TWWDS - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Then have Brother Shen take some people to search the surrounding area first."

Shen Lao wiped his face with one hand, flung off the droplets, and said without hesitation, "I'll go right now."

Liu Youcai was about to head over, but the steward called him back.

Perhaps because security in Gaofang Prefecture was fairly good, Wang He was not overly worried and could still bring herself to concern herself with Second Son Liu's washing. "Second Son Liu, wait a moment. There is no need to rush."

She had worked for the Liu family for more than ten years and could be considered half an elder in the estate. After stopping him, she swiftly prepared hot water, a soft towel, willow switches, and a jar of green salt, then sent them to him for his wash.

Liu Youcai had worn a scholar's robe both yesterday and today, making him far more fastidious than the others in the estate. He looked around, broke off a section of a branch, pressed some salt powder onto a willow switch, and then put it in his mouth to clean his teeth.

---

It did not take the people of the estate long to find Liu Youde. In barely eight minutes, Wang He knew where the family's eldest son was. His cold corpse hung from a dead tree beside the stable, the hem of his gray robe stirring faintly in the morning breeze.

The newly hired laborers and the servants from the Liu household had all gathered beneath the dead tree. After a moment, Liu Youcai's knees buckled, and he fell straight to the ground, wailing, "Elder Brother, Elder Brother, you..."

Wang He managed to remain standing instead of collapsing, but her whole body began to tremble beyond her control. "What happened to Eldest Son Liu...?"

Her face was pale as snow. Shivering, she edged forward two steps. Yu Tianji brought over a wooden stool, summoned up all his courage to climb onto it, and lowered Liu Youde's body to the ground.

Wang He steadied herself, seemed to think of something, and asked quietly, "While he was away, had Eldest Son Liu offended someone from the martial world, who followed him home to seek revenge?"

Liu Youcai answered through his tears, "When Elder Brother arrived yesterday, he quietly told me that he had quarreled with a man dressed like a martial artist while he was away selling goods. Before leaving, the man declared that he would come for revenge..." He wiped away his tears and choked out, "Last night, Elder Brother told us to go to bed early and stayed alone in the hall. Something was already wrong with his expression, but I didn't ask..."

Wang He clenched her teeth. "Send word to the authorities. Perhaps we can ask the Wulin Alliance to issue an arrest warrant. Whether it works or not, at least it gives us something to hope for."

Chao Qingxiu stood beside them and listened to the exchange. At first glance, she seemed perfectly composed, but anyone standing close to her would have noticed that she was not calm at all. She was utterly petrified.

Only after Chao Qingxiu had accepted that she had transmigrated into an ordinary fictional dynasty and awakened a Detective System that appeared wholly incompatible with the world around her did she learn a startling fact from the people around her:

It was, in fact, an ancient world inhabited by martial artists.

She stared at her Detective Panel, suddenly realizing that her future career was filled with unforeseen hardship.

As a modern person who had read literary detective fiction, even works such as XX detective anthologies, Chao Qingxiu had originally thought she might have a chance of taking the road to a career as a constable. After all, based on her observations over the past few days, the customs of Great Xia were fairly simple, and there should be no especially complicated cases.

For her plan to proceed smoothly, however, no one with special abilities could be involved in the investigation.

Someone from the martial world, for instance.

Chao Qingxiu could already imagine encountering a locked-room murder one day, only for the truth to turn out to be, "The victim encountered an expert capable of using inner strength to strike a cow from beyond a mountain," a scene found only in martial-arts worlds.

In this world, compared with detective work, building a career as an investigator might require far more effort toward raising her combat power, just in case she could not survive a single move against a suspect.

Chao Qingxiu silently opened her Detective Panel and looked it over carefully, then sorrowfully confirmed one thing. All rogue software shared a common refusal to give users freedom of choice. She searched the entire system but found no "Log Out" option.

Nevertheless, thanks to the conversation between Wang He and the others, Chao Qingxiu gained a further understanding of the times she had entered.

Martial experts existed in this world, as did the Wulin Alliance. Gaofang Prefecture lay in Jiangnan (the lands south of the Yangtze). Less than ten days away in Shouzhou was the prestigious Wenbei Sect, which she could contact.

As for the county magistrate's office, it mainly dealt with ordinary cases. Cases involving experts could be referred to the Six Doors for investigation, or a written request could be sent to the Wulin Alliance, asking them to pursue and capture the culprit, though there was no guarantee of results every time.

This was because Gaofang Prefecture had no martial faction worth mentioning. Otherwise, they could have entrusted the matter to a faction nearby.

Liu Youcai cried for a while longer before climbing to his feet. He wiped his face with his sleeve and said through choked sobs, "I will ride into the city to report the case. Sister Wang, look after the household. Do not let the others panic."

Wang He replied, "Second Son Liu, rest assured. Just be careful on the road, and do not tell anyone what has happened to Eldest Son Liu yet." She then told everyone, "Stay in the courtyard and do not wander." Turning to Shen Lao, she added, "Xiao Shen, tell Xiao Zhou in the side courtyard what happened here. Something has gone wrong at the house today, so we cannot send her food for the time being."

Shen Lao answered, "I'll go there right now."

A moment later, Shen Lao appeared in the front courtyard with a slight young woman. She was Zhou Fu, the only tenant of the Liu Family Manor.

Although Wang He had not called Zhou Fu over, the young woman clearly felt that, under these circumstances, staying alone was not the safest choice.

