Clues

Jiang Fa looked at the thing in front of him and did not accept it in a hurry.

"Senior brother, this gift is too heavy."

"What's important?" Lin Feng shook his head gently. "As a worshiper of Lin Lineage, not to mention the things you have done for me Lin Lineage this year, as far as the Qingshan Martial Arts Association is concerned, the more outstanding your performance, the more face I, Lin Lineage, will have. These things are all my little thoughts, Lin Lineage."

Jiang Fa was silent for a moment, no longer refused, and put away the wooden box and porcelain bottle one by one.

"Senior Brother Lin, you are here tonight for more than just these things, right?"

He asked directly.

It's not that he is very sharp, but he can see that Lin Feng has a lot of worries hidden under his tired face.

"Alas."

Lin Feng sighed and hesitated for a moment, as if he was considering how to speak.

"To be honest, Junior Brother, the location of the Black Iron Fine Gold Mine has been discovered recently for some unknown reason."

Jiang Fa frowned slightly.

He knew that the batch of "Black Iron Gold" ore that he, Xing Lieshan and others escorted by the Naihe Bridge a few months ago came from this vein.

This mine is the foundation of Lin Lineage's long-term planning, and even the ordinary associates within the company do not know about it.

"Lin Lineage has been hiding the matter in the dark about the mineral vein. He only dares to use the most trustworthy old people for mining. Even three roads into the mountain were blocked. But just five days ago, all the people guarding the mine suddenly lost contact. My father sent people into the mountain overnight to check... all of them died."

Lin Feng took a sip of water and looked heavy.

"There are nineteen people in total, four of them are old guests who have been with my father for twenty years. The most powerful one has even stepped half of his foot into Transforming Force."

Jiang Fa was shocked.

"The warrior who half-stepped into Transforming Force also died in the mine?"

Although he has never met that old guest, he has heard it mentioned several times by the guards of Lin Lineage Trading Company.

This person has a very high status in Lin Lineage. He is Mr. Lin's right-hand man. He is extremely skilled in the Cloud-Piercing Sword Technique. He is also well-known among the older generation of warriors in Qingshan County.

But such a character died like this.

"Have you found any clues?" Jiang Fa asked with a frown.

"There were traces of a fierce fight at the scene, and the opponent seemed to have dispatched several top An Jin masters." Lin Feng's voice was solemn.

Jiang Fa frowned.

Several masters at the top of An Jin.

In this Qingshan County, there are only a handful of forces that can send out several An Jin peak masters at the same time.

What's more, the location of the mineral vein is so secret, how could it be suddenly discovered?

"How is the investigation of your Lin Lineage mole going?"

Jiang Fa asked suddenly.

Lin Feng shook his head. "There was no one alive or dead in the counting house, and the guards at the city gate never saw him leave the city. Later, I sent people to squat near his house for half a month. I even interrogated his lame old woman several times, but I couldn't get out any useful information."

Lin Feng continued, "However, it is not that there has been no progress in the past few days."

He suddenly lowered his voice and leaned forward.

"After the accident at the mine, my father asked me to check out several other old events and string them together, and I found some interesting things."

Jiang Fa wondered, "What did you find?"

"The accountant's surname is Sun, and his name is Sun Dewang. He joined the business three years ago. This person was introduced by my second uncle Lin Zhengtang."

Jiang Fa frowned slightly. "Your second uncle?"

"My second uncle manages several drug stores in a business. I have always kept a low profile, and I am quite friendly with my father."

Lin Feng spoke in a calm tone, without revealing too much emotion. "Not long after Sun Dewang's accident, my second uncle's family received an additional income. The amount was not small, about eight thousand taels. It was said to be a medicinal material business, but I checked the shipping records of the trading company, and there was no such transaction at all."

Jiang Fa's eyes narrowed.

"Eight thousand taels of silver is not a small amount. It just happened to appear at this juncture. How could it be such a coincidence?"

"I thought so too."

Lin Feng nodded. "But this is just a guess after all. There is no solid evidence and there is no way to count it. Another reason is that my father is in poor health and all the affairs of the business are burdened by a few old guys. My second uncle is quite famous in the clan. If we don't catch him with real evidence, we can't touch him just by saying 'there is doubt in the account'."

Jiang Fa was silent for a moment and suddenly asked, "Do you suspect that the mineral veins are also related to your second uncle?"

"It's hard to say."

Lin Feng shook his head, with a rare expression of solemnity on his face. "But I always feel that the water behind this is much deeper than it looks. Sun Dewang is just a connector at most, and the group of people who killed him are the real masterminds. It is true that there is a spy in the business, but there is a knife hanging outside. That knife is obviously aimed at me, Lin Lineage."

When he said this, he took a deep look at Jiang Fa.

"The assassination on the official road, the ambush at Naihe Bridge, the Black Wind Village, the Blood Wolf Gang, including the things you encountered before, if you look at them all in series, they may not be the work of the same group of people."

Jiang Fa remained silent.

He had vaguely had this suspicion for a long time.

If you get close to Lin Lineage and ruin the good things of the other party at a key node, you will naturally become a thorn in his side.

But if there really is an invisible hand behind the scenes that is painstakingly coordinating all of this, then the other party must have a big plan.

"Senior Brother Lin, you should investigate these matters secretly first, so as not to alert others."

Jiang Fa thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "If your second uncle really has a problem, if you touch him now, you will alert the people behind him in advance. You just said that it will take time, so first stabilize the interior of the trading house, wait for my martial arts meeting to end, and then we will find a way to help you pull out the knife outside."

"That was my original plan."

Lin Feng sighed, with a hint of apology on his face. "You are now at the most critical point of the martial arts association. I shouldn't bother you with these things, but apart from you, I really can't think of anyone else who can say these things."

"Senior brother, you are serious."

Jiang Fa said seriously, "Since I am worshiped by Lin Lineage, these things are my duty."

"I Lin Lineage have recorded your love."

Lin Feng looked at Jiang Fa and said sincerely.

The two talked for a while, mostly about the company's recent arrangements and the aftermath of the mine, as well as Jiang Fa's family. Two old escorts sent by Lin Lineage who were stationed at Yellow Earth Town sent word that everything was fine at the moment.

This is also the most reassuring thing for Jiang Fa.

The night wind came in through the cracks in the window, causing the flame of the oil lamp to sway slightly.

"Okay, it's getting late, I should go."

Lin Feng stood up and patted the non-existent dust on his robe. "You have a battle with the top four tomorrow. I won't delay your rest. The dangers in this martial arts competition are unpredictable. Junior brother needs to be more careful."

"I understand."

Jiang Fa also stood up.

As the night gets darker, the lights in the Zhao Clan Martial Hall's backyard go out one after another.

After sending Lin Feng away, Jiang Fa closed the door, sat back on the edge of the bed, poured out a rejuvenation pill from the celadon bottle, opened his mouth and swallowed it directly.

After the elixir entered his abdomen, a warm and moist medicinal power slowly dissolved and flowed along the meridians to his limbs and bones. The pain and fatigue left by today's battle with Liu Mang faded away like a tide.

He closed his eyes and adjusted his breath for half an hour. When the medicine was completely integrated into his qi and blood, he opened his eyes again.

Tomorrow is the last day of the martial arts competition.

With the Xuan-level middle-grade Jing Tiao Wave Slash, I might not have a chance...