Chapter 811, Collection Hobby
The Minister of Intelligence, "Blyce"—both the corpse interrogation and the intel pointed to this man.
Since his disguised identity couldn't last much longer, it was better to deal with him before being exposed.
Moreover, judging from certain clues—
This Minister of Intelligence, Blyce, was most likely a helper hired by the Second Prince.
It was still unclear if he was from the Secret Cult or another powerful organization.
Wu Heng called out toward the door, "Someone come."
The door opened, and the guard stationed outside walked in. "My lord!"
"Go summon Minister of Intelligence Blyce here." Wu Heng said directly.
The guard stood at the door and asked hesitantly, "Just go summon him directly?"
It sounded like this commander-in-chief might not have the authority to summon the guy.
Wu Heng said, "Just tell him I have clues about the disappearance of the Minister of Administration and want to discuss capturing the murderer with him."
"Yes, sir!" The guard closed the door and left immediately.
Listening to the footsteps fade down the stairs—
Wu Heng continued, "Benny, follow him. See where this Minister of Intelligence is and what he looks like."
"Okay!" Benny replied and flew out at once.
Inside the room, only one body and two souls remained.
Xiaoxiao said, "Uncle, are you planning to ambush him here?"
"What do you think? The moment he walks in, we shut the door and unleash the hound," Wu Heng said with a grin.
"Who's the hound?" Glenda asked.
"Uncle is!"
"I meant shut the door and beat the dog, I said it wrong."
Knock knock knock~!
The door was knocked. "My lord, breakfast is ready."
Wu Heng signaled the two ghost souls to stay quiet, then said, "Bring it in!"
The door opened, and a servant entered carrying breakfast.
The life of a commander-in-chief seemed quite decent—what was brought in was enough to feed the whole Gold-Silver Island household.
The tray was placed on a wooden side table. The servant didn't seem in a hurry to leave and stood obediently to the side.
Wu Heng said, "You may go. Someone will be coming later."
"Yes, my lord." The servant bowed again and left, closing the door.
Once the door closed, Xiaoxiao floated over and took a peek. "Wow, he sure can eat."
"That's how nobles live. Luxury and waste are their way of showing off status and wealth," said Glenda.
"You know about that?"
"Some scholars have written about it in their travelogues. I read it in books," Glenda replied.
Wu Heng glanced at the breakfast but didn't touch it to avoid any potential risks.
He took a few pieces to make it look like he had eaten, then had the servant carry everything back out.
Wu Heng said, "Search around. See if there's anything good."
"Got it!"
The two ghost souls split up and began their search.
...…
Outside the city, in the forest—
A leopard made of gray mist darted through the trees, stopped in front of an abandoned hunter's cabin, and transformed into a seductive woman.
With slender fingers, she pulled up her hood.
She pushed open the door to the cabin and walked straight in.
Inside the cabin, several figures—some squatting, some sitting—turned to look toward the entrance.
"Viola, you're the last to arrive," someone said from deeper inside.
Viola closed the door, returning the room to darkness. "I came as fast as I could. So? What's the issue?"
No one cared who arrived early or late.
A person near the door said, "Last night, the city guard searched the entire city. Anyone know why?"
An old man holding a wooden staff spoke from the back, "I got intel. The Minister of Administration went missing. That's why there was a city-wide search."
Minister of Administration?
Those who hadn't received the intel frowned.
Someone said, "I know a bit about her. An old woman, passed the Secret Cult's trial, inherited her husband's estate, and she's one of the cult members."
"Was it one of ours?" asked the man guarding the door, glancing inside.
Disappearance likely meant murder, and the body taken away in a spatial ring.
Everyone looked at one another, eyes filled with suspicion.
No one confessed, and silence fell again.
They had come to assassinate the Second Prince and key figures anyway. If it was one of them, there was no need to hide it.
"It wasn't one of us?"
Another said, "The city already blames us for it."
"Someone else in the city made a move?"
"Aside from us, the most likely suspect is from Rentam City. Didn't the Second Prince send assassins to kill their female city lord? This could be retaliation."
"That's very possible. Should we consider cooperating with this person?"
"We don't even know their goal. It might be internal power struggle, someone killed her for political reasons."
The man at the door said, "You're overestimating Rentam City. Their main combat force is skeleton troops—no high-level Professionals for assassination."
"True. I heard they're backward and impoverished."
"Looks like it was someone else's doing."
At that moment, Viola spoke up, "From what I know, the lord of Gold-Silver Island is growing fast."
Everyone turned to her.
"You think that island lord came here?"
"I heard he's only level 15, right? What, you got some intel on him?"
Viola replied calmly, "The kid's clever, made some money—might have hired someone."
"That's possible," said the man by the door.
The others exchanged glances, but there wasn't much belief in their eyes.
Gold-Silver Island was too far.
And who would accept a job like this now, getting involved in such mess?
As for the island lord himself—no way.
They believed he had great potential, but sneaking into a city they themselves couldn't infiltrate and assassinating a key minister? That was a stretch.
Since no one spoke further, the man at the door added, "That's the situation. Keep gathering intel, and keep an eye on this murderer."
Everyone nodded and went their separate ways.
...…
Commander-in-Chief's Residence—
"Uncle, there's a room inside with tons of treasure," Xiaoxiao flew back and said with surprise.
Glenda followed and smiled, "There's a room—it should be the commander's collection room."
"Could he be the Second Prince?" Xiaoxiao continued.
"The age and appearance don't match. And why would the Second Prince go collecting money from gangs?" Wu Heng replied, then added, "Collection room? He thinks he's richer than me?"
"This way!" Xiaoxiao led the way.
She brought him to a fireplace on one side of the inner room. "It's behind here."
Upon closer inspection, a hidden keyhole could be found in the wall.
Wu Heng took out the commander's spatial ring and found a key inside. With a simple twist—click—the hidden door opened.
Behind the door was a room of about fifty square meters.
Four glowing stone chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a dim but sufficient light.
Weapons hung on the walls.
Ornate rapiers, gem-studded daggers—of various types. Wu Heng swept his gaze over them.
He also saw several magical longswords worth a fortune.
"Uncle, are these worth money?" Xiaoxiao asked as she looked at the various weapons on the wall.
"Out there? Yeah, they're worth quite a bit."
"More than our family's?"
"Can they even compare to us?" Wu Heng replied casually.
"Hehe!" Xiaoxiao giggled.
Glenda rolled her eyes at the two.
As Wu Heng walked and observed, his eyes suddenly locked on a weapon—[Fire Qilin Evil Sword (Exotic Item)].