Chapter 80: Chapter 80: The Path Illuminated

Hearing Flying Dragon’s teasing remarks, Shen Hao understood, but still found it a little unbelievable.

By rights, the Hundred Beauty Disc is just an illusory array magical artifact; even if it can produce all kinds of gorgeous women and even create "real sensations" for those inside, in the end, it’s all fake. How could anyone get so addicted they can’t pull themselves out?

"Heh, General Flag, you’ve never used the Hundred Beauty Disc, right? Tsk tsk, I can tell just by looking at you. That thing isn’t simple. Not to mention ordinary people—even I, an entry-level Qi Refinement cultivator, was so bewitched my soul was a mess. Plus, the ’women’ inside, well, the experience is nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. If you’ve tried it and your self-control’s just a bit weak, getting lost in there isn’t odd at all."

"So, these people buy General Spirit Stones just to play with the Hundred Beauty Disc?"

"Heh, I can’t say for sure, but judging by my investigation and their usage of General Spirit Stones...I’d say there’s a seventy percent chance."

"What else did you look into?"

"The Hundred Beauty Disc, of course. They all bought one on the black market. I found that out while checking into their General Spirit Stone deals."

"So why does this Zhao Chongwu use so few General Spirit Stones? As I recall, out of these people, his wife is the only one not around, right?"

With his wife not around, in theory, he should be even more addicted to something like the Hundred Beauty Disc. So why does he use less?

"Probably broke. Zhao Chongwu’s a total pauper. Even though he’s a squad leader at the Population Department, he’s got a family to feed, and I hear most of his salary goes back home. What’s left for something like the Hundred Beauty Disc?"

This wasn’t hard to verify. Shen Hao had no choice but to accept this explanation.

But...

"This list only covers the past year or so. What about older records?"

"General Flag, that’s just not possible. No one in the black market keeps account books. And if they did, they’d never let anyone know about it. It’s a matter of life and death, so no one will budge. All we can do is try to remember details, and recalling anything from a year ago is already rare. Further back..."

Flying Dragon didn’t finish, but Shen Hao understood what he meant.

Which meant, the case was still not clear. In fact, none of the suspicious points had gotten any resolution. To be strict, there was basically no real progress at all.

"Attach these people’s Hundred Beauty Disc purchases to the sheet. These records can go into the case file—same with future cases." With support from Chen Yiyun and Jiang Cheng, Shen Hao could now justifiably add intel from undercover agents like Flying Dragon to the dossier.

"No problem, all of that’s in my head. I can jot it down right now." Flying Dragon wasn’t bragging. He grabbed the sheet off the table, picked up a pen, and started scribbling on the back. His handwriting was ugly, but the characters were clear enough.

A moment later, Flying Dragon finished and respectfully smiled as he placed the sheet in front of Shen Hao. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Mm. Not bad. The job was so-so this time. Next ti—huh? Are you sure you didn’t mess up?" Shen Hao glanced over the info Flying Dragon had added, not thinking much at first, but then a particular date caught his attention—a clear problem.

"Huh? General Flag, what’s wrong?"

"Here—the date Zhao Chongwu bought the Hundred Beauty Disc and when he bought General Spirit Stones don’t match up!"

"No way? Let me see...they match. Wait! You’re right! He bought General Spirit Stones on the third day of the first month last year, but got the Hundred Beauty Disc on the first day of the third month. This guy..."

Something’s off!

This Zhao Chongwu is definitely suspicious!

Shen Hao hadn’t expected something this dramatic. A moment ago he was bummed about the case getting nowhere, but now, out of the blue, a massive breakthrough had just jumped out at him.

"So...General Flag, what do we do next? Do we dog Zhao Chongwu?"

"No. Tell your people to hold off. Tomorrow—no, tonight—I’ll have the Black Banner Battalion take over. Make sure your people hand over all their info to them. I don’t want any slip-ups. Understand?"

Flying Dragon nodded hurriedly, feeling both relieved and a bit let down—especially since Shen Hao generously slapped another two thousand taels worth of silver notes on the table for him.

By now, he’d already made quite a bit working with Shen Hao. Big money, fast money—the nervousness from the early days was a distant memory.

Still in the Interrogation Chamber, Shen Hao called in Wang Jian and Zhang Liao, and briefed them on the Population Department cases in Fengri City. Only now did the two realize their General Flag had been keeping secrets and had already pushed the investigation this far! What really stung was that it was someone like Flying Dragon leading the case! That was almost humiliating!

"Don’t overthink it. Not telling you before wasn’t about trust. It’s because the moment the Fengri City Government Office is involved, the relationships get complicated. If we came up empty-handed but leaked information, it would be a major problem. Flying Dragon was the best option at the time."

It was clear his two subordinates weren’t happy—understandable. But Shen Hao still needed to explain. Hopefully they got it. If not? He’d just transfer them out—no big deal.

"Wang Jian, you’re in charge of heading to Zhao Chongwu’s hometown. Get the details on his family—how many people, who they are, what they look like, how much land they have, whether the money he sent back is really with his family, what relatives are around—everything. Make sure nothing gets missed, and act quickly while staying discreet. Once you’ve confirmed, keep him under strict surveillance."

"Zhang Liao, tonight you go to Fengri City. Bring the best men, coordinate with Flying Dragon’s people, and hand over all the info properly. I don’t care what you think of Flying Dragon personally, but for this investigation, don’t overlook any of their work. If there’s a screwup, you’ll be the one losing your head—got it?"

"Understood, sir!"

Wang Jian and Zhang Liao quickly shoved aside their feelings. With a major case ongoing, Shen Hao was not someone to cross—any slip-up really could cost them their heads.

Watching them hurry off, Shen Hao leaned back in his chair, silent for a long time.

"Time to sound things out with Tang Qingyuan...Wonder if he’ll have the guts."

...

Knocking on the door of Tang Qingyuan’s Public Office, Shen Hao realized he hadn’t been here for a while. Seeing Tang Qingyuan again, the latter sized him up as well.

"Shen Hao pays his respects, sir!"

"No need for formality. Shen Zongqi, what brings you here?"

"Sir, there’s been a major breakthrough in the old case. I came to report..." Then Shen Hao briefly explained the situation to Tang Qingyuan, but deliberately emphasized Jiang Cheng’s support for him while downplaying Chen Yiyun’s role, making sure not to embarrass Tang Qingyuan.

But when Shen Hao mentioned having to cross the lines of jurisdiction and directly make arrests in Fengri City, Tang Qingyuan was so shocked he leaped out of his chair.

"You want to take over the apprehension procedure in Fengri City yourself?!"