From the Ship of Fools to Earl of Wugang

The inspector made rubbings of the footprints and circular indentations on the attic, while Edmund continued his inspection along the skylight.

A section of rope fixed to the base of the chimney was cut off, with the remainder stuck in a rusty iron hook.

Its surface is black and shiny, and a slight rubbing with the fingertip leaves a sticky oily residue.

Edmund used a knife to separate the strands of rope and placed a few strands of fiber under the lamp. The coarse brown fibers were long and tough, with a few black particles interspersed in them.

"Coarse coconut fiber soaked in coal tar and preservative oil." He leaned closer to smell it, then identified a cool, spicy odor from the inside of the knot. "It's also stained with camphor."

The inspector, wearing gloves, took the end of the rope: "The ship's mooring rope?"

"Perhaps. The killer must have frequented docks, shipyards, or similar places."

Edmund looked at the long, thin handprints along the edge of the flue. Camphor wouldn't have accumulated in such large quantities on the ropes for no reason, and the small creature's weight, hands, and climbing style didn't resemble a live monkey.

"Camphor is also commonly used to repel insects and preserve corpses. If the substance is usually wrapped in preservative-treated cloth, or if the body itself is a processed corpse, the rope will retain this smell."

Conrad looked up at the dark chimney: "So there's something supernatural involved in this case?"

"This is just speculation at the moment," Edmund said. "Perhaps we will discover some clues in the future."

As soon as he finished speaking, a police officer patrolling the backyard ran over to Inspector Douglas to report that he had found tire tracks, and everyone immediately followed him to the back door.

The backyard of the mansion was originally paved with gravel, but near the side gate, two deep ruts were made by wheels, with the tracks leading all the way to the outside of the wall.

Edmund crouched down to measure the wheel track. The right side of the wheel sank deeper, indicating that the load had been tilted to one side of the carriage when it left.

Outside the side gate was a narrow road sloping northward. The carriage carrying the treasure chest would find it difficult to make sharp turns on the slippery slope, and it also could not pass through the two narrowly spaced stone pillars on the east side.

If it didn't want to make too much noise in the residential area, it only had two reasonable routes after leaving the mansion: one was to go around to the riverside avenue, and the other was to connect to the southern freight line via the old quarry road.

"This man went to the riverbank road, or perhaps connected to the southern freight line via the old quarry road." Edmund stood up and brushed the mud off his gloves.

Rebecca shook her head after flipping a coin: "From a spiritual perspective, these people have some kind of mystical veil."

"Then let's use the brute force method."

The inspector quickly summoned two patrol officers and ordered them to investigate the two routes overnight, focusing on questioning the heavy vehicles that had passed by late at night two days prior, as well as the out-of-towners who used wooden legs and were accompanied by short companions.

The group returned to the main building, where Jiliu discovered something new in Bartholomew's study.

"Before Bartholomew was murdered, he gave a sealed statement left by Alfred Schoerteau to the family lawyer." She pushed a reply letter with the law firm's letterhead under the light.

"It's stated here that only Bartholomew himself, Vera, or the police with official documentation can access this information," Torrent added, arms crossed. "The office is closed tonight; you'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to see the testimony."

The testimony was likely to reveal the key truth, so the inspector had someone notify the duty judge overnight to prepare the necessary paperwork before going to interrogate the servants at the mansion.

Although his extraordinary abilities covered this area, after all his efforts, the mansion's servants didn't provide any useful information.

Instead, Rebecca found an unmailed letter from Bartholomew in the study, in which he admitted to finding the treasure and planned to tell Mary the truth after Vera returned.

As night deepened, after discussion, Rapids and Rebecca decided to stay at the manor. Edmund and Conrad discussed for a moment and also did not leave.

The inspector went to the police station on his own to wait for the officers to bring back news.

Around 2 a.m., the mansion finally quieted down.

Edmund volunteered to take charge of the first half of the night's patrol with Conrad, so Rapids and Rebecca went to rest in the adjacent guest room.

The two walked around the top floor and the backyard, and finally, at Edmund's suggestion, went to the study to sit down.

After picking up the glass of wine the other person had poured for him, Conrad looked at the swaying ice cubes in the glass and said, "You have something you want to say to me alone."

Edmund raised his glass in a toast, took a small sip, and then said in a low voice, "There's a reason I'm using a false identity; it's related to our common enemy, the Abyss Order."

Conrad's hand trembled, his expression turning serious: "What did you say?"

"The Abyss Order, the identity I'm currently using is something I stole from there. They were originally supposed to be transporting some kind of concealed supplies into the duchy, which I just grabbed and used."

After Edmund finished speaking, he saw Conrad muttering to himself in surprise, "So it was you... What's your relationship with them?"

"I used to work within it, but I later left. I possessed some important intelligence, so they wanted to find me, and for similar reasons, the Ninth Bureau also wanted to find out my identity."

Edmund briefly described the situation to the prince, who had regained his senses, and then took paper and pen from the desk next to him.

He wrote down the addresses and related information of three warehouses, added a cult leader's usual hideout and several temporary transit points, and then handed them to the prince.

"This is a show of sincerity. All three warehouses are located along the coast of Veridiah and have stored ceremonial materials and smuggled goods. You can send someone to verify them."

Conrad read it line by line, then looked up at Edmund: "What do you want from me?"

"Political asylum, and, if necessary, extraordinary assistance," Edmund stated frankly.

"I need time and a channel to explain the situation. I can't let the inspectors hand me over directly to a department that has been infiltrated by the cult."

Conrad paused for a moment, then folded the paper: "I can consider it, but I need a guarantee."

After he finished speaking, he extended his right hand, and a faint silver light appeared in his palm.

"A vow. You must guarantee that the information is true to the extent you know it, and that you will not use my protection to harm the innocent or evade your due responsibilities."

The Oath of Holding Power

[The oath that a Knight, the second rank in the Knight's Path, can uphold. An ancient tradition holds that those who ask others to extend their hands to the scales of justice should also pay the price for fairness.]

[In this oath, one party pledges the authenticity, source, and subsequent actions of the intelligence as collateral; the other pledges protection and knightly honor. Once the main parts of the intelligence are verified, the latter's promise will officially take effect. The one who breaks the oath will forfeit their right to wield the sword and perform magic on the scales of justice until the debt is repaid.]

[Exempting from the consequences of breaking oaths will attract high-level scrutiny and trigger unforeseen consequences!]

It doesn't matter, the intelligence is true anyway.

Edmund placed his hand on it and, led by the prince, repeated all the conditions.

The silver light tightened slightly, and a cool sensation swept across their palms before disappearing into their wrists.

"To be honest, I can only give you limited trust until the intelligence is verified. If it is true, I will stall the inspector and give you a chance to explain and prove your innocence."

Conrad then put away the paper, his smile now tinged with solemnity.

He shook Edmund's hand again and added, "I can provide both political and supernatural protection. If you wish to work further together, contact me using this phone number three days after the script is finished."

Edmund noted down the number the prince gave him and then shook the prince's hand.

He knew that this gamble had paid off.