Chapter 147: Some Money Must Not Be Taken, Not a Single Copper

Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard that, immune to the cold!

Although their attributes were very high and their physiques far beyond ordinary people, staying here for long still made them feel cold, and they occasionally needed to circulate energy to warm their bodies. If they could obtain cold resistance, they would be completely at ease here.

"But a fully grown Frost Force Bear is equivalent to a lower Sixth-Rank expert."

"If you meet it alone, you can only run away."

The Fourth Prince mused.

Lower Sixth-Rank? Yang Ling's expression shifted. He had a rough idea of the Frost Force Bear's attributes.

"And this Frost Mushroom is also extremely beneficial for cultivation."

The Fourth Prince's eyes fell on the Frost Mushroom, and he said with a smile, "Judging by its size, it's at least two to three hundred years old."

Yang Ling secretly nodded in his heart. This man's eye for value was sharp; his guess was quite accurate.

Li Huaiyi and the others showed a flicker of eagerness in their eyes, their palms resting on their official sabers at their waists.

"The Water Bodhi seed is more important. Don't wake that Frost Force Bear."

"Get the Water Bodhi seed first, then come back to deal with it."

One sentence from the Fourth Prince extinguished the eager flames in everyone’s hearts.

They then quietly passed the Frost Force Bear and continued deeper in.

Because they were all Seventh-Rank, each step was light, and from start to finish they did not wake the huge creature that slept and snored.

At that moment, a constable from the Ironclad Department walking at the rear suddenly scattered a layer of white powder on the ground. After doing it, seeing that no one noticed, he continued following the group without showing any reaction.

Yang Ling turned his head and glanced over; he had just smelled a peculiar scent.

"Chief Constable Yang, any movement?"

Yun Ruo's expression changed.

The Fourth Prince also looked at Yang Ling.

After the earlier battle with the Snow Plain Flesh-Eating Worm, everyone already knew Yang Ling's extraordinary perception.

Yang Ling said nothing; instead, he walked to the rear of the group.

All the Ironclad constables didn't know what had happened and watched him with puzzled looks.

When he reached the end of the group, one Ironclad constable curiously asked, "Chief Constable Yang, what's wrong? What's on the ground?"

Yang Ling squatted and pointed at a faint layer of white powder.

This substance was very similar to frost; if one didn't look carefully, it was impossible to tell it apart from actual frost.

The Ironclad constables present leaned in to inspect, and a trace of surprise flashed in all their eyes.

"Li Huaiyi, you're a disciple of the Valley of the Dead. Come see what this is."

Yang Ling said.

Li Huaiyi snorted coldly, "Ice shards, maybe. Are you being overly cautious?"

After he spoke, he crouched down to examine the substance. His expression suddenly changed, then he touched a bit with his finger and sniffed it lightly. His face went pale and changed drastically:

"This is tracking powder, made by boiling a dozen or so medicinal ingredients. Its scent is faint but long-lasting. If a hunting dog smells it, it can follow the trail."

"Tracking powder? How could there be such a thing here?"

The Ironclad constables looked at each other, their expressions strange.

Li Huaiyi glanced at Yang Ling. "Who dropped this?"

Yang Ling pointed to the Ironclad constable standing at the back: "He did."

Li Huaiyi looked at the man, his expression solemn. "Brother Xiao Chen, why would you drop tracking powder here?"

Yun Ruo and the other Ironclad constables turned to look at him, their gazes growing heavy.

The Fourth Prince frowned slightly and stared at Xiao Chen without speaking.

Xiao Chen looked bewildered, "I dropped it!? Why would I drop tracking powder!?"

He glared at Yang Ling and frowned, "Chief Constable Yang, I admire your methods, but how dare you slander me like that!?"

Li Huaiyi looked at Yang Ling, then at Xiao Chen, frowning without speaking.

Yang Ling sent an Insight Technique to him.

[Xiao Chen, three months ago you accepted fifty thousand taels of silver and three Foundation Consolidation Pills, and agreed to scatter tracking powder in Water Qilin Cave.]

Yang Ling did not bring this up aloud because he had no concrete evidence.

"Fourth Prince, for safety we should respond appropriately."

"He scattered tracking powder to guide someone to this location."

"Could it be Rong tribe spies?"

Yang Ling looked to the Fourth Prince, clasping his hands solemnly.

Xiao Chen sneered in anger and laughed bitterly, "Have you gone mad from catching Rong tribe spies? You call me a spy!?"

"I'm not saying you're a spy, but you are the one who scattered this powder."

Yang Ling did not reveal that he had detected it by perception, "I saw it with my own eyes. Don't try to argue; lying will get you nowhere. If you confess now, the Fourth Prince might be lenient."

Xiao Chen's face kept changing color, alternating between green and white.

All present were veteran Ironclads who had seen countless cunning thieves. Seeing Xiao Chen's appearance, they each independently formed an opinion.

The Fourth Prince said with a faint smile, "Tell us the whole story. Before this becomes a bigger disaster, I can be merciful."

Xiao Chen remained silent. He already realized his comrades had found the crack in his façade.

Suddenly he dropped to his knees and kowtowed, "I was greedy. Three months ago I took fifty thousand taels of silver and three Foundation Consolidation Pills from them and agreed to scatter tracking powder."

At those words, everyone's faces changed dramatically.

Xiao Chen hurried to explain, "They are members of the Pharmacy Guild, and they only wanted some rare flowers and herbs—"

"If they're from the Pharmacy Guild, they could have openly asked you to collect those plants and then bought them back from you at a high price," Yun Ruo said coldly.

"If they wanted you to scatter tracking powder, there is only one purpose: they needed our coordinates."

"Martial artists of Zhao State have no reason to do this, nor do they dare."

"Only Rong tribe spies would care about where we are right now."

After speaking, she clasped her hands to the Fourth Prince: "Fourth Prince, I recommend we immediately withdraw from Water Qilin Cave. There may be Rong tribe spies among us."

Xiao Chen's face turned ashen, "Director Yun Ruo, don't say such things. I agreed because they were Pharmacy Guild members, I—"

Li Huaiyi and the others remained silent, only looking at Xiao Chen coldly.

Xiao Chen was suddenly speechless, his complexion increasingly pale, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"There are sums of money that are acceptable; no one will blame you for those."

"But there are some sums you must be aware of in your heart—ones you cannot take, not a single copper."

The Fourth Prince sighed softly.

In the next moment his body became a blur, and he was instantly in front of Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen instinctively looked up, and then his head flew high into the air.

The headless corpse still knelt on the ground, its body convulsing and twitching.

Li Huaiyi and the others were shocked by the Fourth Prince's decisiveness, and also frightened by his methods.

At that moment they were finally certain that the Fourth Prince's martial cultivation was by no means inferior to theirs.

The Fourth Prince said in a deep voice, "This is Zhao State's bottom line. He violated it, so he must die. If this had happened outside, it could be handled by the Ironclad Department. But in these extraordinary times, letting him live is a source of instability. After we leave, I will personally explain this to your Department Head."

Everyone instinctively nodded.

"Chief Constable Yang, thanks to you this time. Your observational skills are truly meticulous."

The Fourth Prince's gaze landed on Yang Ling, filled with praise: "After we return, I will personally write a letter commending you!"

At those words, Li Huaiyi and the others could not help but burn with envy!

If the Fourth Prince personally wrote a commendation, promotion to Seventh-Rank Ironclad would be a sure thing, and their futures would be boundless!