"Guess what I saw?" a mysterious voice asked.
"What?"
"Amitabha!" Monk Zhongcheng intoned. "I followed Benefactor Wu and discovered that he went to the Qiao residence."
"Didn't Young Master Qiao fall out with Old Wu? Did he go to apologize?" Gao Xiwen asked.
"If he had, I wouldn't be surprised. I climbed over the wall and saw Benefactor Wu chatting happily with Young Master Qiao. They didn't look the least bit at odds."
"That..." Chen Wu was surprised too.
Then something occurred to him. "How long has Wu Jingheng supposedly been at odds with Young Master Qiao?"
"Over a month. Why do you..." Gao Xiwen caught on. "You mean those two are putting on an act?"
"Exactly! If they'd really fallen out, would Young Master Qiao have put up with him this long, given his temper? Wu Jingheng is only a manager. Senior as he is, he isn't a shareholder. If Young Master Qiao wanted him replaced, no one could stop him."
"Who's the act for?"
"Not us, at any rate. We can leave them to it," Chen Wu said. "I noticed something strange about Fan Dacheng too."
Chen Wu briefly told them about Fan Dacheng. He skimmed over the young man and focused instead on something peculiar he had seen.
"Fan Dacheng's clothes were scattered nearby. Among them, I spotted a small medal that had fallen out. It looked remarkably like General Shui's."
"A Sea-Suppressing Medal?" Monk Zhongcheng was startled. He explained to Gao Xiwen, who looked confused, "Only those who render great service in a naval battle receive one. General Shui has one too."
"Does Fan Dacheng have any relatives in the navy or the Sea-Pacifying Palace?"
"Impossible!" Gao Xiwen said at once. "Fan Dacheng's entire family is in Pingyao. Eighteen generations of his ancestors were landlubbers. Not