Li Family Village.
Front courtyard hall.
Zheng Kecheng sat imposingly at the table in the hall, examining the case file in his hand.
"Chief, there are currently 14 arson suspects. Apart from Qin Wang, who was vouched for by Dr. Bai, the other suspects are farmers who had conflicts of interest with Master Li. What do you think should be done?"
At this moment, Lin Bao, a constable with a long sword at his waist, walked in and respectfully bowed to Zheng Kecheng.
"Are there any other clues?"
Zheng Kecheng asked after a moment of silence.
"None so far, Chief."
Lin Bao replied solemnly.
"Take these 13 suspects to the county town for questioning and continue the investigation! We won't stop until we catch the arsonist!"
Zheng Kecheng said with a grim expression.
As for Qin Wang, he decided to give Dr. Bai some face and let it go.
"Yes, Chief!"
Lin Bao cupped his hands and turned to leave.
Zheng Kecheng watched Lin Bao's back, his eyes flickering.
Night.
Qin Wang continued practicing Taizu Changquan, extending his routine until midnight.
After activating the intelligence panel, he got used to staying up until the intelligence refreshed at midnight before going to sleep.
Ding!
[Daily Intelligence Refreshed!]
[Today's Intelligence]
[1: You met Zheng Kecheng yesterday and gained relevant information. To successfully inherit Li Laocai's land, shops, and wealth, Zheng Kecheng killed Li Tianyi and the madam, set fire to destroy the evidence, and today will escort 13 arson suspects to the county town for questioning, with three farmers becoming scapegoats.]
[2: You harbored hatred towards Zheng Kecheng for trying to arrest you and intended to kill him, gaining relevant information. Zheng Kecheng has a secret courtyard in the north of Yanyun County with a hidden compartment containing an internal martial arts manual.]
[3: You planned to attend Li Laocai's banquet yesterday and gained relevant information. Li Laocai's sister, Li Chunxia, is poisoned with a slow-acting toxin and will die in 566 days.]
[4: You met Constable Lin Bao yesterday and gained relevant information. Lin Bao knows that his wife is having an affair with Chief Zheng Kecheng. He pretends not to know, waiting for a chance to kill Zheng Kecheng, but he knows he's not strong enough and hasn't found a good opportunity.]
[5: You met Constable Wang Jiang yesterday and gained relevant information. Wang Jiang is actually the 99th-ranked assassin of the Blood Kill Hall, the third largest assassin organization in Dacang. His mission is to find the daughter of the Fengyao Saintess who went missing in Dacang thirteen years ago.]
[6: You were vouched for by Dr. Bai yesterday and gained relevant information. Dr. Bai misses his son very much and hopes to see him again in his lifetime, although he knows this might be a vain hope.]
[7: You met the candied hawthorn vendor Yu Yun Chang yesterday and gained relevant information. Half a month ago, while collecting hawthorns on Qingniu Mountain, Yu Yun Chang found a copper bowl covered in rust in a valley. He thought he could sell it for some money, but his family has since experienced several misfortunes. Yu Yun Chang believes it is a cursed object and threw it back into the valley.]
[8: You went to Li Family Village yesterday and gained relevant information. Li Laocai has hidden 500 taels of silver, buried one zhang (about 3.3 meters) east of the toilet.]
[9: You met Zheng Kecheng yesterday and gained relevant information. Zheng Kecheng is not content with being a county chief and wants to move up. He plans to secure the Li Family Village's property and then go to Youzhou County to make connections.]
[10: You went to Li Family Village yesterday and gained relevant information. After Li Laocai's family died, their souls were trapped by a soul-gathering pot under the village and cannot reincarnate.]
"Finally refreshed!"
Qin Wang looked at the intelligence panel with a look of anticipation.
"Hmm?"
"So Zheng Kecheng is indeed the arsonist!"
"What a wolf in sheep's clothing!"
Qin Wang was shocked by the first piece of information.
Previous intelligence had indicated that Zheng Kecheng had designs on Li Laocai's property. He hadn't expected that Zheng would actually burn Li Tianyi and the madam to death!
Qin Wang could only sigh that three of the farmers with conflicts of interest with Li Laocai would become scapegoats.
He wasn't yet a match for Zheng Kecheng.
There was nothing he could do.
"Zheng Kecheng has a hidden mistress?"
"And an internal martial arts manual in the secret compartment?"
"It seems I'll have to find time to go to the county town!"
Qin Wang's eyes lit up as he looked at the second piece of intelligence.
This was good news indeed.
He currently only knew Taizu Changquan. An internal martial arts manual would be invaluable.
Qin Wang had always longed for internal martial arts.
He wanted to master lightness skills, scale walls with ease, split stones with a palm, and become a formidable martial artist!
"Li Laocai's sister Li Chunxia, poisoned with a slow-acting toxin? To die in 566 days?"
"Probably Zheng Kecheng's doing?"
Qin Wang thought to himself as he looked at the third piece of intelligence.
It was likely that Zheng Kecheng, who had a secret mistress, wanted to eliminate any other ties.
"The constable who came to arrest me, Lin Bao, is wearing a hat? Tragic!"
Qin Wang skipped the fourth piece of intelligence and looked at the fifth one, murmuring in thought, "Daughter of the Fengyao Saintess?"
This was the second time he'd come across information about the Fengyao Saintess.
"Dr. Bai misses his son? Seeing him again is a vain hope?"
Qin Wang pondered the sixth piece of intelligence.
In his memory, Dr. Bai had always been with his granddaughter at Baicaotang. His son had been gone for over ten years.
"Huh?"
"The candied hawthorn vendor Yu Yun Chang found a rust-covered copper bowl on Qingniu Mountain? Brought bad luck to his family? What kind of bowl is this?"
Qin Wang was intrigued by the seventh piece of intelligence.
A bowl that brought bad luck might be useful if buried at Zheng Kecheng's house to cause him misfortune!
"Li Laocai hid more silver?"
"One zhang east of the toilet?"
"That makes a total of 1350 taels!"
"I must find a chance to get it!"
Qin Wang's eyes brightened as he read the eighth piece of intelligence.
"Dammit, Zheng Kecheng wants to climb higher? This bastard... a real scourge!"
"Once he secures the Li Family Village's property, he'll head to Youzhou County? When he leaves, I can go to his house for the internal martial arts manual!"
Qin Wang's eyes flickered as he made his plans.
"Li Laocai's family souls trapped by a soul-gathering pot under the village? Can't reincarnate?"
"There's such a thing under Li Family Village?"
Qin Wang was deeply shocked by the tenth piece of intelligence.
No wonder the previous information had indicated that the village turned into a haunted place after six people died. It turned out there was a soul-gathering pot!
"Li Laocai deserves this!"
"With all the bad deeds he did, he can't even reincarnate!"
Qin Wang felt a deep sense of satisfaction, knowing his enemy suffered even after death. Plus, he would attend the banquet and stomp around for good measure.
Qin Wang finished reviewing the intelligence and fell asleep.
The next day.
Baicaotang.
When Qin Wang arrived, he found the door closed, so he went around to the back entrance.
"Big brother, Grandpa said today is Li Laocai's family's funeral. Many people from the Qingniu Market will attend the banquet, so Baicaotang is closed for the day. Grandpa told us to go to the banquet. Are you going?"
"Of course, why not go for some good food?"
Qin Wang nodded. Having killed Li Laocai, attending his banquet was a great satisfaction and a chance to scout the area.