“Hua the Fourth!” Ling Zhiyan urgently called out to restrain Hua Yitang, but Hua Yitang paid his expression no heed and strutted forward another two steps.

“That’s right!” Wang Hao raged. “It’s your kind — bullying men and abusing women, domineering and tyrannical, preying on the common people. You’re nothing but parasites on this nation!”

Hua Yitang’s smile grew wider, and he wagged his head with delight. “To think you hold me in such high esteem — I’m truly honored to share in the distinction!”

Wang Hao spat. Lin Sui’an was quick enough to yank Hua Yitang back; otherwise that mouthful would have landed squarely on his face.

But then Hua Yitang’s expression changed abruptly. He whipped his fan hard across Wang Hao’s face. “Eat dog filth!”

Everyone was startled. Wang Hao struggled violently, his chains rattling wildly. Hua Yitang slapped the fan against Wang Hao’s face again and again, his smile turning cold. “So what if I’m a parasite? Right now you can do nothing but kneel at the feet of this very parasite and beg for mercy. As for the one who got away — we sent him fleeing into the river pissing himself in terror. By now he’s probably already drowned, and if you count the hours, his corpse ought to be floating up soon.”

At this moment Hua Yitang’s expression was one part mockery, one part provocation, and two parts smug satisfaction. It made Lin Sui’an’s teeth itch just looking at him — never mind Wang Hao.

One had to admit, that insufferable face of his was perfectly suited for this kind of provocation.

Wang Hao was shaking with fury. “Shut your mouth! That hero’s martial skill surpasses all beneath heaven, his righteousness runs deeper than the clouds, and in years of roaming the martial world he has never once been defeated — do you think the likes of you rabble could humiliate someone like that? You’re nothing but livestock to be sacrificed on his blade! Ha ha ha ha ha ha—”

In the midst of Wang Hao’s wild laughter, Hua Yitang took half a step back and let the expression drain from his face. “Inspector Ling — did you hear all of that?”

Ling Zhiyan nodded. “Ming Shu — retrieve the case records and wanted posters for all major crimes in Yangdu and its surrounding areas over the past ten years.”

Wang Hao’s pupils contracted sharply.

Hua Yitang tapped his fan handle. “By your words, Black Ghost is someone from the martial world — no small martial ability, flashy in conduct, and certainly known by a name in those circles. I have some connections in Yangdu, to say nothing of the Ten Purity Sect with all their information networks, and yet none of us have heard of anyone matching that description in Yangdu. That leaves only one possibility: this person has concealed his martial world identity here in Yangdu.”

“Those of the martial world prize their reputation above all. He has committed such a large-scale case — so why does he not dare announce his name, or even show his face?” Hua Yitang paced slowly. “The reason isn’t hard to guess. First, his reputation in the martial world isn’t as glorious as you say — it may well be infamously bad. Second, he almost certainly has other killings on his hands. Put those conditions together, and his identity becomes almost self-evident—”

At this point, Hua Yitang had paced directly in front of Ling Zhiyan and glanced at him sideways.

Ling Zhiyan had no idea what he was getting at, but could only play along for now. “A serious criminal who has had a wanted poster issued against him by the court.”

“Then it becomes simple. We need only compare this person’s physical description against the sketches in the wanted posters to determine his true appearance. With the Ten Purity Sect and the yamen cooperating in the search, uncovering his disguised identity and hiding place in Yangdu would be—” Hua Yitang exhaled four words — “child’s — play — after — all.”

Wang Hao laughed coldly. “Hua Yitang, are you an idiot? Every year the court issues not ten thousand wanted posters, maybe eight thousand — you could spend a year searching and still not find him!”

The moment Wang Hao said that, Lin Sui’an knew — he had been drawn right into Hua Yitang’s trap.

There were no computers here, and heaven only knew how long it would take to compare wanted posters one by one. Hua Yitang couldn’t possibly be unaware of this — and yet he’d said it anyway, which meant he almost certainly had a follow-up move.

Sure enough, the very next moment, Hua Yitang snapped his fan open with a crack, supremely pleased with himself. “All of Yangdu knows — Hua Family’s Fourth Young Master has a photographic memory. Surely Elder Wang hasn’t forgotten?”

Wang Hao: “You alone?”

Hua Yitang: “Me alone. One hour will be enough.”

