"This grandpa is old now. There are some things where my view may not be very correct," Old Master Yang said very frankly to Yu Yan. "Back then, Ruofei-xiong came to Yanning alone. We have never met his family but in my opinion, someone like him, no matter how unfilial his descendants are they wouldn't go so far as to do something like that."

"Yeah." Hearing that the person seemed to be the descendant of a war martyr, Yu Yan didn't feel it was right to make blind guesses and assign a crime without evidence. He asked, "Then, in your opinion, is there a possibility that this 'Tang Qian Yan descendant' is a fake?"

Old Master Yang said, "This…"

Yu Lanchuan suddenly jabbed Yu Yan with his elbow. "At what times did the high-rise burglaries happen?"

Yu Yan took out his phone and checked his work log. "Between one a.m. and four a.m."

"It's not even eleven p.m. now." Yu Lanchuan tapped his own watch. "The crime happened at around ten p.m. There are more than a hundred residents in his building and everyone's balconies face the same direction. At ten p.m., at least half the residents have yet to turn off their lights and go to bed. If it was a burglary ring, don't you think they are being too conspicuous?"

Yu Yan frowned. Right then, his colleague called for him. A female police officer was looking for him. "Yu-ge, where did you go?"

Yu Yan said, "Downstairs. I was asking a witness some questions. What's the matter?"

The police officer lowered her voice a little, like there was something that wasn't convenient to be talked about. "There's a situation. Can you come up for a while?"

Yu Yan waved his phone at Yu Lanchuan. The two of them stood up one after another, and took their leave from Old Master Yang.

Before they went out the door, Yu Lanchuan suddenly remembered something. He waved at Yu Yan to indicate that he should go ahead, then turned around to ask Old Master Yang. "Grandpa Yang, you've always been saying 'Five Supremes' but no matter how I count, there's only four. What about that one more person?"

Old Master Yang was momentarily stunned, falling into a silence.

Yu Lanchuan asked, "Did I say something wrong? Is it something that can't be talked about?"

"It's not that, it's just that it's a long story." Old Master Yang thought for a while. "The last one among the Five Supremes… Haih, how should I say it? Back then, the circumstances were special so all the brave fighters from different paths got along without caring about one another's background or sect. If it was during peaceful times… he actually could not really be considered to be one of us righteous path practitioners."

Yu Lanchuan listened to the terms used and felt his head aching. He never thought that in the twenty-first century, as an "alliance leader," not only did he have to mediate neighbourhood conflicts, he even had the additional duty of fighting "demonic path practitioners"!

"Of course, all these were before the country's liberation." Old Master Yang saw that his expression was not right and quickly explained. "This friend never revealed his name back then. Since the title people gave him was 'Wan Mu Chun,' all of us called him Wan-xiong. He was very handsome. How delicate and graceful was he? Well, he had acted in operas and could play female roles. Once he put on the costume of that trade, the whole theatre would applaud. He was also a soft and gentle person. If you made him carry a 100 or 200-pound sack of grains, his back would curve under the weight, and he would need to rest after walking for a bit. His face would be pale, his breathing weak, his hands without the strength to even truss up a chicken. But do you know what his work was?"

Yu Lanchuan thought. ...A lousy strategist?

Old Master Yang sighed. "Of the three words 'Wan Mu Chun,' the emphasis is on 'spring.' The name was given in reference to 'scattering to the four winds' and 'the silent rain.' What it meant was—he passes by you and politely nods at you with a smile; before you can react, your throat is already slit open. Their sect has a unique skill which cuts a person up into eight pieces, just like the legendary story of the butcher skillfully dismembering an ox—Paoding Jieniu^[1]. Their hand holding a small blade, after dismembering the target, they would not even be panting for breath, and could still smile and make idle talk. Their blade could not be the least bit bent, which meant that they must not exert strength. If they exerted strength, it meant that their skills and their judgement were not good enough."

Yu Lanchuan asked, "Are they hitmen?"

"Yes. Back then, if you bring up the three words 'Wan Mu Chun,' anyone hearing them would shiver," Old Master Yang said. "Even though he was also a patriot, ultimately, he did not walk the same path as us. Later on, Wan Mu Chun washed his hands of their dark ways and had better relations with everyone. But even then, he would just come here for a chat during the Martial Arts General Assembly. When he came, he would just have some tea and never fought with anyone, and no one dared challenge him either. Later on, Wan Mu Chun grew old. He took in one last disciple and had the disciple attend in his place. That child also had an evil air about him. When he came, he greeted all the elders and then, just like his shifu, sat down to have tea. Someone couldn't stand the sight of him and privately gathered a group of people to corner him. In the end, he beat up this group one by one and broke their arms. That sect of theirs never had training matches with others. What they practised were techniques for killing. Snapping their arms instead of their throats could already be considered giving them a brief taste. Even though that issue could be said to be the fault of the thoughtless younger generation who challenged him, the seeds of discord were sowed and he stopped having contact with us. In view of the older generation's past affections, twenty years ago, he came once to visit your granduncle and I. He brought a small child with him, a disciple he had taken in. I don't know how things turned out later on."

