Chapter 73: Tired Birds Return to Nest

The group rode through the streets and markets, then dismounted outside the Wan'an County government office.

Seeing the familiar buildings and streets, Xie Jinhuan felt a surge of joy in his heart. Before he could greet acquaintances on the street, Meiqiu darted onto the eaves, looking around inside:

"Goo-goo?!"

Feiji, the County Commandant who was discussing matters in the courtyard, saw the huge broken bird on the roof, paused slightly, then ran out, his two small mustaches curling upward:

"Yo~ Jinhuan, haven't seen you in years and you've grown so big? Much handsomer than your father was at your age..."

"Uncle Fei hasn't changed a bit; still so spirited."

"Your mouth is still so sweet. I heard you solved a major case in Danyang? A tiger father indeed has no dog son!"

"That's just because Uncle Fei taught me well back then; you personally showed me how to examine a corpse at age three, flipping through the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys one by one. It was hard not to remember..."

Linghu Qingmo had never been to the Wan'an County government office. Seeing the two so familiar with each other, he asked:

"Who is this?"

Yang Dabiao had served as a Head Constable in Wan'an County for a few years. Coming to his old workplace felt just like coming home:

"Commandant Feiji, Dharma name 'Ji Bei'. My old superior; he was formerly Deputy to Lord Xie. He was unparalleled at solving cases; for murder or adultery cases, one glance told him what position they were in..."

"Ah? Is Lord Fei a Buddhist?"

"No. When Jinhuan was young, he often mixed up names and always called him 'Fei Fei Ji Bei'. Over time, that nickname stuck."

Saying this, Yang Dabiao strode up the steps with head held high and called out:

"Lord Ji Bei, don't you want to see who has arrived?"

Feiji, who had been holding Xie Jinhuan's shoulder and looking him up and down, turned his eyes at the sound. His two mustaches immediately drooped:

"Hey?! Why is it you, you little Wang Ba? This official has no silver. If you want to mooch food and drink, find someone else..."

"Tsk~"

The attendant Xiao Wang burst out laughing directly.

Linghu Qingmo almost couldn't hold it in either, but constrained by her image as a Daoist female knight, she quickly put on a serious expression.

Yang Dabiao felt strangely awkward and turned back to explain:

"See? This is called getting along well."

"Is that so?"

Just as the group was catching up, a government office Runner ran in from behind the government office:

"Lord Fei, Magistrate Wu says to go directly to the morgue."

For Xie Jinhuan, coming to the government office was like coming home. Seeing this, he walked straight toward the Western Office, asking along the way:

"Uncle Fei, what exactly is the situation with the mummy case?"

Feiji held the official sword at his waist, his expression solemn:

"Sigh, it's just demon bandits killing people to practice their arts. Since the first month of this year, mummies have appeared repeatedly in both Wan'an and Changle counties. It seems they were all done by the same person, but the killer is as slippery as a ghost. Not to mention eyewitnesses, not even a single strand of hair has been found..."

Yang Dabiao stroked his chin and interjected:

"Could it be a Monk committing the crime?"

"We cannot rule that out for now."

Feiji raised his hand to gesture toward the outer city:

"Do you remember Li, the head of the Yangwei Escort Agency? The one who got beaten for stealing someone's concubine. A genuine sixth-rank martial artist, he went to a brothel late at night and died mysteriously in an alley; he didn't even draw his sword. Dabiao, since you've come to Jingcheng, you must be careful from now on..."

"Hey? Careful about what? I don't go to those places..."

"Still putting on airs? Who was it who couldn't sleep at night in the past, sneaking over to ask me, 'Are there prostitutes here'..."

"Shh shh..."

While seriously discussing the case details, the group arrived at the morgue in the Western Office.

Feiji opened the door and had a government office Runner light the lamps. Seventeen corpses neatly arranged on the tables appeared before their eyes, lined up from left to right, almost filling the entire room:

"To facilitate the investigation, the bodies have been brought here. They are arranged from left to right according to the time of death. Take a look."

Xie Jinhuan had seen his father handle many cases, but a major case involving seventeen corpses was rarely encountered even in Jingcheng.

