Liu the Chief Secretary had just finished having medicine applied to his backside. A small dry cotton cloth was draped over it, and the underfloor heating was burning warmly, the pleasant heat making one drowsy.

He had barely closed his eyes when footsteps sounded outside, followed by the steward’s voice announcing that Gu the Chief Constable had arrived.

Gu the Chief Constable came in carrying a chill of cold air on him, and Liu the Chief Secretary sneezed. Gu the Chief Constable, ordinarily a man of sharp perception, seemed today as though he had noticed none of this, excited as a small child who had found ten jin of sweets. “Reporting to Chief Secretary Liu: the villain who stabbed you has been captured! Military Advisor Hua has already had the person locked in the prison, and is waiting only for Prefect Jia and yourself to come over and conduct the interrogation.”

Liu the Chief Secretary sprang upright in a single bound. “What?! That fast?! Oww——”

In his carelessness he had pulled at the wound on his backside. His anguished cry echoed through the room long after he made it.

Gu the Chief Constable said: “Chief Secretary Liu, go slowly — mind your honorable posterior.”

At a moment like this, who could still think about their posterior? Liu the Chief Secretary ground his teeth as he lay back down, and bellowed at the top of his lungs for the steward, saying he needed to go to the government office.

The steward was in a quandary. Liu the Chief Secretary could neither sit nor walk at present; he could only lie face-down on the bed, and could not even pull on his trousers — how was he to go out? After a great deal of deliberation, it was Gu the Chief Constable who came up with a solution: he had carrying poles tied to the four sides of the sleeping couch, a pole erected on the left side with a gauze canopy hung from it, and three layers of cotton quilts laid over the couch, creating a makeshift “couch-litter.”

Liu the Chief Secretary shifted himself onto it, pulled the quilts over himself, and eight broad-shouldered, thick-waisted sedan-chair bearers carried him along with a rhythmic heave-ho, steady and swift, parading down the streets in a spectacle that drew passersby’s stares from all sides.

They were on their way when the sound of hooves came from behind — it was precisely Prefect Jia’s procession. Prefect Jia, all his fleshy bulk piled atop his horse, had the animal panting like an ox and drenched in sweat.

Liu the Chief Secretary: “Did Prefect Jia also receive Military Advisor Hua’s message?”

Prefect Jia: “Just who is this ringleader villain who had the audacity to stab Chief Secretary Liu?”

Gu the Chief Constable: “It is the Gate Master of the Fusheng Sect, Gong Feiyang.”

Liu the Chief Secretary was stunned. Prefect Jia gave a violent jerk on the reins; the horse let out a shrill, wretched cry, its front hooves rearing up, and with two loud snaps of its hind legs, horse and rider crashed to the ground together.

The horse: “Neigh, neigh, neigh——”

Prefect Jia: “My leg, oh, oh, oh, oh——”

The accompanying government clerks scrambled about in a panic, lifting the horse here and tending to the man there, busy for a good while before they finally managed to get Prefect Jia clear. The horse had broken a leg and was likely beyond saving. Prefect Jia had also broken a leg and could not go to the government office. Even as the medical carriage came to collect him, Prefect Jia did not forget to grasp Liu the Chief Secretary’s hand and deliver his earnest instructions.

“Jia trusts Military Advisor Hua completely. This case is hereby delegated to Military Advisor Hua for full authority to conduct the trial!”

After all the chaos and commotion, Liu the Chief Secretary continued his journey lying face-down on his couch, and along the way he listened to Gu the Chief Constable recount the process of capturing the villain: Lin Niangzi had led her people to strike two of the Fusheng Sect’s halls and the main hall in succession, fighting a hundred disciples alone, and had captured the Fusheng Sect’s Gate Master, Gong Feiyang, alive.

Liu the Chief Secretary listened until his jaw dropped onto the pillow, and a large pool of drool soaked through.

The entrance to the prison was packed with government runners, irregular enforcement officers, and clerks — more bustling than New Year’s. Gu the Chief Constable parted the crowd and escorted Liu the Chief Secretary into the prison interrogation hall, where Military Advisor Hua had long been waiting.

Liu the Chief Secretary could not help taking a few extra glances at Lin Sui’an. The young lady, despite her youth, had sustained some injuries, but her eyes and brows were bright and spirited — clearly nothing serious. The jailers standing behind her looked at her with expressions of absolute reverence, as if they were just short of burning incense and offering prayers.

Liu the Chief Secretary first gave high affirmation to Military Advisor Hua’s outstanding professional capabilities, then relayed Prefect Jia’s instructions, and finally expressed his gratitude toward Lin Sui’an in tactful terms. The interrogation formally began.

The first to be interrogated was naturally the ringleader Gong Feiyang — who was also carried in on a stretcher. One leg was a bloody mess. He lay on the stretcher with eyes rolled back, mumbling, his consciousness unclear.

