Lin Xiu's voice came from outside the courtyard gate, unhurried and carrying the polite air of someone conducting official business.
Zheng Yuanpei's brows knitted. He slapped the chess piece in his hand onto the board.
"Come in!"
He muttered under his breath, his impatience plain in his voice.
Before long, the steward led three people through the Moon Gate and into the courtyard.
The man at the front was not yet thirty. His expression was stern, and his dark blue uniform was pressed without a single wrinkle.
He was Lin Xiu of the Folklore and Antiquities Investigation Division.
Behind him followed a young officer carrying a black leather case, along with a lean man in a short gray jacket. His waist was bulging, and from the way he walked, he looked like a trained fighter.
After entering, Lin Xiu's gaze rested on Zheng Yuanpei for a moment, then fell on Zheng Shulan.
Next, his eyes swept over the other side of the chess table and stopped.
Fang Shuwen sat opposite him at the chess table.
Lin Xiu's pupils contracted slightly.
He recognized that face.
This was someone he had previously suspected.
Three days ago, he had tested him with a detector in the Elite Class at Xikou Public Middle School.
At the time, he had ruled out the young man as a suspect.
But now, this man was sitting in a side room of the Zheng Family, playing chess with Lord Zheng.
A gatekeeper's son, a student at Public Middle School, playing chess with Zheng Yuanpei?
Lin Xiu's eyelid twitched.
He suddenly felt that this young man was probably no ordinary person.
"And who is this?"
Lin Xiu adjusted his black-rimmed glasses. His gaze lingered on Fang Shuwen's face for a moment before he looked toward Zheng Yuanpei.
"My chess partner."
Zheng Yuanpei tossed the piece in his hand into the chess jar and leaned back in his chair, his tone cool.
"What, Chief Lin, are you going to manage who this old man plays chess with, too?"
"Lord Zheng, you jest."
Lin Xiu smiled.
Then,
he withdrew his gaze from Fang Shuwen and turned to Zheng Shulan.
"Miss Zheng, I've come to ask you to confirm something small."
Zheng Shulan sat upright in her chair, holding a teacup. At his words, she raised her eyes and glanced at him.
"Go ahead."
Lin Xiu took a photograph from his coat and placed it on the chess table, gently sliding it in front of Zheng Shulan.
The photograph showed a copper disc. Strange, crooked Wild Curse Script was engraved on the front, and a vertical pupil on the back.
"Miss Zheng, have you ever seen this?"
Zheng Shulan glanced down at the photograph and furrowed her brow slightly, as though trying to remember.
After a moment,
she shook her head, her tone firm. "I haven't."
"You haven't?"
"You really haven't seen it?"
Lin Xiu repeated the question. His gaze lingered on Zheng Shulan's face for three or four seconds, searching her expression for a crack.
Zheng Shulan's expression remained unchanged. She raised her teacup and took a sip, neither flinching nor avoiding his gaze.
Lin Xiu looked away and turned to Zheng Yuanpei, his tone a little more courteous. "And you, Lord Zheng?"
"I haven't seen it either."
Zheng Yuanpei brought his cane down on the floor with a dull thud.
"Chief Lin, you came all this way just to ask about this? What kind of inexplicable thing is it?"
"Now get out of here!"
At that,
Lin Xiu withdrew his gaze, his expression darkening.
"Please forgive me, Lord Zheng. This is official business. I'm only following orders."
He stood up, cupped his hands toward Zheng Yuanpei, then inclined his head slightly to Zheng Shulan.
"Sorry to have disturbed you. I'll take my leave."
With that, he turned and left with his two subordinates.
Their footsteps receded along the covered corridor, passed through the Moon Gate, and disappeared beyond the courtyard wall.
In an alley outside the Zheng Mansion,
Lin Xiu stopped and glanced back at the two gilded characters on the gate—"Zheng Mansion." The courtesy on his face receded like the tide, revealing the ruthless expression beneath.
"Xiao Liang, the instrument."
Officer Liang answered and crouched down to open the black leather case.
