Chapter Sixty: Beasts (Third Request for Monthly Votes)

The Bamboo Garden Retreat was in complete disarray.

Zheng Yanqing first checked the bodies of Mao Wang and his wife. Aunt Mao had fallen near the stove, lying flat on her back. Her head had suffered a heavy blow, and blood had already stained the ground. Mao Wang was sitting by the door, leaning against the wall. A poker used for stirring the fire had pierced straight through his body. His honest and sturdy face seemed to wear a look of shock and anger, and his eyes were wide open...

This was somewhat different from what Yanqing had imagined.

"Take me to see the other two bodies."

Xu Yansheng hurriedly led Zheng Yanqing into a bamboo building.

Initially, this bamboo building had been inhabited by Du Ruhui, and later Xu Shiji had moved in and lived there for a while. It seemed that Mao Wang and his wife had not forgotten their status. The parts used by Yanqing and the main building right in the middle had never been occupied. This could be discerned from the clean porch.

According to Zheng Yanqing's original assumption, could the two bodies, one large and one small, in this retreat be Mao Xiaoba?

However, when he walked in and took a look, he was stunned.

The larger body appeared to be around forty or fifty years of age, dressed in thin clothes, but completely unfamiliar. Zheng Yanqing could guarantee that he had never seen this person before. As for the other body, however, he recognized it instantly. It was none other than Yuwen Ya, Dodo's biological brother.

Why would Yuwen Ya be here?

At that moment, Xu Yansheng muttered softly in Xu Shiji's ear.

"Yanqing, this person is Hu Lieren."

"What did you say?"

"Yansheng recognizes this person. He is the second-in-command of the Dating Restaurant, Hu Lieren."

With a buzzing sound in his head, Zheng Yanqing felt a bit dazed.

"Xu Yansheng, did you see clearly? Is this person really Hu Lieren, the second-in-command of the Dating Restaurant?"

Xu Yansheng hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Reporting to Young Master Zheng, this subordinate is absolutely certain. For some time now, this subordinate has been wandering near the Dating Restaurant and has seen Hu Lieren with my own eyes. On a few occasions, I even crossed paths with him intentionally. He has a red mole on his left eyebrow, which I remember clearly... There is no doubt about it, this is him, he is Hu Lieren."

"Why would Hu Lieren be in my Bamboo Garden?"

Zheng Yanqing was shocked and furious. The dead were Yuwen Ya and Hu Lieren, but where was Mao Xiaoba?

"When you guys arrived, did you see anyone else?"

"No. When we arrived, the firewood in the stove had already burned to ashes. The tragedy must have happened early in the morning or even earlier."

Shen Guang, who had been squatting beside the bodies all along, suddenly stood up. "Young Master, these two died of poison."

"Poison?"

Shen Guang nodded, pointing at Yuwen Ya's body, and said, "There is a scent of almonds in his mouth. It should be poison similar to arsenic trioxide. Look at this room—food is scattered everywhere, along with vomit. This child ingested a heavier dose of the poison and died on the spot; the middle-aged man ingested a relatively lighter dose, and as he tried to run outside, the poison took effect and he died."

Zheng Yanqing closed his eyes and vigorously rubbed his face with both hands.

A bizarre scene floated up in his mind: Mao Xiaoba intended to poison the food; Aunt Mao tried to stop him, accidentally tripped and fell against the corner of the stove, shattering her skull. Mao Wang happened to enter, and upon seeing this scene, flew into a rage and scuffled with Mao Xiaoba, only to be pushed to the ground by Mao Xiaoba and pierced through the body by the iron poker, resulting in death.

Afterwards, Mao Xiaoba carried the food mixed with poison into the bamboo building.

Hu Lieren and Yuwen Ya, who had waited bitterly here all night, devoured it ravenously. Because Yuwen Ya was young, he died on the spot. Hu Lieren must have sensed something was amiss and tried to leave, but the poison took his life.

This also explained why the causes of death differed between Mao Wang's couple and Hu Lieren.

Very well, let us push the deduction further back.

After Hu Lieren schemed to frame Husky, he grew terrified that Husky possessed formidable martial arts and might come looking for trouble if he somehow survived. Therefore, he dared not hide in the city, but instead fled to the Bamboo Garden to await the outcome of the affair.

