No one had the answer for the questions fielded by Governor Chen.
Li Yuchun said, "Why would monsters steal the silver taels?"
After a moment's thought, Governor Chen replied, "There is no rhyme or reason to the actions of monsters. This line of questioning will only beget more questions."
The young woman in the yellow robe spoke up in between bites. "Human meat would be tastier to the monsters… Hm, wait a moment while I finish my food."
She endeavored to finish the two meat buns. With her cheeks stuffed, she took a gulp of tea to help the food down. Once she was done, she explained, "Monsters are instinctive creatures. The live humans running around should have caught their attention. Even if they wanted some silvers, they would resort to petty theft, not ambushing a cargo of tax silvers."
It was incredibly risky to attempt a robbery in broad daylight on the busy streets of Jingzhao City.
Governor Chen nodded. "You are not wrong. We cannot rule out human involvement."
Li Yuchun squinted. "Who ordered monsters to steal the tax money? For what reason? Why target this cargo? Why steal exactly 150,000 silver teals?"
"The mastermind needs a large sum of money but they want to keep it on the hush. More accurately, they can't accumulate such wealth without calling attention to themselves," Governor Chen said.
"So they decided to rob a tax collection?" The young woman pursed her painted lips.
"The path taken by the cargo was a last-minute decision and yet the monster was able to lie in wait in the river. It's possible someone in the guard detail was in on the plot," Li Yuchun said.
He turned to Governor Chen and said, "Should we pay a visit to Master Ru in the White Deer Academy?"
The young woman in the yellow robe eyed the middle-aged man. "Are you looking down on the Imperial Astronomers's Qi reading skills? I already said, the soldiers on duty knew nothing about the incident."
The cogs turned to a stop.
Silence filled the air as the group processed the details.
Li Yuchun stared at the scroll while Governor Chen let out a deep sigh. The young woman fiddled with the Feng Shui compass at her waist. She had to leave the courts before sundown to make it for her dinner with the princess.
The imperial kitchen served the best dishes in the empire.
Unlike the two men, the young woman in yellow was just supporting the investigation.
Caiwei—the young woman in yellow—was not an official, therefore the responsibility rested lighter on her shoulders.
Governor Chen's eyes twitched. "Our progress has been too slow. I'm getting anxious as time slips past. Master Li, why don't you consult Elder Wei?"
The middle-aged man side-eyed the governor. "Just like court officials, the Night Squad is subjected to inspections. Truth be told, this case was assigned to me by Elder Wei as a test."
Governor Chen had a bitter smile. "If this case remains unsolved, I can kiss my position goodbye. The whole empire is watching us."
The air thickened as the two men stared at each other.
…
"I can't do anything if it's done by a monster!" Xu Qian paled after reading the case. He could feel the gods taunting him.
There were monsters in this world. Their kind had existed alongside humankind since the beginning of history. Humans and monsters hunted animals and each other.
At the southern borders, there was a mountain range called the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Within those mountains laid the Monster Realm—an area that had a high population density of monsters.
500 years ago, the Western Zhu Kingdom declared war against the Monster Kingdom under the guidance of Buddha. The war lasted 60 years and ended with a severely wounded Monster Realm.
The legendary war was known as the Sixty Years of Pacification in history books.
Since then, the monster race had suffered a series of bad luck and faded into the background. In contrast, Buddhism blossomed in the aftermath of the war.
According to Xu Qian's knowledge, humankind was victorious in the fight over the top spot of the food chain.
If the monsters were responsible for the missing silver taels, Xu Qian would have to hunt them down to save the Xu family.
Being second to last on the hierarchy, Xu Qian did not believe he could change his fate.
The weather was chilly as autumn approached. Beads of cold sweat rolled off Xu Qian's back.
He feared for his life.
After consuming the host's memories, he knew he stood no chance in escaping the jail cell. He also knew in a society where the emperor's rule was absolute, human rights were non-existent.
Law and order were based on the whims of a single person.
His fantasy of a languid life in the ancient civilization—writing poetry and being pretentious—was shattered by reality.
Even in his second life, society was still handing it to him.
"No. This is just a theory by the court officials in Jingzhao City. I must not let their words taint my outlook. There is still hope. There is still hope…"
The urge to live calmed his mind as strict logical reasoning took over.
"Why did the monster want silver? Wouldn't human flesh be more attractive? And if they needed silver, why did they target the tax collection? From the books, it seems the female monsters are the pinnacle of beauty, with unmatchable physiques… I wonder if there are cat girls or puppy girls in this world…"
Smack! Xu Qian gave himself a slap on the face. "Focus on the case!"
The most important step in logical deduction was elimination. He had to comb through each clue and piece them together.
Without proper analysis, the case would become a tangled mess.
The case of the missing tax money had two main facts:
1. The demonic wind.
2. After the silvers fell into the river, an explosion occurred.
Excluding martial artists, a decent cultivator from any discipline would have the ability to summon a demonic wind. The facts were useless in narrowing down the suspect pool.
