A divine healer, a general, a young marquis! Who can rival them!

The news of curing Master He spread throughout the city's respectable people in just two days.

Yang Hu was still sitting in the clinic seeing patients, but in the shadows, he didn't let up on that thread at all!

These past few days, Liu Ye has been going to the west side of the city every day.

She stopped watching Hengtong, the company whose stakes had been removed, and followed Yang Hu's route, retracing her steps all the way back from the prefectural governor's office.

On the street in front of the Prefectural Magistrate's Mansion, at the alley entrance and around the corner, there were always some vendors, doormen, and people squatting down to rest.

Liu Ye dressed up as a country girl, carrying an empty vegetable basket. She picked a gossipy girl, slipped her a couple of coins, got her a bowl of tea, and chatted idly for a bit.

"Did any men carrying gray cloth on shoulder poles pass by here a few days ago?"

If you find the answer, write it down; if you don't find it, try another place.

There was no progress for the past two days. There were too many men carrying loads in the city, and even more wearing short gray cloth clothes.

On the third day, an old man selling steamed buns at the alley entrance took two coins, squinted his eyes, and thought about it.

"You mean that guy of mine?" the old man said. "There is such a person who, every few days, carries a load of things wrapped in oilcloth over his shoulder, stops near my house, and then goes into the alley behind the mansion. He walks very fast, doesn't talk to anyone, and acts like a complete stranger."

A thought struck Liu Ye.

Following the old man's directions, she took a few more steps forward. In the alley behind the mansion, there were a few gatekeepers and people hanging clothes out to dry. She recognized this gray-clothed man carrying a load.

By asking questions step by step, she actually managed to find her way back all the way from the entrance of the Prefectural Magistrate's Mansion.

This evening, when Liu Ye returned home, her face lit up.

"Found it." She sat down, her voice low. "I traced the delivery route from the entrance of the Prefectural Magistrate's residence, step by step, until I found it!"

Yang Hu put down the pillow. "Speak."

"That man in gray cloth, carrying a load of goods every few days, is definitely heading towards the Prefectural Magistrate's residence!" Liu Ye said. "Many people recognized him along the way; this road really does lead to the Prefectural Magistrate's residence."

Yang Hu nodded; this was indeed confirmed.

"But there's something strange," Liu Ye frowned, "that man carried his load to the back of the prefectural magistrate's residence, but he didn't go inside!"

"Not coming in?"

"He found an inconspicuous spot in the courtyard behind the Prefectural Magistrate's residence, put his load there, and left empty-handed," Liu Ye said. "I followed him from a distance and saw that another person was also delivering the goods from that inconspicuous courtyard into the Prefectural Magistrate's residence!"

Yang Hu tapped his knuckles on the edge of the table.

There was a hand between them.

Qin Ying, who was wiping the knife, paused and interjected.

"This courtyard must be rented by the Prefectural Magistrate's Office!" she said. "The deliverymen didn't go directly into the Prefectural Magistrate's Office, but unloaded their goods in this transit courtyard, and then had the people from the Prefectural Magistrate's Office move them in. That way, the man carrying the load wouldn't have a direct connection with the Prefectural Magistrate's Office. If you find him, you'll only find this courtyard, not the Prefectural Magistrate's Office."

She had led troops and knew the rules of transporting stakes like the back of her hand.

"This is called laying a hidden line," Qin Ying said. "A hand's distance, leaving no trace. That hand is very discreet."

Yang Hu understood perfectly.

This line leads from the servant boy to Liu the registrar, to Hengtong Pawnshop in the south of the city, to the gray-clothed man carrying a load, and finally to this small courtyard behind the prefectural governor's mansion.

One by one, they finally reached the corner of the Prefectural Magistrate's residence.

"Being willing to spend money to rent a courtyard as a transit point means that what that hand was sending to the Prefectural Magistrate's residence wasn't just food and drink, but something deadly!" Yang Hu said slowly.

