Chapter 463: East Window Exposed

He had, of course, already washed up, though his eyes were still a little bloodshot.

The county magistrate sat down, and a young servant immediately brought him hot tea. He took a sip, set down the cup, and then asked the two men, "What brings you here so early in the morning?"

Master Li angrily exclaimed, "That fellow Tu actually went to the Crown Prince's special envoy and submitted a complaint, trying to expose us!"

The magistrate dismissed it, saying, "Such trivial village matters aren't worth the special envoy's attention. You're overthinking it. Why would someone in a high position care about their petty schemes? Villagers will always be villagers, panicking over the slightest thing."

Master Wang suddenly changed the subject. "My Lord, to whom have you assigned the mineral rights in the porcupine territory?"

The White Stone County Magistrate was taken aback. "What are you talking about? Where would the porcupine territory have mineral deposits?"

Master Li, still fuming, said, "That Crown Prince's special envoy went into the mountains today to inspect the porcupine den and brought back a good amount of mineral powder for appraisal at my Glimmering Gold Hall. That's 'stone network'! There might be a mineral vein near the den!"

The White Stone County Magistrate looked bewildered. "'Stone network'? I've never heard of it. Is it important?"

"This was appraised by Mr. Lu, the Medicine Ape, whom my Glimmering Gold Hall hired with a substantial sum. 'Stone network' is the essence of a mountain range. It's rare for even one 'stone blood ore' vein to appear among a thousand mountain ranges. Wouldn't you say it's precious?"

"What exactly is this material used for?"

"It's indispensable in many folk remedies and also used in crafting magical artifacts." Master Li then lowered his voice. "Rumor has it, it's also a key ingredient for the elixir of immortality, or perhaps a long-life tonic."

The White Stone County Magistrate hissed in surprise. The elixir of immortality was a legend in the Kingdom of Beijia, vaguely and ambiguously circulating among the common people, but only those in higher circles knew its true nature. Anything linked to it must be extremely valuable!

"Was it truly retrieved from Jade Wheel Mountain?" The White Stone County Magistrate pondered further. "Could it be that the envoy brought it himself?"

"Oh, come on! If we send someone into the porcupine den to check, wouldn't we know?" Master Li sighed. "This litter of porcupines died mysteriously. It was previously said they were crushed by an avalanche, but the envoy says it doesn't look like it. Don't you think someone might have killed them to seize the 'stone network' ore for themselves?"

Master Wang continued, "Those porcupines have been dead for over half a year, and it's likely the culprit has been secretly mining 'stone network' there for just as long. My Lord, you must look into this!"

"No one has applied for mining rights here!" the White Stone County Magistrate retorted angrily. "If I had approved it, wouldn't you two know?"

In the countryside, such news spreads faster than anything else; it would be impossible to keep it under wraps.

Master Li hadn't slept all night, pondering the matter, his eyes more bloodshot than anyone else's. Seeing it was time to reveal his insights, he cleared his throat with a forceful cough. "My Lord, the only ones who could dig and excavate in the porcupine territory without drawing attention are the Wan family, I believe!"

The White Stone County Magistrate paused. "The Wan family? The ones building the lake and dam?"

"No one usually goes to Jade Wheel Mountain; only their group makes all that commotion. Wouldn't it be incredibly easy for them to mine the mountain under the guise of digging a lake?"

Master Li shot a glance at Master Wang, who understood and chimed in, "The lake construction is behind schedule. It was supposed to be finished by the end of this year, but the Wan family claims the geology is loose and pushed the deadline to next summer."

"Exactly. My Medicine Ape, Mr. Lu, says that the 'stone blood ore' vein has a very limited reserve, unlike copper and iron where you can just keep digging endlessly if you hit a rich vein. I predict by next summer, the Wan family will have completely exhausted the 'stone blood' ore, fill in the pit, and presto! No one will be any the wiser!"

Master Wang sneered, "They're quietly amassing a fortune, but why should we, who work hard trading and selling medicine, take the blame for them? That's completely unacceptable!"

They were all prominent local merchants dealing in medicinal herbs, but the Wan family was not. Now the Wan family is reaching into this field to grab huge profits, yet they expect us to take the fall? How preposterous!

His territory actually yielded 'stone blood'? The White Stone County Magistrate was first shocked, then displeased. However, being one who sought prudence, he nodded and said, "I will immediately send people into the mountains to investigate. We will discuss everything further once the evidence is conclusive. Remain calm, and under no circumstances must this matter be spread outside!"

Both masters said they understood.

Unbeknownst to them, a crow perched on the eaves outside cocked its head upon hearing this.

That evening, the people dispatched by the White Stone County Magistrate finally returned from Jade Wheel Mountain, bringing with them a small amount of powder: 'stone network' powder scraped from the porcupine den.

This person also secretly observed the Wan family's lake construction project, noticing that while the laborers were indeed digging and hammering in the giant cave, they occasionally unearthed small pieces of deep red ore, which the foreman would quickly rush over to collect.

The White Stone County Magistrate was furious and sent constables to summon Master Wan.

Unexpectedly, the constables returned quickly, not with the man, but with a letter. "My Lord, Wan Xianneng has already been interrogated by the special envoy; both his legs were broken, and a doctor has just been called to treat him...!"

The White Stone County Magistrate was astonished. "What? The special envoy has already dealt with the Wan family?" He snatched the letter from the constable's hand. "Was this left by the special envoy?"

"Yes. The special envoy has taken a steward from the Wan family and has already departed for Frost Dew Town."

