Volume 3, Chapter 334 – Have You Been Here All Day?

Chi Jingwen’s brow furrowed. “Gained the upper hand for a time?”

He almost wondered if he had heard wrong.

After being ambushed, Lu Guan had actually managed to turn things around and hold the advantage for a moment?

If that was true, then he genuinely would have had an opportunity to send out that transmission.

But from everything Wei Qingyu had just described, it sounded as though he had been brutally overwhelmed.

“Inspector Wei, could there have been some mistake?” Chi Jingwen asked.

Wei Qingyu smiled. “Is the family head saying he doesn’t believe me?”

“You misunderstand, Inspector. That is not what I meant.” Chi Jingwen said. “I simply find it difficult to follow.”

Wei Qingyu lowered her gaze slightly, and her thoughts drifted back to the Human Empress’s instructions.

Getting involved in the dispute between Lingxiao Sword Sect and the Chi family had already entangled her with the Chi family. And that, too, had been the Human Empress’s intent.

With something like this happening, Lingxiao Sword Sect would certainly not let the Chi family off. And since she had already spoken in the Chi family’s defense before, the sect would likely see her as siding with them.

“Ah.” Wei Qingyu let out a quiet sigh. “Family Head Chi, speaking personally, I do believe you. I believe the Chi family would not do something so self-destructive.”

“But the current situation is genuinely very unfavorable for the Chi family.”

“According to the information Young Sect Master Song provided, Lu Guan learned something at the Chi family that made him want to leave Beihe Commandery in a hurry.”

“And it was on his way out of Beihe Commandery that he was ambushed by an unknown force.”

Wei Qingyu’s gaze sharpened. “I am very curious. What exactly did Lu Guan find out?”

“Young Master Song only told me that the matter concerns the Chi family’s second miss. I wonder if I might get an answer from you, Family Head.”

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Chi Jingwen went quiet.

The hand beneath his sleeve curled without thinking.

Song Shixuan?

Was he referring to Chi Muxue being the reincarnation of a Sword Venerable?

Song Shixuan had told Lu Guan about that, and then Lu Guan was ambushed and killed?

“I am not quite sure what Young Master Song meant by that.” Chi Jingwen said. “Inspector Wei, as you know, the Chi family has never treated the Song family poorly, nor have we ever made things difficult for Lingxiao Sword Sect.”

Wei Qingyu watched Chi Jingwen’s expression and understood. This old fox had no intention of letting anything slip.

It was almost laughable. Someone had already thrown mud all over the Chi family’s name, and still he would not give up even a whisper of information.

What kind of secret was worth the Chi family guarding this tightly?

“If the family head puts it that way, it puts me in a very difficult position,” Wei Qingyu said. “The situation is already against the Chi family, and yet I don’t even know the full story. Even if I wanted to speak on the Chi family’s behalf, I would have nothing to go on.”

Chi Jingwen fell into thought.

He felt there was something strange not only about the circumstances of Lu Guan’s death, but about Wei Qingyu’s manner as well.

She was an old acquaintance of the Chi family, but ever since she had become an inspector of the Demon Suppression Bureau and pledged her loyalty to the Human Empress, she had kept her distance from the Chi family entirely. As one of the Human Empress’s agents, Wei Qingyu naturally could not afford to be too close to any powerful clan.

And yet the goodwill she was displaying toward the Chi family right now was somewhat unusual.

Was she genuinely trying to help the Chi family out of this?

“Inspector Wei,” Chi Jingwen said. “I truly do not know what secret Young Master Song was referring to, and if given the chance I would very much like to ask him directly.”

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“I am grateful to Inspector Wei for being willing to speak up for us. The Chi family is deeply thankful.”

“However, Inspector Wei is after all an inspector of the Demon Suppression Bureau, and a trusted confidant of Her Majesty.”

“With the matter still under investigation, if people were to hear Inspector Wei speaking this way, they might feel that she is showing favoritism toward the Chi family. If Her Majesty were to learn of it in the future, would it not create a rift between the Inspector and Her Majesty?”

Wei Qingyu looked at the man sitting across from her without expression.

It seems I pushed too hard with my probing. This old fox has sensed something. That is why he is so quick to distance himself.

This old fox was far too cautious.

Wei Qingyu could not understand Chi Jingwen’s reasoning. And it only made her more curious about what the Chi family was hiding.

She gave a light smile. “The family head is right. I was too hasty.”

“After all, that wolf demon slipped through my hands. She has now surfaced again and killed a sword sect disciple.”

“So I bear some responsibility in this as well.”

Chi Jingwen looked at her, puzzled. “Inspector Wei, a wolf demon, you say? Are you saying…”

“Yes, exactly what you are thinking.” Wei Qingyu said. “Lu Guan was killed by a wolf demon.”

“The same wolf demon who escaped from my custody while holding the Chi family’s second miss hostage, not many days ago.”

“The wolf clan’s princess.”

“I am certain I am not mistaken.”

Chi Jingwen felt something click into place. His breath caught slightly.

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What secret did Chi Muxue carry?

Had Lu Guan truly been killed by the wolf clan’s princess?

And why had the wolf clan’s princess targeted Lu Guan?

The questions piled into one another in Chi Jingwen’s mind, tangled like a snarl of thread he could not begin to unspool.

But he had a feeling. He was on the verge of touching something very important.

…

The chaos of his thoughts left Chi Jingwen’s head in disarray.

He took his leave of Wei Qingyu quickly and turned back toward Chi Residence.

A creeping unease had taken root in his chest.

It was as though things that should never have been connected were now linking themselves together. The thought that had formed, vague as it still was, left even the battle-hardened Chi Jingwen feeling a cold tremor in his heart.

He returned to Chi Residence with his expression dark, his mind still churning.

The moment he stepped inside, he came face to face with Chi Xiyan.

“Father, did the prefect and Inspector Wei find anything in their investigation?”

Chi Jingwen shook his head.

Wei Qingyu had not disclosed any specific findings. But the few words she had let slip, seemingly offhand, had already given Chi Jingwen enough to worry about.

Right now, however, there was something else he needed to know far more urgently.

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“Where is Muxue? Where is she?”

Chi Xiyan was puzzled, but answered all the same. “Muxue is in her courtyard. She had a bit of a scare last night, so I told her to rest and not go wandering around.”

“Take me to her.”

…

When Chi Jingwen and Chi Xiyan arrived together at the second miss’s courtyard, a slender black-haired girl was sitting on the stone steps.

She had her knees pulled to her chest, her gaze blank, staring at the fish drifting along the edge of the pond.

She heard footsteps and lifted her pale face, looking toward the two people who had come in without warning.

“Sister Xiyan… and Family Head.”

Chi Jingwen’s expression was grave.

When he heard her say “Family Head,” something in him went rigid.

This girl…

His gaze fixed on her face, searching for any sign, any tell.

He found nothing.

The girl’s expression was mild, holding only a faint puzzlement at their sudden arrival.

“Have you been here all day?” Chi Jingwen asked.