Where Immortals Once Walked

Chapter 535: Splitting Up the Pursuit

Mai Xuewen had been more patient than Wu Kai, and far better at hiding who he really was.

Bai Ziqi mused, “If this man spent ten full years infiltrating your ranks, then either he bore you a deep and bitter grudge, or he was an agent planted by an enemy.”

Ten years was an awfully long time. What kind of person could sustain that sort of resolve, spending a full decade picking away at a target and gathering evidence day after day?

Wu Kai gave a bitter smile. “I’ve been turning it over in my mind again and again these past few days, but whether it’s Cen Boqing or me, neither of us has any enemy surnamed Mai.”

Something stirred in He Lingchuan’s mind, and he cut in, “The more important thing to consider is why he lied low for ten years, only to act now?”

Bai Ziqi slapped his palm lightly. “Excellent question. What do you think?”

He Lingchuan sneered inwardly, though on the surface, he only spread his hands in puzzlement. “Could it be that the timing finally ripened?”

“How so?”

“I’m an outsider. I don’t understand the current political situation here.” He Lingchuan smoothly added, “Has anything happened recently in Chiyan?” Then he continued at once, “Mai Xuewen had to account for the cost of taking a risk. If anything went wrong, ten years of effort would all go up in smoke. So his objective must have been extremely clear and extremely firm.”

At the words “clear and firm,” a glint flashed through Bai Ziqi’s eyes.

He wondered if this case was tied to the other case he himself had come to investigate.

Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that the courier case, the missing monsters case, and the matter that the gods and the Lord Emperor had separately tasked him with all surfaced in the State of Chiyan at nearly the same time?

Judging by the timing and location, Mai Xuewen lay well within the zone of reasonable suspicion!

This boy surnamed He isn’t wrong. Mai Xuewen must have needed a fitting trigger before making his move.

Bai Ziqi thought in silence for a moment, then turned to Wu Kai and asked, “Did Cheng Yu and Mai Xuewen have any prior grudge?”

“Ah?” This time, it was Wu Kai’s turn to have a blank look on his face. “I don’t know whether those two have ever even met before.”

Ordinarily speaking, those two had nothing to do with one another. But Wu Kai no longer dared to be sure of anything, because by now he had realized that he knew absolutely nothing about the real Mai Xuewen.

At that, He Lingchuan’s eyebrows lifted almost imperceptibly as well.

Why’s Bai Ziqi linking those two people together?

He said earlier that Cheng Yu might help him handle another case. So does that mean he suspects Mai Xuewen is connected to that other case as well?

Another case equally watched and valued by the gods?

“For the moment, though, the priority should still be to bring Cen Boqing in.” He Lingchuan gave a light cough, reminding Bai Ziqi what the most urgent task was. “If Cheng Yu wants to keep casting curses, then the two of them shouldn’t be able to get too far from Baishajue.”

“Correct. The farthest range of a killing curse is only about twenty to thirty kilometers.” Bai Ziqi nodded. “At most, they can find a safe place on the outskirts and stop there to work. Killing curses aren’t spells you can cast casually whenever you like. The stronger the curse, the more tightly it is constrained by timing and terrain.” Then he turned to Wu Kai and asked, “Where do you think Cen Boqing would hide?”

Wu Kai shook his head. “He prepared several hiding places in advance. But I doubt that he would go to any place that I know of with how things are.”

“He can still go to places you don’t know?” He Lingchuan smiled. “You’re his right-hand man. Whatever he knows, you ought to know, and whatever he doesn’t know, you probably ought to know too.”

Wu Kai frowned and thought for a very long time. Even Bai Ziqi was nearly losing patience when he finally said, “There are two places worth checking. The first is Xiao Qing, the chief maidservant who attends the madame personally. Two years ago, she married a small merchant surnamed Ye. Everyone thought they’d gone away to another region, but in truth, her husband lost everything in business, and they had no choice but to move back to his old residence in Xiaotan Town on the southern bank of the Liu River. Cen Boqing has never once mentioned them in front of me. I only heard of it last month from a gossiping old maid, who said she happened to run into Little Qing in Xiaotan Town. My guess is that if Cen Boqing already knew where the couple lived, he might go there to lie low for a while.”

