The Night Watcher of Great Jing - Chapter 100

By the time Zhao Li reached the stables, Li Qing and Zheng Lian were already waiting there.

Ever attentive, Li Qing had even fed Zhao Li’s horse and fitted its saddle in advance.

The moment she arrived, they were ready to set out.

The three of them quietly left the Pacification Office through a side gate.

It was the Dragon Boat Festival, and dragon-boat races were being held in Shengjing. The streets bustled with people coming and going.

On any ordinary day, the many vendors running unauthorized stalls along the streets would have been driven away.

But at a time like this, even someone as conscientious and strict as Shen Yan would turn a blind eye, tacitly allowing the patrolmen to slack off for the day.

They threaded through the crowds all the way to the city gate. Only once outside did the three swing into their saddles and gallop toward Yifeng Village, where the incident had occurred.

It was not far. A little over half a double-hour at a gallop brought them there.

Yifeng Village lay beside the Tuo River and served as a way station for several surrounding villages. The Dragon Boat Festival gathering was being held together with the countryside’s Green Shoots Festival.

The village was therefore exceptionally lively today.

From the waterside, the clear, lovely singing of young women could be heard in the distance.

Zhao Li led her horse along as she listened. A drooping willow branch beside the road brushed over the top of her head.

The bustling scene brought a smile to her face.

Just then, someone ran over. It was the constable from earlier.

Seeing the three of them in ordinary clothes, he had the good sense not to reveal their identities.

He led them farther in and explained as they walked, “Yesterday, Master Zhang buried his daughter yet again. But this morning, Miss Zhang’s body turned up in Li Daniu’s bed once more.”

The constable shook his head with a sigh. “That Li Daniu truly has the worst luck.”

Zhao Li heartily agreed.

If Li Daniu was guilty of any mistake, it was only that he lacked power and influence.

Thus, even after saving someone out of kindness, he had still ended up in these circumstances.

Li Qing and Zheng Lian said nothing, following obediently behind and listening.

As they walked, they learned more about the case.

There were fewer and fewer passersby around them. When they finally reached the edge of the village, the constable pointed ahead. “That’s the Li home.”

Zhao Li looked up. A dilapidated courtyard stood on the ridge.

As they drew near, they heard a commotion.

“Since my daughter cannot bear to part with you, you may as well go with her.”

A middle-aged man’s voice came from inside the courtyard.

The constable leading them changed expression.

Zhao Li gave a cold laugh and said quietly, “Come on. Let’s take a look.”

Amid sounds of arguing and tearful pleading, they passed the low wall and saw a modest courtyard.

The run-down yard was packed with people.

A middle-aged man dressed all in black stood there with a group of guards.

Before them, a dark-skinned, sturdy young man had been pinned to the ground.

Beside him, an old man knelt and begged through his tears.

“Master Zhang, he is my only son. He didn’t do anything, Master Zhang!”

The old man’s weeping echoed above the courtyard, heartbreaking to hear.

“She was my only daughter too. She…”

Tears also slid down Master Zhang’s face. He raised a foot to kick the old man away, but upon seeing that face, stopped himself.

Zhao Li had been about to kick him from behind. At the sight, she abandoned the idea as well.

“Enough noise!” the constable who had led them there shouted. Then he looked at Master Zhang. “Master Zhang, stop saying such angry nonsense. Let Li Daniu go at once.”

The constable plainly had some acquaintance with Master Zhang. When he finished speaking, he winked at him.

Master Zhang froze, then hastily wiped his face. “Release him.”

He stepped forward and looked at Zhao Li and her two companions. “May I ask who you three are?”

He had clearly discerned something, and his manner was exceedingly courteous.

Seeing the tears still on his face, Zhao Li could not help sighing. “Master Zhang, I understand that you have lost your beloved daughter. But the nation has its laws, and every household its rules. Planning to bury a living person with the dead—do you think all nine clans of your family have been living too comfortably?”

The institution of sacrificial burial had long since been abolished in this dynasty. Even if it had not been, burying living people with the dead was a privilege reserved for the imperial house.

If a commoner dared play at such a thing, he could wait for all nine clans to be erased from the household registers.

Master Zhang’s face went deathly pale at her words.

The constable shot him another meaningful look. Master Zhang forced the corners of his mouth upward. “They were only words spoken in anger. Just angry words.”

Only then did Zhao Li turn to the dark-skinned youth climbing up from the ground. He truly was handsome, with thick brows and large eyes.

Yet he seemed not to have slept properly for several days. His eyes were bloodshot and his expression dazed.

“Move along, all of you.” Zheng Lian stepped forward and impatiently dispersed the guards.

The guards did not know who they were and exchanged uncertain looks.

Master Zhang waved repeatedly, and only then did they withdraw.

Once all the guards had been driven off, Zhao Li flashed her badge at the Li father and son and Master Zhang. “Night Watch Bureau of the Jingning Guard.”

Remembering Zhao Li’s warning just now, Master Zhang dropped to his knees with a thud beside the Li father and son.

Zhao Li glanced at him. She had no intention of pursuing the matter and actually driving all nine clans of his family to their deaths.

“Where is your daughter’s body?” she asked.

Seeing that Zhao Li had let the matter pass, Master Zhang heaved an enormous sigh of relief. He wiped the sweat from his brow. “Inside the house.”

Zhao Li went inside to look.

The moment she entered, she frowned.

There was only one bed in the room.

Calling it a bed was generous. It was merely a bare plank propped across two long benches.

Some straw had been spread over it.

A corpse lay flat upon the straw.

The weather had begun to turn warm in the fifth month. After several days, the body had already started to smell.

The entire room was filled with the stench.

The corpse was also visibly bloated, its abdomen slightly distended.

Blood-flecked foam clung around its mouth and nose.

It was consistent with the time of death.

Zhao Li could imagine how horrifying it must be to open one’s eyes each morning and find this thing lying beside oneself.

No wonder Li Daniu looked so haggard.

Zhao Li pressed her fingers to her brow and opened her Mind’s Eye.

What she saw made her pause.

The body bore perfectly ordinary corpse miasma, but no resentful bane.

Behind her, Li Qing and Zheng Lian also made sounds of surprise. Both looked to Zhao Li for help.

Zhao Li said nothing. She left the room and carefully examined Li Daniu.

Gray smoke representing ill fortune coiled around him.

Yet there were likewise no signs that he had encountered baleful forces.

Ordinarily, after being hounded by Miss Zhang in such a manner, he should have been covered in black-and-red baleful energy.

Zhao Li arched a brow slightly. She turned toward Master Zhang—and froze.

Gray energy towered around Master Zhang as well. But concealed within it were several faint strands of yellow demonic energy.

Zhao Li paused, then could not help feeling a headache coming on.

She had thought this might be an uncanny affair. She had not expected another hidden story behind it.

Seeing her look at him with such a troubled expression, Master Zhang grew desperately uneasy.

“Commander Zhao, should we…?” Zheng Lian made a hand gesture used for private communication within the Jingning Guard.

He was asking whether Zhao Li wanted to arrest the man first.

Zhao Li shook her head.

They were not handling an ordinary assignment, where they could arrest someone, torture out a convenient answer, and present it to their superiors.

What they needed was a way to solve the problem—or to deal with whoever had caused it.

Zhao Li looked at Master Zhang. “Master Zhang, I have some questions for you. Bring your daughter with us. We are going to pay a visit to your home.”