“Nonsense! How could my family’s stone lion run? And run to Yong’an Ward? There are three wards in between.” Yun Ye scratched his head and asked Yan Song.
“In fact, not only did your family’s stone lion run by itself and crush someone to death, but Zhangsun Wuji’s waist saber also ran to Yanlai Tower by itself and used a great splitting move to cleave a person in half alive. Also, Li Daliang’s son Li Pengcheng just returned to the capital and was feasting with friends at a wine tower when he accidentally fell down the stairs. Fortunately, he himself was completely unharmed, but the person underneath him was crushed into a meat pie—his intestines were even squeezed out from his back door. And there’s more—while Wei Zheng, that old bastard’s carriage was in motion, the wheel suddenly fell off. After rolling down from a slope, it actually crushed a person’s head into a rotten tomato. Wannian County didn’t dare act on their own authority and specifically reported it to the Chang’an Prefecture Governor. The Chang’an Prefecture Governor then reported it to the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice finally submitted the documents to His Majesty. The four of your ranks are too high—apart from His Majesty, no one dares to ask, so His Majesty dispatched me to come ask what’s going on. His Majesty specifically named you as being connected to this matter.”
Yun Ye was even more puzzled. These events were too absurd. He truly knew nothing about them. Since Zhangsun Wuji, Wei Zheng, the newly inherited Li Pengcheng, and himself had all become suspects in murder cases, this was interesting. He must go take a look. Zhangsun Wuji could be set aside—that fellow killed people like flies, so killing one or two enemies was nothing. As for Li Pengcheng, he had always been renowned for his martial prowess. These years in the northern desert, he had probably also killed countless people, so crushing someone to death wouldn’t matter at all. But Wei Zheng killing someone—now that was worth seeing. Going to see Wei Zheng’s expression after killing someone wouldn’t be bad.
The two talked and laughed along the way as they entered the palace. Arriving in front of Wanmin Palace, the three parties involved were all sitting in the front hall waiting for Li Er to summon them. Normally, Li Er wouldn’t personally intervene in the death of one or two people. Now he had actually gathered everyone together, which meant the identity of the deceased wouldn’t be too simple.
When Zhangsun Wuji saw that Yun Ye had also come, he laughed and said, “Marquis Yun has such ability! Your family’s stone lion has actually gained spiritual awareness and can help you kill people. In comparison, this old man’s waist saber, which has accompanied this old man for decades before having such ability, is truly shameful.”
Yun Ye replied with a smile, “Uncle’s household is blessed with outstanding people and spirits. For your precious saber to manifest supernatural events is not surprising. I heard that saber can use a great splitting move by itself. This nephew yearns for it and desperately wishes to witness it.”
Wei Zheng snorted and said, “That this old man’s cart wheel can crush a person’s head into a rotten tomato is truly a wonder of the world. I just don’t know which expert is scheming against this old man here. Hey, it’s not really scheming—I’m afraid this old man also belongs to the category of fish in the pond!”
Li Pengcheng raised his head to look at the sky, his two hands constantly playing the thumb-catching game. To this day, he still couldn’t figure out how he could possibly have crushed a person until all their ribs broke and their feces and urine flowed out. The height from the second floor to the first floor was only about ten feet. Moreover, he had rolled down the stairs. No matter what, such a situation shouldn’t have occurred.
Wei Zheng turned his head to Li Pengcheng and said, “Tell us, the three of us killed people using implements. How did you crush someone to death?”
Li Pengcheng said with a bitter expression as he cupped his hands, “This youngster didn’t drink much last night. At night, I still had to go home to care for my elderly mother. When bidding farewell to friends, I accidentally slipped and fell. Only when I sat up straight did I discover I’d crushed someone into a meat pie.”
“That we few have been framed is certain beyond doubt. But who exactly did this? In my opinion, to move my family’s stone lion from Xinghua Ward to Yong’an Ward, to steal Duke Zhao’s waist saber from his residence, to make Pengcheng fall into the trap soundlessly and seamlessly, and finally to remove Duke Zheng’s cart wheel—the effort required would absolutely be more difficult than killing people. What does this person want to do?”
Yun Ye thought for a moment and asked Zhangsun Wuji, because he was most experienced in such matters.
“What can they do? In my opinion, this is establishing prestige, using your few people’s reputations to establish prestige. Perhaps some unworldly expert has emerged from the mountains, preparing to make a name for themselves in the capital.”
Li Er came out from behind and placed a document on the table, indicating for them to look at it. After Yun Ye finished reading the document, he already knew who the killer was, but his face still showed a thoughtful expression. He didn’t dare reveal any flaws.
“Yun Ye, the person crushed to death by your family’s stone lion was called Yan Hongxin. Didn’t you say you wanted to send him to the South Seas to guard a deserted island? How did you change your mind? Yan Hongxin was the grandson of the famous Sui general Yan Rong. It’s said he had already practiced his family’s inherited martial arts to the extreme, with arms strong enough to pull out nails. If you wanted to kill him, you really would need to use a stone lion to crush him!”
Yun Ye replied with a bitter smile, “Your Majesty, this subject just said that casually. If I truly wanted Yan Hongxin’s life, there’s no need for such trouble. I only need to conscript him into the Lingnan Navy and have him guard a deserted island—reasonable, justified, and legal. On a deserted island, even if this subject ground his bones to dust and scattered his ashes, no one would know. To assassinate in broad daylight and in public is not cost-effective.”
