RPAGF Chapter 9 Inquiry and Tracking
Chapter 9 Inquiry and Tracking
"Sigh! Never mind, I won't hide it anymore. We did have business dealings with a company in the western suburbs recently. You'll have to ask your sister-in-law for the specific details."
"I'll call your sister-in-law over right away!" Jia Lian said.
Upon hearing this, Jia Huan nodded.
For details regarding the Rongguo Mansion's business dealings, one should indeed consult Wang Xifeng.
A short while later, Jia Lian summoned Wang Xifeng.
As soon as Wang Xifeng saw Jia Huan, she wanted to go up and say a few words, but Jia Lian immediately stopped her.
So in the end, Wang Xifeng did speak the truth.
"Brother Huan, do you want to know about our dealings with the Western Suburbs Merchants?" Wang Xifeng asked.
"That's right! Which business in the western suburbs do you deal with? What are the accounts? Who is the middleman? All this information must be provided," Jia Huan said.
Upon hearing this, Wang Xifeng nodded.
Then she took out an account book, handed it to Jia Huan, and said:
"In recent months, we have only had financial dealings with the Heshun Trading Company in the western suburbs, totaling five thousand taels of silver, which were used as advance payments for goods."
"He Shun Trading Company claims to be an ordinary private business and has never shown anything unusual. My husband and I really don't know what's so special about this company."
"This ledger records the accounts between our Rongguo Mansion and Heshun Trading Company."
"The middleman is a businessman from out of town named Duan Fei, and we don't know where he is now."
Jia Huan took the account book and, while flipping through the accounts, listened to Wang Xifeng's explanation.
After reviewing the accounts, he carefully considered what Wang Xifeng had just said and finally came to a conclusion.
It is likely that the Rongguo Mansion did not actively participate in this case, but may have simply had business dealings with the murderer unintentionally.
"Brother Lian, sister-in-law, thank you for providing me with clues. This case should indeed not have much to do with you. You were just passively dragged into it."
"As long as I explain things clearly to my superiors, it shouldn't be a big deal, and you won't face imprisonment."
"It's getting late, so I won't bother you any longer. Farewell!" Jia Huan said.
After saying that, Jia Huan decisively turned and left to continue investigating the case.
As Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng watched Jia Huan's departing figure, they both sighed, their faces showing worry.
Especially Jia Lian, whose face was extremely ugly at this moment.
Because it was he who initiated the business negotiations with the Heshun Trading Company in the western suburbs!
Therefore, once the Heshun Trading Company goes bankrupt and becomes involved in the case of killing the Imperial Guards, Jia Lian will definitely be implicated.
No matter how he tries to explain that he was unaware, it will be useless; he will definitely be punished.
So once the case is solved, although Jia Lian, by virtue of his status, will not necessarily face imprisonment, he will most likely be demoted and sent to another place for a long time.
……
In the western suburbs of the capital, at the Heshun Trading Company.
"Tsk tsk! This business is definitely suspicious. As soon as the Jinyiwei were murdered, the entire business was emptied out and all the staff were evacuated at a rapid pace."
"It seems that Heshun Trading Company is closely related to the real culprit, and may even be the company that the real culprit opened."
"Theoretically speaking, since all the people and supplies in this business have been evacuated, it would be very difficult to find any useful clues to solve the case."
"But they retreated so hastily, maybe they forgot something?" Jia Huan said with a smile.
After saying that, Jia Huan led Lightning to begin a thorough search of the entire business.
Several hours later, the first search was completed, and Jia Huan found nothing suspicious.
He did not give up on this.
So the next day, he called Li Shun and Wang Ren over, and together they searched the place again.
This time we finally have a clue!
Wang Ren found a broken, poisoned silver needle in a small mound of earth in the woodshed in the backyard of the Heshun Trading Company.
After conducting a simple examination of the poisoned silver needle, Jia Huan made his judgment.
These are the Blood Shadow Cult's exclusive hidden weapon, the silver needle!
"Zhang Cheng was very likely killed by the poisonous palm of a Blood Shadow Cult master, and Blood Shadow Cult poison needles were also found in this trading company."
"It seems we've pretty much identified the culprit in this case; it must be a master from the Blood Shadow Cult."
"But how can I determine which expert from the Blood Shadow Cult it is? And how can I find him?" Jia Huan wondered to himself.
He pondered carefully and finally decided to try to use Lightning's powerful sense of smell to its fullest extent to track down the killer by scent.
"Lightning, carefully smell the remaining human scent in this shop, then smell this poisoned needle, and memorize the entire scent."
"Then you can follow the scent and lead us all the way down."
"Remember, you only need to be able to smell one of these three scents: the traces from the crime scene, the poisoned needles from the shop, or the scent of any remaining people from the shop," Jia Huan said.
Wang!
Lightning let out a soft cry, then sniffed the remaining human scent in the shop, and then the scent of the poisoned needle in Jia Huan's hand.
It quickly memorized the two scents and nodded at Jia Huan.
"Great! Now let's follow the scent!" Jia Huan said.
Wang!
……
Over the next few days, Jia Huan, Li Shun, and Wang Ren, guided by the lightning, headed west.
During this time, Lightning initially smelled the lingering human scent in the trading house. After following this scent for a day, the scent disappeared.
Although the human scent had disappeared, Lightning could still detect the scent of the poison needle and could continue leading the way.
Two days later, the smell of the poisoned needles stopped, but the peculiar smell of the crime scene, which resembled both exotic spices and inferior medicinal herbs, returned.
Therefore, lightning was able to continue its journey by following the scent.
Two days later, Jia Huan and his two companions traversed the dense forest on the outskirts of the city and arrived near an abandoned mountain god temple.
And as they approached the mountain temple, lightning suddenly became agitated.
It lowered its head and roared, its whole body tense, staring intently at the entrance of the mountain god temple, appearing extremely nervous.
Upon seeing this, Jia Huan frowned and became even more cautious.
"Animals are far more sensitive to danger than humans. For a hunting dog as intelligent as Lightning to be this nervous, it seems that the people living in this mountain temple are probably not benevolent."
"It's even possible that the murderer I'm looking for lives in this mountain temple!" Jia Huan thought to himself.
He knew very well that entering the mountain god temple ahead would definitely be dangerous.
If it were the old Jia Huan, he would never have entered such a dangerous place.
But Jia Huan is no longer the same person he used to be!
After adding points to Deep Blue, he was quite confident in his abilities.
So Jia Huan didn't think too much about it and walked straight to the entrance of the mountain god temple.
"There are fresh footprints at the entrance, and the yard smells similar to the crime scene. Looks like I've found the right place!"