TWWDS - Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Yan Kaixian spoke with a touch of regret.
After all, as someone from the martial world, she was plainly no prodigy with literary language. She doubted that her own powers of description could accurately convey Chao Qingxiu's abilities or the shock the other woman had inspired in her.
They had all seen the same sights and heard the same words. Why, then, could Chao Qingxiu reach an entirely different conclusion?
Had Yan Kaixian been a modern person, she might have understood that anyone with the bonus of being a famous detective had to carry a filter for unraveling mysteries wherever they went, simply to live up to a constitution that attracted mishaps.
Chao Qingxiu shook her head. "Those were only a few guesses of mine. If I had to put a number on my confidence, it would be no more than thirty or forty percent. That is why I asked Sister Yan to sound you out at the time."
When Yan Kaixian first went over there, she had no intention of attacking, but the other woman instantly turned on her and went straight for the kill. Not one of her moves held the slightest mercy, and nothing about her suggested a follower of the righteous path. It was as if she had revealed her true colors at once.
As they talked, they reached the guest room door. Chao Qingxiu pushed it open and sat at the table, while Yan Kaixian lit the candles, boiled water, and poured her superior a cup of tea.
The tea sent up curling wisps. White vapor veiled Chao Qingxiu's gentle features, lending her expression a measure of serene, fathomless stillness, and even her voice seemed to drift down from far above the clouds.
In a gentle voice, Chao Qingxiu asked, "Sister Yan, do you think today's events were planned by that Dr. Sun alone?"
Yan Kaixian considered for a moment and answered cautiously, "Judging by that Dr. Sun's reputation, she did not seem to be someone with such ability."
The woman could barely manage basic social interaction, so putting together a plan on this scale... was asking a good deal of her.
At her words, Chao Qingxiu laughed softly and offered no further opinion. Yan Kaixian knew it was late and would not disturb her superior's rest any longer. She rose and took her leave.
According to Chao Qingxiu's original plan, she would need to stay in Huashui City for no more than one day. Unfortunately, the client had collapsed and was now recuperating, so she could not collect the goods and had to remain at the Zhou residence for the time being.
After a brief discussion, however, Chao Qingxiu soon stopped worrying about the extra time. Old Doctor Zhou had already said that he would increase the fee for this commission in thanks for the Zizhuo Gang's chivalrous assistance.
With nearly one hundred gang members to support, Chao Qingxiu made a modest show of reluctance before readily agreeing. She then asked one of the household servants to check out her room at the inn and collect the clothes the inn's maid had washed for her. Chao Qingxiu stayed in her room and, while tending her inner breath, opened the Detective Panel to read the system's assessment.
[System: The attempted murder case at Zhou's Pharmacy has been resolved. User has earned 10 Detective Points and 5 Fame Points.]
[System: User has obtained [Old Doctor Zhou's Gift].]
[System: Detection confirms that the User's Detective Points now exceed 20. The second Skill Slot has been opened.]
Effort did bear fruit. After a series of unexpected events she had faced and successfully resolved, Chao Qingxiu had finally gained a new Skill Slot.
However, unlike the earlier prompt, this one no longer included the sentence, "After testing, the User is in the novice stage."
Chao Qingxiu felt a touch of melancholy.
Fortunately, besides Detective Points and Fame Points, she had also obtained a book through the case. Ordinary books could not be placed in a Skill Slot, but books related to a case could.
Chao Qingxiu opened her system space and glanced inside, her brows lifting slightly.
Nothing inside had changed in the slightest, and there was no sign that a new book had been added.
Chao Qingxiu suspected that the current world genre might not be particularly compatible with detective work. Even after resolving a case, she still had to acquire the rewards herself; the system would do no more than offer a hint.
She thought for a moment, then went directly to find the estate's steward.
The steward was Old Doctor Zhou's confidant and had nearly been killed along with her master. Faced with someone who had saved the innocent lives of everyone in the household, she was thoroughly courteous. "What can I do for you?"
Chao Qingxiu said, "I have long heard of Old Doctor Zhou's fame. I understand your residence has many books, and I would like to borrow two medical books to read."