Li Er nodded and said, “That also makes sense. It looks like you’ve used this method quite a bit to wrongfully kill people who don’t get along with you. I have no evidence in hand, so I’ll let you run wild. However, you all must give me an explanation for this matter. The reason I came late was because I was consoling Consort Yin. Her only brother was cleaved in half by Wuji’s waist saber. She needs some explanation, doesn’t she?”
“The four pillars of Prince Qi’s residence—Yin Hongzhi, Yan Hongxin, Zan Junmo, and Liang Mengbiao—died in unclear circumstances. Among them, Yin Hongzhi and Yan Hongxin were imperial relatives. Now they’re all dead. What do you think? I haven’t yet gone to see Consort Yan, but I imagine she’ll also cry and complain to me. I don’t care—in this matter, Prince Qi You cannot have problems. Yun Ye, you’re responsible for his safety. Wuji, you’ll handle this matter with full authority. Settle it quickly. I don’t intend to let these strange tales make people’s hearts uneasy.”
Yun Ye, Zhangsun Wuji, and Wei Zheng—the three of them exchanged glances and discovered they all wore expressions of complete understanding. Li Er’s eyes couldn’t tolerate a grain of sand. He never handled matters carelessly. If he didn’t get to the bottom of matters he had questions about, he definitely wouldn’t let it rest. Now he proposed a compromising requirement, which meant he must know something.
After bidding farewell to the Emperor, the four people left the palace. Zhangsun Wuji said to the other three, “I’ll go do things according to His Majesty’s requirements right now. No matter what results appear, do you three all agree?”
Yun Ye and Wei Zheng cupped their hands together and said they appreciated the trouble. Li Pengcheng, after being kicked by Yun Ye, hurriedly bowed to thank Zhangsun Wuji, expressing that no matter how it was handled, he would agree.
Li You was at his own home, so naturally he should be informed. There was no need to trouble him with driving people out. The obstructive people had all died. Li Pengcheng rode his horse to catch up and asked Yun Ye, “Teacher, clearly we four suffered injustice. Why does His Majesty want to smooth things over? Could there be some inside story? Please tell this student. I’ve just inherited my title and absolutely dare not make any wrong steps.”
“Pengcheng, you’d better accept it. This matter isn’t good to discuss. The person who can scheme against you without your knowledge is not someone you can deal with. His Majesty definitely knows what actually happened, but none of us asked, so you shouldn’t ask either. Just treat this matter as if it never happened. Your father just passed away, and you’re already feasting—this is already unfilial. These days, properly serve your mother at home and don’t go out.”
Although Li Pengcheng’s curiosity was greatly aroused, since Yun Ye wouldn’t speak, he could only shut his mouth and go home. He tried hard to recall what happened that night but couldn’t find the slightest trace. Thinking that if that person wanted to deal with him, wouldn’t he die without knowing why? Just as Yun Ye said, he’d better go out less.
“Don’t look at me. Your uncle wasn’t killed by me, and the other three weren’t killed by me either. Your father knows the reasons, and I know too, but I just can’t tell you. This matter has nothing to do with you. Someone planned to announce her existence to the world, which is why she did this. Tell your mother not to investigate. The more she investigates, the more problems there will be.”
After telling Li You, Li You’s first thought was that Yun Ye had done it. After all, that night Yun Ye had threatened Yan Hongxin. The person was killed by Xiao Miao, but Yun Ye believed there was no need for him to take the blame and incur Consort Yin’s hatred. No matter how you put it, Yin Hongzhi was her only brother.
Li Er was also worried in the palace. Consort Yin had already requested to see him three times. He didn’t know how to talk to Consort Yin. He must wait until Zhangsun Wuji produced a result. That damned art of petty theft—Duan Hong hadn’t fully mastered it, and Wu She hadn’t fully mastered it either. So who had fully mastered it?
The art of petty theft sounded like a third-rate method, but who would dare believe that back then, Lord Mengchang relied on his retainers learning to crow like roosters and crawl through dog holes to steal past the Qin state’s city gates? Don’t forget that was a nation with laws strict to the extreme. Without extraordinary magic, Lord Mengchang fundamentally couldn’t have stolen past the city gates.
Duan Hong said this matter couldn’t be investigated or asked about, because the highest killing method of the art of petty theft was to make people die without form—no one knew they were murdered. Since someone deliberately revealed their methods, they were telling the world that they had already fully mastered the art of petty theft.
Regarding these gallant warriors, Li Er sometimes also felt helpless. Formless substance—like a drop of water hidden in the ocean. How could he find them? The realm should still have stability and peace as its mainstream. The emperor absolutely couldn’t privately mobilize the nation’s strength to track down this person. It might attract backlash—not worth the loss. Duan Hong was still studying that stone lion, and also that precious saber. Wei Zheng’s carriage was also stopped in the palace. Hopefully Duan Hong could find traces and clues so he himself could also master this strange martial art.
“Didn’t you say Xiao Miao practiced some martial art called ‘Though the Tortoise Lives Long’? Why has it now become the ‘art of petty theft’ in your mouth? Never mind others being curious—this old man is curious how Xiao Miao transported the stone lion to the rooftop. I heard that not even the roof tiles were broken.” Liu Fang took a sip of oil tea and asked Wu She.
“Buddha said, cannot be spoken, cannot be spoken. The rooster’s crow means all roosters respond together. The dog’s theft means seamless execution. The two complement each other—neither can be lacking. If there’s no ‘Though the Tortoise Lives Long’ as a primer, the rooster’s crow will have its neck twisted, and the dog’s theft will be beaten to death by the master. This old man also didn’t expect Xiao Miao’s martial arts had already progressed to such a degree. I heard the academy has already listed these four bizarre incidents as the academy’s advanced examination topic. I just don’t know if anyone can solve it.”