Budong Manor was located in a mountain valley thirty li from Suishui City. Its position could be described as excellent—above were verdant mountains, below was a green lake, and within the valley it was like spring all year round. Moreover, it was very quiet, like a paradise beyond the mortal world. As Li Si approached Budong Manor from a distance, viewing the seemingly magnificent yet already beginning to decay red-tiled walls, he felt, for some unknown reason, a few traces of faint sadness in his heart. It was like the feeling of an incomparably beautiful woman helplessly growing old, covering her face in solitary grief.

Li Si, Wu Wen, and another constable named Xiao Ning waited for a long time in Budong Manor’s great hall, yet they never saw Lou Ao or Lou Tianfan come out. Wu Wen said somewhat impatiently: “This is truly infuriating. Making us wait here plainly, just waiting, and they don’t even serve us a cup of tea!”

Hearing this, Li Si merely smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

“Do you want tea?” Suddenly, a childish voice came from the entrance of the small flower hall behind the three men. A petite figure jumped into their line of sight. Li Si couldn’t help but focus his gaze—it was a cute little girl. The girl was about twelve or thirteen years old, with large eyes, a gaze as clear as water, a delicate nose, and a curved small mouth—definitely the makings of a beauty. The little girl kept smiling as she approached the three, her voice sweet as she said: “Father and brother both have very urgent matters to attend to. If you want tea, I’ll bring it to you. But you must not speak ill of Father and brother anymore.” As the girl said this, her eyes inadvertently glanced toward Wu Wen, which made Wu Wen blush. He quickly avoided the little girl’s gaze. Li Si smiled and nodded: “Good, thank you. We won’t speak ill of your father and brother anymore.”

The little girl, having received a satisfactory answer, jumped and bounced out of the flower hall, looking like she really was going to fetch tea. Only then did Wu Wen peer out from behind Li Si, asking at the same time: “Who is this little girl?”

Li Si smiled lightly: “I imagine she should be Lou Ao’s third daughter, Lou Tianshe.” Lou Ao had two sons and one daughter. The eldest son was Lou Tianfan, the second son Lou Tianming, who seemed to have suffered from a serious illness since childhood and had never left Budong Manor even once. The third daughter was the Lou Tianshe from just now.

Wu Wen worried that Lou Tianshe might suddenly pop out again, so he kept watching the direction of the flower hall. At this moment, from the front entrance of the great hall, a rather tall and imposing man had already stepped inside. Li Si looked—this person was approximately fifty years old, with a gray-white long beard, a broad face and large eyes, and a pair of eyes like nails that seemed to pierce right through people. He walked straight to the center of the hall, only then nodding toward Li Si and saying: “Catcher Li, it’s been a long time.”

Li Si quickly stood up and respectfully offered a salute before opening his mouth: “Indeed, the last time I saw Hero Lou, I had just returned to Suishui City. I imagine it’s been three or four years.”

Lou Ao smiled calmly: “Yes, time really flies. In the blink of an eye, three or four years have passed. But I wonder, what brings Catcher Li here this time?” Just as Lou Ao was speaking, someone else flashed in through the doorway. Li Si’s gaze was sharp as lightning, spotting him immediately, and he couldn’t help but smile: “I won’t hide it from you, senior. This time I’ve come for your eldest son, Lou Tianfan!” As soon as Li Si said this, Lou Tianfan, who had just walked beside Lou Ao, couldn’t help but freeze, saying in surprise: “For me…”

Lou Ao’s gaze firmly locked onto his son’s face. Lou Tianfan immediately stopped speaking. Lou Ao then said: “Please explain the matter clearly, Catcher Li.”

Li Si nodded and slowly said: “Last night, a murder case occurred in Suishui City. The deceased was a medicinal herb merchant from the Western Regions who came from outside. He was poisoned by a large quantity of Heaven Insect Grass, and in his belly I also found this!” As Li Si spoke, he presented the wooden puppet to Lou Ao.

Lou Ao took it. Li Si continued: “This puppet’s features are identical to your son’s, and the paper slip in the puppet’s hand also has Lou Tianfan’s name written on it. That’s why I came on this trip—to ask the young master whether he knows this person.”

