After Ren Zhining left, Zhuang Tao came over to Chen Jing.
Watching Ren Zhining walk away, Zhuang Tao raised an eyebrow slightly, a wicked grin lifting the corners of his mouth. "Junior Brother Chen, what's going on? Could this young lady not bear the ache of lovesickness and come all this way just to see you?"
Chen Jing chuckled and shook his head. "Don't make things up. Head Constable Zhao has been investigating Xie Chong's death lately. He might come ask me a few questions."
Then he changed the subject. "By the way, Senior Brother Zhuang, do you know Head Constable Zhao? What's he usually like?"
"Ha, you've come to the right person."
Zhuang Tao let out a derisive laugh, his face twisting into a mocking expression.
"He used to be a martial artist with the Black Crow Sect. He broke through to First Blood and thought he could push on to Second Blood, but he didn't have the talent for it. He was stuck there for over a decade without breaking through. Once he got older and his blood and qi began to decline, he finally gave up hope and became a constable to line his pockets. He worked his way up to head constable on the strength of his old skills. As for his strength... he's only a little stronger than an ordinary person, at most."
At this point, Zhuang Tao lowered his voice, his tone full of disdain. "He even had a stint with us before and went on a few hunts.
"During one hunt, he was so focused on taking credit that he nearly got Uncle Huan killed trying to catch a rare beast.
"After that, we kicked him out.
"Someone like that can't be trusted to work alongside us."
Listening to Zhuang Tao's explanation, Chen Jing nodded.
Self-serving and ambitious, willing to disregard those around him for the sake of his future—a classic case of ambition without the strength to back it up.
No wonder Ren Zhining had come to warn him.
Zhuang Tao leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Since you brought him up... do you want us to help keep him at bay?
"Honestly, even though we had a falling-out before, you're now on the Zhuang Family's rolls, and I'm a Second Blood Martial Artist. A mere head constable wouldn't dare cause trouble in front of me."
Chen Jing waved a hand. "Thanks for looking out for me, Senior Brother, but I haven't done anything. If he wants to ask questions, let him."
Zhuang Tao nodded. "All right. If anything comes up, just let me know."
Then, as if remembering something, he continued, "By the way, you killed a Green-skinned Horned Pig on your own this time, and you're also getting a share of the group hunt's profits. When the jerky's ready in two days, you'll get an extra fifteen jin."
"Don't think it's too little. Jerky yields less meat, after all. Five jin of fresh meat only makes two jin of jerky. You brought back twelve hundred jin of meat this time, and that'll only make a little over four hundred jin of jerky.
"We're brothers. I'd never cheat you."
Zhuang Tao's explanation cleared up the matter of the pork jerky for Chen Jing. "I see. Thanks, Senior Brother Zhuang."
After explaining all that, Chen Jing left the Zhuang Family and headed home to the slums.
Cold wind swept through the slums at dusk. Roosters crowed and dogs barked amid the din, while a heavy, earthy stench hung over the alleys.
Chen Jing had just reached his door when his brow furrowed.
The door to his home stood open.
That wasn't right.
Chen Sanwu had gone to haul a cart today, and Chen Chunmiao should be inside. She wouldn't have left the door standing open like this.
Could his Second Sister be in danger?
His heart tightening, Chen Jing hurried into the house.
When he got closer, he saw that there had been no struggle, but the air inside was taut with tension.
Chen Chunmiao sat in a corner of the main room, clutching the hem of her clothes, visibly uneasy.
Across from her sat a middle-aged man in a black-and-white constable's uniform. He looked as though he'd simply dropped by for a visit, wearing the kind of oily smile common to officials.
"Who are you?"
Chen Jing frowned at the man and asked coldly.
The middle-aged man turned around, smiling slickly. "You're Chen Jing, right?"
"I'm Zhao Zonglin, the head constable of Red Rock County."
So he had come after all.
Chen Jing's expression didn't change. "What brings you to my home, Head Constable Zhao?"
Zhao Zonglin picked up the teacup on the table, sniffed it with distaste, then set it down and drawled, "You've heard that Xie Chong was killed a few days ago, right?"
"I've uncovered some clues recently. I heard he wanted to take your sister as a concubine."
As he finished speaking, he gave Chen Chunmiao a meaningful glance.
"So I came to ask a few questions."
Chen Jing kept his expression neutral and feigned confusion. "We weren't close to Xie Chong. We only met him once. What does his death have to do with us?"
Zhao Zonglin lowered his voice. "Of course it has something to do with you. Xie Chong's brother-in-law is Hu Duanzhuo, the Third Blood Martial Artist of Red Rock County!"
"I saw that you've broken through to First Blood, too. You should know what a Third Blood Martial Artist represents."
At his words, Chen Chunmiao's face went deathly pale in the corner.
Clearly, before Chen Jing arrived, Zhao Zonglin had already said something to frighten her.
Zhao Zonglin continued, "Master Hu is taking Xie Chong's murder very seriously. Your sister was the last person to have contact with him, so Master Hu wants to invite her over for tea and ask her a few questions."
