Chapter 119 A secret passage intercepts a message to silence witnesses; Wang Dehou kneels and confesses at Qingyun Ridge.

The smell of blood in the secret passage was very faint.

Drilling outward along the damp earthen walls, Zhao Gang bent his waist and pursued for over a dozen yards. His scabbard constantly brushed against the walls, causing mud powder to fall onto his shoulders.

He cursed under his breath.

"The Wang family really knows how to pick places to dig secret passages; it's so narrow even a dog would feel suffocated crawling through it."

A patrol soldier in front held up a fire starter. The flame swayed back and forth in the wind within the passage, illuminating a drag mark on the ground.

Zhao Gang looked down and lowered his voice.

"Inspector, something was dragged here. There are blood spots on the side."

Lin Chen walked behind, the hilt of the black abyss pressed against his palm. The Golden Core within his Dantian rotated steadily. His perception after condensing the core was much clearer than during the Tongmai Realm; the sound of coughing coming from the end of the passage sounded very close to his ears.

He spoke.

"Don't step on the drag marks."

Zhao Gang immediately withdrew his foot and turned back to glare at the patrol soldiers behind him.

"Did you all hear that? Whoever messes up the tracks will have to go back and write ten copies of their own deposition for Liu Buyu."

The patrol soldiers nodded hastily.

"We heard you."

The secret passage took another turn, and an iron barred gate appeared at the end. The lock had already been picked, and half a piece of freshly broken copper wire still hung from the iron bars.

Zhao Gang squatted down to look and gave a cold, wide-mouthed sneer.

"They were in such a hurry they didn't even take the lock with them."

Wind blew in from outside the gate, carrying the smell of rotten mud from a drainage ditch.

Zhao Gang pushed open the iron gate and leaned half his body out first.

"There's someone outside."

In the next breath, he squeezed all the way out, his blade half-drawn.

In the dead-end alley, Shen Yue stood by the drainage ditch, her short blade held horizontally in front of her. The sole of her boot was pressed against the back of a man in gray clothes.

The man in gray lay prone on the ground, his hands tied behind his back. A bundle was pressed against his back, lashed tightly with rope, its corners revealing several hard, blocky shapes.

Seeing this scene, the tension on Zhao Gang's face finally relaxed slightly.

"He sure ran fast."

Shen Yue looked down at the person beneath her feet.

"When he crawled out of the drainage ditch, he was still clutching this bundle."

Zhao Gang walked over and poked the bundle with his scabbard.

"This thing is quite heavy. Is it filled with stones, or your master's life?"

The man in gray lifted his mud-covered face, his eyes full of terror and his lips trembling violently.

"This lowly one is just a delivery man. I don't know what's inside."

Zhao Gang raised his foot and stepped on the man's wrist, the pressure forcing the man's face into the mud.

"A delivery man who uses secret passages?"

The man in gray gasped in pain.

"This lowly one really doesn't know. I only followed Steward Wang's orders to deliver the goods outside the city."

Zhao Gang leaned down and stared at him.

"Where outside the city?"

The man in gray shut his lips, not daring to say more.

Zhao Gang added a bit more force to his foot.

"If you don't talk, I'll have The Coroner examine your hands first, then your mouth."

The man in gray was in such pain that sweat and mud mixed together.

"This lowly one only knows to go to the Old Locust Tree outside the North City Post Station. Someone will meet me there."

Shen Yue looked toward Lin Chen.

"A meeting point."

Lin Chen stepped out from behind the iron gate, his gaze falling on the bundle.

"Open it."

Shen Yue bent down and cut the rope. The bundle's wrapping unfolded layer by layer, revealing two thin booklets and a wax-sealed secret letter inside.

The booklets were thinner than the 'Living accounts' found in the coffin earlier. There were no words on the covers, but the paper was thick and fine, with thin patterns pressed into the edges.

Zhao Gang took a look, his brow furrowing.