“I don’t know him. I don’t know any medicinal herb merchant at all! Someone must be trying to frame me, they must be…” Lou Tianfan, originally thin and sallow, was now covered in sweat, continuously defending himself. Lou Ao gave a low grunt, and only then did Lou Tianfan stop, shrinking beside Lou Ao. Lou Ao returned the puppet to Li Si, saying: “Catcher Li, you heard him. Tianfan doesn’t know this person. Perhaps it really is as he said—someone is trying to frame him.”

Li Si took the puppet, holding it in his hand, and suddenly asked Lou Tianfan: “I wonder if the young master enjoys gambling?”

“No, I’ve never gambled.” Lou Tianfan immediately refuted. Li Si smiled and nodded, saying to the constable Xiao Ning behind him: “Xiao Ning, tell Hero Lou what you found out.” Xiao Ning nodded: “The dead medicinal herb merchant had a gambling house ticket from Furong Pavilion on him. The catcher had me investigate everything at Furong Pavilion overnight. I discovered that before this medicinal herb merchant came to Suishui City, he had been staying in Furong Pavilion’s gambling house. Moreover, ten days ago, he had a major dispute with someone. The gambling house people drew the face of the person who had the dispute with him. Please take a look, Hero Lou.” Lou Ao took the portrait. The person drawn in the portrait was precisely Lou Tianfan.

Li Si smiled: “I wonder if the young master still claims not to have seen this person?” Lou Tianfan’s sallow face now turned pale, his body trembling slightly as he kept shaking his head: “I only gambled with him. We had a dispute over the wager. I couldn’t possibly have killed him over this—you’re simply talking nonsense, talking nonsense…”

“Silence!” Lou Ao heavily slapped his palm on the wooden table beside him. Lou Tianfan was so frightened he nearly prostrated himself on the ground. Lou Ao said angrily: “You unfilial son! Did I not tell you not to gamble anymore, not to gamble anymore! Why do you never listen! The reputation of Budong Manor spanning hundreds of years is about to be ruined in your hands, you败家子!” Lou Ao seemed agitated. His originally ruddy face showed a pale color. Lou Ao quickly pressed his hand against his chest, only then calming down. Lou Tianfan trembled all over, unable to say a single word.

Li Si on the side also didn’t speak, quietly watching the father and son before him. After a long time, Li Si finally said: “Is Hero Lou’s health unwell?” Lou Ao’s expression stiffened, and he immediately said: “Catcher Li, you’re overthinking. This old man’s health has always been fine. It’s just, just that I was angered by this unfilial son!” Lou Ao then asked: “I still don’t know—when was the victim killed?”

Li Si said: “Based on the time the corpse showed lividity, the deceased should have been murdered at dusk yesterday evening.” Lou Ao suddenly laughed and said: “Yesterday—if it was yesterday, then it has nothing to do with Tianfan. He stayed in the manor all day yesterday, together with me. Besides me, everyone within the manor can testify to this.”

“That’s right, I never left the manor yesterday at all.” Lou Tianfan said.

Li Si was about to say more when suddenly two people rushed into the hall entrance. Judging by their dress, they were the manor’s guards. The two men threw themselves before Lou Ao, their expressions grave: “They’ve come, they’ve come! Manor Master, they’ve come!”

Lou Ao rose abruptly, opening the front of his robe. Li Si glimpsed the gleaming golden knife hilt at Lou Ao’s chest. Lou Ao turned his head slightly: “Catcher Li, we’ll discuss this matter later. If this rebellious son really killed someone, I, Lou Ao, will absolutely not show him favoritism. It’s just that right now, Budong Manor has some matters to handle. You should go back first.” After Lou Ao finished speaking, he strode toward the outside of the manor. Lou Tianfan, following behind, secretly glanced at Li Si before also walking out after Lou Ao. For a moment, the sound of footsteps within the manor became chaotic as dozens of people surged toward the front of Budong Manor.

This was also Wu Wen’s first time seeing such a scene. He asked curiously: “Catcher, could it be that someone from the jianghu has come seeking revenge?”

