Help a Person to the End, Send a Buddha to the West

Help a Person to the End, Send a Buddha to the West

Xiao Zihua?

Who was that?

When Yu Chen heard the name, it did stir some memories in his mind.

It seemed that when he had been very young, while his parents were still alive, he had heard this name before?

This man had once been his father's disciple?

And was now the chief constable of Weishui?

That didn't sound right.

If that really was the relationship, then judging by the yamen's habit of pinning the crime of wiping out a household on Yu Tiesheng, they might not implicate a disciple with no blood relation, but Xiao Zihua's prospects would certainly have been ruined.

—After all, who would let a homicidal madman's disciple serve as Weishui's chief constable?

Yet Xiao Zihua had nevertheless taken that position.

If there wasn't something fishy going on beneath the surface, who would believe it?

After hearing this, Yu Chen rose to leave.

But Xie Qing stopped him. "Senior, you may not know this, but it is said that Weishui's chief constable, Xiao Zihua, was recently found by the Inspection Bureau to have accepted bribes, bent the law for personal gain, and was thrown into prison!"

Yu Chen paused. "So he is in prison now?"

"No."

Xie Qing shook his head. "A few days after being locked up, Xiao Zihua used the connections he had built in the yamen over the past decade or so, along with money that had yet to be uncovered, to bribe the prison guards and escape. No one knows where he is now."

Yu Chen turned back around.

Xie Qing immediately said, "But please rest assured, Senior. I have already been secretly tracking him and have found some leads. I believe I will soon be able to locate his hiding place!"

Only then did Yu Chen give a slight nod.

—This Xie Qing knew how to conduct himself and get things done.

"But Senior, you come and go like a divine dragon, revealing only your head and never your tail..." Xie Qing looked troubled as he continued, "Even if I obtain news, I fear I will have no way to notify you at once."

When it came to the matters Yu Chen had entrusted to him, Xie Qing could be said to have bent himself to the task until his back broke.

But in truth, he had his own little calculations as well.

Why else would he spare no effort in helping Yu Chen, apart from repaying his debt of gratitude?

Naturally, he wanted to befriend a great expert capable of brutally killing that half-demon tiger!

As long as he got on good terms with the man before him, the Innate Realm grandmaster of the Blackwater Gang would not be quite so much of a headache.

But as things stood between him and Yu Chen, only Yu Chen could come looking for him. If anything happened, he had no way to find Yu Chen at all.

How could that do?

Thus, Xie Qing was asking for a means to contact Yu Chen.

Having lived two lives, Yu Chen naturally saw through Xie Qing's little scheme.

But it was only human nature, and understandable enough.

After all, the bustling world came and went for profit. Yu Chen had maintained ties with Xie Qing because Xie Qing could be of use to him.

Thus, after pondering for a moment, he took out several Paper Crows and handed them to Xie Qing. "If there is news, release one into the sky. I will come immediately."

At the sight, Xie Qing was overjoyed and carefully put them away as though they were treasures.

—Finding news of Xiao Zihua would only require sending one message, yet this senior had given him several paper cranes. The meaning could not have been clearer.

—Apart from this matter, you can contact me for other things too!

Of course, whether Yu Chen would help was another matter entirely.

With the matter settled, Yu Chen was about to leave. But when he reached the doorway, he suddenly turned around.

"There is a porter named Wang Hai at Hanging Bridge in the west of the city. He went away and has not returned. His wife, children, and elderly relatives have no one to rely on. If it is convenient for the Zhengqing Gang, please look after them a little."

Brief and to the point.

Yet Xie Qing understood perfectly. He immediately thumped his chest and promised, "Rest assured, Senior. So long as Xie Qing remains in Weishui for even one day, I will not let them suffer any grievance!"

Yu Chen nodded, turned, and vanished into the wind and snow.

Watching his departing figure, Xie Qing committed the matter to heart and dared not neglect it in the slightest.

As for the reason, everyone involved was a smart man.

Don't ask!