"This doesn't look like an ordinary ledger."

Shen Yue flipped open the first page. After reading only two lines, her finger stopped at the corner of the paper.

Zhao Gang leaned in.

"What's written?"

Shen Yue closed the booklet and looked up at Lin Chen.

"The Inspector needs to see this."

Zhao Gang's expression also darkened.

"Even you won't read it out loud?"

Shen Yue re-wrapped the booklets.

"Not on the street."

Lin Chen reached out and took the booklets. He didn't flip through them in the dead-end alley, only glancing at the wax-sealed secret letter.

There was no clan emblem on the wax seal, only a very faint square stamp mark, as if it had been intentionally pressed very lightly.

Lin Chen spoke.

"Take him back to the precinct. Open it in front of Steward Wang Dehou."

Zhao Gang immediately looked at the man in gray.

"What about him?"

Lin Chen glanced at the man in gray.

"Gag him and escort him back."

The man in gray struggled frantically.

"My Lord, this lowly one is truly just a delivery man! I haven't killed anyone! I don't even know what's written in the ledgers!"

Zhao Gang tore off a strip of cloth and stuffed it directly into his mouth.

"Whether you know or not, we'll see when you write it out back at the office."

By the time the man in gray was dragged up by two patrol soldiers, the bundle was already in Shen Yue's hands.

She walked beside Lin Chen, her voice kept very low.

"There's a list in the second book."

Lin Chen asked.

"A list of whom?"

Shen Yue paused for half a breath.

"The current headcount at Qingyun Ridge."

Hearing this, Zhao Gang almost tripped. He turned back to look at her.

"A list of living people?"

Shen Yue nodded.

"And winter clothing marks."

Zhao Gang's face instantly sank to the extreme.

"Winter clothes, taken away; people buried on the back slope."

Lin Chen didn't say a word, simply walking back along the secret passage.

In the backyard of the outer residence, Steward Wang Dehou was still slumped at the door of the woodshed. Two patrol soldiers were watching him, and his eyes kept drifting toward the entrance of the secret passage.

Zhao Gang emerged from the passage and shoved the man in gray into the courtyard.

The man in gray tumbled onto the blue bricks. The cloth in his mouth was stained black by mud, and his whole body curled into a ball.

When Steward Wang Dehou saw him, his face changed instantly.

Zhao Gang saw it clearly and sneered.

"Do you recognize him, Steward Wang?"

Steward Wang Dehou's throat moved twice.

"No, I don't know him."

Zhao Gang yanked the cloth out of the gray-clad man's mouth.

"You tell me, do you know him?"

The man in gray looked up and saw Steward Wang Dehou, his lips trembling even more.

"Steward Wang, save me!"

The courtyard was silent for a breath.

Zhao Gang laughed.

"Save you?"

He turned to look at Steward Wang Dehou, suppressed fire in his eyes.

"Steward Wang, you just said you didn't know him."

Steward Wang Dehou's shoulders slumped.

"He... he's just an errand boy for the outer residence."

Zhao Gang placed the bundle in front of him.

"An errand boy who crawls through secret passages carrying ledgers?"

Steward Wang Dehou's lips moved, but he couldn't form a complete sentence.

Lin Chen sat down at the stone table in the courtyard, placed the two thin booklets on the tabletop, and flipped open the first one.

Liu Buyu had already hurried over from the woodshed, holding a document box and oil paper, with a brush tucked between his fingers.

He asked in a low voice.

"Inspector, should I record this?"

Lin Chen turned the first page.

"Record it: At the end of the secret passage in the east city outer residence, intercepted one messenger in gray, carrying two unnamed booklets and one wax-sealed secret letter."

Liu Buyu immediately began writing.

"Name of the gray-clad messenger?"

Zhao Gang looked down at the man in gray.

"What's your name?"

The man in gray shrank his neck.

"This lowly one is called Chen Er."

Zhao Gang stared at him.

