Chapter 5 Dismemberment Murder Case

Chapter 5: The Dismembered Murder Case

“It’s really terrifying. I hope the Governor catches the murderer soon. All the victims are too miserable.”

Whether it was just her imagination or not, Cong Shuang now felt a bit scared even looking at the crowd. “Let’s go. Let’s buy some tea over there.”

Today, Qin Jiao and Cong Shuang were out shopping for items to bring back to the capital. Last time Qin Jiao went out to buy supplies, he was kidnapped. So this time Cong Shuang came along as well.

As soon as Qin Jiao heard about buying tea, his head ached. What a nuisance—he hadn’t expected Cong Shuang to still hadn’t given up on the idea of giving a gift to Lin Wen.

“No need… Sister, look, there’s the cloth shop ahead. Let’s go buy clothes.”

“No, let’s go to the tea shop over there.”

Cong Shuang pulled at Qin Jiao’s sleeve, trying to drag him toward the tea shop.

“Sister, we already have enough tea at home. Don’t bother.”

Ignoring Qin Jiao’s words, Cong Shuang continued pulling him toward the tea shop.

Qin Jiao wanted to go to the cloth shop, while Cong Shuang wanted to go to the tea shop. This time, neither was willing to give in. After some tugging, Cong Shuang realized she couldn’t budge Qin Jiao, so she let go, stepped back two steps, and sulked.

Cotton rose flowers were blocking the view of them, so from a distance, it looked as if the two were arguing and Qin Jiao had shoved Cong Shuang.

“Hmph!” Cong Shuang pouted and turned to leave.

“Sister, don’t go…”

Knowing Cong Shuang was upset, Qin Jiao quickly chased after her. In his hurry, two people suddenly appeared in front of him. “Oops! Sorry, sorry…” Qin Jiao couldn’t dodge them and bumped straight into them.

“Are you all right?”

The two Qin Jiao had collided with seemed to be a mother and daughter. The older woman in blue reached out to steady Qin Jiao, while the younger girl, wearing a veil, looked at him with concern.

“I’m fine, Rujin, don’t worry,” the blue-clad woman said, patting the veiled girl’s hand to reassure her. Then she asked Qin Jiao, “Young sir, are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Sorry for bumping into you.” Qin Jiao replied, blushing slightly.

“No harm done. Young man, hurry on and catch up to her. And don’t bully her anymore.” The blue-clad woman smiled.

“…”

“Ma’am, you’ve got it wrong.”

But Qin Jiao didn’t feel like explaining to strangers. He nodded to the woman and her veiled daughter, then turned to go after Cong Shuang.

Cong Shuang, worried about him, hadn’t gone far. Qin Jiao caught up to her in just a few steps.

“Sister, don’t be mad. Let’s go buy the tea.”

Qin Jiao changed his mind: fine, let’s buy it. We can keep it for ourselves anyway.

Cong Shuang grinned, and they walked side by side to the teahouse. Occasionally, pedestrians carrying cotton rose flowers passed by, and in the distance, they could see policemen on patrol.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance of “Welcome Guest Teahouse.”

Welcome Guest Teahouse was the largest tea shop in Nanzhou. Thanks to its booming business and solid reputation, not only was the tea shop’s main entrance built particularly grand, but the owner had also set aside two alleys on the left and right sides of the shop, planting centuries-old tea trees and various rare flowers and grasses.

Especially the two centuries-old tea trees, which were lush and tall, almost reaching the height of the houses. Although it was not the tea-picking season, the faint fragrance of tea from the ancient trees was still detectable.

Qin Jiao had a sharp nose since childhood. During the three years he was “abandoned” in Nanzhou, he had relied on his keen sense of smell to earn money for his and Cong Shuang’s daily expenses.

Qin Jiao never doubted his judgment of smells. At this moment, besides the faint tea fragrance, there seemed to be a hint of… the smell of blood.

Qin Jiao frowned slightly and tilted his head to look behind the two dense tea trees.

Cong Shuang was about to enter the shop when Qin Jiao grabbed her arm.

“?” Cong Shuang looked at Qin Jiao in confusion.

“It seems someone is injured in there. I smell blood.” Qin Jiao pointed behind the tea trees.

Cong Shuang signaled with her eyes: “Let’s go check.”

The two cautiously walked a few steps into the alley. At first, nothing seemed unusual, but as they went deeper, the smell of blood grew stronger, and they could see sporadic red bloodstains on the ground.

