Upon seeing this note, the cripple’s face immediately turned ashen as dead wood. His hands trembling, he dropped his crutch and fell to his knees with a thud.

“Since the gentleman has already tracked me down here, please take me to the authorities. I, Chen Yu, wrote this note. I was the one who climbed the tower and stole the night pearl!”

Both Wei Xun and Baozhu were secretly startled. They hadn’t expected someone involved in such a far-reaching major case to confess so easily, and they found it hard to believe. This cripple not only used a crutch but was severely disabled with foot problems. Even an able-bodied person would find it difficult to climb the multi-treasure pagoda to steal the pearl – how could this cripple possibly have climbed up there?

But without showing the full content of the writing on the note, he had recognized it, proving he was undoubtedly involved in the case. The people around him all looked fearful and worried, but notably showed no surprise, indicating they couldn’t escape involvement either.

Wei Xun said indifferently: “Why are you in such a hurry? I’m not a government official – just a customer here to commission a lacquer box.”

The people around helped stele carver Chen Yu to his feet. With a bitter expression, he said: “I did it alone – it has nothing to do with the others.”

Wei Xun said: “It’s getting late and I haven’t eaten yet. How about inviting us to have a bowl of porridge by the grave?” Though his tone was unhurried, his gaze was coldly threatening, conveying clear menace.

The group of craftsmen had guilty consciences and were at a loss, not knowing what these two really intended. Some held chisels and planes in their hands, but were intimidated by the young man’s confident and domineering presence, not daring to attack first.

Wei Xun patted Chen Yu’s shoulder. Under his coercion, the stele carver could only hobble along on his crutch. Wei Xun observed coldly, seeing that years of putting all his weight on one foot had severely deformed his spine and shoulder blades, twisted beyond correction. When Wei Xun suddenly tripped his crutch, Chen Yu cried out in alarm, his body swaying as he fell heavily to the ground.

Baozhu immediately shot him a reproachful look and whispered: “He’s sick and lame – he can’t run away. Why hurt him further?”

Wei Xun explained: “I was just testing.”

Baozhu asked: “You think he was faking the fall?”

Wei Xun shook his head. He had deliberately tripped the cripple’s crutch to observe his muscular reactions. People found it hardest to disguise their instincts during unexpected moments – even the slightest concealment in movement couldn’t escape his eyes. When Chen Yu fell, his body was clumsy with no adaptive ability – he was genuinely disabled.

He said to Baozhu: “I can’t say about other things, but the person who climbed the tower to steal the pearl definitely wasn’t him.”

Chen Yu had fallen hard and couldn’t get up by himself. The craftsmen, knowing they were in the wrong, dared not voice their anger and could only help him up, bringing him to the graveside.

Wei Xun served himself a bowl of porridge and sat unhurriedly on the craftsmen’s folding chair, eating heartily. While eating, he pointed at the burial mound with his chopsticks and asked: “The stolen goods are hidden in the coffin, aren’t they?”

Upon hearing this, everyone was dumbstruck, their faces showing extreme terror, with the timid ones’ clothes trembling.

Wei Xun could see this group didn’t know martial arts and only remained wary of the master who hadn’t yet appeared. He continued: “Your dusk burial was suspicious to begin with. The lack of grief on your faces shows there’s no companion’s corpse inside, so nine times out of ten it’s the white snake pearl. If I hadn’t sworn never to disturb graves again, I’d dig it up right now to see.”

Chen Yu’s face filled with anger as he suddenly raised his head and declared loudly: “That’s my family’s heirloom night pearl, not a snake pearl!”

Wei Xun said unhurriedly: “Snake pearl or night pearl, I don’t care. I’m just curious about your theft process – why don’t you tell me in detail?”

Chen Yu’s eyes were full of resentful depression as he tightly shut his mouth again.

A kind-faced, round-cheeked craftsman approached timidly and said: “If the young gentleman isn’t an official, then you must need money? Though we brothers aren’t wealthy, we can scrape together twenty or thirty strings of cash.”

Despite being on their own territory with nearly ten able-bodied men, somehow everyone felt intimidated by this youth. When swept by those sharp, slender eyes, each person felt their heart tremble with fear.

Baozhu didn’t know Wei Xun was guarding against ambush, but she also felt his demeanor tonight was vastly different from his usual cunning and mischievous manner. There was a fierce, domineering aura about him, as if standing beside him made the temperature several degrees colder. She unconsciously stepped back two paces, which Wei Xun immediately noticed. He sternly signaled for her to come closer and not scatter.

Facing the craftsman’s humble pleading, Baozhu also found it unbearable and scolded: “Do you think we’re here to extort you? Because of your pearl theft, how many innocent people have been arrested and tortured under cruel interrogation – how many wronged souls? Don’t you feel ashamed?”

All the craftsmen looked ashamed and lowered their heads.