"Which Chen?"

Chen Er glanced at Steward Wang Dehou, not daring to speak.

Zhao Gang kicked the blue brick next to him.

"What are you looking at him for? Look at me."

Chen Er's voice was weak.

"The 'Chen' with the ear radical."

Liu Buyu wrote down the name and looked up at Lin Chen.

"Content of the booklets?"

Lin Chen flipped to the second book, his gaze stopping on one line for a moment.

That line read: Zhou Huaiyi, inside the well, still able to write, do not keep after tonight.

Lin Chen closed the booklet and handed it to Liu Buyu.

"Seal it."

When Liu Buyu took the booklet, his eyes swept over that line. His face instantly turned pale, but his fingers pressed the oil paper steadily.

He said in a low voice.

"Your subordinate understands."

Zhao Gang was anxious.

"Old Liu, what exactly is written inside?"

Liu Buyu wrapped the booklet and tucked it into the document box.

"Seal it first. You'll see it when we make copies back at the office."

Zhao Gang glared at him.

"You've learned how to be mysterious now?"

Liu Buyu looked up at him with a grim expression.

"I'm afraid if you saw it now, you'd beat Steward Wang Dehou to death first."

The look in Zhao Gang's eyes changed.

Hearing this, Steward Wang Dehou shrank back, his back hitting the doorframe of the woodshed.

Lin Chen picked up the wax-sealed secret letter and looked at Steward Wang Dehou.

"Steward Wang, do you recognize this letter?"

Steward Wang Dehou shook his head repeatedly.

"I don't recognize it. This lowly one has never seen it before."

Lin Chen placed the secret letter on the stone table, his finger pressing down on the seal.

"Then let's look at it together."

Steward Wang Dehou's lips turned white.

"Inspector Lin, opening private mail is likely against the rules."

Zhao Gang was so angry he laughed.

"A silencing letter intercepted in a secret passage, and you're talking to me about 'private mail'?"

Liu Buyu put brush to paper, his tone faster than usual.

"Wang Dehou attempted to obstruct the examination of the intercepted secret letter on the grounds that opening private mail is against the rules."

Steward Wang Dehou waved his hands hastily.

"This lowly one is not obstructing, I am merely reminding."

Liu Buyu didn't look up.

"Supplement: Wang Dehou claims it was merely a reminder."

Lin Chen crushed the wax seal with his fingertip and unfolded the letter.

The letter had only three lines of text.

He glanced at it and handed it to Liu Buyu.

"Read it."

Liu Buyu took the letter. When the first line left his mouth, his voice was already very low.

"Transfer the Living accounts immediately."

Zhao Gang's hand gripped his hilt.

Liu Buyu continued reading.

"Clear the grounds at Qingyun Ridge tonight."

The breathing of everyone in the courtyard grew heavy.

Liu Buyu paused for half a breath before reading the third line.

"Handle Zhou Huaiyi cleanly; leave no survivors."

After seeing those three lines, Steward Wang Dehou's knees buckled, and he knelt directly on the ground, sweat rolling down his forehead bead by bead.

Zhao Gang rushed forward, grabbed his collar, and lifted him halfway up.

"Clear the grounds tonight?"

Steward Wang Dehou's lips quivered.

"I... I didn't know they would move so fast."

The veins on the back of Zhao Gang's hand bulged, his voice sounding as if it were squeezed through his teeth.

"They want to kill all the children at the Yiyang Foster Home?"

Steward Wang Dehou was being strangled and couldn't catch his breath.

"I am just a steward, I only manage the outer residence. I don't know who gave the order to clear the grounds."

Lin Chen handed the letter to Liu Buyu.

"Seal it."

Liu Buyu immediately took out oil paper and sealing strips, wrapped the letter, and pressed the seal.

Lin Chen stood up and walked over to Steward Wang Dehou.

"Where is the Yiyang Foster Home at Qingyun Ridge?"

