Chapter 1588: Clues

It was natural for Zhang Zitong to think that way. After all, her group had already gone underwater several times. Apart from being a bit colder and deeper than usual, there had been nothing else strange about the pool at all. And yet now, this Golden Token Eleven had shown up and accused her of all sorts of things. After going underwater just once, he had said that some woman had flung Sir Seven’s corpse into the pool…

Even if you’re going to come up with some lie, you have to make it reasonable, right? Are these things you can find out from an underwater investigation?

It wasn’t just her; even Xiao Jianren was a bit doubtful. Is boss sounding her out? But he doesn’t seem to be lying…

Zu An said indifferently, “It’s not your concern to figure out how I obtained this intelligence; I have my ways. Right now, I advise you to find a way to prove your innocence, then find out if Sir Seven had any dealings with other women.” He couldn't tell them all about the turtle monster, limiting what he could say.

“Aren’t Sir Eleven’s assumptions too outrageous? There’s no material evidence or witness testimony. You’re telling us to investigate this just based on what you’re saying?” Zhang Zitong replied unhappily.

Zu An frowned slightly and snapped, “I’m not holding a discussion with you. This is an order!”

Zhang Zitong’s expression changed a bit, but in the end, she could only helplessly lower her head and reply, “Understood!” Even so, anyone could sense the unwillingness in her voice.

Just then, Xiao Jianren said, “Lady Zhang, our leader has never spoken empty words. He definitely has his reasons for saying such things.”

Zu An nodded. It seemed this guy hadn’t completely lost his head over an infatuation. If Xiao Jianren had continued to speak up for that woman under the circumstances, Zu An would have to question his ability to judge the situation.

A strange expression flickered through Zhang Zitong’s eyes, but she didn’t say anything else.

“Also, the woman who tossed the corpse in here might not be the killer. However, I can’t figure out what her purpose for doing so was,” Zu An said with a frown.

“What does sir mean?” Xiao Jianren asked curiously.

“If that woman didn’t want anyone to find Sir Seven’s corpse, she could have tied a rock to his body and let it sink to the bottom. That way, no one would have been able to find it so quickly,” Zu An said seriously. “Furthermore, if they really wanted to destroy any evidence, there would have been all sorts of methods available. She would have had no reason to go through all that trouble and throw him into Blackwater Pool.”

This was a world of cultivation, full of people with supernatural abilities. It wasn’t as hard to get rid of a corpse as it was in his previous world. There were a multitude of ways to make a corpse disappear; there was no need to go through all of this at all.

The turtle monster had heard a woman say ‘The earlier you’re found, the better’. Could it be that she had done this so Golden Token Seven’s corpse would be found earlier? However, if that was the case, she could have just dumped the corpse near the government office or the downtown area. Wouldn’t that be easier? Blackwater Pool was still rather remote.

Too many possibilities flashed through Zu An’s mind. However, none of those possibilities had sufficient information to support a conclusion.

Xiao Jianren said in admiration, “Sir really is detailed and meticulous! You were even able to conclude that.”

Zhang Zitong’s mouth widened. She didn’t look down on Xiao Jianren’s obsequious attitude, because she was thinking similar thoughts. This man had been able to deduce the most unusual point of this case so quickly! As expected of a Golden Token Envoy.

But just where did he get that information from…

She naturally didn’t believe that he had gotten the information from a single trip underwater. She suspected that he had already obtained information from other channels beforehand and that he was only talking about it now.

Zu An glanced toward the horizon. It was already quite late, so he ordered Xiao Jianren to continue the investigation, following the trail he had just found. At the same time, he warned him to be careful of Zhang Zitong. Finally, Xiao Jianren was to investigate if Golden Token Seven had had any involvement with other women in his missions.

Xiao Jianren picked up on Zu An’s implied message and asked, “Sir Eleven isn’t following us to the city?”

Zu An said, “I still have other issues to investigate, so I won’t be traveling with you.”

Xiao Jianren nodded. This leader of his has always come and gone mysteriously. However, most Golden Token Envoys were like that, so he didn’t really harbor any suspicions.

…

After separating from the other two, Zu An summoned the Wind Fire Wheels and rushed back. He had already used up a lot of time, so he couldn't waste any now.

Along the way, he thought about all the suspicious factors in Golden Token Seven’s case. Actually, he would be able to roughly find out what had happened if he just asked Zhuxie Chixin, because previously, Golden Token Seven had already said he had reported his investigation to Zhuxie Chixin.