Fangke delivered his injury assessment report: “The injured party, Gong Feiyang, male, approximately thirty-eight years of age, height nine chi and three cun, weight two hundred and fifty jin. The leg bone four cun above the left knee is shattered, tendons and flesh severed — a penetrating wound from a sharp blade. His injuries have already been treated. There is no immediate danger to his life.”

Hua Yitang frowned. “Why is he still unconscious?”

“The unconsciousness is not from the leg wound, but from poisoning,” said Fangke. “This man has been consuming Longshen Fruit for years. The toxin has long since taken root in his five organs and six viscera. After this battle, the poison has traveled through his bloodstream and invaded his brain, causing unconsciousness. Even if he awakens, he will be in a state of stupidity and confusion.”

Liu the Chief Secretary was greatly alarmed. The Longshen incident from Chengxian County in Qingzhou had previously been reported to all major cities and counties via official dispatches, and all court officials had heard of it. He had not expected this poison to have made its appearance in An’du City.

Hua Yitang: “Can he still be saved?”

Fangke: “Fang will do his utmost, but the prospects are not promising.”

As he spoke, he turned and began rummaging through a large wooden crate.

Hua Yitang ordered the jailers to bring up the second suspect — the Fusheng Sect’s Deputy Gate Master, Rong Qianshan. His hands and feet were locked in iron chains, and half his head was swollen to the size of a pig’s head. He could only peer at people through one eye. When his gaze fell on Lin Sui’an, his entire body began to shake uncontrollably, and he shrieked: “I don’t know anything, I don’t know anything at all, it was all Gong Feiyang——”

Rong Qianshan’s voice cut off abruptly. He had seen Fangke take out a glass vial, pry open Gong Feiyang’s jaw, and pour something in. Nobody knew what was poured in, but Gong Feiyang let out a wild beast’s roar, his massive body thrashing and convulsing like a live fish thrown into a wok of hot oil, and from his mouth gushed blue-green foam, mouthful after mouthful.

A horrifying wailing rang through the entire prison, like ten thousand ghosts of the underworld weeping in unison. In the flickering firelight, the blood-robed coroner’s examiner curved his lips into a chilling smile, and slowly, ever so slowly, shifted his gaze to Rong Qianshan’s face — no less dreadful than the grim reaper himself. “Do you want to try it too?”

Rong Qianshan swallowed a gulp with an audible sound, performed a full one-hundred-and-eighty-degree reversal in attitude, and kowtowed properly toward Hua Yitang: “Military Advisor Hua, ask me whatever you wish! I will answer everything!”

Lin Sui’an smiled. Liu the Chief Secretary quietly stuffed his pillow into his mouth.

The streets had long been buzzing with accounts of how terrifying the Fourth Young Master of the Hua Family’s interrogation methods were — how in Chengxian County of Qingzhou he had interrogated three criminals and left all three insane. He had not expected the method to be this — so very, very frightening.

Hua Yitang raised an eyebrow. “It seems you have long known that Gong Feiyang carried the Longshen Fruit poison in his body.”

Rong Qianshan: “I did not know before. Later, when news of the Chengxian County, Qingzhou case spread all over the city, I guessed at seven or eight parts of it.”

“Did you administer this poison?”

“This matter has absolutely nothing to do with me!” Rong Qianshan waved his hands in frantic denial. “When the Gate Master — I mean, when Gong Feiyang came to An’du City, he must have already been carrying the poison. That — how to put it — although his martial arts were formidable, his words and conduct would sometimes seem off. At the time I only thought the man was slow-witted; later, after I got to know him better, I realized his mind was not working properly. Sometimes when Gong Feiyang fought fiercely with someone, his pupils would take on a blue glow, and afterward he would be stupefied for several days — he couldn’t even speak clearly.”

“When did Gong Feiyang come to An’du?”

“About two years — no, counting now, it should be three years ago. At that time there was no Fusheng Sect in An’du City. Gong Feiyang appeared out of nowhere and set about bringing An’du City’s various sects and street rabble under his control, killing all who refused to listen, refused to submit, or tried to resist. The first ones he killed were——”

Rong Qianshan cast a cautious glance at Lin Sui’an. “He killed the hall master and six elders of the Jingmen Sect’s An’du branch hall. The Jingmen Sect’s branch hall was the largest faction in An’du City. Once Jingmen fell, the jianghu forces in An’du had no leader and fell apart……”

Though she had already suspected as much, Lin Sui’an’s heart still sank involuntarily.

“By Gong Feiyang alone?” Hua Yitang asked. “Didn’t you say his mind was damaged?”

Rong Qianshan’s face twitched. “There — there was someone who hired me to assist Gong Feiyang with his affairs.”

“Who?”

Rong Qianshan was silent for a moment. “I never saw this person’s face. He called himself Third Master, and paid me thirty gold each month as compensation.”

At these words, both Hua Yitang’s and Lin Sui’an’s eyes lit up. Fangke’s smile grew yet more chilling, and he took two steps toward Rong Qianshan.

