The Affairs of the Martial World - Vol 1 - Strange Events of the Wang Residence: Chapter 1

Where there are people, there is Jianghu; where there is Jianghu, there will be right and wrong, and between right and wrong, there will be a struggle between good and evil. 

Many people think that the imperial court and Jianghu are two distant ends far away from us. In fact, Jianghu and the imperial court are right beside us. 

The Six Gates is a department that thrives between the imperial court and the martial world, it benefits from both sides. It is said that this department was established during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, maintaining the dignity of the imperial court and the peace of the martial world. Upholding the court’s dignity brings power to the Six Gates while maintaining peace in the martial world brings money to the Six Gates.

Power and money, are they not the very soil that nourishes evil?

Our story begins with the Six Gates……

In the Six Gates, talents like Duanmu Yingyang were very rare.

In the eyes of the public, he was upright and incorruptible, never accepting bribes. He was highly skilled in martial arts, solving many cases single-handedly. He was thoughtful and thorough, able to spot suspicious points that others overlooked.

In the prominent household of Wangjing, the Sutu’en family owned an ancestral jade horse bestowed by the former emperor. It was carefully preserved but unexpectedly stolen. If the emperor found out about the missing jade horse, there would surely be consequences.

In order to retrieve the jade horse, the Sutu’en bribed the chief of the Ministry of Justice to send out investigators under a different pretext. The chief assigned Duanmu Yingyang to investigate the case. 

In less than three days, Duanmu Yingyang had already found the jade horse and brought it back in one piece. However, he killed the thief who stole it. According to Duanmu Yingyang’s explanation, this was to prevent the jade horse from being damaged so no one was left alive.

Upon achieving this accomplishment, his superiors prepared to promote him, and all his colleagues had no objections.

However, he died, died in a seemingly insignificant small case.

Near the eastern gate of the capital city, it was a gathering place for the poor residents and a common site for theft and fights. Here, taverns, pharmacies, brothels, and pawn shops were numerous, making it quite bustling. The prices of various goods were also very low, making it a place for the poor commoners to conduct business.

As evening approached, the yamen received a report that the Lin family’s pharmacy shopkeeper had been beaten by a group of people. It was a matter that could have been easily resolved by sending a few constables from the yamen. However, when the constables arrived at the Lin family’s pharmacy to inquire, the shopkeeper stubbornly refused to admit to being assaulted. Unable to proceed, the constables had no choice but to return and close the case.

At the time of closing the case, Duanmu Yingyang happened to be present;  he temporarily postponed the closure and decided to investigate it personally.

As a result, he never returned.

At first, the yamen did not pay much attention, thinking that Duanmu Yingyang had not found anything and might have gone elsewhere to drink. However, during the early shift the following day, Duanmu Yingyang still had not returned. People were sent to his house to inquire, and his family said he had not returned all night. Only then did the yamen realize something was wrong, and the chief sent out several constables to search outside.

Two days later, at the Tiger Hill outside the city, Duanmu Yingyang’s body was found.

Duanmu Yingyang was killed by a sword strike to his throat. In terms of his martial arts skills, being able to directly face Duanmu Yingyang and seal his throat, there are few in the entire martial arts world who could achieve that.

The most capable person in the Ministry of Justice’s Six Gates encountered trouble, and all the personnel were dispatched to investigate the case.

After toiling for more than ten days and consulting many martial artists from other regions, not a single person could provide any clues. The murderer’s methods were extremely sophisticated, leaving no trace to follow.

It was at this moment that Li Mizong was transferred from the criminal department in Jizhou to take over Duanmu Yingyang’s case.

He first found the shopkeeper of the Lin family’s pharmacy, Lin Chuntang.

Lin Chuntang had a kind and honest appearance, a typical image of a businessman, and always wore a smile on his face. He spoke diplomatically, never offending anyone, a person who knew how to get along with everyone.

If an ordinary person came to ask him something, they might not get any useful information after being dealt with by him perfunctorily. But who is Li Mizong? Since he was sent to investigate such a critical case, he naturally had a set of skills that made people speak honestly.

Soon, Li Mizong learned about what happened that day from Lin Chuntang.

On that day, several dandies came to buy medicine. They needed a large quantity of medicine for treating sword and knife wounds, which should have been reported to the authorities according to regulations. However, those young masters were extremely arrogant. Not only did they refuse to report to the officials, but they also beat up Shopkeeper Lin and snatched the medicine away.

A passerby reported the incident. Before the constables arrived, someone in the crowd informed Shopkeeper Lin that among those who beat him was someone from the Wang Residence. Not wanting to stir up trouble, Shopkeeper Lin did not tell the constables the truth when they arrived. 

When Duanmu Yingyang arrived, he used some means to threaten to take him back to the prison for interrogation. Shopkeeper Lin had no choice but to explain the situation to him, and then Duanmu Yingyang left.

Given his temperament, he should have gone straight to the Wang Residence at that time. As for how he ended up lying dead on the outskirts later, no one could explain it clearly.

It seems that Duanmu Yingyang was most likely killed because of his connection to the Wang Residence.

After listening to Lin’s account, Li Muzong said, “You’re lying!”

Shopkeeper Lin looked as if he had been wronged, “Every word spoken by this humble one is true. I dare not deceive you, sir.”

Li Mizong saw Shopkeeper Lin trembling in fear and couldn’t think of a reason why he would deceive him.

However, if what the Shopkeeper Lin said was true, there were a few things that he couldn’t understand.

According to what Shopkeeper Lin said, it could be inferred that those living in the Wang Residence were all relatives of the royal family, holding high positions of power. Duanmu Yingyang had always been unafraid of authority, wanting to go in and make arrests, but tragically ended up being killed. It seemed that the situation was very clear now.

However, Li Mizong vaguely felt that the whole thing would not be so simple. Duanmu Yingyang, despite his quick temper, was not reckless. He might not act so rashly just to arrest someone at the Wang Residence for such a trivial matter.

Moreover, even if someone informed Duanmu Yingyang that there was someone from the Wang Residence involved and did not specify which person from the Wang Residence it was, Duanmu Yingyang would not be foolish enough to directly go to the Wang Residence to find someone whose name he did not know.

As for the people of the Wang Residence, although they were known for their domineering ways, they were not as overbearing as the big shots in the martial arts world. In official matters, even if Duanmu Yingyang shows up at their door, with the Wang Residence’s status, they could just drive him out. It would be absurd to have a martial arts master kill him.

So, this matter, seemingly simple, was actually full of loopholes and contradictions.

If Shopkeeper Lin was lying, what was his purpose? If what Shopkeeper said was true, did someone intend to shift the blame to the Wang Residence? Or did Duanyu Yingyang offend someone, get killed, and they deliberately make the situation confusing?

Duanmu Yingyang’s involvement in this matter was purely coincidental, as the murderer had no idea that Duanmu Yingyang would investigate the case. Perhaps even Duanmu Yingyang himself had no definite reason to come and investigate this minor case.

Li Mizong also asked the servants of the Wang Residence privately but did not hear that Duanmu Yingyang had visited that day. Li Mizong thought to himself, indeed, it makes sense.

This case, with no eyewitnesses and no clues, suddenly became a headless case.

Puyu: Thank you for reading chapter one. We are just getting started on a journey of mystery, and more thrilling and bizarre events lie ahead. Please kindly point out any mistakes you spot. Have a nice day.