Preparing to Cast the Net!

Governor's Mansion, inside the study.

After nearly an hour of conversation, Zeng Anmin and his father had completed the exchange of all information.

When Zeng Anmin finished recounting the entire process of how he had been "rescued,"

silence fell over the room.

After a long time, Father slowly raised his head, a cold glint flickering in his eyes:

"Then it's now certain—the assassins were sent by Prince Jiang's Estate."

"Mm, and Jin Taiping and Shen Liu's disappearance is most likely tied to Prince Jiang's Estate as well."

Zeng Anmin had actually known from the start that the assassins were from Prince Jiang's Estate.

Heh, you have to hand it to them.

If he himself weren't the Black Cat Martial Artist, he really would have been fooled by Prince Jiang's Estate this time.

Who would have thought that right after his own son died at the assassin's hands, he'd turn around and impersonate that same assassin to strike at his political rival's son?

He had to admit—whoever came up with this plan was a damn genius.

"Shen Liu..."

Father paused for a moment, then cast a glance at Zeng Anmin:

"You see your father's intent now?"

"How could I not guess that? I said I wanted to be an official, and you promptly stuffed me into the Xuanjing Division, then handed me this case right away—there had to be something wrong with it."

Zeng Anmin's mouth twitched as he said: "Speaking of which, Father, what exactly did you find off?"

He casually picked up the Jade Toad from the table, turning it over in his hands as he looked at Zeng Shilin.

"I never thought about whether the case was right or wrong." Father slowly shook his head, his expression growing grave:

"With Shen Liu dead, Shen Jun taking over the merchant association was a foregone conclusion—yet precisely then, word of his Aunt Murder Case spread."

"That man named Xu Yunfeng had Shen Jun locked in prison for three months..."

"To prevent Prince Jiang's Estate from seizing the chance to prop up a puppet and swallow Jin Taiping, I placed you in the Clerk's Office to protect Shen Jun."

"Shen Jun cannot die."

"Though according to our Great Sage Dynasty's laws, a female member of the household committing adultery, and the use of private punishment, does not warrant the death penalty."

"Still, the crime carries heavy punishment, and I feared he might suffer at someone's hands in prison..."

At this point, Father's expression turned gratified:

"But I never expected you'd actually solve the case."

Shen Jun had been innocent from start to finish.

That kid was a good person.

Zeng Anmin sighed inwardly.

Just as they were speaking, Zeng Shilin pulled a small object from the drawer beneath the desk and handed it to Zeng Anmin.

"Take this."

Zeng Anmin looked at the object being handed to him, a strange expression crossing his face.

A gun?

No, it was a firearm.

This world even had firearms?

"A gadget from the Profound Formation Division. Within a hundred paces, any martial artist below the sixth-rank Void Insight Mirror can't withstand a single shot from it."

A proud look appeared on Father's face:

"Back when I broke through to the Embrace Flame Realm, Master Xu gave it to me personally. It's engraved with the Profound Formation Division's Spirit Gathering Array."

"It's far more powerful than an ordinary firearm, and there's no need to reload."

Tsk.

When good stuff was on offer, he wasn't about to refuse.

Zeng Anmin took the small firearm and examined it closely.

This little firearm was about the size of a palm. After studying it for a while, Zeng Anmin couldn't find any fuse.

Could it be flintlock?

A faint glimmer lit up Zeng Anmin's eyes.

That would be much more convenient.

"Thanks, Father."

Being polite with one's own father would only dilute the bond for no reason.

"Mm."

Father's expression turned serious.

"That Black Cat Martial Artist—where did he go?"

His son had only said that the Black Cat Martial Artist had saved him, without mentioning the fellow's whereabouts.

Father's attitude toward that Black Cat Martial Artist was now somewhat complicated.

But he still wanted to apprehend that restless martial artist.

Zeng Anmin's hand paused slightly.

Here it comes.

But he wanted to test the waters from an angle, so he looked up and said:

"That Black Cat Martial Artist saved my life, after all—he's no vicious criminal..."

"Hmph." Father let out a cold snort.

He stared intently at Zeng Anmin: "If he had saved the lives of thousands of common folk, his merits could offset his crimes. But saving only my son, Zeng Shilin's, child..."

"That doesn't offset the crime of assassinating the Prince's heir on the street."

With that, he gazed deeply at Zeng Anmin, his eyes directly looking into his.

Zeng Anmin suddenly caught a trace of green aura in his father's gaze.

That green aura floated in Zeng Shilin's eyes, somewhat eerie.

Heart-Questioning!

"Where exactly did that Black Cat Martial Artist go?" Father's voice was faint.

Zeng Anmin felt a bit speechless inside.

Seriously? I'm your own son, and you're using the Confucian Path on your own flesh and blood?!

Thank goodness!

He subtly glanced at his Golden Finger.

Unyielding Martial God: Immune to all soul and mental attacks.

Solid!

"The Black Cat Martial Artist..."

