Gu Qingyun’s hand on the hilt of her saber twitched with anticipation. She looked toward the bulging quilt on the bed. “Pull back the quilt and let me see.”
Seeming to sense the threat in her tone, the man slowly lifted a corner of the quilt. “Look, Officer, my wife is sleeping soundly.”
Gu Qingyun’s gaze was as cold as a blade. She enunciated each word: “I said, pull back the quilt. I want to see.”
The man’s complexion shifted at Gu Qingyun’s words. He reached out with one hand again, but then, catching Gu Qingyun off guard, he shoved an adjacent chair toward her and turned to flee. Gu Qingyun lashed out with a kick, sending him sprawling face-down onto the floor, howling in agony.
“Insolent! You dare assault an officer? That only adds to your crimes!”
Drawing a hemp rope from her waist, she bound the man on the floor into a tight bundle, then stamped on his legs twice. Meeting his resentful gaze, she spoke in a measured voice:
“What are you staring at? If you have nothing on your conscience, why run? Stay right here and wait for me. I’d like to see what secret is hidden beneath that quilt of yours.”
She pulled back the quilt, revealing a completely naked female corpse. Her neck bore dark bruises, indicating death by strangulation.
Scars of various sizes marred her body, making it clear she had often been beaten. Gu Qingyun turned to look down at the man on the floor, her voice icy and flat.
“You do not deserve to live. Someone like you deserves to be sliced into a thousand pieces, to suffer the most agonizing punishment, and to plunge into Avici Hell after death, never to be reincarnated.”
Perhaps provoked by Gu Qingyun’s gaze—a look that treated him like an inanimate object—the man broke down, weeping uncontrollably as tears and snot poured down his face.
“I didn’t do it on purpose! I didn’t mean to kill her! It was just... while working outside today, some coworkers were sharing dirty jokes.
“They said gripping a woman’s neck slightly makes it feel more thrilling. I had a bit of wine tonight and lost my head in the heat of the moment! I didn’t want this! I never meant to kill her!
“Wife, forgive me! I won’t dare do it again, I’ll never dare do it again!” Only now did his mind finally grasp the fate awaiting him, and terror seized him completely.
He knocked his head against the floor again and again in the direction of the bed.
His words caused Gu Qingyun’s temper to flare. Gripping his throat with one hand, she hoisted him off the ground inch by inch.
“Since you wanted to feel something thrilling, I’ll let you taste the feeling of suffocation.”
The moment his airway was cut off, the man began to struggle violently. His entire face turned a bruised purple, his bloodshot eyes bulged, and he was so terrified that he lost control of his bladder.
Gu Qingyun flung him to the floor in disgust, stepping back two paces. She looked at the man coughing violently without a shred of pity.
Looking around, she picked up the clothes by the bedside that clearly belonged to the woman, dressed the corpse, and let out a sigh.
“Sigh.”
Just then, Bai Fan’s voice came from outside the door:
“Sister Yun, everything looked fine on my end. How much longer will you be? If nothing’s amiss, let’s move on to patrol other areas.”
Gu Qingyun said, “You arrived right on time. Come in and escort this man back to the county yamen. He murdered his own wife.”
Hearing this, Bai Fan quickly walked in. The instant he stepped through the door, a sharp stench of urine hit him. He waved his hand in front of his nose in distaste.
“Sister Yun, this fellow actually pissed himself in fright.”
He glanced at the female corpse lying on the bed and kicked the man several times.
“Do you have any humanity left? Murdering your own wife! Your children are sleeping in the next room—how could you bring yourself to lay hands on her?”
Hearing this, Gu Qingyun’s expression shifted.
“What children? We’ve been patrolling at night for so many days—don’t you know this household has never had any children?”
Thanks to Gu Qingyun’s sharp memory, after patrolling the streets for so many days, she had a rough recollection of how many members belonged to each household—especially the woman of this family.
