Wang Jian’s mind was far more ticulous than Zhang Liao’s, and having spent a long ti with Shen Hao, he’d learned a good deal of first-hand investigative experience, allowing his analysis to cut straight to the core of the problem.
"Zhan Wenlin has never fished, yet he claims to the outside world that he enjoys feeding fish. There’s a large fish pond in the backyard of his house, with more than a dozen big fish inside. But I personally went undercover to check and found that these are not the colorful ornantal kinds, but carnivorous dogtooth fish and tiger-striped fish. Such fish are a nace; they don’t exist in ordinary waters—only in the Weak Water region over in Jingdong, very rare here. In fact, I only saw them a few years back when I went to Jingdong with my father on a trip.
I subtly questioned so of the Zhan family’s servants. They said just feeding these ten-sothing fish costs more than ten taels of silver a month. And all the feeding is done personally by Zhan Wenlin, never by anyone else."
Shen Hao seed sowhat puzzled as he listened, and asked, "Even so, what’s the issue with these fish?"
"General Flag, if it were just this, it’d be nothing, and at the ti I actually didn’t think much of it—simply thought Zhan Wenlin had unusual interests. But as I lingered by the pond, I started to sense sothing weird. I actually felt a chill rising from my feet at the edge of the pond."
"Hmm?" Shen Hao grunted in surprise, motioning for Wang Jian to continue.
"It’s yin energy, General Flag! I could feel yin energy dispersing from the fish pond. Just standing on the edge for a bit, that cold seeps in through the soles—it’s unmistakable."
Upon hearing this, Shen Hao’s brows twitched upward.
Yin energy exists naturally between Heaven and Earth, but usually doesn’t affect living beings—unless there’s a convergence of it sowhere. Yin and yang are both fundantal to the world’s balance, omnipresent.
However, if a sentient living being dies with pent-up resentnt, that will also generate an excessive amount of yin energy, gathering in place. Over ti, this gives rise to lingering yin energy or a chill that seeps into the ground.
Wang Jian’s discovery could be boiled down to one thing: many who died wrongful deaths are buried near the fish pond.
And considering the fish in the pond are all carnivorous, Shen Hao had reason to suspect these fish ate more than just "fish feed" bought in the market; there might be sothing else.
"Anything else?"
"Yes. Zhan Wenlin’s wife is actually blind—she’s been so for many years, reportedly since before childbirth. Hardly anyone outside knows this. Also, Zhan Wenlin has lived for years in a small room next to his study, never sharing a bed with his wife. And what’s more, the two children of Zhan Wenlin look nothing like him—I suspect they’re not blood-related at all."
The wife is blind; the children don’t look like him. Listening, Shen Hao felt a sense of déjà vu.
"What’s your take?"
"I believe Zhan Wenlin is putting on an act for everyone. The information he filed in the Governnt Office’s Docunt Library appears thorough and clear, but upon close inspection, you’ll notice that anyone who could corroborate his story before he entered school is dead—in other words, there’s not a single living person left who can vouch for Zhan Wenlin’s past.
I feel there’s sothing wrong here. A person’s past can’t be so neatly severed unless done on purpose."
Wang Jian had just returned from Yu City, investigating Zhao Chongwu’s background—and Zhao Chongwu was very likely associated with Zhan Wenlin. Therefore, Wang Jian naturally suspected that Zhan Wenlin’s background was forged as well. The difference was, he couldn’t yet employ direct thods to go verify his suspicions at Zhan Wenlin’s ho.
Seeing the certainty in Wang Jian’s eyes, Shen Hao simply nodded without comnt. Compared to Zhang Liao, Wang Jian was indeed bolder and more imaginative.
"However, we haven’t seen anything belonging to a cultivator in the Zhan household, nor sensed any true qi fluctuations. Including Zhan Wenlin, the entire Zhan family are all just ordinary people.
Oh, General Flag, not sure if it’s just my imagination, but I always feel that Zhan Wenlin’s smile is fake, though he’s always smiling."
"How so?"
"Rember how we arranged the fake ’water leak’ in their backyard? The fire wasn’t big, but it did burn one storeroom, supposedly with so valuables inside. Normally, anyone would be furious at having this happen, but Zhan Wenlin still bead away, though I could clearly see deep frustration and annoyance in his eyes. It’s like... like he’s just used to smiling."
Used to smiling? That’s not a real habit. Either it’s an illness—or he’s hiding sothing behind that smile.
That night, not only did Shen Hao not sleep a wink, the entire Black Banner Battalion—including the Hundred Households Guard reinforcents—lay ard and ready, no one closing their eyes, until dawn, when they rotated for rest.
The trouble they expected never materialized.
That morning, right after breakfast, a scout from the Xuanqing Guard ca hurrying to Shen Hao, bringing news of Zhang Liao’s latest findings.
"Tch. Zhao Chongwu abducted another child in Pingjiang City—one born on a highly yin day, the other on a highly yang day. He’s now heading back to Fengri City. He’ll probably try to use the teleportation array late at night or at dawn when foot traffic is low. Have all our people stay sharp—don’t miss a thing. Hmph. Maybe tonight is when we close the net."
"Tonight? But that evil cultivator in the shadows still..."
"No more waiting, ti won’t wait for . Besides, we haven’t found a trace of the evil cultivator. Adjusting our focus for the investigation is inevitable. Enough, that’s all—go make preparations!"
Shen Hao cut Wang Jian off. Indeed, making a move while the evil cultivator was still at large might disrupt their lead. But Shen Hao couldn’t wait any longer—Zhao Chongwu would act as soon as he returned, and if Shen Hao waited, what would happen to those two abducted children? Abandoning them? Impossible.
So, regardless of anything else, Shen Hao was determined to seize Zhao Chongwu and Zhan Wenlin before the two children’s lives could be hard.
...
After nightfall, the streets thinned out; at the teleportation array, the public entrance was shut down as scheduled, the gates dead quiet. No one knew the Xuanqing Guard scouts had kept watch in the buildings by the special access for two days now.
As the night watch announced it was mid-midnight, a figure carrying a basket suddenly erged from the special access of the teleportation array.
It was Zhao Chongwu!
The hidden scouts’ eyes flashed—they could tell by Zhao Chongwu’s gait that the basket on his back held weight, nothing like the light step he had when he’d left before.
Zhao Chongwu remained unaware, hurrying toward his ho on West City Old Street, not knowing that along his route at least fifty Xuanqing Guard n lay in ambush.
Shen Hao had already issued the order: everyone was to close the encirclent, centering on the route between the hos of Zhao Chongwu and Zhan Wenlin.
As soon as Zhao Chongwu entered the house, three of the Black Banner Battalion’s best scouts leapt onto his roof, quietly lifting the tiles to watch Zhao Chongwu’s every move inside.
Shen Hao also jumped up onto the roof of Zhao Chongwu’s house—he had to see with his own eyes what Zhao Chongwu ant to do with those abducted children.
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