Steward Wang Dehou looked at him, his eyes filled with nothing but terror.

"Inspector Lin, I'll talk. I'll tell you everything."

Zhao Gang tightened his grip on the collar even more.

"Speak quickly."

Steward Wang Dehou was lifted so that only his toes brushed the ground, his voice coming out in fits and starts.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

"Sixty li north of the city, on the southern slope of Qingyun Ridge, there is an old official road fork; head west for three li."

Zhao Gang roared at him.

"Be clearer."

Steward Wang Dehou nodded hurriedly, his tears and snot mixing together.

"Cross a broken bridge; there is a valley behind it, and the Yiyang Foster Home is inside that valley."

Liu Buyu recorded this rapidly.

"Sixty li north of the city, southern slope of Qingyun Ridge, three li west from the old official road fork, valley behind the broken bridge."

Lin Chen asked.

"How many people are guarding the outside?"

Steward Wang Dehou gasped for air.

"Three hidden sentries, an iron gate at the valley entrance, and over twenty guards inside."

Shen Yue stood to the side and asked quickly.

"How are the hidden sentries distributed?"

Steward Wang Dehou glanced at her, then immediately lowered his head.

"The first is in the pine forest before the broken bridge, the second is on the eastern slope of the valley, and the third is in the stone house outside the iron gate."

Shen Yue continued to ask.

"Shift change times?"

Steward Wang Dehou's voice trembled.

"Once at nightfall, once at midnight, and once before dawn."

Zhao Gang threw him to the ground.

"Cultivation levels of the guards."

Steward Wang Dehou knelt on the ground, his palms pressed against the green bricks.

"The highest is Late Stage Blood Refining Realm, and most are in the Body Tempering Realm."

Hearing this, Zhao Gang's expression softened slightly.

"No Tongmai Realm?"

Steward Wang Dehou raised his head, his lips trembling for a long time.

"Not usually."

Zhao Gang's face darkened again.

"What do you mean 'not usually'?"

Steward Wang Dehou's voice dropped.

"If the Wang family sends someone to clear the site, there might be experts."

The courtyard fell silent.

Sun Qi returned from the direction of the back alley and happened to hear this sentence; a corner of the medicinal cloth on his face was dampened by sweat.

Lin Chen looked at him.

"Did anyone leave the city from the Wang family's main residence today?"

Sun Qi shook his head.

"People are watching both the main gate and the side gate, and no large groups were seen leaving."

Zhao Gang asked immediately.

"What about small teams?"

Sun Qi glanced at him.

"Small teams can change clothes and sneak out, or use secret passages; my people cannot watch the underground."

Zhao Gang gritted his teeth.

"Could Wang Xuan have already left?"

Sun Qi did not answer.

Shen Yue looked at Lin Chen.

"If they exit the city from the Wang family's secret passage and take the old canal north of the city, it is half an hour faster than the official road."

Zhao Gang turned his head to look at her.

"How do you know?"

Shen Yue said.

"Before escorting Zhou Pingan last night, I checked the evacuation routes north of the city."

Zhao Gang's lips moved, but in the end, he only spat out one sentence.

"You people who scout routes really have a keener nose than a dog."

Shen Yue glanced at him.

"Head Zhao, I'll remember those words."

Zhao Gang's face twitched.

"Pretend I didn't say anything."

Lin Chen looked at Sun Qi.

"Have the scouts check the Wang family's secret exits north of the city; report immediately if there is any movement."

Sun Qi nodded.

"I will arrange it now."

Lin Chen looked at Liu Buyu again.

"Seal the living accounts, secret letters, and anonymous rosters; send the originals back to the iron cabinet in the Main Courtyard."

Liu Buyu hugged the document box tightly.

"I will deliver them personally."

Lin Chen said.

"Make another copy; send the copy to the Governors Mansion."

Liu Buyu nodded.

"Separate the original and the copy; whoever wants to destroy them must destroy both locations."

