Immortalis

Hero's Tomb Chapter Eighteen

Yang Ye was dead.

It had been several days since they saw Yang Ye's body at the Green Bamboo Town magistrate's office. Yang Wujian looked at the young master's ashen face and ultimately let him stay alone in the coroner's room for a full hour.

It was clear that Yang Ye had been robbed and murdered. The silver notes he had been carrying were all stolen, and traces of the robber escaping through the window at night were found in the room.

However, Yang Ye was after all the Thunderclap Hand. He couldn't have forgotten all his martial arts just because he had been pretending to be Zhou Jinglei for so many years. How could he fail to defeat a few wandering bandits?

Not only did Shen Qingshi and Yang Wujian find this strange, but Shen Xin and others also found it hard to believe.

Therefore, Shen Xin and Fu Hong immediately issued warrants to arrest wandering bandits within a hundred-mile radius, but ultimately found nothing.

Yang Ye had died under mysterious circumstances, and the silver notes he had gone through great pains to bring out from the White Rainbow Tower vanished with his death.

"The young master sent carrier pigeons to investigate Zhou Jinglei's accounts from the last six months, hoping to find something."

Standing at the door of the coroner's room, Yang Wujian couldn't hear any sound from inside.

He sighed: "But it seems Yang Ye was ultimately fleeing with the money. Those accounts, when recovered, might have all been squandered by him."

"After sitting in Zhou Jinglei's position for so many years, is this all the vision he had?"

Shen Qingshi still felt something wasn't right.

After all, if Yang Ye had the capability to lock Shen Xin in the Dragon Locking Coffin, he definitely couldn't have died so miserably. Unless... what he faced weren't ordinary "wandering bandits."

Just then, the coroner's room door opened, and Zhou Huai drifted out like a ghost. Yang Wujian smiled bitterly and handed him a sweet cake: "Have something sweet to calm your nerves, young master."

Looking at the sweet cake in his hand, perhaps because his nerves had been stretched too tight for days, Zhou Huai suddenly burst into tears, hugging Yang Wujian and sobbing: "Miss Yang, it really was him..."

Yang Wujian wore the Seventy-two Golds and was a man himself, so hugging him was definitely not comfortable. After crying for a while, the young master seemed to feel this too, muttering: "Miss Yang, you're too hard."

"If you dislike it, go hug Young Master Shen next time."

Yang Wujian rolled his eyes, thinking he had never been hugged by a man for so long in his life, and not hitting the person away was his last shred of dignity.

Now, Yang Ye was dead, Zhou Jinglei was also dead, leaving Zhou Huai with only the White Rainbow Tower.

Fortunately, although Zhou Huai had never taken over Zhou Jinglei's business over the years, he truly had merchant blood in his veins. After discovering problems with the accounts, to prevent the shops from completely shutting down, Zhou Huai quickly sent letters to change the collection deadlines, at least stabilizing the situation for now.

After that, he began investigating where exactly Zhou Jinglei had used all the money collected in the past six months.

"After investigating thoroughly, I will explain to the martial world what my father did in the past. After all, if I keep hiding it too, I'll become exactly like them. Only by speaking out can I walk my own path."

Another day passed, and Zhou Huai had completely calmed down.

In this short half month, he seemed to have been forced to grow several years older. Sitting in the accounting room calculating with an abacus, he finally began to resemble a tower master.

"Miss Yang, Young Master Shen, actually, you don't need to stay here with me."

Zhou Huai still found it somewhat difficult to face Yang Wujian.Although Yang Wujian seemed distant from Zou Ying and was oddly indifferent to her death, the fact remained that Zou Ying had died in White Rainbow Tower, and he had even learned her martial arts.

As the successor of the Crescent Moon Blade, Yang Wujian should have regarded him as an enemy, yet here he was accompanying him and offering strategies...

Zhou Huai felt deeply ashamed just thinking about it. So, that afternoon, he finally chose to speak openly with the two of them.

