"The opponent had concealed themselves within no more than one hundred and eighty finger snaps' time, which is very short. Without mobilizing a large amount of qi mechanism to execute qinggong, even for a martial artist proficient in movement techniques, they could at most cover a distance of fifty miles."
Tie Lin's eyes sparkled slightly.
Wuxin traced a circle on the map and said,
"Their hiding range is only within this circle, and moreover, there must be their inside supporters."
"The deceased attended the Liangzhou wine party on a whim, so it's impossible for them to have prepared too early. If we could contact the local Yu Department officials now to investigate property transactions, and lock down the time frame to the past three months, even six months, and examine in batches, we should be able to find something."
At this point, Wuxin's voice paused slightly and he turned to Wang Anfeng and said,
Wuxin carefully put away the map, which would be a crime for ordinary people to hide, and said indifferently,
"Old Master Liu Ling entrusted you to both of us, so naturally we cannot waste your abilities, Feng An. Please go immediately to the provincial office and look for Yu Department officials to search the archives."
"With both of us vouching for you, it's naturally doable."
"If the Yu Department head refuses, you can certainly bring them over here."
Tie Lin was momentarily stunned, then inwardly praised Wuxin's shrewd move. Getting rid of this thorn by their side would allow them to act more freely, and if Feng An had any suspicions, the Yu Department head's time frame combined with further calculation would clarify everything.
Wang Anfeng shook his head woodenly and said,
"Old Liu's intent was for me to follow you, and besides, at this time, the Yu Department officials are probably long gone. It's useless to go now; it would be better to stay by both of your sides. I see there are only a few district markets that need manpower at the moment."
Wuxin raised an eyebrow, and Tie Lin, who stood a short distance away from the two, was flanked by buildings that even had a quiet dampness seeping through their eaves. The round moon, because of the alleyway, looked even more remote and lofty, high above at mid-sky. The two young men faced each other.
One wore vermilion clothes and carried a saber, exuding a cold aura despite his dashing brows and eyes, while the other was expressionless, as though an old Daoist who had fasted and entered meditative concentration, carrying a blue bundle and refusing to budge an inch.
Wuxin withdrew his gaze without insisting further and nodded slightly, his voice cold,
"It's rare for you to be so willing."
He silenced Tie Lin with a look and flicked the map open and said, "Within this range, there are several district markets, one of them facing directly towards Xingde District can be ignored. It has a straight path with low suspicion and can be investigated last."
"The remaining four need to be examined one by one from the nearest to the farthest. Due to our limited manpower, the three of us will proceed together without letting our guard down."
After saying this, he folded the map neatly and was about to head down the main road when Wang Anfeng suddenly spoke up again, "I think we should start with the district market to the north..."
Tie Lin's brows furrowed deeply.
This young man named Feng An kept overstepping his bounds, stirring up much displeasure in Tie Lin's heart.
As a famous detective directly subordinated to Heaven Capital City, he had dealt with countless cases where he had to accommodate those who thought themselves clever, only to complicate matters even more. He was about to coldly refuse when?
Wuxin glanced sideways at Wang Anfeng and asked impassively,
Wang Anfeng exhaled, knowing his reason was simply a feeling he had about the north, but he couldn't say that to Wuxin and Tie Lin. His mind raced, and he spoke deliberately slowly, as if he were a storyteller in an inn,
"There are two reasons to go north..."
Wuxin's eyelid twitched, cutting him off coldly,
"You have ten breaths."
Wang Anfeng sped up his speech, "The first reason is that although the northern one is slightly farther, the road is all wide and travel is faster."
"The second reason..."
Wang Anfeng's speech slowed again; he had just realized this from the map, and at that moment, an idea was tantalizingly close to surfacing in his mind. Just then, at the edge of his vision, a little girl with a flower lantern skipped by.
It was a pink lotus lantern with petals spread open and a red candle in the center, creating a scenic display. The candle flame was shielded by the petals, burning well.
Impatience rose in Tie Lin.
Wang Anfeng's pupils constricted as if an idea in his mind suddenly exploded. He looked up at Wuxin and said urgently,
"There are no large lanterns over ten feet tall to the north!"
Having traveled from the Northern Lands, Wang Anfeng and the others naturally entered through the north gate of Liangzhou City, and along the way, they could only see giant dragon and phoenix lanterns twenty to thirty meters tall in other directions, lighting up the sky, whereas there were none in the northern streets, mostly just entertainers performing tricks, which had been arranged by this year's provincial official.
Both detectives paused in their movements.
Lack of large lanterns meant that ordinary people wouldn't look up at the sky for no reason, which also meant that a martial artist concealing themselves from above would be less likely to be exposed during the process.
They had come here to investigate a case and naturally had no interest in touring the streets, managing to overlook this detail. In less than a moment, Wuxin dashed forward, disregarding the ban within Liangzhou City, leapt from the ground, lightly touched the coiled dragon lantern outside an inn with the tip of his foot, and then hopped onto the fish-scale roof tiles of the inn.
Then, without a word, he clenched his waist saber and sprinted towards the northern district market.