Rong Qianshan jolted. “Even though I never saw that person’s face, I have roughly guessed whose man he is!”

“Oh?” Hua Yitang tilted his head. “Whose man?”

Sweat began to bead on Rong Qianshan’s forehead. “Would you please dismiss everyone, Military Advisor Hua?”

Hua Yitang signaled with his eyes. Guliang led all the government clerks and jailers out. The interrogation room now held only Hua Yitang, Lin Sui’an, Fangke, Liu the Chief Secretary, and a half-dead Gong Feiyang.

Rong Qianshan drew a deep breath and lowered his voice. “That Third Master should be connected to the Jiang Family of Taiyuan.”

Lin Sui’an: Oh my!

“Preposterous!” Liu the Chief Secretary bellowed, then pulled at his wound and lay back down grinding his teeth. “The Jiang Family of Taiyuan — a thousand-year-old great family, with ancestors of ten thousand glories — how could they associate with filthy people like yourselves?”

Hua Yitang narrowed his eyes. “Rong Qianshan, this is a weighty matter. Do you have evidence?”

A look of difficulty crossed Rong Qianshan’s face. “I truly have no evidence. But — the Fusheng Sect once did something for Third Master on my behalf; I felt it was suspicious and secretly investigated, and found that it was handling business for the Jiang Family of Taiyuan.”

“What business?”

“Two years ago at Mid-Autumn, Third Master ordered the Fusheng Sect to go to Yi’du City and collect a shipment of cargo — twenty four-horse-drawn large wagons, all sealed carriages. Third Master required the Gate Master to personally escort it, and dispatched over sixty disciples. It had to be transported back to An’du within seven days.”

Hua Yitang: “What was being transported inside the carriages?”

Rong Qianshan’s color drained, as though it was somewhat difficult to speak. After a long pause, he drew a breath and said: “When we passed through Yi City, in the middle of the night, strange sounds came from inside the carriages. Since the carriages had official seals, no one dared open them. I secretly bored a few small holes in one carriage and discovered——”

A look of horror appeared on Rong Qianshan’s face. “The carriages were full of young girls about seven or eight years old, all sitting rigidly upright, staring with wide-open eyes. The carriages were pitch-dark inside, yet those children’s pupils were like wolves’ — flashing with a blue light — the same — the same as Gong Feiyang’s.”

Hua Yitang’s expression changed. Fangke’s brow furrowed deeply.

Those children — they were white sacrificial vessels controlled by the Longshen Fruit.

“At the time I was frightened nearly to death, and immediately ordered everyone to travel through the night. We arrived outside An’du City in a state of trembling terror without rest or sleep. A group of black-clad men came to take over the convoy. I still couldn’t put it out of my mind, so I secretly followed, and discovered that this convoy passed through several trading companies over three days, changed its appearance entirely, and ultimately — was transported into the Jiang Family of Taiyuan’s country villa on the city outskirts.”

Lin Sui’an abruptly gripped Qian Jing. An invisible killing intent dispersed into the air, pressing down on everyone until they could barely breathe.

Hua Yitang’s voice went dangerously deep. “And after that?”

“After that? There was nothing after that! The moment I saw it was the Jiang Family of Taiyuan’s business, I naturally fled.” Rong Qianshan wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Fortunately, this sort of thing only happened once……”

The interrogation room fell deathly silent, with nothing to be heard except Gong Feiyang’s intermittent breathing.

The case had developed far beyond Liu the Chief Secretary’s imagination. He lay face-down on his couch, his head in a jumbled mess, and only when Hua Yitang asked the next question did he remember what case they were actually interrogating today.

“Why assassinate Chief Secretary Liu?” Hua Yitang asked. “Was that also Third Master’s order?”

“No, no, no! This was a misunderstanding!” Rong Qianshan shrieked. “This whole affair is Gong Feiyang’s fault. His — his mind was damaged, he mistook the person. The one we originally intended to deal with was Zheng Yonyan!”

Liu the Chief Secretary: “What?”

Lin Sui’an: “Huh?”

Fangke: “Who?”

Hua Yitang stared wide-eyed. “The Director of Works, Zheng Yongyan?”

Short Sketch

Jin Ruo sat cross-legged in the main hall of the Cloud and Wind Inn, and Ruo Jing tap-tap-tapped on the table. “Jingmen Sect’s creed is: those who confess receive lenient treatment, those who resist receive strict treatment. Whatever bad deeds you have done — the sensible ones should come clean now. Those who should turn themselves in, turn yourselves in. Those who should make amends, make amends. Those who should pay compensation, pay compensation. If I find out afterward that anyone dared to conceal or falsely report anything — Gong Feiyang and Rong Qianshan are what awaits you!”

The Four Saints: “What awaits you!”

The Fusheng Sect disciples knelt all over the floor, sweat dripping like beans. “We respectfully obey Gate Master Jin’s command!”