But whether the hand inside the wall belongs to the prefect or someone from the mansion, it's unclear because of this transfer courtyard.

"Getting this close is enough," Yang Hu said.

"We've arrived." Liu Ye paused for a moment. "Is there something deeper inside? Maybe we can find out what's in this courtyard and who it's being delivered to. I think someone in that courtyard gave me a look today."

Upon hearing this, Yang Hu's face darkened.

"Did you stare at you for a couple of seconds?"

"It's only two seconds," Liu Ye said nonchalantly. "I'm dressed as a beggar village girl, so I won't give myself away."

"Don't go again," Yang Hu said decisively. "Don't you remember what happened to the servant who delivered the cloth bag?"

Those hands that pressed people down so hard, those poisonous hands that threw people into the river.

"The reason this hand is removing the stake to silence people is because they feel they're being watched," Yang Hu said. "They're being more careful than anyone else now. There's definitely someone watching this transit yard. The person who was staring at you today might not be the gatekeeper."

"If you move any closer, you'll be the second servant to hand over the package."

As Liu Ye thought about the person staring into her eyes, a layer of sweat quietly broke out on her back.

She had fought to the death with barbarians in the mountains, clashing knives together without fear! But the kind of silent killing in the shadows was another matter entirely.

"We've made it this far to the Prefectural Governor's residence; confirming that's a huge achievement." Yang Hu looked at her. "Next, it's not about squeezing, it's about holding on. Look, wait a minute."

Liu Ye nodded heavily.

The hospital is closed at night, and a family sits around a table.

Lu Yan helped him rearrange the Chinese medicine that had been scattered during the day, and frowned as she listened to these stories:

"Young master, this lead is confirmed, but who is the mastermind behind it? Is this case closed?"

"No," Yang Hu said, taking a sip of tea. "It's not the right time yet."

He looked outside.

"A case... is just like seeing a doctor," he said.

"If you cut right at the deepest part of the disease, you'll end up cutting the wrong thing, damaging your own blood and energy, and scaring the person to death. You have to feel its pulse first, trace its root inch by inch, and wait until it shows its head before you make the cut."

"This is the first root I've found," he said. "It connects to the prefectural governor's office, and that's enough. If they make any further moves, if they eliminate another spy, or silence another spies, it will all follow this path and smash right into my eyes!"

Lu Yan's brows gradually relaxed as she listened.

Qin Ying stood outside the window, wiping the knife in her hand.

When she heard "straighten it out inch by inch," she stopped.

"My case was full of loose threads," she said softly. "Some were broken, some were extinguished, and even my former subordinates couldn't find a single clue when they tried to investigate."

She glanced up at Yang Hu.

"We haven't discovered this lead line in years!"

Under the dim light, the eyes that had been holding a cold and sharp gaze frowned slightly, then slowly widened.

"We'll find that hand eventually," Yang Hu said, looking at her. "One vein after another, one by one. Once we figure it out, the person buried under that lid will jump out on their own."

Qin Ying didn't respond, but the fierceness in her eyes lessened somewhat.

The streets were silent at night, and under that solitary lamp, there were large jars and cabinets filled with various herbs everywhere.

Yang Hu looked out the window.

His secret trail began with a small arrow on the northern grasslands, extending all the way to the plague in the village, the little devil that disappeared by the river south of the city, and the road leading to the prefectural governor's mansion for delivering goods. Little by little, he got to this point.

That hand took a stake, killed a person, and thought it had severed all ties.

But what it didn't know was that the small step it cut off illuminated a path that Yang Hu had once walked before his very eyes!

The menacing hands of the thugs in the west of the city, the spies within the city—they knew he was investigating them. But the more they remained still, the more it showed how uneasy they were!

Yang Hu took a sip of cold water. The game was getting bigger and bigger, but he wasn't in a hurry at all. He had already found the foothold of the Prefectural Magistrate's Mansion. The next step was to find a legitimate reason to step into the gates of the Prefectural Magistrate's Mansion!