A Ghost Entrusts a Dream, a Corpse Sinks Beneath Ice

A Ghost Entrusts a Dream, a Corpse Sinks Beneath Ice

Miserable.

Truly miserable.

After watching that life reel, Yu Chen looked at Jiang Sanyu's ghostly figure within the scroll, unable to speak for a moment.

That beggar who froze to death beneath the bridge, at least he was used to it; he died without even realizing it.

That young Master Wang who was torn apart by the tiger, at least his suffering was brief before it was over.

But Jiang Sanyu's misery was so absurd it beggared belief.

It was one thing that his lovely wife had climbed over the red apricot wall.

She had even rolled among the clouds and rain with that wastrel right before Jiang Sanyu, who had not yet fully fallen asleep.

In the end, the adulterous pair had joined forces and thrown Jiang Sanyu straight into the river.

What a stifling injustice!

Yu Chen vaguely recalled that, in memories from his previous life, there had been a literary character who suffered the same fate.

That man was called Wu Dalang.

But at least he had a brother to avenge him. Jiang Sanyu had neither kin nor family. If the river had not frozen over, he likely would never have encountered Yu Chen and would have died with that injustice bottled inside him.

—Had the river not frozen, his corpse would have been swept ten thousand miles away long ago. It would never have reached Qingfeng Mausoleum, and his final wish might never have been seen.

Having watched the entire life reel, Yu Chen felt deeply unsettled. He pitied Jiang Sanyu, who had lived an honest and dutiful life, while despising that adulterous pair.

At the same time, Jiang Sanyu's final wish took shape in Yu Chen's heart.

—What he wanted was for those sinners to face the law, to be judged in court and spat upon by ten thousand people!

That was likely why Jiang Sanyu's final wish was not for blood to be repaid with blood. He wanted everyone to know what that adulterous pair had done. Even if they did not stink for ten thousand years after death, they were to be condemned by a thousand fingers!

"Fine. Since you ran into me, count yourself a little fortunate amid your misfortune." Yu Chen sighed and closed the Scripture of Deliverance.

"I'll handle this for you."

With that sigh, he took the paper figure and headed down the mountain again in the dead of night.

The sky was dark and heavy, the wind howling and snow whipping through the air.

Skybridge, Clerk Office residence.

Lin Yi, a constable from Linshui Street, sat before an oil lamp, drinking himself into a gloomy stupor with a plate of peanuts and a cup of clear wine.

He had just returned from Spring Breeze Pavilion.

That evening, a crowd of martial wanderers had gathered at Spring Breeze Pavilion, making the yamen panic. Afraid those fellows would get drunk and cause trouble, they had practically dragged every constable and soldier in Weishui County Seat into patrol duty.

Those old hands naturally found every excuse under the sun to evade it. But a greenhorn like Lin Yi, newly assigned to the constabulary, knew nothing of such tricks. He had been hauled off and left to freeze in the wind and snow for three or four hours. Only after those martial wanderers had eaten and drunk their fill and gone home was he finally released.

Yet that was not what truly troubled Constable Lin Yi.

—Patrol was just patrol. He was young, with strength and vigor to spare. No matter how bitter or exhausting it was, one night's sleep would set him right.

What truly vexed him was that life as a constable was nothing like he had imagined!

More than ten years ago, Lin Yi had first learned of the constabulary because of a predecessor in the constabulary whose name could not be mentioned.

In a burst of youthful fervor, he had sworn that one day he too would become a constable, punish evil, eliminate wickedness, and protect the common folk.

So he studied and trained diligently, learning to read and practice martial arts. Half a year ago, he had finally been personally selected by the county magistrate and become a constable of Linshui Street.

But after his dream came true, Lin Yi discovered that this was bloody well nothing like what he had imagined!

In Weishui County Seat, large and small powers were intertwined like tangled roots. Aside from petty thefts and chicken-stealing dog-robberies, there was even more darkness that a mere constable like Lin Yi could not possibly punish.

Just some days ago, he had caught a man beating someone in the street. The fellow had even arrogantly cursed him as a dog of the imperial court, saying he would be out again within days!

How could hot-blooded Lin Yi endure that?

He immediately decided to interrogate that arrogant bastard and punish him!

