Chapter 224: Chapter 134: A Lurking Crisis
Seeing the doubt on Chen Cheng’s face, Shen Zhiyuan smiled and said to Yan Jian, "Jian’Er, Chief Chen doesn’t know about the Zhou Family matter yet. Why don’t you fill him in? After all, he’ll be lending a hand shortly."
"Yes." Yan Jian agreed. As he turned to Chen Cheng, a barely perceptible look of smugness appeared in his eyes. He feigned an apologetic tone, saying, "Mr. Chen, we both serve in the Lishui Sub-Department, and our precincts are right next to each other. I should have told you about this sooner.
But my cousin-in-law instructed me beforehand that this matter must be kept secret—the fewer people who know, the better. So I had no choice but to keep you in the dark. Please don’t take offense, Mr. Chen."
Yan Jian had just married Miss Shen, so he had started calling Shen Qingshuang "cousin-in-law" to seem closer to her, and also to show off.
By emphasizing the secrecy of the matter, he was also subtly treating Chen Cheng as an outsider.
Chen Cheng knew his nature and couldn’t be bothered to argue, so he replied calmly, "If it’s a secret matter, then of course it should be handled that way."
Yan Jian nodded again toward Shen Qingshuang, adopting a solemn expression. "To be honest, I was just following my cousin-in-law’s arrangements in this matter. If it weren’t for her sharp perception and her insight that the Zhou Family might be engaged in some shady business, she wouldn’t have specifically assigned me as the Chief Constable for the Lotus Pier district..."
Shen Qingshuang grew impatient and waved a hand, cutting him off. "Just give a simple briefing on tonight’s events."
"Yes." Yan Jian bowed respectfully before recounting the events.
Of course, his telling was anything but simple. It was quite detailed, and he made sure to emphasize the extremely crucial role he had played in the whole affair.
Shen Qingshuang had assigned Yan Jian to the Lotus Pier area of Lishui District with the goal of monitoring the Zhou Family’s every move, especially their blacksmith shop, which was suspected of smuggling precious metals.
So, Yan Jian had placed numerous informants, both openly and covertly, to watch the Zhou Family. The Yan Family even moved their businesses to the Lotus Pier district to make it easier to probe the Zhou Family’s affairs.
Through Yan Jian’s efforts, he managed to get a general understanding of the Zhou Family’s Blacksmith Shop. The Zhou Family would transport large batches of metal to the shop at regular intervals, which likely included precious metals regulated by the Smelting Department.
As a result, Yan Jian and his subordinates had intercepted the Zhou Family’s transport caravans at Lotus Pier several times and had indeed found precious metals like Mithril and Black Gold among the goods.
However, the precious metals in the Zhou Family’s caravans had all been purchased through legitimate channels and came with permits from the Smelting Department.
The business of the Zhou Family’s Blacksmith Shop appeared perfectly legal and legitimate, without any loopholes.
But Yan Jian didn’t give up. He tried various methods and finally discovered an anomaly: at regular intervals, the Zhou Family would also transport a batch of goods from Guangfu District to Lishui District.
Following this lead, Yan Jian shifted his attention to the Zhou Family’s businesses in Guangfu District. He even bribed one of the Zhou Family’s servants and eventually obtained a crucial piece of intelligence.
At regular intervals, the Zhou Family would transport a shipment of stone from a manor outside the city to Guangfu District. The precious metals they were smuggling were hidden within these stones.
After Yan Jian reported this to Shen Qingshuang, she sent people to investigate the Zhou Family Manor. They discovered that the manor was located right next to the foothills of the Great Wilderness Mountain Range and contained a quarry.
The quarry was heavily guarded, and Shen Qingshuang’s men were unable to determine if it was just a cover for what might actually be a mine.
As for inspecting the stone shipments the Zhou Family sent into the city from the manor, there was no guarantee they would find contraband, and it was highly likely they would alert the enemy.
This was where Yan Jian proved useful again. From that same servant, he obtained another critical piece of intelligence: tonight, the Zhou Family would be transporting a shipment of stone from the manor to Guangfu District. This wouldn’t be ordinary stone; it would contain a large quantity of precious metals.
Tonight’s transport was extremely important. To ensure nothing went wrong, Zhou Hongda had specifically dispatched his most capable enforcers, the Black and White Double Slaughter, along with many other skilled fighters to escort the shipment.
Upon learning this, Shen Qingshuang, Shen Zhiyuan, and the others conferred and decided to lead a team to intercept the stone shipment tonight. Once they confirmed it contained contraband, they would seize the opportunity to annihilate the Zhou Family.
Considering that the Black and White Double Slaughter were powerful Great Success Martial Artists of the Muscle Strengthening Realm, Shen Qingshuang would personally lead the City Guard Department Officials in the operation, bringing Chen Cheng and Yan Jian along to gain some experience.
Furthermore, Shen Zhiheng would provide covert support for the subsequent operation to eradicate the Zhou Family.
Deploying two Bone Forging Realm Martial Artists against a mere Outer City District family—such a plan could only be described as meticulous. The Zhou Family was likely doomed.
Chen Cheng was happy to tag along and get a piece of the action. However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. ’Is the intelligence from that Zhou Family servant reliable?’
But since Shen Qingshuang, Shen Zhiyuan, and the others didn’t seem to doubt it, they must have already considered the possibility. Thus, Chen Cheng didn’t feel it was his place to say anything more.
...
Normally, Linji City had no curfew. On the contrary, due to its bustling night markets and the existence of the Black Market, special passageways were kept open at the four gates of the Outer City District after dark for caravans and pedestrians.
Around midnight, a group of night travelers dressed like a merchant caravan, holding torches and escorting several horse-drawn carts, entered through the South City Gate. They headed straight for Guangfu District, in the heart of the South City District.
Caravans traveling at night usually had powerful backing. If they happened to encounter a City Guard Department Official on night patrol, they usually only needed to state their affiliation to be allowed to pass.
This caravan flew the banner of the South City District’s Zhou Family. The City Guard Department Officials they encountered along the way merely glanced at them from a distance, not even bothering to ask any questions.
Zhou Xu of the Zhou Family was a high-ranking Official at the South City District City Guard Headquarters. Who would go out of their way to offend the Zhou Family for no reason?
