No one died in the tax silver disappearance case, there was no surveillance in ancient times, and he was deeply imprisoned. He had no way to access any of the above three elements.

Fortunately, the case files could, to some extent, reconstruct the crime scene.

While digesting the original host’s memories, he forced himself to eliminate all negative emotions. Only a calm mind could have clear thoughts and complete rigorous reasoning.

“Whether I live or die depends on what happens next....” he muttered.

As the time of one incense stick gradually passed, William Bennett hurried back and handed him several sheets of xuan paper with still-wet ink.

“Time’s up, I have to go.” William Bennett hesitated for a moment, then said, “Take care of yourself.”

Andrew Bennett didn’t respond, his attention already drawn to the writing on the xuan paper.

Time was short, and the writing was in cursive script. If Andrew Bennett hadn’t attended private school for a few years, he wouldn’t have been able to recognize these scribbles at all.

“Studying is useful after all. If the original host had been illiterate... that would be the end.” Andrew Bennett mocked himself.

The process of the tax silver disappearance case was as follows:

[Three days ago, at the second quarter of the mao hour (6:30 a.m.), Peter Bennett was escorting a batch of tax silver to the capital. At the first quarter of the chen hour, as they reached Guangnan Street and had just crossed the bridge, a strange wind suddenly arose. The horses were startled and rushed into the river by the street.

Moments later, a deafening explosion sounded, the river water shot up six zhang high, and muddy waves surged to the sky.

The soldiers responsible for escorting the tax silver jumped into the river to search for the silver, but only recovered 1,200 taels. The rest of the silver vanished without a trace.....]

In addition to the case details, there were also testimonies from passersby collected by the Jingzhao Prefecture, as well as statements from the soldiers involved in the escort.

Among a series of testimonies, Andrew Bennett noticed a line outlined in red cinnabar ink: Demonic interference!

“Demonic interference?!” Andrew Bennett’s pupils contracted, and his heart sank to the bottom.

......

Jingzhao Prefecture, back hall.

After three days of continuous running about, the three main persons in charge of the tax silver disappearance case gathered together.

The Prefect of Jingzhao, Henry Brooks, held a white porcelain blue-and-white teacup in his hands, gently tapping the lid against the rim, his expression grave.

This official, dressed in a scarlet robe embroidered with clouds and wild geese, a proper fourth-rank, sighed lightly: “There are only two days left. His Majesty has ordered us to recover the tax silver before Peter Bennett is executed. Gentlemen, we must hurry.”

The two people Mr. Brooks referred to were: a middle-aged man in a black uniform with a dark cloak, a high nose bridge, slightly sunken eyes, and light brown pupils.

He was half southern barbarian by blood.

The other was a young girl with an oval face in a yellow dress, her features delicate as a painting, her skin like congealed cream, her gaze bright and lively.

She held a sugarcane in her hand, with a small deerskin pouch and a bagua feng shui compass hanging at her waist, and wore dainty boots embroidered with cloud patterns beneath her skirt.

She swung her legs back and forth.

These two were assisting with the case. The middle-aged man was named John Carter, from an organization deeply feared by Da Feng officials: the Nightwatchers.

The “Nightwatchers” organization engaged in reconnaissance, arrests, interrogations, and also participated in gathering military intelligence and turning enemy generals.

It did not belong to the Six Ministries, nor to the military system.

It was the royal family’s intelligence agency, and also a guillotine hanging over the heads of all officials.

All officials in Da Feng had heard the saying: Do nothing shameful by day, and you won’t fear the Nightwatchers at night.

The girl in the yellow dress was from the Directorate of Celestials, with a high status—she was the disciple of the Supervisor of the Directorate.

The middle-aged man, with a silver gong embroidered on his chest, glanced at the sugarcane dregs the girl in yellow had spat all over the floor, frowned, spun his palm, and a swirl of air gathered the dregs into a pile.

The man nodded slightly, a fleeting look of satisfaction on his face.

Only then did he reply to Mr. Brooks with a grave expression: “This case is shrouded in clouds and mist, very strange. Perhaps we are heading in the wrong direction.”

“Why do you say that, Lord Carter?” Mr. Brooks frowned. Up to now, the case analysis had basically concluded that it was the work of a demon, who had stolen the tax silver.

“We don’t have much time. What we should do now is quickly capture the demon causing trouble, not think about all this messy stuff,” said Mr. Brooks.

In recent years, the national treasury had been empty, and disasters occurred frequently in various places. The two batches of tax silver were equivalent to a whole year’s tax revenue for an ordinary county.

His Majesty’s anger was understandable.

Damn it, I was already broke, and now you’re making things worse. This is infuriating.

Mr. Brooks had taken on this case with utmost diligence, but the burden weighed so heavily on his shoulders that he hadn’t been eating or sleeping well lately.

The middle-aged man shook his head, not arguing, and instead asked, “Any new findings from Peter Bennett?”

Mr. Brooks shook his head: “He’s just a martial man, keeps shouting about being wronged, and doesn’t even know how the tax silver was lost.”

The girl in the yellow dress said calmly, “I’ve observed his ‘qi’—he wasn’t lying.”

John Carter and Mr. Brooks both nodded and didn’t discuss him further.

As the accused, Peter Bennett was the first to be investigated and interrogated. His social connections and financial situation had all been checked. Combined with the Directorate of Celestials’ qi-watching technique, he had now been cleared of suspicion.

Of course, with the tax silver lost, Peter Bennett was guilty of dereliction of duty and could not escape a death sentence.

The middle-aged man and Mr. Brooks both looked serious and heavy-hearted.

Only the girl in the yellow dress, under the least pressure, was still cheerfully gnawing on her sugarcane.