I became a prince in a martial arts world.

Chapter 96 Investigation and Discovery

Pingxing County Government Office.

The magistrate of Daxing Prefecture sat in the head seat, trembling with fear, and dared not speak.

As the local official in charge of the entire prefecture, he was in charge of everything in Daxing Prefecture. Even when high-ranking officials from the imperial court came down to him, they treated him with courtesy. However, when faced with the two people in front of him, he could not be assertive no matter what.

One is Master Zongjian, the head of the Sumeru Courtyard of the Great Vajra Temple. He has been practicing the Vajra Dragon Elephant Kung Fu for decades. His Great Vajra Palm can withstand the power of the Pimo. He usually handles the affairs of the outer gate of the Great Vajra Temple and his word is law.

If Master Zongjian's intimidation of the Daxing Prefecture magistrate stemmed from his status as a martial arts master, then the other man's dominance lay in his superior status.

Prince Zhao Yu of Zhenxi controlled three prefectures in the northwest and commanded an army of 50,000. His fellow prefects included the prefects of Longshan and Qing'an.

The magistrate of Fengming Prefecture was like a servant in front of this man.

Moreover, it is said that this man was eccentric and arrogant. Back in the day, as a hostage in the capital, he suppressed a group of second-generation rich kids in Beijing, and even the son of the Minister of Justice had his leg broken.

But these two gentlemen not only had a bad relationship, but they also gathered at the Daxing Prefecture Government Office, wanting to cooperate with him in solving the case.

If it weren't for the imperial decree being difficult to disobey, and the fact that he was truly reluctant to part with his official robes, the magistrate of Daxing Prefecture would have preferred to resign and leave.

"May I ask, Your Highness Zhao and Master Zongjian, what are your plans?" the magistrate of Daxing Prefecture asked, bowing respectfully.

Wang Yu had already discussed it with Li Yunxiu before he arrived, and now he didn't stand on ceremony, saying, "Take us to see the cook's body first."

At this point, Wang Yu looked up and smiled slightly, "I heard that the cook's son is a lay disciple of the Great Vajra Temple?"

Master Zongjian's eyes flashed with divine light, and a kind-looking middle-aged monk beside him spoke first, "He's just a porter from Xingshun Escort Agency. The head of Xingshun Escort Agency is a lay disciple of Dajingang Temple."

Moreover, the chef's son went on a cargo mission to Wanghaidao half a month ago and hasn't returned yet. We've already sent people to Wanghaidao to look for him, but we don't know when he'll arrive.

This middle-aged monk was Honghai of Xumiyuan Temple. He was worldly-wise and experienced in human relationships. He happened to be away on official business when Zongjian went to the Prince of Zhenxi's Mansion. Otherwise, the two sides might not have fought at that time.

So everyone headed to the morgue in the backyard.

At the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion, Wang Yu was accompanied by Li Yunxiu, with Wei Gutong and Yan Ziyu by his side, while Zhao Shan and Zhao He went shopping with Qianqian and Alde.

At the Great Vajra Temple, Zongjian, along with Honghai and Hongyue, did not rush ahead, but instead followed behind Wang Yu and his group.

Zongjian recalled Zongshan's instructions to him: "Dajingang Temple has a clear conscience. Zhao Yu can splash dirty water on us, but he would never dare to really wrong us. Junior brother, you don't need to clash with him. Just watch him investigate the case. If he succeeds, help him capture the bandits. If he fails, don't worry about him."

The group arrived at the morgue, where an explanation was given.

Fortunately, it was the dead of winter, and there was no strange smell even four days after the cook died.

"A clean and swift slit in the throat." The coroner pointed to the wound. "At the time of the incident, the man was sitting at the table when someone pulled out a knife and slashed at him from the front. It is clear that the two knew each other."

Everyone looked at the wound.

Honghai spoke first, "The wound is very clean, the knife technique is very fast, it cuts the throat cleanly without damaging the bone, which shows that the distance and force are well controlled, he is a master."