However, the evidence was helpful in clearing his martial artist uncle's name. Of course, there was always the possibility that he had an accomplice.
The second fact was the oddity. Explosions were common in fights between two high-ranking cultivators. However, there was no battle during the disappearance of the silver taels—the explosion made no sense.
"Unless the explosion was unavoidable," Xu Qian muttered under his breath.
"In the world of cultivation, which occupation relies heavily on explosives?"
Xu Qian's train of thought came to a halt. He realized he had made the same mistake as the court officials in Jingzhao City.
They had followed the most obvious clues and concluded that the perpetrator was a monster. They had chased that line of thought and never turned back.
The problem was their judgment had been too hasty.
Xu Qian had the complete memories of the host but he made a point to think like a modern man. He utilized his experience from his past life—he perused the papers he was given and searched for the unwritten details before coming to a conclusion.
"A dead end. Perhaps I should try another approach. Rule out a monster attack, what if it was a plot by humans? There would definitely be flaws in the plan.
"As Locard's Exchange Principle states, in the commission of a crime, the perpetrator leaves something at the crime scene, and takes away with them something from the crime scene."
Trace evidence was classified in two main categories, concrete evidence was things like fingerprints, shoes prints, vehicle marks, tool marks and more.
"The clues to solve the case laid in the trace evidence, not the two main facts."
Xu Qian replayed the case according to the script he received—his uncle accompanying the payload with a guard detail.
Adrenaline coursed through his veins as his brain activity was at maximum level. If pheromones could visualize his state of mind, it would have kois in a pond fighting for food.
The scene replayed again and again as his mind analyzed each detail.
His brain operated like a high-speed CPU, parsing through the hidden messages and clues.
The case became clearer as all the puzzle pieces fell into place.
Suddenly, Xu Qian felt his soul leave his body. He was in a different state, floating through the buildings. He ended up overlooking Jingzhao City.
Time was rewinding and the next thing he knew, the sun was peeking from the horizon. He watched as Xu Pingzhi led a squad of combat-ready soldiers on the road toward the Ministry of Revenue.
It was 6.30 in the morning. The group was at Guangnan Street when the demonic wind blew. The horses were startled and rushed off into the river.
Boom!
An explosion in the river caused muddy water to shoot up.
The explosion made Xu Qian's heart shudder. His legs kicked instinctively and he woke up.
Exhaustion was clear in his eyes but the discovery rejuvenated him.
"I know what happened! I solved it!"
Xu Qian let out a maniacal laughter as he beat on the bars of his cell. "Someone! Anyone! Come quick!"
The jailer was roused by the noise and quickly grabbed a torch. "What is this ruckus? Do you have a death wish?"
The jailer struck the bars to make Xu Qian step back.
Xu Qian obliged, not wanting to lose his fingers. He said, "I want to see the governor."
"A prisoner wants a meeting with the governor? Maybe you should take a look at yourself?" the jailer mocked. He shoved the lit end of the torch toward Xu Qian.
Xu Qian retreated into his cell.
"Backing out now?" the jailer said as he fumbled for his keys. "I'm going to break your legs."
Xu Qian stared at the man. "I have important information regarding the case of the missing tax money. I need to see the governor. You will be held responsible if there's any delay in the proceedings."
The jailer froze.
…
In the hall, the young woman who had finished her meat buns went on to chew on the sugarcane. She fished out some preserved candy from her deerskin pouch and tossed them into her mouth.
The discussion was getting gloomier and more desperate by the second.
"The Emperor commanded us to solve this case within five days. It might be too late to recover the tax money," Governor Chen said as he paced around the room. Anxiety made it impossible to stay still.
"And my hands are tied with regards to the strict timeline." Any investigation was time-consuming.
The governor clapped his hands together and said in a low tone, "I will personally beg Elder Wei. Hand me the scroll."
Li Yuchun deliberated for a moment. "I'll go with you."
The young woman glanced at the pair and said sweetly, "With the aid of such an important figure in Dafeng, you two will be spared by the Emperor.
"However, to be in Elder Wei's bad books is much worse than being blamed by the Emperor." The young woman smiled, revealing two sharp canines.
The middle-aged man's expression was sullen.
At that moment, a bailiff in black clothing hurried into the room. He bowed before saying, "Governor, a jailer reported that Xu Pingzhi's nephew, Xu Qian has important information regarding the missing tax money and wishes to speak with you."
The trio were surprised by the news.
Xu Qian… The man played no part in the case. After the initial interrogations, they had decided the man was not involved.
Governor Chen sighed and said, "Bring him in."
Xu Qian was led into the room—the manacles on his wrists and ankles announced his presence. There were smears of dried blood all over his body. Dressed in a prisoner's uniform, Xu Qian stood before the governor.