The main hall of the Gong Residence.
Gong Sihai narrowed his small eyes into slits, staring coldly at Gong Le. “What nonsense are you spouting!”
“I’m not spouting nonsense. You’re the one who killed Achuan.” Gong Le said.
“Achuan? Hmph, some nobody dog or cat thing—it simply dirties my ears.” A cold gleam flashed in Gong Sihai’s eyes. “So you really were trying to assassinate me. Excellent! I’ll send you to prison right now!”
“Who’s afraid of whom! Even if I go to prison, I absolutely won’t let you off!”
“Everyone shut up!” Old Madam Gong shouted, then coughed heavily several times. Gong Le asked with concern, “Mother, are you alright?”
“If you want me to live a few more days, all of you shut up!”
Gong Le bit his teeth and lowered his head. Old Madam Gong looked at Gong Sihai, and Gong Sihai also averted his gaze. Old Madam Gong smiled apologetically at Tu Jinxiong. “Chief Tu, I’ve made you witness something embarrassing. They are both hot-blooded men, so they inevitably say foolish things. Please don’t take it to heart, Chief Tu. This old body apologizes on their behalf.”
“Old Madam Gong, you’re too kind. Loose tongues don’t really count for anything.” Tu Jinxiong bowed respectfully. “Tu will take his leave.”
Tu Jinxiong and Meng Rui came out from the Gong Residence. Tu Jinxiong took a couple steps forward and said, “Gong Sihai is very suspicious.”
“Oh, how so?”
“Gong Sihai is Gong Le’s own uncle. Without solid evidence, how would he dare to randomly accuse Gong Sihai?” Tu Jinxiong said with confidence. “However, Gong Le is willing to risk even his life to avenge Meng Chuan. That does earn him some of my admiration. So not all young masters are cowards after all.”
“Then why didn’t you arrest Gong Sihai?”
“Hey! I don’t have that kind of courage.” Tu Jinxiong laughed heartily. “The Gong Family isn’t an ordinary household. Rumor has it they even have backing in the Holy City. So one cannot act rashly—I still need to let the county magistrate make the decision.”
Meng Rui laughed inwardly: You want to use the county magistrate as a scapegoat.
“Do you think there was anything unusual about Meng Chuan’s parents?” Meng Rui suddenly asked.
“Unusual? I didn’t notice anything.”
Meng Rui stopped, turned his head to look at Tu Jinxiong and said, “Perhaps I’m overthinking. Like this—send someone with me to Meng Chuan’s house.”
Tu Jinxiong agreed without even thinking.
Near the end of the Hour of Shen, Meng Rui came to Yin Village for the first time.
Almost no one could be seen in Yin Village. Meng Rui knocked on the door of Meng Chuan’s house.
Meng Chuan’s parents looked astonished. They hadn’t expected the yamen to send people repeatedly. Meng Rui walked into Meng Chuan’s small dark room, leaving all the other people outside.
The small dark room was cramped and damp, but even more terrifying was the darkness. Darkness grew like wild grass, filling every corner of the small room. Inside the room was only a half-collapsed wooden plank bed, a dark and heavy old clothes chest, and a broken low stool—that was all.
Meng Rui opened the old clothes chest and first felt around inside with his hand. The chest was full of tattered old clothes. Meng Rui turned to look outside the door—Meng Chuan’s parents’ clothing was all clean and new. He took out the clothes from the chest one by one, then put them back one by one.
There was no quilt on the half-collapsed wooden plank bed. Meng Rui lay down on the bed. All around, it was as if there were countless black eyes, countless black mouths, countless black ears, watching, speaking, and listening to every breath and change in this narrow space.
His head felt somewhat heavy. Meng Rui walked out of the small dark room. Without looking at Meng Chuan’s parents again, he said to the old constable Qiu Dadan who accompanied him, “Let’s go.”
Outside Yin Village were three roads. One was the road Meng Rui had taken to arrive. The other two led respectively to two great mountains.
Meng Rui stood at the fork in the road and asked Qiu Dadan, “Which road leads to the Qin River?”
Qiu Dadan was a local. After looking around twice, he said, “In reply to my lord, take the right one. Pass through two peaks of Snake Mountain, and you’ll reach the upper reaches of the Qin River.”
“Mm, then we’ll take the right.”
Qiu Dadan was startled and added, “But taking the right path is a detour, and climbing over mountains and ridges will take at least an extra hour.”
“No problem.” Meng Rui said meaningfully. “Compared to other things, climbing mountains and crossing ridges is the simplest.”
Meng Rui strode forward. Qiu Dadan was completely confused by what he heard, but Tu Jinxiong had instructed him to protect Meng Rui well. Qiu Dadan groaned inwardly but could only hurry to catch up.
The Hour of You. After traveling through the mountains for an hour, everything around gradually darkened. The chattering cries of insects, birds, and beasts increased. Meng Rui noticed that Qiu Dadan’s expression was dispirited, so he found an open area to sit and rest.
Qiu Dadan took his water flask and gulped down several mouthfuls. Only then did his complexion improve somewhat. Meng Rui stood on the mountain peak. It turned out that west of Snake Mountain was Fuyao Mountain. He wondered how Niu Sao at Floating Cloud Temple was doing—she must still be keeping watch beside the red coffin. In a trance, Meng Rui suddenly discovered a pair of jade-green eyes in the dense, lush forest. Before he could react, a shadow as swift as a demon spirit flashed through the forest in an instant, and he could no longer find it.
An indescribable chill surrounded Meng Rui. Those jade-green eyes merged with the night, like a lifeless stalker in the darkness.
“My lord, it’s getting late. We should continue on our way.”