Wei Gutong glanced at it and said, "This person did not use the tip of the knife to slit his throat, but rather used a pushing technique, sweeping across with the front of the long knife, so the edge of the wound is shallower."

"Um?"

Everyone could see what Hong Hai said, but it was only now that they realized what Wei Gutong said.

"As expected, Mr. Wei has such keen insight," Zong Jian exclaimed.

The horizontal sweeping technique and the pushing knife technique cause similar damage to the throat. Even if the wound is shallow, it is extremely difficult to detect. If Wei Gutong had not pointed it out, it would have been very difficult for everyone to notice.

"There are many masters of the sword in the world, but those who are accustomed to the pushing sword technique can be counted on one hand." Hong Yue's eyes lit up. Although he was dissatisfied with the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion splashing dirty water, he hated the force that made the move in Daxing Prefecture even more.

Honghai counted on his fingers, "The Xiao family's Jade-Slaying Saber, the Daomatang Taibai Saber, and the Peng family's Five Tigers' Gate-Slaying Saber all have unique push-blade techniques."

Zong Jian shook his head, "The Xiao family is of noble birth; they would never stoop to such underhanded tactics."

Wei Gutong pondered for a moment and said, "Daoma Hall deals in knives and horses in Hebei. Although it's not a prestigious sect, it has never done business without capital."

Finally, Yan Ziyu spoke up, "Although the Peng family is not a major clan, it has a long history and a very upright family tradition. Most of their disciples work as escorts and bodyguards, so they shouldn't do such a thing."

Honghai shrugged. "Who else could it be?"

Li Yunxiu smiled slightly, "No rush. At least we already know that the other side has skilled swordsmen. Let's go to the garrison camp in Xingping County now."

Then she looked at the magistrate of Daxing Prefecture, "I request that Magistrate Liu summon the soldiers who were guarding Pingxing County, Wushe County, and Fuli County on that day."

The magistrate of Daxing Prefecture cupped his hands in greeting and immediately ordered his men to ride away and summon reinforcements.

Half an hour later, the group arrived at the Xionglue Army's encampment.

Zhang Baihu knelt down to beg for forgiveness, but Wang Yu helped him up, saying, "As long as you carry out your military duties according to orders, we won't blame you if anything goes wrong."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Zhang Baihu led everyone into the camp. "That night, the magistrate of Pingxing County personally brought food and drink. As is customary, my subordinates were divided into three teams to eat separately. Even after the third team had finished eating, there was nothing unusual. I don't know what method they used."

The next day, after being woken up by the local guards, we discovered that all thirty wagons were gone. My subordinates immediately surrounded Pingxing County and dragged the magistrate out of bed. He claimed he knew nothing, and then we discovered that the tea-making cook was dead.

The group inspected the camp and found that the ground where the trucks were parked was relatively hard, but the tire tracks outside the camp were scattered and it was impossible to tell where the trucks had been driven after they were stolen.

"But in any case, there are only three directions: east, west, and north," the magistrate of Daxing Prefecture said. "Because the Yellow River is to the south."

A moment later, the magistrates, county constables, gatekeepers, and soldiers of Pingxing County and the other two counties all arrived.

Having learned from the experience at Yumen Pass last time, Li Yun immediately asked whether any caravans or merchant caravans had passed by on the morning the treasure was stolen, but to everyone's surprise, none had.

Even Li Yunxiu was puzzled.

"Could it be that they broke it down into smaller parts so as not to attract attention?" the magistrate of Daxing Prefecture speculated.

Li Yunxiu shook his head, "That would be easier to expose, and it would require a lot of trusted confidants, otherwise the treasure might be divided up along the way."

Hongyue asked incredulously, "Could they possibly fly away?"

The magistrate of Fuli County said, "They don't necessarily have to take the official road through the city. There is a small road in the northeast of our county that can cross the canyon, bypass Fuli County, and go directly to Kaiyan Prefecture."

The magistrate of Wushe County also said, "There is also a road next to us along the river. It is dry and cold in winter and there is no rain, so it is passable and can bypass the county town to go to Hangu Prefecture."

