Fushan Yue looked at He Lingchuan and said, “Tell me, do you think Wu Kai has already been killed by Cen Boqing to silence him, with this story about sending him north used as a cover?”

Wu Kai was Cen Boqing’s black glove, the dirty hand that did his work. Matters such as killing monsters for beads had very likely all been managed by him. The man was living, breathing evidence. Once Cen Boqing realized he could no longer clear himself of the courier case, would he simply eliminate this human witness?

“The odds are low.” He Lingchuan had been considering this possibility all along. “If Cen Boqing had already killed Wu Kai to silence him, he would only need to invent any convenient excuse—a trampling accident by the lakeshore, say, or a fatal fall. It wouldn’t be convincing, but the man would still be dead. And what could you or I do then? We’d have no choice but to admit he’d outplayed us.”

The moment the snail toad struck at Chao Lake Tower, He Lingchuan had called Fushan Yue to Baishajue and had Commander Lu surround the Cen Residence. The point was to race against time and prevent Cen Boqing from reacting in time.

Mr. Mai had said Cen Boqing lacked quick wits. After observing him for days, He Lingchuan had come to think that was true as well. Otherwise, after marrying the eldest daughter of Beijia’s Minister of Finance and accumulating some military merit too, why had his military rank never seemed to rise?

Lacking the talent for decisive action in the moment was a fatal weakness on the battlefield.

If they had let him go back, sleep on it, eat well, drink well, and think it through for half the night, he might well have understood the stakes, steeled his heart, and killed Wu Kai.

“So I’m more inclined to think Wu Kai is still alive, and that he really is no longer in the Cen Residence.”

“You mean Cen Boqing truly sent him off to Lingxu City?” Fushan Yue shook his head. “The timing was so tight, and he still split them into two separate departures? Besides, Wu Kai rarely ever leaves Cen Boqing’s side.”

He Lingchuan thought for a moment. “I have another theory. Maybe Wu Kai fled on his own, right when Commander Lu brought men to surround the Cen Residence, and Cen Boqing was too busy to think straight.”

“Fled...” Fushan Yue had been about to laugh, but the more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. “That idea of yours... Hm, you mean Wu Kai realized the danger before Cen Boqing did, figured his own life was in jeopardy, and climbed the wall to run?”

“When disaster looms, even husband and wife fly apart like birds taking separate wings, let alone master and servant. We can’t keep treating Cen Boqing and Wu Kai as one unified whole. If Wu Kai stayed, then either Cen Boqing would silence him, or we would capture him. Neither outcome would end well for him. It was simply better for him to leave at once,” He Lingchuan analyzed calmly. “After all, he knows our principal target is Cen Boqing. He can simply follow Mai Xuewen’s example and vanish to some far-off place.”

Fushan Yue stroked his chin. “There is a way to test that. Jiao Yu—”

The tiger rose and padded over, the tip of its tail swaying lightly.

Fushan Yue asked, “You said earlier that Wu Kai’s family is also here in Baishajue?”

Wu Kai had lost his son in middle age, but fortunately, his grandson had always been healthy. This time, his daughter-in-law had brought the boy with her to Baishajue as well. The two of them had rented a private house in Shoulder Pole Alley.

This was a clue Mai Xuewen had provided the day before. Jiao Yu had overheard it and immediately sent men to keep watch. Earlier, it had already reported the matter to the Crown Prince.

“Take men at once and place them under protection.” Fushan Yue smiled. “We can’t let Cen Boqing strike first.”

He Lingchuan gave him a sidelong glance. They had not seen each other for even a month, yet Fushan Yue had already learned the art of speaking prettily. What he clearly meant was taking them hostage for leverage, but he dressed it up as “protection.”

The tiger said nothing, turned at once, and strode out.

Only then did Fushan Yue turn serious again and say to He Lingchuan, “That man surnamed Mai even dared to swallow a Touring Commissioner. His nerve is bigger than yours or mine.”

