Chapter Ninety-Five: Personal Desire

In the constable's eyes, the two men before him seemed like incarnations of saviors, come to rescue him.

The ancient temple was the last place left unexplored.

To the constable's mind, it had been the least likely hiding place for the murderer. The old saying held true: a tall tree catches the wind. Such a massive temple could hardly have escaped the authorities' notice.

There might still have been a sliver of hope if the culprit had hidden elsewhere. But here, in this place, there was no difference from walking straight into the net.

Yet never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that the most impossible place of all would yield an unexpected prize.

It seemed the villain's cunning could not be measured by ordinary reasoning; he had even played the game in reverse.

Besides, even if these were not the real culprits, the constable had no intention of searching any further. Were there not two ready-made suspects right here?

What was more, their appearance had arrived with uncanny timing, perfectly matching the time of Wang Shaocai's mishap. Combined with their vicious-looking faces, it fit so seamlessly that even if he said they were not the murderers, no one would believe him.

As long as he could keep his cap upon his head, he would stop at nothing.

He had done such things before. Which yamen had no record of beatings forced into confessions, or of arresting scapegoats to take the blame?

In a small county town, a homicide was already a matter of the greatest importance, let alone when the victim was the county magistrate's own son.

This case was entwined with too many interests. One misstep would bring endless trouble.

Thus, not only he, but nearly every officer in the county office aside from Magistrate Wang himself, was eager to bring this murder case to a swift conclusion.

Never mind what the truth actually was; what mattered was that Magistrate Wang believed it. Then that would be the truth.

"What did you say?" Yan Chixia's face darkened, his voice cold and sharp.

"You vile criminal, you truly will not shed tears until you see the coffin. Hurry and seize him, lock him up, and await interrogation!" Startled by Yan Chixia's murderous bearing, the constable hastily ordered his men to make the arrest.

If the other man truly was that utterly ruthless fiend who killed without blinking, and he stood so close to him, then a common man's rage might spill blood within five paces. He wanted no part of such a calamity.

With their commander’s order, more than a dozen officers rushed forward all at once to seize the two men.

The next instant, a scene that froze everyone in place unfolded. The villain who had seemed so helpless a moment before suddenly transformed into a human beast. In the blink of an eye, he swept the dozen men to the ground.

In an instant, the situation reversed completely.

The constable was stunned. Even the blade in his hand slipped from his grasp without his noticing. He longed to rub his eyes and tell himself that everything he had just seen had been an illusion.

"Mercy, both of you heroes, mercy!"

"I was blind to Mount Tai. I offended the two heroes. Please forgive me. Great heroes are magnanimous; do not lower yourselves to quarrel with one so insignificant as me."

Terrified out of his wits, the constable turned ashen and begged for his life again and again. He had roamed the world for decades; what storms had he not seen? As for the ways of survival, he knew them all too well. What were dignity and face worth? Only the one who lived to the end was the victor.

"Tell me this: why did you stop the Daoist priest without asking reason from wrong? And why did you shout that he was some kind of fiend?" Yan Chixia glared at him, his eyes fierce and menacing.

The constable steadied himself and said with forced composure, "Hero, you misunderstand. It was all a mistake. I never meant to wrong a good man."

"It's only that the timing of your arrival was far too coincidental."

He then hurriedly recounted the cause and effect of the affair, embellishing it with every word, all to excuse himself and distance himself from the matter.

Yan Chixia frowned. "So the death of Wang Shaocai is highly suspicious. It seems not to have been caused by man, but by a demon calamity."

The constable hesitated. "That can't be right... Our county is blessed with fine people and rich land. We've never had evil spirits causing trouble. Besides, Wang Shaocai's body was preserved intact. If he truly died at the hands of such things, shouldn't the scene have looked quite different?"

Yan Chixia shot him another glare and snapped, "What do you know? When demons take a life, it is mainly to steal a person's vital breath. And by your own account, Wang Shaocai's face was as white as death—that is plainly the sign of collapsed essence. If I am not mistaken, he was clearly killed by something unearthly."

With a thud, the constable actually dropped to his knees and pleaded, "Daoist master, your powers are vast. In that case, you must have a way to deal with this evil spirit, yes? Please, out of regard for all living beings, do not hold my offense against me. If that demon is not destroyed, there will be no peace in Guobei, and countless common folk will surely suffer."

After hearing the words demon calamity, half his heart went cold, and panic rose with it.

First of all, given the situation before him, he would have thanked his lucky stars if these two formidable men did not make things difficult for him.

As for arresting them and taking them back to the yamen as the murderers of Wang Shaocai, he no longer dared entertain such an idea.

Unless he had tired of living and wanted to keep provoking these two stars of disaster, there was no reason to court death.

But if he returned like this, how was he supposed to explain himself?

Was he meant to say that the young master's death was not caused by any human hand, but by demons and spirits?

What a joke. Even if that were the truth, would Magistrate Wang believe it? More likely he would take such words as proof of incompetence: unable to uncover the real murderer, the constable had simply pinned all the blame on evil spirits.

Unless he could produce ironclad proof that it was all done by demons, but when it came to dealing with such things, the constable would rather be dismissed from office.

Yan Chixia said thoughtfully, "I need to examine the body before I can reach any conclusion. Otherwise, it is all empty talk."

"Th-then how about this: the two heroes come with me to meet Magistrate Wang first, and then we can discuss this demon matter. I wonder what you think?" The constable gave an awkward laugh. As for an autopsy, it was not something he could decide on his own.

If the victim were an ordinary man, he would naturally have no hesitation. But Wang Shaocai was the magistrate's son.

Aside from Magistrate Wang himself, no one could take charge of this matter.

"Hmph!"

Yan Chixia let out a cold snort and said, "Go back and tell your magistrate that he is to come here in person to see me. Otherwise, don't blame this Daoist priest for not caring what happens. When the time comes, the one who suffers will still be that magistrate of yours. Do not say I did not warn you."

He had never met the magistrate of Guobei, but from the constable's conduct alone, he had already formed a very poor impression.

First, for the sake of private gain, he had deployed the officers without authorization, sending them out in full force. And after learning of Wang Shaocai's death, he had only grown worse, turning the entire county office into nothing more than his own one-man rule.

Had the dead man been anyone else, today's outcome would likely have been very different.