Zeng Anmin's eyes turned "glazed."

He stumbled dazedly toward the massive map in the study.

The entire map depicted every location inside and outside Two Rivers Prefecture.

"Here..."

Zeng Anmin pointed randomly, then couldn't hold on and "fainted."

"Thud~"

He fell straight to the floor.

Father looked blankly at Zeng Anmin, a flicker of suspicion crossing his face.

Then he stared deeply at that map.

The next day.

Zeng Anmin sat in the Clerk's Office with his legs crossed, holding a case file in his hands, reading with great interest.

Qi Dachun's shrewd eyes had been fixed unblinkingly on Zeng Anmin the whole time.

"You've been staring at me all morning—what, is there a girl on my face?"

Zeng Anmin was getting uncomfortable and looked at Qi Dachun with displeasure.

"My father said I'm to keep an eye on the Young Master at all times, never leave your side."

Qi Dachun ignored him, his face serious.

"And if an assassin really comes, what will you do?"

Zeng Anmin put the case file on the desk, crossed his arms, and raised an eyebrow at Qi Dachun.

"I'll kill him, of course!" Qi Dachun thumped his chest.

"And if the assassin can't beat you and runs away?!"

"Hmph!" Qi Dachun lifted his head proudly:

"While his parents live, a son does not travel far!"

His parents were still alive—he couldn't run far!

Got it!

This bastard can even learn on the fly now!

"Then what if the assassin's parents are from Prince Jiang's Estate?"

Since there was no one around anyway, Zeng Anmin felt like teasing Qi Dachun a bit.

Dachun stared wide-eyed: "He wouldn't dare! Unless he wants to rebel!"

"Heh heh."

Zeng Anmin let out a soft laugh, a strange expression flickering across his face.

Those phoenix eyes slowly narrowed, and the smile at the corners of his mouth turned eerily:

"You're right."

Huh?

Dachun's whole body stiffened, his wise eyes utterly blank.

What?

Zeng Anmin didn't bother with him. Those phoenix eyes slowly lifted, a deep gloom in his gaze.

In his hand, he idly toyed with that delicate, compact firearm.

Prince Jiang's Estate wants to rebel!

The reason is this very firearm!!

This Profound Formation Division in the capital—though he didn't know how many secrets it held—

could still make firearms.

"Prince Jiang's Estate has someone from the Profound Formation Division."

The reason was simple: the "Black Cat Martial Artist" who tried to assassinate him yesterday

held a short blade that looked almost identical to the one he'd used to kill Wang Lin.

That short blade was a system reward. Prince Jiang's Estate couldn't possibly have a system too, could they?

"Spiritual Artifacts—only the Profound Formation Division can make them."

Zeng Anmin slowly raised his head, murmuring.

They disguised the assassin they sent as the "Black Cat Martial Artist" to muddy the waters.

Admittedly, it was a clever move.

But no matter how much they calculated, they never figured that he himself was the real Black Cat Martial Artist!

"This move actually exposed him instead."

Zeng Anmin's lips curled into a strange smile.

It exposed the fact that Prince Jiang's Estate was hiding someone from the Profound Formation Division!!!

And the reason Zeng Anmin was certain Prince Jiang's Estate wanted to rebel

was... the Sulfur Soap!

When he inspected the ships yesterday, Prince Jiang's vessel had sulfur on board.

Others might not know what sulfur could do, but Zeng Anmin certainly did!!

Sulfur is a key material for making gunpowder!

So then...

Now he just needed to find where they were shipping these materials.

And he'd have solid proof of Prince Jiang's Estate's rebellion!

Even if they didn't actually want to rebel and were only preparing for self-defense, he could still make them "rebel"!

"So where are they shipping the sulfur?"

Zeng Anmin grinned.

This was exactly why Shen Liu of Jin Taiping's Fleet had gone missing!!

As the leader of the Two Rivers Prefecture's top shipping fleet, Shen Liu had spent his youth traveling the rivers. He knew exactly where the wild mountains and deserted islands were.

Prince Jiang's Estate needed someone like him to help find a remote, uninhabited place to hide their evidence of rebellion.

But what they hadn't expected was that Shen Liu's wife would seduce his own nephew right in his Spirit Hall.

Shen Liu was a martial artist by nature, proud and unruly... If Shen Jun died at their hands, Shen Liu would never go along with them.

So they tried to use his hand to kill Shen Jun—only they didn't expect him to clear Shen Jun of suspicion.

To prevent future trouble, they resorted to disguising themselves as the "Black Cat Martial Artist" to assassinate him.

Once he was dead, they wouldn't have to worry about exposure.

"Left Clerk, Young Master Shen Jun, helmsman of Jin Taiping's Fleet, requests an audience."

"Wang Daoyuan of the Red-robed Guards requests an audience."

Zeng Anmin's lips curled upward. He slowly rose to his feet, a flicker of eerie light flashing across his face:

"Dachun, let's go. Come with your Young Master to reel in the net."