Volume 1 Linglong Case Chapter 18 Return to Kyoto
Such a landmark place, Lin Qianxing would definitely not go there to meet just by hearing about it.
However, Lin Qianxing guessed that Tan Lian also knew that he would definitely not meet him there, so he probably planned to let Lin Qianxing give him a new meeting place when the time comes.
Lin Qianxing hesitated for a long time about returning to Kyoto, not knowing whether he should go.
He is a thief to begin with. Even if Linglong Yudan's case is investigated thoroughly, he is still a thief who hides himself in the dark.
So there was no need for him to take any risk in this matter.
But Lin Qianxing was a little unwilling.
He didn't want to take the blame and run away for the rest of his life.
So he faced two choices.
The first one is to slowly improve your strength until you can ignore the pursuit of the Anti-Evil Bureau.
Second, participate in the investigation, clarify the matter of Linglong Yudan as soon as possible, and escape the fate of being entangled by the Anti-Evil Bureau.
The theft of the exquisite jade gallbladder might require a wanted order, and the arrest warrants from the Suppression Bureau might be dispatched, but this would not be necessary if one was only catching a petty thief.
Then he could sleep in a bed again instead of in a cave, and eat hot meals at the dining table instead of eating dry rations and stolen cold cooked food in the wilderness.
Lin Qianxing is not an impatient person, but he has been waiting for almost three months.
It was already the end of September, and the weather where he was was starting to turn cooler from hot.
He really couldn't imagine the miserable situation he would face when he was sleeping in the wilderness in the middle of winter.
I can't stand it anymore. Isn't it just stealing something in the capital?
Now he is no longer a "half wing" that can only climb over the wall, but a "flying dove" that can move freely in the sky. Isn't it easy for him to steal things?
So, Lin Qianxing began to return towards the Wuding City in Kyoto.
He traveled straight ahead and returned to Kyoto in less than three days.
This was because he took a short break in the middle of the journey. Otherwise, if Lin Qianxing had gone at full speed, one day would have been enough to reach the destination.
After arriving at the location, Lin Qianxing notified Tan Lian.
Tan Lian agreed to meet him at noon.
When Tan Lian arrived at the location, Lin Qianxing found that no one was following him, so he used a flying knife to notify him to meet at the designated place.
The meeting place agreed by Lin Qianxing was beside a small river. The surrounding area was flat and there were no obstacles, making it difficult to set up an ambush.
When Tan Lian arrived at the location, he saw Lin Qianxing appear on the other side of the stream.
"You are too cautious." Tan Lian said speechlessly.
"You have never been poisoned, have you? You have never been trapped, have you? You have never been ambushed, have you? I have encountered these things more than a dozen times in the past two months!" Lin Qianxing said somewhat exaggeratedly.
In fact, he had only encountered an ambush and poisoning once, and then he became alert and did not even go into the city to rest. From then on, no one could use despicable means to harm him.
Tan Lian was silent for a while, then said: "Since you are here, let's talk business!"
"I don't intend to talk nonsense." Lin Qianxing said.
"I guess the exquisite jade gall is in the hands of Tian Shouping, the deputy commander of the Anti-Evil Division. You can go to his residence and look for it to see if the thing is in his house." Tan Lian said.
"What is his level of cultivation?" Lin Qianxing asked.
"The spirit has been refined to perfection." Tan Lian said as calmly as possible.
Lin Qianxing raised his eyebrows, then said: "I remembered that I have something else to do, so I'll leave first!"
You must be kidding. After the Body Tempering Realm is the Spirit Tempering Realm. He doesn’t even dare to touch the Body Tempering Realm. If he meets a master who has achieved the Spirit Tempering Realm, will he go up to him and fight him off?
"Don't worry, you won't run into him head-on. I found out that he would go to the palace to play chess with the emperor on the fifth night of every lunar month. It's okay." Tan Lian hurriedly spoke out to stop him.
"You know such a secret thing?" Lin Qianxing was a little surprised and asked, "Can you tell me the details of the case you investigated?"
Tan Lian nodded and said, "I started investigating from what happened in the palace on the night of July 5th."
"Later, I found out that there was a fire in Xuanru Palace that night, and a large number of guards went to Xuanru Palace to put out the fire. Coincidentally, His Majesty was playing chess with Deputy Commander Tian in Xuanru Palace with the Linglong Jade Gallbladder. When he saw the fire, he handed the Linglong Jade Gallbladder to Eunuch Jiang of the Imperial Household Department and asked him to take it back for safekeeping. He was accompanied by a palace maid named Lotus and two Qixuan Army guards."
"The exquisite jade gallbladder was not missing when Eunuch Jiang brought it back to the Imperial Household Department. It was not until the next day that someone discovered that it was missing."
"At first, I didn't think of Deputy Commander Tian. First, it was unrealistic to steal the exquisite jade gallbladder in front of His Majesty. Second, he shouldn't do such a thing. Until I investigated the fire in Xuanru Palace, I accidentally found a name."
Having said this, Tan Lian paused slightly.
Lin Qianxing was shocked by Tan Lian's ability to investigate cases, and asked, "What's the name?"