"I know you both have important matters to attend to. Although I also plan to pursue the White-faced Guest later, I cannot leave for now."

After speaking, he buried his head deeply, but to his surprise, Yang Wujian and Shen Qingshi, standing opposite him, merely exchanged a glance and then spoke in unison: "Who said we're here for you?"

"Ah?"

Zhou Huai was taken aback.

Yang Wujian said, "My mother was killed by Zhou Jinglei, but Zhou Jinglei was manipulated by the White-faced Guest. No matter what, this debt ultimately falls on the White-faced Guest. My grudge against him has only deepened. Now that I know he had dealings with both Zhou Jinglei and Yang Ye, of course I can't leave. I need to find out what Zhou Jinglei was doing in his final six months and whether he was connected to the White-faced Guest."

Shen Qingshi added, "To find my blood relatives, I must make a name for myself in the martial world. Once I gain fame, they will naturally come looking for me. And what could bring more fame than capturing the White-faced Guest?"

Seeing how quickly they responded, Zhou Huai felt a surge of warmth in his heart and immediately clasped his hands in gratitude. "I will repay your kindness a hundredfold in the future."

Forget repayment—when they learn his true identity, he’d be lucky if they didn’t cry out of frustration.

Yang Wujian sighed inwardly.

He knew better than anyone that while his own reason held some truth, Shen Qingshi was lying without batting an eye.

It was true she wanted to find the White-faced Guest, but her decision to stay at White Rainbow Tower was also influenced by the imperial court.

Likely because White Rainbow Tower was too wealthy, the court had long wanted to interfere.

Yang Wujian narrowed his eyes, thinking that with such a major mishap occurring at White Rainbow Tower, wasn’t this exactly what the court had hoped for?

Just as the three fell into silence, the messenger pigeon Zhou Huai had released days earlier happened to return.

As Zhou Huai unrolled the secret message from the pigeon’s leg, his expression quickly changed.

"In his final six months, Yang Ye nearly squandered all of White Rainbow Tower’s long-accumulated wealth. Not only did he fail to use the collected dues to invest in new ventures, but he also poured all the silver notes into gambling and women. That’s why he didn’t keep any records."

That night, as agreed, Shen Qingshi went to Green Bamboo Town after Yang Wujian and Zhou Huai had fallen asleep, where she met Cao Zhao, who had been waiting for her.

Her decision to stay at White Rainbow Tower during this time was also under orders to investigate thoroughly the tower’s financial foundation. Now, Zhou Huai had fully unraveled the mess Yang Ye had left behind.

Although it hadn’t reached complete bankruptcy, Yang Ye’s rampant extravagance had long stripped White Rainbow Tower of its status as the wealthiest force in the martial world. Moreover, he had sold off all the rare treasures collected over the years, leaving them unable to find a single extra silver note no matter how thoroughly they searched the tower.Shen Qingshi said, "Yang Ye has always managed the accounts alone. Changing servants every three months was also to monopolize power. But clearly, he never had these vices for so many years—why would he suddenly start in the last six months?"

She recalled that when Zhou Huai had previously checked the accounts, he discovered Yang Ye often went out under pseudonyms, spending extravagantly. However, he only frequented a few specific gambling dens and brothels, all located in the distant north, far from the Jiangnan region.

"So, you're saying White Rainbow Tower has been hollowed out by Yang Ye and is now just an empty shell?"

Cao Zhao pondered thoughtfully.

The situation was somewhat coincidental. After all, according to Shen Xin's findings, the Golden Jade Hibiscus Sword should have been killed by Yang Ye inside the Dragon Locking Coffin. In other words, the secret report Prince Li received was not wrong—someone had led Prince Li to Yang Ye, which in turn attracted the attention of the palace.

If the only one who knew Yang Ye and Zhou Jinglei's secret all these years was that White-faced Guest, then could it be that this scheme was also laid by him?

Was it because Yang Ye had also started to disobey, so he wanted to use the court's hand to eliminate him?

