Chapter 219 - 218: Observing the Lines on the Palm

Chapter 219: Chapter 218: Observing the Lines on the Palm

Inside the Celestial Prison, Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye, who had just finished questioning Lu Tianming, wore a puzzled expression, his mood dejected.

He had originally planned to set a trap with Lu Tianming to catch the traitor.

But he never expected that before the plan could even begin, Lu Tianming would become the "traitor." Although it couldn’t be confirmed, there was clearly something wrong with this Chief Constable.

For some reason, Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye had a nagging feeling that the culprit had orchestrated all of this deliberately.

The other party seemed to know about their plan, so they turned the tables, pushing Lu Tianming into the spotlight and ruining their scheme.

’But if they already knew the plan, why resort to this move? They could have simply not fallen for the trap. Are they just toying with us?’

When he had discussed investigating the private treasuries with Lu Tianming, he had specifically used his Celestial Eye to check their surroundings. Only the two of them were present. He could guarantee he hadn’t leaked anything, so who else could it have been besides Lu Tianming?

’Could it have been the small animals nearby?’

At this thought, Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye couldn’t help but chuckle grimly. ’It must have been Lu Tianming who leaked it,’ he thought. ’Even if he isn’t connected to the culprit, his actions might have tipped them off.’

’After all, every major power is watching us right now. Lu Tianming suddenly moving his own private treasury for no apparent reason... The others aren’t fools; they must have suspected something.’

In the end, it was still Lu Tianming’s fault. If only he had been more careful and not so blatant, the other powers wouldn’t have noticed anything was amiss.

It was just a shame to lose such a promising line of investigation. If they had actually managed to find the resources and treasures missing from the Inner Treasury and the National Treasury by investigating the private ones, they might have found the culprit.

Now they had alerted the enemy. The culprit had likely already made their move.

Thinking of this, Sun Wuyang couldn’t help but sigh.

While Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye was lamenting a missed opportunity, Lu Tianming, the Divine Capture Sect Chief, was wondering how the plan to investigate the private treasuries had been exposed.

Even now, he couldn’t figure out how the information had leaked.

’It was a plan that only I and Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye knew. How did it get out?’

’It’s true that after I returned, I had people secretly move the contraband from my private treasury, but the operation was extremely covert. Only one or two of my most trusted confidants knew. Could the two of them have leaked the news?’

’But their livelihoods depend on me. If something happened to me, they’d go down with me. Why would they do something that harms me without benefiting themselves?’

’What on earth happened?’

The image of Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye inexplicably surfaced in his mind. But then he considered that there was no animosity between them. They had been cooperating quite well recently, and he knew Sun Wuyang’s character. He wouldn’t stoop to such a petty act.

’After all, Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye would gain nothing if I got into trouble. So where did things go wrong?’

’Either my two confidants were careless and got discovered, or... there must be spies from other factions in the Lu Mansion. Otherwise, this couldn’t have happened.’

At this thought, Lu Tianming couldn’t help but sigh. ’I was too hasty,’ he thought. ’If I had waited a little longer, or handled it myself, I wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.’

He never suspected that someone had eavesdropped on his conversation with Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye. After all, they had been in a wide-open space with no one else around.

’It couldn’t have been the small animals nearby who heard and leaked it, right? That would be absurd.’

What Lu Tianming didn’t know was that he had guessed correctly. That was exactly what had happened.

The small animals nearby had indeed heard his conversation with Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye and relayed the contents to Xia Wuyang. That was how Xia Wuyang learned of their secret plot and turned it against them, forcing Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye to cut off his own arm, so to speak, and arrest Chief Constable Lu Tianming.

Now, the Divine Capture Sect had fallen into the hands of Shadow Guard Chief Zheng Zhicang, which was the same as falling into Xia Wuyang’s hands.

From then on, the leaders of the three major agencies coordinating with Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye—the Divine Capture Sect, the Shadow Guard, and the Imperial Guard—were all Xia Wuyang’s people.

Under these circumstances, even if Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye was incredibly resourceful, catching the true culprit, Xia Wuyang, would be as difficult as ascending to heaven—basically impossible.

’Unfortunately, the number of Spiritual Shackles is limited. If I had more, I could have enslaved all of them—Lu Tianming, Sun Wuyang, the lot. Now that would be interesting.’

Xia Wuyang, of course, was keenly aware of everything that had transpired between Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye and Chief Constable Lu Tianming. This so-called trap had ended in his complete victory.

Lying in the arms of a beauty, he watched the flurries outside the window, a smile gracing his lips.

’If Emperor Xia knew about the current situation, I wonder what he would think. He’d surely be thrilled.’

With the arrest of the Divine Capture Sect Chief, Lu Tianming, a suppressive atmosphere fell over the entire Divine Capture Sect.

As the main force currently investigating the culprit, the Divine Capture Sect was under the greatest pressure. Although the Imperial Guard and the Shadow Guard were assisting, the Divine Capture Sect naturally took the lead in the investigation.

To think their own Chief Constable was implicated in the matter and had even engaged in some shady dealings... Even if his connection to the culprit couldn’t be confirmed, it was a great humiliation for everyone in the Divine Capture Sect.

The remaining Divine Constables all wore grim expressions. The Famous Constables were even more on edge, treading lightly for fear of drawing unwanted attention.

As for the ordinary constables further down the ranks, they were in a similar sorry state.

The constables of the Divine Capture Sect were mainly divided into three levels: ordinary constables, Famous Constables, and Divine Constables. Ordinary constables were the most numerous, spread throughout the entire Great Xia Dynasty. Famous Constables were much rarer; a county might not even have one.

Divine Constables were rarer still. There might only be one across several dozen counties. The entire Divine Capture Sect had only a dozen or so Divine Constables in total.

In the entire Great Xia Dynasty, a territory of three commanderies and 36 million square kilometers, there were only a dozen or so Divine Constables. This just showed how rare they were.

Several Divine Constables had already died, and now even their Chief Constable had been arrested. It was no exaggeration to say the Sect was on the verge of collapse.

The Divine Constables and Famous Constables, once so swift and decisive, were now like frightened birds, constantly watching each other while on duty and keeping their mouths shut, unable to perform to their full capabilities.

Moreover, with Shadow Guard Chief Zheng Zhicang now in charge, whose job was to monitor everything and everyone, they were forced to act with even greater caution.

This made Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye, who had wanted to devise another trap, fall silent. When they convened for a meeting again, he looked at the somewhat empty seats with a sense of helplessness.

He didn’t want things to be this way, but there were indeed many problems with Lu Tianming. Even if he felt Lu Tianming probably wasn’t the culprit’s accomplice, the investigation had, after all, led directly to him.