A Moonless, Windy Night, a Night for Murder

A Moonless, Windy Night, a Night for Murder

On a moonless, windy night like this—a night made for murder and arson—it was easiest for evil deeds to arise.

Weishui City lay in utter silence.

Amid the howling wind and snow, only the night watchmen and dung carriers hurried along.

But there were exceptions.

Those whose professions only welcomed customers at night could not afford to care whether the wind blew or snow fell. When it was time to work, they worked as usual.

For instance, women of the pleasure quarters.

Huaqing Tower was Weishui's largest haunt for chasing flowers and willows. It boasted three thousand graceful beauties; so long as one brought enough silver, there was only what one could not imagine, never what it could not find.

Even services that came to one's door were not impossible.

For instance, at the residence of the Ji Family's Three Brothers on Linshui Street by Hanging Bridge in the west of the city, there was an extra delicate young woman tonight, brought back from Huaqing Tower to accompany the three rough men.

The blazing stove burned fiercely, its warm glow illuminating the entire room.

The three brothers, freshly released from the constabulary, immediately sought out Huaqing Tower's most famous courtesan and brought her home.

The table was laden with crisscrossing cups, fine wine, and every sort of delicacy.

The three brothers sat there slightly drunk, their eyes glazed as they watched the woman in red dance beneath fluttering gauze. The blazing desire in their eyes was not concealed in the slightest.

Qinghong was one of Huaqing Tower's leading courtesans. Not only was her face lovely and her figure graceful, she had also trained in martial arts before. Though she looked petite, her body was quite sturdy, so she dared take on jobs that most women of the pleasure quarters would not.

Take the notorious Ji Family's Three Brothers. When they visited Huaqing Tower, most of the girls scattered at once, fearing them as they would snakes and scorpions.

Only Qinghong remained, her eyes seductive as silk, dazzling and enchanting.

Thus, the three brothers paid the silver and brought her home.

Music, dancing, drinking, revelry!

"Big Brother, I can't hold it in anymore!" Second Ji's face was flushed crimson. One hand gripped the edge of the table, his eyes fixed on Qinghong's graceful figure. His lust had clearly flared up, beyond all control!

Not just him—the other two were the same, on the verge of pouncing upon Qinghong and taking her right there!

At the sight, a flicker of disgust passed through Qinghong's eyes.

She did not like these hulking, foul-smelling men. What she liked were handsome young gentlemen who recited poetry and composed verses.

But business was business. How could one pick and choose customers?

So even though she disliked them in her heart, she could only cast them silk-soft glances and say, "Gentlemen, please wait until Qinghong finishes this dance."

Hearing that voice, thick and sweet as gravy, the Ji Family's Three Brothers immediately burned all over. How could they care about dancing any longer? Like wild beasts, they charged forward together!

They began stripping the woman who resisted while welcoming them, their hands roaming over her body!

The scent of strong liquor drifted through the swaying firelight, and the atmosphere was feverishly heated.

The door opened.

Bang!

The square wooden bolt, as thick as an ordinary man's arm, was snapped by a brutal force.

Whoosh!

The all-pervading wind and snow instantly poured into the room, bone-piercing cold ravaging every corner.

It sobered the three men and one woman somewhat as well.

When a good thing was interrupted, even a clay figurine had three parts anger—let alone the Ji Family's Three Brothers, who had always acted high-handed and domineering.

The three bare-chested men were shocked and enraged as they cursed, "Which blind bastard is that?!"

Without bothering about anything else, they grabbed the lamps at hand and charged forward, smashing them down toward the figure entering through the wind and snow!

Qinghong had never seen such a scene. Coupled with the piercing cold, her entire body immediately trembled uncontrollably!

Yet what she had not expected was that she only saw a black shadow flash before her eyes!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Ji Family's Three Brothers, who had been so arrogant moments ago, were instantly subdued. One was lifted by the neck in the man's left hand, another was lifted by the neck in his right hand, while the last had his throat pinned beneath a foot, pressed to the floor and unable to move at all!

Only then did Qinghong clearly see the uninvited visitor's appearance.

He wore a pitch-black robe and a pitch-black ghost mask, which seemed to cry and smile at once, incomparably eerie.

His build was not particularly burly, yet he had effortlessly subdued the Ji Family's Three Brothers, holding them like chicks in his hands.