Lifting the Bai Bu to examine them now, it was visible that the corpses had been dead for over eight months, yet they had not rotted. Their skin and flesh were black, clinging tightly to the bones, as if all moisture had been drained from their bodies. One could even vaguely make out the expression of fear on the deceased before they died.

Linghu Qingmo lifted a few more pieces of Bai Bu to look, pondering slightly:

"These mummies, theoretically, would be hard to rot even if buried underground. They differ somewhat from the three skeletons in Danyang."

Xie Jinhuan also felt they didn't look quite the same. He then took the skull cap Feiji had fetched and, along with the others, examined the 'blood marks' inside, seeing that the marks were not much different from those on the three skeletons.

The blood marks were too fine for ordinary people to see more than the general direction. To magnify them thousands of times to see the details, only the 'A-Piao Brand Microscope' could manage it.

After comparing for a moment, Xie Jinhuan saw nothing special, so he placed his hand on the Zheng Lun Sword and called for his Ghost Wife to take a look.

Ye Hongshang had actually been observing secretly all along. At this moment, she responded in his ear:

"This is a 'case within a case'. There are two killers."

Hmm?

Xie Jinhuan wanted to hear his Ghost Wife's explanation, but footsteps came from outside the building.

Tap tap tap~

Looking up, Magistrate Wu Yuanhua and others arrived at the door, followed by a Red Robe Chi Lin Guard.

Xie Jinhuan had some old grievances with the Chi Lin Guard. Seeing this, he frowned secretly but showed no outward sign, stepping forward to bow with clasped hands:

"Magistrate Wu."

Wu Yuanhua had previously been Xie Wen's superior. As the son of a subordinate, Xie Jinhuan knew him but was not particularly close.

But now that Xie Jinhuan, alone, slew the bandits and established a great merit, and was appreciated and heavily employed by the Pill King, rising rapidly was only a matter of time; how would Wu Yuanhua dare to neglect him? He stepped forward quickly, like an uncle or elder father not seen for many years:

"Jinhuan, it's been a few years; you've grown so big. I heard you were injured in Danyang; is it nothing serious?"

"It's fine, just a minor wound."

After Xie Jinhuan bowed, he looked at the two people behind:

"I do not know how these two lords are addressed?"

Wu Yuanhua introduced them amicably: "Master Jingkong of the Imperial Observatory, and Lu Qian, Lu Hundred-Household of the Red Scale Guard; the Dry Corpse case is being investigated jointly by these two."

Lu Qian came this time not to investigate the case at all, but to suspect that 'Zhou He's death' had a connection with Xie Jinhuan, and specially took this opportunity to work together to probe Xie Jinhuan's background.

However, on the surface, Lu Qian was still quite polite; he raised his hand and returned the bow:

"I have heard that Young Master Xie possesses extraordinary martial arts and solves cases like a god; seeing you today indeed confirms you are no commoner. The government office has been troubled by the Dry Corpse case for many days; I wonder if Young Master Xie has any views?"

The County Magistrate had been scolded terribly by his superiors; at this moment, he also looked at Xie Jinhuan with hope in his eyes.

Xie Jinhuan knew the Ghost Bride could find traces on the corpse, but with too many people present it was not good to act strangely, and he did not want to have too much interaction with the Red Scale Guard either; he shook his head and smiled:

"The government office has pursued it for over half a year with no results; how could I see the problem just after arriving? I must investigate for a few days first to know."

Linghu Qingmo, always a workaholic, asked at this moment:

"What clues does the government office have now?"

Feiji, the County Commandant, who was in charge of this case, introduced:

"There are no actual clues, but many experts from the Imperial Observatory and the Red Scale Guard, based on the crime scene and the condition of the deceased, infer that the demonic bandit who committed the murder has power around the Fourth Rank, possesses a special magical artifact capable of detecting experts within a hundred zhang, or has a powerful protector beside him.

"Plus the corpses discovered in Danyang a few days ago, whose method of death is largely similar to these deceased; currently it is speculated that the Mingshen Sect might be secretly cultivating new people for practice..."

"Oh..."

After Feiji chatted casually for a few sentences, seeing that Xie Jinhuan and the others were covered in dust from travel, he added:

"This murderer's cultivation is not high, but he is too slippery; it won't be caught in less than ten days or half a month.