Ling Zhiyan was stunned. Jin Ruo’s jaw dropped.

Lin Sui’an’s eyelids twitched wildly. Good grief — so this man’s follow-up move was just bragging?

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha,” Wang Hao laughed. “Truly the top wastrel of Yangdu — boasting without even a scrap of preparation.”

Hua Yitang said nothing. He only smiled, his handsome features glowing with a radiance in the dim jail hall — an incomparable self-confidence emanating from the very marrow of his bones.

Wang Hao gradually found himself unable to keep laughing.

“Wang Hao — if you confess now, this official may be lenient in your sentencing,” Ling Zhiyan pressed on. “Once the culprit is brought in, your testimony will be worth nothing.”

Wang Hao stiffened his neck. “I… I have long placed life and death beyond my concern. I — I am willing to sacrifice myself for the great hero’s cause!”

Hua Yitang and Ling Zhiyan’s expressions both darkened.

This person was a completely intractable madman.

But just then, Lin Sui’an suddenly laughed. Her laughter echoed through the jail hall with a cold ring, and paired with her eyes — flickering between brightness and shadow — it sounded increasingly eerie and unnerving.

Everyone startled, wondering: was this young woman about to fly into a rage again?

“Truly laughably foolish,” Lin Sui’an said. “Wang Hao — haven’t you realized yet? You are the one being sacrificed on the blade.”

Wang Hao: “What?!”

“If this hero truly has surpassing martial skill, as you say — then why could he not overcome a few yamen clerks and one pretty-faced Court of Judicial Review inspector, and was forced to flee in such a panic? Don’t you find that strange?”

“N-naturally that’s because you yamen dogs had numbers on your side, using many against few—”

“And what about me?” Lin Sui’an pointed at herself. “I’m a frail little maiden, yet I exchanged dozens of blows with this so-called supreme martial master and still walked away intact. Does that strike you as reasonable?”

Wang Hao’s expression shifted slightly, and doubt began to creep into his heart.

Based on his own experience fighting Lin Sui’an, this young woman did have some skill — but she was clearly several tiers below that figure. When he thought of it in those terms… it really didn’t add up.

What Wang Hao didn’t know was that when Lin Sui’an had fought him, she had already been in a weakened state, her combat ability and strength cut roughly in half.

As for everyone else who had heard Lin Sui’an describe herself as frail — their faces twitched in unison.

She actually had the nerve to call herself frail?

“I will state only two facts,” Lin Sui’an continued. “First: during the battle, he was right beside you and clearly had strength to spare — yet he didn’t help you even once. Second: Jin Ruo and Elder Zhang have already found evidence that you are the mole.”

Wang Hao’s face went dead white.

“What follows is my speculation.” Lin Sui’an slowed her pace deliberately. “Your identity has been exposed. To him, you are now a discarded piece. And so during the fight, he held back. When he fled, he abandoned you without a second thought, leaving you for the authorities to deal with — allowing himself to slip away cleanly. He could then find a place to remove the mask, transform himself, and once again be a law-abiding citizen. The authorities can’t find him, so they can only use you as the true culprit to close the case. Once the case is concluded, he’s safe. A few years down the road, after this affair fades from memory, he returns to the martial world and can boast everywhere of his great deeds — while by then, you will have become the stepping stone beneath his feet for his triumphant comeback.”

“Utter nonsense! You made all of this up!”

“These are conclusions I’ve drawn based on facts,” Lin Sui’an said. “There is a saying: you can paint a person’s face and skin, but not their heart. You gave everything you had to that person — but how has he treated you? You don’t need me to tell you. You know best yourself.”

After those words, Lin Sui’an said no more, giving Wang Hao enough space to think.

She was quite confident. This entire sequence of tactics — fabricating from nothing, sowing discord, breaking down resistance piece by piece — she had learned from Ling Zhiyan. Hua Yitang had already shaken Wang Hao’s psychological defenses to the point of crumbling; her finishing blow should be enough to destroy his trust in Black Ghost entirely.

Wang Hao’s face grew paler and paler. His whole body shook violently, beads of sweat rolling from his forehead. After a full half-cup-of-tea’s worth of fierce inner turmoil, the tension in every muscle of his body finally collapsed. “He told me his name was Dong Cheng. We met every time at the Four Seasons Teahouse in Juan Yu Ward.”

