to imitate him, picking up a stone, but he failed to control his strength; the stone didn't skip and went "thud!" straight into the water.

Hu Xiaotian said, "You can't rely solely on brute force when doing things; often you need to use this." He tapped his own head.

Liu Kuohai gave an embarrassed smile, feeling grateful to Hu Xiaotian: "Sir Hu, you secretly let me out; won't that cause trouble?" Uttering those words showed he had started to think.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Don't worry; since I've released you, I guarantee you'll be fine." If it weren't for settling the Wan Family's issue and threatening Wan Boping into honestly withdrawing his lawsuit, Hu Xiaotian certainly wouldn't have taken it upon himself to release Liu Kuohai. He sat on the broken bridge abutment by the bank, gazing at the flowing river ahead, lost in thought.

Murong Feiyan was talking with the boat boss at a makeshift dock in the distance; after a while she returned to Hu Xiaotian's side.

Hu Xiaotian lazily asked, "What news did you gather?"

Murong Feiyan said, "He said this bridge wasn't washed away by the flood; it was blown up by someone!"

Hu Xiaotian frowned slightly: "Blown up by someone? How could that be?"

Murong Feiyan said, "Last month there were continuous heavy rains, a sudden mountain flood, and everyone thought the bridge was washed away by the flood, yet a boatman said he heard a earth-shaking explosion that night."

Liu Kuohai, who had been nearby, walked over, nodded, and said, "I also heard that sound that day; everyone said it was thunder, but now thinking back it doesn't seem like it. After dawn we heard about the mountain flood bursting out, and Qingyun Qiao was washed away."

Murong Feiyan said, "I just walked along the riverbank around Qingyun Qiao and found many scattered stones, all of which came from the bridge itself." She pointed to a section of blue stone railing not far away and continued, "If a mountain flood had collapsed the bridge, even if the bridge collapsed, the stones and railing should have fallen into the water. Moreover, they would have remained largely intact; there shouldn't be so many stones scattered on the riverbank. From the breakage marks on the railing, it appears to have suffered a strong impact, not the water flow. Besides, the bridge sits high above the water; if a mountain flood had knocked down the bridge deck, the riverbanks would have already breached."

Hu Xiaotian thought Murong Feiyan's analysis made perfect sense and nodded.

Liu Kuohai said, "Actually Qingyun Xian experiences mountain floods every year; last month's rain wasn't particularly heavy. We're also puzzled as to why the bridge collapsed."

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Do you still remember which day it was?"

Liu Kuohai replied, "The thirtieth of last month; I remember it very clearly."

Hu Xiaotian silently calculated; today is the tenth of the sixth month, which is just over ten days since the bridge broke. He pointed upstream and said, "Let's go upstream!"

With Liu Kuohai as a guide who knows the way, they naturally didn't have to worry about direction. Liu Kuohai had grown up in Qingyun Xian and was extremely familiar with the local terrain. Although he didn't know what Hu Xiaotian intended to do upstream, Hu Xiaotian was his lifesaver; without Hu Xiaotian's help, he would still be locked up in prison.

The three followed the riverbank upstream for about five li, when two tall mountains came into view ahead; Tongji He flows out from the valley between these two great mountains.

Liu Kuohai introduced, "The mountain on the left is called Wo Niu Shan, the one on the right is La Li Shan; from our current position, doesn't it look like a farmer driving an old ox to plow the field?"

Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan looked ahead and indeed saw a certain resemblance; Hu Xiaotian smiled, "I didn't expect you to be such a good guide."

"Guide..."

Hu Xiaotian explained, "It means a person who leads tourists."

Liu Kuohai suddenly understood, "Sir Hu, speaking of familiarity with the terrain around Qingyun, there really aren't many who can surpass me."

Seeing the sun high in the sky, it was noon; Murong Feiyan softly asked Hu Xiaotian, "Sir, should we continue onward?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded, "Let's go a bit further; it's rare to come out and relax, so we might as well treat it as a trip."

Murong Feiyan had long grown accustomed to Hu Xiaotian's constant stream of novel expressions; Liu Kuohai listened, blinking in confusion, though he thought it was simply his lack of worldly experience—Sir Hu being an official from the capital, whose sophistication was hardly something a petty commoner from a remote county like him could grasp.

Entering the valley between Wo Niu Shan and La Li Shan, trees along the riverbanks were lush and verdant, blocking out the sky. Due to the elevation difference of the slopes, this stretch of the river became extremely rapid; the mountains on both sides, eroded over the years, had formed many broken cliffs and jagged cliffs. The special geography made water vapor hard to dissipate quickly, accumulating in the valley, so the humidity there was extremely high, benefiting plant growth; towering ancient trees and thousand-year-old vines could be seen everywhere.

