TWWDS - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Three days later.

For some unknown reason, the long-established restaurant Cai's Eatery in Gaofang Prefecture had stayed closed lately. Some suspected it was because the owner owed the staff their wages or used inferior ingredients in place of better ones. The people of the city had no choice but to eat at Wang's and Lin's nearby, and discuss the changes in the city while they were there.

Although Gaofang Prefecture was a large city, it was relatively isolated, and its people were honest and unpretentious. It was generally difficult for anything major to happen there. The latest subject to unite everyone in discussion was still the murder case involving the Liu brothers outside the city in early March. As for recent events, nothing worth mentioning had occurred. Even the refugees who had gathered there earlier had gradually blended into the local community, and most of those who had fallen ill because of the poor weather had recovered and returned to their work and daily lives.

It was said that, because the Xu family's eldest daughter had recovered her health, the family had also distributed porridge and donated a good deal of rice and other grain to a charitable hall. Since she was about to attend Chongming Academy, they had given books, paper, and brushes to her classmates, and had held a lively banquet to celebrate her admission.

Everything in the city was peaceful, and the magistrate's office was not busy. Perhaps because it had no cases waiting to be handled, Deputy Magistrate Han finally found time to hire extra hands, under the authority of the government, to repair the nearby graves damaged by spring rains.

During the repairs, the workers unexpectedly uncovered a stone tablet in one of the graves. It bore the words, "The murderer is Tian Changtian." According to reports, an iron box had also been placed beside the tablet, but no one knew what it contained.

The yamen runner overseeing the repairs immediately removed the box and delivered it to the county office for separate handling.

Ordinary people did not know what was really going on. They talked about it for a few sentences, then let it drop. Anyone curious about the matter could walk around near Qingbo Street and perhaps learn the inside story. Chao Qingxiu's guess had been correct: Cai Lison had indeed secretly hidden in his wife's grave a note that he had deliberately written when the two men began working together, as evidence of their collaboration. The note, yellowed with age, still bore both men's fingerprints.

When Cai Lison later discussed matters with Tian Changtian, he inadvertently let slip the hint that if he suddenly died, the evidence would certainly be found. Unfortunately, Tian did not give it further thought. It took another twelve years for Chao Qingxiu, who had happened to rent Mingsi Hall, to notice something amiss.

With evidence so conclusive, whether Cai Lison continued to deny it no longer mattered. He had murdered the Gang Leader of the Zizhuo Gang. After Han Sihe and Ruan Shifeng completed the proper procedure, they sent a separate letter to the Wulin Alliance and another to the Six Doors, then handed Cai over to Yan Kaixian and the others to deal with.

---

The shade of the green trees was deep, and the rain carried the scent of roses.

There was no wind at that moment, but the droplets clinging to the leaves still shook loose and rolled down as Li Yi moved.

She had cut several flowering sprigs and was preparing to place them on the wooden desk in Chao Qingxiu's bedroom.

Lately, Mingsi Hall had been busy with people coming and going. Since they had decided to rebuild the gang, Yan Kaixian and the others had hired craftsmen to make basic repairs to the gang's base.

Li Yi carried the flowers into the rear courtyard. Before she could knock, a clear, melodious "Please come in" came from inside the room.

Chao Qingxiu had already come out of her meditation. Cultivating inner strength had benefits, but it had drawbacks too. As her five senses sharpened, for instance, she found it almost impossible to miss the noise from the renovations outside.

After Li Yi set down the vase, she laughed and said, "I came over to take a look. A good number of the buildings out back have already been repaired."

Chao Qingxiu replied, "They only look all right from the outside. It will still take some time before anyone can live in them."

The Mingsi Hall Chao Qingxiu had rented earlier was not in very good condition, though it still offered basic protection from wind and rain. As for the other buildings, they merely looked ready to collapse, the sort one did not even want to walk near in windy or rainy weather.

Knowing that Chao Qingxiu liked peace and quiet, Li Yi took her leave after delivering the flowers. Chao Qingxiu picked up a chess manual Yan Kaixian had bought two days earlier to help her pass the time and looked through it, then casually opened the Detective System's panel to check the evaluation.

