Chapter 357, Smell It Quickly
The other person's brow instantly furrowed, eyes wary, "Mr. Kalema, what do you mean by this?"
"If you're the only one who knows about this, then you can leave the island quickly. If I leave now, Imiro will immediately suspect me." Kalema sat down across from him.
"Oh, you can rest assured on that, I'm the only one who knows about our dealings. I've already arranged a ship to leave the port, I'll be gone soon!" the captain said directly.
Kalema nodded, "That puts my mind at ease."
"Of course, I'm a businessman, and the most important thing is..."
Before he could finish speaking, a flash of silver lightning struck suddenly.
With a bang, it hit his chest, knocking over a large area of furniture behind him.
The captain's chest was charred, and his body continued to spasm from the effects of the lightning.
Then, a second flaming arrow pierced through his forehead, leaving a charred hole.
Blood slowly trickled out.
Kalema stepped forward, rummaging through the body, and took the spatial ring from him.
"Blame yourself for being sloppy. If you lived, sooner or later you would have implicated me."
He took out a straw mat, wrapped the corpse, and stored it in his spatial ring.
After a simple cleanup of the private room.
He put away the soundproofing device and opened the door, walking out.
Exiting the tavern, he boarded a carriage and slowly left.
...
At home, in the study.
Wu Heng sat at his desk, reading a novel.
After a short while, Glenda phased through the wall from outside.
"Just as you thought," she said, "Not long after you left the Guild, Kalema took a carriage to the same tavern as before. When he left, I checked the private room; it was empty. He must have killed the person and taken the body."
"How can you be sure he killed someone?"
"There were other dining utensils in the room. Unless the person managed to escape invisibly, it means Kalema killed them. If I were Kalema, killing them to leave no evidence would be the best outcome," Glenda analyzed directly.
Wu Heng nodded, "Let me take a look!"
Glenda re-entered his body.
This time, during Glenda's surveillance, she kept a greater distance.
She only watched the carriage from high above, tracking its movement.
Then, after Kalema left the tavern, she went invisible and entered the private room to investigate.
There were indeed signs of another person in the room.
But after Kalema left, the room was empty.
Wu Heng sat in his chair, sorting through everything in his mind.
"So Kalema assumed I would interrogate the corpse and killed anyone who knew about him beforehand. If we can't find the person, we can't link it to him."
Glenda nodded, "Smart."
"Kalema certainly acts decisively," Wu Heng said.
In other words, even if someone revealed that he had killed in the tavern, it was still a lesser crime than conspiring to frame a deputy steward.
"What will you do next?" Glenda asked.
"If our assumptions are correct, the person behind it all is already dead by Kalema's hands. Even if I interrogate the corpse, there's no one left to connect it to him," Wu Heng said, lightly tapping the back of the chair.
"Hmm."
"Tomorrow, I'll go to the Guild and decide what to do next based on the situation."
"You should learn from this—there aren't only good people in the Guild. Even if the Guild's founding intentions were noble, everyone has their own interests," Glenda reminded him.
Wu Heng smiled, "When I first joined the Guild, the steward at that time taught me that lesson."
"Alright!" Glenda floated to the side, glancing at the books on the desk. She complained, "Next time you read, could you not throw my bookmarks around? I have to start all over again."
"Page 64, I remembered for you."
Glenda moved her finger lightly, the pages turned to page 64, and she gave a soft snort, resuming her reading.
Wu Heng sat by the side, continuing his thoughts.
It seemed that interrogating the corpse might not clear the accusation of murder after all.
"Master, come downstairs to eat."
At that moment, Minnie's voice called from downstairs.
Wu Heng got up and went downstairs.
...
In the first-floor hall, the voices of women chatting could be heard.
As soon as he reached the first floor, Minnie rushed over, holding a piece of light beige fabric, and held it up to his nose, "Master, smell it quickly!"
Wu Heng instinctively sniffed, catching a faint, warm fragrance.
"What's this about?"
"Nothing, it's Sister Shanaila's scent. Nice, right?" Minnie said.
"Minnie!" Shanaila, who was sitting in the living room, heard this and turned her head to look.
Seeing what was in Minnie's hand, she shouted, blushing, and angrily rushed over.
Minnie laughed heartily, running around the living room with the fabric in her hand.
Overhead, the white-feathered little owl circled above, chirping along.
Wu Heng walked into the living room and looked at Andviel, "What's going on?"
Andviel replied, "Sister Shanaila came over, and Minnie gave her two of the brassieres you brought from home. That one is the one Sister Shanaila just changed out of."
"Ah, that makes sense."
Wu Heng paused, glancing again at what Minnie held.
It was indeed a brassiere, and quite a sizable one.
Minnie really was considerate, giving away good things.
After a while of playful chasing, the food was brought to the table.
Shanaila retrieved her brassiere and put it in her spatial ring.
The group sat at the table and began eating.
Shanaila looked up at Wu Heng and asked, "I heard from Minnie and Vielle that you were in danger today? Are you hurt?"
"No, just lost a skeletal servant."
"Who was the enemy? Do you need my help?" Shanaila asked directly.
In direct combat, Shanaila might not show much martial strength.
But as the head of her merchant group, there were plenty of ways for her to deal with people.
Wu Heng replied, "No need. After he escaped, I informed the steward, and the enemy was killed."
"If Imiro acted, that guy wouldn't survive."
Wu Heng became interested, "Is the steward that powerful?"
"You've heard that pirates don't dare land here, right? Few even dare approach the surrounding area."
"I've heard it's because Steward Imiro is stationed on Gold-Silver Island."
Shanaila thought for a moment and said, "The Guild wouldn't leave a maritime trade hub under the control of someone who used to be a pirate, so they assigned Imiro here."
Wu Heng raised an eyebrow, "So the steward is also here to deter the island's lord?"
"Yes, you could put it that way."
"What level is he?" Wu Heng asked.
"I don't know, but Imiro has had quite a reputation for a long time."
Wu Heng squinted his eyes, contemplating the information.
It all seemed to fit.
Imiro was on Gold-Silver Island not only to deter pirates but also to keep the pardoned island lord in check.
After dinner, they chatted in the living room for a while.
When the sky started to darken.
Shanaila headed home, and Wu Heng took the two women back to their room to rest.
...
The next day, at the Guild.
Wu Heng again instructed the two women not to leave the house, then left for the Guild.
He first went to his office to look over the skeletal investigators' reports.
Finding nothing useful, he stepped out again.
In the hallway, he saw Sheila Grey, fully armored, about to leave.
She frowned when she saw him, "Come with me."
Wu Heng followed her to the side, "What's up?"
"Did you kill Keramu?" Sheila Grey asked, staring at him.
Wu Heng said, "The steward killed him. I used the curiosity to track him."
"No, Sister Moya said you seriously injured Keramu first," Sheila Grey pressed on.
Keramu landed on the island.
When she warned Wu Heng, she had her own concerns.
If she had faced Keramu, she would have struggled against him.
But now, Wu Heng had seriously injured him, and the steward had finished him off.
"I set up an ambush, lots of people joined the attack. He's strong, but not very smart."
Sheila Grey frowned at him, "Really?"
"Really!"
"What are you doing now?"
"We killed him yesterday, now I'm going to split the spoils."
"You..." Sheila Grey said, waving her hand, "Fine, go ahead. I'm taking people to find your murderer."
"Thanks, I'll repay you someday."
Sheila Grey rolled her eyes and continued walking outside.
Wu Heng headed to the steward's office.