Scripture of Days Past

He Xian's servants and Chen Gang searched the culvert for close to two hours. By the end, they were covered in rancid filth. Finally, they found the body of a fox fiend outside a sluice gate, and they also noticed signs that someone had attempted to forcibly pry the gate open. The sluice gates were designed to keep out larger objects that were flushed into the culvert to prevent blockages.

Chu Qiguang observed the recovered body for a moment before his eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had been struck by a flash of inspiration.

Has he figured something out? He Xian wondered.

"From the looks of it, the fox fiend tried to pry the sluice gate open to continue its escape, but it was unable to do so before succumbing to its injuries," Chu Qiguang analyzed.

Daoist Master Law Origin was accustomed to seeing all types of fiend carcasses, so he remained composed as he examined the body. He concluded, "The injuries it suffered were extremely severe. In particular, its spinal cord was severely damaged, so it's already quite a feat that it was able to make it this far."

"We've recovered the body, but we'll have to trouble you to vouch for us, Daoist Master Law Origin," He Xian said. "Otherwise, I'm concerned that the Hao Clan won't be satisfied and will think that we're trying to fool them with the body of an ordinary fox."

"Don't worry, Young Master He," Daoist Master Law Origin reassured. "I followed the entire trail here with both of you, and once we've tested the fiend's blood and matched its claws to the wounds on the victims' bodies, everything will be confirmed."

He then turned to Chu Qiguang with an approving smile and chuckled, "You really did it! I honestly didn't come into this with any high hopes at all."

The group transported the body back to the county office, but upon their arrival, they discovered that someone had already beaten them there.

***

In a side hall of the county office, He Wenyan looked at Gu Wei with a pleased expression as he asked, "I heard that you've already captured the fox fiend. Is that right?"

"I have," Gu Wei replied triumphantly. "We've tested its blood as well, and we've confirmed that it's a fox fiend."

"Good," He Wenyan praised with a pleased smile. "I'll be sure to report this as a meritorious contribution under your name to the imperial court."

As Chu Qiguang's trio entered the room, He Wenyan beckoned to He Xian with a wide smile and said, "You came at just the right time, Xian'er![1] Head Constable Gu has captured the fox fiend, so we can finally close the case."

Gu Wei shot Chu Qiguang a disdainful glance, then cupped his fist in a respectful salute toward He Wenyan as he said, "It's all thanks to your shrewd leadership and composure under pressure that we were able to capture the fox fiend so quickly."

He Xian and Daoist Master Law Origin exchanged a glance before both turning to Gu Wei with peculiar expressions.

Meanwhile, Chu Qiguang stepped forward and declared, "County Magistrate He, we have recovered the fox fiend's body."

"Oh?"

He Wenyan raised an eyebrow as he turned to Gu Wei.

"You found its body? What a load of nonsense!" Gu Wei sneered. "That fox fiend was able to kill even Hao Yongnian and all of his guards, how could it possibly have died so easily? Are you sure you haven't made a mistake, Young Master Chu?"

Everyone turned to Chu Qiguang to see what he had to say, and he replied confidently, "Both Young Master He and Daoist Master Law Origin can vouch for me. They were with me the entire time as I tracked down the fox fiend."

"If that really is the fox fiend, as you claim, then would you dare to have its blood examined?" Gu Wei sneered.

"Why not?" Chu Qiguang challenged.

Gu Wei called over a bailiff to extract some blood from the fox fiend's body, then had some dogs lick it. It didn't take long before they entered a mating frenzy.

Gu Wei was astonished to see this.

They captured a fox fiend as well?

"If both of them are fox fiends, we can see which one is the culprit by comparing their claws to the wounds on the victims' bodies," Chu Qiguang suggested.

He Wenyan agreed with the suggestion, ordering some bailiffs to bring the two foxes, one dead and one alive, into the side hall.

After some comparisons, it was discovered that the claws of the fox carcass recovered by Chu Qiguang perfectly matched the wounds on the victims' bodies, while the fox captured by Gu Wei was clearly not the culprit.

Gu Wei was both alarmed and furious to see this. Never had he imagined that there would be two fox fiends in Azure Sun County, and somehow, he had been unfortunate enough to capture the wrong one!

In contrast, He Wenyan was ecstatic. The evidence was irrefutable, and his official position as county magistrate was safe. He had a greater mission to accomplish in Azure Sun County, so retaining his official position was of the utmost importance.

"Well done, Chu Qiguang," he praised. "You've solved a very difficult case."

"You're far too kind, County Magistrate He," Chu Qiguang replied with a respectful salute.

Gu Wei was naturally very displeased with this turn of events, and he was desperate to try and secure a cut of reward, so he said, "I only knew that we had to capture a fox fiend, but I didn't think that there would be two in the county town. This can't be a coincidence; I'm sure these two fox fiends were working together."

Clearly, Gu Wei was trying to blur the distinction between his contribution and Chu Qiguang's, so that they would at least get an equal cut of the reward.

"You did well on this occasion too, Head Constable Wei," He Wenyan replied with a nod of approval. "I'll be sure to put in a good word for you with the imperial court."

In his eyes, even though Chu Qiguang had captured the true culprit, Gu Wei's efforts were also not to be discounted. He had deployed over a hundred bailiffs to search all over the entire county city, and he had also captured another fox fiend, which was a significant feat in itself.

A pleased smile appeared on Gu Wei's face. He had achieved his goal, and he was already thinking of other ways he could secure more money for himself.

Gu Wei's intentions were as clear as day to Chu Qiguang, and he said, "While I agree that Head Constable Gu has put a great deal of effort into this investigation, I must say that the fox that he captured doesn't appear to be a fiend at all."

"I suggest you stop trying to slander me, Young Master Chu!" Gu Wei harrumphed coldly. "We've already tested its blood, and it's been confirmed beyond doubt that it's indeed a fox fiend."

"Is that so?" Chu Qiguang challenged. "The fox fiend that killed Young Master Hao should've suffered severe injuries, yet this fox is completely unharmed."

"You can't judge fiends by normal logic," Gu Wei sneered. "Perhaps it took some kind of pill, or maybe the fiendish martial art it cultivates allows it to recover quickly."

"I think it's best to test its blood again, just to be safe," Chu Qiguang insisted. "I'm worried that the bailiffs under Head Constable Gu may have captured an ordinary fox and passed it off as a fox fiend."

Gu Wei had personally seen his bailiffs test the fox's blood, so he was confident that it was a fox fiend.

He fixed a cold glare on Chu Qiguang as he harrumphed, "Go ahead then, Young Master Chu. However, if it's confirmed that this is indeed a fox fiend, then please apologize to my men for falsely accusing them."

"Of course," Chu Qiguang replied. "Daoist Master Law Origin, may I trouble you to personally conduct the test?"

A hint of displeasure flashed through He Wenyan's eyes at the sight of Chu Qiguang's confrontational attitude.

He had shown himself to be an exceptional young man, but in the end, he was still just a commoner, while Gu Wei was a head constable who represented the authority of the county office and the imperial court.

Even if Chu Qiguang had noticed something amiss, he should've kept it to himself and reported the matter in private.

Instead, he had chosen to confront Gu Wei directly in front of everyone, and that immediately soured He Wenyan's impression of him.

1. In Chinese, it's common for someone to take the final character of one's name and add "er" at the end to make it a pet name, as is the case with Xian'er here. ☜