It was lined with dark red velvet, with a palm-sized copper instrument fitted into the center.
Its surface was carved with densely packed dials, and several hair-thin needles trembled faintly.
Officer Liang turned the knob on its side. The instrument gave a soft hum, the needles jumped a few times, then settled steadily on a mark.
"Chief, everything's normal. No anomalous energy detected."
Officer Liang looked up, sounding somewhat relieved.
Lin Xiu looked down at the instrument, his brows slightly furrowed. He said nothing.
After a moment of silence, he fished a cigarette from his pocket, put it between his lips, struck a match, and lit it.
He inhaled deeply, then blew smoke from his nostrils.
"Chief, what do we do now?" Officer Liang shut the case and stood up.
"That Fang Shuwen... we looked into him. He's the gatekeeper's son, and his grades were a complete mess last semester. Then he suddenly shot up over the summer. And just now, he was sitting in the Zheng Family's home, playing chess with Lord Zheng. No matter how you look at it, he doesn't seem like an ordinary student."
Lin Xiu flicked the ash from his cigarette. His gaze settled on an old locust tree across the street, and his voice remained unhurried.
"The instrument didn't react, which means he hasn't come into contact with the Soaring Snake Counter-Scale. At least, not recently."
"So you mean... we can rule him out?"
"No. Quite the opposite."
Lin Xiu adjusted his glasses and said quietly, "Have someone watch him. When Fang Shuwen comes out, test him."
In the side room of the Zheng Mansion, Fang Shuwen placed his final piece and checkmated Zheng Yuanpei's general.
"I'm done. I'm done!"
Zheng Yuanpei shoved the pieces aside and leaned back in his chair, looking thoroughly disgruntled.
"You brat, if that Lin Xiu hadn't spoiled my mood today, I would've won that game for sure!"
Fang Shuwen smiled and picked up the pieces one by one, returning them to the chess jar.
He didn't call the stubborn old man out.
"Old sir, what exactly is Lin Xiu's background?"
"He's the chief of the Xikou Folklore and Antiquities Investigation Division, and he's from the Lin Family of Shenghai."
Zheng Yuanpei stroked his goatee. His tone carried a trace of disdain, but there was a hint of wariness in his eyes.
"Oh!"
Fang Shuwen nodded. He had never heard of the Lin Family of Shenghai.
But anyone who had made a name for themselves in Shenghai was certainly no simple figure.
"Here. This is today's prize."
Zheng Yuanpei called him back, took a small blue cloth pouch from the drawer, and tossed it over.
Fang Shuwen caught it. It was heavy in his hand.
He didn't need to count it to know there was a lot of money inside.
However, he didn't accept it. Instead, he pushed the pouch back.
"What? You think it's too little?" Zheng Yuanpei glared, bristling.
"Old sir, you jest. It's just that I don't want money today. I'd like you to give me some guidance."
Fang Shuwen's eyes shone as he spoke.
Today, after arriving at Zheng Yuanpei's home, he had finally learned about Lord Zheng's reputation.
He was the number one martial artist in Xikou County, and the last Martial Scholar of the Great Yin dynasty.
He had once been received by the Deposed Emperor and given an imperial plaque.
Before Great Yin collapsed, he had served as commander of the Xikou garrison, at Principal Fifth Rank.
And now, though a new nation had been established,
Lord Zheng's standing had not diminished; it had only grown. The largest trading company in Xikou County belonged to the Zheng Family.
Zheng Yuanpei took back the pouch Fang Shuwen had pushed over and looked up at him, his gaze taking on a more scrutinizing edge.
"Guidance?"
"You're quite the little schemer. Back when I taught students in Shenghai, you couldn't even get through the door without paying three hundred silver dollars a month. And you think two games of chess will buy you lessons?"
Fang Shuwen smiled, neither servile nor overbearing. "If you think it's a bad deal, then forget it. I'll come another day and play chess with you."
As he spoke, he stood up as if to leave.
"Hmph. Come with me!"