Chapter 162: The Work of an Old Hand

Titian chatted idly with Elham from time to time, his eyes darting toward Ya and Ling, whose faces were equally ashen. Their bodies trembled like fallen leaves in the wind; had it not been for the poise and pride instilled in them by years of aristocratic upbringing, they would have collapsed to the ground long ago.

Number One, Saint Glory Avenue—or to be precise, a secret stronghold maintained in the imperial capital by the families of Elham, Ya, and Ling. This stronghold had been secretly established by their clans specifically for momentous purposes. To secure this base, their elders had invested exorbitant fortunes, expended immense energy, and mobilized the highest levels of influence. Otherwise, how could the former Minister of the Interior of the Gallic Empire have fallen so abruptly and inexplicably?

Yet this secret stronghold, prepared at such staggering cost, had been burglarized mere days after Elham and his companions arrived. Had it merely been the loss of some trivial miscellany, Elham and the others felt they might still have managed to gloss it over. But those ruthless, merciless scoundrels had gutted three entire buildings, stripping away every single item of value!

Aside from a few bulky pieces of furniture, all the prime treasures and heirlooms had been stolen. How were Elham and the others supposed to account for this? There was simply no way to explain it! To say nothing of anything else, the four vases passed down since the Dark Ages alone were far beyond what they could ever hope to compensate.

They were like tender little sprouts just poking through the earth, yet to witness the beauty of the wider world, only to be crushed by a sudden, violent tempest, with an immense mountain crashing down from above, threatening to grind them into dust.

Elham’s eye sockets burned. He wanted to weep, but the tears simply would not come.

Ya and Ling stood bewildered, completely at a loss. They, too, desperately wanted to cry. Yet the last shred of their pride whispered that they must not break down here. By comparison, the pressure on Ya and Ling was slightly less, because the leader of their expeditionary team was Elham, who would ultimately have to bear well over half of the responsibility. With Elham shouldering the lion's share of the blame, the pressure on Ya and Ling, as well as Thorin and the others, was considerably lightened.

Furthermore, Elham had several equally brilliant and ambitious brothers competing with him, whereas Ya and Ling had only each other. As the sole direct-line descendants of their family, rare twins blessed with such striking beauty, no matter how one looked at it, their punishment would not be overly severe.

Consequently, the two young women managed to keep themselves standing straight, though their minds buzzed relentlessly, reduced to a blank void.

Lin Qi sighed and muttered softly to Vian: "How terrifying. How could something like this happen in the imperial capital? Such a fine mansion, yet it's been completely picked clean! Good heavens, can such things truly occur right here in the capital?"

Lin Qi’s words served as a prompt for Titian. Abandoning the dazed Elham, Titian strode with utmost solemnity toward the highest-ranking police officer present—one of the notorious "Copper Hats." Drawing his family crest from his pocket and flashing it, Titian rebuked severely: "I am Count Titian, a direct member of the Walis family. How are you people handling your duties? Why could such an incident happen on Saint Glory Avenue, in a location of this magnitude?"

Sweeping a hand around the surroundings, Titian barked angrily: "Are you all corpses? Three entire buildings have been emptied down to the bare walls, and you didn't hear even the slightest sound? What use does the Empire have for the likes of you? You bunch of fools and good-for-nothings. I give you three days. If you fail to recover the stolen goods, you..."

Titian left the sentence unfinished, but the wretched Copper Hat was already drenched in cold sweat, his forehead nearly touching the ground.

Count Titian, a direct scion of the illustrious Walis family, was a towering figure these hapless Copper Hats could ill afford to offend. Putting aside the low-ranking patrolmen present, even their direct superiors—even the chief of the Imperial Capital Gendarmerie—would not dare to cross Titian.

The highest commander of the Gendarmerie was merely a hereditary viscount; before a prominent aristocrat like Titian, a mere viscount was someone who could be crushed at a moment's notice. Faced with Titian's reprimand, the officer could only nod repeatedly in assent, not daring to utter a single word of rebuttal.

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed as several Copper Hats strode in, dressed in black inner garments covered by short grey capes. These newly arrived officers differed markedly in attire from their patrolling colleagues; notably, their headwear was not the standard round copper helmet, but a grey, flat-topped cap. These men were elite investigators within the secret police, specializing in the resolution of major and high-profile criminal cases.

While the Copper Hats who patrolled the streets daily were brawny thugs, these grey-capped officers were the brains that directed them. Accompanying them were three slender, black-furred hounds. The moment these lively hounds bounded into the building, they began sniffing about frantically.

Titian smiled with satisfaction, turning to Elham to say smugly: "Rest assured, I'll keep an eye on this matter for you. Whoever dares to offend the two noble ladies Ya and Ling, even if they flee to the abyss of hell, I will drag them out of it."

Pointing triumphantly at the three hounds, Titian chuckled: "These are 'Long-Eared Foxhounds' of extremely precious lineage. Their sense of smell is the sharpest among all hounds, and they—"

Lin Qi gave a gentle shake of his head. Using hounds to solve a crime? Ah, you poor little doggies, you're in for a world of suffering!

Before Titian could finish his sentence, the three hounds let out piercing, miserable howls, suddenly leaping seven or eight meters into the air and nearly smashing their heads against the ceiling. The three wretched hounds crashed heavily to the ground, spinning in disorientation before bolting away in a blind panic. Ignoring the path ahead, all three dogs slammed straight into the wall at the same time, passing out cold with their eyes rolled back in their heads.

Even in unconsciousness, the poor creatures continued to twitch violently, radiating absolute agony.

A wicked smile touched Lin Qi's lips. The Black Tiger Family were veteran thieves of long standing; how could they possibly leave behind such a glaring trace for trackers? Long before their retreat, the three buildings had been heavily sprinkled with a secret potion concocted from tiger urine, bear urine, leopard urine, and certain peculiar herbs. Any hound catching a whiff of this scent—perceptible only to them—would be frightened out of its wits while suffering severe trauma to its nasal passages. It was akin to shoving a handful of chili powder directly up a person's nose; one could only imagine the excruciating pain.

Titian’s face abruptly turned as dark as pitch, and he roared furiously: "How are you conducting this investigation? Where on earth did you drag these three mongrels from?"

The newly arrived detective-officers sheepishly gathered up the grievously injured hounds. Their leader furrowed his brow deeply, surveying the completely gutted hall, and shook his head: "Respected Lord, this case is no simple matter—not simple at all! Whoever did this is a veteran! An exceptionally formidable veteran!"

Titian and Elham simultaneously drew in a sharp breath of cold air.