Although it was odd to ask to borrow books the day after nearly being murdered in someone else's house, Chao Qingxiu was, first, Old Doctor Zhou's lifesaver and, second, possessed of the peculiar quality of "if I stay composed enough, I can draw other people into my rhythm." The steward was momentarily taken aback, but she still complied with Chao Qingxiu's request and took her to the estate's outer study.
The steward said, "These are all the medical books my master has collected. You may browse them as you please." She then called for someone to bring fragrant tea.
Standing before the writing desk, Chao Qingxiu looked over the volumes on the shelves. They were all common medical texts such as Great Xia Medical Canon and Verses on Decoctions. She pulled two at random, sat down at the table, and began to read.
About half an hour later, footsteps sounded outside the study again. From the gait alone, Chao Qingxiu could already tell the newcomer's build, age, and martial ability. At once, she recognized the footsteps as those of the same steward.
The steward was carefully holding two volumes with slightly yellowed covers. She bowed to Chao Qingxiu and said, "These are some diagnostic notes written by my master. I hear that you have an interest in medicine. If you do not mind accepting them, he would like to give them to you."
Old Doctor Zhou had always intended to find a student of exceptional aptitude and sound character before passing on everything he had learned in his life. Now his first disciple had joined outsiders in a plot to murder him. Disheartened, he began to doubt his ability to teach and guide students at all. In the end, he simply gave his own Medical Outline of Pulse Diagnosis to his benefactor.
Chao Qingxiu inclined her head. "I am honored by your generosity. How could I deserve it? For now I shall borrow these volumes for a few days. When I have finished reading them, I shall return them." She noticed that the edges bore clear signs of handling, while the pages inside had been preserved in excellent condition. Knowing they were among Old Doctor Zhou's treasured possessions, she planned to transcribe the volumes before returning them.
With the foundation laid by Medical Arts, Chao now found other medical books much easier to approach. After turning a few pages, she gradually became absorbed in them. Yan Kaixian came by several times, but each time she saw the gang leader absorbed in study, she withdrew and went to speak with Chief Constable Tan, who had just called on Old Doctor Zhou.
Chief Constable Tan said, "Yesterday was truly dangerous. Had you two not happened to arrive, Brother Zhou and his family would already have met a terrible fate."
Yan Kaixian herself had only learned the truth after climbing over the wall and entering the house. The two idlers' accomplices had bound everyone inside the Zhou residence, intending to wait until the scapegoat arrived and then cut down every person, beginning with Old Doctor Zhou.
Chief Constable Tan was a close friend of Old Doctor Zhou, so there was also a note of probing in his words.
Yan Kaixian said, "It was not entirely by chance. The gang had accepted an escort commission from the Zhou household. When we reached the teahouse on the long street outside, Miss Chao noticed that something did not seem right, so she instructed me to go and take a look."
Afterward, she briefly recounted how Chao Qingxiu had noticed the anomaly.
Chief Constable Tan said, "..."
The explanation had been thorough, but he was genuinely embarrassed to admit that he could understand only half of it.
Though he could follow only half of Yan's reasoning, he understood the gist of her words: "Because the enemy's forward lookout spoke carelessly, we detected the danger before arriving and took effective measures."
Chief Constable Tan looked incredulous. He had known no shortage of formidable people, but this was the first time he had learned that someone could hear one offhand remark from a passerby and reconstruct the trap waiting ahead almost perfectly.
Other martial world fighters who valued combat ability more would usually respond to a similar trap by choosing either to run or to fight. Running would deepen their suspicion, while fighting would inevitably destroy the scene. By the time the magistrate's office realized something was wrong, the circumstances would have been very difficult to explain.
On reflection, had the two men noticed nothing, they would have been taken inside by bandits disguised as servants of the Zhou household and held there for a while. The bandits would then have used the opportunity to withdraw, leaving a house full of corpses... The magistrate's office might well have decided that Chao and Yan had killed everyone out of greed.
As for that apprentice, she had been carousing at Chunhua Pavilion for several days. Even if she had a stronger motive, her alibi was so ample that she would have been ruled out as a suspect.
Looking back, Chao Qingxiu's ability to turn the tide at the very last instant before stepping into the trap was no small achievement. He even suspected that the bandits might have arranged their forward lookout flawlessly without a traveler noticing anything wrong, yet Miss Chao could still have sensed that something was wrong on the way from the teahouse to the Zhou residence gate.
