The Pursuers' Identities

He Lingchuan's expression darkened. The He Manor had kept the news of the original owner's fall from the cliff alongside the leopard a secret. The Sand Leopard was later secretly transported back to the city for an autopsy, where it was discovered that it had already been severely wounded before it even attacked He Lingchuan.

Now that these two outsiders had suddenly come poking around for the whereabouts of the Sand Leopard, they were undoubtedly connected to the people who had hunted the leopard demon and brought such misery upon He Lingchuan!

This lead could not be allowed to slip away.

"Where are those two?"

"Still at the tavern. Our Altar Master is waiting for your instructions."

"Keep them there."

"Understood." The messenger chuckled. "Those two fellows are so arrogant, it's as if they're looking down their noses at everyone. One moment they're complaining the local wine is sour, the next they're whining about the smell in the room. The brothers are already fed up with them; it would be best if we could teach them a lesson."

He Lingchuan hesitated for a moment before standing up. "Lead the way."

He had known that coming to this world wouldn't be all smooth sailing without any effort or hardship.

Since that was the case, he might as well take the initiative.

Uncle Hao, however, interjected, "Let me go first; you can follow a little later, Young Master." With that, he left with the man.

As for why the Red and White Path had come to tip them off, Altar Master Jin had previously invited He Lingchuan to drink and listen to music, and He Lingchuan had also acted as a go-between for him on several matters, so they shared a bit of rapport. In a small place like this, networks were everywhere, and naturally, the Red and White Path also wanted to use this opportunity to do a favor for Governor He.

When He Chunhua first took office, he found that Blackwater City was a chaotic mix of people, with the most profitable trades already carved up. As the Governor, he naturally wanted long-term stability in his jurisdiction. Furthermore, given Blackwater City's critical geographical location, some of the darker forces had to be brought under control. Therefore, he didn't cut off their livelihoods to avoid escalating conflicts, but instead adapted to local conditions by issuing the "Liquor Permit," requiring merchants to hold a permit to sell alcohol.

In other words, from then on, selling liquor in Blackwater City required a license.

No matter who they were, they had to obtain a Liquor Permit from the authorities, or else they would be dealt with according to the law.

The common folk do not fight with officials. Organizations like the Red and White Path could not openly defy the government, and He Chunhua, being a man of means, used a combination of soft and hard tactics to eventually consolidate these rough forces through the "Liquor Permit," slowly turning Blackwater City into his own territory.

Any movement in the city would reach the He Manor in no time.

This was the power of a local hegemon.

The two outsiders walked out of a teahouse, only to be met by a sudden gust of wind. Before they could put on their veils, the sand carried by the wind stung their eyes, forcing them shut.

The two cursed, hurried back to the inn to order hot food, and then headed down to the public bathhouse.

They washed for a while, but for some reason, they began to yawn incessantly, growing sleepier and sleepier, until they actually fell asleep in the wooden tubs.

Splash! Cold water hit their faces.

The two woke up instantly, only to find themselves tied to chairs, facing a gray wall.

By the time He Lingchuan walked into the backyard of the inn, Uncle Hao had already come out. His hands were wet, and his expression was grave. "I've interrogated them. They've confessed."

"Are they still alive?" Uncle Hao was naturally a stern man, and seeing him pull such a long face made He Lingchuan's heart sink.

"...They are." Is the Young Master not going to ask about the content of the confession first? "They claim to be second-rank guards of Donglai Manor, sent to Blackwater City on orders from the Grand Marshal."

"Donglai Manor?" The name sounded familiar; he had to search the original owner's memories.

That guy was well-versed in wining, dining, and having fun, and he was also fond of martial arts, but he didn't pay much attention to anything else.

However, the title "Grand Marshal" that followed hit He Lingchuan with a heavy shock!

He remembered.

In the entire Yuan Kingdom, how many Grand Marshals could there be?

"The residence of the Pillar of State and Grand Marshal, Dong Haoming, was personally inscribed by the Emperor as 'Donglai Manor'!" Uncle Hao said, enunciating every word. "He is the father of the Eastern Queen, the King's father-in-law!"

"These two are actually subordinates of the Pillar of State?" He Lingchuan's expression changed drastically, but then he felt something was off. "If that's the case, why didn't they say so earlier? Why wait until they couldn't take the torture to confess? Are they masochists?"

Though they called themselves guards, they were essentially private soldiers of Donglai Manor. Nobles and officials in the capital were not allowed to maintain armies, but many high-ranking officials secretly kept private troops under various guises.

Nowadays, discipline was lax, and many policy loopholes were widening. Everyone knew it, but no one mentioned it.

"The mission was confidential; the manor issued a gag order forbidding them from leaking it." Uncle Hao reached out, his palm holding two tokens stained with blood. "These are Dongming Tokens, found on them."

Each token was only the size of a mahjong tile, with similarly rounded corners, but as thin as a leaf. He Lingchuan took them and weighed them; they were very light, with the characters "Dongming" engraved on them, along with a gold seal.

The purpose of the token was to verify identity while preventing forgery. These two tokens were made of a special material—neither gold, bronze, iron, nor wood. They looked like jade, but they didn't feel like it, as they had a slight elasticity when pressed.

"These should be authentic." Uncle Hao said in a low voice. "I've seen tokens from Dongming Manor before; these are identical. The Pillar of State's fief produces a strange wood that exudes a colorless, odorless, translucent resin after the bark is removed, which hardens upon baking. Items made from it cannot be imitated elsewhere."

"These two are really from Donglai Manor?" In other words, he had locked horns with Donglai Manor?

No, Donglai Manor had locked horns with him.

Separated by a thousand miles, he had inexplicably offended the King's father-in-law?

Even the original He Lingchuan would have felt that things were looking dire. He Lingchuan's mind was in a whirl. "Why would tracking a wounded Sand Leopard turn into a top-secret mission?"

The real He Lingchuan had run rampant in Blackwater City for sixteen years, living a life of luxury. How was it that, less than two months after he took over, he had stumbled into such a troublesome mess?

"These two were assigned to Blackwater City to find leads; they know nothing else. There were over a dozen others sent out at the same time, splitting up to head toward the vicinity of the Red Cliff trade route." Uncle Hao added, "By the way, they were originally stationed at Wuzhao Ridge, so they set out from there this time, not from Donglai Manor."

Wuzhao Ridge was separated from Blackwater City by a province, less than two hundred miles away—much closer than the capital.

He Lingchuan gave an "oh," not paying much attention.

With the current ruler being weak, Dong Haoming, as a member of the powerful faction, had cronies all over the world. What was strange about him planting some people in Wuzhao Ridge?

"Will more people from Donglai Manor be coming?"

"They don't know either." Uncle Hao glanced back into the room. "The interrogation is finished. How should we deal with these two?"

The best way was to slit their throats and destroy the evidence.