Li Si smiled: “You want to know?” Wu Wen quickly nodded. Li Si said: “This is quite simple. We’ll also go take a look and find out.”

When the three of them reached the front of the manor, a red-lacquered carriage was stopped there. Lou Ao stood majestically before everyone like a mountain, coldly watching the small red eagle-head flag unfurling in the wind on the carriage. He shouted: “Yan Ying, you finally couldn’t restrain yourself and came! Good! Come out, and we’ll fight to the death!”

Long after Lou Ao finished shouting, no one answered. The surrounding air became as silent as suffocation—quiet and faint. From deep within Budong Manor, there seemed to come the sound of mournful yet moving zither strings. Between the zither notes seemed to be mixed a somewhat different sound, though it was hard to say what. Li Si couldn’t help but look back toward the direction they had come from. Layer upon layer of building shadows stretched endlessly.

Lou Ao inhaled slightly, stepped forward, drew his blade, and lightly lifted the carriage door curtain. Lou Ao only glanced once before freezing in place, at a loss. Li Si found this strange. He approached Lou Ao and also looked toward the carriage. Inside the carriage sat two people upright. One person sat by the window, wearing a red cloak, with a wide face and broad mouth, a hooked nose like an eagle’s beak, and a face like dark jujubes. Li Si recognized this person—he was a famous figure in the Northwest martial arts world, the master of the first great sect in the Northwest, the Red Eagle Gate—Yan Ying. However, at this moment, this great martial arts hero’s imposing manner was gone. His face was ashen gray, and at his neck was a clear bloody wound, with blood still continuously flowing down. Li Si shook his head slightly and looked at the other person. This person sat facing Yan Ying, his face like withered bones, with only one eye, and an inverted figure-eight mustache above his mouth that made one feel instinctively disgusted upon seeing him. At his neck was also a clear bloody wound. Lou Ao looked for a long time, slowly stepped back several paces, and shook his head: “Impossible. How is this possible? Yan Ying and Sun Miao are both dead, both dead?!”

Li Si supported Lou Ao, saying: “Let me.” Lou Ao slowly nodded and said nothing more. Li Si stepped onto the carriage and lightly checked the two men’s breathing, confirming both were dead. Since the blood was still warm, this indicated the two had died within an hour. Li Si saw that Yan Ying had one hand at his waist, seeming to want to retrieve something, so following Yan Ying’s hand direction, he pulled open a hidden belt at Yan Ying’s waist and extracted a red sharp blade shaped like a bird’s beak. This was precisely the weapon Yan Ying became famous with in the jianghu—the Blood Eagle Blade. Li Si looked at the red blade, then looked at Yan Ying’s eyes wide open at death, and couldn’t help murmuring to himself: “What exactly did he encounter that could prevent this famous martial arts master from even having the chance to draw his own weapon?!”

Li Si placed the red weapon back beside Yan Ying, turned around, and looked at the other person. This person had nothing on him, and his clothing was extremely tattered. Compared to the brightly dressed Yan Ying, they were like heaven and earth. Li Si also discovered his hands were covered with calluses, and his palms were as sharp and hard as stone blades, indicating this person was an external school palm technique master. Li Si looked at his eyes again. Like Yan Ying, this person also had his eyes wide open in anger at death, staring straight at the ceiling above him. Li Si’s heart stirred, as if sensing something. He slowly raised his gaze, and in the corner of the carriage roof hung a black wooden box, swaying slightly like a black human head.

Outside the carriage, Lou Ao’s face had paled considerably. Watching Li Si emerge from the carriage, he stepped forward and asked: “How is it? Do you know who killed them?”

Li Si slowly nodded, raising an object in his hand before Lou Ao and the crowd behind him, then gently lifted it. Everyone saw everything in the wooden box: a luxurious red-lacquered carriage, a slightly trembling small red flag, four strong and spirited horses, and two martial arts masters who had died sitting across from each other inside the carriage. Everything was carved from square wood with extremely exquisite craftsmanship. Every detail was perfect and flawless—even the fear in the deceased’s eyes was carved out. It was truly astonishing!

Lou Ao examined it carefully many times, his expression grave and surprised: “This, what is this?”

