Murder Case

Early morning, Wang Family Estate.

The wealthy landowner Wang Dafa and his wife Li Shi sat in the eastern hall, eating breakfast.

Though Wang Dafa had no lack of wealth, his meals were exceedingly simple. On a large square table with peeling paint sat a huge bowl of porridge, a dish of Pickled Vegetables, a dish of stir-fried greens, and a large basin of White Flour Buns. That was their breakfast.

Wang Dafa slurped down a mouthful of porridge and smacked his lips, only to suddenly feel a wave of nausea. He simply set down his bowl, picked up the smoking pipe beside him, and began to smoke.

Li Shi stopped eating and looked up at him in confusion. "What's wrong?" More than half his large bowl of porridge remained, while the dishes and buns on the table had barely been touched.

Wang Dafa coughed, shot his wife a glare, and said impatiently, "Eat your food."

Li Shi fell silent and lowered her head to continue eating.

Wang Dafa stood up and paced back and forth with his pipe in hand. For some reason, ever since getting up that morning, he had felt inexplicably uneasy. His eyelids kept twitching, his heart was restless, and he could not shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

His eldest son had gone to Yuzhou to sell grain. The realm was peaceful now, and he had martial artists accompanying him, so nothing should have gone wrong. Nothing major had happened at home recently, either.

Could the second one have gotten into trouble again? At that thought, Wang Dafa realized that his second son had yet to come for breakfast. He went to the doorway, called over the hired hand Biao Zi, and said angrily, "Where's the second boy? Where did he go fooling around last night? Biao Zi, go call him over."

Biao Zi turned to look for Fatty Wang. Wang Dafa sat back down in his chair, looked at his wife, and felt his anger flare up. "It's all because you spoiled him."

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

"You, you..." Wang Dafa was so furious he could not speak. He raised his pipe as if to smash it on the ground, then held himself back.

"Smash it, go on, smash it. If you break it, I'll make sure you never smoke again for the rest of your life." Li Shi sneered.

Wang Dafa tossed the pipe onto the dining table, pinched the tuft of grizzled beard beneath his chin, turned his head aside, and sulked by himself.

Li Shi smiled smugly, picked up a bun, and took a huge bite.

Her natal family was one of the great landowning families in neighboring Sun Family Town. Their wealth and influence were no less than the Wang family's, and she also had a younger brother serving at Shi Fu County Yamen. That was why she did not fear her husband.

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

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

Biao Zi answered and was about to leave when someone outside suddenly shouted, "Master, this is bad! This is bad!"

Wang Dafa and Li Shi both sprang to their feet, terror filling their hearts.

A moment later, someone stumbled into the room. Biao Zi hurriedly stepped aside. He recognized the man—another hired hand of the Wang family, named Liu Neng.

Liu Neng panted heavily, his face full of terror. "Master, Madam, something terrible has happened. A corpse was found in the woods to the east just now. It looked, it looked..." For a moment, he did not know how to say it.

Wang Dafa said urgently, "Looked like what? Speak!"

"It looked like the Second Young Master." Liu Neng looked at his master, frightened and cautious.

The moment Wang Dafa heard that, blood rushed straight to his head. He collapsed into his chair, and his vision blurred before his eyes.

Li Shi, beside him, shut her eyes and fainted onto the ground.

Biao Zi and Liu Neng hurried forward to support them both.

It took Wang Dafa a long while to recover. He struggled to his feet and said in a trembling voice, "Biao Zi, quickly gather some men and come with me to look." Then he ordered Liu Neng, "You, hurry and report this to the authorities."

Before long, Wang Dafa led seven or eight men to the woods east of the estate.

A corpse hung from a tree, with only half a head remaining. Red and white fragments were scattered across the ground, and the blood had already dried.

Among the men following Wang Dafa, the more timid ones immediately clung to trees and vomited.

The moment he saw that familiar blanket, Wang Dafa's vision went dark again, and he nearly fell. Biao Zi beside him hurriedly caught him.

Wang Dafa shoved Biao Zi away and staggered forward, intending to untie the corpse. Biao Zi quickly wrapped his arms around him and said, "Master, please restrain your grief. If the scene is disturbed, the constables will have a hard time tracking down the murderer."