Only a three-foot-wide path could pass through the valley; because few people traveled it, the trail was overgrown with weeds and vines everywhere. Murong Feiyan had to draw her long sword to cut the vines blocking the way, and even she didn't know why Hu Xiaotian wanted to keep going forward—was it just for fun, or did he have some other motive?

Hu Xiaotian made an unexpected discovery: the valley's damp, cool climate was conducive to plant growth, and he found many varieties of medicinal herbs there—plantain, sanqi, tienqi, and the like, which were readily visible, naturally catching his attention. Moving forward, the water ahead suddenly narrowed, and scattered gravel littered the narrow path beside the riverbank.

Hu Xiaotian picked up a stone from the ground; it was half a pebble, its broken edge very fresh, indicating it hadn't been long. The ground was littered with many stones, most of them fractured and damaged, having lost their natural state—definitely the result of external force.

Several people followed the slope toward Tongji He; remnants of a dam could still be seen at the river's edge. Murong Feiyan lightly leapt onto the remaining dam segment, while Hu Xiaotian, lacking her agility, stood on the bank and warned her, "Be careful—the current is too swift; if you fall in, you're done for."

Murong Feiyan laughed, "Coward!" After pausing to observe for a moment, she returned to Hu Xiaotian's side and said, "Someone must have built a dam here before."

Hu Xiaotian had already noticed that.

Liu Kuohai wondered aloud, "Why build a dam here? There's plenty of rain this year; no need to store water. Besides, I've never heard of anyone building a dam on Tongji He before."

Hu Xiaotian said, "The purpose of building a dam is to store water, but the aim of storing water is not to save it for later irrigation; rather, someone likely wanted to create a mountain flood to wash away the bridge. Upon realizing this plan was impractical and the bridge remained intact, they had no choice but to fall back on blowing up the bridge."

Murong Feiyan gazed at Hu Xiaotian, admiration shining in her beautiful eyes. Hu Xiaotian's thinking was meticulous, analyzing the scene before him down to the finest detail.

Liu Kuohai asked, "But Qingyun Qiao hasn't offended them; why would they blow it up?"

"Good question!" Hu Xiaotian continued forward, with Liu Kuohai closely following his steps. Hu Xiaotian said, "Qingyun Qiao is the eastern throat of Qingyun Xian, linking the official roads to Xiezhou and Xizhou. If Qingyun Qiao were destroyed, aside from boats, what other means would there be to cross by ferry?"

Liu Kuohai pondered, "One would have to go downstream seventy-plus li, where there is still a Yongji Qiao."

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Does Yongji Qiao still belong to Qingyun Xian?"

Liu Kuohai shook his head, "Yongji Qiao belongs to Honggu Xian."

Murong Feiyan said, "If your hypothesis is correct, and Qingyun Qiao was deliberately sabotaged, then their goal is likely to cut off this route, forcing people to detour toward Honggu Xian and cross Yongji Qiao there."

Hu Xiaotian turned to Liu Kuohai and asked, "Are there any bandits along the way from Qingyun to Honggu Xian?"

Liu Kuohai thought and shook his head, "The fiercest bandits around Qingyun are those from Tianlang Shan; Tianlang Shan lies to the southwest of Qingyun, and they mainly prey on merchant caravans from Southern Viet. I've never heard of them operating on this road, and in recent years Southern Viet has seen few caravans passing through Tianlang Shan—they prefer to detour via Hei Liang Shan."

Hu Xiaotian said, "If a merchant caravan came from the west, wouldn't it avoid Tianlang Shan?"

Liu Kuohai replied, "Caravans from Shajia Country and Baiyue Country in the west certainly wouldn't go that way; besides, Dakang has not been on friendly terms with those two nations for decades, and in my memory there has never been a caravan from either of them."

Murong Feiyan picked up a stone from the ground, flicked it in her hand, suddenly fixed her gaze on a spot deep in the woods, flicked her wrist, and the stone shot out like a bolt of wind and lightning; a anguished cry came from the forest.

Murong Feiyan leapt into the air, performing a signature front flip plus a side flip. Liu Kuohai reacted instantly, bellowing and charging into the forest with heavy steps. If Murong Feiyan were a light-as-a-feather cloud-swallowing swallow, Liu Kuohai would be a fierce mountain-drilling leopard; being closer to that thicket, the rugged terrain posed no obstacle to him.

Hu Xiaotian started off slow, barely faster than his usual stroll; by the time he arrived, the person hiding in the woods had already been seized. Looking at the face, it was a familiar one—none other than the skinny fellow Jia Liu, who had twice gone to the county office to sue.

Liu Kuohai didn't bother with niceties; after seizing the fellow, he landed a fierce punch to the face, causing Jia Liu's nose to gush blood and stars to burst before his eyes. Fortunately, Murong Feiyan arrived in time to stop him from throwing more punches.

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