Li Si said: “At the murder scene in Suishui City, I also discovered a wooden box exactly like this one. Inside the wooden box, similarly superb craftsmanship was used to carve out everything from the murder scene. I believe the person who carved these two wooden boxes should be the murderer of this series of killings.”

Lou Ao seemed about to speak, but his gaze shifted. He only sighed slightly and said nothing. Li Si then opened his mouth: “If Hero Lou wishes to find this mastermind behind the scenes, please tell me everything.” Li Si’s gaze rested on the carriage behind them. Lou Ao hesitated for a moment, slowly nodded, and led several people back to the great hall of Budong Manor.

Lou Ao looked at Li Si and slowly opened his mouth: “Actually, ever since my ancestor Lou Budong died, many people in the martial arts world have been spying on our Budong Manor. They’ve always believed that story circulating in the jianghu is true. They believe that somewhere in Budong Manor exists a supreme martial arts manual that could make them achieve fame and success. But they dare not come and rob it openly because they also know Budong Manor’s formidability. Although we don’t possess any supreme extraordinary martial arts, the family techniques passed down from our ancestors are still enough for these petty jianghu characters to handle!”

Li Si nodded and asked: “So is there really such a martial arts manual?”

Lou Ao gave a bitter laugh: “If there really were such a martial arts manual, I wouldn’t be bullied to my doorstep by martial arts scum like the Blood Eagle Gate.”

Li Si smiled and shook his head. He knew what kind of gang members were under Yan Ying’s Blood Eagle Gate. In fact, as long as something could generate profit, they would do it—from petty theft and deception to murder and arson. The Blood Eagle Gate had always been viewed by jianghu peers as a swarm of greedy flies—disgusting but with no good way to deal with them, because in the Northwest martial arts world, almost no one could shake their power. Li Si continued asking: “Since they didn’t dare to be so brazen before, why do they dare now?”

Lou Ao hesitated, then suddenly pulled down the clothing on his left shoulder, exposing his left shoulder blade. A dark-colored mark could be seen running through the blood vessels of Lou Ao’s left shoulder, appearing and disappearing intermittently, like a gray large worm twisting and coiling within. Li Si glanced and couldn’t help but say in surprise: “Meridian displacement? Hero Lou, have you suffered cultivation deviation?”

Lou Ao gave a bleak smile: “A month ago, Budong Manor was night-raided by a group of strangers. They killed several of my servants and broke into my study, presumably also for the manual. At that time, I happened to be practicing cultivation, so they burst in on me. Although I ultimately drove them away, I ended up suffering cultivation deviation as a result! After that, I received challenge letters from the Blood Eagle Gate and Sun Miao. They wrote clearly that if I refused to accept the challenge, I would have to give up Budong Manor! They thought doing this would make me timid and afraid. They thought that having lost the use of one hand, I was no longer their match!” Lou Ao suddenly paused, then continued firmly: “But they were wrong. Never mind just losing one hand—even if I lost both my hands, I, Lou Ao, would still not retreat half a step! These shameless thieves—even if I truly die, I will die in the name of a Lou family descendant at Budong Manor!”

Lou Ao seemed to speak excitedly and couldn’t help coughing. His white beard also shook continuously. Lou Tianfan on the side quickly came over to support Lou Ao’s body. Lou Ao looked at his son and said to Li Si: “Catcher Li, although Tianfan is somewhat reckless, he wouldn’t cause such a great disaster at this critical moment of life and death for Budong Manor! Therefore, the person you mentioned should not have been killed by Tianfan.”

Li Si nodded: “Now I can rule out the young master as a suspect. Because just now, those two died within an hour, and during this time, the young master was together with us. He had no time to commit murder. Therefore, he should also have no connection to the Suishui case.”

Hearing Li Si’s words, Lou Ao’s expression eased slightly as he nodded: “That’s good then.”

“However, I still wish to meet one other person from Budong Manor.” Li Si suddenly spoke.

“Oh? Who?” Lou Ao looked at Li Si, somewhat bewildered.

“The person who was playing the zither just now—I imagine it’s Hero Lou’s second son, Lou Tianming!” Li Si said slowly with a slight smile.