Xie Qing would not pry into why Yu Chen wanted this done, just as he had not asked a single question about why Yu Chen was investigating a case from fifteen years ago.

After returning to Qingfeng Mausoleum, Yu Chen removed the Infernal Mask, washed up, and lay down on his bed.

The case of his parents had begun to reveal some clues, but what exactly had happened would have to wait until Xiao Zihua was found.

As for the final matter he had asked Xie Qing to handle, it was not part of Wang Hai's last wish—after receiving the benefits from the two tasks, Wang Hai's soul had already crossed the river and departed.

Yu Chen was merely helping a person to the end, sending a Buddha to the West—Wang Hai was gone, leaving behind a wife, children, and elderly relatives with no support. Though they had twenty taels of silver, that was no long-term solution. In these chaotic times, bandits might pay them a visit any day.

Yu Chen's heart softened at the thought of all this. He could not bear to see it.

That was why he had asked Xie Qing for help.

And with the Zhengqing Gang looking after them, such things should be avoidable.

In any case, for both Yu Chen and Xie Qing, it was only a matter of saying the word. It was no trouble.

As he thought, Yu Chen closed his eyes and went to meet Duke Zhou in his dreams.

At the same time, in the north of the city, within a grand mansion.

It was still a snowy night, still heavily guarded, still a familiar route.

The Corpse Mover easily bypassed every guard and arrived at that study.

The fat, potbellied man sat beneath an oil lamp, idly flipping through a storybook.

The Corpse Mover coughed twice before the latter finally noticed him.

"There are three matters."

The Corpse Mover sat down at the table and said casually, "First, regarding the Ji Family's Three Brothers, I could not find out who did it."

The fat man raised a brow. "Is there any nook or cranny in Weishui that you cannot worm your way into? Is there anyone you cannot find?"

"Don't make me sound like a rat." The Corpse Mover rolled his eyes. "Based on that courtesan's testimony, I truly have no idea when Weishui produced such a person."

"Then forget it." The fat man set down his book and waved a hand. "Those three deserved to die anyway."

The Corpse Mover nodded and continued, "Second, someone has made a move against the Blackwater Gang—five men had their necks twisted before being burned into charred corpses. The culprit is equally hard to trace. But I asked around. It was not our people."

"Mm." The fat man nodded. "Then it was... the Zhengqing Gang?"

"Not likely."

The Corpse Mover shook his head. "Xie Qing is not that aggressive a man. Without absolute certainty, he would not rashly make a move—and killing five insignificant gang members serves no purpose beyond provoking the Blackwater Gang's rage.

I am more inclined to believe it was the Head-Taking Ghost who killed the Ji Family's Three Brothers. Though there is no evidence, that fellow seems stubbornly obsessed with some so-called sense of 'ritual.'

The kneeling poses of those five Blackwater Gang men, even the order in which they were arranged, were exactly the same as the Ji Family's Three Brothers."

The fat man fell silent after hearing this.

It was as though he were pondering just who the Head-Taking Ghost was.

Or rather, in this troubled season, whether he was friend or foe.

After a pause, he finally asked, "What is the third matter?"

As soon as the words fell, the Corpse Mover bared a row of neat yellow teeth. He licked his lips, resembling some wild beast thirsting for blood. "The third matter is that Xiao Zihua... has escaped from prison."

The fat man turned his head. "He escaped from prison. Why are you so happy about it?"

"Tsk!"

The Corpse Mover smiled.

"These years, because of the identity he stole from Old Brother Yu, we let him live freely and happily for so many years. Every time I was about to lose patience, you said the time had not yet come.

But now his identity as chief constable is gone, and the time is nearly here. He even foolishly escaped from prison, never realizing that for him, prison was the safest place of all!

Tell me, how could I not be happy? Shouldn't I be happy? Wasn't it worth... being happy?"

Silence.

After hearing this, the fat man remained silent for a long time. At last, he stood up. His lazy, harmless disguise was ripped apart in an instant, and a cold, sinister chill like that of a serpent seeped into his eyes.

"—Make it clean."

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(End of Chapter)