Chapter 93
Qiaonan Salt Mine, Heartless Manor!
Gu Lin was on his way back.
Suddenly, I received a message by carrier pigeon.
"Lord Gu, come to Qiaonan County in Anzhou immediately."
Signed as Flower Girl, Mute.
Gu Lin's gaze was intense.
He ordered five of his men to investigate four officials of the Sima clan who were of the fifth rank or above.
The mute flower girl was tasked with secretly investigating Sima Yi, the fourth-rank official in charge of the salt transport office in Anzhou.
Urgent news has arrived.
Could there be a clue?
Gu Lin dared not delay and rushed to Qiaonan County without stopping.
Fortunately, I am still on the border of Chu'an, and it will only take seven or eight days to get there.
He was too eager to gain merit by eliminating treacherous officials.
A higher position and greater power meant having more subordinates to do tasks and having greater authority to go to the upper floors of mission buildings. Most importantly, it meant having a gilded storage ring that belonged exclusively to the centurion, something he desperately needed!
......
They rode at full speed and arrived in Qiaonan County in seven days.
In an inn.
The mute man brews tea, and the flower girl recounts:
"My lord, our investigation has revealed that Sima Yuan, the Salt Commissioner of Anzhou, has an excellent reputation and outstanding political achievements. He has never been known for corruption, bribery, or holding a position without performing his duties."
Gu Lin listened quietly.
If Sima Yi had committed even the slightest misdeed, he would have been executed by the Anzhou Holy Land long ago. How many members of the Holy Land, eager for advancement, are eyeing him covetously, hoping to use the corpses of officials from the Divine Dynasty as a ladder for promotion?
The flower girl changed the subject and said in a deep voice:
"After two weeks of investigation, we found two things."
"First, there was the matter of the corpses found at the Qiaonan Salt Mine. Just three months ago, six corpses suddenly appeared outside the salt mine. They all died in the same way, and their hearts were cruelly removed."
"The county government and the executioner jointly investigated and found that thousands of miners were safe and sound, and there were no missing persons. They then suspected that someone had dumped the bodies in the salt mine."
"We have copied a copy of the investigation document."
The flower girl handed over the scroll and said in a deep voice:
"The person in charge of this salt mine is a seventh-rank official in the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office."
"This person's resume is impressive."
"He followed Sima Jiao when Sima Jiao was still serving in Chuzhou."
"He was transferred to Anzhou a few years ago, and this person was transferred here as well."
"He is Sima Yao's most trusted confidant!"
Gu Lin opened the file, nodded, and asked:
"And the second thing?"
The flower girl paused slightly and slowly said:
"Salt Commissioner Sima Yuan would inspect the Southern Canal every half month, personally checking each large salt-carrying ship. The canal workers praised Lord Sima for his hard work, endurance, and compassion for the people."
"During the inspection, Sima Yuan ate and slept on the large ship, but two experienced canal workers happened to glimpse that a ship from Jueqing Manor had passed by the salt transport commissioner's large ship at night."
"The key point is, we've only met twice in two weeks!"
"That's very strange."
"The Heartless Manor is a cultivation sect. Although it is located on the An'nan River, people usually travel by boat. But knowing that it was a large salt transport ship, why didn't they take a detour? Once could be a coincidence, but twice is suspicious!"
The flower girl added:
"My lord, all the disciples inside and outside the Heartless Manor are beautiful female cultivators."
Gu Lin paced back and forth.
These two things are completely unrelated.
He first praised:
"You've worked hard."
He knew that his two subordinates must have put in a lot of effort to find out these two secrets.
The flower girl declared firmly:
"It is a great honor to serve you, sir!"
The mute man also made a gesture of loyalty.
Unfortunately, we can't find a starting point for either of these clues.
Gu Linsu said in a solemn voice:
"Focus our efforts on the Qiaonan Salt Mine first. The person in charge of the Qiaonan Salt Mine is Sima Jiao's trusted general. As long as we can find evidence of wrongdoing at the salt mine, we can arrest that official and, naturally, implicate Sima Jiao!"