Zhao Gang looked at Lin Chen.

"Inspector, are we going to Qingyun Ridge tonight?"

Lin Chen nodded.

"Yes."

Zhao Gang immediately stepped forward.

"I'll go with you."

Lin Chen looked at him.

"You stay behind to guard the outer residence."

Zhao Gang's expression changed.

"Inspector, the outer residence has the City Defense Battalion, the Criminal Division, and Commander Liu Chong's men; what am I staying for?"

Lin Chen looked at the coffin in the woodshed, then at the document box.

"The living accounts and evidence cannot be compromised."

Zhao Gang grew anxious.

"But what if Wang Xuan is at Qingyun Ridge? What if he is at the Middle Stage of Condensing Core?"

Lin Chen interrupted him.

"That is why I am taking Zhou Tie and He Jian."

Zhao Gang wanted to speak, but Lin Chen looked at him, his tone becoming heavier.

"Zhao Gang, the things the Wang family wants to destroy most today are right here."

Zhao Gang's Adam's apple bobbed.

Lin Chen continued.

"The children must be saved, and the evidence must also return to the court alive."

Zhao Gang gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, and after a long while, he spoke in a low voice.

"I will guard it."

He looked up at Lin Chen.

"But you must promise me, if you really run into Wang Xuan, don't take him head-on."

Lin Chen glanced at him.

"I am now at the Condensing Core stage."

Zhao Gang gritted his teeth.

"Even an Early Stage Condensing Core is human; you will bleed if you get slashed by a sword."

Shen Yue's eyelashes fluttered, her gaze falling on the fading blood scab at the corner of Lin Chen's mouth.

She did not press for more, only speaking.

"After exiting the city on the northern official road, there are two intersections suitable for an ambush."

Lin Chen looked at her.

"You are responsible for scouting the road ahead."

Shen Yue nodded.

"I will go prepare the horses."

He Jian walked over from the front courtyard, his left arm still wrapped in medicinal cloth, and the wound was no longer bleeding.

He heard the last few sentences and spoke directly.

"Inspector, this subordinate can go."

Zhao Gang looked at him with a frown.

"Your arm is still injured."

He Jian raised his left arm.

"I use my right hand for the sword."

Zhou Tie also entered from the direction of the courtyard gate; his broken spear had been replaced by a spare iron spear, and the web of his thumb was wrapped in cloth.

He looked at Lin Chen.

"Inspector, the iron spear is still usable."

Zhao Gang glared at him.

"Your hand is also split."

Zhou Tie looked at his own hand.

"I can hold it."

Zhao Gang laughed in frustration.

"Fine, you are all better at pushing yourselves than I am."

Lin Chen ignored their bickering as the System prompt sounded in his mind at that moment.

［Detected that the host intercepted the secret order to silence witnesses, and locked onto the location of the Yiyang Foster Home. Merits have been recorded.］

［Estimated merit points for this mission: 1200 points.］

［Reminder: The host is currently at the Early Stage of Condensing Core, Meridians have been repaired, and the Severing Origin Technique can be performed normally.］

Lin Chen felt his Dantian; the Golden Core rotated steadily, his True Qi was thick and profound, and there was no previous stinging pain as it flowed along his Meridians.

He spoke.

"We depart in half an hour."

Liu Buyu held the document box, his face still pale, but he held the box very tightly.

"Inspector, I will return to the Main Courtyard first."

Lin Chen nodded.

"Take two teams with you on the road."

Liu Buyu said.

"I will have the City Defense Battalion escort me, and I will send it to the Governors Mansion immediately after copying the duplicate."

Zhao Gang looked at him.

"Old Liu, if something happens to you on the road, I won't be able to answer to the Inspector when I return."

Liu Buyu looked up at him.

"If something happens to me, the document box must not be compromised."

Zhao Gang cursed.

"Don't say such ominous things."

