The Affairs of the Martial World - Vol 1: Chapter 3

Several days ago, one night, around midnight, when the servants had already rested, the Second Young Master, a night owl, was reading in the study room. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a woman singing coming from the backyard. The voice was faint, the lyrics barely audible, but he could vaguely tell it was a song about a wife missing her deceased husband.

To explain this, it was necessary to talk about the layout of the Wang Residence.

The Wang Residence was built on the land granted by the former emperor, covering more than forty acres, facing east and west, with the main gate on the east side. Apart from the main courtyard where the Wangs reside, there were six independent small courtyards. Each pair of courtyards was arranged side by side, with the main gate as the central axis, divided on both sides. Including the large rear courtyard at the far west, there were a total of five sections from front to back.

Although the residence of the Second Young Master was a small courtyard, it was much larger than the courtyards of ordinary wealthy families.

As the Second Young Master preferred tranquility, his courtyard was located at the northern end of the last section, at the northwest corner of the entire residence compound. The courtyard was a quadrangle, with the main building at the westernmost side. The main building consisted of two floors, where the Second Young Master resided on a daily basis. The first floor served as the living room, while the second floor was the study room. To the north of the main building were the rooms where several concubines reside, and to the south were the living quarters of the servants.

The courtyard at the southwest corner adjacent to the Second Young Master’s residence originally belonged to the Fifth Young Master. However, since the Fifth Young Master passed away due to illness at thirteen, the courtyard has remained vacant and unoccupied ever since.

The Second Young Master listened to the sorrow and melodic singing, unsure of the singer’s identity. The voice was unfamiliar, likely not someone he usually encountered. He opened the back window of his study room, under the moonlight shone into his small backyard, he looked around, but there was no one in sight.

The singing voice was faint as if it was coming from the rear courtyard of the Wang Residence.

The Second Young Master frequented that place often. The rear courtyard of the Wang Residence was a garden with a pond in the middle, surrounded by flowers and trees. There was a pavilion in the center of the pond and a rockery by its side. The Second Young Master usually went there to drink tea, read, and play chess with friends. The surroundings were shaded by lush trees, making it a pleasant place in the warm spring and cool summer.

But at this midnight hour, when the rear courtyard should have been deserted, the sound of a woman’s singing could be heard, which, upon closer thought, sent shivers down one’s spine.

The Second Young Master immediately woke several servants and went to the rear courtyard with lanterns to check but found no one. The singing voice was also gone.

The Second Young Master thought he had misheard, so he returned to bed. Little did he know that the next night, the singing came again, and the servants also heard it this time. Without waiting for the Second Young Master’s call, several people went to check, but the singing vanished immediately, and no one was seen.

The servants’ quarters were now rumored to be haunted. The Second Young Master, however, did not believe in such superstitions. The same thing happened again on the third night.

On the fourth night, the Second Young Master lit a lamp in the rear courtyard and waited, but by midnight, he no longer heard the singing. Thinking the matter was over, on the fifth night, he heard the singing again; feeling annoyed, he sent a few servants to guard the yard, and from then on, there was no more sound.

Initially, this incident was not considered strange, but among the servants guarding the rear courtyard, there was one named Zhang Beicheng who suddenly died in a mysterious way. It was deemed mysterious because, at that time, he was chatting with others, and then he suddenly leaned against a pillar in the pavilion and stopped speaking. The others thought he had fallen asleep, but when someone nudged him, he immediately fell to the ground. Only then did they realize he was already dead. When they carried him back to the house for examination, there were no signs of injury on his body. Moreover, in full view of everyone, he died suddenly. The other servants dared not go to the rear courtyard again, all saying a ghost killed him.

The singing could be heard intermittently afterward.

The Second Young Master and Zhu Que discussed this matter and found it very strange. The Second Young Master believed that it was not the work of ghosts but rather the work of humans. Since humans did it, there must be a motive behind it, and it would not be so laborious without any reason.

Following that, there was the inexplicable incident of Duanmu Yingyang’s murder, inexplicably linked to the Wang Residence. Therefore, the Second Young Master asked his good friend Zhu Que to investigate.

After Li Mizong listened, he asked, “Did Zhang Beicheng’s old illness flare up?”

Zhu Que said, “I know this Zhang Beicheng. He looks strong and healthy, definitely not someone who is sick.”

Li Mizong was also puzzled. The Second Young Master was right. The likelihood of human involvement in this strange matter was relatively high, with a hidden agenda. However, the exact motive was yet to be revealed. Since the Second Young Master believed that this matter was related to Duanyu Yingyang’s murder, there must be a reason.

He felt there must be some concealment in what Zhu Que said, but there was no direct evidence to prove otherwise. Besides, the Wang Residence always had some things that were not suitable for outsiders to know, so he didn’t feel comfortable asking too much.

