xymnovel Chapter 52 An Investigation into Reversed Cause and Effect
Chapter 52 An Investigation into Reversed Cause and Effect
Xiao Zexing was filled with joy.
What should have been a disaster that would have brought him down turned into a windfall for the cult members – they were incredibly lucky.
He rubbed his hands together excitedly and said to Chang Yuan, "Brother Chang, leave these 155 people to me. I'll quickly and carefully go through them all. I won't let any of the cult members escape!"
When the number of suspects was not in the thousands or tens of thousands, but only a mere hundred or so, Xiao Zexing felt that he could do it.
Such a small number of people can be easily taken down by the Great Memory Restoration Technique.
Chang Yuan neither laughed nor answered, but instead carefully examined the jade plaque.
Based on the aura attached to the jade tablet, he compared it with those in the crowd who possessed spiritual energy.
Before long, he locked onto his target.
They were two middle-aged brothers who looked quite similar and were dressed like businessmen.
Once you have a definite answer, finding clues based on that answer can be incredibly easy.
Chang Yuan pointed and said, "Brother Xiao, there's no need for such trouble. Just bring these two people out first!"
Without hesitation, Xiao Zexing waved his hand: "Bring them out!"
Four Imperial Guards swiftly apprehended the man.
The Imperial Guards were very clever and quick-witted; they immediately placed the man in front of Chang Yuan, rather than in front of their own commander.
Sure enough, this clever trick pleased Commander Xiao greatly, and he even nodded in praise, saying, "You guys are clever."
Xiao Zexing's words prove that he doesn't mind the control of the scene shifting to Chang Yuan.
Chang Yuan asked with a smile, "What are their names? What do they do?"
The Imperial Guards quickly pulled out their registers and soon found the information: "They are merchants who transport coal from Shanxi Province to the capital to sell, and buy 'three whites' (a type of liquor) to transport back to Shanxi Province."
Chang Yuandao said, "Shanxi Province transports coking coal, while the capital sells 'three whites' (coking coal, silver, and corn); it's good business."
Hu Yuan nodded and bowed, smiling obsequiously, "It's alright, it's alright, just a small business, barely enough to make ends meet."
Chang Yuan smiled and said, "Refined salt, flour, and white cloth are all world-renowned bulk commodities. You can only make a profit if you sell in large quantities, but those who can make money from these three items are not a small number."
Hu Chen said with a forced smile, "Sir, we don't earn much, really not much, it's just hard-earned money."
"But if you ask, we brothers can still offer some silver dollars as a token of our respect."
Hu Yuan nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, I can!"
Chang Yuan laughed heartily: "Good, that's insightful!"
What is the price of salt today?
"Huh?" x3
Chang Yuan's question was extremely abrupt, and the Hu brothers, not being true businessmen, were completely caught off guard.
Commander Xiao Zexing was also caught off guard.
Chang Yuan didn't give them a chance to catch their breath, immediately pressing, "How much is a roll of white cloth worth? How much is a thousand catties of white flour worth?"
The Hu brothers were dumbfounded, speechless, and completely at a loss for words.
The unit of measurement for goods that Chang Yuan asked about was not the kind used in daily life; an ordinary person would never be able to react to it.
A true businessman, out of professional habit, is always calculating prices, and can instantly convert unfamiliar units of measurement to their equivalents.
Hu Yuan stared at Chang Yuan, understanding that the other party had first confirmed that he was not a businessman before asking targeted questions to confirm this.
Despair rose in his heart. He couldn't understand how this handsome Jinyiwei officer could see through his and his brother's problems at a glance.
Then came regret.
He regretted that he should have run away immediately when the gun went off.
This time, his indecisiveness ruined him and his brother.
The final scene is one of regret, a regret that he didn't have the chance to warn the leader and report the intelligence that a beautiful but dangerous person had appeared in the Imperial Guard.
Hu Yuan took one last look at his brother and murmured, "Brother, I'm sorry."
At this point, Chang Yuan didn't need to explain anything further; the Imperial Guards all knew that these two men dressed as merchants were suspicious.
They exerted tremendous force, pressing the Hu brothers' faces to the ground until they were covered in dirt, and then brought two shackles to handcuff them.