He had finally opened his mouth. Everyone quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Ling Zhiyan pressed on immediately. “Real name or alias?”

“The name on his travel pass. But I don’t know if the pass was genuine.”

Hua Yitang: “Oh? So you actually looked into him.”

Wang Hao’s face twitched. “He said he had once done many righteous deeds in service of the weak, but had been put on the court’s wanted list. Later he took on a new identity and went into hiding in Yangdu, waiting for the right moment to carry out a great plan.”

Ling Zhiyan: “And what exactly was this ‘great plan’?”

“He said Yangdu had long suffered under the tyranny of wastrels — he was going to deliver heaven’s justice.”

Hua Yitang let out a short, derisive laugh.

Lin Sui’an thought: even two peanuts wouldn’t make him this drunk on his own importance.

“Were Yan He, Bai Shun, and Jiang Hongwen all killed by him?”

“I knew nothing about the Yan He case. Three days ago he contacted me and said he was going to act at Liuyue Tower, and asked me to use the Ten Purity Sect’s connections to pass the information to the authorities.”

“Was it Dong Cheng who hid the body at Liuyue Tower?”

Wang Hao nodded.

“And Jiang Hongwen?”

“I helped him dispose of part of the body.”

“The head?”

“I never saw it. He probably disposed of it himself.”

“How did you avoid the constables and city patrol?”

“I only followed his instructions. I know nothing of the rest.”

“Why drive so conspicuously through the streets tonight?”

“Dong Cheng said — make things bigger.”

“Who was the charred corpse in the carriage?”

“I don’t know. By the time I saw the body on the carriage, it had already been burned to a char.”

“Meaning you only helped him dump the body and were not involved in the killing?”

“That’s right.”

“What did you use to transport the bodies?”

“A carriage.”

“Any distinguishing features?”

“At Liuyue Tower, it was the Bai Family’s carriage. At Ling Third Ward and tonight, it was an ordinary carriage — the kind you can find anywhere.”

“And the horses?”

“Different every time. Likely rented.”

“Where did you meet up?”

“For Jiang Hongwen, it was outside Ling Third Ward — he told me the time and place. Tonight it was at the second quarter of the Hai hour, outside Jing Yun Ward—” Wang Hao paused, and then suddenly looked up sharply. “Half a year ago, there was one time he’d had too much to drink and let it slip — he said he had a shop in Jing Yun Ward.”

“What kind of shop?”

“I don’t know…”

Hua Yitang let out another short laugh.

“I really don’t know,” Wang Hao said, his gaze darkening. “Thinking about it now — perhaps this young woman was right, and I… never really understood him at all.”

Based on Wang Hao’s testimony, Ling Zhiyan had an artist compose a sketch of Dong Cheng’s appearance, and Ming Feng led a squad of constables to quickly search Jing Yun Ward. With over eight thousand households and at least two thousand shops in Jing Yun Ward alone, even with the Ten Purity Sect’s help, the search would take considerable time.

The leads were still too few — they had to pursue multiple angles at once. Coming out of the jail, everyone continued without rest to the morgue. The two coroners had been examining the charred corpse for some time already. At the sight of Ling Zhiyan they broke into cold sweats and dropped to their knees simultaneously, crying out that they were incompetent.

“In reply to Inspector Ling — this body is too severely damaged. We — we haven’t finished the examination yet…”

Ling Zhiyan’s expression was not pleasant. “Cause of death?”

Coroner: “Unknown.”

“Age?”

“Unclear.”

“Sex?”

“Appears to be male.”

Lin Sui’an circled the autopsy stand once. The body was as black as charcoal, and its shape had been distorted by burning. As for the internal organs — even if they were intact, given the forensic techniques of this era, nothing of value could be determined from them.

Lin Sui’an’s gaze fell on the pitch-black head. No eyeballs in the sockets — only two deep, dark holes.

This time she saw nothing at all.

So it seemed the ability could activate regardless of whether eyeballs were present, but it required a skull, and there was only one chance per body.

Lin Sui’an frowned and carefully replayed the vision the ability had shown her earlier. This time the image had returned to its original clarity — except that it had, as bad luck would have it, struck her greatest weakness: classical Chinese text.

The dead person’s memory had shown what appeared to be a scroll. What on earth was “Ten Cruel” supposed to mean? She couldn’t make it out!

