Interrogation

Su Che looked at the Qi Household woman, tied up in that sorry 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 in it."

Su Che instructed Zhang San.

"My lord truly cherishes his feathers. You are a genuine gentleman. This servant girl can finally rest easy."

What a simple-minded demon. She had been tied up so shamefully, yet 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 badge."

Su Che spoke lines the demon could not understand.

Zhang San emerged from the Qi Household carrying an iron ruler.

"My lord, 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 consorting with demons?"

"You have quite a future ahead of you, Little Zhang."

"It is all thanks to my lord's instruction."

Su Che glanced at Zhang San. As he recalled, according to the Commentary on the Liang Code, consorting 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 Bureau of Court Entertainment.

Heh heh. Truly, a county magistrate who ruined households. If this charge were established, the Qi family would be finished in Shanyin County.

"Since you are looking to me for instruction, I will say a few more words. When I first arrived in Shanyin County, solving a case of consorting with demons would certainly count as merit. But what would County Deputy Jiang and Registrar Tian think? This demon had been telling fortunes for three months. Would that not mean they had failed in their duty of oversight?"

"Huh?" Zhang San had still been riding high on excitement and had not considered that angle. At Su Che's words, more than half his enthusiasm immediately drained away.

"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 County Deputy Jiang and Registrar Tian, who suffered repercussions because of this demon-consorting case, view you? Even if they say nothing, will the people under them give you a pleasant face?"

"In a major case like consorting with demons, we would inevitably have to investigate everyone who had their fortunes told by this Qi Household woman. How many neighbors in Shanyin County would be dragged into trouble? You know the atmosphere in the yamen. They would inevitably have to spend money to buy their peace. Add all these matters together, and the weight alone would crush you to death."

A few words from Su Che not only extinguished Zhang San's ambitions, but also brought out a cold sweat across his back.

"To understand the ways of the world is learning; to master human feelings is writing. Being a man is like being an official: consider danger, consider retreat, consider change."

Su Che's final words delighted Zhang San.

"From now on, follow me steadily. I will not let you suffer losses."

The demon listened from the side, secretly chuckling.

"You say you are a hypocrite, yet even this sort of kindness has to find reasons for itself. It is enough to make one's teeth ache."

"Xuande's generosity seems like hypocrisy; Zhuge's great wisdom resembles demoncraft. What does a little demon like you understand?"

The Yellow Heaven Sect's Edict of Supreme Spirit Sealing was indeed somewhat miraculous. Su Che mentally credited them for it. Along the way, the demon's complexion had grown exceedingly ugly. Even her sneers came fewer and fewer, her voice lower and lower. She had clearly been tormented badly.

After bringing her back to the county yamen, Su Che directly took the Qi Household woman to his room.

"I will interrogate the case inside shortly. You stand guard outside."

Zhang San nodded.

"Once demons refine their hyoid bones, they may even imitate my voice. So no matter what sounds come from inside, do not listen and do not believe."

Su Che had read in Book Mountain that the first step in a demon's cultivation was refining the hyoid bone in its throat. It could then learn the cries of all other birds and beasts beneath heaven. Only after learning eight hundred kinds could it be considered initiated; the next step was learning human speech.

That was why a great demon had once said, half in envy, "Heaven gives birth to all things to nourish man, yet man offers not a single thing in return to Heaven." It meant that the human body was favored by Heaven and Earth, spared from birth much of the trouble demons had to endure.

When he pushed open the door, he saw the peach-eyed young bookboy standing there with three sticks of sandalwood incense in his hands.

"Young master, why have you relapsed into your old habits again?"

The young bookboy looked at the Qi Household woman wrapped in a bedsheet and spoke in great distress.

"Did you snatch her straight from someone'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 her hand. No wonder she had barely spoken along the way. He had been meticulous in every respect but overlooked one detail.

As the young bookboy spoke, he heard a series of sounds from above.

"How many times has the Sword Case rattled since I left?"

The Sword Case Su Che had brought from Jiankang City now lay atop the Eight Immortals table by the entrance. The young bookboy had found an incense burner from somewhere, with three nearly extinguished sandalwood sticks planted inside.

"After you left, young master, it moved uneasily twice, then did not move again."

Su Che took the sandalwood incense from the young bookboy, lit it from the oil lamp beside them, and quietly inserted it into the incense burner.

He had brought many treasures from Jiankang City, but when it came to killing and self-defense, the Sword Case ranked first.

Thus, Su Che had always wanted to thoroughly subdue this sword during his journey.

A treasured sword possessed 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, nourishing it through patient, water-wearing-stone effort until it developed recognition for its master.

It was like socializing with young ladies in a brothel: either display literary talent or physical prowess, stirring the girls' hearts until they swept their flower-strewn paths to await the lord's favor. Or bring out gleaming silver, spending gold like dirt to carve open a flesh-lined alley.

Su Che's method combined both. On one hand, he practiced the Heaven-Supporting Jun Sword with this sword, nourishing its sword intent; on the other, he used the traditional method of ritual refinement.

Having the young bookboy light sandalwood incense every day was for precisely this purpose.

Su Che looked at the stunned Qi Household woman and formed further 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 send you treasures, then you possess relics left behind by sword heroes of previous generations. Though this item is hidden within its case, a clear and spiritual aura roams the dark heavens. The previous sword master must have possessed cultivation above the fifth rank of the sword path."

The demon looked at Su Che and said, "Earlier, seeing that you had no cultivation at all, I wondered how a crippled, ruined body like yours could cleave through One-Eye's dharma body, tempered through a thousand hammers and a hundred refinements. Now I see you relied on the advantage of a divine weapon."

Su Che lifted the sheet wrapped around the demon, exposing the golden-yellow silk ropes beneath.

"Sister-in-law of the Qi Household, I have a few questions for you. Answer honestly. If your answers fail to satisfy me, then even this crippled, ruined body can give you one stroke of the sword and destroy your years of cultivation in a single day."