Chapter 258: Closing the Case

Tang Wanhong stood beside the rockery, watching the back of Ruan Fengshan as he shuffled away with a profound look in his eyes.

Shen Yanliu glanced at him and said, "Wanhong, it seems this person is indeed not one of them."

"If Ruan Fengshan were also of the Filthy Blood Sect, this case would be huge," Tang Wanhong said. "However, Ruan Fengshan's great-grandfather was once an Outer Sect Disciple of the Taiyi Sect, and they have been gentry for generations. The possibility of someone with his status joining the Filthy Blood Sect was never high to begin with."

Shen Yanliu nodded. He looked at his own iron hand; having tested it himself, he knew it better than anyone. "Then let us close this case as we discussed."

The next day, the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month.

Just as the sky was beginning to brighten, several clerks in the Ya Men posted the case-closing notices at the Ya Men entrance and beside the city gates.

Luan Jingfu and Wei Yutian were both followers of the Filthy Blood Sect, and their relatives and servants were all to be punished for the same crime.

The notice omitted the part about Duan Rong's report, changing it to say that a secret agent planted by Shen Yanliu had infiltrated Wei Yutian's residence as a Miscellaneous Servant, discovered Wei Yutian's identity as a Filthy Blood Sect follower in secret, and thus uncovered this Filthy Blood Case.

This was Tang Wanhong's suggestion; in this way, the credit for the case could go entirely to Shen Yanliu.

What was originally an incidental event had become Shen Yanliu deploying secret agents, taking the initiative to strike, and destroying an important stronghold of the Filthy Blood Sect. Although it was only a change in detail, the nature of the entire case was now completely different.

Another point in the notice specifically mentioned Sun Huang.

Luan Jingfu was actually killed by the Ninefold Branch Helmsman, Yu Lieting, but in the notice, both Luan Jingfu and Wei Yutian were captured and killed by Shen Yanliu personally. This was naturally to further exaggerate Shen Yanliu's meritorious service.

Moreover, Luan Jingfu was killed in the wilderness with no witnesses; as for who exactly killed Luan Jingfu, wasn't that up to the stroke of a pen in the Ya Men?

However, after handling it this way, there was still one loophole: the problem of Sun Huang.

Sun Huang was actually also killed by people from the Filthy Blood Sect's Ninefold Branch, but since the credit for slaying Luan Jingfu had been claimed for Shen Yanliu, the people from the Filthy Blood Sect's Ninefold Branch could not appear in the case details.

And if one were to say Sun Huang was an accomplice of Luan Jingfu, there was clearly insufficient evidence. This case was significant, and according to custom, for any case involving the Filthy Blood Sect, the Sect would definitely send Outer Sect Disciples to re-examine and audit it. If Sun Huang were counted as a Filthy Blood Sect accomplice, there would clearly be questions of framing; handling it this way was somewhat improper. If they were blamed by the auditors because of this point, the loss would outweigh the gain.

This case was very important for Shen Yanliu's promotion; not a single mistake could occur.

And in the notice, the wording regarding Sun Huang was as follows.

Shen Yanliu forced Luan Jingfu to use the Filthy Blood Divine Art; Sun Huang recognized Luan Jingfu's identity as a Filthy Blood Sect follower and, acting with great righteousness without regard for his own safety, immediately joined Shen Yanliu in pincer-attacking Luan Jingfu, only to be killed by Luan Jingfu in his death throes!

The season at this time was the twelfth lunar month, when dripping water turned to ice. The corpses of Luan Jingfu, Wei Yutian, and Sun Huang had originally all been frozen into corpse-ice, in preparation for inspection by the Sect Emissary during the re-examination.

But now, the handling of Sun Huang had changed!

Since Sun Huang was innocent and had performed a meritorious deed, his corpse could not be treated this way. That would be too heartless.

The Ya Men prepared a coffin that very day, and after thawing the corpse-ice, they stitched up Sun Huang's body.

After Sun Huang's body was properly encoffined, Clerk Qin took soldiers to deliver it to Sun Huang's home personally.

When Liu Eying saw her husband's corpse, she felt as if she were dreaming. A few days ago, he had been perfectly fine, and suddenly they were separated by life and death. Today was the Little New Year, and the neighbors were all in the midst of lively preparations for the New Year, yet disaster had struck her home, and she had suffered this calamity. The more Liu Eying thought about it, the sadder she became; leaning against the coffin, she wept in utter agony...

