This Martial Saint's Health Bar is Too Thick!-Chapter 88 - : Chess Game

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Chess Game

“Captain, this anti-stabbing clothing seems to have leaked from within the bureau.”

During the period while waiting for the Righteous Court Mage to arrive, one of his subordinates suddenly handed over a fragment of anti-stabbing clothing and whispered into Li Lei’s ear.

Li Lei took the fragment and glanced at it, it bore a line of steel imprint numbers that had been scratched off, making it impossible to discern the original numbers.

Anti-stabbing clothes were not exclusive to the Inspection Bureau; they could also be found on the black market. However, only the official issue from the Inspection Bureau would have steel imprint numbers.

Li Lei discreetly pocketed the piece of fabric.

The internal equipment of the Inspection Bureau had stringent controls on firearms but, as for things like knives, crossbows, arrows, anti-stabbing clothes, and even bullets, there were those who trafficked them!

...

This kind of act involved a considerable number of people from the inside. Li Lei had even secretly taken a set of anti-stabbing clothes for Li Fei’s self-defense, so he now intended to cover up this affair.

After all, every year several pieces of anti-stabbing clothing would leak from the Inspection Bureau. Before leaking, their steel imprint numbers would be scraped off, making them essentially untraceable.

“Where’s the object?”

Soon, an elderly figure clad in a white robe walked in.

He was a Mage from the Righteous Court, responsible for helping to locate people.

“It’s here.”

Li Lei pointed to a pile of stuff on the ground.

The elder glanced at the bloodstains on the items and nodded.

Having bloodstains made it easier.

He called over his attendant and took out a heap of materials from the box the attendant was carrying, then swiftly started to smear them on the ground.

Ten minutes later, the elder had prepared all materials and rituals needed and began to chant and cast spells.

Li Lei had seen a scene like this several times before and found it unremarkable.

He knew it was the Mage trying to locate the killer based on the traces left behind.

Even if they could only narrow it down to a rough area, it still greatly aided the investigation!

Inside the room, the Mage began casting.

Seconds later, the spot on the ground smeared with materials emitted a large amount of white smoke.

But quickly, the smoke dissipated, and the Mage’s face turned pale with a muffled groan.

“Cough, cough, cough, cough!”

The elder started coughing loudly.

“Master Cai, are you alright?”

Li Lei asked.

The elderly Mage Cai, while coughing, gestured with his hand.

After a good while of coughing, he finally caught his breath and pointed to the pile on the ground:

“The bloodstains on this are not the killer’s; they’re from a chicken crown!”

“Chicken crown blood?”

Li Lei’s brows furrowed into a frown.

As the saying goes, “At a rooster’s crow, all under heaven turns bright.” The blood from a rooster’s crown, in magic rituals, represents masculinity and intensity and can be used for rituals that drive away evil or break curses.

If you smear chicken crown blood on oneself or related objects, it could significantly interfere with tracking and cursing magics!

Previously, Master Cai had been able to pinpoint this area by casting spells based on the corpse of Zong Guang, who had been killed by the Green-faced Ghost. The fugitive had left a trail that could be sensed.

However, after the Green-faced Ghost escaped here, he left behind all the items that could possibly be sensed from his body and had deliberately sprinkled them with chicken crown blood, which completely severed the clues.

“This chicken crown blood must have been freshly taken from a live chicken, the interference is outstanding; otherwise, my spell wouldn’t have completely failed,” said Master Cai, “The perpetrator must have prepared the live chickens in advance here.”

Li Lei’s already furrowed brow remained tight.

Torn clothes, chopped up protective clothing, leave no effective characteristics behind.

Use chicken crown blood to disrupt the casting, cutting off any traces left behind, even knowing the most potent effect comes from a live chicken.

This series of actions made Li Lei wonder:

“Why does this Green-faced Ghost have such a high-level understanding of the court’s investigation methods?”

“This person has strong counter-investigative skills and is knowledgeable,” Master Cai told Li Lei. “Captain Li, I cannot provide any more help now; I’m heading back to the bureau, and if any useful clues are found, send someone to report back.”

“Understood, thank you for your efforts, Master Cai.”

Li Lei saluted in return.

Although in terms of official rank, Master Cai was one level lower than him, the Mages of the Righteous Court always held a venerated status. Therefore, Li Lei treated him courteously and with due respect.

After sending away Mage Cai, Li Lei called over his subordinates:

“Go ask the people around here if they’ve seen any suspicious individuals in the area in the past few days.”

“Also, search the vicinity to see if you can find any dead roosters.”

“Check all the chicken sellers in Qingyuan District to see if there are any clues.”

