The next day, early morning.
Qu Heng and his group packed their luggage and left early in the morning.
Xia Ci handed over the heads of Iron Arhat Xuanqi and Abbess Kuye to Qu Heng, entrusting him to deliver them to Yan Sanniang in Linjiang City. These two heads would still be worth quite a bit of money, and it would be a waste to throw them away, yet inconvenient to carry around.
Qu Heng had witnessed Xia Ci's martial skills and knew that Xia Ci was now working as a bounty hunter. He didn't ask much about Xia Ci's mission in Zhushan County, only advised him to be careful before leaving. As for why Xia Ci's martial arts had improved so dramatically, he didn't inquire further.
As for helping Xia Ci deliver those two heads, he naturally wouldn't refuse.
After seeing Qu Heng and his group off,
Xia Ci also bid farewell to Tang Buyi.
"Brother Xia, once you've finished your business, you must come stay at my home for a few days. Although Zhushan County can't compare to Linjiang City, it has its own unique characteristics. I'll take you around to see them."
Xia Ci nodded slightly and said, "If I have time, I'll certainly come and impose on your hospitality."
"I'll be waiting," Tang Buyi said. "If you need anything, you can come to me anytime. I'll be at home for the near future, and my word still carries some weight in Zhushan County."
"Good," Xia Ci didn't stand on ceremony and said, "If I really encounter any trouble, I'll definitely come to you, Brother Tang. Farewell!"
"Take care," Tang Buyi waved to Xia Xiayin and said, "Little sister Xiayin, take care!"
Xia Xiayin waved back, then supported Xia Ci onto the carriage, and they quickly departed.
...
After leaving the Tang residence,
Xia Ci and Xia Xiayin arrived at a fairly bustling street and found a pawnshop called Zhicheng Pawnshop.
This pawnshop was operated by Wen Yong, Yan Sanniang's undercover agent known in the martial world as Night Rat. On the surface, he ran a pawnshop and offered loans at high interest, but in reality, he dealt in stolen goods from grave robbers, pickpockets, and other such characters from the underworld.
"Brother, something's wrong. The pawnshop has been sealed with official notices!" Xia Xiayin said.
Xia Ci couldn't see, so he asked, "Ask the people in the neighboring shops about it."
"Okay."
Immediately,
Xia Xiayin walked toward a nearby shop with Xia Ci following beside her. Although Xia Ci couldn't see, his perception was very strong. Unless he encountered some special circumstances, he could basically walk like a normal person, though he needed to move a bit slower in unfamiliar places.
Next to the pawnshop was a general store. The owner was a middle-aged woman in her forties who was very enthusiastic, but when she heard that Xia Xiayin wasn't buying anything, she instantly became cold.
Xia Xiayin quickly said, "Madam, I pawned something at this shop a few days ago and wanted to retrieve it today, but the shop has been sealed. What happened?"
The female shopkeeper pursed her lips and said, "Then you might as well give up hope. You won't get your things back. The night before last, the shop was robbed, the owner was killed, and all the valuable items were stolen."
"The owner was called Wen Yong, right?"
"Yes," the shopkeeper said. "I heard he died horribly, with half his head sliced off!"
"Has the murderer been caught?"
"I don't know. You'd have to ask at the magistrate's office to find out."
"Alright, thank you."
Xia Xiayin and Xia Ci left the general store, and Xia Xiayin asked, "Brother, what do we do now? Wen Yong is dead. How are we going to find Flying Dragon?"
Xia Ci thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to the Tang family and ask Tang Buyi to help us inquire at the magistrate's office to see if Wen Yong left any clues about Flying Dragon. If we really can't find anything, we'll have to ask Tang Buyi to use his influence in Zhushan County to see if he can locate Flying Dragon."
"Brother, could Wen Yong have been killed by Flying Dragon?" Xia Xiayin asked. "Could he have already left Zhushan County?"
