Sword from the Immortal Mountain

Chapter 24: You've Already Done
"I don't know who Chen Guiyang is, and I've never seen him in person. I only know that they came from the prefecture and sent someone to find me, saying they were looking for a scapegoat."

Jia Gong said with a sad face.

Chen Jin wondered, "What unforgivable evil did he do in Genshui County that he had to find someone to take the blame and behead him?"

Jia Gong said hurriedly: "I don't know about this, and I have never heard of any serious crimes happening under the jurisdiction of the county."

"If that's the case, why would he need to look for a scapegoat?"

"I really don't know... Actually, I am also puzzled. When a truly powerful person like this reaches a local level, he can cover the sky with one hand. In their eyes, human life is like an ant. It doesn't matter if they are stepped on to death. There is no need to go to the trouble of finding a scapegoat."

Chen Jin's eyes flickered, and he asked again: "This is the whole process of your contact?"

Jia Gong said, "It is absolutely true. I have no intention of hiding anything. I knew there were some things that were fishy, but I did not dare to ask too much. Otherwise, this time it would not be as simple as breaking a leg, but cutting off the head. All the conditions for finding a scapegoat were proposed by them. Calling out the name before the execution was also the victim's request. The general idea was to deceive the messenger of the underworld... I don't understand these things."

Chen Jin sneered: "You know how to cut off ties."

Jia Gong begged for mercy, saying, "Although I am a clerk, I was forced to do this by those wealthy families. If I don't do it, they will kill me and replace me with someone else who will obey them. If you only spare my life, I will resign immediately and never do such immoral things again."

"You've done it!"

Chen Jin raised his hand, and the bamboo stick in his hand instantly pierced Jia Gong's throat. Then he pulled it out and wiped the blood off on the quilt.

He turned around, grabbed the statue in the shrine with one hand, jumped out of the window, and quickly disappeared into the dark night.

As soon as he left, Ma Ben and a group of servants rushed to the gate of Jia's house and started knocking on it.

A doorman opened the door and was surprised to see the crowd coming in aggressively. He shouted, "Captain Ma, it's so late, what are you doing?"

Ma Ben asked, "Where is your master?"

This man was also an experienced man, he said loudly: "The master is resting in his room, recovering from his injuries. He has already told me not to see anyone. You guys should leave quickly, don't make mistakes."

Ma Ben's eyes flashed, and he made up his mind and pushed him away: "There was a murder in the city just now, and your master's safety is at stake. No matter what, I have to see him now."

After saying that, he led his men in.

The doorman was very anxious and shouted loudly: "Captain Ma, you have trespassed into the government residence. This is a serious crime. My master will not let you go."

Start yelling.

Soon, Jia Gong's wives and concubines were alarmed and came out with several strong servants.

However, when things got to this point, they didn't know what to do, so they had to go into the room to find Jia Gong.

"what!"

"Oh no, something happened to the master!"

In a moment, screams of terror spread everywhere.

Ma Ben rushed into the room.

Just then, Jia Gong was seen dead on the bed. His head was not missing, but there was a hole in his throat.

Ma Ben's eyes were burning, and he quickly came to a conclusion: the murderer had just left after killing someone.

He rushed to the open window and shouted, "Protect the scene!"

He jumped out, knife in hand, looked around, selected a direction, and chased after him.

About a quarter of an hour later, Ma Ben came back with nothing and a gloomy face.

The county town is huge, the moon is dark and the wind is strong, and the opponent is a master...

Under all circumstances, trying to catch up with someone is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

So after chasing for a while and finding nothing, he had to turn back in disappointment.

Re-investigate the crime scene.

Jia Gong was stabbed to death. The whole process was quick and efficient, without even the slightest sign of resistance or struggle.

First of all, this clerk was just an ordinary man who knew some basic skills, and over the years, his body had been hollowed out by alcohol and sex;
Secondly, he was injured all over, his legs were broken, and he could hardly get off the ground, so how could he fight with others? As for why he didn't call for help, it is worth considering.

The maid who stayed in the ear room to keep watch and serve said that she fell asleep in a daze and had no idea what was going on.

But she was sure that the master had not called out, otherwise she would have heard it.

After searching the room, Ma Ben's eyes fixed on the shrine on the table.

The shrine was empty.

"I remember that you have a household god at home."

"Yes, there is. It is enshrined in the shrine. It is a statue of a god with a human body and a dog's head. But now, it is gone."

Ma Ben came closer and observed the shrine carefully.

We quickly came to the conclusion that there was still no sign of resistance or struggle.

The statue was like a lifeless clay or wooden sculpture and was easily taken away.

This is not reasonable.

It's so unreasonable.

Ma Ben had a good understanding of household gods. He knew that a true household god was never just a decoration, but a being with divine aura.

Although ordinary household gods cannot be compared with the main gods in the big temples, when they are invited in and worshipped by the host family, they will play their due role.

It can protect the house, ward off evil spirits, give warnings, and drive away wandering ghosts.

In other words, when the murderer sneaked into the room, even if Jia Gong was asleep, the household god would have discovered him and protected his master.

The household god invited by Jia Gong's family is a dog. This type of household god may not be as good as a ferocious beast and lacks combat power, but its alertness is very high.

However, this god of the house did not make any noise and was taken away obediently.

Just like a tamed dog!

What does this mean?
It is really hard to understand why a master with such powerful means came specifically to kill Jia Dianli.

After working for so many years, Ma Ben was known as the "Iron Hand Shopkeeper", and now he was a little confused.

Not only do I feel confused, I also have a headache.

No matter what, Jia Gong is an official.

Although the Dianli was not a high-ranking official and had no rank, his personnel appointment was issued by the Ministry of Personnel of the imperial court, and he was a formal official appointed by the imperial court.

Now that an official has died, the nature of the matter is different from the death of a prison boss, a jailer, or a scoundrel.

At this moment, the two officers who were sent to search the old writer's house came back with a human head wrapped in cloth in their hands.

Ou Hu's head.

By connecting all the clues of the case together, the outline of the matter began to emerge.

To put it simply, the people in the prison, led by Jia Gong, provoked people they shouldn't have provoked, which led to them being killed one by one.

As for how they provoked him, who the other party was, and what role the old writer played, all the clues were lost as those who knew the truth had died.

Ma Ben decided to take the case file back to the government office and report to the county magistrate Song in person:
"Sir, do you want to impose martial law in the entire city and search every household?"

Song Wencheng pondered for a long time and sighed, "Forget it, let's just leave it at that to avoid causing a stir. Next, we just need to deal with the aftermath."

Hearing this, Ma Ben was stunned at first, then relieved and clasped his hands together: "As you command."

　Thank you all for your monthly ticket support. I didn’t expect that you could give three or five votes at once. I’m very grateful!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)