Rumor has it that a treasure map, passed down for five hundred years, has suddenly appeared in the martial arts world. It allegedly reveals the location of ten million taels of gold and enough precious gems to cover an area of three hundred hectares. Countless sects have been caught in a bloody struggle to seize it, leaving a trail of carnage in their wake.
In time, the map vanished, its whereabouts lost amidst the endless fighting. Not even the formidable Fenglai Inn, a top-tier sect that built its empire on the sale of information, could track it down. Escort agencies on the circuit often transported clients back and forth, only to be met at their destinations with the same dismissive remark: "Nothing but a false rumor." Even the imperial families and noble houses squandered vast fortunes on intelligence, all to no avail.
Just as the turmoil in the martial arts world began to subside, a piece of gossip emerged: an Imperial Inspector of the Eight Prefectures—a high-ranking second-grade official sent from the Capital to oversee major cases—had been suddenly murdered within his own office. According to the official's servant, his master had been silenced because of the treasure map; it was a targeted assassination. The Emperor acted swiftly, dispatching investigators with orders to bring the killer to justice.
Chapter 112