Chapter 42: Ready to Close the Net!

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Ready to Close the Net!

In the study of the Governor’s Mansion.

For nearly an hour, Zeng Anmin and his father had exchanged all their information. After Zeng Anmin finished recounting the entire process of his "rescue," the room fell into silence.

After a long time, his father slowly raised his head, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Then we can be certain now. The assassin was sent by Prince Jiang’s Mansion."

"Yes, and the disappearance of Jin Taiping’s Shen Liu is most likely related to Prince Jiang’s Mansion as well," Zeng Anmin replied.

Zeng Anmin had actually known from the very beginning that the assassin belonged to Prince Jiang’s Mansion. Funny enough, if he weren’t the Black Cat himself, he really would have been fooled by Prince Jiang’s Mansion this time. Who could have expected that right after his own son died at the hands of the assassin, King Jiang would immediately turn around and impersonate that same assassin to murder his political rival’s son?

He had to admit, whoever came up with this plan was an absolute genius.

"Shen Liu..." His father fell silent for a moment before glancing at Zeng Anmin. "Have you figured out my intentions?"

"Who couldn’t guess? I said I wanted to be an official, and you immediately shoved me into the Observation Department. Then, this case popped up right away. There’s definitely something wrong with it." Zeng Anmin’s mouth twitched as he asked, "By the way, Father, what exactly did you notice was wrong?"

He casually picked up the Jade Toad on the desk, toying with it as he looked at Zeng Shilin.

"I didn’t consider whether there was something wrong with the case," his father slowly shook his head, his gaze turning solemn. "With Shen Liu dead, Shen Jun taking over the chamber of commerce was inevitable. Yet, a case of him murdering his aunt suddenly surfaced.

"That man named Xu Yunfeng locked Shen Jun in prison for three months...

"To prevent Prince Jiang’s Mansion from taking the opportunity to prop up a Puppet and swallow Jin Taiping, I placed you in the Office of the Chief Clerk to protect Shen Jun.

"Shen Jun cannot die.

"Although according to the laws of our Great Saint Dynasty, using extrajudicial punishment on a female family member who commits adultery is not a capital offense.

"However, he wouldn’t escape punishment entirely. I was worried he might suffer foul play in prison..."

Speaking up to this point, his father’s expression turned gratified. "But to my surprise, you actually solved the case."

"Shen Jun was innocent from start to finish. He’s a pretty good guy," Zeng Anmin sighed inwardly.

As they spoke, Zeng Shilin took a small object from the drawer beneath the desk and handed it to Zeng Anmin. "Take this."

Zeng Anmin looked at the object handed to him, his expression turning a bit strange.

"A gun?" he thought. "No, it’s a Firearm. Do Firearms even exist in this world?"

"It’s an item from the Profound Array Department. Within a hundred paces, any Martial Artist below the Sixth Grade Void Realm cannot withstand a single shot from it," his father said, a proud look appearing on his face. "When I broke through to the Firewood Carrying Realm, Celestial Master Xu personally gifted it to me. It is engraved with the Profound Array Department’s Spirit Gathering Array.

"Its power is much greater than ordinary Firearms, and it doesn’t need to be reloaded."

Tsk. If there was something good, he naturally wouldn’t turn it down. Zeng Anmin took the compact Firearm and observed it carefully.

This small Firearm was about the size of a palm. After observing it for a while, Zeng Anmin couldn’t find a fuse.

"Could it be a flintlock?" Zeng Anmin’s eyes lit up slightly. "That would be much more convenient."

"Thank you, Father." Being overly polite with his own father would only needlessly dilute their bond.

"Mm." His father’s expression suddenly turned serious. "Where did that Black Cat go?"

His son had only mentioned being saved by the Black Cat, without mentioning the guy’s whereabouts. Right now, his father’s attitude toward the Black Cat was somewhat complex, but he still wanted to capture this restless Martial Artist.

Zeng Anmin’s hand paused slightly.

"Here it comes," he thought.

But he wanted to test the waters from another angle, so he looked up and said, "That Black Cat saved my life, no matter how you look at it. He’s definitely not some heinous villain..."

"Hmph," his father snorted coldly. He looked earnestly at Zeng Anmin. "If he had saved the lives of thousands of commoners, his merits could offset his crimes. But saving only the son of Zeng Shilin...

"It does not offset his crime of assassinating the Prince of the Royal Mansion in broad daylight."

After saying that, he looked deeply at Zeng Anmin, staring directly into his eyes. Zeng Anmin shockingly saw a streak of azure energy in his father’s gaze. The azure energy surfaced in Zeng Shilin’s eyes, looking somewhat eerie.

Heart-Questioning!

"Where exactly did that Black Cat go?" his father’s voice echoed faintly.

Zeng Anmin felt completely speechless internally.

"Are you kidding me? It’s me! I’m your own son, and you’re using a Confucian Dao technique on your own son?!" he thought.

"Thank goodness!" He discreetly glanced at his Golden Finger.

[Unyielding Martial God: Immune to all Divine Soul and Spiritual Attacks.]

"Clutch!"

