Chapter 226 - 225: Investigation
The Liu Mansion.
Zhou Chengkai continued his report. "According to our investigation, on the day before the incident, Young Master Liu Yuanqi dispatched men to Zhuifeng Martial Arts Hall. They forcibly brought Liu Yuanzhao, his wife and child, and his younger sister, Liu Ruoyi, back to the Liu Mansion. As for the specific reason... the people at the martial arts hall are also unclear."
Liu Gongchang’s brow furrowed.
He was well aware of these internal family matters and immediately thought of another key figure. "What about Liu Zongying? Have you looked into his recent situation?"
Zhou Chengkai was taken aback, a look of confusion on his face. "Liu Zongying? Sir, if I may ask, who is this person...?"
Liu Gongchang waved his hand, not blaming him. He directly issued an order to a trusted Hundred Households he had brought with him. "Go and investigate at once. I want to know Liu Zongying’s current status."
"Yes, sir."
The Hundred Households accepted the order and turned to leave with brisk steps.
Liu Gongchang continued his questioning. "Where is Liu Yuanzhao’s family now? Have you found them?"
Zhou Chengkai lowered his voice. "Not yet, but we’ve already issued a Sea Arrest Document. He’s traveling with his family, so he shouldn’t have gotten far."
A flicker of displeasure crossed Liu Gongchang’s eyes. He asked again, "My third brother, Liu Gongquan, and his wife have disappeared with their entourage. What’s the situation? Have you investigated?"
Zhou Chengkai hurried to answer. "Seven days ago, Master Liu San and Madam Liu left the city with over ten experts, heading west. They were last confirmed seen at the Chongshui Tea House in Chongshui Village, along the official road in Lishui territory. They stopped there for a rest and to refill their water, but vanished without a trace afterward."
"What was the exact time? Did the tea house staff overhear them talking about anything?"
Liu Gongchang pressed for details.
"It was early evening. As for anything unusual... the tea house owner said he didn’t hear them talking," Zhou Chengkai replied.
Liu Gongchang’s eyes narrowed slightly as he seized on this crucial piece of information. "The sky was already dark... West of the Chongshui Tea House, are there any places to rest along the official road?"
An embarrassed look immediately appeared on Zhou Chengkai’s face. He said sheepishly, "Well, time was short, and I... I haven’t yet conducted a detailed investigation of that."
Liu Gongchang reprimanded him, "Chengkai, you’ve handled cases for many years. How could you not verify such a crucial lead? Are you waiting for the killer to just jump out and reveal himself?"
Sweat beaded on Zhou Chengkai’s forehead. He bowed repeatedly. "I have been derelict in my duty. I will immediately dispatch more men to investigate."
A short while later, the Hundred Households who had been sent to investigate returned, bringing a young disciple from the martial arts hall with him.
"Sir."
The Hundred Households reported, "This disciple from Zhuifeng Martial Arts Hall says that around the New Year, Liu Zongying was invited away by a young man named Chen Shouheng. He supposedly went to Mirror Mountain to be an instructor."
"Chen Shouheng?"
Liu Gongchang’s gaze sharpened. He looked at Zhou Chengkai. "Who is he?"
Zhou Chengkai reacted more quickly this time, hastily adding, "Reporting to the Thousand Households, this Chen Shouheng was a Martial Scholar from Jingshan County a few years back."
"Jingshan..."
A chill shot through Liu Gongchang’s heart.
Before his third brother, Liu Gongquan, disappeared, his last known location was Chongshui Village in Lishui County. Further west from there is Jingshan County.
’Did my third brother go looking for Liu Zongying?’
’What could have happened to him that would warrant my brother going after him with such a large retinue?’
’Could he have recovered his cultivation?’
’That’s impossible!’
Although he subconsciously dismissed the thought, the ominous feeling in Liu Gongchang’s heart grew stronger and stronger.
He hesitated no longer and gave his orders. "Chengkai, you will personally lead a team to find Liu Yuanzhao. I’m giving you three days. You must find him. The rest of you, follow me to the Chongshui Tea House."
"Yes, sir."
The men acknowledged the order.
...
At noon the next day, the sun blazed overhead.
Dust kicked up by hooves on the Lishui Official Road hung in the air.
Liu Gongchang and his men, travel-worn and dusty, arrived at the Chongshui Tea House.
The tea house was just a thatched-roof shack with a few crooked tables and chairs.
The owner, a dark-skinned old man with a face full of wrinkles, was dozing against one of the support poles.
Seeing so many people arrive, the old man started awake and hurried over, plastering a smile on his face.
Liu Gongchang dismounted, ordered some coarse tea, and after a few sips, asked casually, "Old man, heading west from here, are there any other places along the official road to rest and get a drink?"
The old man sized them up, saw they were government officials, and didn’t dare to be disrespectful. "Sirs, to be honest with you, the reason I opened my tea stall here is because for the next sixty li along the official road, there isn’t another place to get a drink or rest.
"Those horses of yours look like fine steeds, strong-legged. If you push on, you can reach the next market town in two or three hours at most."
Liu Gongchang’s brow furrowed slightly. He pressed, "For sixty li, there isn’t even one place to take a short rest?"
The old man thought for a moment. "Now that you mention it... there is one place. About thirty-some li from here, there’s a small path off the side of the official road. If you go two or three li down that path, there’s a temple that’s been abandoned for years.
"But that temple is a complete wreck. You never see a soul there, it’s creepy and gloomy. You’d be better off just finding a shady tree by the roadside to rest."
A sharp glint flashed in Liu Gongchang’s eyes. He immediately asked for the features of the fork in the road.
