Li Si felt the Ji Residence might still harbor clues, so he visited again.

Situ Bo summoned the Dog Pit proprietor Huang Mazi, Chen Er’gou, Nanny Rong, young mistress Ning Suqin, and painter Lu Qianbo.

Situ Bo first described the bite marks on the neck that caused Ji Liang’s tragic death. Li Si remained silent, carefully observing the expression changes of everyone present. Most showed shock and terror. Nanny Rong asked, “My lord, what creature bit the young master to death?”

“The bite wound is more than a full inch deep, which is quite astonishing.” Li Si’s gaze swept across someone in the Ji Residence, saying indifferently, “Chen Er’gou, is this your real name?”

Chen Er’gou’s body trembled. “My lord, I have a proper name—Chen Quan. Because I raise dogs and my temper stinks like a dog’s, everyone gave me the nickname ‘Chen Er’gou.'”

“You’re quite straightforward.” Li Si smiled slightly. “You raise dogs at the Ji Residence, so let me ask you—can the dogs you raise bite wounds a full inch deep?”

Chen Er’gou first froze, then waved his large dark hands. “No, I raise good dogs for guarding the household and courtyard. Dog fangs are at most half an inch long. It’s impossible that my dogs bit the young master to death.”

Chen Er’gou wore a bitter expression. Li Si nodded. “I didn’t say your dogs bit Ji Liang to death—I was merely asking.”

Chen Er’gou responded with acknowledgment, relieved.

“Huang Mazi.” Li Si turned his face toward Huang Mazi, who was already drenched in cold sweat. “Yes, my lord.”

“Last night, you were the last person to see Ji Liang.” Li Si said.

“Yes. But after this humble one escorted the young master out of Shanhai Tower, I turned back.” Huang Mazi immediately cleared himself of suspicion. Li Si asked further, “Yesterday at Shanhai Tower, did Ji Liang have any disputes with anyone?”

“No.” Huang Mazi replied instantly. “The young master generally didn’t show his face. All the greeting and escorting at Shanhai Tower, from top to bottom, was done by this humble one. Few guests recognized the young master.”

Li Si wanted to sort out a traceable lead, but there were no clues, so he had to temporarily give up.

At this point, Huang Mazi kept his head lowered, his eyeballs stealing glances at Li Si several times. Li Si raised an eyebrow. “Huang Mazi, do you have something to say? If you’re concealing any important clues, Magistrate Situ can also judge you guilty.”

“This humble one wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare.” Huang Mazi bit his teeth. “This humble one does have something to say, but I don’t know if I should say it.”

“Go ahead and speak.”

“The culprit who could bite someone a full inch deep… might also be human!” Huang Mazi spoke evasively. Situ Bo heard this confusedly. “Huang Mazi, speak clearly.”

“Yes. This humble one knows of someone who has fangs longer than wolves or dogs, and he also has a grudge with the young master.” Huang Mazi said this.

“Who is that person?”

“Xia Jiuying.” Huang Mazi revealed the name.

After hearing this, Wu Wen showed a surprised expression. He turned to look at Li Si, who also froze momentarily, but immediately recovered his composure. “Can you confirm that Xia Jiuying has fangs longer than wolves or dogs?”

“Yes. Without those fierce fangs, how could Xia Jiuying bite a lone wolf to death?” Huang Mazi said with certainty.

“Good, then send people to bring Xia Jiuying back to the yamen.” Li Si paused and added, “Huang Mazi, Chen Er’gou, you both come to the yamen as well.”

Xia Jiuying was escorted back to the yamen. Li Si gazed deeply at this youth with a pitiful background twice, sighing softly. “Xia Jiuying, open your mouth.”

Xia Jiuying raised his empty eyes, lifted his head, and opened his mouth. Inside his mouth, sharp and elongated canine teeth were as striking as wolf fangs. Looking at the gleaming white long teeth, Li Si vividly recalled the old woman from Luohua Village’s memories. Li Si could almost picture how the youth relied on his sharp long teeth to fight the fierce lone wolf—amidst flying blood and flesh, the youth’s pale long teeth accurately pierced the lone wolf’s throat, instantly killing it.

Li Si steadied himself. Wu Zuo held up a wooden ruler and finished measuring Xia Jiuying’s tooth length. “My lord, all four of Xia Jiuying’s upper and lower canine teeth are a full inch long.”

“Not an ordinary person.” Wu Zuo said with wonder.

Li Si asked Xia Jiuying, “Xia Jiuying, were your teeth this long from birth?”

After quite a while, Xia Jiuying finally spoke.

This was the first time Li Si heard Xia Jiuying speak. In Xia Jiuying’s voice surged a vicissitude of suffering that didn’t belong to someone his age.

“Teeth weren’t like this from birth… After age six, every time I competed with wild dogs for food, I used stones to sharpen my teeth… Fighting with wild wolves, my teeth gradually grew longer.”

Xia Jiuying hadn’t communicated with people for a long time, so he spoke haltingly. But everyone present understood clearly—the youth’s teeth weren’t born long, but gradually grew longer bit by bit in order to survive. Humans are strange and terrifying creatures. Every time they encounter irreversible adversity and are abandoned by everyone, humans can often explode with astonishing potential, or their bodies undergo certain mutations.

