Chapter 1432: The Torrent Star System
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
“Hahaha!” The Chief Steward suddenly erupted in laughter at Xia Fan’s question, his voice tinged with sorrow.
“Me, framing Scarleteye Eagle? What a ridiculous question!
“In truth, Scarleteye Eagle has many more friends than you could imagine. Besides those the previous emperor executed, there are still many more who survived.
“And I… am only one of them!”
The Chief Steward raised his head and took in the Imperial City and the world beyond. In a raspy voice, he said, “Before there was the Chaos Eagle Empire, the Eaglites were only a tribe. It was only after it began to interact with the more advanced Ashen Moon civilization and learned from the three federations that it established a country, trained an army, and drafted laws.
!!
“And when it comes to the law, there is no clause in the imperial laws that has the burden of the crime falling on members of the family!
“If Scarleteye Eagle made a mistake, he alone bore the sin. For what reason were all seventy-three members of his family killed?!
“And even worse, five hundred and thirty-four people were killed along with them! What was their crime? Was being a friend of Scarleteye Eagle a crime that deserved execution?
“This useless imperial family!
“Those useless laws!
“As the Chief Steward of the Imperial City, I saw it more clearly than anyone else!
“In the past, the imperial family truly did contribute in battle for the Eaglites, but now, the imperial family is a poison to the empire!”
The steward’s words were earth-shattering!
The Imperial City’s Chief Steward was the emperor’s closest confidant, but he had such a treasonous heart, believing that the imperial family was extremely dangerous.
Eastsea Eagle had gone deathly pale, his body trembling in rage. He rushed to the guard captain and said, “Arrest him! Arrest him right now!”
Xia Fan raised a hand and stopped the guards. “Wait,” he said. “I still have a few questions that I’d like him to clear up.”
The guards respectfully withdrew to the side. They clearly regarded Xia Fan as a guest of utmost honor. If not for him, the previous emperor’s murder case wouldn’t have been solved so quickly.
Xia Fan frowned. “Chief Steward, if you feel that the imperial family is a poison that needs to be removed, why is it that you and that person with long-range control left the previous emperor’s will on the bed after killing him?”
“Because I wanted to fake his suicide,” the Chief Steward replied with no shame.
“No.” Xia Fan stroked his chin. “It can’t be that reason. There are four princes, so if you had burned the will, you would have set off an intense struggle for the throne.
“You talk about removing the imperial family, so you should be happy to see the princes fighting amongst each other. But instead, you managed to help the third prince onto the throne. That isn’t logical.”
The chubby Chief Steward looked at Xia Fan in disbelief. This young man was a constant threat, seizing every logical flaw! A pained look appeared on his face.
After several seconds of thinking, the Chief Steward replied warmly, “This is because I watched Eastsea Eagle grow up. He is benevolent and kind, cheris.h.i.+ng his people. I think that he will make a fine emperor.”
Xia Fan still shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense. You watched all four of the princes grow up, and given how you killed the previous emperor, borrowing Scarleteye Eagle’s name to torture him for an entire month, slowly driving him into insanity rather than just killing him, showing not the slightest bit of empathy, why would you suddenly have any love and expectation for His Majesty?
“This explanation also is not logical. You must be hiding something! If you don’t talk, I will be forced to use truth serum on you.
“That substance will deal irreversible damage to your brain, more painful than death. You had best tell the truth. I don’t want to cruelly torture you.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Chief Steward paled as he staggered back three steps and sucked in a breath of cold air. He looked at Xia Fan as if he was looking at a devil.
Eastsea Eagle was confused. Xia Fan was saying that the Chief Steward had killed his father, but had also helped him ascend to the throne?
Was he an unpardonable criminal or a close confidant who had always cared for him?
“Don’t push me,” the Chief Steward said, gritting his teeth.
Xia Fan didn’t reply, only softly shaking his head.
Clack!…
A moment later, the Chief Steward bit down hard, and then blood gushed from his mouth!
To avoid any questioning, he had chosen to bite his tongue off and kill himself!
…
This drama of the Chaos Eagle Empire had truly taken many twists and turns.
The criminal had been the imperial family’s own Chief Steward. Though he had cruelly killed the previous emperor, he had been very affectionate and caring to the new emperor. n.o.body knew what he had really been thinking.
The guards began to search the steward’s home while Xia Fan waited with the others outside, lost in thought.
He had a habit of falling into pensive moods, and his colleagues kept their distance to avoid disturbing him.
In the capture of the Wednesday Killer, his colleagues had still believed that there was some luck involved, but today, everyone was now thoroughly convinced.
Xia Fan had almost single-handedly flipped the case around and found the truth!
His capabilities, thought process, and logic were all displayed to the utmost, and even the Sacred Federation’s Investigators could find no flaw.
After a while, Xia Fan ended his thinking session and went up to Traveling Buddha.