Chen Yu’s eyes were bloodshot and turbid as he said hoarsely: “Whatever wrongs there are, they’re all my fault. My surrendering alone is enough.”

But Baozhu said: “Even if you surrender and face punishment, you must make your story consistent. Do you think government case-solving is child’s play?”

Chen Yu closed his eyes and refused to explain by what means he had stolen the pearl.

Seeing his resolute expression, Baozhu whispered to Wei Xun: “It seems he wants to take all the blame himself to protect his accomplices. If we send him to the county office, with that frail body, he probably won’t survive until dawn under torture.”

Wei Xun understood and grabbed Chen Yu by the back of his shirt, saying: “Since someone confessed, I’ll take him to claim the reward.” He scanned the remaining craftsmen one by one, threatening ominously: “Don’t touch this grave mound anymore, or I’ll break this cripple’s other leg and tear him in half.”

Though Chen Yu was a withered, disabled man, he was still an adult male, yet Wei Xun lifted him as easily as picking up a chopstick. Though young, he was a renowned figure in the martial world with natural oppressive power. The other craftsmen were both shocked and frightened, weeping but not daring to interfere.

Wei Xun found their behavior puzzling. These craftsmen, young and old, were all honest common folk who dared not resist authority – they cowered at intimidation and didn’t seem like bold thieves who would steal a military commissioner’s treasure.

Baozhu didn’t know where Wei Xun was taking the stele carver. After they left the camp together, Wei Xun found an abandoned residence and dragged Chen Yu up to the attic by his belt. Without his crutch, the cripple could only crawl, and unless he wanted to break every bone in his body, he had no way to get down himself – no guard was even needed.

The night had grown extremely dark. Walking through the silent streets, Baozhu said quietly to Wei Xun: “The case is almost solved, but Chen Yu said the white snake pearl was his family heirloom – I keep thinking about those words.”

Wei Xun said: “You’re afraid he’s telling the truth, right?”

Baozhu nodded worriedly, deeply moved by this thought. Though she lived in the deep palace, she often heard of high-ranking nobles seizing property by force – destroying entire families just for an antique or a beautiful maid. If this white snake pearl had been plundered from common people, the original owner must have suffered greatly.

“Bao Lang has a heart like a snake or scorpion. If he robbed this pearl from Chen Yu, it’s entirely believable.” She paused, then continued: “Though he claims to have personally slain the white snake and fears no snake demon, ever since Secretary Yang claimed I was possessed by a snake spirit, he hasn’t visited even once. Yesterday Wu Zhiyuan mentioned that when Bao Lang saw someone at the hostel carrying a jar of snake wine, he actually paled and drew his sword to smash the jar – isn’t that a guilty conscience?”

Wei Xun nodded: “He says he’s not afraid, but actually he’s very wary. The city’s been sealed so long without finding the snake pearl, and now with food shortages, it can hardly continue much longer. Having lost the pearl, Bao Lang will certainly face Cui Keyong’s accountability. Under anxiety and fear, he’ll gradually become deranged and lose control.”

Wei Xun thought of another matter. When he had intimidated them and forcibly carried off Chen Yu, the suspected lightness-skill master hadn’t appeared either, making him wonder if such a person really existed. But if no one else helped, how could these craftsmen who knew no martial arts have stolen the snake pearl from the multi-treasure pagoda?

Lost in thought, he suddenly looked toward the horizon and said: “Huo Qi has succeeded. We’ll act before dawn – I need to get you back to the Reflection Hall first.”

Baozhu looked around but saw no sign of Huo Qi Lang, thinking perhaps their sect had some special communication method.

The two walked back together to outside the county office’s inner residence walls. Baozhu was eager to try climbing the wall herself again, but Wei Xun looked at her torn clothing and asked with a frown: “Would it be inappropriate if I helped you up?”

Because of Shisan Lang’s sudden arrest, Baozhu had temporarily forgotten their previous cold war conflicts. Now with the old matter brought up again, she said coldly: “Go away. I absolutely won’t let you carry me like you did Chen Yu.”

Seeing her determination, Wei Xun was stunned for a moment, took a deep breath as if gathering courage, then slowly extended his hand toward Baozhu and asked quietly: “Then may I carry you on my back?”

Looking at his outstretched hand, Baozhu remembered how he had avoided her touch before and still felt resentful. She said proudly: “Forget it. Don’t you dislike people touching you? We’d better keep our distance to avoid impropriety.”

Wei Xun lowered his eyes, his expression complex with fear and shame. This hand that could shatter stone monuments and had killed countless people trembled in the air, requiring self-control to remain steady.

He had thought all night about why he felt fear when facing her. Now, striving for calm, he spoke his conclusions truthfully: “I do dislike it. That’s because I was born with an affliction – my body is ice-cold like a dead person, and everyone finds it repulsive. I don’t want to actively invite disgust, so I don’t touch others.”