Xia Jiuying’s lengthening teeth were his survival potential being activated.

The yamen hall fell completely silent for a moment.

Huang Mazi glanced at Xia Jiuying. “My lord, Xia Jiuying’s teeth are an inch long, and he was coerced by the young master to fight fierce beasts like black panthers. He must have harbored resentment toward the young master long ago. He’s the most suspicious.”

What Huang Mazi said wasn’t false. Li Si’s eyes gleamed sharply. “Huang Mazi speaks reasonably. Guards, first escort Xia Jiuying to the prison cell. We’ll interrogate him another day.”

At the third quarter of the hour of the Dog, Li Si and Wu Wen ate dinner at a tavern. Beside them was a thin, tall man with a sallow complexion who was complaining to his friend.

“You didn’t see it—just last night, around the end of the hour of the Pig. I was on night watch, just turning from Qingqu Street to the village entrance when suddenly a black shadow darted out, carrying a foul stench that brushed past my navel and charged through. Oh my goodness, that black shadow was so fast! But I still caught sight of strange dark gleams in its half-open mouth.”

“Xiong San, were you drunk again yesterday?” His friend didn’t believe night watchman Xiong San’s words.

Xiong San became anxious. “Damn it, this time I didn’t touch a drop of alcohol. I dare swear here—if I’m talking nonsense, then, then…”

“Then what?”

“Let me never find a wife my whole life.” Xiong San said stubbornly.

“Haha, you’re always thinking about wives.” His friend joked. Xiong San tilted his head and drank sullenly.

Suddenly, someone appeared before the table. This person carried an unavoidable sharp gaze—naturally, it was Li Si. Xiong San stammered, “Can I help you?”

“I’m from the yamen and want to ask you some questions.”

“Sir, no, Officer! I’m a law-abiding good person—I don’t frequent brothels or gamble, I just… just like to drink. I haven’t done anything bad.” Xiong San blurted out a jumbled mess.

“Xiong San, I’m looking for you to clarify the black shadow you saw.” Li Si said calmly.

The Qingqu Street entrance Xiong San mentioned wasn’t far from the Ji Residence—it was a necessary route from the Dog Pit back to the Ji Residence. Therefore, Li Si took it to heart. He pulled Xiong San to his own table and asked, “You just said the black shadow had a foul stench. What kind of smell was it exactly?”

“That smell is unforgettable, just like…”

“The smell of blood.” Wu Wen suddenly said. Xiong San slapped his thigh. “That’s right, it’s the smell of blood! My brain couldn’t recall it for a moment.”

“You saw dark gleams in the shadow’s mouth?”

“I think so.” Xiong San became hesitant. “But the shadow was too fast—like a gust of wind. I only seemed to see some light.”

“Describe what kind of dark gleam it was.” Li Si looked at Xiong San.

Xiong San hemmed and hawed for a long time. Wu Wen became impatient and turned around. Xiong San suddenly pointed at Wu Wen and shouted, “Wait, just like that light!”

Wu Wen didn’t dare move while turning. An iron dagger hung at his waist, with the blade slightly exposed.

“The dark gleam… was iron light.” Li Si murmured.

“Xiong San, don’t move around randomly. Later I’ll send someone to find you.” Li Si tossed five taels of silver to Xiong San and pulled Wu Wen out of the teahouse. Xiong San quickly stuffed the silver into his pocket.

“Where are we going, Brother Li?”

“The dark room.”

In the yamen dark room, Wu Zuo looked puzzled as he had just finished covering the corpse with cloth.

A gust of wind swept into the dark room—Li Si and Wu Wen rushed in. Wu Zuo hurriedly said, “Lord Li, why are you here? I was just about to find you.”

“Find me? What for?” Li Si asked.

“I found something in Ji Liang’s hair bun, but I’m not sure if it’s related to the murder case, so I wanted you to take a look.” Wu Zuo pointed with his finger toward a wooden tray.

In the wooden tray was a small object slightly larger than a sesame seed, greenish-black in color. Wu Wen stared at it for a while. “What is this thing?”

“An iron particle.” Li Si said. “A broken iron particle.”

Wu Zuo nodded in agreement. “Lord Li’s judgment is correct—it is an iron particle. But it’s not an ordinary iron particle. Lord Li, please wait.” Wu Zuo used a silver needle to flip the iron particle. The back of the particle had bloodstains.

“There’s blood!” Wu Wen exclaimed.

“A blood-stained iron particle, and the iron gleam in the mysterious shadow’s mouth.” Li Si’s pupils shone with divine light, gradually becoming brighter. “So that’s how it is.”

Early morning on February 11th, just after Situ Bo got up and washed his face, a yamen officer reported that God-Catcher Li was waiting in the dark room.

Situ Bo rushed to the dark room. The cold, unpleasant corpse stench nearly made Situ Bo faint. Situ Bo covered his nose with his sleeve and entered the dark room. Li Si, Wu Wen, and Wu Zuo were in the left corner, where a corpse covered with white cloth lay—needless to say, it was Ji Liang’s body.