A trace of menace crept into Zhao Zonglin's voice. Coldness stirred in Chen Jing's eyes, but he remained calm. "But we really don't know that Xie Chong. What does his murder have to do with us?"
Zhao Zonglin shook his head, speaking as though they were on the same side. "You may think that, but Master Hu doesn't!"
Chen Jing took a pouch from his robes and nudged it toward Zhao Zonglin. "Then could I ask you to help cover for us, Head Constable Zhao? We're just common folk. How could we have gotten caught up in something like this?"
Zhao Zonglin glanced at the pouch in Chen Jing's hand. A flash of greed crossed his eyes. Then he took it without a shred of shame and weighed it in his hand.
He put on a hypocritical smile, as if he were doing Chen Jing a favor. "In that case, why don't I take you to see Master Hu in person?"
"With you there to explain, Master Hu naturally won't pursue the matter."
Hearing him, Chen Jing understood at once: Head Constable Zhao was dead set on handing him over to Hu Duanzhuo as a scapegoat.
He'd taken Chen Jing's money and still wanted to use him as a sacrificial lamb.
This man really was rotten to the core!
Though killing intent had already surged within him, Chen Jing kept smiling. "In that case, could I change my clothes first?"
"I just got back from hunting, and I'm covered in blood. It wouldn't look good when I meet Master Hu."
But Zhao Zonglin waved him off. "We'd better go now. It wouldn't do to keep Master Hu waiting."
Chen Jing had no choice but to nod. After reassuring Chen Chunmiao and telling her to lock the door, he left home with Zhao Zonglin.
The lights of the slums gradually receded behind them, and the sky grew completely dark.
The night wind carried a damp chill, stirring the dead grass. The moon hung high above like a cold white plate.
Their footsteps rang starkly through the silence.
As he walked, Chen Jing sensed that something was wrong.
The streets grew fewer and farther between, and the houses thinned out until there were no people at all.
In their place lay wasteland, broken stones, dead trees, and the dim outlines of grave mounds flickering in the wind.
Chen Jing's gaze darkened. He stopped. "Head Constable Zhao, this road... doesn't seem right."
Zhao Zonglin stopped as well. He didn't answer right away, instead turning around slowly. In the moonlight, he wore a remarkably calm smile, tinged with regret.
"No, this is the right road!"
Zhao Zonglin's smile sent a chill down Chen Jing's spine. "Head Constable Zhao, what are you planning?"
Faced with Chen Jing's question, Zhao Zonglin sighed softly. "Chen Jing, I hear you only recently broke through to First Blood. Perhaps one day you'll even reach Second Blood. What a pity... Master Hu has been pressing me too hard, and I have to give him an answer."
As he spoke, Zhao Zonglin patted his chest, as if lamenting some helpless injustice.
"I have no choice. I can only... borrow your head."
Then he added a nauseatingly false promise: "Don't worry. Once you're gone, I'll look after your eldest and second sisters. From now on, they'll have me, Zhao Zonglin, to protect them."
At that, a chill flared in Chen Jing's eyes. He spoke in a low voice. "Why me? Why did you target me?"
But Chen Jing stood with the moon behind him, so Zhao Zonglin couldn't see his expression. He assumed Chen Jing was simply asking why he had to die.
Zhao Zonglin scoffed, as if he'd heard a stupid question. "Because everyone else... is too weak."
"Most of the people Xie Chong offended were ordinary folk. Hardly any of them even had the guts to do anything.
"You're the only one who's a First Blood Martial Artist. You have at least a tiny chance of killing Xie Chong."
As he spoke, Zhao Zonglin held up his fingers to show a gap scarcely wider than a hair.
"A tiny chance."
Then Zhao Zonglin shook his head. "Of course, you only just broke through to First Blood. You couldn't have killed Xie Chong."
"But that doesn't matter. If I kill you here, then report that you resisted arrest out of guilt..."
"Master Hu won't have anything more to say."
By the end, Zhao Zonglin's smile had turned openly cruel.
Chen Jing pressed him again. "You're going to kill me out here in the wilderness. Aren't you afraid someone will hear?"
Zhao Zonglin scoffed and pointed around them. "I chose this place precisely because no one will hear."
As Zhao Zonglin spoke, the wind stirred the weeds atop the graves, and a night crow's cry in the distance sounded especially eerie.
"This is a deserted wilderness. There's no one here but you and me."
"Chen Jing, you should feel honored. Not everyone gets to die by my blade."
"All right, I've said what I needed to say."
Zhao Zonglin rested a hand on the saber at his waist and drew it.
"You know why you have to die, so go on and die obediently!"
The blade gleamed a ghastly white in the moonlight.
"So that's how it is!"
After hearing Zhao Zonglin's answer, the corners of Chen Jing's mouth lifted, baring his pearly white teeth.
"If killing someone here won't be discovered, then I don't need to pretend to be a gentleman either!"
With that, Chen Jing planted a foot and shot toward Zhao Zonglin like a streak of light.
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