Bai Ziqi nodded. “And the other place?”

“The other...” Wu Kai swallowed. “The estate I myself bought just before the New Year, out in the western suburbs.”

Even He Lingchuan stared blankly. “He’d go to your place?”

“That estate lies close to Mount Lang. The surroundings are remote and secluded. Other than the tenant farmers, no one goes near it.” Wu Kai gave a bitter smile. “I bought it as a place to retire, and also so that...” so my grandson could have a place to play. The moment he saw Bai Ziqi’s sharp gaze, he realized he had nearly said too much. Absolutely under no circumstances could he mention his grandson in front of this man. “But now that I’ve been arrested, the estate has no master. Cen Boqing might very well hide there.”

“That makes sense. The place no one thinks of is often the best hiding place.” Bai Ziqi fell into thought. “Right, there are still informants of yours among the constables, aren’t there? Cen Boqing didn’t flee sooner or later. He fled precisely when Commander Lu led troops into the residence. That’s probably not because he had nerves of steel, but because the timing was perfect.”

He Lingchuan hurried to chime in, “What does Deputy Cloud Envoy Bai mean?”

“The driver, Old Chen, was also inside the estate, so he naturally would be brought under the constables’ control. He couldn’t have slipped out on his own.”

“If that magical artifact known as the Climbing Fig Grotto-Heaven could still be carried out, and if Cen Boqing and Cheng Yu could still escape, then that means someone else outside was there to receive them! And this person not only had to be able to come into contact with Old Chen, but also without arousing suspicion, which means...”

He Lingchuan completed, “A constable!”

When Commander Lu led his men into the Cen Residence, all the servants were detained and watched. The only “outsiders” who could freely approach them were the soldiers and constables.

Given that Commander Lu’s men were all troops from outside the area, the ones most likely to have been bought off would still be County Magistrate Tian’s men.

A crooked beam made a crooked house. One only had to look at County Magistrate Tian’s conduct in office to know his underlings were hardly models of incorruptibility. If the Cen household could bribe one jailer, Pi Linhai, why could it not bribe a second constable?

“County Magistrate Tian’s subordinates need to be screened too.”

Wu Kai said softly, “No need. I’ll give you several names.”

Bai Ziqi glanced at Wu Kai, but ultimately handed him the heart-cleansing talisman for protection.

After all, he was an important witness and should ideally be escorted all the way back to Lingxu City alive.

Earlier, when Bai Ziqi had sent a guard to carry word to the Cen Residence, Fushan Yue had immediately dispatched more than a hundred riders each toward the northern outskirts of the city, to Xiaotan Town, and toward the estate in the western suburbs.

Time was everything. Under no circumstances could they allow those two another chance to escape.

Once the additional intelligence from Wu Kai arrived, the constables pulled Old Chen out from among the Cen household servants and questioned him about the whereabouts of the Climbing Fid Grotto-Heaven.

Old Chen tried to hide the truth at first, but once his wife and child were dragged over by Commander Lu and gleaming blades were set against their necks, he wilted at once.

The moment he confessed, the mole within the county office was identified as well. It was a constable named Zhou Tailai, one of the names Wu Kai had already provided. When the constables stormed the Cen Residence, Zhou Tailai had been assigned to watch the servants, and Old Chen had used the opportunity to slip the Climbing Fig Grotto-Heaven into his hands.

Fushan Yue had Zhou Tailai’s kneecaps broken at once, leaving him no room to hesitate, so the man immediately admitted that he had transported the Climbing Fig Grotto-Heaven to an empty house on Walnut Street near the northern gate.

But he truly had no idea the magical artifact could hide people, nor did he know fugitives were concealed inside it. He had thought he was merely smuggling one treasure out of the estate.

