Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

Zhao Lin’s strategy was to rattle their cages.

His questions were merely a pretext to anger them. What he truly cared about was their reactions and the things they said after he left.

After listening to Chai Ren’s conversation with his wife, Zhao Lin concluded he probably wasn’t the killer.

Of course, it was still possible that he was just incredibly cunning, giving nothing away even to his own wife.

For now, however, the investigation shouldn’t focus on him.

’If it’s not the eldest, then I’ll check on the second son.’

Chai Qihong’s second son was named Chai Yi. He had been rebellious and aggressive since childhood. As a young man, he trained at a martial arts academy for three years, reaching the First Layer of the Power Realm.

When he was twenty-two, he got into a street argument and ended up crippling a man. Chai Qihong had to pay a huge sum in compensation, and Chai Yi was sent to prison for three years.

In prison, Chai Yi met people from the Water Dragon Gang. After his release, he joined the gang and became one of their enforcers.

Chai Yi had a violent temper and was a trained martial artist. To the average person, he was the prime suspect.

Sun Zhang had thought so too. He had Chai Yi arrested, locked up for three days, and severely tortured.

But Chai Yi refused to confess no matter what, insisting he didn’t kill his father.

Unable to find any other evidence, Sun Zhang had no choice but to release him.

On the note Tian Dabang gave Zhao Lin, Chai Yi had two addresses listed.

Besides the home he shared with his wife, there was also the residence of the mistress he kept.

Zhao Lin had Liang Song and He Qingquan stake out Chai Yi’s home, while he took Tao Erleng to watch the street where his mistress lived.

When it came to solving cases, his greatest asset was his extraordinary hearing.

Therefore, during questioning, it was best to have the suspect’s family or close friends present.

Only then, after the constables had left, would the angered or frightened suspect confide in their loved ones.

If the suspect was alone, Zhao Lin wouldn’t hear anything unless the person had a habit of talking to himself.

Zhao Lin waited on the street for over an hour. Around ten-thirty in the morning, a rather attractive woman came out of the house and headed toward the market.

A while later, the woman returned with vegetables and a strip of pork belly in her hands.

’Meat for lunch? She must be expecting a guest.’

Zhao Lin’s spirits lifted. From the woman’s expression and actions, it was almost certain that Chai Yi was coming for lunch.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

Zhao Lin stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"You’re so early today..."

The woman opened the door with a smile, but it froze on her face when she saw two tall, burly constables.

"Don’t worry, we’re just here to ask Chai Yi a few questions," Zhao Lin said, keeping his voice as calm as possible.

"He’s coming for lunch, isn’t he?"

"He said he was," the woman mumbled softly.

"Then go on with your business. We’ll wait for him."

Zhao Lin and Tao Erleng walked into the living room and sat down. The woman followed them in, unsure whether to stand or sit, and finally just retreated into another room and didn’t come out.

The two of them sat there until, just before noon, a knock sounded from the courtyard gate.

"I’ll get the door." The woman parted the curtain, came out of the room, and hurried outside.

"Don’t you go."

Zhao Lin stopped her, then turned to Tao Erleng. "You get the door. And don’t start a fight."

"I know."

Tao Erleng stood up and walked out.

A moment later, an angry roar came from the courtyard: "Who are you?"

"Tao Zhuang."

"Get out of my way!"

BANG! A man who bore a strong resemblance to Chai Ren, only a few years younger, burst into the room.

"You must be Chai Yi, then?" Zhao Lin asked calmly.

Chai Yi froze for a second, glancing questioningly at the woman. She gently shook her head.

"That’s me. I wonder what business you have with me, Officer?"

Chai Yi’s face was grim.

Zhao Lin spoke slowly. "Your father’s killer is still at large, yet you find the time to come here and indulge yourself. That isn’t how a grieving son should act, is it? Unless..."

Chai Yi raised an eyebrow at his words. "Say what you want. Where’s your proof?"

"Rest assured, we won’t frame an innocent man, nor will we let a guilty one go free."

Zhao Lin suddenly pointed at the woman. "I have both a witness and physical evidence. The two of you conspired to kill your father."

To provoke Chai Yi, he had to resort to such a low-handed tactic.

The woman’s face paled in shock. A vein throbbed in Chai Yi’s temple. He roared, "You son of a... If you have the guts, come at me! What kind of man bullies a woman!"

