Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

Lin Yuan never expected that the mirror would choose this case for him.

But this case happened more than half a year ago. Even if it can be solved now, will it be in time?

He didn't quite understand how this case could be most useful to him.

Sun Husun ​​is already dead, so we can only start with Sun Jingang. But he's just a gangster, and if Li Shi catches him tonight, he'll at most be beheaded.

That wouldn't do me much good.

It seems we need to start with Old Huang behind Sun Jingang. That person is the real mastermind behind this case. Since he committed a crime, he has to pay the price.

Lin Yuan planned to wait for Li Shi to return so the two could discuss privately and see if they could find an opportunity here.

He immediately compared the faces that had appeared in the mirror with those of the Black Snake Gang members he had captured, and sure enough, he found one who looked familiar.

So they interrogated him, and as a result, they got a bunch of random things out of him.

"Since you won't talk, then we'll leave you hanging outside!"

Lin Yuan found an excuse to drag the underling out and hang him alone on a jujube tree outside.

The thief was only guarding the tea leaves in the house and ignored him.

Lin Yuan sent Hu Cai to keep watch while he interrogated him alone. After some coaxing, the boy finally confessed what happened that day.

The kid had no idea who he killed or why he killed them; he only knew that such a thing had happened, and in his personal experience, it was just one of many such incidents.

Lin Yuan obtained the witness testimony and began to devise a plan.

After waiting for several hours, Li Shi and Li Si returned, with several constables carrying the injured Sun Jingang behind them.

At this moment, Sun Jingang was in a sorry state. He was naked and tightly bound, his white belly making him look like a wealthy old man. He was covered in fat and no longer looked like a martial arts practitioner. One of his legs had just been broken, and he was trembling all over.

Sun Jingang kept pleading, offering money to buy his life and begging, showing none of the imposing manner of the Black Snake Gang's Eight Vajras, nor any of the backbone of a martial artist.

After rising from poverty to prominence in the Black Snake Gang, Sun Jingang began to enjoy himself, gradually forgetting the hardships of his past, neglecting his martial arts skills, and losing his ruthlessness.

No wonder he wanted to train Sun Husun ​​to do things.

Lin Yuan immediately stepped forward, invited Li Shi aside, and recounted the interrogation in private, as well as the details of Manager Wang's murder last year.

"Really?" Li Shi exclaimed in surprise.

"Absolutely true!" Lin Yuan said firmly.

"It was actually Elder Huang who instigated this?" Li Shi still couldn't quite believe it.

"Senior Brother, in the field of investigating cases, you have surpassed your teacher."

"Blue what?" Li Shi didn't understand. "What blue?"

Lin Yuan couldn't hold back any longer: "Even in the area of ​​investigating cases, my mentor might not be as good as me!"

"I believe you. You truly are my third uncle's worthy disciple!" Li Shi nodded. In the past six months, he had also discovered that Lin Yuan was very good at handling things, shrewd, and ambitious.

Lin Yuan got to the point: "Who exactly is this Old Huang?"

Upon hearing this man's name, Li Shi flew into a rage: "Damn it! He was the one who bought the coffin for Manager Wang last year, and he was the one who transported Manager Wang's body back to the prefecture. No wonder he was so attentive; it was him who did it! When he came to the pavilion, he acted so convincingly that he even fooled me. I thought he was a genuinely kind person..."

Lin Yuan didn't urge him, silently waiting for him to vent his emotions, thinking there must be some past grievances involved.

After a while, Li Shicai said, "He is the manager sent to Taoli Town by the Lizhou Trading Company. Everyone in the company calls him Old Huang. The Lizhou Trading Company has the background of the Prince of Li, so its business covers all thirteen counties of Lizhou."

You see, the Zhang and Li families are quite powerful in Linyuan County, but if they want to sell their goods, they still have to go through the Lizhou Trading Company.

However, the merchants from Lizhou, relying on their powerful backers, often tried to lower prices from both sides, so the Marquis's Mansion and the Earl's Mansion frequently conducted private transactions with those merchants.

That Manager Wang also had some connections, and he definitely didn't want to be undervalued, so he did business with the Marquis's mansion privately. The merchants probably found out, so they hired someone to take him down!

Seeing that neither the Zhang nor Li families could do anything about the Lizhou Merchant Guild, Lin Yuan couldn't help but feel a headache coming on: "I'm afraid we can't touch the guild! But this Old Huang is just a manager, can't we make a fuss about that?"

"It's not that it can't be done, it's just difficult. These people all have connections and dealings with various families in the prefecture and county. If we can't kill them, they'll hold a grudge, and then it will be difficult to deal with them." Li Shi said helplessly.

"I never thought that even though we solved the murder case and got the evidence, we still couldn't bring ourselves to kill the murderer!" Lin Yuan said with a self-deprecating laugh.