“Lin Sui’an!” Hua Yitang’s voice suddenly rang out right beside her ear, startling her. She saw Hua Yitang frowning slightly. “Your color doesn’t look right.”

After this utterly exhausting day, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t tired. Especially after losing control of her body during the fight — the strange, creeping fatigue had been layering over her with each passing hour, and by now Lin Sui’an was running on pure willpower alone.

But with the case at a critical juncture, everyone was pushing through. Ling Zhiyan hadn’t slept heaven knows how long — his eyes were red as a rabbit’s. Even the usually carefree Hua Yitang hadn’t uttered a single word of complaint. She couldn’t be the one to desert at this moment.

Lin Sui’an drew a breath. “It’s fine.”

Hua Yitang’s eyes shifted. Suddenly he let out a dramatic exclamation. “Oh! My chest is tight, my breath is short, my head aches, my feet itch, my eyes are blurry, my mouth is dry, my stomach is bloated!” He gave an exaggerated twist of his waist, propped his fan against his temple, and struck an air of delicate fragility. “Ling the Sixth — I’m a wastrel; I simply cannot endure this kind of relentless day-and-night torture. Quick, prepare a guest room — I need to rest!”

Ling Zhiyan’s expression looked like a cracked emoji, and Lin Sui’an immediately understood Hua Yitang’s intent. She found it both exasperating and touching.

This man was truly… absolutely shameless…

The garden Ling Zhiyan arranged was in the rear yamen’s reception courtyard, originally prepared by Prefect Zhou as a temporary lodging for him. The environment was elegant and refined: one main room and five side rooms, with Ming Shu and Ming Feng also housed there, so they could look out for one another.

At the moment Ming Shu and the others were all out working on the case. The courtyard was empty and very quiet. Lin Sui’an lay down on the bed — her body was utterly exhausted, and yet her mind was strangely alert. The memory fragments the ability had shown her spun round and round before her like a flickering lantern. The more she tried to sleep, the more awake she was.

After half an hour of lying there in vain, Lin Sui’an gave up and decided to get up and get some fresh air.

She opened the door. Moonlight, silver as mercury, pooled across the ground. Hua Yitang was seated on the steps, his pristine white robes spread out like unfolding petals, cradling his slender figure. He tilted his head back, seemingly gazing at the moon — or perhaps just listening to the wind. The night seemed to fall from his dense lashes without a sound, saying more than words.

He wasn’t going to sleep — so why was he waiting outside her door? Was he standing guard for her?

Lin Sui’an found the thought faintly amusing, and before she knew it, she had laughed out loud.

Hua Yitang turned his head. His face had scrunched into the expression of someone who had eaten a bitter tangerine. “Why are you up?”

Lin Sui’an lifted her robe and sat down beside him. “You’re not sleeping either.”

Hua Yitang gave a sulky grunt. “The bed here is too hard. I can’t sleep on it.”

The look of disdain on his face was entirely genuine — yet with those features of his, enhanced further by the filter of moonlight, it only made him look even more devastatingly handsome. Lin Sui’an propped her chin in her hand and began to regard him with considerable interest.

Hua Yitang looked somewhat ill at ease. “Why are you staring at me?”

“I’m trying to picture a certain someone at age six, causing havoc in a courtroom.”

“You — how do you know about that?” Hua Yitang stopped short. “That big-mouthed Mu Zhong! He told you!” He stopped again, then visibly forced himself to calm down and began fanning himself. “I was young at the time, but I still managed to project absolute authority and righteousness.”

Didn’t his older brother beat his backside black and blue? Lin Sui’an thought. But out of respect for a certain Yangdu first-class wastrel’s dignity, she decided not to expose him.

“And you?” Hua Yitang asked.

“Hmm?”

“What were you doing at age six? What did you like? What were you like?”

Lin Sui’an felt a brief, distant sensation.

That was another world entirely. So very, very far away.

It would probably startle him to know.

“It was a life you could never imagine,” Lin Sui’an said with a smile.

Hua Yitang’s heart gave a sudden, off-rhythm thump.

She probably didn’t realize it herself — but right at this moment, her smile was so untouched and clear, and yet so fragile and sorrowful.

Side Skit

Hua Yitang: She seems so sad — her past life must have been very hard. Lin Sui’an: Sigh. No television, no computer, no phone, no flush toilet — how could it not be?

Happy Dragon Boat Festival, everyone — taking tomorrow off!