[System: The "Zizhuo Gang" murder case has been solved. The user has obtained 5 Detective Points and 10 Fame Points.]

[System: After assessment, the user is in the novice stage and will randomly acquire one event-related skill.]

[System: The user has obtained one copy of Tizong Art.]

At the sight of the title, Chao Qingxiu knew it had to be a new lightness technique manual. For once, the system seemed dependable.

She now had inner strength, ranged combat skills, and close-quarters combat skills. What she truly lacked was a way to increase her speed and agility.

Tizong Art's quality was green. It taught a form of lightness technique widely circulated in the martial world, and its learning threshold was not high. Chao Qingxiu mastered its basic essentials without much effort; all that remained was constant practice until she became thoroughly proficient.

Chao Qingxiu moved rapidly through the room. Her steps grew faster, and her white robe billowed around her. Suddenly, she turned her wrist, curled one finger, and flicked a long needle into the air. A faint silver glint flashed, and all she heard was a soft "tok." A bug the size of a green bean had been pinned to the beam above, the needle buried half an inch into the wood.

She stopped and looked up, a slight smile on her face.

She gathered her energy and leapt. Her right hand lightly caught the side of the beam while her left hand pulled out the iron needle. After leaping back down, she had just put her hidden weapon away when Yan Kaixian's voice came from outside.

"Gang Leader, I have a matter to bring before you."

Chao Qingxiu called out, "Please come in, Guardian Yan."

As someone who had transmigrated not long ago and was not native to this world, Chao Qingxiu had a very clear understanding of her own abilities. She had not undertaken any practical work during the rebuilding of the gang, but Yan Kaixian and the others still came every day to report the latest progress to her.

Yan Kaixian said, "We have been clearing loose stones and weeds from the courtyard lately. I took a look just now. Miancheng Hall should be completely repaired by the end of this month, but the other buildings will not be finished so quickly. Brother Yue and Sister Xiao need to go out first to settle their family affairs."

Chao Qingxiu asked with a smile, "Then Guardian Yan does not need to go out?"

Yan Kaixian replied, "After I left the gang, I made my living as an escort. Before I returned to headquarters this time, I had already handed over everything I was handling. There is nothing urgent for me to attend to now. Once Sister Xiao has settled her affairs, I will deal with the remaining matters."

Of course, Yan Kaixian had matters of her own, but compared with dealing with them, leaving the Gang Leader alone at headquarters was plainly the less suitable option.

She was worried both about encountering bad people and about her old friend Ruan Shifeng, recalling how reluctant she had seemed when they parted. From what she had said, it was clear that she hoped to give Chao Qingxiu another line of work.

"There is one more thing," Yan Kaixian continued. "After the late Gang Leader died, the Zizhuo Gang's founding charter went missing. Now that the gang has been reestablished, we need to send the Wulin Alliance a letter..."

Chao Qingxiu blinked. "If you mean the founding charter, I think I may know where it is."

"..."

Yan Kaixian took a moment to absorb what she had heard, then looked at Chao Qingxiu. "Gang Leader, you..."

Chao Qingxiu coughed. "I guessed."

Yan Kaixian felt that she was gradually beginning to understand what Chao Qingxiu meant by 'guessed'.

"When I was living in Mingsi Hall, I used to take walks in the garden."

Yan Kaixian had been a member of the gang for years, so she had walked around Mingsi Hall herself and knew the grounds well. Yet she could not see what that had to do with the gang's founding charter.

"Then I saw a stone tablet in the garden."

"That tablet..."

"There was a riddle hidden in the inscription."

Yan Kaixian closed her eyes. "...So that was it."

The word "riddle" made her understand completely why all those people who had come and gone had failed to notice anything unusual, and why Chao Qingxiu had seen the problem with such piercing insight after only a few months in residence.

Indeed, every trade had its specialist. Yan Kaixian once again thought of Ruan Shifeng's earnest expectations.