That guy had had a guard bring a chair for him, and was currently sunning himself while brewing tea with the personal tea set he had brought with him.
Without the slightest courtesy, Xia Fan grabbed the teapot and downed two cups of tea in a row. It had to be said that while Traveling Buddha was unforgivably lazy, the teas he chose were always extremely high quality and very refres.h.i.+ng. He was someone who was very picky when it came to his tea.
“Are you done thinking?” Traveling Buddha asked, cracking open his eyes.
Xia Fan nodded. “There are only a few possibilities, so it’s not hard to see it, even if it is a little absurd.”
Traveling Buddha said nonchalantly, “What’s the point in worrying about all that? The case is solved, so only that last bit is left. We just need to capture the criminal with the long-range control special ability, and then the Union will get its mining rights while you get an increased reputation. Everyone wins!
“As for the Chaos Eagle Empire’s problems, they are none of our business.”
Traveling Buddha’s words made sense, and Xia Fan felt like he truly was taking this a little too seriously. If he didn’t find the reason, he would feel uncomfortable all over. Someone like Traveling Buddha, who just wanted to muddle through and had few lingering worries, lived a more carefree life.
“True. Come on. Let’s see if they’ve found any clues.”
Traveling Buddha nodded and entered the steward’s home beside Xia Fan.
—
Dylan and Ma Zheng were leading the search. The Logistics Division had never led an investigation for, and the two of them were enjoying the new experience.
Sacred Federation’s Investigators were watching from the sidelines. They had already lost the right to investigate, as Eastsea Eagle only trusted Xia Fan and the people he had brought with him now.
As for The Republic’s Special Bureau, Xia Fan had learned that they had left last night. Lang Yonghe had probably been too furious to stick around, and once he had been exposed, he didn’t have the dignity to stay.
Dylan spotted Xia Fan and walked over excitedly. “Look, we found so many clues!
“The Chief Steward has a son. According to the navigation logs, his son often visits a place called the Torrent Star System.
“The star map indicates that the Torrent Star System is very remote, and there’s nothing to do there, but this guy goes there more than ten times a year. There’s clearly a problem. Maybe that’s where the guy with long-range control is hiding.”
Xia Fan nodded. Dylan’s a.n.a.lysis was very sensible.
Eastsea Eagle had a questioning look on his face, wondering what he should do next.
Xia Fan thought it over and said, “Let’s do this. Leave the investigation here to the imperial army and the imperial guards, while the rest of us head to Torrent.
“Okay, okay, okay,” Eastsea Eagle repeated. He solemnly said, “Then I will trouble all of you. Once you capture the criminal who killed my father, I will richly reward you!”
Xia Fan nodded and left with his colleagues.
The Sacred Federation’s crafty fox Wu Zhuo followed. “You guys alone won’t be enough. Let us help you.”
Xia Fan knew that this old fox still hadn’t given it a rest. The Sacred Federation also wanted some of those mining rights, so it had decided to join the effort.
But Xia Fan truly hadn’t brought enough people, only three s.h.i.+ps and fourteen official Investigators. Having them search an entire star system would be very inefficient, so it wouldn’t be bad to have these guys tag along to help.
In any case, the merit would definitely end up with Xia Fan’s Starcloud Union. Wu Zhuo’s crew was nothing more than a decoration.
“Alright, we’ll go together,” Xia Fan replied with a smile.
…
The Chaos Eagle Empire was only a very small Native country in the Outer Frontier. It only took eight hours to go from the capital of Tercel to the Torrent Star System.
In truth, Xia Fan’s s.h.i.+p Disaster could have gone even faster, but since this was a team operation, Xia Fan had chosen to travel with the rest of the group.
The Starcloud Union’s three s.h.i.+ps and the Sacred Federation’s five s.h.i.+ps stopped at the outer orbit of the Torrent Star System. Xia Fan looked out the window at the scenery and frowned.
The star map indicated that Torrent was home to many celestial bodies. In addition to the star, there were more than a hundred small planetoids circling it, and there was also a large asteroid belt with tens of thousands of celestial bodies.
Xia Fan turned on the all-frequency broadcast and said to his fellow travelers, “This star system is too big. Based on the files we have, there are no habitable planets. In other words, if a criminal wants to hide here, it has to be in a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p or a manmade base.
“The data indicates that this place was formerly a pirate base, and it was also home to illegal mining operations. If their installations are still functional, this place truly would make a good hiding spot.
“Right now, we will be going planet by planet, using high-efficiency scanners to search for any wars.h.i.+ps or artificial installations on the planet.
“While everyone else is scanning, Dylan will be responsible for keeping an eye on the entire star system. If the criminal tries to flee, you need to inform us and give chase.”
“Understood!” On the screen, the people on the other s.h.i.+ps all gave their approval, and the fleet headed into the depths of the Torrent Star System.
Only Dylan’s frigate, The Courage, remained outside, staying in orbit around the star system in case the criminal tried to flee.