Chapter 1 Ma County Magistrate

Ma County Magistrate saw Li Ang, cloaked in black, being led into the main hall of the yamen, and breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

Fortunately, he hadn't remembered that he was in the middle of interrogating a prisoner and hadn't rushed down from behind his desk to greet him with obsequious deference, thus preserving a shred of dignity for the magistrate of Goose City.

"Daozhang, please have a seat."

Ma Bangde waved his hand, and the yamen runners Wang Chao and Ma Han brought a chair and placed it to the left of the desk.

Li Ang didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down directly and glanced at the two figures, one standing and one prone, in the hall below. "Who are these two?"

"The one standing is Zhao Liu, a farmer from Zhuangsang Town."

Ma Bangde explained, "The one lying down is the murderer in this case, surnamed Wu, named Hu.

His apparent identity is that of a peddler who travels from village to village, selling miscellaneous goods in rural towns, but he's actually a member of the White Lotus Sect who possesses demonic arts."

Hearing this, a hint of a smile flashed across Wu Hu's dark face. "Your Honor, the Ministry of Justice's approval hasn't been issued yet, so I can't be considered a murderer. At most, I'm a suspect."

"Humph."

Ma Bangde was too lazy to argue with this member of the White Lotus Sect. He picked up the gavel on the desk and slammed it down, then said to the uneasy farmer Zhao Liu, "Zhao Liu, in front of Daozhang Ximenzi, describe the details of the case you witnessed again."

"Yes, Your Honor."

Zhao Liu cupped his fist in a less than standard posture and began to nervously recount his experience.

Zhuangsang Town was located west of Goose City. As the name suggested, it produced mulberry leaves and silk.

Zhao Liu was a farmer in Zhuangsang Town, usually idle and lazy, spending his days doing nothing. The yield from his two meager fields was pitifully low, and he used the little profit he made from farming to buy wine.

Naturally, no respectable family would consider him, such a lazy idler.

Zhao Liu was happy not to marry, as it meant one less person to nag and control him.

However, his income was limited, but his craving for wine was endless.

Zhao Liu was always thinking about how to get some money for wine, so he set his sights on a wealthy family in Zhuangsang Town, the Xu family.

The Xu family's ancestors had been successful in business, and by this generation, they had accumulated vast fields, mansions, and immense wealth. They were the undisputed rulers of the local area, and they also had elders and backers in Luzhou City who could be relied upon.

The Xu family's young master had just gotten married a year ago.

The bride was from another wealthy family in another town. On the wedding day, the betrothal gifts and dowry almost blocked the entire street of Zhuangsang Town.

Zhao Liu was jealous that the Xu family's young master was born superior to others. He coveted the Xu family's wealth and was always thinking about when he could sneak into the Xu family's residence and steal their property.

Unfortunately, the Xu family's residence was surrounded by high walls, and there were guards patrolling inside from time to time.

If he were caught in the act of breaking and entering, it would be a light punishment if he was only beaten half to death by the guards on the spot.

Zhao Liu observed the periphery of the Xu family's residence for several months, but he couldn't find an opportunity. He had the desire to steal, but not the courage.

Until two days ago, the Xu family's young master received a letter from his father, who was far away in the capital, saying that his father was ill and that the Xu family's young master should hurry to the capital to see him one last time.

The Xu family's young master didn't suspect anything. He took a small group of people and headed to the capital.

Zhao Liu, the idle farmer, seized the opportunity, taking advantage of the absence of the Xu family's young master and the lack of guards in the Xu family's residence. He found a way to climb over the wall into the Xu residence, intending to wait until everyone was asleep before coming down from the rafters and searching for jewelry and money.

Zhao Liu set his sights on the Xu family's young mistress's room—the room with the most treasures, and the Xu family's young mistress was already half a year pregnant, making it difficult for her to move around with her big belly, making it even easier to steal and escape.

Late at night, Zhao Liu, hiding on the rafters, saw that the young mistress and her two maids were about to fall asleep, so he wanted to wait a while before turning over and sneaking down to search for valuables.

Unexpectedly, before he could turn over and get down, he heard a "pfft" sound.

A small hole was poked in the window paper of a window in the room, and a wisp of pale yellow incense sticks emitting wisps of smoke was inserted through the hole.

Zhao Liu was very surprised. He guessed that this was probably a thief with the same purpose of stealing wealth as him.

That bunch of incense sticks should have the effect of inducing unconsciousness.

He was afraid that acting rashly would scare the other party and cause them to make a sound, attracting the guards.

So, he turned back to the dark rafters, carefully tore off half of the sleeve of his robe, covered his mouth and nose, and waited to see what would happen.

Soon, the incense began to take effect. The two maids fell on the table and fell into a coma, and there was no sound from inside the sleeping tent of the Xu family's young mistress. The whole room was eerily quiet.

Zhao Liu faintly felt that something was wrong, but the incense still bypassed the cloth and seeped into his mouth and nose, making his mind a little blurry and his reaction slower than usual, unable to control his limbs.

In a daze, he seemed to see a figure with a package on his back climbing over the wall into the house, holding a few incense sticks in his hand and inserting them into various corners of the room.

After placing the incense sticks, the figure slowly walked to the front of the sleeping tent of the Xu family's young mistress and took out a ceramic jar that was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom from the package, as well as a slender, extremely sharp knife.

The person muttered something, his voice was turbid and suppressed, and it was impossible to hear what he was saying, but Zhao Liu clearly felt an evil and terrifying atmosphere slowly brewing.

After a while, the person finished chanting the spell, pointed at the sleeping tent, and the Xu family's young mistress actually jumped out of the tent, her eyes half-open and half-closed, as if she were asleep but awake, and knelt in front of the figure.

Buzz—

Under the light of the candle, the flash of the knife disappeared in an instant.

The figure cut the Xu family's young mistress in half at the waist and took out the infant, stuffing it into the ceramic jar.

The blood surged, waking Zhao Liu on the rafters. He noticed in horror that the Xu family's young mistress was like a clay puppet, showing no pain or fear.

Letting the blood flow freely, she still maintained a motionless kneeling position.

The mesmerising incense used by Jianghu bandits can at most make people temporarily unconscious, and a bucket of cold water is enough to wake them up, let alone being injured with a knife.

What that figure used must be some kind of weird demonic art!

Although Zhao Liu was just an idle loafer who spent his days thinking about stealing money to buy wine,

But witnessing the evil act of killing and taking the infant with his own eyes, he couldn't help but crack his eyes and fill with righteous indignation. Disregarding his own safety, he tried to shout to attract the guards.

Unfortunately, the effect of the mesmerising incense was still there, and Zhao Liu watched stiffly as the figure took out a bottle stopper from the package, sealed the ceramic jar, and walked straight out the door, ignoring the kneeling corpse of the Xu family's young mistress.

After a while, Zhao Liu regained consciousness.

He smelled the blood in the room and looked at the kneeling corpse that would not close its eyes.

Feelings of regret, anger, and disgust welled up in his heart. He jumped down from the rafters, pushed open the door, and chased after the figure's footsteps in the moonlight.

He walked for a night, from Zhuangsang Town, all the way to outside Goose City.

He happened to meet the Goose City yamen runners who had returned from searching for the corpses of the bandits buried by Li Ang and others.

Opportunity knocks but once. Zhao Liu suddenly jumped up, lunged forward to grab his waist, and shouted loudly, attracting the yamen runners, who used chains to cuff the two and bring them back to the government for interrogation.