Only bigger than yours. Why drag me into it? He Lingchuan had not yet finished grumbling inwardly when Fushan Yue continued, “The Zhongsun Family and the Minister of Finance will not let this go, and it is highly likely that this matter will alarm the Lord Emperor as well. We need to resolve this as quickly as possible. We must gather all the evidence, nail down Cen Boqing’s crimes, and make the case airtight. Otherwise, Baishajue is going to be hit by a violent storm.”

At that, he saw He Lingchuan hold out a hand toward him. “Hm? What is it?”

“The case is already more or less at the point where the truth has surfaced. Shouldn’t you hand over the thing we agreed on?”

“Hey. Cen Boqing hasn’t been brought to justice yet, so the case isn’t finished!” That was what Fushan Yue said, but he still reached into his robes and handed over an embroidered pouch. “Here. Take it.”

He Lingchuan took it and looked inside. It was a storage pouch with a capacity of about eight cubic meters. It was empty except for several materials piled in one corner.

These were the resources Fushan Yue had promised him for upgrading the golden-armored copper man.

There was enough of each that even if his refinement failed, he could still try again.

At last, Fushan Yue was being generous, not like that stingy prince on the road back to the capital. He Lingchuan counted through the contents once, then frowned. “One thing’s missing... Where’s that book explaining the black flood dragon design?”

One reason he had agreed to investigate the eastern imperial eagle courier case was that he had already negotiated terms with Fushan Yue: besides the materials needed to upgrade the golden-armored copper man, Fushan Yue was also supposed to find him a banned book.

That book contained a black flood dragon design.

“When the dust settles on this case, the book is yours.” Fushan Yue stretched lazily and stood up. “I had to sneak into the royal study three or four times before I found it. You’d better appreciate the effort.”

He Lingchuan rolled his eyes. Damn it, had handling this case not cost me effort too?

I nearly lost my life over here.

* * *

Baishajue was not a large place, and Shoulder Pole Alley was close by. Roughly three quarters of an hour later, the tiger returned.

“We didn’t catch them. Wu Kai’s daughter-in-law took the grandson and has already fled Shoulder Pole Alley.”

Fushan Yue was surprised. “Didn’t you station people to watch the place?”

“They could still see them moving about through the window earlier, but when the men went in to seize them, they were already gone.” Jiao Yu looked mildly embarrassed. “There was a hidden door in that house, leading directly into the rice shop next door.”

“No wonder Wu Kai rented that place. Hah, he called it rented, but it was probably property controlled by one of his own people.” Fushan Yue gave a cold laugh. “That man really is cautious.”

“And one more thing. The room had been cleaned especially thoroughly and fumigated with medicine. Not even a single hair was left behind.”

“They can’t have been gone even four hours. They’ll try to leave the city as fast as possible.” Fushan Yue immediately gave further orders to Jiao Yu. “Take men and search outward from the western gate and northern gate separately. Also send out hawk guards and have them watch the travelers on the road.”

A hawk’s eye was far sharper than a human one and could spot prey from the sky.

“Yes.”

Jiao Yu turned to go, but just then the goshawk flew in from outside and landed on the big tree beside Fushan Yue. “Your Highness, I intended to return with Lord Jiao, but before I left, I saw someone enter the house Wu Kai had rented for his grandson.”

“Oh? Who?”

“I followed them from behind and discovered the two men were guards from the Cen Residence.” Though Commander Lu had surrounded the Cen Residence with troops, the place was still not a prison. Servants could still go in and out to buy vegetables, empty chamber pots, and do errands. It was impossible to stop everyone completely. “Those two didn’t return to the Cen Residence afterward. Instead, they went up to the second floor of a shop across the street and used a mirror to signal into the residence.”

Well, well. They’re even using coded mirror signals. Fushan Yue thought for a moment and then burst into wild laughter. “Ahahahaha! Cen Boqing actually got stabbed in the back by his own loyal old servant!”

