Staggering Journey (7)

"Body A was struck through the neck and beheaded on the spot... The weapon should have been a long shaft with a broad blade, matching the eyebrow-tipped saber abandoned beside the woods... He should have been half crouching when he was beheaded, either dodging or getting up, or possibly staggering... There was massive blood loss, consistent with that patch of spattered blood in the road...

"Body B was struck from behind and to the side. The blade cut diagonally beneath the ribs into the waist and abdomen, deep into the spine, killing him instantly... The weapon was the same...

"Body C suffered three saber wounds...

"Body D...

"Body E was the most unusual. He suffered eleven wounds in all, but every one came from a short blade... And that is not all. His face was covered in mud and blood, and his nasal bone was broken... There was a footprint on his shoulder, matching the impressions over by the river ditch... There was also a great deal of blood on his back, matching the gap in the bloodstains beside Body A when he was beheaded... He should have been... should have been stamped down onto the ground, breaking his nasal bone outright... And before he could get up, that person beheaded Body A behind him with a single stroke? And it was precisely this stroke that sent the others scattering?"

A bearded, middle-aged Brocade-clad constable wearing a Black Sash circulated his true qi as he examined the bodies, giving his account in his usual manner. But toward the end, even with his wealth of experience, he could not help making it a question, turning to look at his superior:

"Inspector, that should be what happened, correct?"

The female head constable, the swordswoman-or rather, the female patrol inspector, Bai Yousi-nodded at his words. Under the astonished gazes of Qin Bao and several other local young men, she stepped forward of her own accord and, unconcerned by the filth, reached straight out to press a wound on Body E.

Qin Bao and the others had reason to be astonished.

Although this female head constable kept calling herself a "Red Sash from the Jing'an Directorate" and was quite approachable, anyone with a little common knowledge understood perfectly well that, as the specialized institution directly responsible for dealing with and keeping cultivators in check, the Jing'an Directorate was by no means merely a place for criminal investigations. It was a traditionally powerful department ranked alongside such court institutions as the Censorate, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of War. Above, it had a direct line to the highest authority; below, its three great Pacification Offices each had their own duties. The Central Pacification Office, to which the Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry belonged, dealt with every corner of the martial world and thus exercised something of a direct jurisdiction over cultivators like them.

People of the martial world might affect disdain on the surface, but in truth they feared it like a tiger.

As for these so-called Red Sashes, they were figures of towering importance in border prefectures and commanderies like this. The head of the Jing'an Directorate stationed over a prefecture or commandery was generally only a Black Sash, and the step from Black Sash to Red Sash happened to be an enormous hurdle. Many officials in the service could only earn a Black Sash through seniority just before an honorable retirement, after a whole lifetime of work. A Red Sash was beyond their dreams.

In fact, the entire Jing'an Directorate currently had only twenty-eight Vermilion Sashes. They were either people of exceptionally high seniority and background or supreme experts in certain fields... or both.

Yet here was a Vermilion-Sash Female Patrol Inspector of such high rank and authority, so young and beautiful, who did not shrink from filth and personally examined bodies that had been dead for four or five days, were crawling with ants, and had begun to stink. It truly broadened the horizons of Qin Bao and these other so-called heroes from a backwater.

Very soon, their horizons broadened further. Before their eyes, a golden radiance that seemed almost solid suddenly welled from the female patrol inspector's fingertips. Like flowing water, it miraculously seeped into the corpse, then appeared at each wound in a certain sequence.

"Interesting."

By the time she withdrew her hand, Bai Yousi had reached a new conclusion. "The first stab actually came from behind. Considering that he specifically changed weapons, and that the scene of the killing had shifted from where this man was first stamped down, he very likely killed this one last... Brother Hu, are we thinking the same thing?"

"That should be it." This time, the bearded Black Sash constable sounded certain. "After killing the others, he exhausted his true qi and had no choice but to attack from behind."

"Have all the bodies been identified?" Bai Yousi stood and continued her questions.

"They have."

Before Qin Bao could summon the courage to step forward and answer, a tall young constable wearing a White Ribbon beside them had already spoken. "I just asked around among the local officers. The incident happened three or four days ago, so they already knew everything perfectly well... B, C, and D were habitual thieves from nearby. With the army passing through, the fighting at the front pressing hard, and a shortage of able-bodied young men locally, they grew even more brazen. Recently, there had already been rumors of burglary and highway robbery... A and E were young men from nearby villages. Neither had a good reputation. They should have been inside accomplices who regularly colluded in the thefts. Together, they made up a typical band of robbers."

"And the culprit... hmm... the killer? What do we have on him?"

"Military boots, a fine regulation long eyebrow-tipped saber, an abandoned helmet... There should be no doubt that he was a regular soldier routed from the front at Fallen Dragon Shoal, and from the Upper Five Armies at that." The tall White Ribbon constable remained precise. "We just do not know which army he was left over from, having escaped the rout at the front and then survived the Denglai earthquake."

"Correct." The middle-aged Black Sash constable immediately nodded as well. "Judging by the force of his blows, he should have some cultivation, but not much. No more than an entry-level Meridian Opening cultivator. We do not know how many of the Twelve Orthodox Meridians he has opened... That fits a regular soldier of the Upper Five Armies exactly... He should also be fairly young, because with either greater martial skill or greater age, he would surely have had better prospects."

Bai Yousi nodded at once.