Beijia had endured nearly six hundred years of dynastic history, and no one knew how many powerful houses had collapsed into ruin over that time. Whenever soldiers rushed in to seize an estate, who among them did not behave like wolves and tigers, terrified of failing to grab some pearls or treasure for themselves?

The treasures that had lain forgotten in a family treasury for one or two hundred years, only to reappear on the open market and once again realize their true value, was it not thanks to the private pilfering of the rank-and-file soldiers? Zhou Tailai had assumed this time would be no different.

“The north of the city?” Fushan Yue let out a faint, mocking laugh. After He Lingchuan had brought Wu Kai back that morning, the city gates had all relaxed their alerts and stopped strictly searching those entering and leaving. That had given Cen Boqing and his people a chance to exploit the opening.

He at once redistributed his forces.

All three hundred of Commander Lu’s men, along with the Crown Prince’s several dozen personal guards, were sent toward Xiaotan Town in the northern outskirts beyond the city gate. That was the main focus of this pursuit.

As for the estate that Wu Kai had named in the western suburbs, Fushan Yue merely dispatched County Magistrate Tian’s constables to search it.

* * *

On the western outskirts of the city.

Fushan Yue, Fan Sheng, and Commander Lu had all gone north, so Bai Ziqi chose the western route.

“I wish you all success. I’ll go west and try my luck. Maybe a blind cat will catch a dead mouse.” Bai Ziqi had no intention of competing for the credit because even if Crown Prince Yue caught them, they would still ultimately be delivered into his custody and escorted back to Lingxu City.

At Fushan Yue’s signal, He Lingchuan went along with Bai Ziqi as well. Their group sped along the main road in the western suburbs.

Fortunately, the official roads outside Baishajue were broad, flat, and straight. Even at night, riding them did not feel dangerous.

To be honest, He Lingchuan disliked being near Bai Ziqi. His instincts kept warning him that this man was dangerous and ought to be avoided.

But his reason told him this was a perfect chance to observe one of Lingxu City’s high envoys up close, under the protection cast by the Crown Prince of Chiyan.

Bai Ziqi’s mount was a purebred spirit deer, white from head to hoof, with only a few pale blue stripes at the neck and haunches. Its eyes were blue too.

A mount this ethereal really did suit a cloud envoy of Star-Plucking Tower.

He Lingchuan had only cast the spirit deer two extra glances before Bai Ziqi noticed and turned with a smile. “Your mount is quite fine as well.”

This sort of spirit deer was a mount specially bred in Lingxu City, meant for nobles, ministers, and the mighty houses. It combined beauty with speed.

Of course, its most important quality was appearance. The purer the bloodline and the finer the outward look, the higher the price.

And there were still levels even among the best. The most expensive were limited editions that emitted a faint white glow by night, known as night-illuminators. Those were not necessarily obtainable even with money, such as the one Bai Ziqi rode now.

By comparison, He Lingchuan’s bighorn cliff ram looked dusty, rough-haired, and not nearly so perfectly proportioned in head, body, and limbs as the spirit deer.

He Lingchuan chuckled.

For the moment, he did not need a posing accessory.

Something that glowed like that on a battlefield was a living target, even more conspicuous than a white horse. If it did not get shot at, there would be no justice in heaven.

Bai Ziqi then said, “I heard that you wagered against Zhongsun Mou at Chao Lake Tower and personally entered the Lotus Palace to compete. At the time, did it never occur to you that Fan Sheng might use the confusion to take revenge?”

He Lingchuan put on a righteous face. “I had assumed that the dignified deputy commander of the Tongxin Guards would value his own status. If he wanted another match, I thought he’d come find me openly and properly.”

He had known all along that Lingxu City’s envoy would certainly take note of that matter.

Looking at Bai Ziqi, he sighed and said, “If I’d understood Deputy Commander Fan as well as Deputy Cloud Envoy Bai does, I probably wouldn’t have entered the contest myself at all. Staying up on Chao Lake Tower was much safer, wasn’t it?”

Two sentences, two hidden thorns. Yet Bai Ziqi seemed not to notice at all. “He attacked you from concealment while you were unprepared, and yet in the end you still won.”