Their necks were clamped tight, their faces red as they struggled painfully, unable to make a single sound.

The uninvited visitor saw Qinghong and seemed not to have expected anyone else to be there. He sighed.

"Miss, close your eyes. Do not open them before dawn."

His voice was hoarse and cold. Paired with that ghost mask that seemed to cry and smile, it filled Qinghong's heart with terror!

She immediately closed her eyes.

Then she heard miserable screams, followed by a series of dull sounds.

Qinghong knew that sound well.

She had practiced martial arts for a time. Once, while striking a training post, she had broken her arm.

—It was that very sound.

It was the sound of human bones breaking, mingled with agonized howls and the roar of wind and snow, chilling beyond measure!

After a long while.

Whether it had been a quarter-hour or half an hour, those sounds finally began to fade.

That man seemed to have left.

But Qinghong still did not dare open her eyes.

—That ghost face had carved itself into her mind like a nightmare, impossible to erase!

He had told her not to open her eyes, so she did not dare!

Through the wind and snow, on an alley off Linshui Street not far from the Ji Family's Three Brothers' residence, stood the former home of Zhang San'er.

The raging wind and snow smothered every sound, leaving those sleeping soundly undisturbed by the outside world.

That meant that no matter how miserable the screams were, they could not awaken the common folk nestled beneath warm, soft quilts.

Three burly figures were dragged by a person wearing a ghost mask into Zhang San'er's residence.

The door swung open. Yellow paper covered the ground, a black coffin lay crosswise within, and all was silent.

Madam Zhang's mourning hall!

Back then, Zhang San'er had fought the Ji Family's Three Brothers in his wife's mourning hall before being thrown into the river.

Naturally, Madam Zhang's coffin was still in the residence, and she had yet to be buried. In the portrait copied and painted by the artist atop the coffin was a gentle, quiet young woman, smiling faintly at the corners of her lips.

At this moment, the Ji Family's Three Brothers were black and blue, with fractures all over their bodies. Their breathing was weak as they lay on the floor, utterly powerless.

In an instant.

In only an instant!

When they had encountered this masked man earlier, they had been subdued in only an instant!

They did not even know how they had lost. Their bones had been broken, and they had been dragged here like dead dogs, to this familiar place.

Only now, under the weight of pain and fear, had the Ji Family's Three Brothers completely lost every trace of their former swagger!

All that remained was terror!

"My uncle is Sixth Master Blackwater... If you kill us... you won't get away either..."

"Please... spare... spare us..."

"What do you... want... money?"

"We have money... We'll give you money..."

"Please... spare us..."

"..."

The Ji Family's Three Brothers endured the pain as they begged in broken, intermittent voices.

But the Ghost-Faced Man said nothing.

He merely listened quietly to their pleas, listened to their rambling mutters.

Only after a long while did he suddenly lower his head and ask:

"When Zhang San'er and his wife begged you back then, did they beg like this too?"

Upon hearing this, the Ji Family's Three Brothers froze.

Then Eldest Ji saw a black shadow flash, and his third brother's head went spinning through the air.

Bang!

It landed on the ground.

Bright red blood sprayed over the Ghost-Faced Man, sprayed over the memorial portrait.

Thus, Madam Zhang's smile in the portrait seemed to grow even deeper.

Then, from Eldest Ji's perspective, the man in black leaned closer. His mask seemed to cry and smile, like the whisper of an evil ghost.

"I originally wanted to kill you in your home, but if I did that, the woman of the pleasure quarters might be implicated."

Beneath the scalding blood was a ghost mask cold to the extreme.

"So, I thought of an entirely new way for you to die."

At the same time, at the Weishui Clerk Office.

Lin Yi, sprawled on the floor with his limbs flung wide, slowly awoke from his drunken stupor.

His head throbbed as if it would split, and his entire body was weak.

Yet the fire in his heart showed no sign of dying down.

He rubbed his temples and remembered that, while drunk, he had seen Zhang San'er's ghost again.

His heart hurt even more!

The dead could not rest with their eyes closed, while the murderer roamed free!

This world should not be like this!

Thus, after struggling in anguish and hesitation for a long time, Lin Yi finally raised his head.

His bloodshot eyes held a determination that made hearts tremble!

He silently rose to his feet, dressed, picked up his saber, and walked out the door.

(End of Chapter)