Mao Xiaoba lured Yuwen Ya to the Bamboo Garden...

As for the specific details of the luring, Zheng Yanqing could not deduce them.

Dodo had said that when Husky prepared to leave, he surely would have packed luggage. Yet there was nothing in the bamboo building, which meant...

Years ago, Mao Xiaoba could abandon his parents and steal the jade belt.

Could it be that today, driven by greed, he had repeated his past crime?

Yanqing did not know Mao Xiaoba—no, perhaps he should be called Mao Gongsui—very well. But one thing he could be certain of was that this person belonged to the category of the extremely selfish, cold-blooded, and ungrateful. If he could disregard the life and death of his parents, what else could possibly matter to him? Five years ago, he could do such a thing; five years later, he could do it just the same.

Although such a scene surfaced in Yanqing's mind, in his heart, he was unwilling to admit it.

If this were truly the case, then Mao Xiaoba was genuinely a beast!

"Young Master, what should we do?"

Zheng Yanqing pondered for a moment, stepped forward, and scooped up Yuwen Ya's body in his arms. "Brother Xu, you must immediately go and report the case to Prefect Fang."

"Report the case?"

"With so many people dead, how could it possibly be covered up? However, you must all remember: only three people have died, do you hear me? Three people, not four."

Looking at Yuwen Ya in Yanqing's arms, Shen Guang and the others understood tacitly.

As for Xu Yansheng, though he did not understand the underlying reason, since Zheng Yanqing had given such instructions, he had no objections.

In truth, the exact number of dead made no difference to them.

After all, none of them had any particularly close relationship with these deceased individuals...

"Brother Shen!"

"Here."

"Take this body and immediately head into Longmen Mountain... find a scenic place with clear streams and lush mountains, bury him well, and leave a mark."

"I'll go at once."

Shen Guang picked up Yuwen Ya's body and turned to leave.

Zheng Yanqing, along with the brothers Dang Shijie and Dang Shiying, walked out of the bamboo building. The three of them sat on the porch in silence.

"Young Master, who could have done this?"

"A beast!"

Zheng Yanqing clenched his teeth tightly, squeezing the two words through the gaps between them.

I pray I guessed wrong, otherwise... you truly are lower than a beast!

***

When Fang Yanwen received the report, he immediately summoned Yuwen Chengdu and rushed to the Bamboo Garden to investigate.

After verifying Hu Lieren's corpse, Fang Yanwen also felt somewhat puzzled. Who could have committed such an act? Zheng Yanqing did not know how to answer because he lacked the evidence to prove these people had been dispatched by Mao Xiaoba's hand. After pacing around the Bamboo Garden a few times, Yuwen Chengdu returned to inform Fang Yanwen that before Zheng Yanqing and the others arrived, there should have been five people in the garden.

Three were dead, but where had the other two gone?

Yet, whoever it was, no one connected this incident to Zheng Yanqing.

Therefore, after brief questioning, Fang Yanwen could only draw a conclusion: Hu Lieren and his subordinates had hidden here last night and were discovered by Mao Wang and his wife. Mao Wang's couple had attempted to poison Hu Lieren, but unexpectedly were discovered and brutally murdered instead. Hu Lieren died of the poison, while the other two fled under the cover of night.

There were numerous flaws in this conclusion. Upon close scrutiny, it made no sense at all. But Fang Yanwen could not be bothered to pursue the matter further. Husky was dead, and Hu Lieren was dead; his objective had basically been achieved.

As for the siblings Yuwen Duo and Yuwen Ya, they should have already escaped...

Fang Yanwen did not take these two to heart, or rather, he did not wish to push them to extermination. What waves could two children possibly stir up? Furthermore, the Emperor was about to return to Luoyang, and he needed to pacify the situation in the city as quickly as possible to restore normalcy. Zheng Yanqing found it inconvenient to mention Mao Xiaoba's name, as doing so might easily invite trouble upon himself. Therefore, when Fang Yanwen reached his conclusion, Zheng Yanqing offered no objection, nodding repeatedly in the hope that peace and tranquility would return sooner.

"Young Master Zheng!"

