Chapter 14: The Murderer (1)

Di Jiang was certain she hadn’t misheard. She carefully listened while following the sound of the singing. When she reached the end of the path and brushed aside the bamboo leaves blocking her way, the singing abruptly stopped. Before her stood Zhang Quande, the incense shopkeeper, on top of Sister Li in her plain white clothing, continuously moving.

“What are you doing!” Di Jiang’s sharp rebuke startled Zhang Quande.

Zhang Quande immediately jumped off Sister Li. At that moment, Sister Li beneath him began coughing violently, as if trying to expel her very lungs.

“I didn’t do anything—I was saving her!” Zhang Quande, still shaken, hastily explained: “She was about to commit suicide earlier, and I tried to stop her…”

“Suicide?” Di Jiang narrowed her eyes and approached them. By now, Sister Li had passed out from coughing. On her chest and neck were several bluish-purple ligature marks, matching the size of Zhang Quande’s fingers.

“How did you end up here?”

Zhang Quande’s face turned red. “I was just taking a casual stroll…”

“A stroll?” Di Jiang sneered. “Quite the spot you’ve chosen. Do you know Old Pan is dead?”

“Old Pan is dead?!” Zhang Quande was shocked, his face turning pale as he stammered: “When did he die? How did he die?”

“He was first strangled to death, then his body was dumped into the river. Right now, Zhuangyuan Village is in chaos, with everyone searching for the murderer. Sister Li is the prime suspect. Being found with her… Good luck to you.” After Di Jiang finished speaking, Zhang Quande’s face had turned ashen. Trembling, he reached out to check Sister Li’s breathing. Di Jiang interrupted him: “Sister Li is fine—she’s only fainted. You will carry her down the mountain with me right now.”

“Down the mountain…” Zhang Quande shook his head. “No, no, if I go down, they’ll definitely accuse me of being the murderer!”

“And aren’t you?”

“Of course not!” Zhang Quande shouted: “Sister Li was halfway through her performance when she suddenly swallowed a pill. Seeing her about to die, I tried to save her life!”

“Oh? What kind of pill?” Di Jiang asked suspiciously. “What did it look like?”

“It was black, about the size of a fingernail. I tried to make her vomit for a while, but nothing came out…”

Hearing this, Di Jiang’s heart sank again. She walked over to Sister Li, pinched her cheeks with one hand, opened her lips, and examined her closely. She found no signs of poisoning, as Zhang Quande had claimed. However, there were numerous small scratches in her throat, proving that Zhang Quande had indeed tried to make her vomit.

Di Jiang sighed and said: “You’ll have to explain all this to the township leader and the villagers. If you run away now, you’ll be a fugitive for the rest of your life, never able to return home.”

After Di Jiang calmly finished speaking, Zhang Quande’s mind was in turmoil. After much thought, he nodded: “Alright, I’ll go with you! Truth will prevail—they won’t wrongfully accuse me. You must testify for me!”

“…” Di Jiang neither agreed nor refused. She would recount everything she had seen to everyone, but she couldn’t guarantee whether her words would help or harm Zhang Quande.

Di Jiang walked behind Zhang Quande, who was carrying Sister Li on his shoulder. Normally, if he could touch Sister Li’s body, he’d probably dream of laughing in his sleep. But now, he felt as though he was carrying a troublesome burden, one that might bring him fatal consequences.

In his heart, Zhang Quande prayed to Buddha and his ancestors, hoping to survive this ordeal unscathed. He vowed never to think of such immoral thoughts about men and women ever again!

After descending the mountain, the three of them went straight to the ancestral hall. Villagers gradually heard the news and gathered around to watch.

Di Jiang briefly recounted how she had discovered them. Upon hearing that they were found together in the mountains, the crowd erupted into chaos. Some pitied Old Pan, while a small group looked envious. Regardless of what everyone thought, their mouths unanimously condemned Zhang Quande, pointing at him and cursing loudly.

“You despicable Zhang Quande—I see you as Zhang ‘Lacking Virtue’!”

“Old Pan treated you well in life!”

“You’re absolutely worthless!”

“Everyone, hear me out! I’m not lacking virtue—I’m just lacking sense!” Zhang Quande knelt on the ground, slapping himself repeatedly on both cheeks with alternating hands. Sobbing, he cried out: “I lost my mind, my eyes clouded by lust! It was wrong of me to follow Sister Li up the mountain, but I didn’t do anything to her! Ask her yourself—see if I crossed any boundaries!”

“Bah! Of course she wouldn’t admit it! If she did, you two would be confirming the charges of adultery. Do you think Sister Li is stupid? Do you think we’re all fools?!”

“It’s a misunderstanding! I swear! I heard a noise outside my window early this morning. When I opened it, I saw Sister Li sneaking up the mountain, so I followed her. I didn’t know anything! Please believe me—I may have lusted after Sister Li’s beauty, but I had no intention of harming anyone!”

“Silence!” Yan Sanqing raised his voice, and the crowd obediently quieted down.

Yan Sanqing continued: “Who are Zhang Quande’s neighbors?”

“Here, here—I am, and Aunt Liu is too.”

Yan Sanqing turned to Aunt Liu: “Did you hear any noises last night?”

“No, I didn’t hear anything,” the elderly neighbor shook her head.