After hearing that, Yu Lanchuan had absolutely no opinions on the bizarre stories from the pre-liberation days. He only felt his head aching even more. He had hoped that the Martial Arts General Assembly would be a peaceful and harmonious assembly, and it would be best if everyone just sat together and ate fruits and melon seeds, caught up with one another, talked about the stock market, then exchanged local specialities from their homes, and happily returned to their homes. As for this type of people who were like representatives of the troublemakers, he fervently wished that they would not attend.

Rubbing his temples, he hurried upstairs.

Yu Yan was summoned by his colleague to the eighth floor. The female police officer who had called him pulled him aside and whispered, "Yu-ge, I think something's not right. I suspect that Nie Ke is an An Jiahe^[2]."

Yu Yan frowned.

"Xiang Xiaoman—that's Mrs. Nie—basically stays at home twenty-four hours a day. Nie Ke finishes work at quite a regular time. Once he comes home, he parks his car downstairs. If you see his car there, you'll know that the man of the house is home. Logically, burglars who break into high-rises should definitely be old hands, didn't he make any prior preparations before committing the crime? Furthermore, that Xiang Xiaoman is very evasive and basically doesn't look anyone in the eye. The moment someone asks her a question, she shrinks back. Apparently they've moved in for a year already but she has never talked to their neighbours. A person like that, when a burglar suddenly breaks in, would her first reaction be to catch them? I don't believe that," the officer spoke quickly. "Her head was knocked so badly and the skin was broken on her face, yet she doesn't want to go to the hospital… I suspect that she has other injuries on her body."

Yu Yan said, "So you're saying that their house was not broken into at all. It was Nie Ke who hit his wife and broke the window, startling the neighbours, so he covered up with an excuse?"

"Yes," the officer said, full of indignation. "All men are bad!"

Yu Yan, "..."

"I mean… Yu-ge, I don't mean you. You don't count."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Having been entered into the Sunflower Manual^[3] clan by his colleague, Yu Yan faked a smile, then asked, "Have you asked the neighbours?"

"I have, they all said that they don't know." The officer spread her hands. "Everyone closes their doors and lives their own lives. Even if they heard some noise, they can't say for sure if it's a quarrel between husband and wife or if it's domestic violence. They wouldn't just say anything to the police. Furthermore, this Nie Ke knows how to act like a decent person most of the time. When he goes on trips, he frequently buys back things for the neighbours. Everyone in this building has pretty good relations with each other, we can't get any dirt on him. The only way is if the woman makes a report herself and goes with us to the hospital to have her injuries checked, but she isn't talking to us at all! Yu-ge, think of an idea, quick!"

Yu Yan glanced at her helplessly. What idea would I have?

Putting aside the fact that the victim didn't want other people to know, even for those who took action to make reports, how many of them regretted halfway and didn't follow through? A person's family was part of their soul. More often than not, domestic violence cases were entangled with many complicated psychological issues. On top of that, due to reasons such as the issue having dragged on for a long time, public opinion and material reasons, the issue was already tied into a dead knot. It wasn't something that could be simply explained as "a man beating a woman."

These young people who had just started working not long ago always felt that once they put on their uniform, they could save the world. They looked upon their work as though it was something supremely meaningful.

But what was the purpose of work? Wasn't it just to support one's family?

"Do what you can and don't shirk your duty" was already the highest standard one could uphold in their working life.

Yu Yan had been young once too, and didn't want to throw the harsh hypocritical reality of the world onto that passionate spirit, so he said, "We can't push their heads down and force people to make police reports. But there is a possibility that today's case has eyewitnesses."

The officer's eyes gleamed. "That Spiderman?"

"Yeap," Yu Yan said, fooling her. "At that time, this Spiderman was sprawled outside a window not far away. The noise at 804 was so loud, he must have seen something. If you're still worried, you can try leaving a private contact number with Mrs. Nie. Sometimes, people might not be willing to make a police report but if they have someone they can turn to for help, they might try when they are at the end of the rope."

The young officer believed his words and went away enthusiastically. Yu Yan looked at her retreating back and sighed. He walked to the end of the corridor and lit a cigarette, his heart vaguely feeling that all their efforts that night was for nothing.

