Why am I, a cook, always involved in cases?

A mood of discontent quietly spread among the officials. After the hound was led away, it suddenly turned to the entourage of another official and let out a series of fierce barks.

The official complained about the lack of discipline of the hounds and quickly left the chaotic area with his colleagues.

After searching for about half an hour, they suddenly heard a deafening noise, and all the officials rushed to the downstream of the waterfall pool.

There, they found a tattered piece of clothing covered with shocking red and black spots, which seemed to tell a thrilling story.

What was even more shocking was that there was a broken arrow hanging on the clothes, like an unsolved mystery.

"What's going on?" Wu Muqi frowned and asked in confusion. Everyone around him shook their heads in confusion.

Wu Muqi carefully compared the torn piece of clothing with the scraps of cloth he had received before and found that they were exactly the same.

Although the red spots had been diluted by water, they were clearly bloodstains.

The blood was most likely flowing from the place where the arrowhead was deeply embedded.

They searched everywhere for the owner of the clothes but found nothing.

If the clothes were washed here by the current, then the person may be upstream; if the clothes were just accidentally caught, then the person may be downstream.

There was no trace of water on the river bank, indicating that the owner of the clothes did not come ashore here. Everything was shrouded in fog.

Wu Muqi frowned and examined the torn piece of cloth with sharp eyes, as if trying to find clues to the truth from it.

"Show me that arrow," he ordered in a deep, powerful voice.

A subordinate quickly and respectfully handed the broken arrow to him.

Wu Muqi carefully inspected the feathers and arrowheads, not missing any details.

Holding the broken arrow in his hand, he addressed the officials who arrived one after another, "Could you please allow me to examine your bags? Perhaps I can find some clues."

The arrow feathers were made of precious eagle feathers and were very valuable, not something that ordinary people could afford.

When people heard that eagle hunting was going to be carried out this time, many people brought equipment equipped with eagle feathers in order to have a good start, hoping to show off their skills in the hunting.

Furthermore, these equipments are carefully crafted by highly skilled craftsmen, and each piece contains the craftsmen's hard work and wisdom.

The nobles never like their belongings to be the same as others. Even for consumables like arrows, they prefer unique designs in order to stand out from the crowd.

From the material or shape of the feathers and arrowheads to the arrow body, it can be said that the arrows carried by each person are unique and distinctive.

Although the officials were unhappy about being suspected, they reluctantly agreed under Umuqi's insistence.

They took out the hunting equipment from their carriages one by one and let Wumuqi check it. They seemed to be sure that there were no such arrows in their bags. However, the truth is often hidden in the deepest corners.

"...Who on earth could have done this?" Wu Muqi asked coldly, with a hint of chill in his tone.

"Where did this come from?" The owner of the arrow in Wumuqi's hand looked confused. This official was a high-ranking official in the financial office named Zhou Tian. Although he had a prominent title, he seemed insignificant at the moment.

He just shook his thick beard and denied that the arrow was his, as if he had nothing to do with the matter.

"That is definitely not mine. There must be something fishy about it!" Zhou Tian argued excitedly, trying to clear himself of suspicion.

People around him began to whisper to each other, and suspicious eyes focused on him like sharp arrows, surrounding him.

However, the broken arrow in Wumuqi's hand was exactly the same in shape as the arrow in Zhoutian's quiver, as if they were from the same root.

"My Lord, you said this was a misunderstanding. Then may I ask where did this misunderstanding come from?" Wu Muqi pressed on, vowing to uncover the truth.

"Haven't you ever thought that maybe someone wanted to frame me and secretly swapped my arrows?" Zhou Tian explained anxiously, his eyes revealing a bit of panic and helplessness.

At first glance, he seemed bewildered by the sudden change, but his followers also seemed at a loss, as if they had been caught up in an unexpected disaster.

Seeing them like this, the people around them began to feel suspicious.

Indeed, it was too careless to keep the arrow used for assassination at hand. There must be an unspeakable secret hidden in it.

The military officer with the hunting dog stood silently behind Wumuqi, his eyes fixed on Wumuqi, as if he had something to say but hesitated.

Wu Muqi carefully examined the rags again, trying to find more clues.

"Then, maybe the swapped arrows can be found somewhere else." Wumuqi looked around the villa, trying to find clues to the truth from every corner.

"We've searched the riverside roughly. Maybe it was thrown into the woods." Upon hearing this, someone couldn't help but tremble slightly. Although the movement was extremely subtle, Wumuqi was meticulous and did not miss this detail. He seemed to have caught a clue from it.

I hope the other party will fall into the trap as he wishes and reveal the truth.

"Then why don't we split up and search? There's no need to trouble everyone. I hope half of us can stay behind to continue searching for our lord's whereabouts." Wumuqi proposed a compromise plan that would not disturb everyone too much while continuing to pursue the truth.

No one objected to this proposal, except Zhou Tian and his group, who were still uneasy, as if shrouded by an invisible shadow.

Wu Muqi sighed helplessly and looked at the military officer behind him.

A warm smile appeared on the military officer's face, as if everything was under control.

In this way, we should be able to gradually get closer to the truth.

Wu Muqi glanced at the rags again with a helpless look.

On the scrap of cloth, there was a familiar mark embroidered, like a mysterious symbol, leading him to the other side of the truth.

The man was extremely anxious. He looked around and worried that someone would find that hidden corner.

Although he thought he was hiding impeccably, the fact that everyone was searching together made him feel uneasy, as if he might be exposed at any time.

There was no way that thing could be discovered by anyone, he was secretly certain in his heart.

However, the body involuntarily walked towards that place, as if being pulled by an invisible force.

In the soft forest floor covered with fallen leaves, he arranged them in such an orderly manner that they were impossible to find at first glance.

However, if those persistent searchers swept away the leaves and turned the entire forest upside down, it would be very serious.

What should he do? He fell into deep confusion and anxiety, as if he was tightly bound by an invisible net.

He had no idea why that thing appeared there.

Perhaps that was why he was so panicked, as if he could fall into an abyss from which there was no escape at any time.

When he arrived at his destination, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Looking at the ground which was exactly the same as before and had not changed at all, he finally felt relieved, as if everything had returned to the starting point.

"Is there any secret hidden there?" A young woman's voice suddenly came from behind, crisp and pleasant.

The man was startled and turned around quickly.

He saw a girl with wet hair, holding a muddy cloth bag in her hand, looking at him with bright eyes.

When the man saw the cloth bag, his eyes widened as if he had seen something incredible.

"Hey, that's..." He hesitated to speak, and his outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

However, before he could finish his words, a big hand grabbed his wrist firmly.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the burly military officer, the man who had brought the hunting dog earlier.

The hound kept barking at the man, as if trying to drive him away.

"It seems that the lord is not popular with dogs." The girl sneered, her eyes were as cold as ice, and she held the cloth bag with her fingers, as if she might open it at any time.

"The reason you didn't bring your dog when hunting is because you hid this." There was a hint of sarcasm and ridicule in her words, as if she had seen through the man's thoughts.

After saying that, the girl silently took out a flintlock rifle from her cloth bag...