A Murder Case

Xu Qi'an had gotten up early, had just arrived at the back hall when he heard Xu Lingyin's noisy voice.

On her smooth, fair face, a bright red pimple had appeared; it hurt a lot when pressed.

Her aunt lied to her, saying that worms had grown on her face and were eating her flesh, and that she would be disfigured tomorrow and never be able to get married.

Xu Lingyin didn't care whether she could get married or not, but she always felt that she was a cute child who would be as beautiful as her mother and sister in the future and become an excellent troublemaker.

Hearing her mother say this, she was heartbroken and on the verge of tears.

So, the aunt was a cunning and wicked person; she even deceived her own young daughter, and then gloated and laughed at her from the sidelines.

"Big brother." Xu Lingyin wiggled her little bottom and ran to her older brother, then suddenly stopped, turned her head to the side, pointed her short finger at her cheek, and pouted. "I'm going to be disfigured!"

"You're not disfigured," Xu Qi'an patted her head, "You're just stunningly beautiful."

What is the bubbling of beauty?

"She'll definitely be prettier than your mother and sister when she grows up."

Xu Lingyin believed it and was very happy. She ate three bowls of porridge for breakfast.

Upon arriving at the Nightwatchers's office, Xu Qi'an, Song Tingfeng, and Zhu Guangxiao, who were in charge of the day patrol, strolled together on the street.

"Your knife is quite good." Song Tingfeng noticed that the style of the knife hanging at Xu Qi'an's waist had changed.

Xu Qi'an pressed his hand on the knife, flicked his thumb, drawing the black gold knife three inches from its sheath, then quickly sheathed it again, a smug smile on his face.

"Sent by the Bureau of Astronomy."

He didn't say it was sent by the supervisor, because no one would believe him anyway. And if they did, it would attract the attention of those who coveted it.

"Law Artifact?" Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao's eyes lit up.

Xu Qi'an shook his head. It wasn't Law Artifact, and it didn't have any arrays inscribed on it. Its only characteristic was its hardness.

This aligns well with Xu Qi'an.

The inner city streets were wide and interconnected. Xu Qi'an bought a lot of snacks and shared them with his two colleagues as they walked and ate.

There are advantages to daily patrols. In addition to the night Nightwatchers, there are also Imperial Saber Guard the city and constables from the government offices.

This greatly reduced the workload of the Nightwatchers, allowing them time to relax, and when they got tired, they could go to a teahouse to drink tea and listen to storytelling, or listen to music in a brothel.

As he walked, Xu Qi'an stepped on a hard lump. He looked ahead and, almost without pausing, bent down to pick it up.

His movements were so natural and fluid, and his expression so calm, that Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao thought he had only made some ordinary movements like "touching his trouser leg" and "patting his boots".

No one noticed that this new colleague had just seen three taels of silver.

Xu Qi'an, clutching the silver, suggested, "How about listening to music at a brothel?"

Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao hesitated for a moment before replying, "Okay."

The three of them entered the brothel with ease and went to a private room on the second floor. The table was placed by the railing, where guests could drink tea and wine while overlooking the performance on the main stage.

A variety show is being performed on the stage.

"The day after tomorrow is the day His Majesty pays respects to his ancestors. You should have some experience with this by now," Xu Qi'an began, seeking advice from his two colleagues.

"We just need to guard the edge of Sangbo Lake. You know the ancestral worship ceremony is held there, right?" Song Tingfeng chewed on a peanut and sipped his wine.

Xu Qi'an nodded. Sangbo was a small lake outside the imperial city, which happened to be surrounded by the military camps of the five guards of the capital.

The Nightwatchers's task was simple: to maintain order and protect the safety of the royal family.

The sacrificial ceremony was overseen by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Ministry of Rites, while the outer perimeter was patrolled by the Imperial Guards, including the Imperial Saber Guard and the Golden Guard.

After watching a variety show, Song Tingfeng, feeling bored, called over the madam. Soon after, a group of girls dressed in their finest attire entered.

They stood in a row with smiles on their faces, winking at the three distinguished guests.

The Nightwatchers uniforms worn by Xu Qi'an and his two companions were quite intimidating.

Xu Qi'an did not want to touch any women for three days. Martial artists in the Qi Refining Realm do not need to abstain from sex, but they must still exercise restraint and not indulge themselves.

"Listen to me," he beckoned and whispered in the ears of his two colleagues.

Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao stared at him in disbelief, as if to say: Are you a beast?

