Investigation

The Grand Patriarch died at a most inopportune time.

With Master Changxin having just assumed his post, the Grand Patriarch was assassinated within the Mahavira Hall by the "Jade-Faced Killing God" Chen Wu, sparking endless speculation. People whispered that the feng shui of Lingshan Temple must have gone awry.

It was not just the devotees who spoke of this; Chen Wu even heard such preposterous claims from the mouths of young novices, showing just how deeply the rumors had taken root.

Chen Wu had no heart to observe this matter; he simply left Lingshan Temple early in the morning and arrived at Jinheng Watch Shop.

Seeing Chen Wu enter, Old Liu hurried forward and grabbed his hand.

"Your watch is repaired. Follow me."

Speaking, he led Chen Wu up to the third floor and produced a copy of the Yanhe Daily.

"Take a look at this!"

Chen Wu glanced at it; the front page was once again his own wanted poster. Yan'an Prefecture was, after all, the central capital of the Great Shun, and with high-ranking officials passing through, the artist this time seemed to be of higher caliber. The portrait was not as abstract as before, though it still only bore a slight resemblance to the man from yesterday.

Beyond the portrait, the bounty on Chen Wu had also jumped, rising to fifteen hundred silver dollars.

Chen Wu was speechless.

"Thanks to that man, you can now walk about in broad daylight," Old Liu said with a laugh.

Chen Wu did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Do you have any leads on that man's affairs?"

"The man acted with meticulous care and left few traces," Old Liu said. "There is only one thing: the sword he carried was also a precious blade capable of emitting a sword-hum. I asked some acquaintances among the craftsmen, and someone did indeed purchase a similar sword recently. It was forged right here in Yan'an Prefecture."

"You might start your investigation from that angle."

Chen Wu nodded. "Which master forged that sword?"

"You can go outside the South Gate, along the Yanhe River, and look for Blacksmith Li."

"Very well—"

"A fine blade!"

Blacksmith Li of Li's Workshop remarked as he stroked Chen Wu's sword.

"This blade of mine has grown a bit dull; I must trouble you to sharpen it for me."

Chen Wu's sword had clashed with Li Changgeng's Golden Melon Hammer, leaving the edge somewhat damaged. He took this opportunity to have it sharpened and restored to its original state.

"Easily done!"

Master Li called over an apprentice and instructed him to begin the grinding.

Somewhere within the workshop, a loud clanging sound persisted, and the apprentice failed to hear him at first, prompting an irritated Master Li to kick him.

The apprentice hurriedly took the sword and began to grind with vigor.

Just then, the clanging stopped, and the workshop fell suddenly silent. Master Li grew even angrier and began to curse loudly.

"Those treacherous merchants in the south—may their ancestors for eighteen generations be fed to the dogs! Sooner or later, they'll smash their heads against their own fathers' tombstones. I knew I shouldn't have trusted them!"

"What happened?" Chen Wu asked, curious.

"Damn it all!" Master Li remained incensed. "A swindler pushed this latest model of steam engine on me, promising it would save time, effort, and money."

"I drank his poison and actually bought a set. Who would have thought it would break every three days? The time spent using it is less than the time spent broken. I wanted to confront him, but the man has vanished!"

Chen Wu expressed his sympathy but continued to ask, "Master Li, besides the sharpening, I have one more thing to inquire about. Some time ago, you sold a sword here that emitted a sword-hum. When was that?"

"Ten days ago."

Ten days? Chen Wu's wanted poster had only been published in the Yanhe Daily six days ago. If this person had prepared the sword ten days ago, it seemed he had come from further west, traveling faster than the news in the papers.

Chen Wu had taken a long detour to reach Yan'an Prefecture, arriving from the north. This man had likely taken the main road, galloping hard from the west.

That narrowed the scope of the investigation.

However, he was not a government official and had no way to conduct a large-scale screening of suspects.

What was to be done?

The apprentice had finished sharpening the sword. Chen Wu thanked him, took the blade, and asked one more question: "Who bought the sword?"

"A monk."

???

Chen Wu felt his previous line of thinking had fallen into a trap. He had always assumed the assassin had disguised himself as a novice to deceive others, never imagining the man might truly be a monk.

It made sense! To infiltrate that great hall, even if disguised, one would need to be extremely familiar with Buddhist affairs to avoid revealing any flaws.

A wandering monk from the west! That was the man's true identity.

To scout the location, he might have even infiltrated Lingshan Temple before. He should return to Lingshan Temple to ask.

"Benefactor, why do you say that?" Monk Mingcheng asked, puzzled.

"I feel that since Chen Wu managed to infiltrate the hall so smoothly, he might have disguised himself as a monk to scout the area beforehand," Chen Wu said with a straight face, spouting nonsense. "So, I would like to ask you, Master, to help me inquire if any strange monks stayed at the temple early this month and then suddenly departed in the last few days."

"This humble monk understands!" Monk Mingcheng realized with a sudden flash of insight, "This humble monk will go investigate at once."

Monk Mingcheng hurried away, and just as hurriedly returned.

"The guest-reception monk said that in the first ten days of this month, there were three visiting monks who fit the benefactor's description," Monk Mingcheng said, "but the ages of two of them do not match. Only one is of the appropriate age, but I asked those who had seen him, and they all said he did not resemble Chen Wu."

"Furthermore, that person is acquainted with Master Changxin—no, Abbot Changxin. Someone saw Abbot Changxin conversing with that man."

This fellow is the prime suspect! Chen Wu made his judgment immediately.

Not looking alike could simply be a disguise. But conversing with Abbot Changxin only deepened the man's suspicion; if he had Changxin's help, it would be much easier for him to slip into the main hall.

What role, then, was Abbot Changxin playing in all of this?

Chen Wu did not go directly to find Abbot Changxin, but instead entrusted Old Liu to find someone else.

The editor of the Yanhe Daily, Lu Yuantu.

Lu Yuantu had a round face, wore spectacles, and held a cup of clear tea in his hand, shaking his head as he spoke: "What business does Your Excellency have with me?"

"Please keep it brief; I still have to rush my draft and do not have much time."

Slap—

Chen Wu said nothing, simply slapping a banknote onto the table.

Lu Yuantu's hand trembled, and he nearly spilled his tea: "I never engage in anything that violates the law."

Slap—

Chen Wu slapped down another one.

"I also cannot help with anything too difficult."

Slap—

Yet another one.

"Speak, what is it?"

Exactly as expected, Chen Wu began his questioning immediately.

Lu Yuantu spilled the beans like bamboo clattering against a container, telling Chen Wu everything in full detail.

The night was deep and quiet.

The light in the abbot's quarters remained lit.

Ever since becoming abbot, Master Changxin had been unable to wait to move in.

A figure descended from the sky, pushing the door open without a care.

"Who is it?" Abbot Changxin asked in a panic.

"Abbot, do not panic! You had best not call anyone over, or your affairs will be laid bare."

Chen Wu was masked, his voice muffled and heavy.

"What affairs of mine would be laid bare?" Abbot Changxin calmed himself down.

Seeing this fellow was stubborn, Chen Wu immediately dropped a bombshell.

"Abbot Changxin, you leaked the matter of Master Yongyan's illegitimate child to the Yanhe Daily—did you really think you had done it flawlessly?"