Li Si informed Situ Bo of various suspicious factors including the blood-stained iron particle and the mysterious shadow. After hearing this, Situ Bo also found it unusual, so he asked, “Lord Li, have you made any discoveries?”

Li Si nodded. “The iron gleam in the shadow’s mouth! The blood-stained iron particle Wu Zuo found! These two have one thing in common.”

Situ Bo pondered and understood. “Iron?”

“Correct. Next, I’ll analyze the suspicious points. First is the black shadow Xiong San encountered.” Li Si summarized. “One, the shadow fled from Qingqu Street where Ji Liang was killed. Two, the shadow carried a pungent smell of blood, very likely human blood. Three, the shadow’s movements were furtive, disappearing from Xiong San’s line of sight in the blink of an eye—it should have been escaping.”

“These three points roughly allow us to deduce—the shadow is the culprit who bit Ji Liang to death.” Li Si narrowed his eyes. “Then let’s discuss the iron gleam in the shadow’s mouth.”

“Brother, Xiong San said he vaguely saw iron gleam. This person usually likes to drink and brag—could he be talking nonsense again this time?” Wu Wen felt doubtful.

“If it were only his testimony, it would indeed be insufficient to believe. But adding the iron particle found in Ji Liang’s hair bun, the two together make it quite credible.” Li Si said.

Situ Bo habitually clasped his hands behind his back. The overwhelming corpse stench suddenly drilled into his nose, and he quickly raised his hand to cover it again. “If Xiong San’s testimony is credible, then what exactly is this iron gleam?”

“If my guess is correct, it’s iron fangs!” Li Si clearly revealed the answer.

“Iron fangs?” Situ Bo was extremely surprised. “Lord Li means the culprit was wearing iron fangs! Used iron fangs to bite Ji Liang to death?”

Li Si exhaled deeply. “Not yet certain, but it should be. Now we need to do some things to prove whether the theory of iron fangs biting people is correct.”

“Wait, Lord Li,” Situ Bo said. “If the culprit who bit Ji Liang to death was wearing iron fangs, then iron fangs can be long or short. Biting an inch into flesh isn’t surprising either. That means the culprit could be any ordinary person, not necessarily Xia Jiuying, right?”

“Precisely. Since Xia Jiuying has fierce fangs, he has no need to wear iron fangs to bite Ji Liang to death.” Li Si said slowly. “Therefore, the culprit who killed Ji Liang should be someone else. This person is very cunning—not only did he kill Ji Liang, but he also framed Xia Jiuying for the murder.”

“Lord Li just said you need to do some things to prove whether wolf fangs biting people is correct. What things?” Situ Bo asked curiously.

“Let’s go to the Ji Residence first.”

Li Si brought people to the Ji Residence.

Li Si had instructed Wu Wen, who walked to the door where Ji Liang died prone and took out silver tweezers to search extremely carefully. Li Si searched together.

“There’s a discovery.” Wu Wen called out before long.

“Where?” Situ Bo came over first.

Wu Wen’s discovery was a stone lion outside the Ji Residence gate. The stone lion held its head high and chest out, its gaze commanding without anger, looking down on all things, with a stone embroidered ball under its feet.

“Brother, the stone embroidered ball is damaged.” Wu Wen said. The stone embroidered ball was missing a piece of stone skin the size of a pinky nail, and at the damaged edge were faint bloodstains.

“Well done!” Li Si looked at the stone embroidered ball and explained to Situ Bo. “For a long time I couldn’t understand why the blood-stained iron particle was in Ji Liang’s hair bun. But as the iron fangs biting people gradually became clear, I also found the answer to the question.”

“Please elaborate.” Situ Bo said.

“The culprit wore iron fangs to bite Ji Liang to death, then pulled out the iron fangs and fled. In a moment of carelessness, the iron fangs struck this stone lion’s embroidered ball. The stone ball had a piece of skin knocked off, while a blood-stained iron particle was knocked off the iron fangs, and bloodstains also stuck to the ball’s edge.” Li Si took a breath and continued. “The knocked-off iron particle just happened to fly into Ji Liang’s hair bun, and was later discovered by Wu Zuo.”

“Thus, we found the origin of the iron particle that mysteriously appeared in Ji Liang’s hair bun, and this perfectly proves the correctness of iron fangs biting people.” Li Si looked up at the sky. “This could be called heaven’s will—people can deceive people, but it’s hard to deceive heaven.”

“Next, we need to find out the true face of this iron-fanged demon.” Li Si said firmly.

At the hour of the Pig, the sky was pitch black—you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

The Ji Residence gate, hung high with white cloth for mourning, creaked open to a gap wide enough for half a person. A vague black shadow slipped out from the door.

He walked and stopped, constantly looking back, then turned into a deep alley.

At the end of the deep alley, two people were already waiting.

A man and a woman. The man had a dark face, and the woman’s face was covered with yellow gauze. They were actually the pair from the variety troupe who told storytelling and performed drum dances.

At such a late hour, why had they come to the back alley of the Ji Residence?

Who was meeting with these two people?

Could it be that after Ji Liang’s death, another layer of terrible gloom still hung over the Ji Residence?