Wang Dafa was overwhelmed with grief and muttered under his breath, "Who was it? Who killed my son? What grudge could they have had, that they had to kill him?"

White-haired people sending off a black-haired one—the Wang family's hired hands could not help but feel heartsick as well.

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

He had followed Wang Dafa since he was young. In his early years, he had traveled north and south with Wang Dafa and gained considerable experience. Seeing Wang Dafa's grief-stricken state, he felt wretched beyond measure.

The constables arrived soon afterward.

Township Chief Long Danian personally led a group of constables into the woods. He too was deeply shocked by what lay before him. Crouching Tiger Slope had not seen such a brutal case in many years.

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

"Brother Wang, restrain your grief. Rest assured, I will spare no effort to capture the murderer and give you an explanation." Long Danian helped Wang Dafa up, held his arm, and made the promise in a grave voice.

Tears streamed down Wang Dafa's aged face. He clutched Long Danian's arm tightly, almost too choked with sobs to speak.

Long Danian understood well that Wang Dafa was the greatest landowner in the area, with influence not to be underestimated. Moreover, Wang Dafa had always strongly supported the township office's work and often offered gifts to officials like them. Thus, Long Danian attached great importance to this case.

The constables soon finished examining the scene and inspecting the corpse, then indicated that the Wang family could take the body away.

Biao Zi directed the Wang family's hired hands to gather the broken bones from the ground, wrap them together in the blanket, and carry them home. Supporting the corpse all the way, Wang Dafa wept as though he had died and come back to life.

Biao Zi remained behind to follow the progress of the investigation.

A constable in his forties came over and reported to Long Danian, "Township Chief, according to the preliminary examination, the victim died after being struck forcefully in the head with a blunt weapon. Judging by the footprints at the scene, there were at least three perpetrators. Aside from the cloth rope used to bind the corpse, no valuable clues or objects were left at the scene." As he spoke, he handed over a gray cloth rope.

Long Danian took the rope and examined it, but could find no clue. He turned to Biao Zi and asked, "Does this rope belong to your household?"

Biao Zi stared at it and examined it carefully, then shook his head. "We've never used this sort of rope at home." After thinking for a moment, he added, "It's a rope braided from worn-out clothes. Many farming households use this kind of rope."

Long Danian frowned. A single rope was naturally not enough to find the murderer. He handed it back to the constable and asked, "Old Zhong, did you find anything else?"

The constable pondered for a moment, then said solemnly, "Nearly half the victim's head was smashed away in a single blow. The killer must have possessed tremendous strength. This subordinate guesses that the person either had natural divine strength or possessed exceptionally high martial arts."

Long Danian frowned. "You mean the perpetrator may have been someone who practiced martial arts, and highly skilled at that? Or perhaps a martial master committed the crime?"

The constable nodded. He was inclined to believe that a martial master had done it. How could an ordinary person possess such immense strength?

Listening from the side, Biao Zi was filled with fear. The case had actually involved a martial master; things had become complicated. I need to report this to Master immediately. With that thought, he bid Long Danian farewell and hurried back to Wang Family Estate.

Long Danian himself felt uneasy at that moment. If martial masters were involved, it was no longer something a mere township chief like him could handle.

Leaving several constables behind to continue investigating the case, Long Danian took the rest and hurried back to the township office.

At dusk, the setting sun dyed the entire western sky blood-red.

Liu Yuanzhou finished a round of Plum Blossom Fist beneath the Big Willow Tree by the riverbank and withdrew his stance. He wiped the sweat pouring from his forehead like slurry and was about to head back.

Suddenly, a burly man came running from the distance. A gleaming metal band encircled his shiny bald head, and in the blink of an eye, he had reached Liu Yuanzhou.

Under the setting sun, the burly man seemed to be shrouded in flames.

"Liu Yuanzhou, you dared deceive this monk? Take this!" the burly man roared, raising his monk's staff and smashing it down toward Liu Yuanzhou's head.

Liu Yuanzhou froze. His body seemed to have been sealed in ice, and he could not move at all. He could only watch helplessly as the monk's staff crashed toward his head.

Boom! Heaven and earth shattered.