As he privately admired her, his gaze settled on Yan Kaixian. Then a thought struck him, and he cried out, "Judging by your bearing, could you be Boss Yan, the Mountain-Cleaving Saber?"
Yan Kaixian, known as the Mountain-Cleaving Saber, had once belonged to a gang in the martial world before taking up escort work. She, too, was renowned in those circles as a formidable figure.
Yan Kaixian replied, "I would not dare claim that title. Now that Yan belongs to a gang, how could I still bear the title of chief?"
Tan immediately understood.
No wonder that young person surnamed Chao was so formidable. The respectful yet protective way Yan Kaixian treated the other woman showed that even if Chao was not the gang's leader, she had to be its young master.
At the same time, Tan wondered whether he had gone too long without paying attention to affairs in the martial world, leaving him poorly informed. Were gangs of the martial world choosing their leaders purely on intelligence these days? By martial world custom, someone with a similar combination of qualities would normally serve as a gang's strategist.
Of course, Tan did not think Chao Qingxiu was unfit to lead a gang. From their brief contact the previous day, she seemed like someone accustomed to making her own decisions. The Mountain-Cleaving Saber was far too renowned, and Chao Qingxiu was so young that even under instruction from an accomplished master, she could hardly have surpassed Yan Kaixian in martial arts at such an age.
With that reasoning, Chao Qingxiu had to possess a sharper mind than Yan Kaixian had described if she was to hold her position securely in the gang.
From this angle, Chief Constable Tan was actually close to the truth.
Old Doctor Zhou rested for three full days before he could finally rise and walk. After recovering a little, he remembered the recent events and thought of some things his old friend Chief Constable Tan had told him over the previous two days. He reached a decision and sent for Chao and Yan.
When the steward from the Zhou residence arrived, Yan Kaixian was keeping the gang leader company over a game of go.
Yan Kaixian was a mediocre go player and had never expected to hold her own against the gang leader. She had assumed it meant Chao Qingxiu devoted less time to the zither, go, calligraphy, and painting than to martial arts. After four games, each time losing by only one stone, she finally understood that her superior simply preferred such close games.
On hearing the steward's invitation, Yan Kaixian looked up at the gang leader. Chao Qingxiu happened to be looking at her at the same moment. They exchanged a glance, and Chao Qingxiu said, "Very well. We have troubled you for quite some time. It is time we paid Old Doctor Zhou a visit."
When they arrived, tea and refreshments were already set out on the table. Old Doctor Zhou first asked them to sit, then said, "I am old and frail. I have been ill all this time, and I still have not formally thanked you both for saving my life."
Since he was being so courteous, Chao Qingxiu would not be rude in return. "When one witnesses injustice, one should draw one's sword to help," she said. "Besides, you were our client for an escort job. You need not stand on ceremony, Old Doctor."
Old Doctor Zhou said, "Speaking of that escort job, I originally entrusted it to Far-Reaching Escort Agency. From the look of you both, you are not with that agency, are you?"
Yan Kaixian said, "We have some dealings with friends at Far-Reaching Escort Agency, so they passed this commission on to us."
Old Doctor Zhou said, "A mere few bottles of medicine. I never imagined they would warrant a personal escort from the Mountain-Cleaving Saber."
Yan Kaixian frankly admitted her identity as well. "Not at all, Old Doctor. You are being far too kind."
No wonder Old Doctor Zhou had failed to anticipate it. Even Yan Kaixian had not expected the gang leader to choose to come to Huashui City to handle an escort.
What Yan Kaixian had failed to anticipate, however, was that Chao Qingxiu had picked the Huashui City escort job by casually tossing a copper coin...
Old Doctor Zhou said, "Lao Tan told me that the two of you are from the Zizhuo Gang." He then looked at Chao Qingxiu, who had plainly dominated the exchange, and his voice became much more solemn. "May I ask your distinguished name and your position in the Zizhuo Gang?"
Hearing his question, Chao Qingxiu knew that he had already made a guess, so she answered frankly, "My surname is Chao, given name Qingxiu. Thanks to the continued support of my friends in the gang, I now humbly serve as Gang Leader."
Old Doctor Zhou exclaimed in admiration, his face lighting up with pleasure. "Good, good. You truly are a gifted young leader."
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