Inside the carriage
Suddenly, Su Hao felt something wasn't quite right. After all, besides listening to the qin, he could have done other things, but he didn't.
"Am I actually a pure person?" Su Hao questioned himself, feeling that he might not be so pure after all.
"Perhaps I'm influenced by the previous Su Hao. He had feelings for this Miss Yueying but never forced himself on her. Or maybe he just had patience, knowing he could eventually win her heart."
Su Hao felt a bit smug. All the effort the previous Su Hao had put in was like preparing a dowry for him, helping him win the beauty's affection.
"Two bronze lottery cards, not bad at all!" Su Hao smiled as he saw two new bronze lottery cards appear in his inventory. His hand started to itch, as if wanting to use them immediately.
"I'll wait until I'm back at the Capture Agency. There'll be time to use them later!" Su Hao resisted the urge, thinking it might be better to save up a few more cards. After all, using multiple cards at once would be more satisfying.
Soon after, the carriage arrived at the Capture Agency.
Su Hao got off and told Su Ping to take the carriage to the back courtyard while he entered the Capture Agency first.
As he stepped inside, he noticed the atmosphere was different today. Everyone seemed gloomy, so much so that they didn't even notice Su Hao, one of their own constables, walking by.
"What happened at the Capture Agency?" Su Hao frowned and stopped a constable who was hurrying by.
"Young Master Su, no, Deputy Chief Su, last night two people sneaked into the late Deputy Chief Wang Tong's room and injured Chief Lu," the constable quickly explained.
"Someone broke into Deputy Chief Wang Tong's former room and injured Chief Lu? Alright, I understand. You can go now. I'll go see Chief Lu," Su Hao waved the constable away.
His mind raced. Someone had broken into Wang Tong's room last night, probably looking for something. They had seriously injured Lu Hao, which meant they were at least as strong as him.
Lu Hao was at the peak of the Human Realm, so the two intruders must have been at least that powerful.
Perhaps these two were Wang Tong's killers. If so, Su Hao might be able to complete his mission soon.
Excited by this thought, Su Hao hurried to the main hall where Lu Hao was.
He hadn't completed any of Wang Tong's tasks yet, so he was eager to finish at least one.
When Su Hao reached the main hall, he found five people inside.
Lu Hao sat with one arm bandaged, looking pale. He seemed seriously injured. Han Lu stood beside him. Across from them stood three women with their backs to Su Hao.
As Su Hao entered, all eyes turned to him.
"Huh? Gu Xi'er, why are you here?" Su Hao exclaimed in surprise and confusion. He didn't understand why Gu Xi'er and the others were at the Capture Agency.
"Deputy Chief Su, you're here. You already know Miss Gu Xi'er, so I don't need to introduce her," Lu Hao said, speaking through his pain.
Despite his injuries from the night before, he was in a relatively good mood. He hadn't expected the Zhen Wu Si to send people from the Qingmu Sword Sect to investigate Wang Tong's death. This was probably because of Su Hao's connection, otherwise they wouldn't have come. So, he decided he should pay more attention to Su Hao in the future.
"Miss Gu Xi'er and her companions were sent by the Zhen Wu Si to investigate Deputy Chief Wang Tong's unexpected death. From now on, our Capture Agency will only assist in this matter," Lu Hao explained softly, coughing lightly as he spoke.
Gu Xi'er was the master of the Fifth Peak of the Qingmu Sword Sect, a disciple who had joined just a year ago. When she left Fu City, she had already reached the 7th level of the Human Realm. Now, her level was unknown.
The two women accompanying her were also formidable, with auras hinting at the Earth Realm. Therefore, entrusting Wang Tong's case to them was the most appropriate choice.
At this moment, Gu Xi'er looked at Su Hao and remembered the events of the previous night. Her fair cheeks flushed slightly, but then she frowned as she detected another fragrance on Su Hao.
She recognized this scent. It was from the Yueying House, the fragrance Yueying wore.
"This Su Hao, he went to see Yueying again!" Anger rose in Gu Xi'er's heart. This guy had just taken liberties with her last night, and early this morning he had already gone to the Yueying House. He clearly didn't take her seriously at all.
"Xi'er, what's wrong?" Noticing Gu Xi'er's change in demeanor, Aunt Qing beside her asked.
"Ah, it's nothing," Gu Xi'er composed herself upon hearing Aunt Qing's question. She glared at Su Hao, planning to settle accounts with him after this matter was resolved.
For now, she had important business to attend to, so she spoke up.
"Chief Lu, can you confirm that the intruders who entered the Capture Agency and fought with you last night were the Blood brothers from the Blood Demon Cult?"
"There's no mistake. This arm was injured by the elder Blood brother. They took a hairpin from the room. This is the box that held the hairpin," Lu Hao said, pointing to an ordinary wooden box in front of him.
"A hairpin?" Gu Xi'er was puzzled. Why would there be a hairpin in a man's room?
She stepped forward and picked up the wooden box, examining it. The box wasn't elaborate, so the hairpin it contained probably wasn't a valuable ornament.
The Blood brothers had taken the hairpin, which suggested it must have some significance.
"Do you know who this hairpin belonged to?" Gu Xi'er asked solemnly.
"We don't know," Lu Hao and Han Lu shook their heads simultaneously.
Su Hao was also curious. He stepped forward and took the box, opening it. A faint fragrance wafted out.
"Why does this box have the scent of the rouge worn by the Thirteenth Miss of the Mingyue House?" Su Hao wondered to himself, keeping a straight face.
Although the scent in the box was very faint, for someone like him who had frequented brothels since childhood, this tiny hint of fragrance was still recognizable.
Of course, the main reason he recognized it was because for a time, Su Hao had been infatuated with the Thirteenth Miss and often lingered in her boudoir.
That's why he was familiar with this scent.
"This is our only lead for now. We'll start by tracing the origin of this wooden box. Su Hao, you handle this task. I need you to find out who owns this box by the end of today," Gu Xi'er appeared in front of Su Hao, placing the box in his hands and instructing him to investigate its owner.
Of course, she didn't really expect Su Hao to find anything. She just wanted to keep him busy so he wouldn't have time to visit the Yueying House again.
"Ah! I'll go look into it," Su Hao responded, looking at Gu Xi'er in surprise. Just last night, she had told him not to get involved in this matter, that it was better for him to stay away from danger.
Now, in the blink of an eye, she was asking him to investigate the box's owner. Wasn't this pushing him into the fire?
A woman's heart truly was as deep as the ocean.
"Alright then," Su Hao reluctantly took the box, not daring to refuse. He feared that if he declined, Gu Xi'er might explode on the spot and give him a beating.
"Chief Lu, we'll handle this matter. Deputy Chief Han, please take us to Deputy Chief Wang Tong's room later. We'd like to investigate and see if there are any other clues," Gu Xi'er said softly.
"Then I'll trouble Miss Gu. Deputy Chief Han, please assist Miss Gu and her companions," Lu Hao instructed Han Lu beside him.
"This way, ladies," Han Lu stepped forward, extending his right hand in invitation.