"Today the sky is too late; you have come with much hardship from your carriage and horses, so it is not easy. Rest for one night first; tomorrow morning we all meet to discuss carefully how to investigate this case."

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan said no more; after bidding farewell to a few acquaintances, he led his people away from the government office.

County Magistrate Wu Yuanhua had originally expected much; seeing Xie Jinhuan leave just like that, his smile inevitably turned to a look of worry. After watching the group leave, he clasped his hands behind his back and sighed:

"Danyang said 'solving cases like a god, foreseeing the future, even an inside informant reporting news cannot catch up with Xie Jinhuan's speed in chasing the murderer'; now it seems, it was still somewhat exaggerated."

Monk Jingkong interjected: "Solving a case is like pulling silk from a cocoon; one must run and investigate more. Lord Wu, you cannot expect Young Master Xie to come today and have the case solved tomorrow, can you?"

Wu Yuanhua shook his head and smiled: "True, this official was too anxious. Tai Shu Dan has been caught for seven days; this case has dragged on for over half a year. How could he catch the murderer just after arriving? Alas..."

——

Shortly after, Xianyun Alley.

Xie Jinhuan led Seeing Mo Mo and the others to the deep end of the alley; Meiqiu, who had grown up here since childhood, flew into a courtyard with a 'whoosh'.

The courtyard was hidden deep in the small alley; the surrounding wall had long turned yellow. Its scale was slightly larger than the rented house at the Landlady's, but having been passed down for several generations, the decoration must be much worse.

Moreover, having been away for three years, the courtyard had lost its human qi; now the grass in the yard was half a person tall, and the bricks and tiles had broken places.

Meiqiu had grown up here since childhood; discovering the home had become a ruined house, and her redwood birdcage was gone, she squatted alone on the wall, her eyes a bit lost.

Even a tired bird knows to return to its nest; how much more so for humans?

Xie Jinhuan had opened his eyes in that courtyard and lived there for a full sixteen years; now gazing at the courtyard where objects remained but people had changed, he could not help but miss the former maids, servants, sycophants, and his father who worked from six in the morning until nine at night.

Pity that now even his father's life or death is unclear; beside him stands a young lady whose grave will explode in just over twenty days; the peaceful days seem to be gone forever...

Linghu Qingmo followed into the courtyard, discovering a scene of desolation everywhere, with not even a place to set foot; she could not help but sigh inwardly—how could such a good person as Xie Jinhuan encounter such injustice...

Sensing the slight sorrow between Xie Jinhuan's eyebrows, Linghu Qingmo prepared to comfort him with a few words, but did not know what to say.

Although she often heard those crazy Young Ladies say that the best way to comfort a man is to tie up one's hair.

But she did not understand the meaning!

After pondering slightly, Linghu Qingmo said softly:

"Do not think too much; people must look forward. I will help you tidy up the house these few days; when you establish your family and career in the future, it will naturally prosper..."

Seeing Seeing Mo Mo's serious appearance while comforting him, Xie Jinhuan's suppressed heart eased considerably:

"You cannot tidy it up alone; wait until I finish my business and have free time, then we two will tidy it up slowly. At that time, you will live in the west wing, right next to me; it will be convenient for us to visit."

Linghu Qingmo wanted to nod, but then felt it was wrong:

"Why would I live in your house?"

We have already kissed; do you still want to run away?

Xie Jinhuan smiled; afraid that Seeing Mo Mo would shock him, he did not speak wildly, but said casually:

"Given our relationship, coming to Jingcheng, shouldn't we stay at home for a few days?"

Linghu Qingmo felt this was true, but by then Physician Lin should have entered the door; if she lived right in front, wouldn't Physician Lin be holding a baby at the door, glaring at her with little eyes until she died?

Speaking of which, secretly following Xie Jinhuan to run to Jingcheng; will Physician Lin know and not get jealous...

Xie Jinhuan did not linger long in this old place that stirred countless memories; after looking around once more, he waved his hand and said:

"Meiqiu, let's go."

"Goo-goo!"

Meiqiu was very unhappy; squatting on Xie Jinhuan's shoulder, she murmured and muttered, probably complaining about the redwood birdcage her father personally made for her being stolen...

(End of Chapter)