Through the Wards (11)

"Corpse A sustained thirteen knife wounds, two of them fatal, one to the heart and one to the throat. Except for the throat wound, almost all the wounds were straight thrusts through the quilt..."

"Corpse B sustained seventeen knife wounds, also with one to the throat and the rest delivered haphazardly through the quilt. None went straight into the heart, though, so the throat wound was probably the first..."

As the middle-aged Black Sash spoke, he suddenly dropped his businesslike tone and became much more direct.

"Both victims were struck in a vital spot right at the start, then stabbed again to finish them off. The killer came expressly to kill, and the weapon in both cases was this Embroidered-Mouth Curved Saber... There really isn't much else to say."

"Quite so." An older man wearing a Vermilion Sash and a small cap looked up at the writing on the wall before him, stroking his beard with a sigh. "What do you make of this?"

"He said he didn't want to leave his name, then signed it anyway. Obviously an alias. Even if there really is a Li Taibai, he's probably some nobody, but since it's written here, it's a lead." The middle-aged Black Sash sighed softly. "Also, several difficult characters here are clearly simplified. Either he's accustomed to a simplified script used in some remote region, or he doesn't know many characters... As for writing in midair, the first thing that comes to mind is naturally Longevity True Qi."

"It is indeed Longevity True Qi."

Looking at those lines, the older Vermilion Sash shook his head, seemingly wishing to deny something, though his words agreed with his subordinate. "This man... or at least one of his accomplices... must have climbed up through the skylight. Add in scaling the ward wall and these lines written in midair, and it all looks very much like Longevity True Qi."

"Accomplices?" The middle-aged Black Sash was puzzled. "But there was only one saber."

"A regulation Embroidered-Mouth Saber." The older Vermilion Sash turned and pointed at the bodies. "If one man did this, there's something I can't understand. How could he have dealt fatal wounds to two people simultaneously? Or did either this Chief Banner Officer or his wife take a knife wound and somehow hold back from struggling or shouting? Why wouldn't they struggle or shout? Especially since the Chief Banner Officer's hands were in front of his mouth, and his wife's body showed signs of coughing up blood. Those were clearly reactions after being stabbed."

"True." The middle-aged Black Sash nodded. "Neither went into shock from a single stab. And they say Feng Zongqi cultivated Turbid Water True Qi, which does have some marvelous life-preserving uses. That fits too... It makes accomplices somewhat more likely. One killed Feng Zongqi while the other killed or restrained Madam Feng... But we still can't be sure. After all, we only found one saber."

"We can't be sure of anything yet," the older Vermilion Sash said evenly. "Every scrap counts. We need to investigate every angle... Find this Li Taibai, the great hero of Central Province who didn't wish to leave his name, keep an eye out for Longevity True Qi, and look into the Chief Banner Officer and his wife's relationships and grudges. Establish where Chief Banner Officer Feng went yesterday, question the serving women about what they heard last night, and hold our noses and investigate this Embroidered-Mouth Curved Saber too, starting with his subordinates..."

"Of course." The middle-aged Black Sash nodded firmly. "Never mind that he was about to transfer to our Central Pacification Office as a Black Sash. Here at the Son of Heaven's feet, beside the Luo River, a sixth-rank Chief Banner Officer of the Eastern Pacification Office and his wife met violent deaths in their own home. Whatever happens, we have to give our superiors an answer."

"Good." The older Vermilion Sash stroked his beard again. "Send word to the Taiwan Central Government and have them assign more men to investigate Li Taibai, the cases and disputes Feng Zongqi recently handled, and his movements yesterday... Then you question the serving women. I'll question these Street-Cleaning Tigers."

The middle-aged Black Sash nodded.

The older Vermilion Sash was already walking out, stroking his long beard. As he reached the door, he was still murmuring to himself:

"One man slain every ten steps, no trace left across a thousand miles.

His deed done, he brushes off his robes and leaves, hiding deep both self and name... Why would someone of such literary brilliance kill a Chief Banner Officer, and women and children besides? Could he have copied it?"

