Scripture of Days Past

He Wenyan's son, He Xian, said, "Rest assured, Father. I've already contacted Daoist Master Azure Spirit of the Azure Sun Daoist Temple. He has sent his most capable Daoist priests to investigate, so I'm sure the case will be solved soon."

"It's just a shame that Daoist Master Azure Spirit has to go investigate a corpse reanimation case," He Wenyan sighed.

At that moment, a servant entered the room to report that Daoist Master Law Origin of the Azure Sun Daoist Temple had come to visit.

"Invite him in at once!"

He Wenyan and He Xian were eager for a Daoist master's help on this case.

As soon as he entered the back room, Daoist Master Law Origin cut straight to the chase and began delivering his analysis.

"The culprit killed eight very capable martial artists, ranging from the first to the third state, in such a confined space. That suggests the culprit must be a fourth-state martial artist."

He Xian nodded as he replied, "We've investigated all the fourth-state martial artists in the county, and all of them have been cleared of suspicion."

"That's because the culprit isn't a human at all," Daoist Master Law Origin said grimly. "The bodies bear numerous wounds consistent with beast claws, and there's also this..." Daoist Master Law Origin pulled out a tuft of beast fur as he spoke.

"Judging from the state of the bodies and the crime scene, it seemed like all eight victims were attacking the same person, but were struck down by fist, palm, and claw attacks. My experience in hunting fiends tells me that this is very likely a case of a fiend in human form reverting back to their true form mid-battle."

"Then where has this fiend gone?" He Wenyan hurriedly asked.

"I'm afraid I don't know," Daoist Master Law Origin replied with a shake of his head. "That fiend definitely cleaned up the crime scene after the battle, and this tuft of fur is all that I could find. They've also had four days to get away since then, and we still have to determine exactly what type of fiend was responsible. I fear we won't be able to solve the case in time."

The small spark of hope that had just risen in He Wenyan's heart was instantly extinguished, leaving him even more disheartened.

"If worse comes to worst, I'll just have to report this to the provincial office and hand the case over to the Demon Vanquishing Department," He Wenyan sighed.

"That's not a good idea," Daoist Master Law Origin immediately opposed. "The people of the Demon Vanquishing Department are known for their arrogance and aggression, and they would most likely only cause more trouble in the county. Instead, I suggest we wait for Daoist Master Azure Spirit to get on this case after he finishes investigating the corpse reanimation case."

He Wenyan knew that the Heavenly Master Religion and the Demon Vanquishing Department had always been at odds with one another, but he also knew that he couldn't afford to delay this any longer.

Thus, he shook his head and said, "I don't have time to wait for Daoist Master Azure Spirit."

Right as he was planning to send a letter to the Demon Vanquishing Department to request reinforcements, the same servant from before entered the room once again and reported, "A student of Wise Hero Academy has come to the county office, and he claims he can solve the Hao Yongnian case."

"What could a student of Wise Hero Academy possibly know? Tell him to scram!" He Wenyan snapped.

Having received a bribe from Chu Qiguang with the promise of more to come, the servant was not willing to give up so easily.

"He said his name is Chu Qiguang, and that he was called upon by the Hao Clan to help solve the case. He says he has an important lead to share."

The thought of the massive reward offered by the Hao Clan immediately gave He Wenyan a massive headache.

Over the past few days, he had received countless tips from all kinds of people trying to cash in on the enormous reward, but not a single one had proven useful. Instead, they only delayed the investigation.

Naturally, he was highly skeptical about this so-called important lead that Chu Qiguang had to share.

"You said his name is Chu Qiguang, right? What does his family do?" He Wenyan asked.

"He comes from a household of ordinary farmers from the Wang Clan Village," the servant replied.

He Wenyan immediately lost what little patience he had left after hearing Chu Qiguang's background, but before he could say anything, the servant continued, "Accountant Li was the one who recommended him to come. He says that this Chu Qiguang is a very bright young man who could be of use."

Accountant Li had worked in the county office for over ten years, and he was also one of the county office's most reliable and competent accountants.

With that in mind, He Wenyan decided to give Chu Qiguang a chance, curious to hear exactly what he had to share.

***

Earlier that morning, Chu Qiguang had spent three taels of silver on a new robe to make himself appear more respectable.

After being invited into the county office by the servant, he cupped his fist in a respectful salute toward He Wenyan and greeted, "Junior Chu Qiguang pays his respects to the honored county magistrate."

He Wenyan was in a hurry to hear what Chu Qiguang had to say, so he ignored the fact that the latter didn't kneel, as was customary.

He put on an authoritative expression as he asked, "What lead do you have for me, Chu Qiguang? If you have nothing useful to share, then I'm going to have you beaten and thrown out onto the street!"

The county magistrate was an extremely capable martial artist himself, and his aura was bearing down on Chu Qiguang in full force, making him feel as though he were being scrutinized by a ferocious beast.

It seems like most of the officials in this world are martial artists.

"After being called upon by the Hao Clan to help investigate this case, I first reviewed the case files, then went to inspect the crime scene before questioning a few of the officers who were on duty on that day. Right now, I know the details of the case like the back of my own hand," Chu Qiguang declared confidently. "I can confidently say that no one knows more about this case than I do. I've come here today to help you find the culprit."

He Wenyan had to suppress the urge to slap Chu Qiguang on the spot. How could he be so confident in proclaiming that he had cracked a case that even the head constable and Daoist Priest Law Origin hadn't been able to solve?

"The culprit behind this case is almost definitely a fox fiend," Chu Qiguang continued.

"How do you know that?" Daoist Master Law Origin asked skeptically.

"Let me start from the beginning," Chu Qiguang replied. "For starters, let me ask you a question. How much do you know about Hao Yongnian? According to my knowledge, the previous tenant of the courtyard where the killings took place only moved out last month, and it hasn't been rented out since. So why was Hao Yongnian there?"

"Get to the point!" He Wenyan snapped impatiently.

"These are all very important details to be considered, so please allow me to finish," Chu Qiguang insisted. "According to the servants of the Hao Clan, Hao Yongnian would go out every night to drink at the restaurants and brothels in the western part of the city, or go to the county to see prostitutes. That night, he went to Jujube Orchard Street. Given his habits, I think it's fair to assume that there's a very good chance he went there to see a prostitute."

"You can't just make these assumptions! What evidence do you have?" Daoist Master Law Origin countered.

"Good question!" Chu Qiguang said. "As a matter of fact, I do have some evidence, and it comes in the form of an unused lamb appendix sheath that I found under the flower bed in the yard."

"What's a lamb appendix sheath?" the young He Xian asked with a puzzled expression.

However, both He Wenyan and Daoist Master Law Origin knew exactly what Chu Qiguang was referring to.

"After some processing, the lamb appendix can be used as a contraceptive," Chu Qiguang explained with a smile. "However, they're quite a pain to produce and rather difficult to come by, so why would an unused one have been thrown out? I think it's very likely that the sheath fell out while Hao Yongnian was in battle. Granted, I'll admit that this is circumstantial evidence at best, but it did present a possibility to me."