Luo Chengye’s home was right next to the monks’ quarters of Lianhua Temple. Between the two large courtyards ran a narrow alley, at the end of which was squeezed an extremely small courtyard. The main room was one and a half rooms wide, with side chambers only three paces across—too narrow for habitation, so they were rented to neighbors as storage. Luo Chengye had died in that one-and-a-half room main house.
County Captain Hao Jin personally tore away the official seal strips, inviting Bao Lang and Magistrate Wu to enter for inspection.
Luo Chengye’s corpse and scattered intestines had been carried back to the county office as evidence. The large amounts of blood splattered everywhere had dried, with flies buzzing and circling about, emitting a pungent fishy stench like spoiled offal from a butcher shop. Wu Zhiyuan nearly vomited on the spot, quickly pulling out his silk handkerchief to cover his nose and mouth.
Bao Lang showed no signs of nausea, instead carefully looking around. This one-and-a-half room space was very small—standing in the center, one could see all four walls clearly. The ceiling was surprisingly higher than the room’s width, and from the original structure it seemed to have once been one large room, later divided into smaller quarters.
Despite being a county’s chief of constables commanding thirty to forty subordinates, Luo Chengye’s home was utterly barren. The room contained only a narrow low couch placed against the wall, without even a mat spread upon it.
Bao Lang asked: “So empty—were all the other household items taken to the county office?”
County Captain Hao Jin respectfully replied: “No, his home was just like this.”
Bao Lang sneered: “Don’t tell me this dead dog was extremely honest in life, poor as a church mouse.”
Hao Jin said quietly: “Luo Chengye had some gambling habits…”
“Gambled away all his household goods, didn’t even have proper official robes? When he first met me that day, his official uniform didn’t fit properly. It wasn’t that he couldn’t join the table—he didn’t have a single decent outfit. You arranged another set for him overnight? Hah, your so-called foolproof plan was to get me such a gambler to guard the pearl.”
Bao Lang’s voice was coldly venomous. Despite the blazing heat, Hao Jin was covered in cold sweat streaming into his eyes. He dared not wipe it, only blinking to let the sweat fall naturally.
Luo Chengye was shrewd and experienced, with ruthless methods. He had been Xiagui County’s capable deputy, managing the local underworld into complete submission. Even Huazhou Prefecture had borrowed him several times to solve cases. If not for his bandit background and dirty past, he would have long been promoted from clerk to official. Perhaps seeing no hope of advancement and being led astray by someone, he had taken up gambling in the past year, losing his entire fortune within days, then using his position as chief constable to forcibly borrow money from many wealthy households in the city to continue gambling.
These extorted wealthy families had also come to the county office to complain. Hao Jin had long been dissatisfied with Luo Chengye, cursing him privately many times, but the man still couldn’t quit. If not for his superior Wu Zhiyuan wanting to use the reputation of “Huazhou’s finest constable” to flatter the regional military commissioner, he would never have dared assign such a gambler to handle such important business. However, a county captain was caught in the middle—if things went well, he got no credit; if they went badly, he was blamed from all sides.
Wu Zhiyuan really couldn’t stand this bloody crime scene, using his handkerchief to cover his nose and mouth while making peace: “There’s nothing in this room, we can see everything at a glance. Let’s move to the courtyard to talk.”
The three men came to the courtyard where a young constable knelt on the ground, waiting for questioning.
Hao Jin quickly introduced: “This is Wang Liangcai, Luo Chengye’s subordinate. He was the first to discover Luo Chengye dead at home.”
Bao Lang slowly said: “Tell me about the situation then.”
Wang Liangcai nervously swallowed saliva and said: “Reporting to the Special Envoy, that morning it was my turn to take over the shift. Early in the morning I went to the back courtyard of Lianhua Temple for roll call, and heard the pearl had been stolen. I immediately ran to Chief Luo’s house to tell him to hurry to the scene. I knocked on the door for a long time before Chief Luo opened it, yawning. When I told him the precious pearl was stolen, he was also stunned…”
Bao Lang frowned and interrupted: “What? He was still alive then? Didn’t you see a corpse when the door opened?”