Married for four or five years, she had never borne a child. Yet the woman was hardworking and endured hardship, rising early every single day to make tofu. Her husband, on the other hand, was gluttonous and lazy, only working on and off.
Even though her life was difficult, the woman always wore a beaming smile and never gave short weight on tofu. Everyone loved buying from her. Who could have imagined that tonight, her life would end here?
Gu Qingyun stood before the man, lightly resting the toe of her boot on his shoulder.
“Li Daniu, why don’t you explain what’s going on with the children sleeping next door? Bastards you fathered outside behind your wife’s back?”
The burly man named Li Daniu vehemently denied it:
“No, Officer! Those are my sister’s children! They’re just staying with me for a couple of days!”
Before Gu Qingyun could speak, Bai Fan scoffed:
“Who are you trying to fool? Those two kids look like they were carved from the same mold as you. In my eyes, they’re definitely your own spawn.”
“They aren’t! Nephews often take after their maternal uncles! They’re my nephews!” Li Daniu insisted.
“No, they are his sons! He keeps a mistress outside! Half the money I earned selling tofu was secretly taken by him and given to that woman!
“Tonight, he wanted more money from me again. When I refused, he killed me so he could welcome that mistress through the door!
“Officer, if you hadn’t discovered this tonight, he was already planning to find a place to burn my body, leaving behind no evidence at all!”
A female ghost materialized from who knew where, lunging at Li Daniu. Unfortunately, she was merely an ordinary ghost. Unaware that Gu Qingyun could see her, she simply noticed the officer’s uniform and instinctively floated over to voice her grievances.
Gu Qingyun did not look at the woman, only letting out a cold sneer.
“Li Daniu, those two children had better be your nephews. If they are your sons, then this is premeditated murder of your wife. Did you think that just by stubbornly claiming they are your nephews, this constable would have no other way to tell?”
Three wisps of spiritual light condensed at Gu Qingyun’s fingertips. One drifted toward Li Daniu’s brow, while the other two floated into the adjoining room.
As the spiritual light entered him, Li Daniu shuddered all over, and a layer of dark green-black soul qi immediately rose around him—the sign of a soul entangled with resentment after committing murder.
In the other room, as the spiritual light entered the two children, a layer of cyan soul qi rose around them as well. Gu Qingyun reached out with both hands and drew the three clusters of soul qi into her grasp. They slowly drew closer together and finally fused into one. Their auras shared the exact same origin, identical in every way.
Gu Qingyun withdrew her hands, looking at Li Daniu as though looking at a dead man.
“The soul qi resonates. You are father and sons without a doubt. What else do you have to say?”
Although Li Daniu could not see it, Gu Qingyun’s display made him realize that she was no ordinary person. Still, he refused to confess:
“Officer, they are my nephews.”
Gu Qingyun waved her hand dismissively.
“Bai Fan, drag him back to the county yamen. I’ll keep watch here. Have the Fast Constables come over to inspect the scene and look for clues.”
Once Bai Fan dragged Li Daniu away, Gu Qingyun had no desire to stand around smelling the foul stench of urine, so she walked out into the courtyard. The female ghost circled around her, bowing repeatedly.
“Officer, your discernment is keen. This humble woman, Yu Xiaohong, gives you her deepest thanks.”
Having said that, seeing that the person across from her seemed unable to see her, she covered her face and wept bitterly.
“Sob, sob, sob... Why is my life so bitter? To die in such an undignified manner... When I married, my parents said a married daughter is like spilled water, that I had to be diligent in my husband’s home.
“All these years without bearing a child, I worked myself to the bone just to prove I was useful.
“It wasn’t that I never conceived. Just a few days after I married in, my mother-in-law made me get up early every day to make tofu. Grinding tofu is exhausting work, and the child I had just conceived slipped away before I knew it!
“Afterward, I never even had postpartum confinement. I secretly saw a physician, who said my body hadn’t recovered properly. I quietly took care of my health all along, but who would have thought... Li Daniu had wanted to kill me long ago! Wuwuwu...”
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