Chapter 64
- Home
- The Imperial Preceptor of Great Sui Dynasty
- Chapter 64 - A Basketful of Strange Events
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
“Dead?”
Lu Liangsheng shifted his gaze from the Toad Daoist to Zuo Zhengyang, who sat opposite him. He didn’t appear to be making light of the situation.
After a brief pause, the scholar’s smile faded, and he furrowed his brow.
“Chief Constable, did you kill him?”
Even Sun Yingxian, lounging under the eaves, glanced over, his eyes fixed on Zuo Zhengyang beside the painting frame.
The latter shook his head, his voice heavy. “It wasn’t me… I uphold the law when handling cases. Even if I resorted to harsh methods, I wouldn’t randomly kill someone.”
A few pine needles drifted down from the treetops, carried by the cool breeze. They fell silently between the two men as they exchanged looks. When they hit the ground, Lu Liangsheng smiled, sat across from Zuo Zhengyang, and picked up his brush again.
“Chief Constable doesn’t think I did it, do you?”
“You’ve had a past… but never mind, no need to bring that up.”
Zuo Zhengyang waved his hand dismissively, quickly steadying himself as he shifted his large frame on the low stool, which was awkward for someone of his size. Once he settled, he continued.
“I’m not actually suspecting you. It’s just that Daoist Yangming’s death was quite strange.”
Lu Liangsheng’s focus shifted to the painting in front of him, feeling the cultivation energy the art was providing. His hand moved swiftly, outlining the scales on the long, serpentine body in precise strokes, but his voice was calm as he replied.
“How did the Daoist die?”
After all, the two of them had exchanged blows the previous night. If it hadn’t been for the element of surprise and ‘overwhelming’ numbers, Lu Liangsheng wasn’t sure he would have been able to stand against such an experienced rogue cultivator—at least not at this stage.
Zuo Zhengyang recalled the scene from that morning. Even someone as accustomed to death as him felt a slight chill.
“He died on the torture rack. No one touched him at the time. The Daoist screamed in agony for a few moments, and then his skin, flesh, and bones burst apart.”
Lu Liangsheng’s brush froze on the page as he completed the last scale on the serpent’s body. He frowned.
No one touched him, and his body exploded?
…This sounds similar to when I killed Chen Yaoke.
Lowering the brush, Lu Liangsheng turned his head toward Zuo Zhengyang. “Did you notice anything unusual on his body?”
Under the eaves, Sun Yingxian, who had been lounging in the sun, couldn’t help but prop himself up and chuckle at this question.
“This kind of malicious spell isn’t uncommon, but it’s not exactly rare either. Chief Constable Zuo, you’d best think it over carefully.”
Zuo Zhengyang, tall and imposing, pressed his hands onto his knees, sinking into silence.
Meanwhile, on the small table nearby, the Toad Daoist glanced around with his bulging eyes. Spotting a soup bowl in front of him, he hesitated for a moment but eventually propped himself up and crawled toward it to peek inside.
Only some leftover soup residue remained.
“So wasteful…”
The Toad Daoist clicked his tongue, turning his head slightly to the side.
“No, how could someone of my stature stoop to this…”
Thud!
Suddenly, a loud noise startled the toad, causing him to slip and land face-first into the leftover soup at the bottom of the bowl. His toad eyes widened as he stared at the remnants, and through gritted lips, he muttered.
“Unbelievable… such humiliation…”
The remaining soup spread over his lips, and then… he couldn’t help but lick it up.
On the other side of the courtyard, Zuo Zhengyang slapped his thigh as something came to mind. He spoke up, oblivious to the toad with its head half-buried in the bowl on the small table.
“Now that I think about it, there was something strange. Everything the Daoist had on him was confiscated, but the only odd thing was a peculiar mark on his chest.”
“What kind of mark?” At the mention of symbols or drawings, Lu Liangsheng’s interest was piqued.
Zuo Zhengyang paused, as if trying to find the right words, but then shook his head.
“I can’t describe it exactly, but I remember what it looked like. Let me borrow your brush.”
Taking the strange-handled brush from Lu Liangsheng, he began sketching on a blank piece of paper. Lu Liangsheng stood to the side, watching as he carefully outlined the shape.
“Five lanterns?”
“Five fireballs!!” Zuo Zhengyang put down the brush, staring intently at the drawing. “The mark on the Daoist’s body was vivid, with the fireballs bright red, arranged in a circle. I suspect it might be the emblem of a cultivation sect. Am I right?”