Li Yunxiu nodded and said, "Small roads are less frequented by large vehicles. There hasn't been any rain recently, so if large vehicles have passed through these areas in the next few days, they will definitely leave traces."

Therefore, the magistrate of Daxing Prefecture immediately sent people to follow these two roads to investigate.

With no new discoveries made for the time being, the group sent the officials from each county back to Pingxing County and returned to the county government office.

Li Yunxiu pulled Zhang Baihu aside and gave him a few instructions. Then Wang Yu and his group returned to the headquarters and saw Qianqian and Alde returning happily hand in hand, with Zhao Shan and Zhao He following behind carrying large and small bags.

Qianqian asked first, "Is the case finished?"

Li Yunxiu couldn't help but roll her eyes at her. "The other party was able to steal thirty large trucks silently and disappear without a trace. How could they be found so easily?"

Qianqian smiled timidly, appearing weak, "Because you are known for your intelligence, I thought you could see through those thieves' tricks at a glance."

The three from Dajingang Temple couldn't help but smile knowingly. Even the magistrate of Daxing Prefecture smiled slightly before quickly regaining his composure, bidding farewell and leaving.

Li Yunxiu's lips twitched, and she changed the subject, asking Alde, "How was your time in the city?"

Alde knew she couldn't help and didn't dare to get involved in the battle between Li Yunxiu and Qianqian, but she still dared to answer this question.

"Sister Qianqian took me to see many places and bought a lot of local snacks and pastries. I was worried that you sisters would be too busy investigating the case and miss your meals, so I specially brought them back for you," Alde said hurriedly, while Zhao Shan and Zhao He held up the paper package in their hands.

Li Yunxiu snorted. Although she knew that Qianqian had no good intentions and was definitely buying it for Wang Yu and Wei Gutong, she was also benefiting from it, so she didn't say anything more.

Everyone returned inside and enjoyed snacks and refreshments.

Now that there were no outsiders present, Wei Gutong asked Li Yunxiu, "Does Your Highness guess that group of people came from Wushe County or Fuli County?"

Different routes lead to different interpretations. If you go east, it's a road that leads directly to the capital, which might be related to the imperial court. But if you go north, it leads to the border troops and the grasslands, which might be related to the nomadic tribes of the grasslands.

Li Yunxiu smiled and said, "Senior Wei, do you really think they took those two paths?"

Yan Ziyu asked curiously, "If they're not going east or north, they can't possibly head west back to Fengming Prefecture, can they?"

Li Yunxiu said calmly, "Why can't they go south?"

"The Yellow River is to the south," Yan Ziyu said. "There's no ferry nearby, and the Yellow River is frozen over, making it impossible to navigate by boat. But the ice isn't thick enough for people to walk on. How are they going to get south?"

Li Yunxiu shook his head, "Senior Yan was talking about ordinary people, but for someone with the will, building a ram icebreaker shouldn't be too difficult."

Yan Ziyu was taken aback by these words, then heard Li Yunxiu look at Wei Gutong and ask, "Does the Dulong Fortress swordsmanship include a pushing technique?"

"Dulong Fortress? Zhong Yulei?" Wei Gutong was taken aback. "You suspect him?"

Li Yunxiu said, "If this person has rebellious intentions, then it would be understandable for him to take action against this treasure."

When Li Yunxiu learned that Dulongbao had taken in refugees, he began to suspect him. Otherwise, even the Qishan bandits and the sixteen strongholds of Taihenglan would not have dared to plunder this treasure.

Wei Gutong said in a deep voice, "Zhong Yulei wields a fish-scale purple-gold sword with a heavy blade, so he is naturally skilled in the pushing-blade technique."

Li Yunxiu nodded. "At the military camp, I have already instructed Commander Zhang to send men to search along the river. If all goes well, we should find something tonight."

Alde asked, still confused, "You just said outside that you hadn't found anything."

Li Yunxiu laughed and said, "There were many people at the time, and I don't know if there were any people from Dulongbao among the officials of Daxing Prefecture. In order to prevent them from destroying traces, we can't be like some people who don't care and say everything."

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