Murder Case

Early morning, the Wang Family mansion.

Wealthy merchant Wang Dafa and his wife, Li Shi, were sitting in the east wing, eating breakfast.

Although Wang Dafa was quite wealthy, his meals were extremely simple. On a large square table with peeling paint, there was a large pot of porridge, a plate of pickled vegetables, a plate of stir-fried greens, and a large basket of white flour mantou. This was their breakfast.

Wang Dafa slurped a mouthful of porridge, smacked his lips, and suddenly felt a wave of nausea. He simply put down his bowl and picked up his opium pipe to smoke.

Li Shi stopped eating, looked up at her husband, and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?" She noticed that her husband had barely touched his large bowl of porridge, and the dishes and mantou on the table were almost untouched.

Wang Dafa coughed and glared at his wife, somewhat impatiently saying, "Eat your food."

Li Shi remained silent and continued eating with her head down.

Wang Dafa stood up, pacing back and forth on the ground with his opium pipe in hand. For some reason, he had felt a strange unease since he woke up this morning. His eyelids kept twitching, and he felt restless, with a constant feeling that something bad was about to happen.

His eldest son had gone to Yu Province to sell grain. Now that the world was at peace, and with a Martial Master accompanying him, there shouldn't be any accidents. Nothing major had happened at home recently either.

Could it be that his second son had gotten into trouble again? Thinking of this, Wang Dafa realized that his second son hadn't come to eat breakfast yet. He walked to the door, called for the long-term worker Biao Zi, and angrily said, "Where's the second son? Where did he go gallivanting last night? Biao Zi, go call him over."

Biao Zi turned to look for Fatty Wang. Wang Dafa sat back in his chair, looked at his wife, and felt a surge of anger: "It's all because you spoil him."

"Wang Dafa, are you done yet? How did I offend you?" Li Shi slammed her bowl heavily on the table and glared at Wang Dafa, shouting.

"You, you..." Wang Dafa was so angry that he couldn't speak. He raised the opium pipe in his hand, wanting to smash it on the ground, but he held back.

"You smash it, you smash it. If you break it, I'll make sure you can never smoke again," Li Shi sneered.

Wang Dafa threw the opium pipe on the dining table, pinched the few gray hairs on his chin, and turned his head to the side, sulking alone.

Li Shi smiled triumphantly and picked up a mantou, taking a large bite.

Her family was a large landowner in the neighboring Sun Family Town, with wealth and power not inferior to the Wang Family. Moreover, she had a younger brother working as a clerk in the Shi Fu County Yamen, so she wasn't afraid of her husband.

After a while, Biao Zi walked in and said, "Master, Madam, the Second Young Master isn't in his room."

Wang Dafa's face darkened. Li Shi, seeing this, felt a little guilty. She said to Biao Zi, "Go look again. Maybe he went to practice martial arts early in the morning. Didn't he learn some skills from Martial Master Zheng?"

Biao Zi responded and was about to leave when they heard someone shouting loudly outside, "Master, something bad has happened, something bad has happened!"

Wang Dafa and Li Shi stood up together, their hearts filled with alarm.

A moment later, they saw a person stumbling into the room. Biao Zi quickly stepped aside. He recognized the person as Liu Neng, another long-term worker of the Wang Family.

Liu Neng gasped for breath, his face filled with terror, "Master, Madam, something terrible has happened. A corpse was found in the woods east of the mansion. It seems, it seems..." He didn't know how to say it.

Wang Dafa urged, "Seems like what? Speak quickly!"

"It seems to be the Second Young Master," Liu Neng said, looking at his master with caution and fear.

Upon hearing this, Wang Dafa felt a surge of blood rushing to his head. He slumped into the chair, his vision blurring.

Li Shi, on the side, closed her eyes and fainted to the ground.

Biao Zi and Liu Neng quickly stepped forward to support them.

It took a long time for Wang Dafa to recover. He struggled to stand up and said in a trembling voice, "Biao Zi, quickly call for people and come with me to take a look." He then instructed Liu Neng, "You, go report to the authorities."

Before long, Wang Dafa led seven or eight people to the woods east of the mansion.

A corpse hung from a tree, with half a head remaining, and scattered red and white matter on the ground, the bloodstains already dried.

Several of those who had followed Wang Dafa, the more timid ones, immediately leaned against trees and began to vomit.

Taking just one look at the familiar quilt, Wang Dafa's vision went black again, nearly causing him to fall, but Biao Zi beside him quickly supported him.

