"So, my senior brother has already left North Prefecture."
Sheng Qingzhi sat upright in a grand armchair, his hands resting on its armrests. Without even meaning to, he exuded an imposing air, solemn as a mountain.
"Yes."
Kneeling on one knee before the armchair was a man clad head to toe in armor. It was Purple-Complexioned Face.
"Our lord has gone out into the world to deal with an urgent matter. He received a report this morning and immediately hurried over."
"I see."
Sheng Qingzhi idly toyed with a copper-skinned gourd in his right hand. It was exquisitely crafted from wind-polished copper, decorated with red agate and turquoise, and engraved on the outside with the Four Symbols and the Eight Trigrams.
"By the way, what has that young He been up to?"
He casually set the gourd on the wood-grained table. No one knew what it held, but a faint "whirring" came from within, as though a storm of wind and thunder were swirling inside its belly.
"According to the intelligence our people have gathered..."
Purple-Complexioned Face kept his head bowed, his voice low and hoarse.
"That young He sent his retainers to deliver calling cards to the Flying Fish Sect, the Long Wind Society, the Iron Heart Martial Hall, the Dongchang Escort Agency, Old Master Wei Single-Whip...and both the black and white worlds around Suian City. He announced that he wanted to 'clear the mountain and eradicate the demons' ahead of schedule, but things haven't gone smoothly."
"That's only natural."
Prefect Sheng stroked his beard and sighed. "Those martial-world ruffians and gallant heroes are, in the end, nothing but a bunch of hoodlums and ne'er-do-wells—a rabble. They've always been fair-weather friends, chasing profit and dodging danger. They've all heard the rumors in the city and believe the He family's eldest young master is about to fall. Why would they volunteer to get involved?"
"Then won't he be unable to gather enough people to search the mountain? Why waste our time on him?"
Purple-Complexioned Face was clearly puzzled.
"My lord, searching the mountain will require a great deal of manpower and supplies. And that One-Horned Mountain Demon has already grown formidable. Two of my brothers among the Thirteen Flying Cloud Riders encountered it when they entered the mountain and nearly suffered a grievous loss. Quite a few of the prefectural yamen constables who went in were killed or wounded as well."
It should be understood that the Chongyang Palace selected its slave soldiers only after putting them through countless rounds of strict screening. The Thirteen Flying Cloud Riders under Daoist Zhen were all brave and valiant men, fierce by nature and unafraid of death. But not fearing death did not mean they were willing to go looking for it.
A Mountain Demon that had lived for a century had begun to develop its intelligence. It was no longer something ordinary people could oppose. Only cultivators from a sect, skilled in the arcane arts, could suppress it with their magic power.
Purple-Complexioned Face knew that, given the situation, searching Four Peaks Mountain and finding Cheng Zhi would be harder than scaling the heavens if they lacked the necessary manpower and supplies.
"Under a hefty reward, brave men will step forward. The He family can afford to pay, and people in the martial world are greedy for fame and fortune. As long as the money is good... But this time, that young He won't have everything go smoothly as it did before."
A cold smile tugged at Prefect Sheng's lips.
"Indeed, the boy is quite clever, and the He family has prospered under his management. Clearly, he has some skill. But for a mere merchant to keep retainers and make a habit of befriending people in the martial world is sheer folly..."
At this, Purple-Complexioned Face furrowed his brow slightly. He could tell that Prefect Sheng truly disliked the He family's eldest young master.
It was not hard to guess why. He Ping was a mere merchant. Instead of obediently keeping concubines, building grand gardens and mansions at great expense, or lavishing gold on antiques and calligraphy, he had chosen to use his immense wealth to maintain so many retainers. In the government's eyes, that was a very bad sign.
What did He Ping think he was, anyway? He'd gathered all those people under his command. Was he planning to throw his weight around and bully others with his influence, or stir up trouble and use a crowd to intimidate the officials?
From the very beginning, Prefect Sheng had disapproved of the young He's conduct. He had simply been too lazy to do anything about it.
"The He family is the foremost merchant household in Suian City. We can't simply leave them alone. Since the young He is unfit to head the family, we can choose someone else... That He Jin seems like a clever fellow. It wouldn't be a bad thing for him to become the head of the family."
Sheng Qingzhi spoke indifferently, but with astonishing authority, as if he were not the prefect of Suian City but the emperor himself, with every matter in the city under his control—even private family affairs like the succession to the headship of the He family.
"By the way..."
Sheng Qingzhi abruptly changed the subject.
"Have you found out who was behind the murder of my son?"
"Regarding that matter..."
Purple-Complexioned Face answered without hesitation. "First, we investigated Linjiang Immortal and discovered that Cheng Zhi used a human-skin mask to take the place of a waiter named Wang Liu and secretly infiltrated the establishment. The waiter's body was later found at his home."
"Take his place? How could a waiter at Linjiang Immortal be so easily replaced by an outsider? Even if someone wore a human-skin mask to impersonate him, their words and actions would give them away to anyone who knew them."
Sheng Qingzhi asked, "Surely someone noticed that Wang Liu had been replaced?"
"Cheng Zhi did a good job of impersonating him. He must have known the waiter's identity well. Wang Liu was a taciturn man, so as long as he didn't say much, it would have been hard for outsiders to notice."
Purple-Complexioned Face continued his analysis. "We suspect Linjiang Immortal had another inside man. After looking into it, we found that three months ago, a waiter who was close to the dead man, Wang Liu, claimed his mother was ill and that he had to go home to care for her. He then quit his job at the establishment."
"That man is probably the lead."
"But he's dead, along with his old mother. Half a month after he returned home, a great fire broke out, reducing the entire house to ashes. The bodies were burned beyond recognition. Even if we dug them out, it would be difficult to confirm who they were."
He might well have been the inside man, but the fire may not have killed him and his mother. The bodies could have been brought in from elsewhere as stand-ins.
Purple-Complexioned Face sighed.
"That lead has gone cold."
Sheng Qingzhi's face darkened. He thought for a moment, then asked, "Cheng Zhi first tried to assassinate Xie San, then killed my son at Linjiang Immortal before escaping through the water. He must have had someone waiting to help him. You can investigate along those lines..."
"We did, in fact, look into it, but unfortunately, there isn't much we could uncover from that angle. The other party covered their tracks exceptionally well and left no trace behind."
Purple-Complexioned Face glanced at Sheng Qingzhi, whose expression had grown even more gloomy, then continued, "Still, based on our investigation and analysis, the only groups in Suian City likely capable of pulling this off are the Long Wind Society, the He family, and the Ren Family. Besides them, there are also such forces as the Iron Heart Martial Hall and the Flying Fish Sect."
"The Long Wind Society is mine. The Ren Family is a local gentry household; there's no reason they'd get involved. The Iron Heart Martial Hall and the Flying Fish Sect wouldn't have the nerve. It seems the He family is the only one capable of helping Cheng Zhi kill my son."
"But that's only our guess. We don't yet have..."
"My son is dead. Whoever killed him, someone must answer for his death."
Sheng Qingzhi extended his right hand. His long, deliberately grown fingernails tapped softly against the tabletop.
"...To give my son an answer, I wouldn't hesitate to make the He family pay with their lives."
Hearing Prefect Sheng say this, Purple-Complexioned Face only lowered his head and said nothing.