"Any leads?"
At Lin Yan’s question, Zhao Tong shook his head. "The perpetrator concealed their Cultivation Technique. I couldn’t sense anything."
"Have you sent someone to Gourd Mouth to report this?"
"Not yet. I was waiting for you to make the decision, Young Master Yan. This merchant ship isn’t from Qing State Prefecture. It looks like an ordinary vessel from another prefecture’s trading company."
Hearing Zhao Tong’s reply, especially the part about the merchant ship, Lin Yan shifted his gaze from the bodies and gave Zhao Tong a long, hard look.
’What a good subordinate!’
He understood why Zhao Tong was waiting for him to take charge. A merchant ship had been massacred on the river route he was patrolling. Although the family wouldn’t punish him for it, he would definitely have to conduct an investigation to report back to them.
And an investigation with no leads on the killer would inevitably be time-consuming and exhausting.
Zhao Tong had seen that his mind was focused on Cultivation. If he didn’t want to delay his training, he could choose to cover this up.
An ordinary merchant ship with no significant background, everyone on board dead... covering it up would be simple. Just scuttle the ship and pretend it never happened.
"Send someone to Gourd Mouth with the news."
"Yes, I’ll arrange it right away."
Zhao Tong nodded, turned to order a subordinate to carry the message to Gourd Mouth, while Lin Yan walked into the ship’s cabin.
Compared to the thick stench of blood on deck, the smell in the cabin was much better, though everything inside had been completely ransacked.
Overturned chests and cabinets were scattered across the floor. Clothes were strewn everywhere—brocade silks and coarse cloth, men’s long robes, women’s undergarments, and children’s small jackets all tangled together. They were soft to step on, stained with the dark brown blood tracked in from the deck.
A makeup box had its lock smashed open, its powders spilled across the floor. Several messy shoe prints were stamped into the white, greasy powder.
In the corner, a half-man-high camphorwood chest had been pried open, revealing its contents. Several bolts of neatly folded fine cotton cloth were now crumpled into a heap, apparently tossed aside after the killer rummaged through them and found nothing of value.
A moment later, Zhao Tong also entered the cabin and began, "Young Master Yan, my men have already sent someone—"
"Just tell me what the lead is."
Suddenly cut off, Zhao Tong froze. Seeing Young Master Yan staring at him, a flicker of confusion appeared in his eyes. ’How did he find out I was hiding something?’
Lin Yan just stared at Zhao Tong. He had realized Zhao Tong was hiding a lead when he first asked about it. Although Zhao Tong had said there was nothing, his breathing had changed subtly in that instant.
At such a close distance, with his current five senses, he could clearly detect it.
’Zhao Tong lied!’
"Young Master Yan, your eyes are sharp. I didn’t think I could hide it from you."
Zhao Tong’s form of address for Lin Yan had switched from the informal "you" to the formal "you." He thought he had hidden it well, so well that even the True Gang Realm powerhouse from the Lin Family wouldn’t have noticed anything amiss when they arrived.
Lin Yan didn’t respond. He kept staring at Zhao Tong, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
Although Zhao Tong’s breathing had changed, he hadn’t sensed any hostility from the man. Even so... he had to be on guard.
If Zhao Tong couldn’t give him a reasonable explanation, he would have no choice but to act.
Seeing Lin Yan’s hand go to his sword hilt, Zhao Tong’s eyelid twitched. He hurriedly said, "Young Master Yan, I did hide something, but it was for your own good."
Lin Yan remained unmoved. Cold sweat beaded on Zhao Tong’s forehead. This was a Blood Exchange Realm powerhouse; he probably couldn’t even take a single strike.
"When I first boarded the ship and searched the cabin, I found two words written in rouge powder behind the copper mirror on the dressing table: ’Six Fingers’."
’Six Fingers?’
"Young Master Yan, the grandson of the Water Bandit Alliance’s General Alliance Leader was born with six fingers. This ship is from another Prefecture City. Someone who didn’t know the specifics of the Water Bandit Alliance might have just seen the six fingers and written down that clue."
After hearing Zhao Tong’s explanation, Lin Yan walked to the dressing table, took the copper mirror that was leaning against the window lattice, and turned it over. There were indeed traces of rouge on the back, but the writing was gone.
"Young Master Yan, I erased the writing."
"Why?"
Lin Yan put down the copper mirror and stared coldly at Zhao Tong. He believed Zhao Tong wasn’t lying; the man’s breathing hadn’t changed significantly.
"To avoid trouble."
Zhao Tong gave a bitter smile. "The General Alliance Leader of the Water Bandit Alliance dotes on this grandson, Huo Shen. The man is paranoid and bloodthirsty, known as the Six-fingered Yama. And the Alliance’s General Alliance Leader is a True Gang Realm powerhouse, with several Blood Exchange Realm Bandit Leaders under his command. Even if we prove he did it, what can we do?"
"The Water Bandit Alliance’s lair is at Broken Dragon Beach. The whole area is a Reed Marsh, with hidden wooden stakes and iron spikes underwater. Our Lin Family boats can’t get in. Not unless the family sends several True Gang Realm powerhouses to just use brute force to level the entire marsh."
He paused, his voice dropping even lower. "But think about it, would the family really mobilize True Gang Realm powerhouses like that for a merchant ship from another house? You can never get rid of all the Water Bandits. Even if we destroyed the Water Bandit Alliance at Broken Dragon Beach, another one would just pop up before long."
Having said his piece, Zhao Tong lowered his head.
"So you erased the clue and planned to pin this on the Roving Bandits?" Lin Yan’s tone was still calm, making it impossible to tell if he was questioning or stating a fact.
Zhao Tong nodded. "It’s the easiest way. Blame it on the Roving Bandits. You won’t have to waste effort investigating, and the Lin Family won’t have to go to war just to save face. Forgive my impertinence, but the Lin Family isn’t the ruler of Qing State, just one of the Four Great Clans. If we wipe out the bandits at Broken Dragon Beach, there’s no guarantee the other Water Bandits won’t feel a sense of kinship and defect to the other three great families. Some things are better left uninvestigated."

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