Xuanqing Guard
Chapter 97: Case File Established
When Xia Nu saw Shen Hao come in, she finally let her guard down completely. Tears began streaming uncontrollably down her face—they flowed as if they cost nothing. She pouted, but because there was still a restriction set on her, she couldn’t make a sound and could only cry silently.
"What are you crying for? Go home." Shen Hao’s face was still cold, but his eyes showed concern. He reached out to lift the restriction from Xia Nu, then lightly pinched her pointed ear.
"Master, there’s Housekeeper Hu and Xiaoma too, they were beaten so badly."
"I know, they’ve already gone to the medical clinic to have their wounds treated."
"And Ms. Xin’Er, she looks really strange, like someone drugged her with something. Master, please help her!"
"Mm!"
With a wave of his hand, Shen Hao had someone escort Xia Nu back. But the silly slave was no longer scared in the slightest—she said she could find her way back on her own and didn’t need anyone to accompany her. Her face was all smiles, with no sign of the despair from before. Instead, she looked truly happy, because she guessed right—her master had come and rescued her from the villains.
Master is amazing!
Watching the cheerful, beaming Xia Nu skip away, Shen Hao’s expression turned icy once more as he turned to look at Lin Xin’Er on the bed.
At this moment, Lin Xin’Er had been writhing on the bed for a while, her mind hazy, pretty face flushed deep red, mouth parted slightly as she panted, her clothing somewhat disheveled.
This was the first time Shen Hao had met Lin Xin’Er, though her name was already quite familiar to him from the investigation into the Li Family’s Rebellion Case.
He had to admit, the people at the brokerage really had a good eye. From Shen Hao’s perspective, Lin Xin’Er lying on the bed was on par with any officially ranked songstress in both appearance and figure—she was certainly no less than Wen Xiuyun or Lian Xiang. The only difference was that Lin Xin’Er hadn’t trained in charm skills, making her temperament somewhat less alluring.
Shen Hao wiped the sweat from Lin Xin’Er’s forehead, sniffed it, and affirmed: "It’s the scent of Harmony Powder. Have someone bring ginger water and feed it to her." Shen Hao had dealt with this sort of sleazy drug countless times before, so he was extremely familiar with its smell.
Hearing Shen Hao’s instructions, a soldier outside immediately ran off to the inn’s kitchen to boil ginger water.
Fortunately, Harmony Powder wasn’t poisonous; whether it was neutralized sooner or later didn’t matter much. In fact, if left alone, it would metabolize and wear off after several hours on its own.
Shen Hao tore his gaze away from Lin Xin’Er and looked toward Young Master Wen, who was lying on the ground, immobilized by a board lock.
"Upon receiving a report from the people, a group of human traffickers appeared in the East Market. They forcibly abducted two innocent women from a boot shop. The Black Banner Battalion responded to the report, arrived at the scene, and suspect this group was connected to the previously unresolved series of missing cases. They intervened to investigate, and at the Fushun Inn in Li City, rescued two victims, captured seven suspects, and killed one."
"General Flag, this guy’s not dead yet..." The warrior responsible for record-keeping glanced at the Wen Family’s guard who had been shot by a Breaking Arrow and smashed into the side room, wanting to remind Shen Hao.
But who could’ve predicted...
"Crack!"
Without so much as lifting his eyelids, Shen Hao stomped down directly on the Wen Family guard’s head. The skull shattered, and brain matter splattered everywhere.
"Yes! One confirmed kill!" The warrior’s hand trembled in fright as he hurriedly voiced his response.
Crushing a man’s skull with his boot—that was shockingly intense. For Young Master Wen, who was lying on the ground and got splattered in the face with brain matter, this was the most brutal and direct horror he’d ever experienced.
"Bring the men back. I want the case file on my desk within an hour." Shen Hao said this to Zhang Liao.
"Yes, understood!"
To establish a file meant the case had already passed the "evidence collection, interviews, witness verification" procedures. What Shen Hao meant was that he wanted Zhang Liao to have the case done solidly within the hour, leaving no loopholes for anyone to exploit.
As for whether this was "kidnapping" or tied to the previous Liu Yan series of missing cases, that would be for the Black Banner Battalion’s methods to determine. Besides, if even evil sect cultivators could be dealt with however they pleased in the Black Banner Battalion’s interrogation chambers, would this womanizer really withstand the pressure?
Zhang Liao understood Shen Hao’s meaning, and so did Young Master Wen, who was unable to move. He was horrified by how Shen Hao was daring to pin crimes on him out of thin air—and it sounded as if they were intent on establishing him as a habitual offender?!
Now, he was truly anxious, but there was nothing he could do. The board lock rendered him speechless, and he could only stare helplessly.
From beginning to end, Shen Hao didn’t utter a single word to Young Master Wen.
Because he didn’t know him, he didn’t want to say more and risk saying the wrong thing.
When Shen Hao arrived at the garrison, he was already performing his duties ahead of schedule. Zhang Liao went to secure the case, and all of the Wen Family’s people were thrown into the Black Banner Battalion dungeons. Every one of them was locked into board locks and tossed into isolation cells like statues, for now ignored by all.
He summoned Wang Jian.
"Do you recognize this badge? He claims he’s from the Wen Family." Shen Hao took out a three-inch round pure gold medallion for Wang Jian to identify—he’d confiscated it from Young Master Wen.
Wang Jian was born into the nobility; growing up in that environment, he was familiar with many upper-tier matters in Jingxi. He took the golden badge from Shen Hao, examined it carefully, then placed it back on the table.
"General Flag, I can confirm this is the clan crest of the White Deer Mountain Wen Family. And judging by the accessory on the back, it ought to be something only carried by a direct descendant of the Wen Family."
"White Deer Mountain?" Shen Hao suddenly felt that term was familiar—he must have heard it somewhere before.
"General Flag, you forget? Back when we worked on the Li Family’s Rebellion Case, the Wen Family was directly related. Specifically, Li Bing’s grandmother was a daughter of the Wen Family who married into the Li Family. Over the years, the Li Family cultivated their ties with the Wen Family, and the two families have always been close.
After the Li Family’s rebellion, their entire clan should have been executed, and the Wen Family should have been wiped out too. Only, the Wen Family was excluded from repercussions. Now you remember?"
Shen Hao nodded—Wang Jian’s reminder brought it all back to him.
The White Deer Mountain Wen Family was one of those so-called cultivation noble families, and they’d thrown their lot in with a sect named Celestial Prosperity Valley, becoming a vassal noble family. While that might sound unimpressive, in reality vassals to great sects were usually stronger than most ordinary cultivation families.
And because they were both a cultivation noble family and a vassal to a major sect, during the Li Family’s Rebellion Case, the whole Xuanqing Guard went out of their way to skirt around the Wen Family. Taking down the Li Family was one thing—but dealing with the Wen Family was far beyond the authority of a humble Hundred Households Station.
"So that’s how it is. No wonder they dare to act so brazenly in Li City—it turns out to be the vassal Wen Family. Tsk tsk, they’re treating the court’s laws as a joke."
"What are your intentions, General Flag?"
Shen Hao briefly explained today’s events to Wang Jian. The latter’s brows furrowed as he seemed to be weighing how to handle things going forward.
"Heh, you don’t need to overthink it. Just remember, we’re only doing our jobs, sticking to the procedure. So what if it’s the Wen Family? Do they really dare to snatch people from the Xuanqing Guard? Come on, follow me to meet the Wen Family’s young master. Maybe you’ll recognize him."
"Heh, you’re joking, General Flag. The Wen Family is a Great Family—I’m just ordinary nobility. Even if I know them, they might not know me."