“Aunt Liu sleeps so deeply—how could she have heard anything!” Zhang Quande wailed. “Old Man Liu, you sleep lightly and often get up at night to use the outhouse. Surely you heard something! Please tell everyone!”

“No, I didn’t hear anything either!”

“Old Man Liu, how can you say that? You also lusted after Sister Li—why are you throwing me under the bus now!” Zhang Quande sobbed uncontrollably, but Old Man Liu stubbornly insisted he hadn’t heard anything, no matter how much Zhang Quande pleaded.

“What else do you have to say?” Yan Sanqing sneered.

Zhang Quande thought for a moment and added: “Actually, I’ve known about this path for a long time! Every year at this time, Sister Li goes up the mountain dressed in plain white—no exceptions! Out of curiosity, I followed her to see what she was doing!”

“Oh?” Yan Sanqing narrowed his eyes, trying to detect any hesitation in Zhang Quande’s gaze. But Zhang Quande appeared earnest as he continued: “Many people saw her yesterday evening—Sister Li was dressed in plain white, with a white flower pinned in her hair. Clearly, she was preparing to go up the mountain!”

“Did anyone see this happen?” Yan Sanqing asked the crowd, but everyone shook their heads in unison.

Hearing this, Di Jiang found it strange.

Yesterday, while standing on the bridge, she clearly saw many people staring at Sister Li. How could they all collectively forget now?

“I saw her,” Di Jiang spoke up loudly.

“Miss Di, Miss Di!” Zhang Quande clung to her like a lifeline. He wanted to crawl to her feet and cling to them, like a drowning man clutching a floating log in the sea.

“Miss Di, you must save me! Yesterday, you saw everything—you even said my brow was darkened, foretelling bloodshed. After I fell off the bridge, I broke my front teeth. I thought that was the worst disaster I’d face, but now I’ve been branded an adulterer! I truly can’t explain myself!” Zhang Quande’s tears and snot streamed down his face.

Yan Sanqing thought for a moment and then asked: “So, what did you see when you followed her up the mountain?”

“But—but I really didn’t see anything!” Zhang Quande was at a loss for words.

Seeing his demeanor, Di Jiang thought he didn’t appear to be lying, but his actions were undeniably suspicious.

Yan Sanqing discussed the matter with the village elders. Finally, they announced: “Sister Li hasn’t woken up yet. We’ll wait until she regains consciousness to interrogate her further. For now, we’ll lock both of them in the ancestral hall. Once I report this matter to the magistrate, he’ll send a coroner to investigate thoroughly before making a final decision!”

“Yes!” The strong young men of the village carried Sister Li and Zhang Quande into the back of the ancestral hall, locking them separately in dark stone rooms where sunlight couldn’t reach.

By evening, the sky was overcast with rain clouds, heavy and oppressive. The atmosphere weighed heavily on everyone’s chests, as if a stone blocked their hearts and a sword hung above their heads. Within half a day, news of Old Pan’s death had spread throughout the surrounding villages. Rumors exaggerated the murderer’s brutality to the extreme.

People from neighboring villages came to inquire about the incident. Aunt Liu at the village entrance, seeing a long-lost friend, pulled her over to sit at the doorway and gossip: “They say the murderer is none other than Zhang Quande, the incense shopkeeper! He and Sister Li had been having an affair for a long time. Old Pan caught them a few times, but since he was lame, he could only turn a blind eye! Zhang Quande, seeing Old Pan’s tolerance, became bolder, often sending small gifts to Sister Li—partly to please her, partly to silence Old Pan!”

“What happened next?”

“Well, didn’t our village recently welcome the divine physician, Miss Di? In no time, she cured Old Pan’s leg, which had been lame for over a decade!”

“Really?”

“As true as gold and silver! That night, we all saw him running wildly on the road!” Aunt Liu wiped the spittle from her mouth and continued: “Once Old Pan’s legs were healed, he naturally couldn’t tolerate it anymore. So Zhang Quande, thinking him an obstacle, decided to conspire with Sister Li to kill him!”

“He’s so cruel!”

“Absolutely! And that’s not all—when Old Pan’s body was found, it was completely bloated from being submerged in water. Not only did Zhang Quande strangle him, but he also stabbed his body to shreds! The corpse is in the ancestral hall—I’ll take you to see it!”

The woman from the neighboring village turned pale with fear and shook her head repeatedly, saying: “No need, no need—I won’t be able to eat for ten days! I must tell my uncle-in-law about this. He should be more careful in his conduct and avoid associating with shady people, lest he lose his life someday!”

“Eh, go ahead! Moral conduct is serious business! I’ll go ask Grandma Liu later—she’s been neighbors with the culprit for so long, she must know a lot of inside information!”

“Alright! Don’t forget to send someone to inform me once you find out anything!”

“No problem!”

Under the indignant embellishment of gossipy aunts and uncles, this case became the most shocking murder in the past decade. Everyone demanded that Sister Li and Zhang Quande be drowned in the river, declaring that such seductive women must not be spared.

Wen Yao had just returned when she overheard the conversation. Her anger flared even more. She thought to herself: “Whether what these people say is true or false, Sister Li has utterly ruined the reputation of the Pan family! If I were Pan Yuelang, I wouldn’t return home either!”