The flower girl pondered for a moment, then frowned and asked in confusion:
"My lord, there are thousands of miners in the salt mine. How can we investigate? It's easy to alert them. Besides, the county government and the local police station have already investigated and found nothing. I heard that even the Holy Land's elite cavalry have investigated this case."
The room fell into a long silence.
Gu Lin pondered carefully and flipped through the files.
The six corpses had not been tortured before their deaths; they were simply killed with a single blow, clearly not by enemies seeking revenge.
But his heart was forcibly removed!
After a long while, Gu Lin suddenly stood up:
"The one who covets the heart is most likely a demon, or someone practicing evil cultivation techniques!"
The flower girl and the mute man nodded in agreement, but the tricky part was how to conduct the investigation.
"Wait a few days for me." Gu Lin left immediately.
He's a practitioner of Gu magic!
Humans don't go into the mines, but Gu worms can!
He possesses the ability to detect demonic energy and is able to sense demonic aura.
Now you can purchase a kind of Evil-Seeking Gu. He once saw this kind of Gu in the Myriad Gu Chart. It is a common second-stage Gu that can sense evil aura.
......
Four days later.
A group of nine people traveled to the Qiaonan Salt Mine.
The flower girl, the mute, and six knife-wielding men.
It is only five miles away from the salt mine.
Gu Lin suddenly stopped, and two Gu worms appeared in his palm.
Seeking Demon Gu and Homage to Evil Gu.
The Wangxie Gu is only the size of a fingernail, shaped like a white fish, with two emerald green eyes that flash light from time to time.
The flower girl and the mute man suddenly realized what was going on.
They reacted too slowly; how could they not have thought that the Gu worms could silently enter the salt mine to investigate?
"go!"
Gu Lin activated the air passage and watched as the two Gu worms flew away.
Half an hour passed, but nothing happened.
The two Gu must have gone deep into the salt mine to explore.
Until an hour later.
The pattern of the Evil-Seeking Gu inside Gu's orifice twisted back and forth, and he suddenly sensed a powerful evil aura.
"Return immediately!"
He activated the hollow orifice.
"How is the master?" the flower maid asked quickly, seeing that Master Gu was covered in a mist of blood.
Gu Lin said in a chilling tone:
"There is a sinister aura beneath the salt mine, a powerful aura that probably surpasses even the Mountain and Sea Realm."
"This must be the person who removed the heart!"
"A powerhouse at the Expansion Realm?" The flower maiden's expression turned solemn.
The realm of mountains and seas, the dantian can contain mountains and seas.
When a martial arts practitioner reaches the peak of the Mountain and Sea realm, they begin to touch the power of the rules, break free from constraints, and expand their territory within their dantian, a process known as the Territory Expansion Realm!
The mute man suddenly became agitated and began making gestures incessantly.
He quickly grabbed a pen and notebook and wrote it down.
"I have read in ancient texts that salt mines are the essence of the earth, formed from yang energy, and can absorb yin and negative energy!"
"Salt mines are extremely secluded cultivation grounds, completely concealing any sinister aura and preventing them from being detected by the outside world!"
Gu Lin nodded emphatically after reading it.
He immediately took out his pen and notebook, wrote a document, and then stamped it with the seal of a trial centurion, inviting two border guards from the Chuzhou East Temple's subordinate office to come and assist him.
We must hurry and not delay; there will definitely be a generous reward afterward!
The flower maiden summoned a colorful-winged pigeon, and watched as it circled away into the distance.
She said with a hint of excitement:
"My lord, this seventh-rank official is Sima Jiao's trusted confidant. At the very least, he's guilty of covering up dereliction of duty, and he can be arrested!"
Gu Lin waved his hand:
"Don't rush, continue investigating this Heartless Manor!"
The men accepted the order and left.
Gu Lin gave them another five top-grade spirit stones, telling them not to be stingy with their money and to spend it boldly as long as it helped the direction of the investigation.
