Chapter 126

“Can we really wait for that talisman cultivator amidst this pile of…” Chen Shu looked around hesitantly and said, “this pile of ruins?”

“How will we know unless we try?” Shen Jie retorted, glancing at her with some suspicion. “When did you become so indecisive? I remember you used to be much more decisive.”

“Who says I’m indecisive!” Chen Shu immediately retorted, puffing her cheeks and muttering under her breath. “I’m strategizing for the bigger picture—if you hadn’t deliberately withheld the culprit’s identity despite knowing who it was, why would we be tiptoeing around like this?”

“I have no idea who the mastermind is,” Shen Jie said, glancing toward Yan Ji, who now regarded her with great interest. “I only have a conjecture.”

“It’s just the three of us here; surely you can share your speculation,” Yan Ji pressed, seizing the opportunity.

Both stared at her expectantly. Indeed, apart from the three of them who had arrived early to stake out this spot, there wasn’t a soul to be seen—not even a shadow. It was as if the place itself had purposefully cleared an opening for their quiet discussion; even the sounds of footsteps from the neighboring courtyard had ceased. Within the empty expanse littered with broken walls, their hushed conversation echoed softly.

Shen Jie met their gazes for a moment, then lowered her head. She casually picked up a branch and traced four circles in the dirt, paused, then added half a fifth.

“Since it’s come to this, I’ll meticulously re-examine everything with you both. Perhaps I can trouble you to help determine whether my guess holds any merit,” she said, clapping her hands lightly. “The foremost principle in investigation is to first clarify precisely who you are investigating. This may sound convoluted, but in fact, we just walked through a similar logic a short while ago.”

“Xiao Zhong and the mastermind behind the scenes,” Chen Shu swiftly grasped her meaning.

“Precisely. Sending agents to destroy the embankment was Xiao Zhong’s doing. Arranging for the letter to be sent from Diancang Pass—that was the handiwork of this mastermind,” Shen Jie remarked, waving the stick she held. “If one fails to discern the differences and similarities between these two actors, mistakenly attributing all actions to one person or entity, it leads astray—as it originally did me—towards someone like Liu Mao.”

She spoke frankly of her earlier misjudgment before continuing in her usual manner. Using the stick she still toyed with, she pointed forward.

“In this case, the gentleman behind the scenes committed more than one ‘deed’. Therefore, if we clearly differentiate which acts belong to him, the conclusion naturally follows. The challenge lies solely in this ‘differentiation’, for which I’ll temporarily employ these circles to symbolize.”

Yan Ji had an epiphany, gesturing at the circles one by one. “The Sword Discussion Tournament, the catastrophic deluge, the surprise assault on the Valley of Villains, and the Bride’s Blade Challenge?”

Shen Jie shook her head with a smile and looked at Chen Shu.

“If we’re counting incidents, then wouldn’t the first be…” Chen Shu also stared at the circles, counting on her fingers. “The first wasn’t Diancang Pass… it was the Mounted Bandits case!”

“Correct.”

“Though the Mounted Bandits case was settled, and Liu Mao reported clues concerning the prisoner—verified to be a mole planted by the Valley of Villains within the Prefect’s residence aimed at meddling in the military horse trade, profiting immensely while supplying mounts to the valley—prior to this, someone knew we had apprehended the bandits. That person sent a letter to your master, using ‘exposed bribery’ as a pretext to order your recall, attempting to deliver a message and protect the mole. Following this, frequent disturbances plagued both banks of the Yushui River. Yet, throughout, this person never surfaced—never revealed the slightest flaw.

“That was the first incident. Furthermore, the mole’s discovery prompted the Valley of Villains to silence him, directly leading to the deluge at Diancang Pass… The second incident was the destruction of the Yingqiu Weir and the subsequent flooding of Diancang Pass!”

As she spoke, Chen Shu grew increasingly animated, pointing at the first two circles on the ground. “At their core, both these incidents aimed to conceal the power behind the Mounted Bandits case—even if other motives existed, this purpose was undoubtedly present. Consequently, they must be the work of the same person, or the same faction.”