After selecting two beautiful women, the two did not leave the private room but went into the inner room. In a brothel like this, one would not simply listen to music; most of the time, it was a place where one would listen to music while simultaneously completing the act of giving birth.

"The brothel is like a concert and a circus in my past life, so many different kinds of entertainment, so beautiful." Xu Qi'an sipped his wine, ate small bites of food, and enjoyed the show with great interest.

As noon approached, the three left the brothel. Since they were full of pastries, tea, snacks, and wine, they decided not to eat lunch.

"I had a great time today." Song Tingfeng squinted, satisfied.

"What's so special about that?" Xu Qi'an scoffed.

Song Tingfeng looked at it with a blank expression, but that didn't dampen his interest. "What is it?"

"I'm not too sure either." Xu Qi'an shrugged. After all, only the wealthy can afford to play this game.

Song Tingfeng gave him a look that said, "Are you kidding me?": "Then what did you say to me?"

Xu Qi'an was helpless.

As they walked and talked, they suddenly saw a group of constables from the government office in official uniforms galloping towards them.

The leader was a woman, tall and slender with delicate features and thicker eyebrows than most women, exuding a heroic air.

Lu Qing spotted the three at a glance; after all, the Nightwatchers's uniform was both handsome and eye-catching. He immediately reined in his horse, and amidst the horse's long neigh as it reared up, his clear voice rang out. "Young Master Xu, we meet again. How have you two been?"

He calls him Young Master Xu, but we're addressed as "the two of us," implying that Guangxiao and I are just two nameless nobodys. Song Tingfeng greeted us with a smile, his eyes narrowed to slits.

"After not seeing you for many days, Officer Lü has become even more dashing and spirited."

Lü Qing smiled, then remembered the important matter and got straight to the point. "A murder has occurred on Sanshui Street, which is within your patrol area. Since we've come across it, let's go together."

There's a murder case. Song Tingfeng's expression turned serious. "Alright, Constable Lü, go first, we'll follow."

Xu Qi'an and his colleagues arrived at Sanshui Street and saw the government constables' horses tied to the roadside in front of a house.

Upon entering the gate and passing through the courtyard, one sees several officials questioning people, while the women of the household are weeping with red eyes.

Lü Qing was inside the house, not in the courtyard.

Xu Qi'an scrutinized the beautiful woman and asked, "Was the deceased your husband?"

The mistress glanced at the Nightwatchers's uniform, nodded obediently, and wiped away her tears with a handkerchief.

Xu Qi'an glanced at her curvaceous figure and said in a deep voice, "Call your son out."

The mistress didn't understand the gong's idea and sent a servant away. A few minutes later, the servant came out with a child who looked to be about ten years old.

"Is there anything else?" Xu Qi'an asked.

"I only have one son." The woman of the house held the child in her arms.

"I was overthinking it!" Xu Qi'an nodded in relief, walked past the crowd, and entered the house with his two colleagues.

This was a study. The deceased was lying face down on the desk, his dried blood congealed and covered half of the tabletop, indicating a large amount of bleeding.

With just one glance, Xu Qi'an could tell that the other person's throat had been slit.

Lü Qing, accompanied by two quick-witted officers from the government office, inspected the corners, doors, windows, and beams of the study.

Xu Qi'an asked, "Did you find anything?"

Lü Qing shook his head. "Everything is intact, there are no signs of being pried open, no footprints from climbing through the window, and nothing on the roof beams either."

Xu Qi'an said, "It was made by an acquaintance."

So quick to draw conclusions?

Knowing that Xu Qi'an was a master, no one objected; they looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

"The doors and windows are intact, and there are no footprints on the beams, so it's highly unlikely that the attack was committed by breaking into the study." Xu Qi'an walked around the deceased.

"The deceased was sitting upright, and from the angle of him slumped over the table, it appears he died instantly without struggling. This suggests that the deceased and the murderer knew each other, and not only knew each other, but the deceased was someone he greatly respected or feared."

"Why do you say that?" Lü Qing asked humbly.

"The deceased was probably not a scholar," Xu Qi'an asked.

Lü Qing didn't understand the meaning of his question and replied, "A junior officer of the Golden Guard."

Xu Qi'an nodded. "A normal person sitting in their study at home should be relaxed and comfortable. They shouldn't be sitting so upright and meticulously. Unless the person in front of them forces them to be respectful."

"Also, at first glance, the cause of death appears to be a slit throat, but I suspect the real cause is here." Xu Qi'an grabbed the deceased's hair and lifted the pale face.

Those inside the room noticed a shallow indentation on the deceased's forehead.