Shen Jinghai.

When Wang Jiu described the arsonist’s characteristics, the person’s true identity became obvious.

If you search through Shen City, there might be quite a few people with long hair, a ponytail, a pale face, and wearing a monocle, but at the same time having cultivation in the Mountain-Overturning Realm and being proficient in Five Elements Immortal Technique, there is only one person who fits all these criteria.

"But... why would he do such a thing?"

Shen Feihu frowned deeply, unable to comprehend.

Ever since the City Lord Shen Ruoshi shut himself away, this City Lord’s former right-hand man chose to live a secluded life, completely disappearing from public view. Even his and his wife’s daily needs were managed by ordering through Feixin; unless necessary, he wouldn’t step out of his house, let alone play with fire in someone else’s warehouse.

Moreover, he had no reason to burn books. The cultural work of Shen City had always been managed by Shen Yueying, and the usual business of book-burning and burying scholars was basically done by Shen Yueying along with her inspection team. Shen Jinghai never got involved, and now that he had resigned from all his duties, he had even less reason to act against such abuse of pen names for commercial hype.

The two brothers pondered for a while, and Shen Feihong said in a low voice: "Although according to Mr. Wang Jiu, that person must be Shen Jinghai, this kind of thing requires at least a motive for him. Otherwise... rashly accusing a former Deputy City Lord of arson may not convince everyone."

Shen Feihu also frowned: "I’m worried about this too. It’s not that I don’t trust Mr. Wang Jiu, but right now we have no evidence other than his personal judgment. Reporting this conclusion to father might not satisfy him."

Just as they were fretting, Wang Jiu shook his head, thinking these two were indeed the idiots personally chosen by Li Wanqing—it was baffling that they couldn’t figure out such a simple problem.

"According to what you said, this is because the publishing alliance attempted to misuse a pen name to publish works, and the Original Jade Plate was burned multiple times. It’s not hard to deduce: the culprit Shen Jinghai does not wish for these works to be published. Reasons for not wanting a particular work published are generally these: first, severe dissatisfaction with the content of the work; second, severe dissatisfaction with the publisher; third, severe dissatisfaction with society."

At hearing the third point, Shen Feihong’s expression changed slightly: "Could it be... indeed, Shen Jinghai fell from being the First Deputy City Lord to a commoner because of grandfather’s situation, and it’s only human to become discontented with the entire political system and social environment. Hence, there is an impulse for revenge on society and anger."

Shen Feihu shook his head: "If it’s really about revenge on society, how could he just burn the Jade Plates without harming anything else? Repeatedly using the Fire Dragon Burner on the plates without injuring anyone at all."

Shen Feihong was momentarily speechless, then thought for a while and asked: "So, does he have a feud with the publishers?"

Shen Feihu continued shaking his head: "If he had a feud with the publishers, wouldn’t he directly set people on fire? With his techniques, none of these business houses could escape his Five Elements Immortal Technique. And frankly, given the social status of these publishers, even if they were all burned down, it might not cause such a widespread uproar. The Fire Dragon Burner shocked the entire city and stirred panic, which to me seems more like a statement against their works..."

"So, is it the first possibility then? He’s severely dissatisfied with the content of the works? But what’s there to be dissatisfied about with these low-quality pulp fiction? Shen Jinghai was, after all, a former Deputy City Lord. Would he really go to such lengths over a few subpar novels?"

"This... I can’t figure it out either."

As the two brothers wallowed in confusion, Wang Jiu played the role of dispersing the clouds once again.

"Perhaps he’s a devoted fan of Three Lives Stone, unable to stand the beloved author’s pen name being exploited, thus diminishing its commercial value. Hence, he furiously burned the Original Jade Plates, using the Fire Dragon Burner to incite collective panic among the publishers."

With one sentence, the two brothers were swept up in extremely complex emotions, feeling that Wang Jiu’s explanation was filled with absurdity, yet they couldn’t pinpoint how it was wrong.

From what they knew of Shen Jinghai, this person was wholeheartedly performing as the perfect right-hand man of the City Lord, with no distractions. How could such a person be a devoted fan of romance novelists? But on the other hand, according to rumors from the martial world, this person, besides perfectly playing his role as Deputy City Lord, had an incredibly rich dating record, going on blind dates every Monday for ten years without fail, which showed how twisted the nature hiding behind that single lens might be.

So, to say that this usually serious Deputy City Lord likes to put on a little skirt in his spare time, sipping tea with a lanhua finger under the sun reading romance novels, seems plausible.

"Or there’s another possibility: Shen Jinghai himself is Three Lives Stone," Wang Jiu speculated. "If he is Three Lives Stone, then as the person involved, his motive for setting fire to fake works is even stronger."

Upon hearing this, the Hong Hu Brothers were suddenly enlightened.

"Damn, that’s so logical!"

"Exactly, exactly, it all adds up. Three Lives Stone is known for disliking the Li Family, and as Shen Jinghai was grandfather’s assistant, he naturally would not favor the Li Family either."

