Chapter 781: Zheng Jingxuan

“I did everything,” Lu Sheng said. “Running errands, passing messages, handling things he couldn’t personally show up for. Later, as his official rank grew higher, the number of things he couldn’t personally handle increased, and I became his hands on the outside.”

“What’s the deal with the Red Mountain Sanatorium?”

“It’s a transit hub he uses to transfer funds,” Lu Sheng said. “Over the years, he acquired money through various means. A portion was transferred directly to me to invest or purchase resources. The other portion was first sent to the sanatorium, laundered once, and then moved to other accounts.”

“Where did all that money go?”

“The vast majority was used to groom Zheng Jingxuan,” Lu Sheng said. “A small portion went toward greasing palms and maintaining his network of connections.”

Zheng Jingxuan.

This name caused Xu Wuyi’s eyes to flicker slightly.

“Who is Zheng Jingxuan?”

“Zheng Mingchuan’s illegitimate son,” Lu Sheng said. “Zheng Mingchuan only has one daughter, so he absolutely dotes on this illegitimate son.

“The kid has good Martial Arts talent, so Zheng Mingchuan wanted to mold him into an expert who could inherit the family business in the future—or perhaps even go a step further.

“The resources poured into him over the years amount to an astronomical figure. Cultivation Techniques, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, guidance from renowned masters… Whatever was expensive, they used. Whatever was best, they bought.”

As Xu Wuyi listened, the words Song Qingwu had previously spoken surfaced in his mind.

“Zheng Mingchuan isn’t greedy for money himself; you could even call him frugal. He cherishes his reputation, yet he’s done quite a bit to amass wealth. So, we suspect he isn’t doing it for himself, but likely for someone else.”

Now it seemed that this “someone else” was Zheng Jingxuan.

An illegitimate son with good Martial Arts talent, a child spoiled by his father, and a beacon of hope that required mountains of resources to nurture.

Zheng Mingchuan hadn’t amassed boundless wealth over the years for his own enjoyment, but rather to pave the way for this son.

“What methods does Zheng Mingchuan use to amass wealth?”

“Mostly gray-area tactics,” Lu Sheng said. “He secretly backed certain merchants, had them do business with various major Battle Groups and conglomerates, and then used me to skim profits through intermediary companies.

“He is very careful and never leaves behind any substantial evidence. Most of his methods aren’t even strictly illegal.

“Most of the merchants he supported didn’t even know they were receiving his help. They just thought they had good luck and managed to connect with some big Battle Group.”

Xu Wuyi’s heart stirred as he recalled a case previously investigated by the Inspection Department.

The merchant Zheng Hai had connections with Li Mingyuan—this was likely Zheng Mingchuan secretly pulling strings behind the scenes. However, to avoid drawing attention, the latter ensured that even Zheng Hai himself was completely unaware of it.

If it weren’t for a middleman like Lu Sheng, outsiders would have absolutely no way of knowing the hidden intricacies, let alone finding evidence. In fact, even now, it was hard to say they had hard proof.

“Who are these merchants?”

“They’re in all walks of life—military supplies, infrastructure, energy, education. As long as it intersects with the Domain he oversees, anyone who wants to do business has to go through him.

“Furthermore, he never accepts direct bribes, nor does he engage in connected transactions. The related business of the intermediary companies is always conducted in other sectors, taking on projects through legitimate channels.”

As Xu Wuyi listened, everything became clear to him.

These kinds of gray-area transactions were the hardest to verify. With no ledgers, no records, and no witnesses, even if someone knew he was corrupt, they couldn’t produce any evidence.

Everything was conducted through unspoken understandings. All parties had a tacit agreement, but commercial choices were the freedom of each company. Even if a company genuinely wanted to operate at a loss, outsiders had no right to interfere.

Moreover, with Zheng Mingchuan’s connection to Fan Chongguang, ordinary people wouldn’t dare investigate him.

With these layers of insurance, it was no wonder Zheng Mingchuan had never been caught after all these years, leaving even the Inspection Department unable to find a shred of evidence.

“What about the case from three years ago?” Xu Wuyi asked. “The Lin Quan case.”

Lu Sheng’s body visibly trembled.

That “truth” Rule was still active; even if he wanted to lie, he couldn’t.

“That… that was an accident.”

“What accident?”

Lu Sheng fell silent for a long time before slowly speaking.

“Lin Quan’s daughter was named Lin Wan’er. She was only nineteen at the time, still in college. That kid Zheng Jingxuan… he liked her. He pursued her for a long time, but she didn’t like him and always avoided him.

“That night, Zheng Jingxuan had too much to drink and went looking for her. The two of them got into an argument, and Zheng Jingxuan accidentally… he accidentally beat her to death.”

Xu Wuyi’s gaze sharpened.

A Martial Artist accidentally beating someone to death was actually a very common case in the Federation. Carrying a lethal weapon naturally breeds murderous intent. However, the sentencing for such cases was often the strictest; the Federation did not want to let Martial Artists become a class above the rest.

“And then what?”

“Zheng Jingxuan was terrified and ran home to find his dad,” Lu Sheng said. “Once Zheng Mingchuan found out, he immediately had the information suppressed, then went to Lin Quan to settle it privately.”

“Lin Quan didn’t agree?”

Lu Sheng shook his head. “Lin Quan only had this one daughter and had treasured her since she was a child. How could he possibly agree? He called the police right away and even sought out the media to expose it, wanting to blow the matter up.

“Zheng Mingchuan tried everything—threats, bribes—but nothing worked. Lin Quan stubbornly refused to relent, insisting that Zheng Jingxuan pay with his life.”

Lu Sheng’s voice dropped even lower.

“Later, Zheng Mingchuan told me that Lin Quan had to die. As long as he was alive, this matter would never end. But if he died, there would be no witnesses left to testify.

“That night, I went personally. Lin Quan was home alone. I climbed through the window and didn’t give him any chance.

“After the deed was done, we disguised the scene as a home invasion robbery gone wrong. Lin Quan’s business had been doing well in those years, so he had some money at home. Saying he had been targeted made sense.”