Wang Dafa pushed Biao Zi away and staggered forward to untie the corpse. Biao Zi quickly grabbed him, saying, "Master, please restrain your grief. If the scene is disturbed, it will be harder for the constables to track down the murderer."

Wang Dafa was overwhelmed with grief, muttering to himself in a low voice, "Who was it, who killed my son? What kind of hatred could make them kill?"

It was a heartbreaking sight of an old man mourning the loss of his son, and the Wang Family's servants also felt a pang of sorrow.

Biao Zi helped Wang Dafa lean against a tree and sit on the ground, then instructed the others to spread out and guard the scene.

He had been following Wang Dafa since he was very young, traveling with Wang Dafa to the north and south in his early years, and had gained some experience. Seeing Wang Dafa's grief-stricken appearance, he felt extremely sad as well.

Soon, the constables arrived.

The village head, Long Danian, personally led a group of constables into the woods, and he was also shocked by the scene before him. It had been many years since such a tragic case had occurred in Crouching Tiger Slope.

Without wasting words, he immediately ordered several capable constables to survey the scene and collect clues.

"Old brother, please accept my condolences. Rest assured, I will do my best to catch the murderer and give you an explanation." Long Danian helped Wang Dafa up, holding his arm, and promised in a mournful tone.

Wang Dafa was in tears, tightly grasping Long Danian's arm, almost sobbing uncontrollably.

Long Danian understood in his heart that Wang Dafa, as the largest landlord in the area, had considerable influence, and he also strongly supported the work of the village, often showing respect to them officials, so he attached great importance to this case.

Soon, the constables finished surveying the scene and examining the corpse, and then signaled that the Wang Family could take the body away.

Biao Zi directed the Wang Family's servants to collect the bone fragments on the ground and wrap them in the quilt, then ordered them to be carried home. Wang Dafa supported the corpse, crying his heart out all the way.

Biao Zi stayed behind to track the case's investigation.

A constable in his forties came over to report to Long Danian, "Village Head, according to the preliminary investigation, the deceased was killed by a blunt object striking the head with great force. Judging from the footprints at the scene, there were at least three perpetrators. Apart from the cloth rope used to tie the corpse, no other valuable clues were left at the scene." After speaking, he handed over a gray cloth rope.

Long Danian took the cloth rope and examined it, but couldn't discern any clues. He turned to ask Biao Zi, "Is this rope from your house?"

Biao Zi stared at it carefully for a moment, then shook his head and said, "We have never used this kind of rope at home." After thinking for a moment, he added, "This is a rope made of old clothes. Many rural families use this kind of rope."

Long Danian frowned. It would be difficult to find the murderer based on a single rope. He returned the rope to the constable and asked, "Old Zhong, have you found anything else?"

The constable pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice, "Almost half of the deceased's head was smashed off with a single blow. The perpetrator must be very strong. I suspect that this person is either naturally strong or a very skilled martial artist."

Long Danian frowned and said, "Are you saying that the perpetrator may be a martial artist, and a very skilled one, or even a Martial Master?"

The constable nodded, leaning towards the idea that it was done by a Martial Master, as ordinary people wouldn't have such great strength.

Biao Zi, who was listening from the side, was also terrified. The case actually involved a Martial Master, which made the situation complicated. I must quickly report the news to the master, he thought, and then bid farewell to Long Danian and hurried back to the Wang Family's mansion.

Long Danian felt somewhat uneasy at this moment. If a Martial Master might be involved, it was beyond what a small village head like him could handle.

Leaving a few constables to continue investigating the case, Long Danian led the rest back to the village office in a hurry.

******

Dusk, sunset, the entire western sky was dyed blood red.

Liu Yuanzhou finished practicing the Plum Blossom Fist under the big willow tree on the riverbank, and after finishing his practice, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and was about to walk back.

Suddenly, a burly man came running from afar, his shiny bald head adorned with a golden hoop, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived in front of Liu Yuanzhou.

In the setting sun, the burly man seemed to be enveloped in flames.

"Liu Yuanzhou, you dare to deceive this old monk, take this!" the burly man shouted, raising his Zen staff and smashing it down on Liu Yuanzhou's head.

Liu Yuanzhou was stunned; his body seemed frozen, unable to move at all, watching helplessly as the Zen staff crashed down on his head.

"Boom!" The heavens collapsed and the earth split.