Chapter 172

If it weren’t for Qin Beifeng holding a position within the Northern Expedition Army, relying on his profound abilities, he would at least be a Minister of War at court.

After Qin Beifeng left, Cheng Guang followed Wu Yuemei and Cheng Zhihai back home.

Wu Yuemei was still expressing regret, “It’s a pity that Yanqiu didn’t come over; otherwise, I really wanted to see the child. It’s been many years since I last saw her with my own eyes.”

Cheng Zhihai, on the other hand, didn’t care about that. Instead, he was stroking his chin, apparently deep in thought, and merely responded vaguely to Wu Yuemei’s comments.

The two chatted intermittently. Just as they were about to return to the small courtyard, Cheng Guang, who had been following behind them, called out to Cheng Zhihai.

Cheng Zhihai turned his head, looked at Cheng Guang with a puzzled face and said, “Guanger, why are you still following us? Do you want to sleep with mom and dad? You’re such a grown-up.”

While saying this, Cheng Zhihai showed a disgusted expression, giving off a vibe as if to say ‘kid, don’t bother your parents when they are having a good time.’

There was an odd sense that their child was an accident, and that they two were the true lovers.

Cheng Guang didn’t mind and waved his hand at Cheng Zhihai, “Dad, I have something to discuss.”

Hearing Cheng Guang say this and seeing his serious demeanor, Cheng Zhihai grew curious. After telling Wu Yuemei to go back to her room, he took Cheng Guang to sit down in a nearby pavilion.

Cheng Zhihai poured a cup of hot tea for Cheng Guang and asked, “Guanger, what’s the matter?”

Cheng Guang did not drink the tea. His gaze fixed on Cheng Zhihai’s face, he said, “Dad, I may have discovered where the Devil Clan has been sneaking across.”

“This matter is not so simple behind the scenes; it may even be related to the man in the black robe, that is, to the crown prince.”

As soon as Cheng Guang said this, Cheng Zhihai’s face changed.

He knew that the Devil Clan’s frequent smuggling was intended to draw him away from the Capital city, to facilitate their plan to assassinate Cheng Guang behind the scenes.

Only, they had not succeeded that time.

Then the disturbances at the Great Wei and Great Zhou martial competition arose, and for a time, he had no time to deal with the Devil Clan’s smuggling, planning to investigate thoroughly how and from where they were coming after recent events had settled.

However, in these matters, the figure of the crown prince had emerged.

Now, his whole attention was on how to locate the crown prince and where he might be hiding.

It felt as if he had entered a maze and was stuck in a dead end.

Now that Cheng Guang brought it up, he suddenly realized with a start.

Indeed, if the person who attempted to assassinate Guanger was the same one behind the disturbances at the Great Wei and Great Zhou martial competition,

Then it would mean…

The frequent smuggling incidents involving the Devil Clan, the crown prince, and those men in black robes could very well be deeply interconnected.

Recalling the information on the crown prince he had been scrutinizing these past few days, an idea flashed through Cheng Zhihai’s mind, as if he had grasped something, yet as if he had not grasped anything at all.

In any case,

These smuggling Devil Clan members certainly had a connection to the crown prince.

Cheng Zhihai had already formed a plan in his mind and then looked at Cheng Guang again, “Guanger, where did you discover the Devil Clan’s smuggling route?”

Seeing Cheng Zhihai’s interest, Cheng Guang suddenly became less urgent, picked up his tea, took a light sip, and said, “At the canal!”

“The canal?” When Cheng Zhihai heard the word ‘canal’ from Cheng Guang’s mouth, his brow furrowed slightly.

It seemed that the word ‘canal’ touched upon an area of ignorance for him.

In the past, although he had not begun to investigate the Devil Clan’s activities, his subordinates had done some looking.

But…

No one had ever discovered that the Devil Clan’s smuggling routes were within the canals.

After all, the places where the Devil Clan appeared and attacked people were quite distant from the canals.

Could it be that these Devil Clan members deliberately traveled far along the canal, avoiding linkages the Bureau of the Lamp might make between them and the canal?

Then again, thinking about it, the places where the Devil Clan appeared, although far from the canals, were near tributaries of the canal.

Despite the vastness of the canal and its many tributaries, ordinary people wouldn’t associate the appearance of the Devil Clan with the tributaries of the canal.

Now with Cheng Guang’s reminder, Cheng Zhihai noticed something was off.

If the Devil Clan appeared near canal tributaries once or twice, it could still be coincidental.

But when it happened frequently, it was unlikely to be an accident.

Cheng Zhihai pondered carefully, tapping the table gently with one hand, oddly resembling Cheng Guang’s thoughtful pose.

Cheng Zhihai was not dense. On the contrary, a person who could control the Bureau of the Lamp was far from ordinary in intelligence.

He had not uncovered the Devil Clan’s activities before simply because he had not given it attention. Now that he was focused and with Cheng Guang’s prompt, he immediately realized that the Devil Clan’s smuggling was very likely linked to the canals.

“Did you find out how far away their location is?” Cheng Zhihai asked Cheng Guang softly.

Cheng Guang nodded, “I’ve identified a rough area.”

Hearing Cheng Guang say this, Cheng Zhihai couldn’t help but take a sharp breath, his eyes revealing admiration.

He hadn’t expected Cheng Guang actually to have found the specific location.

Although it was unknown how the Devil Clan employed their methods to smuggle, with their high concealment, even if Cheng Guang knew they were hiding in the canal, it wouldn’t have been easy to pinpoint their precise location.