He really wanted to give the mirror a bad review; what kind of choices were these?

I will never use this feature again.

"However, since this old scoundrel Huang committed murder and ordered Sun Jingang to do it, even if we don't punish him, we should make him bleed. It would be best to wipe out the Black Snake Gang as well."

Lin Yuan nodded, having no better solution at the moment, and finally asked, "What's this old scoundrel Huang's name?"

"Him? He has the same name as me," Li Shi said irritably.

"Huang Shi!" Lin Yuan exclaimed in surprise. Wasn't this Manager Huang, who rented Yingniang's house?

What a small world!

That makes sense, Taoli Town isn't actually that big, and the number of merchants from outside is just that many.

No, someone like Manager Huang could wipe out a caravan with a wave of his hand. Would he be short of money? Does he seem like someone who's short of money?

Why would you rent out the side room to yourself and earn one and a half taels of silver?

Do you really like me, a refined scholar?

Lin Yuan suddenly felt unwell; he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but he just felt uncomfortable.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, is there something you haven't said yet?

"Alright, I'm going to find the Third Steward now." Li Shi said this and was about to leave, but halfway there he turned back, "You come with me."

Lin Yuan hesitated, "I think this idea is a bit tricky. How about we wait until we have the strength?"

"I'll go ask the Third Steward. He can handle this. Let him decide how to deal with it. Consider it a favor to the Third Steward. Anyway, you'll have to deal with the Li family. As long as the Third Steward agrees, you can go into the pavilion to work as a thief catcher right now," Li Shi explained his plan.

"I still want to focus on martial arts and become a martial arts master as soon as possible, so..." Lin Yuan cracked his knuckles and made a money sign.

Li Shi chuckled and patted his hand, quite appreciating this clever junior brother. It was because he was surrounded by a bunch of mindless martial artists. Whenever they discussed something, all they had to do was talk about getting him, messing with him, and taking him down, without any skill involved.

Such methods may work against ordinary people and the Black Snake Gang, but they won't work against higher-ups.

Now, Lin Yuan not only has the background of Master Xu, but also the background of the Li family's martial arts school, and he is also intelligent, which can make up for this shortcoming.

"You little rascal, all you want is some money, right? No problem, I'll lend you some later. I've decided you're my junior brother now, come to me if you ever need money."

Even when Lin Yuan was short of money, he never asked Li Shi for money, because he believed that favors should be used wisely.

However, upon hearing his words, Lin Yuan immediately bowed, since it was free anyway: "Senior Brother, please accept my bow!"

Previously, the two addressed each other as fellow disciples, but this was just a playful term used at drinking parties. It was fine to call each other that in private, but Lin Yuan would never address each other that way in formal occasions.

Now that Li Shi has said it so solemnly, it carries a different meaning.

Li Shi formally accepted his bow and said with a smile, "You're much better than Gou'er! If my Hu'er could be half as good as you, I'd be content."

"Tiger's first birthday was marked by the grasp of a long sword; from now on, he will surely be able to wield his sword with ease and achieve instant success!" Lin Yuan said with his eyes closed.

Li Shi was overjoyed upon hearing this: "You rascal, you're quite the talker! Once you become a martial arts master in the Li family, you can become a bronze-level retainer. Retainers in the Li family don't necessarily have to work in the mansion; you can work in the pavilion while also being a retainer in the mansion. The two don't interfere with each other."

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother!" Lin Yuan bowed again, only then realizing that it could be done this way; this was due to information asymmetry.

It's difficult to obtain relevant information unless you're at that level.

"Don't mention it! Let's hurry up and get things settled before dawn, the sooner the better."

Li Shi, along with Lin Yuan and a few others, carried Sun Jingang to the Li family ancestral home overnight. They then had several constables and Zhao Sheng and others carry tea back to town.

When Lin Yuan and the others arrived in town, it was still dark.

Li Shi first went to the mansion to pay his respects. The third steward had already gotten up and was practicing his boxing. He ignored Li Shi's arrival and only asked him what was the matter after he finished practicing.

After listening to him, the third steward chuckled, "The Lizhou Merchant Guild has been holding onto a lot of silver from us over the years. We need to let them know we're not to be trifled with. We should also bring up the Black Snake Gang's business and have the new headman sort things out for us. Is our Li family's business something the Black Snake Gang should be involved in?"

"Third Master is right!"

Seeing that he hadn't left, the third steward laughed and said, "This time you've retrieved all the tea, dealt with the Black Snake Gang, and even imprisoned Huang Shi. You've done a great job! Just wait here, I'm going to meet Huang Shi, and you'll be well rewarded."

"Third Master is too kind. It's only right that I do things for you!"

"Alright, stop arguing with me. Bring Sun Jingang here!"