Chang Yuan walked behind the two of them, grabbed their hands and pulled them up sharply, placing them together with the Qingyu lotus-shaped jade pendant, and then brought them close to his nose to smell it.
Sure enough, I could smell the aroma of scallions and seafood.
This smells like Shandong Province.
The land of Qilu is the foundation of the Heavenly Principle Sect.
Chang Yuan turned around and saw Xiao Zexing's curious gaze, gesturing for him to come over and smell it too.
"It tastes like braised sea cucumber with scallions!"
"Oh my goodness, these two bastards are from Shandong Province!"
"There's no doubt about it, they're from the Heavenly Principle Sect!"
Xiao Zexing was so excited he didn't know what to say: "This, this is too amazing! Brother Chang, your skills are truly divine!"
Chang Yuan smiled: "Someone, hand them over to the Taoist priest of the Taoist Records Office for verification."
Looking at the quail-like crowd, he ordered, "Separate these people, line them up in a row along this street, and take all their belongings and put them on the ground in front of them."
"I need to investigate each one one by one!"
Xiao Zexing shouted, "Did you all hear that? Get it done quickly! If you can catch a few more cult members today, I'll give you a reward!"
Spurred by the reward, the Imperial Guards, yamen runners, and constables were highly motivated and quickly lined up the 153 men along the street.
Chang Yuan walked over and, following the method of first identifying the target and then looking for clues, picked out several people whose identities and belongings did not match, clearly indicating something was wrong.
There are martial arts practitioners who dress as scholars, but have calluses on their hands.
There are people who carry tools such as axes and chisels, but do not smell of sawdust or wood shavings on their bodies; instead, they have red marks on the base of their fingers from holding reins.
He wore a Taoist robe to tie his hair up and held a whisk in his hand, but his shoulders and back were thick and his skin was rough. He looked like a Taoist priest who worked at the docks.
Chang Yuan directed the Imperial Guards to arrest the man, while simultaneously explaining the reasons in a eloquent manner.
Every word he said made perfect sense, and his reasoning and analysis were impeccable, leaving even the suspects speechless.
Xiao Zexing listened to the conversation the whole way, feeling as if he were dreaming.
Chang Yuan's prestige was quickly established.
When he finally couldn't find any flaws in the cult's story, he simply pointed at someone and made up a story: "This person's gaze at me is strange; he's hostile towards me!"
Upon hearing such a ridiculous reason, Xiao Zexing did not hesitate at all, and immediately waved his hand to grab the person and put him in shackles.
If Brother Chang says he has a problem, then he definitely has a problem!
Chang Yuan circled around a few more times to make sure no one had escaped before saying, "The rest of the people are fine. We can call it a day and release them."
Xiao Zexing did not hesitate and immediately waved to release the person.
His gains today have exceeded his expectations. In addition to the members of the Tianli Sect, he has also captured members of the Hongyang Sect, the Sanyi Sect, and the Mahayana Sect.
Besides cult members, there were also members of the Caibang (Caobang) gang and bandits from Yanshan Village.
It can be said that all of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's enemies in the Zhili region have been arrested today.
This isn't a bumper harvest, this is a margin call!
But Chang Yuan's next sentence elevated the credit to an even higher level.
"Brother Xiao, you can't let your guard down now. You need to figure out their intentions immediately!"
"This time I discovered it by accident. If I hadn't, and if they had actually done something to their superiors, even just following them, it would have been a huge problem!"
Xiao Zexing's heart skipped a beat; Chang Yuan's words made a lot of sense.
If so many cultists, gang members, and bandits were to assassinate their superiors, such as commanders and assistant commanders, Xiao Zexing, as the commander of a thousand-household army, would be held responsible.
Even if Shangguan hadn't been injured, he would have been in big trouble as long as the assassination had occurred.
The most serious scenario would be that Commander Lu Huan is assassinated.
The assassination attempt will certainly fail, but Xiao Zexing, as a trusted confidant, will definitely be punished according to the rules of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Xiao Zexing's back was soaked with cold sweat. He decided to use the Great Memory Restoration Technique all night to find out the background of these people and confirm whether there were only this group of people or there were more.
But we can't rush things now, because we need to report to the Commander-in-Chief and solidify our achievements first.
To not take credit for something you've done is the act of a bastard!