There was still no news or any leads regarding Xue Cao’s case. Naturally, Yan Liqiang was anxious. He could only conclude that Xue Cao’s kidnapper was definitely someone with wild ambitions. In Qiyun Prefecture, no one would have the guts to commit such a crime. Therefore, it could only be the doings of someone from outside Qiyun Prefecture. Yan Liqiang tried to recall who he had provoked aside from Lin Qingtian, or who could possibly have the motive of doing so.
After thinking about it for a long time, he couldn’t pinpoint a target, but for some reason, the White Lotus Society suddenly popped up in his mind. It caused Yan Liqiang to immediately pinpoint them as the suspect.
First of all, the White Lotus Society had made their way into Qiyun Prefecture since long ago. They lurked around, hoping to jump on every opportunity to cause trouble. Yan Liqiang could observe this through Han Ping. The person who gave the fake letter to deceive Xue Cao was adept at covering up his own tracks. His way of doing things was very similar to the White Lotus Society.
Secondly, it would make total sense if the White Lotus Society’s main target was the Five Animal Frolics technique. If they could get their hands on the secret technique, they would be able to grow their troops rapidly. This was no doubt extremely tempting to an organization with the wild ambition of world domination.
However, the White Lotus Society’s base was still extremely weak in the northwestern region. For Han Ping to be able to become a chief constable in Pingxi City’s Law Enforcement Office, he definitely had a high position in the White Lotus Society. If Xue Cao’s incident was really the White Lotus Society’s doing, then this person must have been part of it and knew everything about it. Hence, Yan Liqiang invited him over today so that he could gather more precise information.
Whether the White Lotus Society was the one behind this incident or not, Yan Liqiang would be able to dig out every secret in the depth of Han Ping’s heart with the Psychic Serpent’s powerful ability just by sitting down with him for a chat.
Of course, Han Ping wasn’t aware of Yan Liqiang’s ability. He sat facing Yan Liqiang as countless thoughts rushed through his mind.
— The Pan Minister position in the Law Enforcement Office is still vacant right now. If I solve this case, no one in Qiyun Prefecture would be more entitled to occupy that seat so I would be the most suitable candidate. Since the sacred society has been wanting me to get closer to Yan Liqiang, this is a great opportunity to make it happen! However, there aren’t that many leads in the case right now. In order to track down Xue Cao, I will have to leverage the sacred society…
Those were the thoughts in Han Ping’s mind, but he wore a terrified expression on his face instead. He lowered his head under Yan Liqiang’s gaze. “I only have my own incompetency to blame. The Law Enforcement Office has put all our connections to use in order to track down Xue Cao. However, we only managed to discover very few clues. Up until now, we still haven’t been able to locate Xue Cao yet…”
“What kind of clues have you all discovered?”
“Xue Cao was last sighted on the public road about two li away from the archery academy. According to the last person who saw him, he saw a student dressed in the archery academy’s uniform climb into a four-wheeled carriage driven by a man in his forties at the roadside when he was on his way home. The facial descriptions given by the man were none other than Xue Cao and the wanted traveling merchant, Fang Zigao!”
“Do you know where the carriage was headed?”
“That we don’t know. According to the witness, it was only an extremely ordinary four-wheeled carriage, the type that could be used for transporting passengers or goods. There are many carriages like these running on the road in every province and prefecture. Not to mention, there was nothing special about the carriage, and the carriage wasn’t even pulled by a rhinodrake steed but two ordinary horses. There are simply too many carriages like these. Once it’s gone, it’s very difficult to track down again!”
“Aside from that, what other clues did you find?”
Han Ping felt a bit better seeing that Yan Liqiang wasn’t angry. “When we traveled to Xue Cao and Fang Zigao’s hometown, we received a piece of information. A few years ago, Fang Zigao attended a banquet that someone threw in their hometown. Someone sitting with him at the same table noticed that he had a rather peculiar habit when eating after he had a little too much to drink. He would dip his cilantro in vinegar before he ate them…”
“Dip his cilantro in the vinegar?”
“Yes. The people from Pingxi Prefecture and Gan Province never dip their cilantro in vinegar. Throughout the entire northwestern area, only people from certain parts in Yin Province would do that. However, Fang Zigao always claimed that he hailed from Lan Province. This habit didn’t quite tally up to his story, so Fang Zigao might be covering up something about his past…”
Yin Province!
Yan Liqiang slightly frowned, knowing that Han Ping was telling the truth. He definitely made enemies with someone from Yin Province before and that was Northwestern Transport Commissioner Jiang Tianhua. However, Jiang Tianhua was a prisoner now and Yan Liqiang didn’t really have any other enemies from Yin Province. Was this only a coincidence, or could it be another clue?
“I know this is a difficult case to crack, but we must not miss out on any clues either. In any case, all of you can investigate better than those Wanderers!”
“I was just thinking of bringing two of my reliable subordinates and personally pay Yin Province a visit with Fang Zigao’s portrait. We may get something out of the folks over there!”
“Good, just proceed with that. If you can succeed in this, then the position of the Pan Minister at the Law Enforcement Office shall be yours!” Yan Liqiang directly offered. Rather than allowing dangerous individuals like this to work in the dark, he might as well place them in his line of sight. If anything happened, he could always summon them to his side. By doing that, he would pretty much be able to grasp every plan the White Lotus Society was plotting for Gan Province or the northwestern region.
Han Ping immediately steeled his determination. “Rest assured, Protectorate General. I will definitely do my very best to crack this incident and give you an answer!”
“The answer is not only for me, but also for Xue Cao’s family and the uniform that you are wearing!”
“Understood!”
“Alright, you are dismissed. If you run into any trouble with this case, you may directly find me at the Protectorate General’s Office!”
“Yes!”
Han Ping bowed, then left.
Yan Liqiang didn’t expect that the White Lotus Society really had nothing to do with this case. He rubbed his temples. It had only been a short while since the Qiyun Protectorate Office’s grand opening, yet he already had so many things on his plate. The Great Han Empire had just started descending into internal turmoil and the war on the Gulang Plains was growing in intensity. Yan Liqiang was keeping an eye on any changes occuring in the Imperial Capital or the Great Han Empire, while also keeping an eye on the situation at the Gulang Plains as he cautiously tried to push the two powerful opponents to fight against each other. However, his bigger concern was that the evil Lin Qingtian had vanished without a trace, yet someone else had set his eyes on the people around him and even took one of them away…
If he hadn’t seen the Great Han Empire’s terrifying state in the aftermath of the Heavenly Tribulation and witnessing so many people losing their homes or dying in the midst of chaos in the Heavenly Realm, Yan Liqiang would’ve really just enjoyed his life as a millionaire without doing anything. The Qiyun Protectorate General appeared to be a glorious job, but once one was in the seat, one would soon find oneself getting entangled in a mess.
For now, Yan Liqiang could only slowly clean up this mess but his only concern was that God wouldn’t give him enough time to do so…
After taking a short break, Yan Liqiang picked up a document on his table. Lu Wenbin had delivered the document to him, and the man was now the Shu Minister of the Labor House. The document contained a report and budget planning for Yan Liqiang’s plan in letting the Labor House build a huge food storage in every county.
Yan Liqiang reviewed the report and gave his feedback before setting it aside. For matters that involved money, he would have to show it to Qian Su first.
Half an hour later, Yan Liqiang who was still in the Protectorate General’s Office, received an invitation card that had a strange fragrance on it.
It turned out to be an invitation from Sushali who wished to invite Yan Liqiang to her manor for moon viewing and a drink.