Lu Liangsheng had a sense of why the chief constable had come to him.
Lu Liangsheng shook his head with a smile, saying: “I’m afraid I can’t be of much help. This is the first time I’ve seen such a symbol. I’ve always been in Fushui County.”
Both men then turned their gaze toward Sun Yingxian under the eaves. The Daoist snorted and turned his head away.
“Don’t look at me, I have no idea either.”
The lead had gone cold.
Zuo Zhengyang glanced at the two, realizing that Lu Liangsheng had likely never left Fushui County and probably wouldn’t know anything about it.
Forget it, just treat it as a headless case.
“That’s right.” When he was about to leave, he remembered that there was a master behind the scholar, and he quickly asked: “… Liangsheng, what about your master? Where is he? Could he know something about this symbol?”
The atmosphere in the courtyard became a bit tense. The Daoist under the eaves felt his heart skip a beat. But Lu Liangsheng quickly responded, escorting the big man toward the exit while saying:
“My master is far away, residing in the Qixia mountains, dedicated to cultivation and detached from worldly affairs. Surely, Chief Constable Zuo, you wouldn’t suspect my master, would you?”
“This… of course not.”
Lu Liangsheng casually walked past the painting frame, his long sleeves brushing against it as he placed his hands behind his back. He gazed at the pine branches stretching over the courtyard wall, with beams of light dancing between the shadows, dust swirling in the air.
“Actually, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for Chief Constable to harbor doubts. But my master, though wise and knowledgeable, has a cold and aloof nature. He is like a lone rock atop the clouds on a mountain peak, overlooking the rise and fall of the valleys below…”
As he spoke softly and calmly, the toad on the low table poked its head out of the soup bowl, glancing around cautiously before diving back in, hastily licking up the remnants.
As he walked ahead, his voice continued.
“…Moreover, he rarely interacts with people. Even if you manage to find him in the mountains, you might not meet him, and worse, you could provoke his temper and be chased down the mountain.”
Zuo Zhengyang, listening to the refined way he spoke, felt a slight tingle on his scalp and could only sigh: “Reclusive masters naturally have such temperaments.”
With that, he cupped his hands toward the scholar and the Daoist under the eaves, bidding farewell.
“I’ll take my leave here. One more thing: there have been several murders outside the city recently. The victims were all scholars on their way to the imperial examinations. Rumors in the countryside say it’s the work of a fox spirit. If you plan to leave the city, be cautious. Farewell!”
Lu Liangsheng watched Zuo Zhengyang’s departing figure, a look of puzzlement crossing his face.
“Could Zhang Dongming’s son, who was bewitched by a fox spirit, be related to these cases? No wonder I saw him leading a patrol through the streets that night after investigating the Zhou Residence—it must’ve been to look into the murders outside the city.”
He suddenly recalled his encounter with the four scholars being chased by a fox spirit while he was on his way to He Valley Prefecture, staying at the mountain god’s temple.
Taking an exam seems to come with all sorts of strange experiences.
However, I gained a lot of knowledge during this trip.
Lu Liangsheng smiled to himself, then turned back toward the courtyard, only now noticing the Toad Daoist sprawled by the soup bowl.
“Master, what are you doing…”
The toad, whose long tongue had been frantically lapping at the soup residue, slowly straightened up, folding his webbed hands together as he responded solemnly.“Liangsheng, my disciple, we must always remember the hardships we’ve endured and not forget our roots. Back when I hadn’t yet embarked on the path of cultivation, I came from a poor family. A single meal was a blessing. We mustn’t waste food.”
The toad jumped down from the low table, licked his lips, and began plodding toward the eaves with a dignified tone.
“Remember, to cultivate the Dao, you must first cultivate yourself!”
Lu Liangsheng’s mouth twitched, and he cupped his hands, bowing slightly.
“Yes… Liangsheng understands.”
Just as he straightened up, a sudden wave of heat surged through his abdomen, and in an instant, sweat broke out across his face. The world around him seemed to spin, and Lu Liangsheng staggered forward, grasping onto the painting frame for support.
“What’s happening…”
Under the eaves, the Daoist, about to call out “Old Toad”, noticed the scene and abruptly changed his words, shouting instead, “What’s wrong with you?!”
Inside the house, Honglian peeked out from behind the painting, her gaze passing through the lattice window.
“Young master…”
Outside, the painting frame in Lu Liangsheng’s grasp cracked and splintered into pieces with a sharp sound, and his body collapsed onto the ground with it.