White Heron Leads a Confused Phoenix
I sat in the bottom of a squat with my face in my hands.
Boss dusted her hands after setting her inkstone.
Tang Ye cooly fixed his clothing and then pulled his brows together. âWhy are you in your room, Vice-captain.â
Boss answered, âSecret passage. I have a secret passage to enter my room. You know how risky it is in our line of work. We need a means of avoiding murderers, stalkers and the sort.â
If I could lie as fluently and righteously as Boss, Iâd never be fooled.
Tang Ye pulled his brows in tighter. I had seen Su Xiao and Zizi make the same face before. Every single time I saw that face, Iâd hear something ridiculous afterwards.
âWhy⊠did you not tell me, then?â
I take back what I said.
â⊠I guess youâve grown up, and today is a special today, so I told you. I have a secret passage in and out of my room, okay?â replied Boss.
âIs there something special about today? Vice-captain, you seem to be sweating. What is the bath tub over h-â
â⊠Shut up and accept what I said, or Iâll send your head to the manure dump.â
âUnderstood.â
I finally understood why Boss wasnât worried.
âWhat⊠is everyone doing here?â Bai Yeshuang walked straight in to check without knocking. To nobodyâs surprise, her attention was immediately drawn to the bath tub. âVice-captain, this bath tub h-â
âYou want to go clean the manure, too?â
âUnderstood.â
âForget it. Itâs not every day that everyone is together. Sit.â
Bai Yeshuangâs report was brief. She just needed to notify Boss about the preparations for all our documents pertaining to Bossâ new post. Although His Majesty had yet to announce the destination or date, we all knew it would be soon. That was why we were able to start on documents and the such that weâd inevitably have to deal with. Boss signed a series of papers faster than my eyes could follow and then declared she was done. Before we were able to feel impressed, she had started comforting Tang Ye.
âI donât have any genius idea for what to do with Bai Yumo. She has committed crimes, so she must be arrested. Her case is in Emperorâs Entourageâs jurisdiction, so not even we have the right to follow it up. If we insist on tracking her down, we will have conflicts with Emperorâs Entourage as it is a blatant show of trying to take credit. You donât need to look like that now. Detective work has never been Emperorâs Entourageâs strength. If it takes long enough, they will have to seek professional assistance. Who do you think they will turn to in that situation?â
Both Tang Ye and I had an epiphany. Emperorâs Entourage didnât crack cases through their observation and deduction skills, but their enormous intelligence network. Unfortunately, the information wasnât shared to every corner. The people on Bai Yumoâs case didnât necessarily have access to the same amount of information as their superiors did. If they couldnât dig up any traces, then perhaps setting the case aside for the meantime was their sole option. However, the imperial court were adamant about apprehending her. Her affiliation alone was enough of a reason for them to not dismiss her. Everyone knew Bai Zhiqing was a man who acted on emotions, a man who prioritised his love over all else. Therefore, the imperial court desperately needed to find her before Valley of Yearning could in order to maximise her value. As to who Emperorâs Entourage would turn to, that was self-explanatory.
â⊠Me.â
âNo, it was me.â Boss formed a small smile and shook her head. âYouâre still a longshot away.â
Both Tang Ye and I were lost for words.
Boss, I thought you were trying to comfort him! All those words were just to brag?!
âYan Ling, itâs true that youâve improved significantly as a martial artist since joining, and itâs something Iâm very happy about. With that said, you need to remember that Liu Shan Menâs specialty isnât solely fighting power, which isnât to say that fighting ability isnât important. However, donât forget the basics. Donât be disappointed. I never said youâre incompetent, haha.â Boss patted Tang Ye on the shoulder. âYou havenât regressed as a detective just because youâve been busy. Iâm glad to see you improving in every aspect. Weâve just been too busy for you to have an opportunity to show what youâre capable of it. Think about it: have you cracked any big case? You havenât even cracked many small cases, let alone ones with plenty of mystery. Now that I think about it, Liu Shan Men cracked the most cases when Sister Ming was here.â
Of course. Young Shiyi inherited Shifuâs brains, quick wit, daring spirit and meticulous mind. On top of that, she learnt from my shiniangsâ investigating Shifu and catching him cheating. How many years do you think she had on Tang Ye in that department?
Tang Ye looked as if he received enlightenment from heaven. He left to look for Bai Yeshuang, probably to ask for a few big cases to investigate.
â⊠Boss, was that on purpose?â
Boss shrugged and, wearing a smirk, replied, âWe have a mountain of cases to work on, but I canât count on Song Ou after we leave. A young man with a burning passion is the best candidate to handle them. Love is the best motivation, after all.â
Wow! When did Boss learn to manipulate people in this roundabout way?!
Tang Ye marched out of here as if he was grateful that she motivated him!
âItâs for his sake. Heâll have an easier time getting promotions if he can crack big cases now and build experience. Plus, I donât have time, but the people need help.â
âMm⊠Makes sense.â
Yep, I wasnât going to make an enemy out of a woman. Ever.đŁđđ„đđđ·đđïŒđ€đ°đź
âBy the way, what did you want to tell me?â
Damn, I completely forgot about it.
âBoss, how much do you know about Blue Prince? And some Feng guy?â
âHuh?â Boss⊠looked as if she just saw something filthy.