Nothing was missing from Nie Ke's house. Furthermore, other than the injury on Mrs. Nie—Xiang Xiaoman's face, the "thief" didn't leave any traces. The police examined the whole place and questioned everyone, but as expected, they found nothing. They could only record their statements, and then leave the place.

And then wait to see if this "Spiderman" who left a letter of challenge with Yu Lanchuan would appear.

The residents of No. 110 Courtyard were all abuzzed for a few days. After that, other than the noticeboard downstairs gaining a notice reminding everyone to lock their windows, there were no more ripples.

"Mrs. Nie, good morning."

"Xiao-Xiang, going out?"

"The weather is so pleasant, it's good that you came out for a walk. Don't just stay at home the whole time."

Xiang Xiaoman kept her head down, her steps hurried as she passed through the east garden. She didn't converse with anyone either, and only hastily and perfunctorily gave them a quick smile.

A light breeze carried the voices of the aunties in the east garden over, trickling them into her ear.

"...Her life is good. Her family has a house and a car, her husband earns well, she can laze around at home the whole day and doesn't have to go to work."

"That isn't what you call 'housewife,' that's what you call 'rich wife.' Don't housewives have to look after the family? Their child attends the kindergarten right by the entrance but I've never seen her send the child there even once. There's not a single day where she gets up before noon. They get food delivery for their meals and hire an hourly worker once a week… And now she's going to the laundry shop by the entrance to collect their clothes. Aiyo, spending money to wash clothes, tsk!"

"Other people have good husbands. If you are capable of it, you can marry one too."

"I'll marry your father and become your mother, how about that…"

The jokes blew past Xiang Xiaoman's face like a slap. Yet, like she was already used to this treatment, she was not bothered and her face was wooden as she arrived at the laundry shop at the corner.

The laundry shop was opened by an old man. He hired a twenty-something years old young man to do the miscellaneous tasks. At this hour, the old man would have gone out for lunch and it was usually the shop employee who received her.

Speaking of this employee, everyone suspected that he was either mute or a stutterer. If someone asked him a question, he either nodded or shook his head. If flustered, he would let out a mm. He wore a face mask through all four seasons of the year and had earphones in his ears, as though he felt insecure if his face was not covered. He wore an old T-shirt with a cartoon character print, and never met anyone's eyes directly.

Xiang Xiaoman dug out the receipt and put it on the counter. The laundry shop employee took it up and looked for the clothes she had sent for cleaning. Neither of them said a word, neither looked at the other. It was like they were in a silent film. The only sound that could be heard in the shop was the sound of the dryers tumbling.

Xiang Xiaoman checked the clothes. Without even lifting her head, she gave a slight nod, then turned to go.

Right then, the shop employee suddenly called out to her.

"Hold on." He was 1.8 meters tall, a tall and broad young man, yet his voice when he spoke was weak and faint like a cat's cry. "You… Please wait a minute."

Xiang Xiaoman turned her head around and saw the shop employee took a small paper bag from under the counter. In the paper bag was a small blade.

His hand was trembling, his voice was also trembling. "This.. was taken from your pocket. Is it yours?"

T/N:

[1] There are a few references in the paragraph about Wan Mu Chun.

i. The name Wan Mu Chun (万木春) itself is likely a reference to a Tang dynasty poem. The line where the phrase appears generally means "the emergence of new, fresh forces, while the old ones are dying." More info in the Glossary.

ii. Old Master Yang says that the "spring" in the names carries the meaning of "scattering to the four winds" and "the silent rain."

"Scattering to the four winds" comes from the Tang dynasty poem A Poem for the Swallows (燕诗示刘叟) by Bai Juyi. The poem is about filial piety, and draws comparison between baby swallows growing up and flying off to the four winds with children growing up and leaving their parents.

"The silent rain" is from the Tang dynasty poem Spring Rain (春夜喜雨) by Du Fu. It is a simple and elegant poem that vividly describes the soft and quiet spring rain, and alludes to people who quietly make great contributions.

iii. "Paoding Jieniu" literally means "the cook / butcher dismembers an ox." It refers to the story about a butcher who so skillfully dismembers an ox that he impressed a lord who asks him how he was able to do it. The butcher's answer was basically something along the lines of 'my blade is me, I am the blade, all I see is the ox and the Way' (please go to the link above to read the proper translation). If you're familiar with Kurapika from HXH, yeah, this story reminds me of Kurapika learning to use his chain.

[2] An Jiahe 安嘉和 is the antagonist of the 2001 TV series Don't Respond to Strangers and is a surgeon who beats his wife. The character's name has become synonymous with domestic violence.

[3] Sunflower Manual 葵花宝典 - as mentioned in an earlier chapter, this is a reference to Dongfang Bubai, a fictional character from the wuxia novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer by Jin Yong, who castrated himself to obtain the skills in the Sunflower Manual.