“You were right. Wu Kai wasn’t sent away by him. He fled on his own. Otherwise, why would Cen Boqing send people to search for his grandson?” Fushan Yue clicked his tongue twice. “No wonder Cen Boqing’s face looked so ugly when I demanded Wu Kai from him at the residence. Not only couldn’t he hand him over, but he’d also been turned into the rear guard shield by Wu Kai!”

“By surrounding the Cen Residence, we also blocked Cen Boqing’s attempts to search for Wu Kai.” He Lingchuan said calmly, “You could say we became Wu Kai’s shield as well.”

Fushan Yue’s laughter stopped abruptly.

“If you see through it but don’t say it, we can still be good friends.”

“The fact that Wu Kai kept a guard up against Cen Boqing, too, shows that this master-servant pair was never as united as they appeared. That’s good news.” He Lingchuan knew Fushan Yue had no principles to speak of and would absolutely do something like seize a man’s grandson. He had not intended to interrupt, but such a simple move had now dragged out a far more complicated chain of consequences, which instead piqued his interest. “The bad news is that Wu Kai and his people weren’t fleeing in a panic. They probably won’t be easy to catch.”

“How so?” Fushan Yue arched a brow. “Since when is there such a thing as a leisurely escape? What makes you say that?”

“Wu Kai didn’t know Mai Xuewen had given us that clue. In other words, he couldn’t have predicted that you’d go after his family, yet he had already prepared to get them out of Baishajue.” He Lingchuan laid it out. “If he could prepare a house with a hidden exit, then he naturally could have also prepared the route and arrangements for his family’s escape from Baishajue in advance. Hah, he probably already had people, carriages, and horses arranged and ready. That isn’t something done in haste. When something is this premeditated and prepared, it shouldn’t really be called running away anymore. It’s an organized withdrawal.”

Seen in that light, Wu Kai’s earlier attitude now made perfect sense.

The old man had possessed real confidence.

No wonder he had not let his daughter-in-law and grandson stay in the Cen Residence itself, instead having them rent a place outside. He had clearly made preparations to slip away at any time.

Fushan Yue was unconvinced. “If Wu Kai really understood the value of planning ahead, why didn’t he send his family away earlier? You and Cen Boqing have been clashing for days already.”

He Lingchuan said slowly, “He wasn’t only on guard against us.”

“Not just us?” Fushan Yue was no fool. After turning it over briefly in his mind, he gave a quiet “Oh.” “You mean he was guarding against Cen Boqing too?”

“Most likely.” He Lingchuan continued, “And the facts show he wasn’t wrong to.”

“He knew Cen Boqing was aware his daughter-in-law had brought the child to Baishajue for a visit. If that mother and son suddenly left early, Cen Boqing would immediately understand that Uncle Wu had started guarding against him as well.”

Fushan Yue said with interest, “This master and servant pair really are fascinating. Looking at it that way, if Wu Kai hadn’t managed to flee in time, then me detaining him would actually have been exactly what he wanted?”

“Otherwise, for the sake of his own safety, Cen Boqing would very likely have killed him the moment he got back.” He Lingchuan thought for a moment. “The fact that he hadn’t done so before suggests either that Wu Kai was very important or that Cen Boqing had other reasons to hesitate. But now that Zhongsun Mou is dead and everything is moving in an unfavorable direction, he may not care about those things anymore.”

He paused, then added, “Wu Kai has already escaped, and Cen Boqing is never going to confess. If we let these few days slip by, and the special envoy from Lingxu City arrives, the whole situation could take another turn. Just as you said earlier, how could the Minister of Finance possibly stand by and do nothing while his son-in-law is in trouble?”

Fushan Yue folded his arms. “If that’s the case, then didn’t I come here for nothing?”

If they wanted to convict Cen Boqing, the key was Wu Kai’s testimony. Everyone knew that Wu Kai was the trusted confidant of the Cen father and son. Only if he confessed could Cen Boqing truly fail to escape the law.

And yet Wu Kai had vanished at precisely the most critical moment.