After thanking the old man, he ordered his men to water the horses and fill their waterskins at once. Without any delay, they mounted up and galloped away.
「About an hour and a half later.」
The men turned onto the small path and, after another two or three li, a dilapidated temple, half-hidden by weeds and overgrown trees, came into view.
Liu Gongchang swung himself off his horse and was the first to step through the temple gate.
The moment he entered the temple, his gaze froze.
Inside the desolate temple, the wooden pillars supporting the eaves were snapped in half, on the verge of collapse.
The earthen walls had crumbled in several places.
All around, there were countless dark, blackened spots, clearly stains from splattered and dried blood.
A Standard Bearer pinched a bit of the reddish-black substance from the dirt, held it to his nose to sniff carefully, and reported, "Sir, it’s recent."
"Search carefully."
Liu Gongchang ordered in a low voice, the ominous feeling in his heart growing ever stronger.
"Sir, there’s a broken pot here."
Liu Gongchang walked over.
In the main hall, an iron pot lay overturned on the ground. Some scraps of meat were scattered nearby, emitting a foul odor.
Several dead, stiff-bodied rats were scattered around it.
’Poison...’
Liu Gongchang’s heart sank.
After about a quarter of an hour, a Junior Banner Officer returned to report, "Thousand Households, there’s a mound of earth two li to the west. The soil is fresh."
Liu Gongchang immediately led his men over.
"Dig it up."
His voice held a barely perceptible tremor.
His subordinates drew their sabers and swords, using them as shovels to dig.
As the earth was turned, a thick, nauseating stench assaulted them.
Soon, one corpse after another, their faces unrecognizable, was exposed. There were more than ten in total.
Liu Gongchang’s gaze swept fixedly over the bodies.
The decay was advanced, but he still recognized one of the bodies as his third brother, Liu Gongquan. The female corpse next to him was his sister-in-law, Luo Yuzhen.
The forensic doctor who had accompanied them went forward to examine the bodies, then reported, "Sir, many of the deceased show signs of poisoning. Only four were not poisoned; they were killed by heavy weapons, suffering severe bone fractures. The fatal injuries are similar in nature to those of the Spirit Realm Honored Guests at the Liu Mansion in Qingshui County. It was likely the work of the same person."
Although he had expected it, seeing the brutal deaths of his brother and sister-in-law with his own eyes still sent a piercing pang of grief and rage through Liu Gongchang.
He clenched his fists, struggling to maintain his composure. He took a deep breath and said in an icy voice, "Keep searching. See if there are any other clues in the area."
However, what happened next caused the atmosphere to take a sudden, eerie turn.
Another quarter of an hour passed, and the sky began to grow dark.
Liu Gongchang called back the men who had spread out to search. As he counted them, he was shocked to find that five were missing.
"What happened? Did anyone see them?"
Liu Gongchang demanded sharply.
The men looked at each other in dismay. A Standard Bearer frowned and reported, "Sir, I think they went east."
"You, take two men and go find them."
Liu Gongchang immediately ordered the Standard Bearer to take two Junior Banner Officers. "You must bring them back."
The three men accepted the order and left.
The rest waited where they were.
Time ticked by, and the light in the sky faded. The three men, too, vanished without a trace, as if a stone dropped into the sea.
One disappearance might have been an accident, but two in a row... Liu Gongchang’s heart sank completely. A chill crept up his spine.
’An ambush?’
Liu Gongchang’s expression became unprecedentedly grim.
’Could the killer be so audacious as to linger here after committing the crime?’
’How is that possible!’
’Isn’t he afraid of the Court?’
"Everyone, stay together! Fall back to the abandoned temple immediately and prepare to withdraw!" Liu Gongchang took a deep breath.
The men headed toward the abandoned temple.
However, when they arrived, they were met with an even more shocking sight.
All of their horses were lying limply on the ground, foaming at the mouth and listless. They had clearly been drugged.
Liu Gongchang’s pupils contracted. If the disappearance of eight men could be explained away by other reasons, then the drugged horses meant they were definitely being ambushed!
He snapped his head up, his gaze sweeping the surroundings, and called out in a loud voice, "Which master is hiding here? Why not show yourself?"
His voice echoed across the desolate wilderness.
The only response was the chirping of insects and birds.
Just as the men let down their guard, a figure shot out from the temple at an unimaginable speed.
A heavy, dark long stick in his hand became a black streak, smashing directly into the crowd of Jingwu Bureau men.
The first to bear the brunt were the two Hundred Households.
They were, after all, skilled practitioners in the Spirit Realm. Their reactions were lightning-fast, and they drew their sabers to counter almost simultaneously.
However, the gap in power was too great.
CLANG!
The moment one of the Hundred Households’ long sabers made contact with the Black Stick, it shattered inch by inch like rotten wood.
THWACK!
The body of the stick slammed into his chest, instantly collapsing his sternum. He flew backward like a broken sack, crashing against the temple wall and spraying a torrent of blood.
The other Hundred Households’ blade had yet to touch the dark figure when the Black Stick swept back at a bizarre angle, striking his throat with pinpoint accuracy.
CRACK!
The sound of his throat being crushed was sickeningly clear.
The second Hundred Households’ eyes bulged wide. His long saber fell to the ground with a CLANG as he slowly sank to his knees, dead before he hit the ground.
In a flash, two Hundred Households were dead.
"A Grandmaster?"
Liu Gongchang was both shocked and enraged. In that single instant, he had sensed the attacker’s terrifying power.
He drew his saber and roared, "Who are you? Do you know that attacking officials of the Jingwu Bureau is tantamount to rebellion! Are you not afraid of the Court’s wrath and a warrant for your arrest across the entire land?"