Li Mizong asked, “I wonder if Brother has discovered anything in the past few days?”

Zhu Que said, “If we haven’t found anything at all, we would be failing the Second Young Master’s trust. This matter is probably related to the White Lotus Sect.”

“What?” Li Mizong was surprised and said, “I wonder why Brother is saying that?”

You should know that the White Lotus Sect was a rebellious force that often rose during dynastic changes. It had the ability to sway people’s hearts and overthrow the court. After the establishment of the new dynasty, the White Lotus Sect disappeared from the political scene.

In several dynasties, there were monarchs who originated from the White Lotus Sect. However, after ascending the throne, they often ruthlessly massacred the followers of the White Lotus Sect, probably to break free from the sect’s control.

Zhu Que said, “In the current martial arts world, there are many who can kill Duanmu Yingyangand and many who can directly confront him. However, those who can use a sword to seal the throat with such fierce and ruthless swordsmanship, not needing a second move, are few and far between in the martial world. As far as I know, these few individuals were not in the capital that day. According to the scouts, a group of White Lotus Sect members have been active nearby recently, but no skilled individuals have been found. Tell me, what do you think is going on?”

Li Mizong said, “There are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the White Lotus Sect, and there is no lack of nameless experts in the sect. They keep a low profile, so they are mostly unknown in the martial world. However, do you have any basis to believe that this matter is related to them?”

Zhu Que said, “I heard that the minions who found Duanmu Yingyang said that his corpse was found kneeling after death, facing south, which is somewhat similar to the legendary execution method of the White Lotus Sect.”

Li Mizong nodded and said, “It’s not impossible that someone did this intentionally. The cases investigated by Duanmu Yingyang in the Six Gates do not seem to be related to the White Lotus Sect. Why would the White Lotus Sect go to such lengths to harm a yamen runner?”

Zhu Que said, “I can’t figure it out either. Could it be related to his secret activities? Let’s put that aside for now. I have found some clues about the strange occurrences at the Wang Residence.”

When it came to this, Zhu Que hesitated a bit, unsure whether to confess to Li Mizong, but finally made up his mind and continued, “The singing that appeared in the Wang Residence’s rear courtyard at midnight seems to be a kind of evil spell from the White Lotus Sect. However, the mention of a deceased husband in the song seems to point to something, so I started investigating potential suspects who might have been wrongfully killed. I inquired at the Ministry of Justice about the criminals executed in the past six months. Nine White Lotus Sect members were among them, but their crimes were unrelated to this. They were mostly guilty of heinous crimes and did not seem to have been wronged. The only one suspected of being wrong is an official surnamed Zhou, who was falsely accused of aiding thieves and rebels, resulting in his whole family being implicated. Duanmu Yingyang was also involved in this matter, so I suspect his death is related to this case. Could it be that something unjust was done during the investigation of the Zhou family case? But the Zhou family has no connection to the White Lotus Sect.”

Li Mizong seemed to have some insights. The Second Young Master detested evil like an enemy and loved to uphold justice. The person behind this may be a descendant of the Zhou family who escaped punishment during the persecution. They hoped the Second Young Master could speak for them and help clear their names.

But why did they play tricks and kill the Second Young Master’s servant?

For a moment, he couldn’t understand the reason behind it. Although he and Duanmu Yingyang worked in the Ministry of Justice, they were not under each other’s command. He also heard that Duanmu was upright and honest, so he never doubted him.

After pondering for a while, Li Mizong said, “Duanmu Yingyang came here before disappearing without a trace. So, you suspect he was murdered nearby, and his body was dumped outside at night. It’s very likely that the relatives of the Zhou family who have not been brought to justice are also around here, so they sent someone to investigate this place. As for the incident at the pharmacy, I’m afraid it’s not a coincidence.”

This reminded Zhu Que of something. He felt a stir in his heart, thinking Lin, the pharmacy’s shopkeeper, was probably more than just a shopkeeper. It seemed necessary to investigate further.

Zhu Que said, “You are from the Six Gates of the Ministry of Justice, which should make it easier to investigate the old cases. I hope you can find a way to identify the person behind the Zhou family’s secret report. This person should be crucial. Also, find out what Duanmu Yingyang did during the investigation of the Zhou family. Furthermore, the list of those executed from the Zhou family should still be at the Ministry of Justice. While you’re at it, check who from the Zhou family might have escaped death by chance. This will also shed light on the mysteries of the Wang Residence. Let’s each investigate separately, gather clues, and connect all these events together.”

Li Mizong hesitated a bit before agreeing. Although Zhu Que was not his superior, he was still someone from the Wang Second Young Master’s side with the actual authority to assign him tasks.

Zhu Que knew that Li had sensed that he was hiding something, but he didn’t expose it. They agreed on a way to contact each other again and then went their separate ways to investigate.