Wang Liangcai immediately said: “No, no, Chief Luo was still perfectly alive then. He usually worked the night shift and slept at home in the mornings, still wearing his undergarments. When he heard about the theft, he said he’d change clothes and told me to wait at the temple first.”
“And then?”
“I went to call my colleague Ma Hongzhuang at his house, then we went together to Lianhua Temple grounds, but Chief Luo still hadn’t arrived at the scene. You were… ahem, very angry then, and I was afraid Chief Luo would be scolded and punished, so I quickly came back to urge him to hurry.”
“This time you saw the corpse?”
Wang Liangcai nodded: “Yes, I knocked on the door for a long time again, couldn’t wait any longer, so I shook the door hard. Who knew the latch wasn’t secured—it opened with one push…”
Bao Lang continued: “Then you saw a headless corpse lying in the room, with intestines scattered everywhere.”
“Yes, yes. Special Envoy, this is everything I witnessed that day. My colleague Ma Hongzhuang can testify.”
Bao Lang questioned: “Since the head was gone, how could you recognize at a glance that it was Luo Chengye’s body?”
Wang Liangcai was startled, not having considered this angle, stammering: “The person died in Chief Luo’s house, wearing Chief Luo’s clothes…”
Hao Jin found Bao Lang’s sharp attention to detail troublesome, explaining: “Reporting to the Special Envoy, after examination by the coroner, the headless body’s build matched Luo Chengye’s. Moreover, from his bandit days he had tattoos on his skin—a large python coiled around his left arm, extending from shoulder to the back of his hand. This distinctive feature cannot be faked.”
Bao Lang’s expression darkened as he mused: “Another snake…”
Wang Liangcai’s eyes became distant as he suddenly muttered: “His intestines hanging from the beam also looked quite like a snake…”
Cold sweat broke out on Hao Jin’s back again as he scolded: “Don’t babble about irrelevant things before the Special Envoy!”
Bao Lang paid no mind, continuing to ask: “From the last time you saw Luo Chengye alive to when you came looking for him the second time, how much time passed?”
Wang Liangcai knelt and answered: “Reporting to the Special Envoy, less than the time of one incense stick. This place is right next to the monastery—it only takes a few steps to go back and forth.”
Bao Lang murmured: “Less than one incense stick…” He mentally calculated the time it would take him to rush from the pagoda to this place at full speed, then asked: “Are there any other details you haven’t mentioned?”
Wang Liangcai replied: “None, I’ve repeated everything to County Captain Hao dozens of times.”
Bao Lang smiled encouragingly: “Don’t be anxious, think again if there’s anything you’ve overlooked.”
Wang Liangcai bowed and kowtowed: “Special Envoy, there truly is nothing more. I’ve already signed and sealed my testimony.”
After leaving that foul-smelling house, Wu Zhiyuan needed quite some time to recover before daring to speak. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he said: “Could it really be snake demons or supernatural beings at work? How could one incense stick’s time be enough to kill a person, cut off their head, and disembowel them?”
Bao Lang chuckled softly, reaching out to pat the county magistrate’s shoulder, saying gently: “The magistrate comes from a scholarly background as a civil official—no wonder you don’t understand. Cutting off a head actually doesn’t take long—an instant is sufficient.”
Bao Lang touched the hilt at his waist. Wu Zhiyuan and Hao Jin couldn’t even see his drawing motion—their eyes flashed, and they saw blood shooting skyward with a hissing sound. Wang Liangcai’s head fell to the ground with a thud, the cut clean and precise. Bao Lang casually wiped the blood from his blade on the corpse’s clothes, slowly sheathing his sword.
“See? Quite fast, isn’t it?”