Xiao Song donned his straw raincoat but did not go to visit the Su residence as he had said he would; instead, he spurred his horse toward the Yue Lai Inn.
In the thunderstorm, the sound of horse hooves was not distinct, only occasionally could one hear the noise of wading through water.
"Assistant Minister Xiao!"
No sooner had Xiao Song dismounted than County Magistrate Feng, his face still haunted with shock, hurried up to meet him.
Xiao Song glanced at him, showing little surprise. He casually tossed his bamboo hat to the person beside him, took the oil-paper umbrella handed over by a government official, and, while heading into the inn, asked, "What has happened?"
"It’s..." County Magistrate Feng felt he couldn’t make things clear in just a few words and simply said, "You’ll see everything once you enter the courtyard."
Xiao Song strode into the inn’s main hall where a strong stench of blood assailed his nostrils.
More than ten lanterns were lit inside the room, revealing the gruesome scene: bloodstains smeared on tables, chairs, and walls; severed limbs and broken pieces of flesh were scattered and soaked in blood on the floor, indistinguishable as to which parts of the body they belonged.
This did not surprise Xiao Song; he had even made preparations in advance, just waiting for the killer to strike.
Before Zhuang Yin had revealed the truth of the matter, Xiao Song had already made his arrangements. The murderer’s actions were marked with clear vengeance. Without a deep hatred, such brutality would not be possible. In cases , he never hesitated to spend the lives of those deserving death. Since there was such deep hatred, he was willing to create an opportunity for the killer and, at the same time, capture them to close the case—a solution that benefited both parties. This also saved the Ministry of Criminal Justice a series of troubles and the executioner some strength.
All this was just his caution; he did not expect the murderer to actually dare to kill with such blind fury.
Xiao Song surveyed the room, ordered people to secure the scene, then followed the bloody trail across the hall and marched toward the courtyard.
Stepping through the carved doorway, the lanterns hanging around the verandas emitted a faint glow that barely illuminated the expansive courtyard. Government officials wielding blades stood packed on the veranda, encircling a tall, slender figure in the downpour, whose feet were surrounded by a body chopped beyond recognition.
She stood silently in her plain clothes, her ink-black hair tied into a ponytail that cascaded down to below her hips like a waterfall, holding a woodcutter’s axe. Her shoulders trembled ever so slightly. Her white skirt was dyed crimson with blood; under the washing of the rain, the stains varied in depth, resembling the alluring swirling colors of ink.
"You killed him recklessly, yet there are still two at large. What will you do?" Xiao Song, holding his umbrella, strolled to the center of the courtyard.
County Magistrate Feng had just opened his mouth, but Xiao Song raised his hand to stop him, leaving him no choice but to gesture for several highly skilled arrest officers to stay close for protection.
Upon hearing Xiao Song’s words, the woman in plain clothes shuffled her feet slightly, with blood and rainwater dripping from the hem of her skirt, blooming into ripples in the pooled water.
She turned around, and beneath her disheveled hair revealed a face that was pallid and gaunt. Drips of blood splotched on her cheeks were stark against her skin, and her black eyes seemed incapable of reflecting light, devoid of blood color. Her lips quivered slightly, exhaling faint mists into the cold night.
"Luo Ling." Xiao Song spoke soothingly, gently prompting her to answer.
Luo Ling looked at him, offered a sorrowful smile, her voice trembling with her lips, "Why didn’t you... come to Jushui County earlier! Why didn’t you come later!"
Her voice was initially heavy with gasps, her words barely audible, but suddenly she burst out in a shout, startling the arrest officers into drawing their swords to protect Xiao Song.
If Xiao Song had gotten involved with the case earlier, perhaps she wouldn’t have had to go to such lengths to kill as a woman. If he had come later, she could have managed to kill everyone who deserved death.
Neither earlier nor later, exactly at the time when he disrupted her plan! Everyone understood Luo Ling’s meaning.
Does this mean she could commit crimes without restraint as long as Xiao Song didn’t show up? County Magistrate Feng’s face twisted with embarrassment, as her words were clearly implying that the officials of Jushui County Government Office were incompetent!
County Magistrate Feng stole a glance at Xiao Song, noting that he seemed unconcerned, and he allowed himself a slight breath of relief.
"I will take care of the remaining two for you." Xiao Song’s words were not empty promises. Although the Tang Code stipulated that only killing three people who were not sentenced to death warrants capital punishment, dismembering a corpse was also a capital offense. Earlier, Zhuang Yin had informed him that the bodies were split in half.
Luo Ling stared at Xiao Song’s resolute face, and slowly, a calm smile spread across her visage, mixing with the blood, like a red spider lily blooming in a dense forest deprived of light.
With a thud, the heavy axe fell on the stone pavement of the courtyard.
"Take her away." Xiao Song said slowly.