Chương 45: Murky Waters

"Go home. Now. Immediately!" Magistrate Liu Defu jabbed his finger repeatedly at his son's head, his voice carrying an authority that brooked no refusal.

"But Father, I'm scared..."

"What is there to be afraid of?"

"Someone died in the city yesterday. My classmates said it was a monster. Xiaofeng told me he saw it with his own eyes. It had eight legs, six arms, a centipede body with a big pig head, crawling like a spider. It eats children. My heart is pounding." Liu Defu's face darkened at these words. He turned to look at the secretary, because the Xiaofeng the boy mentioned was the secretary's son. The secretary gave an awkward smile and explained, "Children say the darndest things. Do not take it seriously.

A monster with eight legs? It is just a rumor. I will give that boy a good scolding when I get home." Hearing the secretary's explanation, Liu Defu's expression softened slightly. He said to his son, "You heard that? Monsters are just stories. Do not spread rumors. Go home." The boy was clearly reluctant. He tugged at his father's sleeve, wanting to go home with him. Fang Cheng had been listening to their conversation and could no longer hold back.

"What is this about a dead person?" Though he did not really want to ask, as a good person, he could not let any criminal go unpunished.

"It is just an ordinary murder case," Secretary Zhou Zhixin explained.

"With so many people in the city lately, some thieves have slipped in. They broke into homes at night and stole things. Someone died."

"Are you sure it is just an ordinary case?" Fang Cheng frowned, recalling the tense soldiers at the gate and the Yamen runners' nervousness. Something did not add up. Seeing Fang Cheng's suspicion, the secretary continued to explain, "City God, you need not worry. We have already sent people to catch the criminals. They will be arrested soon." Magistrate Liu Defu also tried to change the subject.

"City God, look at the sky. It is about to rain. How about we return to the Yamen and continue our business?" Fang Cheng laughed coldly.

"Magistrate Liu, Secretary Zhou, business requires honesty. You are hiding things from me. How can we cooperate?" Liu Defu grew anxious at the thought of losing the deal. He shot a look at his secretary, signaling him to smooth things over. Zhou Zhixin quickly said, "City God, we have been nothing but honest. You asked to tour the workshop, and we showed you everything. You asked about the workers, and we told you everything. What more do you want?"

"Secretary Zhou, do you take me for a child?" Fang Cheng laughed.

"I may not be a textile expert, but I know the most important step is weaving thread into cloth. Magistrate Liu told me you import raw silk from Greenwood City. Yet I have not seen a single loom in this workshop that weaves thread into fabric. What are you hiding?" Secretary Zhou Zhixin sighed helplessly. He turned to the magistrate and said, "My lord, we have no choice. We must tell the City God the truth." The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Very well." Liu Defu gritted his teeth. He looked at Fang Cheng and asked, "City God, before I explain, may I ask one question? What is your relationship with the City God of Dongyang City?" Fang Cheng was surprised to hear Hu Tong mentioned. He was not sure if he should continue asking. His superior Pei Tang was trying to catch a bigger fish, and getting involved might scare the prey away. But after a moment's thought, he decided he had to know. His curiosity was too strong. He had to get to the bottom of this.

"I have only met Hu Tong once. We are not close. You can speak freely." Liu Defu sighed in relief and began to explain.

"City God, we used to have several looms in the empty halls we just passed. They were called Supernatural Jet Looms. In the blink of an eye, they could weave over ten meters of cloth. Those machines did not belong to us. They belonged to Hu Tong, the City God of Dongyang City. We had a partnership. It was not that we could not afford to buy them, but those supernatural machines required a cultivator's Divine Energy to operate.

A few days ago, Hu Tong pulled all his cultivators out of Xiangshi City, saying the higher-ups had forbidden building a City God Temple here. He took the machines with him. We could have accepted that. We could have bought cloth from other cities at a higher price. But Hu Tong went too far. He also wanted to take our best workers. We had trained them with so much effort. We could not just hand them over for nothing."

"So you spread the word that you were selling the workers to other cities?" Fang Cheng asked. Liu Defu nodded.

"At first, we just wanted to put pressure on Hu Tong, to make him pay us. But he would not budge. He even warned the surrounding cities not to get involved and refused to sell us cloth. A real piece of work. He used his status as a cultivator to bully us at every turn. The secretary and I would not let him have his way. We guarded the workers day and night, keeping them from leaving Xiangshi City. We held out for days, and then you arrived." Fang Cheng was surprised.

"Magistrate Liu, you are just a mortal, yet you dared to stand up to a cultivator. I must say, you have more spine than my magistrate Li Sanshui." Liu Defu laughed heartily.

"You flatter me, City God. It is not courage. My superior is the Prefect of Lianshan Prefecture, Li Jinghong. He is a powerful cultivator. Hu Tong would only dare to make trouble behind the scenes. He would not dare to do anything to me directly."

"That is true." Fang Cheng nodded. He dropped the loom issue and asked again, "What about the dead person?"

"My lord, it is truly an ordinary case," the secretary replied this time.

"The coroner examined the body. The wounds were made by a mortal. There was no sign of demons or spirit beasts, and it did not look like a cultivator's work. You do not need to worry." Magistrate Liu Defu added, "Yes, City God. Let us get back to business. The sooner we move the workers to White Flower City, the better. If Hu Tong finds out, he might come and cause trouble." Fang Cheng waved a hand. He glanced at the sky and said, "Let us talk tomorrow. It is too late now.

Discussing business in the middle of the night goes against the principle of harmony with nature." The magistrate and secretary were speechless. Fang Cheng smiled. He walked over to the magistrate's son and patted his head.

"Little one, take your father's hand and go home for dinner."

"Oh..." The boy looked up at his father in confusion. Liu Defu had no choice but to accept. He told the secretary to arrange accommodation for the City God, then took his son and left. Secretary Zhou Zhixin stayed behind. He smiled and said, "City God, there are some nice places in Xiangshi City with some lovely ladies. Would you like to..." Fang Cheng waved a hand.

"No need. We will find our own accommodations. You should go home too." With that, he and Qin Hao rose into the air and left the workshop. They found an inn near the market and took a seat by the window. Qin Hao ordered a hotpot and a jar of wine. He happily cooked the meat, drinking and praising, "Brother Fang, that was a great move. Let them wait. They will be the ones getting anxious. Tomorrow we can force the price down. Hehe, the deal will be ours."

"I am not trying to drive the price down," Fang Cheng replied.

"Then what are you doing?" Qin Hao asked. Fang Cheng shook his head and did not answer. He took a sip of wine. It was cool in his stomach. Outside, a light rain began to fall. He reached his hand out the window. The rain on his palm was also cool. But strangely, the demon sword inside him felt hot like burning charcoal, as if it could ignite at any moment.

"There is something delicious in Xiangshi City." His lips curled into a bloodthirsty smile.