The Gaofang county magistrate's office was not especially slow, but they still had to wait until the hour of the Snake was nearly over before Liu Youcai returned.

He arrived with a woman of about thirty dressed in a plain silk robe, a constable, and four office attendants.

The young woman was Han Sihe, the Deputy Magistrate of Gaofang Prefecture and the highest-ranking official currently in the city. As for the magistrate, the previous holder of the office had received notice of a transfer a month earlier, while the next appointment remained unconfirmed.

Liu Youcai's face was filled with grief. He said to Han Sihe, "...After dinner yesterday, Elder Brother told us to go to bed first. He stayed in the hall by himself, saying that he needed to think over some things."

Han Sihe sought confirmation. "And then you went to rest?"

Liu Youcai nodded, glanced at the other hired workers, and said vaguely, "To be safe, everyone except Elder Brother slept in the common sleeping room last night. We locked the door before going to bed."

Han Sihe asked, "Was Eldest Son Liu still in the hall at that time?"

Liu Youcai and Shen Lao both answered, "He was."

As they spoke, Zhou Fu had already followed one of the office attendants to Han Sihe and was waiting to be questioned, without anyone having to tell her.

Zhou Fu's appearance matched everyone else's image of a scholar from a poor family. She was slight, her complexion a little pale, and her limbs thin and weak. Her appearance alone would have cleared her of suspicion at a murder scene.

Han Sihe was very courteous to Zhou Fu. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she asked, "I heard that you did not come to the main house for dinner yesterday, Miss Zhou. Were you studying at home?"

Zhou Fu coughed and answered, "Yesterday I heard that Eldest Son Liu had returned. I ought to have come to pay my respects, but I happened to catch a chill and felt slightly unwell, so I asked Sister Wang to convey my regards on my behalf. I meant to call once I had recovered."

Han Sihe nodded.

She had questioned Wang He beforehand, and the steward's account matched Zhou Fu's.

Perhaps they thought that because people from the martial world were involved, their own investigation would never uncover anything. When the county investigators questioned the others, they did not ask anyone to leave, so Chao Qingxiu remained at the side without concern for intruding, her ears pricked for anything useful.

After the brief questioning, the general shape of the case was already clear.

After dinner the previous evening, everyone had gone to sleep one after another in the locked communal quarters, and no one had come out until the following morning.

The constable said quietly to Deputy Magistrate Han, "Do you think today's case was committed by Shanxiao?"

Chao Qingxiu caught the name, and something stirred in her mind. She had heard "Shanxiao" from refugees before.

Judging by the circumstances, the name seemed less an alias for a bird than the sobriquet of someone from the martial world.

Han Sihe remained silent and thoughtful. After a moment, she said, "It does look very much like him."

One of the office attendants hurried over, clasped his hands in salute to Han Sihe, and reported, "A feather was found on Eldest Son Liu's body just now."

The constable nodded several times. "Then there is no mistake. Shanxiao does indeed like to leave his mark on corpses."

The situation was growing clearer, but Han Sihe showed not the slightest sign of relief. If anything, she grew more grave.

Chao Qingxiu had sharp hearing. She stepped back and walked over to Xia Jiaxin, who was sitting idly to one side. Lowering her voice slightly, she said, "It sounds as though they are talking about Shanxiao."

During the first few days after arriving in this world, Chao Qingxiu had heard the people around her discuss matters connected to the martial world. At the time, however, she had not understood much of what they were saying, so she had retained only a vague impression.

Xia Jiaxin was cheerful and candid by nature. When Chao Qingxiu brought up the subject, she readily shared what she knew. "I've heard the name Shanxiao as well. He seems to be wanted by the Wulin Alliance. He couldn't live safely anywhere, and recently he turned up around Shizhou and committed several crimes."

Chao Qingxiu listened as Xia spoke, updating what she knew about the world she had entered.

In Great Xia, the ties between ordinary people and the martial world were far closer than she had imagined. Even those who took no part could hear a few rumors.

Xia Jiaxin pondered. "Thinking about it more carefully, the way we found Eldest Son Liu does resemble Shanxiao's handiwork."

Not wanting anyone to discover how little she knew about the local situation, Chao Qingxiu laughed. "You noticed that too?"

Xia Jiaxin saw nothing wrong with the question and nodded. "Shanxiao's lightness technique is exceptional, but the man is vindictive over the smallest slight. He will even attack ordinary people."

As Chao Qingxiu listened, she came to feel that an invisible boundary separated the martial world from ordinary people.

People from the martial world could fight and kill among themselves. So long as ordinary families were not involved and no great commotion resulted, the authorities would pretend not to know.

Xia Jiaxin lowered her voice. "After someone offends Shanxiao, he gives them a warning before he makes his move. If the target is alone at the time, he kills only that person. But if the target is with others, trying to hide, he kills the entire household, leaving neither people nor animals alive." She added, "I've heard people say that after killing someone, Shanxiao often hangs the victim's body somewhere high as a warning."

At that moment, a mountain breeze carrying moisture swept through. Xia Jiaxin thought of how narrowly she had escaped death the day before and could not help but shiver.

Elsewhere, Han Sihe remained deep in thought.

Liu Youcai wiped away his tears. "My elder brother has met such a terrible fate. I can only hope that Deputy Magistrate Han will see justice done."

Previous Table of Contents Next