Xia Ci thought for a moment and said, "If that's the case, then there's one possibility: Flying Dragon is definitely still in Zhushan County, and he's going to stay in one place for a long time without being able to move. Wen Yong was the only one who knew his whereabouts, so he chose to kill him to silence him.
Of course, it's also possible that there was a conflict of interest between him and Flying Dragon, or Flying Dragon found out he was going to reveal his whereabouts and killed him out of anger. Or it might not have been Flying Dragon who killed him at all. However, we need to examine the crime scene first to deduce what happened."
...
Xia Ci and Xia Xiayin immediately rushed back to the Tang residence.
When the doorkeeper announced that Xia Ci and Xia Xiayin had returned, Tang Buyi immediately came out to meet them. As soon as he reached the gate and saw Xia Ci and Xia Xiayin, he hurriedly asked, "Brother Xia, Sister Xiayin, have you finished your business?"
"No," Xia Ci cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Brother Tang, we've encountered some trouble and would like to ask for your help."
"No problem, just tell me what you need." Tang Buyi agreed without hesitation.
Xia Ci said, "I originally went to find a friend, but when I got there, I learned that he was killed two nights ago. Do you have any connections at the magistrate's office who could help us find out the details?"
"That's not a problem," Tang Buyi said. "I have many friends at the county office. I can take you there right away to learn more."
Immediately,
Tang Buyi boarded Xia Ci's carriage and headed straight for the county office.
Tang Buyi's status as the Tang family's young master was quite useful. The inspector from the inspection department personally came to receive them.
The inspector said, "According to our department's investigation of the scene, we preliminarily determined that Wen Yong and the murderer likely knew each other. Wen Yong was secretly dealing in stolen goods. On the night of the incident, he dismissed his servant and stayed alone in the shop, presumably to meet with one of his associates. These associates were either grave robbers or pickpockets, all people who couldn't show their faces in public. He would usually meet them alone.
Based on the condition of the crime scene, there were no signs of struggle. Wen Yong was killed with a single strike. The attacker was skilled with a blade, slicing off half of Wen Yong's head in one stroke. The cut was clean – only someone with profound martial arts could achieve this.
The attacker was likely venting anger, as all four of Wen Yong's limbs were cut off. According to the coroner's examination, Wen Yong's limbs were severed after he was already dead from having half his head sliced off. The attacker wasn't after money, because there were many valuable items in Wen Yong's shop that weren't touched."
Xia Xiayin asked puzzledly, "Wasn't it said that all the valuables in the shop were stolen?"
"No," the inspector said. "The items in the shop were stolen the next day. It was Wen Yong's shop assistant who, upon opening the door in the morning and finding Wen Yong dead, became greedy and hid many valuable items before reporting the case. He was discovered by our department's constables."
"Are there any clues about the murderer?"
"Not yet."
After that, Xia Ci asked a few more questions but didn't get much useful information, so they took their leave.
After leaving the magistrate's office,
Xia Xiayin moved close to Xia Ci and said softly, "Brother, it was most likely Flying Dragon who did it. A skilled blade user, venting anger, someone familiar – it all fits. It's very likely that Flying Dragon discovered Wen Yong was betraying him, so he went to kill Wen Yong in anger. It definitely wasn't an enemy, otherwise Wen Yong wouldn't have dismissed his servants to meet alone."
Xia Ci thought for a while, then said to Tang Buyi, "Brother Tang, to be honest with you, I'm a bounty hunter. I came to Zhushan County to capture a wanted criminal, the leader of the Flying Horse Gang, Flying Dragon. The murdered Wen Yong was an undercover agent for the Pursuit Tower, which I'm affiliated with. I suspect he was killed by Flying Dragon, who is very likely hiding somewhere in Zhushan County. Your Tang family has great influence in Zhushan County. Could you help us find him?"
"Well..."
Tang Buyi said with difficulty, "Brother Xia, it's not that I'm unwilling to help, but this matter is not for me to decide. I know about Flying Dragon – he's extremely vicious. My Tang family may not want to provoke such a person. I need to ask my father. If he agrees, then I can mobilize the resources of the Tang family!"