Qiu Dadan’s words called back his scattered thoughts. Meng Rui murmured, “It seems we’re not the only two wandering in these deep mountains.”
After traveling another half hour, they crossed two peaks of Snake Mountain. Faintly, they could hear the sound of the Qin River’s rapid, rushing water. Meng Rui descended into a secluded valley with the Qin River flowing past on the outer side. To the left and right of the valley were two protruding cliff edges. Meng Rui looked up to discern them, then climbed the left cliff edge.
The path up the cliff was a narrow trail. Both sides of the path were overgrown with thorns and wild grass. Meng Rui’s long robe was also torn with several small holes. Atop the cliff was a large open space. Meng Rui walked around twice. In the dry soil near the cliff edge, something was faintly glinting. Meng Rui bent down to pick it up—it was actually a jade hook used to fasten a belt. The edge of the jade hook was stained with a trace of dried black blood.
Meng Rui took a deep breath. Where the jade hook was found, messy footprints could still be faintly discerned. This should be the place where Meng Chuan fell. Could this jade hook have been carelessly left behind by the murderer?
Qiu Dadan also discovered the suspicious point and hurriedly said, “It seems a struggle occurred on the cliff, my lord. Could it be related to Meng Chuan’s case?”
Meng Rui put away the jade hook. “That’s what I’m thinking too. Memorize the valley’s location and tell Tu Jinxiong when we return.”
Qiu Dadan nodded his head vigorously.
“Let’s go down.” Meng Rui said, turning around.
The two descended the cliff and walked downstream along the Qin River. They traveled until around the Hour of Xu, when the Qin River’s waters gradually became calmer. The two reached the buffer zone in the middle reaches of the Qin River.
Meng Rui deliberately slowed his pace, his gaze surveying the riverbank. A large bluish-gray stone on the bank attracted Meng Rui’s attention. This large stone was cleaner and smoother than the others. Meng Rui stared at it with interest for a while, then plopped down on top of the large stone.
“Are you tired, my lord?”
Meng Rui stood up and patted his rear. “I slipped and fell.”
The two were just about to leave when suddenly a shrill, miserable scream came from the forest to the east!
Birds in the forest were startled into flight. Meng Rui vaguely saw someone fleeing. He abandoned Qiu Dadan, used his left foot to spring off a tree, and in the blink of an eye had already rushed in front of that person and grabbed hold of the other’s collar with one hand.
“Don’t kill me, please, don’t kill me!” The person grabbed was a young man who kept his eyes closed and begged for mercy relentlessly.
Meng Rui threw him to the ground. The young man cried out in pain. He opened his eyes wide and saw Meng Rui, then suddenly let out a long breath. “Thank goodness, thank goodness it’s not—”
“What are you doing? What’s your name?” The cold wind in the forest blew open Meng Rui’s hair, revealing his fierce green birthmark. The young man shuddered in fright and hurriedly said, “I’m a hunter from the mountains, called An’wa.”
“Who was chasing you just now?” Meng Rui stared at An’wa and asked.
An’wa’s eyes dropped downward and he said, “No one. It was a crazed wild wolf that chased me, wanting to eat me.”
“A wild wolf.” Meng Rui repeated softly. An’wa wore a robe made of animal fur with a long scratch on his back. Wolf claws would be much deeper than this scratch. This kid is lying, Meng Rui was certain.
An’wa avoided Meng Rui’s gaze and unconsciously moved his feet backward. An’wa wore a pair of purple gauze boots worth quite a bit, and at his waist hung a finely crafted purse.
“You’re lying!” Meng Rui suddenly shouted coldly. “When hunting, people wear hemp shoes or straw sandals—who wears gauze boots! That purse at your waist isn’t yours either—and the scratch on your back definitely wasn’t made by a wolf. Speak! What really happened!”
Meng Rui’s voice and expression were both severe. An’wa looked at the man who seemed like a demon lord in the pitch-black night, his legs went weak, and he said in a trembling voice, “I saw someone kill someone!”
Meng Rui raised his thick eyebrows, waiting for An’wa to continue. Suddenly, a roar came from the nearby forest—like a human yet also like a beast. An’wa hugged his head in terror and said, “It’s coming! That’s what’s chasing me! Its eyes are green, like a phantom ghost.”
Green eyes—it’s him, the stalker in the darkness.
Qiu Dadan had just found them. Meng Rui handed An’wa over to him, saying, “This boy is very important. Lock him in the prison first.”
Before Qiu Dadan could ask any questions, Meng Rui had already rushed into the depths of the forest, following the roaring sounds to chase after the green-eyed stalker.
Qiu Dadan looked at the trembling An’wa and smiled bitterly. “Alright, come with me.”
The green-eyed stalker left only a faint shadow. If one wasn’t careful, the target would be lost. Meng Rui didn’t dare be careless at all. His eyes locked onto that faint shadow as firmly as an eagle’s. After weaving east and west through the depths of the forest for quite a while, the faint shadow suddenly shifted direction and rushed out of the woods. Meng Rui also followed closely and rushed out.
After rushing out of the forest, they had actually arrived in a mountainous wilderness not far from Jinxia County. The green-eyed stalker then raced eastward. He wants to enter the county city—this thought flashed through Meng Rui’s mind, but he had no time to think further.
The faint shadow reached a section of city wall with holes and cracks in it, and drilled through one of the holes.
Meng Rui didn’t dare slack off and also drilled through the wall hole. But when he emerged, the street outside the hole was pitch black, with no trace of anyone.
Damn it, he got away.
From the other end of the long street came chaotic, heavy footsteps. Then someone said in surprise, “Lord Meng, why are you here?”
Meng Rui looked up. Coming toward him was Tu Jinxiong.