The Affairs of the Martial World - Vol 1: Chapter 2

On this day, Li Mizong, dressed in ordinary clothes, spent half a day secretly investigating the eastern part of the city but found no results.

By noon, he found a nearby tavern, ordered two dishes, and asked for a pot of wine. As he drank, he observed the people entering and leaving the tavern, and one person dressed in luxurious clothes caught his attention.

The eastern part of the city was where the poor commoners gathered, so most people dressed plainly. However, this person was wearing fine satin clothes, and a folding fan with a jade pendant hanging from it lay on the table beside him, indicating it was not an ordinary item.

The person looked to be around twenty years old, with fair and delicate skin on his hands and face, a handsome appearance that clearly indicated he was not an ordinary commoner but more like a young master from a wealthy family.

The young master-like figure sat alone at a table, with three sets of cups and chopsticks, four cold dishes, and hot dishes being served one after another. It seemed like he was hosting a guest who had yet to arrive.

Li Mizong remembered what Shopkeeper Li had said about the dandies who had bought medicine for injuries and couldn’t help but feel suspicious. 

Not long after, two people arrived in succession and sat at this person’s table.

The two arrivals sat on either side of this person, observing their appearances and clothing; regardless of their status or position, they seemed to be this person’s subordinates.

The two individuals whispered to this young master-like person for a while. This person nodded and then said something to them, seemingly arranging for them to do something.

The tavern was crowded and noisy, yet the three of them deliberately spoke in hushed tones. Li Mizong focused his attention but couldn’t catch a single word. Then, the two of them buried themselves in their meal, and the three fell silent. Li Meizong also ate his meal while discreetly observing.

Before long, the two subordinates finished their meal and hurriedly left.

The young master-like figure only drank a little wine and didn’t eat much.

Li Mizong saw him suddenly stand up, guessing that he was going to pay and leave. Unexpectedly, the man walked straight to his table and said, “Excuse me, are you Li Mizong from the Ministry of Justice? I would like to have a chat with you, Mr. Li.” 

Li Mizong saw the other party calling his name directly, but he did not know the other’s identity. Whether out of curiosity or wanting to see if it was related to the Duanyu Yingyang case, he could not refuse and said, “May I ask how to address you, my friend? How do you know my name?”

The man said, “Please come over for a detailed chat, and I will naturally inform you.” Li Mizong had the waiter move his dishes and drinks to the man’s table, then sat across from him.

Just as he sat down, he heard the man say, “I wonder if Mr. Li is here for the case of Duanmu Yingyang?”

Li Mizong was taken aback, not knowing the other person’s identity, and hesitated to answer rashly for a moment.

The man continued, “Ah, I was too impulsive in asking before revealing my identity. My surname is Zhu, given name Que. I’m a friend of the Wang Residence’s Second Young Master. Knowing that Mr. Li is a colleague of Duanmu Yingyang, your appearance here must be related to this matter. I took the liberty to guess, please don’t be offended.”

Li Mizong suddenly realized that since Duanmu Yingyang’s case was related to the Wang Residence, there was no reason not to inquire about it, regardless of whether the people from the Wang Residence were involved in the case.

He has heard that the Second Young Master was capable and astute. If this case had nothing to do with them, for the sake of the Wang family’s reputation, they would definitely send someone to investigate the matter thoroughly. If they were related to this case, the appearance of this person at this moment in this place may be harboring some ill intentions. The name Zhu Que sounded familiar, but he couldn’t recall where he had heard it.

Zhu Que seemed to understand his thoughts and said, “Please do not misunderstand, Duanmu Yingyang’s death has nothing to do with the Second Young Master. I am here firstly to investigate this matter and secondly because of a strange incident that recently occurred in the Wang Residence. It is unlikely to be a coincidence, and I fear it may be related to this case, so I am here to inquire.”

Li Mizong really wanted to ask what strange things were happening, but he felt that the secrets of the Wang Residence were not suitable for outsiders to inquire about, so he hesitated. Zhu Que understood his intentions and said, “The Second Young Master asked me to thoroughly investigate this matter, with the intention of making it known that there is nothing to hide and to show the innocence of the Wang Residence. Therefore, I also want to hear Mr. Li’s opinion on the strange occurrences in the Wang Residence.”

Li Mizong’s mind was focused on the name ‘Zhu Que,’ and for a moment, he didn’t hear what the other was saying. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he remembered who the other person was.

Two years ago, around the Qingming Festival, there was a case of framing injustice in HD County. The county yamen imprisoned the innocent man Gu Sheng. Gu Sheng’s father went to the yamen to plead for justice, only to be scolded in the courtroom and punished by wearing a cangue outside the yamen for three days.

Gu Sheng’s father was elderly and could not bear such torture. After half a day, he fainted, but the county magistrate showed no mercy.

Many people spread rumors that Mr. Guan was ruthless because he took someone else’s money. Little did they know, that very night, Gu Sheng’s father was swapped with someone else.

Early the next day, the onlookers discovered that the person wearing the cangue had turned into the county magistrate, and it took a great effort for the yamen runners to unlock the cangue. When asked what had happened, he found it inexplicable as well, saying he had been sleeping soundly at home and woke up with the cangue on, standing at the yamen gate, while Gu Sheng’s father was nowhere to be found.

Mr. Guan believed it was a trick played by Gu Sheng, so he brought Gu Sheng from the prison to the court for a strict interrogation. However, Gu Sheng presented a handwritten letter from the person who falsely accused him, leading to the case being overturned and Gu Sheng being released on the spot.

Shortly after Gu Sheng was released, rumors spread that this incident was orchestrated by someone in the martial arts world known as Zhu Que. As for how he managed to switch the people and get the false accusation letter delivered to Gu Sheng in prison, it remained unknown, but Zhu Que’s name began to spread among the people.

In another incident, in Wudi County, Shandong Province, a bully named Zhou Zheng tyrannized the village, causing many to seethe in silence. Eventually, he targeted his neighbor, Scholar Sun. Living next to each other, Zhou Zheng seized Scholar Sun’s property to expand his courtyard.

Sholar Sun wanted to report to the official but was intercepted by Zhou Zheng halfway. In front of Scholar Sun’s elderly mother, Zhou Zheng broke his leg. Shocked by this incident, Scholar Sun’s elderly mother fell ill upon returning home due to distress.

The people around all knew about this incident, but none dared to speak out. 

Over a month passed, Scholar Sun and his mother were lying in the only remaining room, relying on kind neighbors to bring them food to survive. Suddenly, Zhou Zheng gathered the neighbors from all around, knelt in front of the two, confessed his wrongdoings in front of everyone, and invited a doctor to treat the mother and son. He also built a new house for Scholar Sun and promised not to bully the neighbors again in the future.

Later, according to Zhou Zheng’s drunken confession, this matter was also done by someone named Zhu Que, as for how it was done, it was not very clear.

Li Mizong had heard many such things before, thinking they were just ignorant villagers’ hearsay, or perhaps Zhu Que was just a fabricated figure created by the commoners to embody the good wishes of the weak and vulnerable populace.

He never expected to actually see Zhu Que in person today, a young man with the appearance of a noble son. He wondered how Zhu Que was related to the young master of the Wang Residence.

With this in mind, his expression couldn’t help but turn serious. As he listened to Zhu Que recounting the strange occurrences in the Wang Residence, the more he heard, the more bizarre it became. He inadvertently put aside Zhu Que’s affairs.