Arms Office Clerk Commits Suicide

Zhao Feiying quickly cupped his hands.

"Yes, Commander."

When he looked at Captain Li, a forced smile appeared on his lips.

"Captain Li, please follow me."

Just then, a flurry of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the tent. A soldier scrambled in, his hat askew.

"What's all the commotion? Maintain order behind the main tent."

"Commander, Deputy Commander, something's happened! The Arms Office Clerk, Li Yan, Clerk Li, he's committed suicide."

"What did you say?"

Everyone in the tent was startled.

Long Teng slammed his palm onto the table, sending the chess pieces on the map scattering.

"Speak, where did he commit suicide?"

A master's aura erupted, enveloping the young soldier.

The soldier's face turned pale, his voice trembling.

"In his own tent!"

The soldier's voice trembled.

Long Teng stood up, his face ashen.

"Let's go take a look."

The group quickly arrived at Li Yan's tent. The tent flap was ajar, and a faint smell of blood wafted out.

Inside, a middle-aged man in a scholar's robe was slumped over the table, black blood at the corners of his mouth. An empty wine cup sat on the table.

Wine had dripped onto the floor.

Su Fei reached out and felt the man's neck; it was already cold and stiff.

He then used a silver needle to test the wine.

"It's Crane's Crest Red. This is a poison that seals blood upon contact."

"He's been dead for at least an hour."

Captain Li found several account books from the Armory and began to examine them. His brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

"These accounts are a mess. There are several signs of alteration in the monthly inflow and outflow records."

"And the records for reported damages are also problematic. Over forty Gale Crossbows were reported as damaged last month due to bandit suppression. I ask you, Commander, there haven't been any major battles in Qingzhou recently. What kind of mountain bandits could be so fierce as to render dozens of Gale Crossbows useless in a single month?"

Long Teng walked to the body and looked at Li Yan's open eyes, his expression grim.

"The military crossbows have just been discovered to be leaking, and the Arms Office Clerk commits suicide by poison. Is he afraid people won't know there are people in the army selling military supplies?"

He suddenly turned to Zhao Feiying, his eyes blazing.

"Deputy Commander Zhao, Li Yan was under your command. You bear unavoidable responsibility for this."

Zhao Feiying immediately knelt on one knee, looking innocent.

"Commander, please calm your anger. Your subordinate truly knows nothing about this."

Long Teng ignored Zhao Feiying, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Notify Li Yan's family and tell them that Li Yan has died."

He turned to Captain Li and sighed.

"Since that is the case, this matter will be handed over to the Imperial Guard for investigation. Just let me know what you find."

With that, he flicked his sleeve and left.

After Long Teng departed, the atmosphere in the tent became somewhat heavy.

Captain Li held the account book, his brow tightly knitted.

The other Imperial Guards exchanged glances, their gazes eventually falling on Su Fei.

"Commander Su,"

Captain Li said.

"You've always been excellent at solving cases. Take a look at this scene. Can you discover anything?"

Everyone knew of Su Fei's case-solving abilities; even Commander Feng regarded him with high esteem.

With the case at a standstill, they naturally placed their hopes on him.

Su Fei nodded, not refusing.

The God-tier Insight Technique was quietly activated.

It swept across every corner of the tent, from the empty wine cup on the table to the wine dripping on the floor, to Ling Yan's death posture and the arrangement of the tent.

Suddenly, his gaze stopped at the fingernails of Ling Yan's right hand.

"Commander Ling, may I borrow a dagger?"

Su Fei took the dagger and carefully scraped a bit of residue from under his fingernail. It was a small clump of dark red soil, its color completely different from the yellow earth on the floor of the camp tent.

Commander Ling leaned in for a closer look.

"This soil doesn't look like the soil from the camp."

"Exactly."

Su Fei pinched the soil between his fingers and brought it to his nose to sniff.

"It's a bit damp and smells like decaying leaves, more like soil from the mountains or forest. An Arms Office Clerk, who spends his days managing affairs in the camp, shouldn't need to go out. How did this kind of soil get under his fingernails?"

"And it's still stuck in his fingernails. This proves he left the military camp before he died. Who did he meet? If we can find out who he met, perhaps we can find a clue."

Zhao Feiying's eyes suddenly jumped when he heard this.

He hadn't expected this Imperial Guard Commander to be so sharp, able to deduce so much from just a bit of soil.

"Perhaps he accidentally got it on him yesterday while inspecting the armory."

Su Fei countered.

"To inspect the armory, he would have to go into the mountains? That's too much of a coincidence."

Su Fei's gaze shifted to Ling Yan's bed.

The wooden chest under the bed was locked securely, but the corners of the chest had a bit of the same brown soil, identical to what was under the fingernails.

He straightened up and looked at everyone.

"Ling Yan's suicide is rather suspicious. The presence of this soil also seems quite strange."

Commander Ling hesitated for a moment and said.

"How do you want to investigate, Su Fei?"

Su Fei replied.

"I want to go to Ling Yan's home."

"The place where a person feels most safe and relaxed is their home. Perhaps at his home, we can find some clues."

Zhao Feiying suddenly looked up and said urgently.

"This isn't according to regulations. Ling Yan is already dead, and you Imperial Guards are still going to disturb his family? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

"Regulations?"

"Compared to the serious crime of military crossbows being leaked, what are a few regulations? If Deputy Commander Zhao has nothing to hide, why would he object?"

Zhao Feiying was rendered speechless, his face turning pale then red. He could only say sheepishly.

"I'm not objecting, I'm just afraid of disturbing the family."

"It's fine, we'll only look for clues and will not disturb Ling Yan's family."

Su Fei looked at Commander Ling.

"Commander Ling, why don't we leave now and go check out Ling Yan's home?"

Commander Ling nodded, glancing at Zhao Feiying.

"Commander Zhao, we are going to Ling Yan's home now. Your Long Teng Commander said that this case is to be investigated by us Imperial Guards. You won't interfere, will you?"

Zhao Feiying's expression changed, and he repeatedly said he wouldn't.

Only then did Commander Ling lead Su Fei and the others away from the Qingzhou Army camp.

On the way, Commander Ling couldn't help but say.

"Su Fei, judging solely from the accounts at the scene, Ling Yan is heavily involved in the arms case. However, he is now dead, and there's no one to corroborate his testimony. Was he trying to take all the blame himself?"

Su Fei responded.

"Sir, the private sale of military weapons is a major affair. If it were solely through Ling Yan's efforts, it wouldn't have gone unnoticed for so long. I believe this wasn't something he could have accomplished alone."

"He must have had accomplices. If we are to investigate this case, let's do it thoroughly."

Commander Ling was silent.

What Su Fei didn't say was that if this matter was indeed Ling Yan's doing alone.

The system would have already prompted him that the mission was complete.

Since the system hadn't prompted him, it meant this mission wasn't finished yet, and Ling Yan wasn't the mastermind behind the arms case.