Immortalis

Hero's Tomb Fourteen

With Fu Hong's sharp eyesight, he immediately noticed the fallen figure's posture was peculiar, with dry, pale skin that didn't appear to have been dead for just one day, but rather several years.

This distance and darkness meant nothing to Fu Hong. He even detected something unusual about the person's shoes - the right boot sole was heavily worn down, indicating the person was lame and usually put their weight on the right foot when walking.

"Zhou Jinglei is also lame. He's really going all out to fake his death."

Fu Hong narrowed his eyes, yet as these words left his mouth, even he found them rather strange.

After all, the clothing on this corpse was quite aged, suggesting it had been lying here for a long time. If this were truly Zhou Jinglei faking his death, did that mean he had been preparing for this day long in advance?

Not only that, Fu Hong could even see numerous fine wounds on the corpse's hands, not like those caused by swords or blades, but more like injuries someone who worked with their hands year after year would sustain.

Had the corpse Zhou Jinglei found been that of a craftsman too?

At this point, Fu Hong drew from his robe the grappling hook he commonly used. This tool was jokingly called a "fishhook" by others in the Zhaoming Division, though typically what it caught wasn't others, but Fu Hong himself.

Fu Hong had excellent vision, but his lightness skill couldn't compare to Shen Xin's, let alone someone who reveled nightly. Even with decent martial arts foundations, he often lacked physical stamina. To complete official duties, Fu Hong frequently had to reach high places to track people, and this fishhook was his tool for rapid ascents. Sometimes, he also used it to capture or kill.

Clearly, Fu Hong had grown suspicious of the corpse and wanted to use the grappling hook to directly pull it over.

Unlike common grappling hooks in the martial world, Fu Hong's fishhook was made of refined iron and assembled with a firearm. At close range, the hook could be detached and thrown, while at longer distances, gunpowder propelled the hook, capable of shooting up to twenty zhang - far exceeding ordinary weapons.

Using his vision to estimate, Fu Hong determined that although the corpse was in a precarious location, it should be within the fishhook's range. However, after several attempts, the hook fell just inches short of the corpse. Clearly, if they could get a bit closer, they would definitely be able to retrieve the body.

It was then that Shen Qingshi, who had remained silent all along, suddenly spoke: "If Lord Fu trusts me, please load the grappling hook and temporarily hand it to me. I'll move forward a bit and see if I can catch it."

"Oh?"

Fu Hong raised an eyebrow: "Didn't you say that crossing this white line would cause ordinary people to lose their minds?"

"This varies from person to person. When I brought Zhou Huai here last time, I tried walking forward a bit and could still endure it. So, I'd like to give it a try."

Shen Qingshi lied without blinking, and upon hearing this, Fu Hong merely watched her with an amused expression for a long moment before reloading the gunpowder and handing over the fishhook: "This is similar to the bird-beak guns used in military training, just heavier. Don't break your arm when firing it."

Shen Qingshi took it and found it indeed much heavier than ordinary firearms. She thanked Fu Hong, took a deep breath, and stepped over the white line.

The feeling of suffocation rushed over her almost immediately.

Shen Qingshi knew Fu Hong was watching her closely. If she showed any sign of discomfort, Fu Hong might guess that the Meat Well's effect on her wasn't illusory - and that would be very bad news.

So Shen Qingshi didn't even furrow her brow. Forcing herself, she walked forward several meters to shorten the distance to the corpse, then without hesitation, raised her hand."Better aim carefully. If the hook doesn't catch, even the corpse will be lost."

Fu Hong interjected with detached indifference, and Shen Qingshi was well aware of the stakes. Yet for some reason, she was determined to retrieve the body.

At the very least, she wanted to give Zhou Huai an explanation.

With this thought, Shen Qingshi decisively pressed the matchlock trigger. The grappling hook instantly flew toward the opposite broken wall and caught the corpse. Clenching her teeth, she pulled hard, intending to drag the body back. However, as she exerted her inner energy, her vision instantly darkened, and her grip faltered. Just as she was about to be dragged into the deep abyss by the corpse's weight, a tight grip around her waist steadied her. Cao Zhao, who had rushed over, veins bulging on his forehead, shouted as he hauled on the chain around her waist, pulling both Shen Qingshi and the corpse back across the line.

"What were you thinking?"

Even with Cao Zhao's profound skills, the ordeal had drenched his back in sweat.

Frowning, he supported Shen Qingshi as she nearly collapsed. "Didn't we say crossing the white line means death? Who allowed you to do such a reckless thing?"

"I..."

Shen Qingshi, suffocated by chest tightness, couldn't speak, but her hand still clung tightly to Fu Hong's fishhook. The Chiwen Envoy stepped forward to retrieve his weapon and chuckled, "It seems you're very eager to know if this corpse is Zhou Jinglei."

In an instant, Cao Zhao froze, then gripped Shen Qingshi's chin, staring into her eyes.

At that moment, Shen Qingshi's eyes held something that hadn't been there before—no longer clear as glass. Cao Zhao couldn't help but frown.

He never expected that letting her roam the martial world would awaken something in her.

No wonder, after just a few days apart, she would risk her life for Zhou Huai.

Cao Zhao rarely showed displeasure, but Fu Hong misinterpreted his expression and laughed, "It seems this beauty is already spoken for. She won't be joining my secret chamber. Lord Cao, you should keep a closer eye on your own people next time."

"Lord Fu, this place is treacherous. Let's take the corpse back and discuss it further."

