"The young master just went out for half a day and found out that Yuan Chengji is the mole, behind whom are the tea stall owner and a so-called Young Master Girl..."
After a brief conversation with Chu Ming, he was completely certain that the mysterious person was indeed his family's young master.
Fang Xiao, whose face had been tense, finally relaxed.
"The young master hid his strength; just his body technique and stealth skills are no weaker than mine."
"Heh heh, I didn't expect this at all. It seems my contingency plan won't be needed."
"With the young master possessing such strength, the Chu Family... can hardly threaten him."
"However, since Shao Pengshu has been called, let's continue."
...
A small house near Wheat Alley.
"Have you collected the evidence?" Fang Xiao asked in a deep voice.
"Done, Instructor Fang, don't worry." Shao Pengshu lifted a gray cloth bundle, from which a foul stench immediately emanated.
"What about the corpse?"
"Let Zhang Yii and Tan Hong handle it."
"Hmm."
"Instructor Fang, do you want to inform Captain Hou?"
"We've pretty much figured out the Wheat Alley case, so there's no need to hide it from Captain Hou anymore, right?"
"Instructor Fang, you don't know, but that day I had to drink a pot of wine before I dared to put a label on you and Captain Hou."
"If this matter isn't explained clearly, I'm afraid I'll be seen as a domineering, ruthless rascal." Shao Pengshu said with an innocent face.
Fang Xiao maintained a calm expression, "Hmm, we do need to inform Captain Hou."
"However, let's wait until we apprehend that tea stall owner and the girl."
"Besides, Captain Hou can't come tonight either."
"Hehe, Captain Hou's wife isn't going to let him, is she?" Shao Pengshu's eyes twinkled.
Fang Xiao said solemnly, "Captain Hou is different from you and me; he has a family."
"You're not getting any younger, haven't you considered settling down?"
Shao Pengshu's face turned serious abruptly, changing the subject, "Instructor Fang, how do you plan to compensate Captain Hou?"
He didn't want to be tied down, and with so many women in brothels and pleasure boats, he could indulge as he pleased.
Fang Xiao fell into silence.
The Wheat Alley homicide was never meant to alert the Criminal Defense Bureau of Baiyuan County.
The arrival of Shao Pengshu and the others was actually due to his covert manipulation.
The purpose was to let Shao Pengshu resolve the Wheat Alley homicide and earn great merit.
Shao Pengshu was trained by him personally and could be considered a trusted person.
The insults at Wheat Alley a few days ago were just an act.
"Captain Shao, this achievement should be enough to promote you to a Standard Eighth-Grade Criminal Captain. The tasks I left to you, make sure to execute them well."
"As for compensating Captain Hou, I'll think about it some more."
If he credited this homicide's merit to Shao Pengshu, then he and Hou Ping would face the consequence of failed case handling.
Penalizing their salary wasn't the issue; what truly made him feel guilty to Hou Ping was teaming up with Shao Pengshu, hiding the truth from Hou Ping, and orchestrating a scheme to concentrate merit onto Shao Pengshu.
But it was unavoidable; though Hou Ping was a decent man, he couldn't handle his wife at home, and that woman... had a loose tongue.
For the young master, he had to do it this way.
"Hmm, Instructor Fang has been a benefactor to me, and I will certainly protect the young master."
"However, Instructor Fang, I heard from Instructor Lin that the young master was frail and uneducated since childhood, so how did he become top in the provincial exams?" Shao Pengshu asked in a lowered voice.
"Is this from Lin Zhenwu, or is it your own curiosity?" Fang Xiao asked calmly.
"Heh heh, Instructor Fang, I'm just curious. Before I came, I specially inquired, and the young master had a serious illness recently and nearly..."
"Say another word, and I'll have Lin Zhenwu make your regular training even harder."
"I'll keep quiet." Shao Pengshu retreated obediently, and the small house fell silent.