The White Stone County Magistrate's hands trembled as he opened the letter. By the time he finished reading the hundred-odd characters, he was drenched in sweat.

In fact, that morning, He Lingchuan and Jiao Yu had directly stormed into Master Wan's residence.

The crow had been monitoring during the night, so he was well aware that Master Wan himself was at home.

Master Wan was eating breakfast. Before he could even put down his chopsticks, a fierce tiger burst through the door, glaring menacingly.

A man followed the tiger in, standing casually with his hands behind his back, and smiled at him, saying, "Wan Xianneng, your misdeeds have come to light."

With a clang, his chopsticks clattered to the floor.

Knowing the identity of the newcomers, the butler, servants, and guards dared not step forward. He Lingchuan said to Master Wan, "Regarding how that litter of porcupines on Jade Wheel Mountain died, will you confess willingly, or shall we begin with torture?"

Cold sweat immediately broke out on Master Wan's forehead, but knowing that confessing would also lead to a dead end, he secretly gritted his teeth and said, "Special Envoy, I have no idea what this is about! You saw all the families who had grievances with the porcupine demons at the banquet the day before yesterday. I wasn't among them!"

He Lingchuan didn't waste words with him, looking at Jiao Yu instead. "Master Jiao?" He didn't dare send General Antelope, fearing the Wind-Boring Beast might accidentally trample the man to death.

Jiao Yu didn't reply but lunged directly into the room.

Screams, pleas for mercy, and agonized cries incessantly filled the air.

The fierce tiger subjected Master Wan to various treatments—oh, He Lingchuan covered his face, unable to watch—and turned to the stunned Wan family servants, declaring, "While this special envoy is handling this case, anyone who takes a single step outside the Wan residence will be considered an accomplice of Wan Xianneng and will be flayed alive!"

All the servants fell silent, terrified.

Among them were a few guards who, feeling awkward about taking their master's wages without earning them, were still eager to try something, but when they saw three tall, powerful sheep walk in, they immediately abandoned that idea.

The common folk do not contend with officials—this was a lesson etched deep in their bones.

The scene inside the house was quite gruesome, so He Lingchuan simply moved a chair to the courtyard and waited.

Before long, the falcon circling overhead suddenly swooped down.

Human screams also erupted from the west.

Soon after, a man, driven forward, stumbled into the courtyard, several bloody holes on his shoulder.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he knelt before He Lingchuan, sobbing, "My Lord, I was merely following orders!"

The falcon landed on a branch behind He Lingchuan and reported, "From above, I saw this man secretly pick up a bundle, intending to slip out of the Wan residence through the back door."

He Lingchuan asked the Wan family's butler, "Who is this?"

"This is the master's head steward, surnamed Lu."

After a brief exchange with Steward Lu, He Lingchuan walked to the front of the house and knocked on the door. "Wan Xianneng, your Steward Lu is about to confess. If you confess after him, I guarantee you'll suffer twice as much."

No sooner had he spoken than Master Wan's cries emerged from within. "I'll talk! I'll talk! Please stop!"

Jiao Yu's methods were too brutal; he finally couldn't endure it any longer.

"In Zhitian Village, the medicinal herb business became too difficult, so I switched to mountain excavation, road construction, bridge building, and mining. Unexpectedly, last summer's great flood destroyed the bridge I built, and the villagers all decided I was unreliable, so this business quickly plummeted." Master Wan was full of bitterness. "Then someone reported that a 'stone blood' mineral vein had been discovered on Jade Wheel Mountain. I knew 'stone blood' was valuable, but that part of the mountain wasn't mine. Coincidentally, my nephew specializes in dealing with mountain demons and wild beasts, so I asked him to help me scare away this group of porcupines... I truly didn't mean to kill them!"

"How did your nephew do it?"

"I don't know," Master Wan said, looking bewildered. "Not long after I asked him, he came back and told me it was done. The following spring, when the snow melted, that litter of porcupines was indeed found dead in their den."

"After they died, there was no more resistance to opening up the land and digging the lake. The magistrate assigned that work to me, and I took the opportunity to, well..."

"...start mining."

"So, it seems you weren't largely involved in this matter?"

"Not much, truly not much. I really didn't want to kill that litter of porcupines; I wasn't the one who acted to kill them!"

He Lingchuan then asked him, "Is this the only time you've done something so dishonest?"

"Just once, only this one time!"

"Oh? But Steward Lu didn't say that." He Lingchuan yanked Steward Lu forward. "Just now, you told me that Master Wan sent you to Frost Dew Town how many times?"

"Nine, nine times!" Seeing Master Wan's miserable state, how could Steward Lu dare to lie?

He was just a worker, earning a meager salary; why would he sell his life for a scoundrel of a boss?

"Including yesterday's trip!"

"So Master Wan contacted more than just his nephew?"

"More than that," Steward Lu immediately said. "He kept sending me to Frost Dew Town with 'blood beads'!"

As soon as the words "blood beads" were uttered, Wan Xianneng audibly gulped.

"It's over; even this has been revealed."

"What exactly are these 'blood beads'?"

Steward Lu lowered his head. "They're red, round beads, about the size of a pellet. I don't know their specific use or origin. I was just following orders!"

He Lingchuan cast a chilling glance at Wan Xianneng. "Once he's finished saying what he needs to, you'll be of no further use."

Sweat streamed down Master Wan's forehead to his chin. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth and said, "My Lord, investigating this will not benefit you or the Crown Prince!"