However, Zhuxie Chixin was also hard to track down, and he hadn’t returned to the capital for a long time. Zhao Han hadn’t revealed anything about his whereabouts either, so Zu An didn’t know what the two of them were plotting.

By the time Zu An returned to camp, the sky was just beginning to brighten. There were already quite a few people moving around. Fortunately, he had already warned Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang not to disturb him, so no one had come over to wake him up.

However, he quickly noticed a figure wandering around his tent. He was alarmed, thinking that it was someone with bad intentions. When he saw who it was, though, he sighed in relief. He called out, “What is little sister Daoyun doing?”

“Ah?” the beautiful figure exclaimed, jumping in fright. Xie Daoyun turned around quickly, looking troubled when she saw Zu An. She asked, “Big… Big brother Zu, why are you over there?”

She had drunk Feather Mountain’s spiritual spring water the previous day, and after a whole night of sleep, she had already recovered a lot both mentally and spiritually. The first thing she had thought after waking up was that she had really shown Zu An an embarrassing display and wanted to apologize to him, while salvaging his impression of her at the same time.

However, it now seemed a bit awkward for her to be visiting a man’s room so early in the morning. She was scared that he would misunderstand. While she was feeling conflicted, Zu An had called out to her from behind, so she was naturally scared. 

“I went out for a stroll just now,” Zu An said with a smile.

“Did big brother Zu go out to cultivate? No wonder your cultivation is so high, even though you’re still so young,” Xie Daoyun said, noticing the traces of frost in his hair, and how he looked a bit haggard. Of course, she didn’t suspect that he had traveled several thousand kilometers away in a single night.

Zu An knew she had misunderstood, but that was fine, seeing as he didn’t have to explain himself further. He asked, “Has your mind recovered a bit?”

“Yes; thank you, big brother Zu,” Xie Daoyun replied. Because the wind was fairly strong around them, she gently moved some messy strands of hair behind her ear.

“It’s too windy outside. Why don’t we go inside and talk more?” Zu An offered, noticing that Xie Daoyun seemed to have put on some makeup today. Her lips were bright red.

“Okay,” Xie Daoyun replied. If it were any other man, she would never go into their room like this, but Zu An was different.

Zu An recalled Daji before entering. He and Xie Daoyun chatted for a while inside the tent, sharing information about what had happened as of late. Thinking about Golden Token Seven’s case, Zu An feigned casual interest as he asked, “That Truth Talisman of yours is quite incredible. What cultivation rank is it effective against?” He really wanted to find out whether there was something wrong with the tall-ponytailed woman.

When the conversation moved to her area of expertise, Xie Daoyun became excited. She explained the principles behind the creation of the Truth Talisman before concluding, “It’s useful against those around the sixth or seventh rank. Still, the human heart is a complicated thing. If you encounter those with strong wills, a Truth Talisman might not be able to do anything, which is also why the court rarely uses them except as an auxiliary tool.”

After listening to the explanation, Zu An realized that the talisman wouldn’t be too reliable against that woman. Sensing his disappointment, Xie Daoyun considerately asked, “Did Sir Zu encounter something troublesome recently?”

“Not particularly. I was just asking about it out of interest,” Zu An replied with a smile.

Xie Daoyun pursed her lips and said, “Then I was the one worrying about nothing. With big brother Zu’s current cultivation and status, there probably aren’t many things that would be too difficult for you.”

…

The two of them chatted for a while longer. Zu An discovered that Xie Daoyun really was talented, knowing all sorts of things. As such, he pretended to casually ask about what she thought about the possibility of a strong cultivator being silently killed, while everything looked normal on the outside. Of course, he had to keep the Embroidered Envoy and other such details a secret, but no one else knew about Golden Token Seven’s case, so he didn’t have to worry about her finding out.

Xie Daoyun just treated it as a regular conversation topic. She thought for a bit and replied, “A powerful water element cultivator could make it look as if that person died by drowning. However, you described the victim as a high-rank cultivator. If there were no traces of fighting on the outside, that wouldn’t be too likely.

“Still, I heard my teacher mention that there were certain shamans who excelled in mind control, which can kill without leaving any trace. But ever since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, that group was practically erased from existence. It’s rumored that they went back to live in the forest in seclusion, so not many people know about them. If such an expert participated, doing that would become much easier.”