Money makes the world go round; only by offering incentives can you get more clues.
Suddenly, I received a message by carrier pigeon.
"Lord Gu, come to Qiaonan County in Anzhou immediately."
Signed as Flower Girl, Mute.
Gu Lin's gaze was intense.
He ordered five of his men to investigate four officials of the Sima clan who were of the fifth rank or above.
The mute flower girl was tasked with secretly investigating Sima Yi, the fourth-rank official in charge of the salt transport office in Anzhou.
Urgent news has arrived.
Could there be a clue?
Gu Lin dared not delay and rushed to Qiaonan County without stopping.
Fortunately, I am still on the border of Chu'an, and it will only take seven or eight days to get there.
He was too eager to gain merit by eliminating treacherous officials.
A higher position and greater power meant having more subordinates to do tasks and having greater authority to go to the upper floors of mission buildings. Most importantly, it meant having a gilded storage ring that belonged exclusively to the centurion, something he desperately needed!
......
They rode at full speed and arrived in Qiaonan County in seven days.
In an inn.
The mute man brews tea, and the flower girl recounts:
"My lord, our investigation has revealed that Sima Yuan, the Salt Commissioner of Anzhou, has an excellent reputation and outstanding political achievements. He has never been known for corruption, bribery, or holding a position without performing his duties."
Gu Lin listened quietly.
If Sima Yi had committed even the slightest misdeed, he would have been executed by the Anzhou Holy Land long ago. How many members of the Holy Land, eager for advancement, are eyeing him covetously, hoping to use the corpses of officials from the Divine Dynasty as a ladder for promotion?
The flower girl changed the subject and said in a deep voice:
"After two weeks of investigation, we found two things."
"First, there was the matter of the corpses found at the Qiaonan Salt Mine. Just three months ago, six corpses suddenly appeared outside the salt mine. They all died in the same way, and their hearts were cruelly removed."
"The county government and the executioner jointly investigated and found that thousands of miners were safe and sound, and there were no missing persons. They then suspected that someone had dumped the bodies in the salt mine."
"We have copied a copy of the investigation document."
The flower girl handed over the scroll and said in a deep voice:
"The person in charge of this salt mine is a seventh-rank official in the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office."
"This person's resume is impressive."
"He followed Sima Jiao when Sima Jiao was still serving in Chuzhou."
"He was transferred to Anzhou a few years ago, and this person was transferred here as well."
"He is Sima Yao's most trusted confidant!"
Gu Lin opened the file, nodded, and asked:
"And the second thing?"
The flower girl paused slightly and slowly said:
"Salt Commissioner Sima Yuan would inspect the Southern Canal every half month, personally checking each large salt-carrying ship. The canal workers praised Lord Sima for his hard work, endurance, and compassion for the people."
"During the inspection, Sima Yuan ate and slept on the large ship, but two experienced canal workers happened to glimpse that a ship from Jueqing Manor had passed by the salt transport commissioner's large ship at night."
"The key point is, we've only met twice in two weeks!"
"That's very strange."
"The Heartless Manor is a cultivation sect. Although it is located on the An'nan River, people usually travel by boat. But knowing that it was a large salt transport ship, why didn't they take a detour? Once could be a coincidence, but twice is suspicious!"
The flower girl added:
"My lord, all the disciples inside and outside the Heartless Manor are beautiful female cultivators."
Gu Lin paced back and forth.
These two things are completely unrelated.
He first praised:
"You've worked hard."
He knew that his two subordinates must have put in a lot of effort to find out these two secrets.
The flower girl declared firmly:
"It is a great honor to serve you, sir!"
The mute man also made a gesture of loyalty.
Unfortunately, we can't find a starting point for either of these clues.
Gu Linsu said in a solemn voice:
"Focus our efforts on the Qiaonan Salt Mine first. The person in charge of the Qiaonan Salt Mine is Sima Jiao's trusted general. As long as we can find evidence of wrongdoing at the salt mine, we can arrest that official and, naturally, implicate Sima Jiao!"