"Three Lives Stone’s works are mostly romance-oriented, which ties directly to his decade-long dating history!"

"Three Lives Stone stopped updating in March, precisely when he shut himself away at home, ignoring external affairs!"

The two brothers, echoing each other, quickly fleshed out Wang Jiu’s conjecture into a convincing argument.

The true identity of the Three Lives Stone, which has puzzled the inhabitants of Shen City for decades, is finally revealed!

Shen Feihu said, "Since Shen Jinghai is the person behind the Three Lives Stone, everything becomes reasonable. Of course, he couldn’t bear to see his long-standing pen name being recklessly exploited by a group of unscrupulous businessmen, utterly ruining its reputation. So even if he decided to live in seclusion, he had no choice but to come out using the Fire Dragon Burner upon hearing about it... But in that case, should we tell father the truth?"

At this point, Shen Feihu couldn’t help but feel troubled. Shen Jinghai went so far as to use the Fire Dragon Burner, yet he refused to openly negotiate with the publishing alliance, obviously unwilling to expose his true identity. And once this is told to father, knowing Shen Ziqiong’s usual disposition, half of Shen City would know the truth within half a day.

Shen Feihong said, "Investigating the truth of the Fire Dragon Burner is work entrusted to us by father, and it’s the focal point of the city’s attention. As to how to handle the truth, that’s father’s issue. We shouldn’t act on our own accord regarding work matters."

"That’s true..." Shen Feihu sighed. His brother had always had a straightforward and impartial style when it comes to serious matters. This answer was within reason.

It’s a pity for Shen Jinghai, whose secret he’s guarded for so many years, is likely to come to light.

——

Meanwhile, in a manor on the outskirts of Shen City, Shen Jinghai was sitting at his desk, carefully writing a letter, stroke by stroke.

"Lord City Lord, three days ago, I burned the third edition of the Original Jade Plate made by Hongjin Publishing House. So far, although the publishing alliance still plans to continue exploiting the remaining value, they have stopped rushing the production of Jade Plates. I will continue to monitor this matter closely. If there is any move on their part, I will immediately take action to punish them with the Fire Dragon Burner Technique. If they persist in their ways, I plan to use the Elemental Magnetism Technique to draw down heavenly punishment lightning to eliminate the chief culprits and warn others..."

After finishing the letter, Shen Jinghai gently sighed, folded the letter, and placed it in an envelope, sending it into the city with a nearly transparent Glazed Flying Sword.

Then, he heard a gentle female voice behind him.

"Jing, are you busy with the Three Lives Stone matter again? Is it tricky?"

Shen Jinghai turned around to see his wife Cai’Er’s gentle and beautiful face, looking particularly charming in the afternoon sun. He couldn’t help but smile, "Nothing tricky, just dealing with a few unscrupulous businessmen who don’t know their place."

Cai’Er frowned, "If it’s just dealing with those businessmen, why do you have to handle it personally and so secretively?"

Shen Jinghai said, "Lord City Lord commanded, so I must comply. As for why in such a roundabout way... think of it this way—if not, how else would you get those publishers to stop?"

Cai’Er thought for a moment, "Just clearly tell them they’re breaking the law, and using someone’s pen name is shameless."

Shen Jinghai said, "The pen name Three Lives Stone is not registered, meaning anyone can use it. Although this action might seem fraudulent, there are currently no laws against it unless the true Three Lives Stone speaks up. But that obviously hasn’t happened..."

Before he finished speaking, Cai’Er curiously asked, "Since Mr. Three Lives Stone hasn’t said anything, why does the Lord want you to burn the Original Jade Plates?"

Shen Jinghai looked at his curious wife, pondered for a long time, and said, "Cai’Er, there shouldn’t be secrets between a couple, but this matter is significant. I need your absolute confidentiality. Can you do it?"

Cai’Er’s eyes sparkled as she nodded vigorously, "Of course, I can!"

Shen Jinghai looked at his wife’s innocent expression, knowing that relying on her to keep a secret was wishful thinking. With a fond smile, he said, "The Three Lives Stone is the hallmark of Shen City. Although the City Lord remains hidden behind the scenes, he still cares deeply about Shen City. Naturally, he detests anything that damages Shen City’s cultural image. However, since he has no official position, it’s inconvenient for him to address it publicly, so he entrusted me with the task."

"Ah, I see." Cai’Er continued to nod vigorously, "I will definitely keep the secret!"

"Mm, I believe you." Shen Jinghai patted his wife’s head, feeling the smoothness of her hair, and couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion.

Frankly, the Cai’Er now and the one during their arranged meeting were like two different people. The one whose every word and action were impeccable was the perfect goddess tailor-made for him. Yet, post-marriage, she quickly turned into a naive and carefree girl, with her previous rational and wise aura vanishing like smoke.

To Shen Jinghai’s perspective at that time, such a woman wouldn’t be acceptable at all.

But during their time together, Shen Jinghai had come to accept it.

Even though there are various issues with Cai’Er.

However, she is quite capable.