884 Divulgence (2/2)

Before leaving, Gu Shenwei paid Dugu Xian a visit. The one-armed general still had those 10,000 Central Plains troops under control, but he only had the right to act in self-defense, and he hadn't been empowered to order them to attack proactively. When it came to large-scale movements, he still had to follow the orders of the Governor of the Western Regions.

Dugu Xian didn't know much about criminal investigations, so he only put forward a possibility concerning the future situation. ”If, by any chance the Central Plains refuse to let this go, we can't let the war happen in Jade City. You'll have to order the Norland cavalry to intercept the army of the Central Plains, and they should try to lure the enemy into the flat grasslands. That way, we'll stand a much better chance of winning.”

This was the worst-case scenario. Gu Shenwei asked Dugu Xian to formulate an operational plan, and then he left this issue aside, since he still wanted to find the murderer.

In the afternoon, Gu Shenwei entered southern Jade City. Hu Shining had secured a territory in the southeastern corner of the city, and he had built up over ten layers of safeguards, which was more than enough to defend against a siege of large numbers of sabersmen.

All sides had agreed to a ceasefire in the Four Noble Truths Temple. Zhong Heng had been working on this issue. When Gu Shenwei arrived, southern Jade City was in peace and was somewhat unduly quiet. Even the number of people coming here for pleasure had decreased.

Gu Shenwei was no longer the apprentice killer he used to be, and under normal circumstances, he wouldn't conduct an investigation himself. So as usual, Zhong Heng became his front man, and Xu Xiaoyi assisted him.

It only took Xu Xiaoyi half a day to restore his intelligence network to its former condition. ”It's a tough time for business, but that makes it easier to buy intelligence. The Dragon King doesn't care much about money, right?”

Gu Shenwei didn't. With the Meng family's wealth as a guarantee, his promise was worth gold. Besides, both Xiao Fengchai and Lü Qiying had their own way of making money, so the Dragon King didn't suffer any heavy financial losses.

”You found her?” he asked.

”I did.” Xu Xiaoyi glanced at Zhong Heng and then continued. ”This Lord Ma wasn't on a ”incognito visit.” Clearly he was on a ”incognito whoring.” Five nights ago, he stealthily moved from the Four Noble Truths Temple into northern Jade City, and for the next two consecutive nights, he went to Retention Alley to squander money. If it weren't for him being stabbed, he would have been there during the past few nights as well. He was obsessed with that bitch.”

Xu Xiaoyi had found that prostitute and the one who had asked her the questions was Zhong Heng. ”I was a little late. Someone from Golden Roc Castle had already gotten to her, so she was very cautious with her words, but she swore that the guest was just a common person and that he had paid her a lot of money. She said that there was nothing suspicious about the guest, and that she hadn't told anybody anything.”

”Was she telling the truth?”

”I think so. She didn't seem to know that this previous guest of hers was the envoy of the Central Plains.”

”That's weird.”

”Um. Ma Lian only spent two nights in Retention Alley, so there shouldn't be many people who knew about him going there. If the prostitute is not the one who divulged the secret, then it must be someone around Ma Lian who did it… ”

”Or someone from Golden Roc Castle,” Xu Xiaoyi didn't want to be ignored, so he interjected with this statement immediately. ”All of the guards at the checkpoints on the border between southern Jade City and northern Jade City are Golden Roc killers. They opened the gate for the envoy of the Central Plains at a regular time every night, which means that someone in Golden Roc Castle must know about Ma Lian's identity.”

Ma Lian had still been bribed secretly by Golden Roc Castle. Zhong Heng felt a little embarrassed. Fortunately, the Dragon King didn't mention this. Gu Shenwei said, ”The more suspicious Golden Roc Castle looks, the more unlikely it is truly responsible for this, because this is not how they operate.”

”You're right, Dragon King,” Xu Xiaoyi was still confused, but Zhong Heng had already understood what the Dragon King was trying to say. ”It's very easy to find evidence concerning Golden Roc Castle, but I suspect that the Unique King has some crucial pieces of evidence that can prove his innocence at the last moment.”

Gu Shenwei suspected that this was the reason why Wei Song wanted to ”frame” the Golden Roc Castle. He wanted the Dragon King to believe that he had succeeded, and then he would overturn the Dragon King's accusation with a crucial piece of evidence.

”Then we've narrowed the suspects down to those around Ma Lian.” Gu Shenwei made an deduction. ”Even this person is not the mastermind, he should be the one who divulged the secret.”

”This person's more likely than the latter,” Zhong Heng had thoroughly investigated them in the shortest amount of time. ”I sent someone to inquire about it. There were about five or six people who knew about the envoy's whereabouts, and all of them are common attendants. Even if they held grudges against Ma Lian, they're unable to hire professional killers. Thus, it is more likely that one of them was bribed and disclosed the information. If I can get the consent of the Central Plains to make some official inquiries about this, then I might be able to identify this person.”

”Go to Wei Song. He'll consent.”

”Yes,” Zhong Heng answered. At the thought of meeting with his immediate superior as the Dragon King's Prime Minister, he had complex feelings.

After talking with them for a little longer, Zhong Heng took his leave. Gu Shenwei requested Xu Xiaoyi to make more inquiries about the movements of the Golden Roc Castle, and then he rested alone for about an hour. When it was completely dark outside, he had someone call Shangguan Hong in.

Gu Shenwei was badly short-handed in southern Jade City. All those with decent kung fu skills had been assigned here, and Shangguan Hong was no exception. However, he was seldom dispatched to perform tasks.

”You were hurt?” Gu Shenwei asked when he saw him.

Shangguan Hong subconsciously touched his waist. ”I got anxious while practicing kung fu and twisted my waist.”

This was not a perfect lie, but Gu Shenwei didn't ask any further questions. ”Tonight, you'll be performing a task with me.”

”Yes,” Shangguan Hong answered respectfully, surprised by the Dragon King's trust in him.

”Let's go find Lotus,” said Gu Shenwei. He never hesitated when he needed someone's service.