Fang Xiao, with somewhat bloodshot eyes, spoke in a low voice, "When will Lin Zhenwu arrive?"
"I sent the message back to Baiyuan County as soon as I got the news yesterday, so we still need to wait a bit..."
"Instructor Fang..." Shao Pengshu hesitated, his eyes flickering, "Instructor Lin won't fight me for the merit, will he?"
"Does your Instructor Lin lack this little bit of merit?" Fang Xiao said calmly, "Killing a few exotic races would bring him far more credit than this homicide."
He unfolded the paper again, his gaze lingering on it.
"Let's discuss the plan going forward."
"First, the tea stall owner and the girl have been practicing Blood Refining Technique, and their strength is unknown. We need Lin Zhenwu to stabilize the situation, so they can't escape."
"Instructor Lin is a master at Condensing Eleven Qi and Blood Paths. With him on board, they won't be able to run." Shao Pengshu responded.
Fang Xiao nodded and continued, "Second, Yuan Chengji is dead, and this cannot be exposed. Otherwise, it will alert our enemy, so we need to find someone to take his place."
Shao Pengshu mused, "That's simple; Zhang Yii and Tan Hong have both learned disguise."
"Good." Fang Xiao folded the paper and looked out the window.
"It's about time; let's act separately. You go keep watch on the tea stall owner and the girl, while I'll go to Captain Hou's house to ensure nothing goes awry."
The paper mentioned that the girl intended to make a move against Hou Ping.
"Be careful."
"Instructor Fang, rest assured."
In the night, two figures headed in opposite directions.
...
Morning.
Hou Ping emerged from his home with a relaxed expression and headed to a roadside stall.
"Marquis, same as usual?" the owner greeted with a flattering smile.
"Hmm, five youtiao, five bowls of tofu pudding, twenty buns, how much?"
"No need. If you hadn't given me a tael of silver to support this stall, my whole family might have starved to death in the streets. I can't take your money, Marquis."
"Nonsense. When running a stall, whoever buys must pay," Hou Ping said sternly, pulling out twenty to thirty copper coins from his pocket, "and so will I."
He tossed the copper coins onto the stand, noticing the stall owner's apprehensive look. He added with a smile, "Save up early and pay me back sooner."
Upon hearing this, the breakfast stall owner's eyes lit up, "Thank you, Marquis, I'll do my best."
"Marquis, everything's wrapped up."
"Hmm."
With breakfast in hand, Hou Ping made his way to the Arresting Office.
"Morning, Captain Hou." At the door of the Arresting Office, two constables were chatting.
"Here, breakfast."
"Thanks, Captain Hou."
Hou Ping looked around and asked, "Where's Yuan Chengji?"
The two constables immediately stiffened and lowered their heads, not daring to speak.
"Where is he?"
Although they had to keep watch at Wheat Alley, they would gather at the Arresting Office every morning, both to give their bodies a brief rest and to discuss the day's surveillance points.
"He...he..." the two constables stammered.
Yuan Chengji had left since dusk yesterday and hadn't returned.
But they didn't dare to say it.
"Here he comes, here he comes."
Just then, a voice came from inside the Arresting Office. They saw someone running hastily with their waistband in hand, holding a piece of coarse paper.
No need to say what he was doing.
Hou Ping merely frowned slightly and tossed a breakfast over, "Lazy people have more things to attend to."
"Heh heh," Yuan Chengji took the breakfast with an awkward laugh, "Thanks, Captain Hou!"
"Alright, stop with the flattery and do your job well!"
"Eat quickly and head to Wheat Alley."
After speaking, Hou Ping picked up two breakfasts and was about to leave.
They could gather at the Arresting Office in the morning, but they couldn't all leave Wheat Alley. Fang Xiao was still on watch, so he had to hurry over.
"Captain Hou, Captain Fang is back, inside the hall," Yuan Chengji said with a mouth full of youtiao.