"The Black Cat..." Zeng Anmin’s eyes turned "vacant."

He walked groggily toward the giant map in the study. The map depicted all the locations inside and outside of Liangjiang Commandery.

"H... ere..." Zeng Anmin pointed casually before failing to hold on and "fainting."

THUD!

He lay stiffly on the ground. His father looked at Zeng Anmin blankly, a hint of suspicion appearing on his face. Then, he looked deeply at the map.

The next day.

Zeng Anmin sat in the Office of the Chief Clerk with his legs crossed, holding a case file in his hands and reading it with great interest. Qi Dachun’s "wise" eyes were fixed intently on Zeng Anmin, completely unmoving.

"You’ve been staring at me all morning. What? Is there a lady on my face?" Zeng Anmin felt genuinely uncomfortable, looking at Qi Dachun with displeasure.

"My pa said I have to keep my eyes on you at all times, Mr. Zeng, and not leave your side for a single step," Qi Dachun ignored his annoyance, a trace of seriousness on his face.

"And if an assassin really comes, what will you do?" Zeng Anmin placed the case file on the desk, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at Qi Dachun.

"Kill him, of course!" Qi Dachun thumped his chest.

"What if the assassin can’t beat you and runs away?!"

"Hmph!" Qi Dachun raised his head proudly. "While one’s parents are alive, one shall not travel far! His pa and ma are still around, so he won’t be able to run far!"

Great! This guy was even applying what he had just learned!

"What if the assassin’s parents belong to Prince Jiang’s Mansion?" Since there was no one else around anyway, Zeng Anmin decided to tease Qi Dachun.

Dachun’s eyes widened. "He wouldn’t dare! Unless he wants to rebel!"

"Heh." Zeng Anmin chuckled softly, an inexplicable look appearing on his face. His Dan Feng eyes slowly narrowed, the smile on his lips turning eerie. "You’re right."

GAH?

Dachun stiffened all over, his wise eyes filled with utter bewilderment. What? 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Zeng Anmin ignored him. His Dan Feng eyes slowly lifted, his gaze profound. He slowly toyed with the exquisite and compact Firearm in his hand.

Prince Jiang’s Mansion wanted to rebel! And the reason was this very Firearm!

He didn’t know just how many secrets the Profound Array Department in the capital held, but they could manufacture Firearms.

"Prince Jiang’s Mansion has someone from the Profound Array Department," he thought.

The reasoning was simple. The "Black Cat" who had assassinated him yesterday held a short sword that looked extremely similar in appearance to the one he had used to kill Wang Lin. That short sword was a reward from the system. It was impossible for Prince Jiang’s Mansion to have a system too, right?

"Spiritual Artifacts can only be forged by people from the Profound Array Department," Zeng Anmin murmured, slowly raising his head.

They disguised their assassin as the "Black Cat" to confuse the public. He had to admit, it was a brilliant move. However, despite calculating every possibility, the one thing they hadn’t counted on was that he himself was the real Black Cat!

"This move actually exposed them instead," Zeng Anmin thought, an eerie smile hanging on his lips.

It exposed the fact that someone from the Profound Array Department was hiding within Prince Jiang’s Mansion! And the reason Zeng Anmin was certain Prince Jiang’s Mansion wanted to rebel... was because of the sulfur soap!

When inspecting the ships yesterday, there was sulfur on Prince Jiang’s Mansion’s vessel. Others might not know what sulfur was used for, but how could Zeng Anmin not know? Sulfur was a crucial ingredient in manufacturing gunpowder!

Then... Now, he just needed to find out where they were transporting these materials. Once he did, he would have solid evidence of Prince Jiang’s Mansion’s rebellion! Even if they didn’t intend to rebel and were only doing this for self-preservation, he still had ways to make them "rebel"!

"So, where are they transporting the sulfur to?" Zeng Anmin grinned.

This was exactly the reason why Shen Liu of Jin Taiping had disappeared!

As the leader of the top maritime merchant group in Liangjiang Commandery, Shen Liu had sailed the rivers since childhood. He knew exactly where every Desolate Mountain and deserted island was located. Prince Jiang’s Mansion needed someone like him to assist them in finding uninhabited places to hide their evidence of "rebellion."

However, what they hadn’t expected was that Shen Liu’s wife would seduce his nephew right in his own "mourning hall."

As a Martial Artist, Shen Liu had an innately untamed personality... If Shen Jun died at their hands, Shen Liu would definitely refuse to associate with them. Therefore, they wanted to use Zeng Anmin’s hands to kill Shen Jun. They just never expected that he would clear Shen Jun of suspicion.

To prevent future troubles, they resorted to the tactic of impersonating the "Black Cat" to assassinate him. Once he was dead, they wouldn’t have to worry about being exposed.

"Left Chief Clerk, Mr. Shen Jun, the helmsman of the Jin Taiping fleet, requests an audience."

"Wang Daoyuan of the Red-clothed Guards requests an audience."

The corners of Zeng Anmin’s mouth curled up. He slowly stood up, an eerie glint flashing across his face. "Dachun, let’s go. Accompany me to reel in the net."