Jin Shanyao bid Master Zhao farewell and rode the ox cart back. As she passed the county yamen, she saw a crowd gathered around the notice board.
"How cruel! Three people murdered in a row."
"Isn't it? The county yamen has even posted a notice offering fifty taels. Damn it, if only I knew where that scoundrel was hiding."
When Jin Shanyao heard a "person" had gone missing, she was a little excited. She squeezed through the crowd and glanced at the notice.
She made her way back out, picked up the ox's lead rope, and headed for the county yamen.
Meng Anzhi sat in the cart, utterly confused.
"Auntie, where are we going?"
"To make money," Jin Shanyao said cheerfully. She wasn't interested in money; the main thing was that doing good deeds could repair her spirit pill. She couldn't miss this chance to do a good deed.
When she reached the county yamen, she was dumbfounded. It was a sea of people, all claiming to have seen the murderer. Even the fortune-tellers who ran street stalls had come.
Jin Shanyao paused, then picked up Meng Anzhi and pushed forward with all her might. "Make way, make way! I know where the murderer is."
"Out of my way! Who here doesn't know where the murderer is?" Someone jabbed Jin Shanyao with an elbow, knocking her out of the crowd.
Hey, who did they think they were dealing with? She shielded Meng Anzhi and squeezed back in. "Make way, make way! I really do know where the murderer is."
An elderly man in gray blocked Jin Shanyao's path and refused to budge. "You're a woman. Why aren't you home nursing your child instead of coming here to join the commotion?"
A woman... nursing a child... Jin Shanyao felt discriminated against.
She pulled his obtrusive cloth banner aside and shot back, "You're practically in the grave, old man, and aren't you still competing with young people for work?"
"How dare you speak to me like that?"
Jin Shanyao gave him a contemptuous look. She was no longer the Jin Shanyao of old. She was Jin Shanyao, tempered by Little River Village. A mere fortune-teller was easy for her to handle.
The old man was called Zhang Banxian. Seeing how Jin Shanyao looked down on everyone, he shook with anger. "I see darkness between your brows. Within three days, you'll suffer a bloody calamity."
"Get out of my way." Jin Shanyao seized his belt with one hand and hauled him behind her with a single pull.
You're the one who'll suffer a bloody calamity. She squeezed her way to the very front in a few quick moves.
She pressed one hand on the table and said confidently, "I know where the murderer is."
The yamen gate attendant pushed Jin Shanyao aside and shouted to the surging crowd, "Don't push! One at a time, one at a time!"
Boom... A deafening sound rang out.
The disorderly crowd fell silent in an instant. Constable Wang stood before the gate, a drumstick in his hand.
Behind him, the great gate creaked as it swung back and forth. Constable Wang returned the drumstick to its rack.
His voice was loud and stern. "Anyone with a lead must register by name. If our investigation finds that anyone has made a false report to swindle the reward, they will receive twenty strokes of the cane."
At those words, the townspeople who had come to report scattered in a rush, terrified that if they left a moment too slowly, the officers would catch them and beat them with a board.
In the blink of an eye, only Jin Shanyao and Zhang Banxian were left outside the yamen.
Zhang Banxian couldn't bring himself to leave or stay. His old face was as wrinkled as a bitter melon, and the cloth banner in his hand stood out.
He had been making his living in the county town for over a dozen years and had earned a modest reputation. Everyone had given him the name Banxian.
The officers at the yamen all knew him.
They often scolded him for misleading people with outrageous claims and told him to stay away.
Now he had locked horns with Jin Shanyao and couldn't back down.
If he retreated now, what would the townspeople think of him? Who would come to him for fortunes anymore?
After much agonizing, he finally decided to stand his ground to the bitter end.
He stepped forward and said to the gate attendant, "I know where the murderer is."
"Nonsense! How can the yamen treat solving a case like child's play?" The attendant's face darkened, and Zhang Banxian was so frightened that he took half a step back.
Meng Anzhi held tightly to her aunt's neck, not daring to make a sound. Her big eyes darted around.
Just as the two sides remained deadlocked, a patrolling constable came running back in a panic. "Constable Wang... a woman's body has been found in the moat on the east side of town."