"Heroine Bai, please hear me out." Just then, Qin Bao hurried forward and took the opportunity to cup his hands and explain, recounting everything that had happened earlier in detail. "There was some private information I did not dare disclose lightly before... This is what happened..."

At the end, Qin Bao pleaded earnestly, "I hope you and these other heroes will understand. Our village had reasons for taking him in. We were by no means deliberately sheltering him."

"The court has no statute making defeat a crime." Hearing this, a young man among the Brocade-clad constables immediately raised his voice with a cold laugh. "Otherwise, every last one of those gentlemen at court should have been holding their court sessions in the imperial prison long ago!"

At these words, others immediately chimed in, and laughter rose from the Brocade-clad party.

The Black Sash surnamed Hu was somewhat more seasoned. Once the laughter subsided a little, he offered a warning. "Little Li, do not say such things carelessly. You might invite disaster."

"In fact, deserters and routed soldiers are not the same thing, and since ancient times, there has been no such practice as punishing troops for defeat." The female patrol inspector also grew a little more solemn as she explained to Qin Bao and the other local young men and elders, who clearly did not quite understand. "It is just that routed soldiers often possess fighting strength, but after retreating in defeat they lack supplies and lose discipline. They often commit vile deeds and cause immense damage locally, which is why they repeatedly provoke crackdowns and manhunts... Our journey here also included temporary orders to patrol behind the battlefield... So rest assured. There was nothing improper about sheltering a routed soldier. Your village will not be held accountable, much less that Aunt Liu whose son has yet to return."

Relieved, Qin Bao nodded. He felt only that this Heroine Bai was truly patient, beautiful, and kindhearted, and his heart grew all the more unsettled.

Bai Yousi turned back to her companions. "Everything fits now... What do you think?"

"It should have been legitimate resistance." Constable Hu, the Black Sash, again took the lead without hesitation. "If the account is entirely true, then Yuan Da must have tricked that soldier into coming out, intending to rob him, hold him captive, or the like, only for the man to turn savage and kill them instead... The killer was that young routed soldier. He should practice an ice-type true qi, a style from the Northern Wasteland. Some great houses in the capital have inherited it too. It is not particularly rare."

"And he is a loyal fellow, too," the tall White Ribbon constable put in. "From the circumstances, he should have carried on his journey with his companion's corpse on his back again... Inspector, Brother Hu, are we really going to pursue him? There are plenty of foul, blackhearted people under heaven. It is men like this who grow rarer by the day."

"Big Qian is right. I say, with the military news from the front confirmed and few routed soldiers about, we ought to return to the capital and report. Why make things difficult for a fine fellow like him?" The young man surnamed Li, who had mocked the "gentlemen at court," added his agreement. "Who among us does not know the court's real intention in sending us to the Eastern Territories this time?"

"That may be so, but this is still a major case involving five lives. As patrol cavalry dispatched by the Jing'an Directorate, how can we leave it unresolved now that we have seen it? Even if his circumstances truly deserve sympathy and the law allows leniency, we must still meet him and establish things clearly." Bai Yousi considered for a moment, then answered seriously. "Let us do this. Though he left three or four days ago, he cannot travel fast carrying a corpse, even with some cultivation... Big Qian, go back to the village and verify things with Aunt Liu. Confirm the facts about Yuan Da and the routed soldier, then hurry after us."

The tall young White Ribbon constable said nothing. He merely cupped his hands, lowered his head, and walked out of the woods, then swung onto his horse and rode away.

"Little Li, take two men back to the prefectural seat, then follow the main road toward the Eastern Capital, but keep your pace in check and wait for word from us..." Once he had left, Bai Yousi looked at another man. "If we can meet up in time, we will return to the capital together. If we cannot meet within three days, do not concern yourselves with us. Ride at full speed straight back to the Eastern Capital and report the information gathered on this trip to the Intendant."

"Rest assured, Sister Si. I will not fail you." Little Li, whose words had been mocking earlier, also gave a serious salute, then turned, mounted, and rode away.

"Brother Hu, we will go together!" Finally, the female patrol inspector looked at her capable assistant. "Carrying a corpse, he cannot possibly move fast, and he will very likely be stopped by the great river. Even if he can cross it, he will expose his trail. We will certainly catch up."

"Very well." The Black Sash constable remained composed.

Watching the female patrol inspector move so swiftly, making decisive, appropriate arrangements almost as soon as the information was confirmed and then preparing to leave, Qin Bao hesitated before summoning his courage and stepping forward:

"Heroine Bai!"

"Yes?" Several of the Brocade-clad constables around them looked ready to laugh at this, as though they had seen it all before, but the female patrol inspector remained amiable. "Do you have anything else in mind? Please, speak."

"To tell you the truth, Heroine Bai," Qin Bao answered, his face flushing red, "two of the dead were from my village... And I was the one who decided to let the killer in. From what we know now, the cause of all this seems to have had something to do with me as well... You are devoted to your duty and insist on catching that soldier to confront him and establish the truth. How could I not want to see an outcome face-to-face myself? Unless I can properly learn the rights and wrongs, the causes and consequences, my heart will never be at peace."

At the end, Qin Bao, bow on his back and saber at his waist, bent into a deep bow. "Please grant my request, Heroine Bai."

Bai Yousi was slightly taken aback, then immediately nodded. "Can you ride?"

"Yes!" Qin Bao grew excited at once and lifted his head to face her. "And I have my own horse!"

"Then come along." Bai Yousi was as brisk as ever.