Life was not always fair. Some young people had to choose which field to make a life in, while others had to decide whom to lead. The thought passed through Yan Kaixian's mind that Chao Qingxiu was willing to remain in the Zizhuo Gang perhaps because she believed her subordinates valued loyalty and, in the martial world, were heroes she could rely on.

Chao Qingxiu said, "After I solved the riddle, I found a property deed and the gang charter that had been left behind. Looking back now, the person who hid them must have been Sister Shangguan. I only wonder why she put the gang charter in the garden."

Yan Kaixian smiled softly. "The old lady was probably just trying to have a little fun with us."

The gang charter had already been hidden to see who would find it. This was plainly very much in character with Gang Leader Shangguan.

Unfortunately, before Shangguan Hui could formally unveil the riddle she had devised, she died in an accident.

Whenever old events came to mind, Yan Kaixian's heart would well up with endless sorrow and bitterness. Now that the murderer had been executed, her pain was no longer so acute, but many regrets and memories welled up in its place.

After reporting the day's progress, Yan Kaixian should have taken her leave, but she hesitated and did not leave at once. Chao Qingxiu asked, "Is there something else, Guardian Yan?"

"One official matter, and one private matter." Yan Kaixian took out a handwritten copy of Dazheng Palm that she had only just finished copying and placed it on the table, then said, "In truth, I have always wondered about one thing. That day in the hall, Gang Leader, how did you know I had hidden the antidote beneath the table?"

Chao Qingxiu smiled faintly. "Just a coincidence. Guardian Yan was eager for revenge, so naturally she would not hide the antidote on herself or on a subordinate. Nor would she leave it right beside herself. Otherwise, if someone in the hall had been poisoned only lightly and had lost little of their martial power, then suddenly restrained you and searched your person for the antidote, every one of your earlier plans would have been wasted. Yet Guardian Yan is a person of utmost loyalty. If the murderer still had any conscience left and admitted his crime, you would certainly take out the pill and use it to save the innocent."

"The person who had been poisoned would be so weak that they could barely stand or move. The longer treatment was delayed, the weaker they would become. To avoid delay, you would not have hidden the antidote too far away."

"The hall had stood unused for a long time. There was too little furniture in it, and not a single ornament remained, so there was nowhere suitable to hide anything. If it had been hidden on a beam, given your condition at the time, gathering energy and leaping up would have been no easy task. If it had been hidden beneath a floor tile, the traces would have been too obvious, and you would have had to worry that someone might notice something was wrong. That left the tables and chairs as the only remaining possibility."

"The tables and chairs in the hall consisted of nothing more than four wooden legs and a plank. The only areas in which something could be hidden were beneath a tabletop or a seat. The chair I had been sitting in was farthest to one side, so I focused my search there. Sure enough, I found the pill glued beneath the tabletop."

Yan Kaixian stared at Chao Qingxiu for a moment, then let out a long breath and saluted with clasped hands. "Gang Leader, you are far more ingenious than anyone else. This subordinate admires you beyond measure."

No wonder Chao Qingxiu had shown no concern at all when she learned that everyone had been poisoned. This was partly because she was composed and calm in a crisis, but also because she was quick-witted and observant, and had worked out in an instant what Yan Kaixian had done.

Chao Qingxiu smiled. "It was only because Guardian Yan remained steadfast in loyalty and righteousness that I was able to make even a few guesses."

After finishing with the public and private matters, Yan Kaixian took her leave. Chao Qingxiu picked up the handwritten copy of Dazheng Palm from the table and leafed through it. This was the manual the late Gang Leader Shangguan Hui had prepared for a future successor. Now that Chao Qingxiu had taken command of the gang, she naturally had to take up the art as well.

Chao Qingxiu first skimmed a few pages, then tested the manual in her panel. To her surprise, Dazheng Palm also counted as an event item. It had deep-blue quality and was a fairly good palm technique, but its cultivation requirements were stringent. It required deep inner strength to exert its full effect, so it was not much use to her yet.

She had diligently practiced inner strength every day, and her cultivation level had gradually risen to 46. However, Dazheng Palm was a highly mana-intensive skill. Chao Qingxiu estimated that she would have to wait until her cultivation level reached fifty or sixty before she could even activate it.

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