Shen Jie’s smile deepened as Chen Shu looked to her, seeking confirmation. She nodded and stepped aside to give Chen Shu space to indicate the remaining circles.

“The third incident…” Chen Shu then hesitated slightly, glancing at Shen Jie before continuing. “I wasn’t directly involved, so I can’t be certain, but its suspicious nature warrants inclusion—during the surprise attack on the Valley of Villains, there must have been a leak of information!”

While Chen Shu might not have been fully immersed, Yan Ji possessed only fragmented second-hand knowledge. His eyes brightened with keen interest at her words, eager to hear more. Shen Jie encouragingly tilted her chin towards her.

“Firstly, there’s Linxi Pavilion’s Qi Ban. The message sent after Xiao Zhong’s capture was delivered uphill. Yet Qi Ban was not on the mountain at the time; he remained with other Linxi Pavilion disciples. How did he evade detection, learning the plan to storm the Small Turret first and escort Xiao Zhong’s escape? There must have been another mastermind involved.

“Secondly, perhaps I’m overthinking this,” Chen Shu added, “but as someone who entered Fangcheng before others and the Valley of Villains a few days prior, I sensed the bandits weren’t caught unaware at the last moment. They seemed to anticipate something, though unsure of the exact attack date or that Liu Mao’s maneuver to scout Fangcheng was a feint—the real target was the Valley of Villains. I strongly suspect someone was passing information here too.”

Shen Jie chuckled, neither confirming nor denying, merely summarizing: “The first scenario required being dispatched to the mountain during the assault on the valley. The latter, however, only required prior knowledge. Matters involving military strategy grow complex—for instance, you don’t even know if Qi Ban leaked the invasion plan. And there’s still the missing ‘Advisor’.”

This single point rendered Chen Shu speechless. She took a slow breath. “Then let’s set aside that intermediary incident for now. Regarding the final one… the theft.”

“Wasn’t that the talisman cultivator’s work?” Yan Ji interjected.

“…You? Do you agree?” Shen Jie turned to Chen Shu.

“I thought so too,” Chen Shu admitted, then paused before adding, “But Yun… he told me there were indeed anomalies in this matter.”

“Do share,” Shen Jie prompted warmly. “At least regarding this event, having no firsthand knowledge, I’m eager to hear the details from you.”

“A talisman cultivator could theoretically transport those treasures from Ping Chao Kou to Diancang Pass overnight. The treasures were indeed gathered near Ping Chao Kou originally; I’d even seen some on the stage during the Bride’s Blade Challenge myself, including that… ‘fake sword’.

“However,” Chen Shu continued, “could even a cultivator truly spirit away such treasures—several large crates’ worth—from a bustling courtyard without alerting anyone, including the guards overseeing them? We just saw those items ourselves! Talisman cultivation grants uncommon abilities, but physical prowess sufficient for stealthily carrying such loads? Unlikely. Besides, Yun Shen mentioned accidentally encountering the thief who stole my jade token. That person’s movements were light and agile, utterly inconsistent with someone laden with heavy items…”

“A very sound analysis,” Shen Jie observed with admiring approval. “Having laid this out, we can organize things anew. Each of these four circles bears this aura of enigma. Sorting through, bringing the confirmed pieces together, finally allows a sliver of truth to emerge.”

The two involuntarily held their breaths, following Shen Jie’s finger as it traced a circle and then pointed once more to the fourth stick marked on the ground—

“This time, let’s work backwards. While it’s true that these treasures were transported from Ping Chao Kou to Diancang Pass, and undoubtedly carried away by this talisman cultivator, a question remains: How exactly did they vanish overnight from the Martial World Alliance’s storeroom?”

Chen Shu suddenly remembered something and answered, “Yun Shen said perhaps the treasures never actually left that courtyard house. Maybe during the chaos after the incident, someone quietly took them away!”