Yet when he went to the jail that afternoon, he was told that the man arrested that very morning had already been released!

After asking around, he learned that the man was connected to some Sixth Master of the Blackwater Gang. With a word from that side to the higher-ups, even the chief constable had no choice but to let him go!

Unable to swallow that anger, Lin Yi caused a scene at the constabulary. In the end, he was docked two months' pay and was still working for nothing even now!

And those senior constables were no better. Every day, they only knew how to drink, listen to songs, and visit brothels. Their bellies were nearly as big as the county magistrate's. How did any of them possess even a shred of Yu Tiesheng's former bearing?

Worry!

Frustration!

And nowhere to vent it!

Lin Yi did not want to muddle through life like those vermin. He wanted to solve cases, punish evil, eliminate wickedness, and be like that Iron Constable whose head had already been cut off—free of shame before his own heart!

In his daze, he had drunk rather too much.

Fortunately, Lin Yi was a martial artist, and his tolerance for alcohol was far beyond ordinary men's. He did not simply collapse on the spot.

Through the haze, he seemed to see a figure push open the door and walk in.

But the drunken Lin Yi paid it no mind.

Surely no thief would be foolish enough to steal from the Clerk Office residence?

Not to mention that this place was full of constables, even his own impoverished quarters were so poor that a thief would have to leave behind a couple of coins before he could bear to depart.

But as the shadow drew nearer, Lin Yi gradually realized that something... seemed wrong with this person.

Eh?

Why were his feet hanging in the air?

Why was his tongue dangling from his face?

Why was his whole body half-transparent, like those girls outside brothels who stopped passersby?

Why was he...

Enough with this and that.

At this point, failing to see the situation clearly would be disrespectful to the other party!

Even drunk, Lin Yi was shocked!

He had encountered a ghost!

Yet he had just been drinking, and drinking heavily at that. His head swam, and he could not move. The moment he tried to rise, he toppled to the floor, unable even to crawl back up!

He could only watch helplessly as the ghostly figure slowly approached!

Perhaps the strong liquor gave him courage; perhaps he had nothing to hide. In any case, aside from being unable to rise, Lin Yi was not frightened!

He shouted at the ghostly figure!

"What is it? You... ghost... what grievance do you have... tell me all of it!"

"If there is nothing... then get lost!"

"I stand straight and act upright! I fear neither yin gods nor ghosts like you!"

Yet to his surprise, the ghostly figure truly began to speak.

From its account, Lin Yi heard a story.

The ghostly figure said he had been a cook at Spring Breeze Pavilion, murdered by others, his corpse now sunk at the bottom of the Linshui River!

And the people who had killed him were his wife and a wild man. They had used knockout drug to drug him senseless before throwing him into the river.

Once it finished speaking, the ghostly figure gradually faded away.

Lin Yi could hold out no longer and fell asleep the instant his head hit the ground!

By the following morning, his memories of last night's ghostly encounter had already become hazy.

He could not even tell whether it had truly happened or had merely been a dream.

Yet for some reason, he remembered that story quite clearly!

"Riverbank... Linshui Street... Spring Breeze Pavilion cook..."

Rubbing his aching temples, Lin Yi climbed to his feet. Whether it had been a drunken dream or not, he decided to take a look.

For one thing, that dream had been far too real. It had even told him exactly where the corpse was.

For another, Linshui Street... was his own jurisdiction!

If a murder had truly occurred, how could he simply let it slide by in a muddle?

So he put on his clothes, fastened his waist token, took his iron ruler and rope, then left for the place he had been told of in last night's dream.

Along the way, he hired two boatmen to accompany him.

When they heard Lin Yi's purpose, the two boatmen muttered to one another, wondering whether this officer was still not sober from drinking too much, or whether he had gone mad from wanting to solve cases.

But once they reached the riverbank, broke through the ice, and probed the riverbed with iron hooks and nets, they searched, found something, and hauled it up!

The two boatmen's faces changed at once!

The weight of the thing in the water, the feel of that net—it bloody well did not feel like some random heap of debris!

The two boatmen fell silent and hurriedly pulled the net with all their strength.

When the thing beneath the water was hauled up, both men sucked in a sharp breath!

There really was a dead man in that net!

(End of Chapter)