The flower girl pondered for a moment, then frowned and asked in confusion:
"My lord, there are thousands of miners in the salt mine. How can we investigate? It's easy to alert them. Besides, the county government and the local police station have already investigated and found nothing. I heard that even the Holy Land's elite cavalry have investigated this case."
The room fell into a long silence.
Gu Lin pondered carefully and flipped through the files.
The six corpses had not been tortured before their deaths; they were simply killed with a single blow, clearly not by enemies seeking revenge.
But his heart was forcibly removed!
After a long while, Gu Lin suddenly stood up:
"The one who covets the heart is most likely a demon, or someone practicing evil cultivation techniques!"
The flower girl and the mute man nodded in agreement, but the tricky part was how to conduct the investigation.
"Wait a few days for me." Gu Lin left immediately.
He's a practitioner of Gu magic!
Humans don't go into the mines, but Gu worms can!
He possesses the ability to detect demonic energy and is able to sense demonic aura.
Now you can purchase a kind of Evil-Seeking Gu. He once saw this kind of Gu in the Myriad Gu Chart. It is a common second-stage Gu that can sense evil aura.
......
Four days later.
A group of nine people traveled to the Qiaonan Salt Mine.
The flower girl, the mute, and six knife-wielding men.
It is only five miles away from the salt mine.
Gu Lin suddenly stopped, and two Gu worms appeared in his palm.
Seeking Demon Gu and Homage to Evil Gu.
The Wangxie Gu is only the size of a fingernail, shaped like a white fish, with two emerald green eyes that flash light from time to time.
The flower girl and the mute man suddenly realized what was going on.
They reacted too slowly; how could they not have thought that the Gu worms could silently enter the salt mine to investigate?
"go!"
Gu Lin activated the air passage and watched as the two Gu worms flew away.
Half an hour passed, but nothing happened.
The two Gu must have gone deep into the salt mine to explore.
Until an hour later.
The pattern of the Evil-Seeking Gu inside Gu's orifice twisted back and forth, and he suddenly sensed a powerful evil aura.
"Return immediately!"
He activated the hollow orifice.
"How is the master?" the flower maid asked quickly, seeing that Master Gu was covered in a mist of blood.
Gu Lin said in a chilling tone:
"There is a sinister aura beneath the salt mine, a powerful aura that probably surpasses even the Mountain and Sea Realm."
"This must be the person who removed the heart!"
"A powerhouse at the Expansion Realm?" The flower maiden's expression turned solemn.
The realm of mountains and seas, the dantian can contain mountains and seas.
When a martial arts practitioner reaches the peak of the Mountain and Sea realm, they begin to touch the power of the rules, break free from constraints, and expand their territory within their dantian, a process known as the Territory Expansion Realm!
The mute man suddenly became agitated and began making gestures incessantly.
He quickly grabbed a pen and notebook and wrote it down.
"I have read in ancient texts that salt mines are the essence of the earth, formed from yang energy, and can absorb yin and negative energy!"
"Salt mines are extremely secluded cultivation grounds, completely concealing any sinister aura and preventing them from being detected by the outside world!"
Gu Lin nodded emphatically after reading it.
He immediately took out his pen and notebook, wrote a document, and then stamped it with the seal of a trial centurion, inviting two border guards from the Chuzhou East Temple's subordinate office to come and assist him.
We must hurry and not delay; there will definitely be a generous reward afterward!
The flower maiden summoned a colorful-winged pigeon, and watched as it circled away into the distance.
She said with a hint of excitement:
"My lord, this seventh-rank official is Sima Jiao's trusted confidant. At the very least, he's guilty of covering up dereliction of duty, and he can be arrested!"
Gu Lin waved his hand:
"Don't rush, continue investigating this Heartless Manor!"
The men accepted the order and left.
Gu Lin gave them another five top-grade spirit stones, telling them not to be stingy with their money and to spend it boldly as long as it helped the direction of the investigation.
Money makes the world go round; only by offering incentives can you get more clues.