“Not a bad idea, but it doesn’t make sense. If the hiding spot could be found right in the courtyard, why would one bother shipping them all the way back to Diancang Pass?” Shen Jie smiled and said, “Let’s consider it differently, just as we’re working backwards now. We should also examine this case from start to finish—

“Originally, the treasures were in Ping Chao Kou. But aside from those few trinkets specially handed over for the tournament winner’s inspection, as for the other, larger items—you probably only ‘heard’ they were in the storeroom but never saw them with your own eyes, right?”

Hearing this, the two were both startled and exchanged another look. Yet Shen Jie remained unhurried and, before they could reply, continued speaking.

“Therefore, this person must have been able to command the talisman cultivator, or the talisman cultivator must have had an accomplice in Ping Chao Kou. After all, the cultivator was neither responsible for gathering the treasures nor guarding them. In this case, I lean towards the former explanation. For what is first revealed, intentionally exposed, often points away from the true mastermind behind the scenes.

“Thus, it’s clear this person is not only cunning but also holds a certain position. Coincidentally, this actually links up with the first three incidents—delivering a message, even an oral one, to Linbo Prefecture required someone who could be dispatched; knowing the tournament schedule demanded at least some connections; as for the Valley of Villains affair, it’s even clearer—those who participated in the raid were the finest talents from various sects.

“Considering these four incidents are interconnected, we can set aside the puzzling aspects of the latter two for now and refocus on the first two cases—

“First, the Mounted Bandits case. Besides your group, me, and Liu Mao’s men, who knew about ‘The capture of a Mounted Bandit in Diancang Pass’ on that day?”

“The commotion was loud then, many passersby on the street saw it…” Chen Shu thought carefully and suddenly recalled a name. “…Ying Wei!”

They had briefly encountered each other that day at the Diancang Pass government office. Naturally, Shen Jie was aware of this. She smiled knowingly at Chen Shu, as if waiting for her to mention this name. “Exactly.”

“…But he surely couldn’t have committed such insane deeds?” Chen Shu clicked her tongue in disbelief.

“‘You know the face, never the heart.’ But it might not be him specifically. Perhaps after he returned to his sect, he mentioned it unintentionally to someone, and the news spread,” Shen Jie said, yet refrained from drawing a definite conclusion. Instead, she shifted topic. “In the second case, what stands out to me as most pivotal, something we’ve discussed several times, is—timing.”

“Yes!” Chen Shu clapped her hands together, seeing Yan Ji’s bewildered expression. She explained, “The timing of the flood is deeply suspicious. My sister and I went to Yingqiu Weir once and it confirmed our suspicion—the order to destroy the weir and release the floodwaters must have been given after someone in Diancang Pass learned the specific schedule of the Sword Discussion Tournament that day. They then urgently sent men to sabotage Yingqiu Weir overnight. Thus, there must be a compelling reason why they went to such lengths to pinpoint the flood’s exact arrival time.”

“Originally, we assumed that since this person was in Diancang Pass, they were likely acting out of self-preservation,” Shen Jie said. “After all, the city walls of Diancang Pass are high, but nowhere near as high as that Sword Discussion Platform. As long as the platform remains standing, those atop it should be safe.”

“Isn’t that true?” Chen Shu asked.

“If it were so, there’s one thing that never quite added up for me,” Shen Jie said, picking up the marking stick. She turned around. “In this entire chain of events, obtaining the tournament schedule required the greatest effort. Self-preservation would be motive enough, yes. But looking at the whole picture, simpler alternatives existed. Even if unable to leave, they could have set a destruction time beforehand and then found an excuse to get themselves onto the Sword Discussion Platform on that chosen day.”

“…That makes sense.” Chen Shu blinked. “But since you mention it, you must have another explanation in mind, one that does tie everything together, right?”

“Because the person they are protecting remains in the dark,” Shen Jie stated.

No sooner had the words left her lips than a voice sounded from the broken courtyard gate.

“—Oh?”