Chapter 134: Judging the Case (II)

Chapter 134: Judging the Case (II)

Qi Xuansu said, “Suppose it really was a cultist who murdered Mason. Which cult would it be? Since you all work for Shibo Hall, you should have heard about the various secret societies.”

The merchants looked at each other, and the oldest merchant said hesitantly, “Deacon Qi, we have heard about the secret societies. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have suspected that the murderer was a cultist. In our opinion, it may be the Ziguang Society.”

“Ziguang Society? The cult that believes in the Ancient Immortal True Lord Ziguang?” Qi Xuansu frowned slightly. “The members of the Ziguang Society are mainly women. Does this mean that you are suspicious of those courtesans?”

The merchants kept quiet, and Qi Xuansu fell into deep thought. Zhang Yuelu once introduced the Ziguang Society to him in detail. Ziguang Society was so intricately tied to the Daoist Order that it would be very difficult to identify its members if they did not expose themselves.

In recent years, the Daoist Order’s strategy was to capture the high-ranking members of the Ziguang Society and then get a list of members before eliminating them one by one.

In terms of destructive power, Ziguang Society was far inferior to the Cult of Fates. However, the Ziguang Society was good at assassinations and stealing information. They were also difficult to guard against. Back then, an Omniscient Sage had fallen into the Ziguang Society’s trap without realizing it, leaking many secrets of the Daoist Order.

The more important question was, why did the Ziguang Society kill Mason?

Qi Xuansu asked, “Why do you suspect the Ziguang Society? Did Mason have any involvement with the Ziguang Society in the past?”

The merchants remained silent, not denying this. Thus, Qi Xuansu treated it as acquiescence.

Qi Xuansu added, “If Mason is actually involved with the Ziguang Society and everyone here knows about it but intends to hide information from the Daoist Order, the punishment will be serious. I can inform the Shuzhou Daoist Mansion to take everyone into custody, then report it to Tiangang Hall for further judgment.”

A merchant quickly confessed. “No, that’s not the case. Deacon Qi, you misunderstood us. Please listen to our explanation. We don’t know whether Mason was involved with the Ziguang Society. But we know that Mason, despite being married, kept a mistress who was very mysterious and wealthy.

“He mentioned that she was a widow who had inherited a sizable fortune. It was because of this mistress’s strong support that Mason was able to get a successful bid to be a supplier for Shibo Hall.”

Qi Xuansu questioned, “Why do you suspect this mistress?”

The merchant continued, “To be a supplier to Shibo Hall, one must be wealthy enough to be involved in bulk trade. To put it bluntly, Mason was just a small shop owner selling silk and satin before he became a supplier to Shibo Hall. Even if he were given the bid, he wouldn’t have been able to fulfill such a large order.

“But somehow, within a year or two, Mason suddenly had money and managed to win the bid. He expanded his business significantly, so we thought that he received help from someone.”

Another merchant added, “We didn’t think much about it at first. After all, their relationship was consensual. We’re also not Daoist disciples, so keeping a mistress is not against the law. But a few days ago, Mason came to us looking very anxious.

Qi Xuansu concluded. “In other words, Mason deliberately chose to meet his mistress in this villa to confront her, but he clearly failed. He invited two Daoist deacons and his friends so that the other party would have some qualms about silencing him, but that didn’t work.

“What Mason meant by going to hell with her was probably confessing to you all about his mistress’s involvement with a cult. He was also hinting that the cult was likely Ziguang Society because of the venue he chose to confront her in.”

A merchant with a Northern accent exclaimed, “It must be that Han Yu girl!”

“That’s not necessarily the case.” Qi Xuansu said, “Mage Zhang has inspected Mason’s body and found that he died from the Nightmare Bringer Method, which can be cast from a distance. Han Yu may be an accomplice or scapegoat. There is still a chance that she’s innocent.”

The merchants stopped talking. After all that, they concluded that the murder was related to a cult, but they still had no clue who exactly was the cultist. However, there was no doubt that they needed to investigate this case in depth to find out who the real culprit was.

Someone was supporting Mason to become Shibo Hall’s supplier, but why? It probably was not as simple as being in a mutually beneficial relationship with the Daoist Order. It was more likely that one of the many secret associations was involved.

There was no doubt that Mason was just a puppet of the secret society. This puppet managed to gain both fame and fortune with a new backer, the Daoist Order, and wanted to return to a normal life. Thus, he threatened the secret society in an attempt to break away from them. As a result, he died.

Qi Xuansu felt that this story seemed familiar. Was this not his experience as well? He had relied on the Qingping Society to enter Tiangang Hall. He had a bright future, as he was on track to be promoted to a sixth-rank Daoist priest. If everything went smoothly, he could be promoted to the fourth rank or even the third rank by the time he retired.

With such a promising path ahead, Qi Xuansu increasingly felt the need to leave the Qingping Society and return to a normal life. By then, what would become of him? Would he end up like Mason, dying in a foreign land?

Would the Qingping Society let him go as long as he accumulated 9000 merits? Would they keep their promise?

He also could not avoid being associated with the Qingping Society due to the Xuan Jade. Thinking of this, Qi Xuansu felt a little depressed.

No one else could read Qi Xuansu’s mind. Seeing that he was silent and solemn, they thought he was just thinking about the case, so no one dared to speak for a while.

After about 15 minutes, Zhang Yuelu and Tang Yongde returned to the main hall.

Zhang Yuelu asked, “How’s the questioning going?”

Qi Xuansu roughly recounted the story. After listening to it, Zhang Yuelu said thoughtfully, “There is indeed something fishy with this villa. Superintendent Tang, please notify the Shuzhou Daoist Office immediately and ask them to send some people over to seal this villa for a thorough investigation. No one is allowed to escape.”

Tang Yongde immediately grimaced and wanted to say something, but when he saw Zhang Yuelu’s determined gaze, he dared not object and reluctantly obliged. “Yes, Deputy Hall Master.”

Since this was related to secret associations, Tang Yongde could not refuse Zhang Yuelu’s request.