“Don’t I know Bi Qiu’s character after all these years?”
“As I suspected, this Half-Face Ghost must have come for me and mistakenly killed Bi Qiu! I have failed Bi Qiu!” Mo Qianzhi said, his eyes filling with tears again.
“For the next few days, send people to watch over Bi Qiu’s family. Comfort the elderly well, and don’t let anything go wrong,” Mo Qianzhi sighed and instructed.
“Yes!” The man gripped the hilt of his sword, his face full of hatred.
Sima Bi Qiu had worked with them for many years. This was like killing one of their family members, and he was even skinned and had his tendons removed. How could they not be furious?
“You may leave now.”
As those people left, only Zhu Yan and the other two remained. Mo Qianzhi leaned on the bookshelf, silent for a long while, immersed in grief.
Zhu Yan’s eyes showed a hint of emotion as she pulled her cloak tighter. “I originally thought they chose their targets based on poor character, acting as agents of justice. Now it seems they had no such intention at all.”
Pan Chi moved closer to her, ignoring Shen Du’s gaze. “Let me tell you, bad people are just bad people. There’s no such thing as good people among the bad.”
Shen Du brushed Pan Chi away, glaring at him before turning to scrutinize Mo Qianzhi. “The Half-Face Ghost has been committing crimes in Gannan for over ten years. Why didn’t Lord Mo report this to the emperor earlier?”
Mo Qianzhi’s body trembled slightly. He gathered himself a bit, collapsed into a chair, and said dejectedly, “The Half-Face Ghost has been rumored for years, but no one has ever seen him in person. Moreover, the victims were scattered all over Gannan, with no discernible pattern. This official hasn’t noticed any connection over the years and only recently discovered a clue. I immediately wrote a report to the capital.”
He sighed, feeling powerless. “If this official had someone as capable as Madam Zhu to assist, we might have understood the Half-Face Ghost’s intentions earlier, and today’s tragedy might not have happened.”
This statement seemed flawless and reasonable. Shen Du nodded slightly, wanting to ask a few more questions, but noticed Zhu Yan’s tired expression. He held back, put his arm around Zhu Yan’s shoulders, and headed out.
“Let’s end here for today and continue tomorrow.”
Seeing Zhu Yan and Shen Du leave, Pan Chi also lost interest. He bowed and turned to leave.
From start to finish, Pan Chi seemed like an insignificant character, making one wonder how he earned the title of “Master Detective.”
Mo Qianzhi remained dazed for a while, finally sighing. He turned, his hand pressing on the chair’s back, veins bulging, his eyes filled with pain and determination.
The next day, Shen Du and Zhu Yan got up early to go out and investigate. They saw Pan Chi following them. Shen Du was quite displeased, but Pan Chi acted as if he didn’t notice Shen Du’s dark face and followed nonchalantly.
Moreover, he discussed this case with Zhu Yan, sharing some insights.
It seemed they needed to solve this “Half-Face Ghost” case quickly and return to the capital soon.
The three walked down the street, each with different thoughts.
“Why is it so quiet today?” Zhu Yan looked around puzzled. There were only a few people on the street, all hurrying along. The windows on the street were tightly shut, not a single one open. Some shops had already hung up “Closed” signs early in the morning.
It was just past 5:15 AM. The sky was grey-blue, the rising sun hidden behind layers of white clouds, with only a thin, faint golden edge visible on the horizon.
Shen Du frowned slightly. Pan Chi had already stepped forward to stop a hurrying man. “Excuse me, sir. What has happened in the city today? Why is no one out selling or shouting their wares?”
The man, initially angry, saw that the young man who had stopped him was well-dressed and handsome. His anger dissipated, and he looked around nervously before sighing. “Young man, you must have just entered the city last night? You’re unlucky. Yesterday during the day, the Half-Face Ghost killed Sima Bi Qiu from the yamen. I heard it was a gruesome scene, he was completely skinned. We’re too afraid to go out.”
At these words, the other three looked at him strangely. The man smiled bitterly. “If it weren’t for my little girl begging for the lotus cakes from the south of the city, I wouldn’t have gone out at all. I can’t talk anymore, young man. I need to get home.”
The man hurried past them, and they indeed saw him carrying an oil paper package with the name of the southern cake shop printed on it.
Shen Du stepped back half a step, frowning deeply, seemingly not expecting the news to spread so quickly.
The three walked around half of Yingzhou and found the same scene everywhere, deeply puzzled.
“This Half-Face Ghost entered the yamen to commit the crime around 3:30 AM. Only we and a few people from the yamen knew about it. How did the city’s residents find out overnight? Didn’t Lord Mo order the news to be sealed?” Zhu Yan muttered.
“That’s why this is suspicious. If someone didn’t deliberately spread it, how could such a large city as Yingzhou become so well-informed and turn into a ghost town in just a few hours? It’s suspicious!” Pan Chi confirmed Zhu Yan’s words.
By now, the sun had risen higher, illuminating the main street of the city. Even so, the street was deserted and eerily quiet.
Zhu Yan shook her head. “Who could have such power to make this news grow wings and fly across the entire city in such a short time?”
“Indeed, does Yingzhou have someone with such extraordinary abilities?”
The two walked on, analyzing who could have done this, completely unaware of Shen Du clenching his fists behind them, his eyes clouded with a dark expression, following them, colder than the atmosphere on the main street.
Sharp-eyed Pan Chi noticed that Zhu Yan had been clutching something in her hand and curiously moved closer, whispering, “What’s that? You’re holding it so preciously.”
Startled by Pan Chi’s question, Zhu Yan suddenly became flustered. The object in her hand was the pouch that had fallen from Shen Du this morning. She had been thinking of an excuse to return it to Shen Du safely all along the way. Lost in thought, she had been clutching it in her palm. Trying to stay calm, she said:
“This is Shen Du’s. I saw it fall from his clothes when he left in a hurry, so I picked it up. Here, take it.”
As if afraid of being associated with the object, Zhu Yan suddenly stopped and stuffed the pouch back into Shen Du’s hand. The back of her fingers brushed against Shen Du’s palm, sending a wave of heat to her cheeks. Her heart raced, filled with indescribable emotions.
Shen Du looked down to see the object Zhu Yan had returned to his palm. It was a small woven rattan pig, about the length of an index finger, intricately crafted. The rattan had dried out, its surface slightly glossy, clearly an old item.
Because Zhu Yan had thrown it, the pouch had come loose, revealing half of the little pig’s body.
Acknowledging with a sound, Shen Du put it away in his bosom, his face cold.
“A little pig?” Pan Chi had already seen it and smiled ambiguously. “I never expected the great Grand Coordinator to collect such girlish items. It seems the rumors were true after all. How delightful!”
Shen Du drew his sword and pointed it at Pan Chi’s forehead. “What rumors are worth Young Master Pan’s attention? Why don’t you share them?”
Shen Du’s sudden action contained a threat.
Pan Chi pushed the sword away with his finger, showing no fear. “Rumors are just rumors. Why bother with them?”
He stared at the bulge in Shen Du’s clothes and teased, “I suppose this item must be a gift from someone dear to the Grand Coordinator. I wonder who could have earned such favor from him.”
Pan Chi was doing this on purpose. Everyone knew that the woven pig could belong to anyone, but it certainly wasn’t Zhu Yan’s, judging from her earlier behavior.
“What’s it to you?” Shen Du retorted impatiently, glancing at Zhu Yan, but ultimately said nothing more.