He issued several orders in quick succession.

However, he felt that given the Green-faced Ghost’s apparent understanding of the court’s criminal investigation methods, these investigations were highly likely to be fruitless.

…

Governance Hall building.

Chief’s office.

Xing City’s Chief Gu Zhenhui was listening to his secretary’s report on the matter of the Green-faced Ghost.

“So you’re saying, Tiger Saber Gang made a deal with this Green-faced Ghost first, to have him kill Feng Zhenshan. But for some reason, the Green-faced Ghost turned on them and even inflicted serious injuries on Master Zhang?”

After the secretary finished reporting, Gu Zhenhui sipped his tea and said calmly,

“Yes.”

The secretary nodded.

“Is Zhang Mingze dead?”

Gu Zhenhui inquired.

The secretary shook his head: “Our undercover agent in Tiger Saber Gang doesn’t hold a high enough position to find out the specifics. We only know that their most skilled doctor, Doctor Huang, entered the manor and hasn’t come out since. It seems that if Master Zhang isn’t dead, his situation is very dire.”

“Heh, Zhang Mingze, if you really are dead, it’s as if that tiger has lost its wings.”

Gu Zhenhui’s mouth curled up slightly, his mood seeming quite good.

The secretary standing beside him gave him a peculiar look, then quickly composed his expression.

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But Gu Zhenhui seemed to guess the other’s thoughts and turned to look at him:

“What, you think the Green-faced Ghost was sent by me?”

“I wouldn’t dare!”

The secretary’s face changed drastically, and he quickly bowed in respect.

“Heh heh.”

Gu Zhenhui chuckled, “Why so nervous? That tiger deliberately let the news that the Green-faced Ghost killed Feng Zhenshan slip out. It’s a clever move indeed. It seems he has been influenced by Zhang Mingze. After all these years, his skills in the game have improved quite a bit.”

Tiger Saber Gang releasing the news that the Green-faced Ghost killed Feng Zhenshan was effectively an admission of guilt, tantamount to openly acknowledging that they had hired a hitman, even though they left no overt evidence.

For this reason, the secretary beside him thought that Yu Hu had made a blunder in his agitation due to Master Zhang’s incident.

But from Gu Zhenhui’s perspective, Yu Hu’s move appeared to be very astute?

“Isn’t Tiger Saber Gang worried that after stirring this up, if the Green-faced Ghost falls into someone else’s hands, he might confess to their hiring of a hitman?”

The secretary asked.

Tiger Saber Gang dominated Xing City, with connections in Governance Hall and the Six Institutes, and deep entanglements with Xing City’s power brokers. Without explicit evidence, even Chief Gu Zhenhui would have difficulty forcibly intervening.

However, the testimony of the key witness, Green-faced Ghost, would change things—if they couldn’t use him to topple Tiger Saber Gang, they could at least deliver a heavy blow!

This was also why the secretary thought it unwise for Tiger Saber Gang to publicize the Green-faced Ghost killing Feng Zhenshan.

But Gu Zhenhui clearly disagreed.

He leisurely picked up his teacup and took a sip before speaking slowly:

“Yu Hu’s move has three benefits.”

“Firstly, with this becoming public, he has a legitimate reason to mobilize his forces in the Inspection Bureau, Zhi Ge Court, and Righteous Court to capture the Green-faced Ghost.”

“Secondly, even you suspect that the Green-faced Ghost killing Feng Zhenshan might be a painful ruse orchestrated by me to kill Zhang Mingze and cut off Tiger Saber Gang’s wings. What will others think? Yu Hu’s action publicly undermines the loyalty of my faction, and yet it’s difficult for me to prove otherwise—this is an overt scheme!”

“Thirdly, if I don’t deal with the Green-faced Ghost now, it will further solidify the belief that he is my man. But if I go all out against the Green-faced Ghost and kill him during the capture, it would seem like silencing a witness. Even if I managed to catch him alive and get him to confess that it was Tiger Saber Gang who hired him for the murder, how many people would believe it?

In doing so, even if I can use the Green-faced Ghost to pin down Zhang Mingze’s crime, I would harm the enemy yet damage myself a thousand times more, completely losing the people’s hearts.”

The secretary was stunned: “Ah, I… I had not considered all of that! Your foresight is admirable, my lord.”

He then voiced his concern: “Sir, does this mean that no matter what we do next, we’ll fall into the enemy’s trap?”

Gu Zhenhui slowly put down his teacup and looked out the window:

“Don’t rush—the game has only just begun.”

Outside, the heavy rain continued.

The torrential rain in Xing City looked to last for some time.

…