Chapter 754 - 755: The Real Master

Chapter 754: Chapter 755: The Real Master

Yun Cheng immediately shot him a sympathetic look.

"Didn’t the Master tell you to keep an eye on the Prince Jing Mansion? How did you end up in this line of work too? No wonder you look so..."

Out of consideration for his colleague, Yun Cheng swallowed the rest of his words. Unfortunately, his grin was so wide that Lian Zhou couldn’t possibly pretend not to see it.

He couldn’t be bothered to argue with Yun Cheng about it any further, so he simply recounted what had happened in detail.

"...I’ve examined the body. He was killed by a three-edged dart that pierced his throat from the front. The strange thing is, there were no other signs of a struggle on his body. It looks like... he didn’t even have time to fight back."

"How could that be?" Yun Cheng frowned slightly. "That Chang Sui who was always by his side was skilled in martial arts. He was usually unassuming, but he was by no means incompetent. Logically, he shouldn’t have been ambushed and killed so easily."

Lian Zhou’s expression grew serious as well.

"I confirmed it several times. The three-edged dart must have been thrown from close range; the distance between them couldn’t have been more than five zhang. For someone with his skills to be caught like this, there are only two possibilities. One, he was distracted at the time. Two... he was too shocked. He must have seen who his attacker was, and it was very likely an acquaintance. That’s the only way he would be so unguarded, so surprised he didn’t even have time to react."

Yun Cheng nodded slowly. "Now that you put it that way, it does seem very likely..."

He turned to Shen Yanchuan. "Master, what do you think?"

Shen Yanchuan asked, "Did you bring the three-edged dart back? Let me see it."

"Yes."

Lian Zhou immediately took the wrapped three-edged dart from his robes and presented it with both hands.

Shen Yanchuan unwrapped it.

A three-edged dart, about an inch long and forged from black iron, lay quietly in his palm.

The tip was pointed and the edges were sharp. It was still stained with dried blood, and just looking at it exuded an intangible, cold aura.

"This thing..." Yun Cheng paused, seeming to ponder how to phrase his thoughts. "The craftsmanship is quite exquisite."

Shen Yanchuan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Take a closer look. Doesn’t it seem a little familiar?"

As soon as he said this, both Yun Cheng and Lian Zhou froze.

Especially Lian Zhou. After digging up the body, he had inspected it carefully several times. He had paid particular attention to this very dart, observing it repeatedly before carefully bringing it back.

’But... it doesn’t look familiar to me at all.’

Yun Cheng stared at the three-edged dart, his brow furrowing slightly.

Lian Zhou couldn’t hold back and asked, "Master, have you seen this thing before?"

Shen Yanchuan shook his head. "No."

"Then..." Lian Zhou was even more confused.

’If he’s never seen it, how can it be "familiar"?’

Suddenly, Yun Cheng seemed to remember something. He looked up abruptly, unable to hide his astonishment.

"The black iron and the tempering process do look different from ordinary objects. Could it be—this is from Shiluan City!?"

"Shiluan City!? Isn’t that—" Lian Zhou blurted out instinctively, then caught himself and swallowed the rest of his sentence. But his eyes were still filled with disbelief. "This... this... isn’t this too much of a coincidence!?"

He, of course, knew about the strange iron mine in Shiluan City. The Master had even gone to investigate it himself before, but for some reason, the entire investigation had been called off.

With so much happening afterward, almost everyone had forgotten about it.

If Shen Yanchuan hadn’t brought it up, he could have stared at this thing for three days and three nights and still never have connected it to the iron mine in Shiluan City.

It was one thing not to realize it before, but looking at it now, everything felt wrong!

Shen Yanchuan said, "The crossbows forged at that iron mine were masterfully crafted, exquisite and detailed. This three-edged dart... does bear some resemblance."

Lian Zhou and Yun Cheng exchanged a look. They both understood perfectly: if the Master said so, it was a certainty!

"But besides the true owner of that iron mine, who else could get their hands on something like this?" Yun Cheng still found it hard to believe. "If it’s really as the Master says, doesn’t that mean he was killed by—"

"Xiao Chengxuan was exiled long ago. How could he possibly still have this kind of power?" Lian Zhou couldn’t wrap his head around it. "But if he didn’t secretly order this, who else has this capability?"

For a moment, no one in the room spoke, and a delicate silence fell.

Shen Yanchuan held up the three-edged dart, examining it closely.

There were no markings on it to indicate its owner, let alone deduce its origin.

But precisely because of this, it pointed unequivocally to the only possible answer!

"An ordinary person certainly couldn’t get their hands on crossbows and hidden weapons from the mine. But the person who struck today is clearly no ordinary person."

Shen Yanchuan narrowed his eyes slightly. The last rays of the setting sun streamed through the window, glinting off the edge of the three-edged dart, exceptionally dazzling.

He suddenly chuckled.

"Perhaps he was killed by one of his own?"

It took Lian Zhou a moment to process this, and then his eyes widened in shock.

"Master, are you saying the one who acted today was Prince J—"

He was completely baffled, unable to make sense of it at all.

"But why? This was a trusted confidant who had followed him for many years!"

"It hasn’t actually been that many years," Yun Cheng interjected calmly after a moment of thought. "It’s only been a few short years since he left the palace to establish his own mansion. The servants in his residence, including the one who died today, were all hired from the outside back then."

He paused.

"Besides, the more trusted you are, the more careful you must be. If you make a mistake, the consequences will be far more tragic than for anyone else."

Lian Zhou hesitated. "But..."

He couldn’t help but look at Shen Yanchuan. "If our guess is right, and he really was the one who ordered the hit, how would his man have this three-edged dart? Doesn’t that mean the iron mine is actually—"

He held his breath and lowered his voice, each word coming out with great difficulty.

Shen Yanchuan’s lips curved into a slight smile.

"When did I ever say that iron mine belonged to Xiao Chengxuan?"

Even at the very beginning, in the thick memorial he had submitted to Emperor Muwu’s imperial desk, which listed all sorts of evidence, he had never said such a thing.

Everything was just "speculation" based on a large body of evidence.

Back then, Emperor Muwu had privately favored Xiao Chengxuan and deliberately ignored the clues and evidence Shen Yanchuan submitted, causing the matter to be shelved indefinitely.

Who would have thought that the deadlock would be broken today!

And in such an unexpected way, no less!

Yun Cheng pondered for a long time, still feeling that something was odd.

"But so much of the previous evidence pointed to Xiao Chengxuan. More importantly, the iron mine was indeed under the practical control of Xiao Chengxuan’s men..."

"Just because they are his men, does that necessarily mean they are working for him?"

CLACK.

Shen Yanchuan casually set the three-edged dart down. His expression was indifferent, his tone calm.

"Just like with Fan Chengzhuo, who can truly be certain who his real master is?"