Chapter 394: Investigating a Case (4)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Meanwhile, in an inn a kilometer away from the Imperial Boxing Dojo…

A murder had happened near the Imperial Boxing Dojo. In the past few days, constables had been patrolling the streets everywhere. Inns and other places were the focus of the government’s investigation.

In a room on the second floor of the inn, a middle-aged man dressed as a merchant nodded and bowed as he sent away the official conducting a routine inspection. Then he closed the door.

In the room, a man of medium build was sitting. He was dressed as an advisor and calculating accounts at the table with an abacus.

Other than a few boxes of groceries imported from Northern Liang, there were no other suspicious items in the room.

The middle-aged merchant listened attentively at the door. After confirming that the official had gone down the stairs and walked far away, he turned around and regained his Jianghu air. He took out a copper monocular from his chest and looked out the window at the Imperial Boxing Dojo in the distance. “They’ve been patrolling from door to door for the past three days. They definitely didn’t find any useful clues. 1 think this matter will be over in two days.”

The advisor sitting at the table pushed the abacus to the side with a dissatisfied expression. “You could have made up an excuse to avoid it, but you had to kill people. Do you think no one will care about a murder case in the capital like in Liang Province?”

The middle-aged merchant sighed. “If I could have avoided it, why would I have taken the risk? Whether someone is an expert or not, you’ll know after looking at each other. That old instructor wasn’t simple. If 1 didn’t attack directly, he would have shouted, and all the experts of the Imperial Boxing Dojo would have come…”

“Hmph! The commotion is so big. It would have been fine in the past. Other than the Eight-Armed Ksitigarbha and the deity in the palace, no one could do anything to us. But I heard that last night, the Prince of Jing returned to the capital, and Daoist Xuanji and Ye Jingtang followed her. Two Martial Chiefs are in the capital. Even the Pacifying Heaven Cult Master might not dare to come. If you reveal your tracks in advance, how are we going to get things done in the future?”

The middle-aged merchant put down his monocular and sat down across the table. “We’re not here to kill Martial Chiefs. As long as we keep a low profile in the future and don’t leak our whereabouts, those two Martial Chiefs won’t look for us out of thin air. Let’s get down to business first.

“Liu Qiansheng has been on the run for twenty years and only showed his face in the capital last month. The Black Office didn’t publicize it after capturing him. They must have secretly recruited him. Since he was recruited, he should be teaching boxing. I wandered around the Imperial Boxing Dojo for so many days, but 1 didn’t see any traces of Liu Qiansheng…”

The man dressed as an advisor put down his teacup. “I’ve already told you that the Imperial Boxing Dojo doesn’t just teach boxing. The word ‘boxing’ means martial arts. Furthermore, the most powerful instructors there are only Grandmasters. Liu Qiansheng is a former Martial Chief. The instructors inside might not even understand what he teaches. Why would he stay there to teach students…”

“Then, besides this place, where else can we find Liu Qiansheng? We can’t go to the Prince of Jing Estate to look for him. Daoist Xuanji and Ye Jingtang may be there. It’s best if we don’t get close to them within a two-kilometer radius.”

“Since he’s teaching boxing, there should be some news in the martial arts industry. We’ll slowly investigate. Let’s check out another matter first.”

At this point, the advisor tapped his fingers on the table and thought for a moment. “The gang leader specially instructed us to find that apothecary from Northern Liang and find out the formula for the Heavenly Carnelian Bead. I reckon that the apothecary was escorted back with the ships yesterday…”

The middle-aged merchant was a little puzzled about this. “What exactly is the Heavenly Carnelian Bead? The gang leader is such a peerless hero, but he actually put aside his hatred to look for this thing first?”

“When the gang leader was young, his martial arts were crippled by Liu Qiansheng. He ran to Northern Liang to look for the Snow Lake Flower and finally found it in a small tribe. He even learned some secrets. It’s said that the Heavenly Carnelian Bead is a divine bead given by the heavens to the leader of all tribes. Whoever has it is the person chosen by the heavens. Hmm… It’s similar to our Great Wei’s divine right of sovereignty.”

The advisor took a sip of tea and continued, “Our Hong Mountain Gang transports salt and iron to the various tribes of the Western Sea all year round and has a good relationship with them. The people there also admire the gang leader’s peerless martial arts. As long as we obtain the Heavenly Carnelian Bead, we might be able to rebuild the Heavenly Carnelian Cavalry. At that time

H

The middle-aged merchant shook his head and interrupted, “The people of Jianghu are indeed from Jianghu. Don’t be so ambitious. The Pacifying Heaven Cult Master is so powerful, but he doesn’t even dare to mention publicly the restoration of Great Yan. If we rebel…”

“The Pacifying Heaven Cult has no possibility of rising to power in the Heavenly South. Liang Province is different. The people are valiant and produce warhorses, and there are endless retreat routes in the north. Since ancient times, it has been the den of rebels… By the way, I heard that the new Saber Chief, Ye Jingtang, is also from Liang Province. People often say that the poor study civil arts while the rich practice martial arts. Liang Province is so poor, but it has produced two Martial Chiefs. The fortune tellers in Jianghu say that the Emperor Star has descended to the mortal world. Now, the ‘great luck’ has landed in Liang Province. Our gang leader is the overlord of Liang Province. If he rises in power, won’t he emerge to meet a historic destiny…”

The middle-aged merchant felt that it made sense, but after some thought, he frowned and said, “Ye Jingtang belongs to Liang Province and is also a Martial Chief. What if the person of the Emperor Star descending to the mortal world and great luck is Ye Jingtang?”

“?? Shut up if you don’t know how to speak!”

“Oh…”