Cao Zhao's change in expression was fleeting, quickly reverting to his usual affable yet cunning demeanor. Seeing Shen Qingshi too weak to walk, he simply picked her up and added, "Would you mind dragging the corpse, Lord Fu?"

"Lord Cao is fortunate indeed, with a beauty in his arms."

Sighing, Fu Hong used his fishhook to pull the desiccated corpse. The three returned to the base of White Rainbow Tower and immediately began a thorough examination of the body.

Perhaps due to the unique climate within the cave, all corpses thrown into the abyss did not decay. Instead, their skin turned pale and bluish, and though they appeared drained of moisture, their features from life remained largely recognizable.

"This person was killed by a single palm strike."

As one of the two envoys overseeing Zhaoming Prison, Cao Zhao was highly familiar with various corpse conditions. He quickly determined that before death, not only were the bones shattered, but the internal organs were also crushed by a palm strike from behind. The brutality suggested the attacker intended to kill from the outset.

As Cao Zhao examined the corpse further, he discovered that, although the person had been lame in life, the issue wasn't with the bones but rather with the meridians in the left leg.

Suddenly, the expressions of everyone present turned peculiar.To find a lame man with a severed tendon in his left leg among the vast sea of people was already a difficult task, let alone the fact that, judging by his hands, he had been a skilled craftsman in his lifetime.

"He..."

Shen Qingshi stared incredulously at the man who had been dead for who knows how many years, a terrifying conjecture just forming in his mind when Cao Zhao pried open the corpse's left hand and retrieved a thumb ring still worn on the thumb from its tightly clenched palm.

For some reason, the man had died with his fist clenched tightly, hiding his thumb inside his palm as if intentionally concealing something.

"I never expected commoners would dare wear such fine jade."

Fu Hong sneered, "Truly asking for an early death."

Cao Zhao searched the corpse again but found nothing else. At that moment, Shen Qingshi seemingly unintentionally brushed against his arm. Cao Zhao immediately understood the hint and said, "This person's identity is suspicious. Why not hand him over to Qingshi later to test Zhou Huai? Perhaps then we can learn this man's true identity."

"Lord Cao, investigating White Rainbow Tower doesn't seem to fall under the Northern Zhaoming Division's jurisdiction."

Shen Xin narrowed his eyes.

Ordering Shen Qingshi around was one thing, but now that Cao Zhao was involved, it was another matter entirely. He didn't want the Bi'an Department meddling when he reported back.

"Wasn't it you, Lord Shen, who first had Qingshi intervene? Zhou Jinglei is now missing. If you want to investigate the White Rainbow Tower matter thoroughly, you need Zhou Huai. Unless Lord Shen has another way to get the young master Zhou to cooperate?"

Cao Zhao's words were impeccably reasoned, leaving Shen Xin with nothing but a cold snort before falling silent. Seeing this, Cao Zhao turned and handed the thumb ring to Shen Qingshi. Little did he know, the moment Shen Qingshi took the object, he was almost certain of his conjecture.

The material used for this thumb ring was the same as that of Zhou Jinglei and Zhou Huai's White Rainbow tokens.

If those tokens were actually two mechanical boxes...

Shen Qingshi gently tightened his grip on the thumb ring.

What he held in his hand was most likely the key.

"Speaking of which, do you have any idea how many businesses your father actually runs, Young Master Zhou?"

Meanwhile, Yang Wujian and Zhou Huai had found the account books left by Zhou Jinglei.

Although the operations were extensive, Zhou Jinglei truly had a talent for business. Over the years, even managing alone, every income and expenditure of White Rainbow Tower was clearly recorded.

Yang Wujian had never handled such matters in Longevity Palace—the mere sight of an abacus gave him a headache. Ever since they found the account room, he could only sit idly by, serving tea and water for Zhou Huai.

"My father would invest in any profitable business. He'd simply commission agents to find suitable shops, put money in, and then take a share of the profits. That's why he has stakes in many banks, pharmacies, cloth stores, and inns."

Zhou Huai flipped through Zhou Jinglei's account books. Though he had never handled White Rainbow Tower's business before, he wasn't completely inexperienced and was much more proficient with the abacus than Yang Wujian.

For a full hour, only the clattering of abacus beads could be heard in the account room. Zhou Huai sorted through the accounts with practiced ease, but his frown deepened.

While the earlier accounts showed no issues, starting from about a year ago, things began to seem off.Originally, Zhou Jinglei collected protection fees every six months. This way, shops could reinvest the money to earn more through compound interest. However, for some unknown reason, starting a year ago, Zhou Jinglei began collecting fees monthly. Not only did this exhaust the shops, but they also had to spend extra silver each month to hire people for accounting and collection. This directly caused White Rainbow Tower's accounts to look very poor starting a year ago.

Then, after struggling with deficits for half a year, Zhou Jinglei actually stopped keeping accounts altogether.

Zhou Huai couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

He wasn't bad at accounting, so he naturally knew that if they had been operating at a loss since a year ago, the current situation definitely wouldn't be better than half a year ago.

He recalled that the last time he requested silver notes was three months ago, and that instance had been particularly strange. Unlike before, Zhou Jinglei didn't tell him to collect the money directly from a specific shop. Instead, he had someone deliver the silver notes from White Rainbow Tower, as if the notes had come directly from Zhou Jinglei himself.

"What's wrong, young master?"

Noticing Zhou Huai's troubled expression, Yang Wujian frowned. "Could there be a problem with the accounts too?"

Before Zhou Huai could answer, Shen Qingshi, pale-faced, pushed the door open from outside. "Zhou Huai, I've brought the body out from Hero's Tomb for you. However, it's probably not the Zhou Jinglei you knew."