The Affairs of the Martial World - Vol 1: Chapter 5

The next day, Zhu Que went to the Lin family’s pharmacy again, only to find it closed. It was estimated that they had realized their whereabouts were exposed, so they left in the middle of the night.

Two days later, when Zhu Que and Li Mizong met, they found that the investigation had made some progress.

The Zhou family rebellion case involved a prince’s rebellion from years ago. The late emperor personally led the troops to suppress the rebellion. After the prince’s army was defeated and he was captured, almost all individuals related to the prince were exterminated up to the ninth generation.

The Zhou family originated from a business background, traveling far and wide and managing a considerable enterprise. Naturally, they dealt with various provinces. While they had no direct connection to the prince, they might have interacted with the prince’s subordinates once in the past and engaged in transactions that later led to accusations of providing supplies for the prince’s rebellion. 

There was a significant element of false accusation in this. The Zhou family was prosperous and virtuous, never having offended anyone. They were falsely accused and reported, likely related to promotions and advancements. In other words, the Zhou family became a stumbling block for someone else’s promotion and wealth; hence, they were framed.

Based on this inference, the person who framed Mr. Zhou in this secret report is most likely in the position that Mr. Zhou was about to be promoted to.

Li Mizong listed the names of three people: Wang Gangxiong, Li Bocai, and Sun Jinzhong. After the Zhou family was wiped out, these three individuals were all promoted to the positions where Mr. Zhou could have been promoted.

Zhu Que also agreed, but with some doubt, saying, “What if this person framed the Zhou family but didn’t get promoted?” 

Li Mizong replied, “There should still be some certainty about this. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be a waste of so much effort only to end up making a wedding dress for someone else (1)?”

Zhu Que nodded and asked, “Have you found out if anyone from the Zhou family survived?”

Li Mizong answered, “According to the execution list, the entire Zhou family has been beheaded, and no survivors have been found.”

Zhu Que asked again, “What unforgivable acts did Duanmu Yingyang commit in participating in the Zhou family’s massacre?”

Li Mizong shook his head and said, “This has not been investigated. He did not do all the searches and arrests alone. His colleagues who worked on the case with him did not find anything suspicious.”

It was strange. Zhu Que knew that Duanmu Yingyang must have done something or obtained something important from the Zhou family to attract such a calamity; only then could it make sense.

He decided to investigate this matter personally. He instructed Li to continue investigating the backgrounds of Wang, Li, and Sun because once the person who falsely accused the Zhou family was identified, that person would also be in danger. With the support of the White Lotus Sect for the surviving members of the Zhou family, no one dared to underestimate them.

After Li had left, he summoned his subordinates who were investigating in the east of the city. Several of them said, “We have checked all the inns and brothels in the east, but we have not seen any suspicious individuals.”

Zhu Que estimated that even if the murderer had stayed in the east of the city, they should have fled long ago after successfully killing Duanmu Yingyang.

Zhu Que instructed his subordinates to continue investigating the White Lotus Sect in the capital and its surrounding areas to see if they could find anything. He specifically mentioned two female disciples and asked them to inquire about their identities. He then described the appearance of the two women to his subordinates and sent them on their way.

These subordinates were all assigned to him by the Second Young Master and were all from the Wang Residence, making it particularly easy for them to carry out tasks.

That night, Zhu Que changed into night clothes and went to Duanmu Yingyang’s residence to investigate. Duanmu Yingyang’s residence was in Willow Tree Alley, a rather inconspicuous quadrangle courtyard.

It was late at night, and with his skills, no one noticed him. He flipped over the back wall and entered without a sound, arriving safely at Duanmu Yingyang’s study room.

Since Duanmu Yingyang was killed, no one had been there. By the moonlight, one could see a layer of dust on the desk.

Zhu Que stood in the study room, looking around, but there was nothing conspicuous. Thinking to himself, if I were Duanmu Yingyang, where would I hide something that must be kept secret?

He casually picked up the inkstone on the desk, weighed it in his hand, found no gap, and was about to put it down when he suddenly saw a handprint on the inkstone. The inkstone had not been used for a long time, covered in dust. If someone touched it, it would leave a very obvious mark. This indicated that someone like himself had also used this inkstone after Duanmu Yingyang’s death. But was it someone from the family or someone else, like himself, who also wanted to find out the secret of Duanmu Yingyang?

With the reminder of the handprint on the inkstone, Zhu Que kept keen eyes as he looked around the study room. Sure enough, he saw several traces of being searched by someone. If it were a family member of Duanmu Yingyang came here to look for things, they wouldn’t just search these places. It must be someone with the same purpose as him.

In places that have been searched by others, there was no point in searching again. If something was hidden, it should have been taken away by now. Even if there was nothing, searching again would yield the same result. One could only hope that those who came before him did not find anything.

Zhu Que circled the study room but found nothing strange, and no hollow sounds were heard from the underground.

The study room of Duanmu Yingyang was simple: a desk, two chairs, and two rows of bookshelves against the back wall, one on each side, with a gap of four to five feet in the middle. A landscape painting was hanging on the wall, and some historical and literary works were on the bookshelves, but the books were all new, obviously never been read. Duanmu Yingyang’s arrangement seemed to be for the sake of appearing cultured.

Zhu Que lifted the painting, revealing a wall behind it with no hidden door. The cabinets under the bookshelves had also been searched through. At first glance, there seemed to be no place in the study room that could hide a secret.

To return empty-handed, he felt somewhat dissatisfied. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that Duanmu Yingyang had left something behind. After searching all around to no avail, a sudden thought struck him. He looked up and saw that the roof comprised a large beam and several crossbeams. The large beam was a square pine wood, one foot in size, and about fifteen feet high from the ground. It would be difficult for an ordinary person to climb up without a ladder. With Duanmu Yingyang’s skills, it wouldn’t be difficult to go up and leave something behind, significantly since Zhu Que’s lightness skills surpassed his by quite a lot. 

With a leap, Zhu Que grabbed the crossbeam. He looked up, and there were indeed two packages. He reached out, took them, and then descended, placing the packages on the desk.

Both packages were wrapped in oilcloth, one large and one small. Opening the large one, it was filled with silver bills, ranging from one hundred to two hundred taels, some new and some old, stacked thickly, probably totaling over ten thousand taels. It was unclear where Duanmu Yingyang obtained them from, but one thing was certain – it was not through legitimate means, nor was it a one-time acquisition.

With Duanmu Yingyang’s statue, it was likely that the information he obtained was either looted or extorted from those he captured. Zhu Que couldn’t help but remember the junior sister of that white-clad woman who called him despicable and shameless. It seemed that she might not have been wrong after all.

Opening the small bundle, inside was a booklet resembling an account book. Upon opening it, there were names of people and places. The first one written was Zhang Saier, whom Zhu Que knew of. She was the former leader of the White Lotus Sect and disappeared without a trace after the failed rebellion. Written next to her name was West Lake. The next name was Zhang Yudie, also followed by West Lake. Followed by were Yin Wuxing in Jinan Prefecture, Bai Gongqing in Dezhou Prefecture, Liu Yidao in Taiyuan Prefecture, and so on.

Zhu Que’s heart raced as he read through the booklet, realizing it contained the names and locations of various leaders of the White Lotus Sect. He wondered where Duanmu Yingyang got it from. If it fell into the hands of the authorities, it would spell disaster for the White Lotus Sect.

Zhu Que did not dare stay any longer. He combined the two packages into one, put it in his arms, and quietly left.

(1) making a wedding dress for someone else — being used as a pawn or a scapegoat