Shen Qingshi had the same thought: "Could it be that someone used Yang Ye to empty White Rainbow Tower? Where did all those banknotes ultimately end up..."

Her brow furrowed tightly, but after a moment, she felt Cao Zhao's fingertip gently press against her forehead. "This is not your concern. I told you before, investigating White Rainbow Tower is the Southern Zhao Ming Division's affair, and it's not a pleasant or favorable task. If it arouses the Son of Heaven's suspicion, many people will lose their heads. If handled poorly, even the investigators themselves may lose theirs. Don't let Shen Xin lead you astray—focus on your own duties."

"My own duties?"

"Have you forgotten?"

Cao Zhao looked at her and smiled. "Your mission is far more important than these matters. This is not something that would worry the Son of Heaven. If you succeed, you could become not just a centurion, but even a chiliarch."

Shen Qingshi was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Cao Zhao to ask her to abandon the investigation into White Rainbow Tower. However, her surprise was fleeting, and she immediately lowered her head in agreement. "Qingshi understands."

Indeed... something had changed.

Cao Zhao stroked Shen Qingshi's soft bangs.

He had watched her grow up and knew every part of her intimately. How could he not see that Shen Qingshi now had her own private motives for wanting to investigate White Rainbow Tower?

She wanted to help Zhou Huai.

"It seems you've made friends in the martial world."

Cao Zhao smiled, but there was no warmth in his eyes. The task he had assigned Shen Qingshi could not afford failure, for this was the very reason he had kept her by his side since childhood.

Long ago, when he was helping the current Son of Heaven conquer the realm, Cao Zhao had heard of the Longevity Heart Sutra.

Back then, Prince Qi, who already possessed the aura of an emperor, had excitedly asked him on the eve of capturing the capital if he knew about the Longevity Palace in the martial world. It was said that mastering their entire heart sutra would grant him eternity, and the throne would be his for generations.

And Cao Zhao knew then that in the future, the Longevity Heart Sutra would be his greatest aid in ascending to a position second only to the emperor.

Unlike external threats or court factions that worried the emperor—tasks that, even if done well, only solved problems without truly pleasing him—if he could find the Longevity Palace and obtain the Longevity Heart Sutra...

Cao Zhao pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Qingshi, do you know that after I brought you into the palace, I actually looked into your background in detail?"

"What?"Shen Qingshi couldn't help but freeze.

Of course she knew that everyone who moved about in the palace would have their backgrounds thoroughly investigated by specialized personnel. But she had always assumed that Cao Zhao had allowed her into the palace because nothing suspicious had been found.

Cao Zhao gently tucked the soft hair beside her ear behind it and continued, "At first, no one recognized the scar on your back, so I investigated carefully. I traced it back to Longevity Palace, and then I also uncovered your possible origins. However, since it was all hearsay, I never mentioned it to you."

"What are you saying..."

Shen Qingshi widened her eyes, unaware that the various emotions she was revealing at this moment only made Cao Zhao more certain that she had somehow regained some of her emotions during this period.

If he allowed her to continue like this, there was a risk she might soften toward Yang Wujian, which could potentially affect their grand plan.

Cao Zhao said, "Back then, I took your portrait and asked around everywhere. I was once told that there was a young girl who looked very much like you, raised on Medicine King Mountain. Her biological mother had given birth to twin sisters that day, but she couldn't afford to raise both children. So she sent the older sister to Medicine King Mountain while she took the younger sister down the mountain to search for your biological father. From then on, she never returned."

Medicine King Mountain...

Shen Qingshi's ears were ringing—she had already figured it out.

"That's right."

After a pause, Cao Zhao looked at her and said word by word, "When you went to Medicine King Mountain to investigate the case earlier, you should have already discovered it. Yin Quer was your biological older sister, and she also died tragically because of the Old Palace Master of Longevity Palace. Green Stone, you have a blood feud with Longevity Palace. That's precisely why I said you are the most suitable person for this mission. Do you understand now?"