"Tian Xuanru!" Tan Lian replied, "A concubine that the emperor loved very much was killed by mistake because she was involved in a case in the palace. In order to commemorate her, the palace where she lived during her lifetime was named Xuanru Palace."
"Is she related to Tian Shouping?" Lin Qianxing asked.
"That's right, she is Deputy Commander Tian's biological sister." Tan Lian said.
"So, Tian Shouping's position as deputy commander of the Anti-Evil Bureau is also related to his sister's death? Is this the emperor's compensation to him?" Lin Qianxing said suddenly.
"Not entirely. He is indeed very capable. At least as far as I know, since he took office, many old cases in the capital have been easily handled by him. He has always been selfless and I have never heard of him accepting bribes. You know, even the commander-in-chief has accepted things from others to a greater or lesser extent." Tan Lian retorted.
"Even so, how do you connect the two things together?" Lin Qianxing asked.
"The palace has always been very careful about fire incidents. The last fire in the palace was more than a hundred years ago. Besides the emperor, the only person who can come and go freely in Xuanru Palace is Deputy Commander Tian," said Tan Lian.
"It is impossible for His Majesty to burn down Xuanru Palace, so Tian Shouping is the problem?" Lin Qianxing suddenly realized: "He started the fire to attract attention, and took the opportunity to arrange for someone to steal the exquisite jade gallbladder. At the same time, because he has been following His Majesty, he has removed his motive for committing the crime."
"That's about right. Besides, apart from the Imperial Household Department, Deputy Commander Tian has the most access to His Majesty's Exquisite Jade Gallbladder, so he is also the most likely to have stolen it." Tan Lian nodded.
"What do you think the use of that thing is?" Lin Qianxing asked.
"I'm not sure, but I did find out about its origin from ancient books," said Tan Lian.
"Tell me about it." Lin Qianxing said.
"Five tripods are cast with divine gold and precious jade, but three parts of sincerity are left. Skillful craftsmen carve out the jade ball, and the combination of yin and yang is called exquisite." Tan Lian opened his mouth and spit out a poem.
"What does this poem mean?" Lin Qianxing blinked, not understanding the allusion in it.
"Do you know the origin of Wuding City?" asked Tan Lian.
Lin Qianxing shook his head and said, "I don't know."
"At the beginning of the founding of the country, Emperor Taizu of our Dayu country collected rare materials from all over the world and cast five tripods to suppress the fortune of Dayu country. These five tripods are the Mountain and River Tripod, the Ten Thousand Beasts Tripod, the River Tripod, the Humanity Tripod and the Changnong Tripod. Each tripod has a corresponding mysterious power, which made Dayu country prosperous at that time. The place where the five tripods were cast was here, so this place was called the Five Tripods City." Having said this, Tan Lian paused for a moment, and then said: "And the exquisite jade gallbladder is a toy carved from the materials left over from the casting of the five tripods. Now the five tripods have been lost, but the exquisite jade gallbladder has been passed down."
Lin Qianxing was stunned. He didn't expect that the origin of the name of Wuding City had such a legendary story.
What he could not have imagined was that the exquisite jade gallbladder was actually made from the scraps left over from the casting of the five tripods .
It is not easy to get the scraps of the Five Tripods that can suppress the fortune of a country , right?
No wonder the emperor of Dayu Kingdom was so angry when the things were lost.
But compared to this, Lin Qianxing's opinion was refreshed again.
He knew that even if Tan Lian was covered in the skin of the Anti-Evil Bureau, he would definitely not be allowed to investigate the secret information in the palace, let alone know some small details about the emperor.
All I can say is that Tan Lian’s ability to handle cases and investigate matters is indeed very impressive.
"In that case, when should I take action and where?" Lin Qianxing asked.
"It's still two days until October 5th. If you come back later, you'll probably have to wait until next month to take action." Tan Lian said, taking out a map and placing it on the ground, pressing it with a stone, and then said, "This is a map I drew in the inner city of Kyoto. It shows the residence of Deputy Commander Tian. He will be checked when he goes to the palace to meet the emperor, so he will definitely not bring anything with him. So on October 5th, you can go to his house and search it to find out if it is the exquisite jade gall that he stole."
"What if the things are with him?" Lin Qianxing asked.
"Just notify me directly and I will bring people in to search. As long as we find Linglong Yudan, everything will be easy." Tan Lian said.
"You are so reckless? Aren't you afraid that I will take the things greedily, or lie to you and say there is exquisite jade gall inside?" Lin Qianxing asked.
Tan Lian shook his head and said, "You dare not and cannot do this. We are now on the same page. If anything happens to me, I will immediately tell you about your murder of Feng Jie. Then, with the methods of the Anti-Evil Division, it will be easy to find you..."
"You're right, I really can't do this." Lin Qianxing nodded.
Tan Lian glanced at Lin Qianxing. He actually had something else to say, which was that he felt that the emperor actually knew that the exquisite jade gall was stolen by Tian Shouping, but he was just pretending not to know.
But there was no need to say these things. He was afraid that if he said them, Lin Qianxing would not dare to take the risk.
"You already know what happened, so that's all. I'll go back first." Tan Lian said hello and prepared to leave.
"Wait!" Lin Qianxing called out to Tan Lian and said, "Um, do you know how to strengthen bones?"