The middle-aged Black Sash paused, finally understanding why the other man had shaken his head earlier. So those two bits of doggerel actually had literary merit? If they had literary merit, he could just say so. Why insist on testing an old criminal investigator like him with them?

What the hell did I know about that?

"Zhang Xing, your turn."

An hour later, in the tavern hall downstairs, a Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry from the Central Pacification Office called his name. Zhang Xing said nothing, merely following the others' example, holding his saber in both hands as he hurried upstairs toward that familiar large room on the second floor.

The door stood open. Zhang Xing walked straight inside and saw only an elderly man sitting before him, looking rather like a schoolteacher, his expression mild as well.

He wore a somewhat shabby Warrior Cap, and an ordinary sword lay casually to one side.

Yet anyone who underestimated him because of his appearance would have made a laughingstock of themselves... Zhang Xing certainly would not. At a glance, he spotted the Vermilion Sash at the man's waist, just like Bai Yousi's. Even his sword bore the same emblem of one sun and two moons as hers.

"Draw your saber and bring it here for me to see." The older Vermilion Sash raised a hand slightly.

Not daring to delay, Zhang Xing quickly drew his saber, then reversed his grip and held it out.

"Put it away." The Vermilion Sash merely glanced at it before giving the casual instruction, then continued looking down at the documents in his hands. "Sit."

Zhang Xing immediately obeyed.

"A new saber?" The older Vermilion Sash leafed through the documents without looking up.

"I'm a new recruit, sir," Zhang Xing replied earnestly.

"Killed anyone with it recently?"

"Only when we suppressed the Green Fish Gang last time... The Chief Banner Officer ordered everyone who hadn't earned merit to kill someone," Zhang Xing answered exactly as things had happened. "Before that, though, I also used it to hack a brothel thug's hand while on street patrol."

The older Vermilion Sash frowned slightly but said nothing about it, merely continuing his questions with his head lowered. "The men before you all said your Chief Banner Officer praised you, saying you liked reading?"

"It's an interest of mine."

"What have you read?"

"I just finished Record of Soaring Dragons Across the Four Seas. I'm reading Spring and Autumn of the White Emperor..."

"You're so young. Read some celebrated novels. What are you reading those official histories for?" The older Vermilion Sash frowned again. "Never mind... There's water beside you. Dip your finger in it and write a few characters. Use both hands."

Zhang Xing's heart jolted, but his expression did not change. He quickly dipped his finger in the water and carefully wrote the five large characters of Record of Soaring Dragons Across the Four Seas on the table. Then he switched hands and slowly, painstakingly tried to write the four characters of Spring and Autumn of the White Emperor neatly.

After just two strokes, a thought stirred in his mind. He immediately channeled Ice True Qi into his fingertip, instantly freezing the water on it. He stopped awkwardly, then looked awkwardly toward the Vermilion Sash before him.

"Forgive the embarrassing display, sir. I couldn't control the strength in my left hand and couldn't help using True Qi. I'll write it again."

"No need." The older Vermilion Sash looked at the cold vapor on his fingertip and immediately shook his head. He simply closed the file and earnestly asked about something else. "Just tell me this: your file is too recent. None of it matches up... What exactly is going on?"

Zhang Xing fell silent for a moment, then chose to tell the truth.

"You're someone Inspector Bai placed here?" The older Vermilion Sash stroked his beard, his expression finally changing a little. "I see."

"I don't know in what sense you mean 'placed,' sir." Zhang Xing weighed his words. "But Inspector Bai hasn't asked me to pay particular attention to anything, and I haven't made any reports. I've simply been doing my job as a Street Patrol Commandant conscientiously."

"I understand, I understand," the older Vermilion Sash said unconcernedly. He also seemed to lose interest in probing further, returning to routine questions about the case itself. "By the way, what level has your Ice True Qi reached?"

"I opened the fifth of the Twelve Orthodox Meridians just last night." As Zhang Xing answered, he extended his fist again and channeled Ice True Qi into his arm.