Liu Buyu looked down at the document box.

"Those who compile case records fear most that the evidence will die in their own hands."

Lin Chen looked at him.

"You will not die."

Liu Buyu looked up, his eyes reddening, but he quickly suppressed it.

"This subordinate understands."

When Steward Wang Dehou was hauled up by two patrolmen, his legs were still weak.

Lin Chen stopped one step in front of him.

"Steward Wang, Liu Buyu has recorded every word you said today."

Steward Wang Dehou raised his tear-stained face.

"Inspector Lin, I am just a steward; I really do not know everything about the matters above."

Lin Chen looked at him.

"You do not need to know everything."

Steward Wang Dehou stared at him blankly.

Lin Chen continued.

"You only need to write down what you know."

Steward Wang Dehou's lips trembled a few times.

"I will write it, I will write it all."

Zhao Gang said with a cold face.

"If you write one character too slowly, I will make you recall again how many people are buried at Qingyun Ridge."

Steward Wang Dehou's tears flowed down again.

"I will write."

As the twilight descended, the seals on the outer residence in the east of the city were re-applied in three layers.

Zhao Gang stood inside the main gate, personally checked the sentries twice, and had the City Defense Battalion seal the drainage ditch in the back alley with iron bars.

He turned and saw that Lin Chen had changed into lightweight black clothes, with the black abyss at his waist, while Zhou Tie, He Jian, and Shen Yue were already waiting at the back door with their horses.

Zhao Gang walked over, his expression sour.

"Inspector, I will say it again: the Wang family definitely has a backup plan."

Lin Chen mounted his horse.

"I know."

Zhao Gang looked up at him.

"You know, and you're still going?"

Lin Chen looked down at him.

"If I don't go tonight, by tomorrow morning, the Yiyang Foster Home will be nothing but ashes."

Zhao Gang was choked by these words, his chest heaving twice.

He tossed a small porcelain bottle to Shen Yue.

"Golden wound medicine for He Jian; don't let him push himself until he bleeds out halfway."

He Jian caught the bottle and glanced at Zhao Gang.

"Many thanks, Head Zhao."

Zhao Gang waved his hand.

"Less thanks, just come back alive."

Shen Yue put the bottle away and walked to the side of Lin Chen's horse, holding the reins.

"After leaving the city, I will go half a li ahead; if there are ambush sentries, I will signal with the cry of a night crow."

Zhou Tie patted his iron spear.

"I will guard the Inspector's left side."

He Jian hid his short blade in his sleeve.

"The right side is mine."

Lin Chen pulled the reins tight, his gaze passing over the deepening night in the direction of the north of the city.

"Let's go."

Four fast horses left from the back door of the outer residence; their hooves trod across the bluestone alley, and the sound was quickly swallowed by the twilight.

Zhao Gang stood inside the door until the last shadow of the horses disappeared, then turned to look at the sealed boxes and the duplicate document box in the courtyard.

He drew his sword half an inch from its sheath and said in a low voice.

"Whoever dares to come and touch the evidence, I will make sure they end up in a coffin tonight."

On the official road north of the city, the wind pressed in from the direction of the mountains, carrying the scent of grass, trees, and cold earth.

Lin Chen rode on his horse, the scabbard of the black abyss swaying gently against the side of the saddle; the Golden Core in his Dantian rotated slowly, and the True Qi flowed deeply within his Meridians.

Shen Yue's horse shadow disappeared into the night ahead first, leaving only a very light sound of hooves.

Zhou Tie looked at the distant mountain ridge and lowered his voice.

"Inspector, what if Wang Xuan is really waiting ahead?"

Lin Chen looked in the direction of Qingyun Ridge.

"Then we shall see if he is waiting for a person or a blade."

The night deepened, and the outline of the mountains north of the city pressed against the horizon like closing black maws.

Half a li ahead, a short cry of a night crow suddenly rang out.

Shen Yue had signaled.