Duan Rong naturally saw the notice as well. Although Sun Huang's death made him sigh incessantly, the case details stated in the notice did not mention his name, which made Duan Rong breathe a sigh of relief in secret.

He was truly afraid of being targeted by the Filthy Blood Sect because of this matter.

Duan Rong was now most concerned about Ruan Fengshan's movements, because he knew very well that Ruan Fengshan was the Helmsman of the Filthy Blood Sect's Xiangu Branch. However, after Ruan Fengshan met with Shen Yanliu, he focused solely on recovering from his injuries and closed his doors to visitors; even when Xiao Zongting went to visit, he was turned away.

Duan Rong could not fathom Ruan Fengshan's intentions for the time being.

At noon on the day the Ya Men posted the case-closing notice, Xie Daohan returned to the city on horseback with Yang Zhen.

There was no trace of travel dust on Xie Daohan's face; instead, he was glowing with health.

He had taken Yang Zhen, claiming they were going to the Prefecture City on official business, but in reality, it was entirely a publicly funded vacation of eating and drinking. After finishing their official business at the Surveillance Commissioner Office, the two had actually lingered in the Prefecture City for two days, visiting several scenic spots and eating at several restaurants.

On the journey back, they did not treat themselves poorly either, having the best food and lodging.

Xie Daohan could be considered skilled at calculation; he had timed the days specifically to return on the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month to spend the Little New Year's Eve at home.

As the two rode into the city gate, Xie Daohan saw at a glance that many people were gathered around the notice at the gate, discussing it animatedly.

Xie Daohan and Yang Zhen immediately dismounted and went to look at the notice.

Upon seeing it, Xie Daohan was shocked.

"Filthy Blood Sect?"

"Wei Yutian? Luan Jingfu?"

After Xie Daohan finished reading the case details on the notice, he immediately regretted it so much he slapped his thigh. Having enjoyed himself for several days outside, he hadn't expected to miss such a major case; this was truly gaining a sesame seed but losing a watermelon.

As the Head Constable of Xiangu County, his name wasn't even on the case-closing notice for this Filthy Blood Case.

Xie Daohan and Yang Zhen immediately rushed back to the Ya Men.

When Xie Daohan arrived at the Ya Men, he learned upon asking that early this morning, the County Magistrate Shen Yanliu had personally taken the case-closing documents and rushed to the Prefecture City.

Xie Daohan was annoyed with himself—why hadn't he returned sooner? If he had returned two days earlier, he might have been able to follow along and get a sip of soup.

Now it was all over; for such a big case, he hadn't even been credited with a single hair of merit. This position as Head Constable had been held in vain.

When Xie Daohan returned to his office, he found many documents piled on his desk, the first of which was the file for this Filthy Blood Case.

Xie Daohan picked up the file, too lazy to even look at it, and handed it directly to Yang Zhen, saying, "Take it and file it."

Yang Zhen took the file and went to the archives to file it away.

Xie Daohan flipped through the documents on his desk again and found that most were routine official dispatches, so he felt bored.

He pulled out a scroll of documents, which was the list of applicants for the Taiyi Sect's selection of Registered Disciples next March.

Xie Daohan knew very well that Shen Yanliu had left it for him to perform background checks.

"The application fee is sixty thousand silver coins; everyone who can apply is a child of a noble family. What is there to check?" Xie Daohan muttered, then tossed the scroll aside.

If his nephew Xie Lei hadn't died, he would have hoped for him to participate in this selection of Registered Disciples too. Unfortunately, heaven did not grant him time; his Xie family could be considered to have no heirs left.

After Yang Zhen returned from filing the case, Xie Daohan gave him the scroll of documents on his desk and said, "This is the list of applicants for the Taiyi Sect's selection of Registered Disciples next March. Find some time to do a background check; it needs to be sent to the Sect before the fifteenth of the first lunar month."

After Xie Daohan finished giving instructions, he left the Ya Men and headed home.

Yang Zhen then began to flip through the scroll in his hands at the desk; he prepared to browse through the list first.

But he had only read halfway through when his body suddenly shook, and his face filled with astonishment. He had actually seen Duan Rong's name.

(End of chapter)