"You just wait. I’m going to the magistrate now to get a warrant for your arrest."

His goal achieved, Zhao Lin executed his "Warrant Gambit" and left.

As he left, he deliberately slammed the main gate shut.

"My lord, are you all right?"

After Zhao Lin and Tao Erleng had gone, the woman asked cautiously.

Chai Yi snorted. "What could happen? That head constable was just bluffing. If he dares show his face here again, I’ll break his legs!"

A flicker of doubt crossed the woman’s eyes. She probed indirectly, "He said he had evidence?"

"He’s full of shit!"

Chai Yi lowered his voice. "To tell you the truth, I really did want to beat that old bastard to death back then. But I’m not that stupid!"

"If I killed the old bastard and went to prison myself, wouldn’t that just be letting the eldest and the third get everything?"

"Besides, the old bastard was stabbed to death. If I wanted to kill him, would I even need a knife?"

The woman sighed in relief. "That’s a relief... Ah, what are you doing?"

"I can’t help it. When I get angry, I get all fired up..."

Zhao Lin stopped listening.

’It’s not the eldest, and it’s not the second son. Could it be the third?’

Chai Qihong’s third son was named Chai Jie. He was twenty years old.

Chai Jie had loved reading since he was a child. He was also handsome and was deeply doted on by his father.

Chai Qihong thought his family had finally produced a promising son, but from the age of fourteen, Chai Jie became obsessed with women. He later developed a gambling addiction, and at a young age, he was already indulging in every vice: wining, dining, whoring, and gambling.

When the incident occurred, Chai Jie wasn’t home. He had been at the gambling house all night. When he returned the next morning, he found his father lying in a pool of blood.

’An alibi?’

Zhao Lin felt that couldn’t necessarily be trusted.

There were no security cameras in this era. Especially in a chaotic environment like a gambling house, no one would notice if someone slipped away for a while.

Zhao Lin sent Tao Erleng to find Liang Song and He Qingquan and told them to patrol the streets. He would go look for Chai Jie alone.

As he approached the Chai family’s compound, Zhao Lin heard snoring coming from a room in the rear courtyard.

Unlike his two older brothers, Chai Jie wasn’t married and lived with his father—a typical adult who sponges off his parents.

Chai Qihong was a frugal man and had only hired an old woman to do the housekeeping. When his second wife went back to her family’s home, the old woman had gone with her to help out. Now, only Chai Jie lived in the house.

’What time is it, and he’s still sleeping.’

Zhao Lin glanced up at the sun overhead and shook his head.

He sat down at a streetside restaurant, eating lunch while listening for any sounds from the Chai residence.

After his Bone Tempering, Zhao Lin’s hearing had improved, its range extending from fifty meters to about sixty. Within this radius, he could hear even the faintest sounds with perfect clarity.

It was already two in the afternoon, but Chai Jie was still asleep.

Zhao Lin was tempted to barge in, wake him up, and question him, but after a moment’s hesitation, he decided against it.

Chai Jie’s testimony stated he was at the gambling house all night, and several other gamblers had corroborated his story. Questioning him again would be pointless.

The key issue was that with no one else around, how would Chai Jie be able to confide in anyone afterward?

Zhao Lin waited patiently for another hour. The snoring finally stopped, followed by the sounds of someone getting up and washing their face.

A little while later, Chai Jie emerged from the residence, yawning.

Chai Jie bore a facial resemblance to his two brothers, but he was far more handsome. His skin was fair and his features were sharp, but he had dark circles under his eyes and an unsteady gait, looking for all the world like a man drained of his vital essence.

Zhao Lin’s hearing was so acute it functioned like a form of echolocation, allowing him to trail Chai Jie without being detected, despite his constable uniform.

Chai Jie left the house, walked south for two streets, then turned right and entered a brothel.

Ningxiang Courtyard.

Zhao Lin looked up at the sign, then extended his hearing to follow Chai Jie’s footsteps.

After some tedious haggling between the madam and her customer, followed by some vulgar flirting, Chai Jie went up to the second floor and entered the boudoir of a prostitute named Little Peach Blossom.

"Lord Official, who are you looking for?"

"Lord Official, wait, you can’t go in..."

Zhao Lin kicked the door open. "Chai Jie, the jig is up!"