"So that's where your mind has been." The older Vermilion Sash nodded at once. "One last question... I won't ask where you were last night... I'll ask you directly: is there anything you can tell me about your Chief Banner Officer's death?"

"It must have something to do with the Green Fish Gang." Zhang Xing paused, then gave an entirely natural answer. "Otherwise, it's too much of a coincidence. There were dozens of lives involved, and so much money and property..."

"Indeed. Everyone says that..." The older Vermilion Sash sighed. "That will do. Go home for now. Don't leave your residence without cause, and come here for roll call every morning over the next few days."

"Yes, sir." Zhang Xing rose and cupped his hands, carefully put away his saber, then turned to leave.

But just as he reached the door, he abruptly stopped and turned back.

"What is it?" The older Vermilion Sash narrowed his eyes slightly.

"There's something... It didn't really matter, but I was afraid it would look awkward if I said nothing and you later heard it from someone else." Zhang Xing answered earnestly. "Yesterday, I asked Sister-in-law for the maid Xiao Yu. She only said she would have Elder Brother give me an answer today... Many people were there."

"Oh." The older Vermilion Sash paused. "Understood."

Zhang Xing hastily cupped his hands and left.

Leaving aside the panic that day, the Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry searching everywhere, and the endless rumors, by that afternoon, Zhang Xing had braved his way through the ordeal and returned to his lodgings. Sure enough, Ward Chief Liu already had a message for him:

"Little Zhang, that friend of yours from the Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry came again. He's in the side room."

Zhang Xing immediately thanked him, but whether it was his imagination or not, he kept feeling that Ward Chief Liu's expression was peculiar... Though under these circumstances, an expression that wasn't peculiar would have seemed even more amiss.

Taking his leave of Brother Liu, he went to see Qin Bao, and the two sat down in the courtyard as they usually did.

"Did you hear about my Chief Banner Officer's case and come to see me?" Zhang Xing asked calmly.

"Of course." Qin Bao looked somewhat conflicted, as though he wanted to ask something but did not dare. "What are they saying about the case? Word has spread all through the Taiwan Central Government. Even the Intendant knows. They're saying some great hero of Central Province called Li Taibai did it... And harmed women and children too?"

"What women and children? Our Feng Zongqi's wife was always the one who really made the decisions," Zhang Xing replied casually. "I don't know any more about the details than you do. I've just been ordered not to go far without permission and to report for roll call every day."

Qin Bao let out a breath of relief at the first half of that answer, then nodded repeatedly and asked no more.

But since they had only just met up, parting immediately would have been awkward, so they chatted about cultivation for a while. Only when the Street-Clearing Copper Alms Bowl rang out again did Qin Erlang take his leave.

After he left, Zhang Xing went to eat dinner. Back in the courtyard, he could not help feeling a little empty. Then he suddenly remembered how that Vermilion Sash earlier had seemed to think very little of the histories he read that mentioned ancient times, preferring novels instead. He simply fetched the wooden box Qin Bao had brought him earlier, intending to sample this world's literary classics.

Yet when he opened the box, the seven or eight volumes inside turned out to be a single complete set. And when he opened the first volume, its title was even more alarming-Biography of the Heroine Li Yue, Part One: The Wandering Dragon Sees the Phoenix.

For a moment, Zhang Xing felt profound concern about the literary cultivation of Bai Yousi, Qin Bao, and indeed this entire world.

PS: First, my endless thanks to reader One Man Fishing Alone Through a River of Autumn for becoming an alliance leader.

Next, since these public chapters aren't subject to concerns about padding the paid word count, let me say a couple of things about the previous chapter.

1. Bai Yousi has never seen Zhang Xing write simplified characters. I really never wrote that.

2. The protagonist wiped his saber on the bloodstained quilt precisely to obscure the traces... To those who mentioned fingerprints, the point is that he wasn't wiping it with a clean cloth, which could easily leave clear fingerprints. He was using a bloodstained quilt... Precisely to obscure the traces... But overall, my writing wasn't rigorous enough. That's a different matter from the point above, and I've made a slight correction.