Just as Zheng Yanqing prepared to leave, Yuwen Chengdu suddenly called out to him.

A peculiar smile flickered in his eyes as he pulled Zheng Yanqing aside. "At noon today, we intercepted a merchant vessel."

Zheng Yanqing started, failing to grasp his meaning.

"As it turned out, aboard the ship, we discovered a corpse hidden inside a crate. Upon verification, the deceased is named Li Dewu... Young Master Zheng should have heard of this person. He was murdered last night."

A lump formed in Zheng Yanqing's heart, and he swallowed hard in secret.

Damn it, how could he have forgotten about this matter!

Throughout the entire day, he had experienced numerous events and remained in a state of high tension. The affair of Shen Guang killing Li Dewu last night had long been cast to the back of his mind. Now that he recalled it, Shen Guang had placed Li Dewu's corpse into a crate and sent it onto a merchant ship. Ordinarily, this ship should have departed from Luoyang at daybreak, but who could have foreseen the events of the previous night?

Consequently, the merchant ship naturally could not leave.

With the entire city under strict martial law today, the inspections of passing pedestrians and vessels were extremely rigorous.

He forced a smile. "I know of this person."

"Heh, I figured Young Master Zheng would know... He was murdered by a martial arts expert, killed with a single blow. I interrogated the crewmen on the merchant ship, and one of them said that the crate containing Li Dewu's body was loaded onto the cargo vessel at someone's behest, intended to be disposed of once they entered the river waters. Young Master Zheng, what are your thoughts on this matter?"

"Uh... what thoughts could I possibly have?"

Zheng Yanqing's heart pounded wildly.

"I have only met Li Dewu once, and I harbor no deep hatred or fierce enmity toward him. Although we had a conflict, it was because he insulted Miss Pei, which is why I taught him a lesson. Later, I devoted myself entirely to practicing martial arts day in and day out, and I never saw the man again."

Yuwen Chengdu nodded repeatedly.

"I also know this matter has nothing to do with Young Master Zheng. To be honest, I thoroughly despise this Li Dewu—a man devoid of both talent and virtue. I merely wanted to hear Young Master Zheng's view on the matter. Who, in your opinion, would want him dead to the point of needing to keep it a secret?"

Zheng Yanqing scratched his head. "Perhaps he flashed his wealth and became the target of someone?"

"Hmm, that is indeed quite possible... Could there be a possibility that the White-Clothed Maitreya set their sights on the valuables he carried and seized the opportunity to strike last night? Only afterward did they discover his true identity, and fearing the complications, they had him shipped out of Luoyang City to destroy the evidence?"

Zheng Yanqing's eyes lit up.

He could tell that Yuwen Chengdu was providing him with a convenient out.

Although this explanation was not entirely logical, once the White-Clothed Maitreya was dragged into it, who would genuinely pursue the investigation further?

Yet he could not fathom why Yuwen Chengdu was bestowing this favor upon him.

"That is highly probable," Zheng Yanqing replied with a solemn expression.

Yuwen Chengdu smiled. "In that case, I shall report this to the Sili Directorate and settle the case accordingly. Young Master Zheng, thank you!"

Zheng Yanqing hurriedly cupped his fists in a salute and bid farewell to Yuwen Chengdu.

"Yanqing, what was he whispering to you just now?"

On the way back, Xu Shiji asked with curious interest. "That Heavenly Guard General. I've heard he's exceptionally formidable."

"Oh, it's nothing!"

Zheng Yanqing still could not figure out what medicine Yuwen Chengdu was selling in his gourd. However, bestowing unsolicited favors usually meant ulterior motives, so caution was still warranted. The problem he needed to consider right now was how to explain this matter to Dodo and Mao Xiaonian? Dodo had lost the only remaining family she had in this world and would undoubtedly be deeply grieved; as for Mao Xiaonian, she was even more likely to face a domestic tragedy. If she were to learn that the one who killed Mao Wang and his wife was likely her own brother, he wondered whether she would be able to bear it.

At the mere thought of these troubles, Yanqing felt a sharp pain throbbing in his head...

Two women, two tragedies!

No, if the news of Li Dewu's murder spread, he would likely have to face yet another woman: Pei Shuying's interrogation.