His words struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer. The gate attendant sprang to his feet, then swallowed the curse he wanted to utter. He looked at Jin Shanyao and Zhang Banxian.
"You two had better know where the murderer is." He left them with those words and headed into the yamen, only for Constable Wang to stop him.
"Are you mad? You'd actually believe a woman and a child, and a wandering charlatan?"
The gate attendant ground his teeth in frustration. "Then tell me, how are we supposed to find the murderer?"
Constable Wang was at a loss for words. The attendant went past him and straight into the county yamen.
When he came back out, there was a muddy footprint on his waist. There was no need to ask; Magistrate Yang must have kicked him.
"You two, come inside with me."
Carrying Meng Anzhi, Jin Shanyao followed the gate attendant into the county yamen. So this was what the books meant: the yamen gate was easy to enter, but the officials' faces were hard to bear.
In the main hall of the county yamen, Magistrate Yang sat at the head. Dark circles marked his eyes, and he looked listless. He had not slept for several days.
"Do you know where the murderer is?"
Jin Shanyao said, "My lord, I need to see the scene."
Zhang Banxian stood to one side, counting on his fingers to tell a fortune. He studied Magistrate Yang's expression through half-closed eyes, then spoke hesitantly. "This humble commoner has divined that he is in the east of town. My lord could send people to investigate."
"Bullshit! The whole town knows there was a murder in the east. What do I need you to divine that for?" Magistrate Yang roared, frightening Zhang Banxian into dropping to his knees with a thud.
"My lord, this humble one cannot have divined it wrong. He really is in the east of town." Zhang Banxian did have some skill, or he would never have earned the name Banxian. He simply couldn't divine the exact location.
Magistrate Yang propped his forehead in his palm and waved impatiently at the gate attendant. "Take this woman to the crime scene."
"Yes." The attendant obeyed and led Jin Shanyao away. Seeing there was nothing more for him to do, Zhang Banxian didn't dare linger. He followed Jin Shanyao out of the county yamen with his tail between his legs.
But he still couldn't let it go. He wanted to see just how this young woman would find the murderer.
After walking for about half the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the group stopped in front of a pawnshop bearing an official seal.
When passersby saw an officer come to investigate, they stopped and gathered around.
The gate attendant removed the seal and opened the door. "Don't disturb anything inside," he instructed.
He thought Jin Shanyao would go in, but instead she set the child down to one side and sat cross-legged in front of the door, beginning to meditate.
The attendant paused. "What are you doing?"
"Telling a fortune."
Zhang Banxian thought he had misheard. He rubbed his ears, and when he saw Jin Shanyao sitting there cross-legged as if she knew what she was doing, he couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"I thought you had some great powers. Turns out you're just another one of the three teachings and nine schools."
The people around them pointed at Jin Shanyao and whispered among themselves, though their words couldn't be made out.
The gate attendant was so angry he laughed. He deserved that kick from his lordship; now he wanted to kick himself. What was all this?
He had actually brought two swindlers to inspect the scene and catch the murderer. If his colleagues heard about this, they'd laugh at him for three years.
The attendant shut the door and reapplied the seal. Ignoring Jin Shanyao, he set off toward the county yamen, but had only taken a few steps when a woman's voice came from behind him.
"At the bridgehead in the east of town, turn left. Fortune Arrives Inn, Heaven Room Two."
The attendant stopped and turned, hurrying back to Jin Shanyao. "Is what you said true?"
Jin Shanyao said calmly, "You don't have any leads right now anyway. You might as well go and see. But I have to warn you: hurry. If you're late, another life will be lost."
Whether it was true or not, the attendant didn't dare delay. He raced back to the county yamen, gathered some constables, and hurried to the Fortune Arrives Inn.
Zhang Banxian walked beside Jin Shanyao and asked curiously, "Aren't you going to run?"
Jin Shanyao was puzzled. "Why would I run? Didn't you also divine that the murderer was in the east of town?"
Zhang Banxian stamped his foot. "My founding master showed me the way. You're a swindler who couldn't even fool a ghost. You'd better leave while you still can."
Even now, he believed Jin Shanyao had made up a story to fool the officers and get herself out of trouble. Unfortunately, he had it wrong. Not only did Jin Shanyao not leave, she even sat down on the county yamen's steps.