Qin Jiao and Cong Shuang exchanged glances, a sense of unease rising in their hearts.

Suddenly! A shadow flashed above their heads, followed by a man’s exclamation: “Oh my god… god!”

Qin Jiao and Cong Shuang hurried toward the source of the sound. Qin Jiao walked ahead, pushing aside the obstructing branches, and was immediately stunned by the sight before him, his scalp tingling!

Qin Jiao’s first reaction was to turn around and cover Cong Shuang’s eyes.

“What’s going on?” The tea shop’s waiter also came out upon hearing the noise. The next second, “Murder! Murder! Someone call for help!!”

The waiter’s terrified scream intensified the oppressive atmosphere.

Unease, fear, and blood finally tore apart this seemingly peaceful Cotton Rose Winter Festival.

Blood dripped drop by drop, streaks of crimson sliding down the tree trunk, eventually forming a small puddle of reddish-brown blood on the ground.

At this moment, a young man was “impaled” on the thick trunk of a centuries-old tea tree. It seemed he had fallen from a height, and his body was pierced through like a candied hawthorn. Blood splattered everywhere, his abdomen torn open and intestines spilling out.

The victim’s face was slashed beyond recognition, making it impossible to tell his original appearance. His hands and feet had also been severed and thrown on the ground, the mud coating the dismembered limbs, the stench of blood making one want to vomit. Even more horrifyingly, the victim’s genitals seemed to have been crudely cut off…

“Ugh—” The man who had first screamed was now covering his mouth, retching endlessly.

“This is too perverse. Are they trying to turn him into a human stump?”

“Hey! Did you see the murderer?” After a while, the man, having recovered from his retching, asked Qin Jiao and Cong Shuang.

“No, we didn’t see.” Qin Jiao shielded Cong Shuang and stepped back imperceptibly a few steps.

Cong Shuang, unable to speak and with her eyes covered by Qin Jiao, grew frantic as if she were an ant on a hot pan. She signed: “What happened?”

“Sister, we’ve encountered the third murder case.”

“How could it be…”

Cong Shuang was shocked and dared not move recklessly. As time passed, the smell of blood in the air grew heavier.

“What is this? So cruel!”

“Judging by the victim’s clothes, is he a student from Liming Academy?”

“What now? What now? The previous victims haven’t been caught, and now this one…”

"Who will be the next victim?"

The tea shop clerk's sharp cries of "Murder!" drew the surrounding civilians to gather, and the patrol officers from afar hurried over.

"Make way... Don't disturb the crime scene."

"Someone summon the Governor!"

"Your Excellency, we just want to look, we won't cause trouble..."

"What are you gawking at? This isn't your case. Move aside quickly..."

After the officers arrived, they quickly cordoned off the crowd, and a cacophony of voices mixed together, making an unbearable racket.

"Everybody scatter! Stop crowding!"

Suddenly, a harsh voice rang out, startling everyone nearby. However, Qin Jiao inexplicably felt that the voice sounded somewhat familiar.

"Young Master Qin is here too?" It turned out to be Luo Bei.

"Mm."

Qin Jiao nodded with a pale face. The smell of blood carried by the wind was truly unkind to someone with a sensitive nose like Qin Jiao's. Another gust of wind brought the thick stench, causing his stomach to churn with nausea, on the verge of vomiting.

"Young Master Qin, there's no need to be afraid; the Prince will arrive shortly," Luo Bei said to Qin Jiao while directing his men.

"? ... Mm."

Qin Jiao didn't quite understand Luo Bei's words. Xie Nai was coming, so why tell him not to be scared? But at the moment, his mind was in a mess and he felt unwell, so he didn't argue and simply responded softly.

"Arrest him!" Luo Bei ordered, seizing the man who first found the victim.

"Why are you arresting me again, you bastards?! You just won't let it go, will you? I'm a witness, not the killer... Why only arrest me and not that man and woman? Hey! You..."

The arrested man struggled and yelled angrily, and Qin Jiao inexplicably found this voice familiar too.

While he was puzzled, a tall, straight-backed figure emerged from the crowd.

He didn't walk fast, yet his presence was overwhelmingly imposing. The Lingnan Army cleared the way to either side, adding to his imposing aura. The gathered civilians also felt the strong authority of the newcomer and fell silent of their own accord...

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