Su Che looked at the Qi Household woman, tied up in such a state.
If he dragged her through the streets like this, his reputation in Shanyin County would probably stink as badly as it did in Jiankang City.
That would not do.
"Go to the Qi Household and find a sheet or something. Wrap her up for me."
Su Che instructed Zhang San.
"Your Excellency truly cherishes his good name. You are a genuine gentleman. This humble one can finally rest easy."
What a simple-minded demon. She was tied up in such a shameful state, and she was still calling him a gentleman?
"Then you are gravely mistaken. Yue Buqun is my real name, Zuo Lengchan my former name, Jiang Biehe my pen name, Iron-Gallant Divine Marquis my title, and despicable is written on my work permit."
Su Che recited lines the demon could not understand.
Zhang San came out of the Qi Household carrying an iron ruler.
"Sir, the old madam of the Qi Household actually had the father and son tied up in the woodshed. Should we release them, then arrest the Qi father and son and charge them with colluding with demons?"
"You have a bright future ahead of you, Little Zhang."
"It is all thanks to Your Excellency's instruction."
Su Che glanced at Zhang San. As he recalled, according to the Commentary on the Liang Code, colluding with demons was a grave crime. Men would be exiled three thousand li and have their property confiscated, while women would be sent to the Music Bureau.
Heh heh. Truly a county magistrate who ruined households. If this charge stuck, the Qi family would be finished in Shanyin County.
"Since you are looking to me for instruction, I will say a few more words. The moment I arrived in Shanyin County, I solved a case of collusion with demons. That is certainly merit. But what would Magistrate Jiang and Registrar Tian think? This demon has been telling fortunes for three months. Would that not mean they had failed in their duties of oversight?"
"Huh?" Zhang San had still been riding high on his excitement and had not considered that angle. At Su Che's words, more than half his enthusiasm vanished at once.
"Besides, you know I may not remain in Shanyin County for long. Once I take up office elsewhere, if you are still here, how will Magistrate Jiang and Registrar Tian, who suffered repercussions because of this demon-collusion case, view you? Even if they say nothing, will the people under them give you a pleasant face?"
"In a major case like colluding with demons, we would inevitably have to hunt down everyone who had their fortunes told by this Qi Household woman. How many neighbors throughout Shanyin County would be dragged into trouble? You know the atmosphere in the yamen. They would inevitably have to spend money to buy peace. Add all these matters together, and they would crush you to death."
A few words from Su Che not only extinguished Zhang San's schemes, but brought a layer of cold sweat to his back.
"To understand the affairs of the world is learning; to master human feelings is literature. Being a man is like being an official: think of danger, think of retreat, think of change."
Su Che's final words filled Zhang San's heart with delight.
"From now on, follow me steadily. I will not let you suffer a loss."
The demon listened from the side and secretly chuckled.
"You call yourself a hypocrite, yet even this sort of kindness needs a reason? That is enough to make one's teeth ache."
"Xuande's generosity was mistaken for hypocrisy, Zhuge's great wisdom for demoncraft. What would a little demon like you understand?"
The Yellow Heaven Sect's Edict of Supreme Spirit Sealing was indeed somewhat miraculous. Su Che silently credited them for it. As they traveled, the demon's complexion grew exceedingly ugly. Even her mockery came fewer words at a time, her voice growing softer and softer. She had clearly been tormented badly.
After bringing her back to the county yamen, Su Che took the Qi Household woman directly to his room.
"I will interrogate the case inside shortly. You stand guard outside."
Zhang San nodded.
"Once a demon refines its transverse bone, it may even be able to imitate my voice. So no matter what sounds come from inside, do not listen, and do not believe them."
Su Che had read in Book Mountain that for demons to cultivate, the first step was refining the transverse bone in their throats. They then had to learn the cries of every bird and beast under heaven. Only after learning eight hundred kinds could they be considered initiated. The next step was learning to speak.
That was why a great demon had once said with half-jealousy, "Heaven brings forth all things to nourish man, yet man has not a single thing to repay Heaven." It meant that human bodies were favored by Heaven and Earth, sparing people much trouble from the moment they were born compared to demons.
When he pushed open the door, he saw the peach-eyed young bookboy standing there with three sticks of sandalwood incense in hand.
"Young master, why have you fallen back into your old habits again?"
The little bookboy looked at the Qi Household woman wrapped in a sheet and spoke with great heartbreak.
"Could it be that you snatched her straight from someone else's bed? Why did you not even give her clothes to wear? You are far too impatient. If word gets out, it will damage your good name, young master."
Su Che glanced at the demon, who was snickering behind him. No wonder she had barely spoken along the way. He had been meticulous in every respect, yet overlooked this one detail.
As the little bookboy spoke, a series of sounds came from above.
"How many times did the Sword Case make noise after I left?"
The Sword Case Su Che had brought from Jiankang City now lay atop the Eight Immortals table just inside the door. The little bookboy had somehow found an incense burner, with three nearly spent sticks of sandalwood incense stuck inside.
"After you left, young master, it stirred uneasily twice, then never moved again."
Su Che took the sandalwood incense from the little bookboy, lit it from the oil lamp beside him, and quietly inserted it into the incense burner.
He had brought quite a few treasures from Jiankang City, but when it came to killing and self-defense, the Sword Case ranked first.
Thus, throughout the journey, Su Che had wanted to thoroughly subdue this sword.
A treasured sword had a spirit. There were two ways to make it one's own: either display peerless swordsmanship and make the sword willingly serve its master,
or treat it with sincerity, slowly nurturing it through the patient work of water grinding against stone until it came to recognize its master.
It was like socializing with young ladies in a brothel. One could either display literary talent or physical prowess, stir the ladies' hearts, and have them sweep the flower-strewn path to await one's favor. Or one could take out gleaming silver and, with a lavish throw of a thousand gold pieces, open a fleshly alleyway.
Su Che's method was both at once. On one hand, he practiced the Heaven-Supporting Jun Sword with this blade to nurture its sword intent; on the other, he used the traditional method of ritual refinement.
Having the little bookboy light sandalwood incense every day was for precisely this purpose.
Su Che looked at the stunned Qi Household woman and formed even more judgments in his heart.
"What is it, madam? Do you recognize this official's great treasure sword?"
"Young master, your household is indeed grand. First, the old ox-noses of the Yellow Heaven Sect sent you treasures, and now you possess a relic left by a sword hero of the previous generation. Though this object is concealed within its case, a current of pure spiritual qi drifts through the mysterious heavens. Its former master absolutely possessed cultivation above Fifth Grade in the Sword Dao."
The demon looked at Su Che and said, "I had wondered how you, young master, with no cultivation at all and a crippled, ruined body, could cleave through One-Eye's body of law, forged through a thousand hammerings and hundred refinements. Now I see you relied on the sharpness of a divine weapon."
Su Che lifted the sheet wrapping the demon and revealed the golden-yellow silk cords beneath.
"Madam Qi, I will ask you a few questions. Answer honestly. If your answers displease me, then even this crippled, ruined body can strike you with a sword and reduce your years of cultivation to nothing."