"Young Master Chen?" Head Constable Lu looked calmly at Chen Mu.
"It's me." Chen Mu got up from the ground and thanked him with a bow, "Thank you, Head Constable Lu, for the rescue."
"It was nothing." Head Constable Lu glanced indifferently at the two men on the ground.
The two men groveling on the ground noticed Head Constable Lu's glance and shivered, their voices becoming much quieter.
They seemed to be extremely afraid of Head Constable Lu with the surname of Lu.
"May I ask Young Master Chen to move to the County Government Office, there's something I'd like assistance with," Head Constable Lu politely said.
"No problem," Chen Mu agreed without hesitation.
"Please!" Head Constable Lu, with his right hand on his saber, stepped aside to clear the way.
Chen Mu dusted off the dirt from his body and walked towards the alley entrance.
As he passed the shorter man, he ruthlessly stomped on the man's left hand with his right foot.
Ah...
The man was caught off guard and immediately let out a pig-like scream.
Head Constable Lu's expression turned odd in an instant.
Noticing Head Constable Lu's gaze, Chen Mu gave a sheepish smile. Then he pressed down harder, grinding his foot in twice.
Head Constable Lu's mouth twitched instantly.
Emerging from the alley, the two walked shoulder to shoulder.
Chen Mu suddenly asked, "Does Head Constable Lu know the identity of these two men?"
"I don't know them," Head Constable Lu replied subconsciously.
Then, he looked at Chen Mu in surprise, as if to say, you want to retaliate?
"Being ambushed for no reason, it's always good to know which deity I have offended, isn't it?" Chen Mu sighed, "Mainly for future safety considerations, if I can't afford to offend, at least I can hide."
"I truly do not know those two men," Head Constable Lu hesitated for a moment before saying, "But judging by their clothes, they look like they are from the Marvelous Art Shop in East Market."
East Market? Marvelous Art Shop?
That Master Yan?!
I'm just selling a painting, and he actually sent someone to break my hand.
He really wanted to retaliate then and there.
But he was just a poor scholar, relying on selling paintings to survive.
The other party, however, had a long-standing presence in Anle Square, could mobilize rogues and gangsters; retaliating by myself would be like throwing an egg against a rock.
Chen Mu said with an unwilling face, "I can't go to East Market anymore, it seems."
Head Constable Lu looked at Chen Mu, wanting to say something but hesitated.
The two were neither relatives nor close friends; he didn't know the specifics and it wasn't appropriate to offer direct help.
He could only remain silent, escorting Chen Mu straight to the County Government Office.
...
Qingshan County Government Office
Chen Mu stood alone in the main hall of the County Government Office, looking around.
The hall was spacious with two rows of racks on each side, neatly arranged with wooden clubs, bronze gongs, treasure umbrellas, and ceremonial weapons.
In the depths, there was a desk with documents, writing brushes, and ink slabs all in order.
In one corner of the desk, there was an Evil-Repelling Mirror covered with verdigris.
"Is the ancient County Government Office this unreliable? They called me here just to stand by myself?" Chen Mu muttered.
Since arriving at the County Government Office, he'd been left standing alone in this empty main hall.
Head Constable Lu had disappeared into a back hall, with no indication of when he would return.
"There's nothing in my previous memories about committing any offense. I haven't done anything outrageous either, so there likely won't be any trouble," Chen Mu thought calmly.
"It's just a pity that the painting skill I've just developed seems somewhat difficult to cash in on right now." With nothing else to do, Chen Mu silently considered how to deal with Master Yan.
The other party's motive for scheming against him wasn't hard to guess.
It was nothing more than striking at a rival, safeguarding their own interests.
The means were straightforward and crude but very practical.
"Until I figure out a way to break the situation, I can't go to Anle Square," Chen Mu thought regretfully.
He had just found a way to make money, but now it seemed he was forced to stop just after starting.
"Fortunately, I earned ten pieces of silver from the Wang family, so I won't have to worry about food and drink for a while,"
But to learn martial arts with just ten pieces of silver, and to experience the world's wonders—obviously, that was far from enough.
...
In the back hall of the County Government Office.
Du Huai, the magistrate of Qingshan County, sat at the head of the table, visibly edgy and uneasy.
"County Magistrate Du, that man has stood under the Evil-Repelling Bronze Mirror for half an hour, and should have no connection with evil spirits," said the head constable, Lu.
A middle-aged Daoist priest sitting beside him shook his head and said, "That's not necessarily the case. If he can deceive our Qingfeng Observatory's Heartless Bell, he might also evade the Evil-Repelling Mirror."
If Chen Mu were here, he would recognize that this middle-aged Daoist priest was none other than Cheng Yi from Qingfeng Observatory.
County Magistrate Du immediately stood up, his body turned towards the back door, ready to flee at a moment's notice. Then, with a look of intense anxiety, he asked Lu, the head constable, "Is he really the one behind the Wang family's massacre?"
To evade the Heartless Bell and deceive the Evil-Repelling Mirror, it must be an incredibly ferocious evil spirit to possess such abilities!
"According to our investigations, Chen Mu's whereabouts were clear after he left the Wang family's home, and he did not leave his house again. It's unlikely to be him," Lu, the head constable, hesitated for a moment before stating the investigation results truthfully.
"If he snuck out in the middle of the night, nobody would notice," Cheng Yi said indifferently.
Lu, the head constable, glanced at Cheng Yi and said, "The other party seems to have some conflict with the Marvelous Portrait Studio. Someone has been watching him all day yesterday."
"If it's not him, that's good," County Magistrate Du breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back into his chair.
"What about that headless portrait?" Cheng Yi frowned. "The painting was headless, and then the person's head was gone. It doesn't look normal no matter how you see it."
County Magistrate Du, who had just relaxed, tensed up again.
"Perhaps someone is purposely being mysterious," Lu, the head constable, suggested with narrowed eyes.
"Impossible! The massacre of the Wang family was definitely the work of an evil spirit!" Du Huai glared at Lu, the head constable, and declared.
A family massacre happening under his jurisdiction was one thing if it was caused by evil spirits, but quite another if it was the work of mortals.
If the latter, and he, the county magistrate, couldn't capture the criminal, his year-end evaluation would suffer!
The massacre of the Wang family was definitely the work of an evil spirit!
"Whether it's a person or not, this Chen Mu is still a significant suspect," Cheng Yi stated flatly.
"It seems we cannot let this Chen Mu go," County Magistrate Du pondered with a thoughtful expression.
"If there's nothing else, I will take my leave first," Cheng Yi said, glancing at Lu, the head constable, before speaking calmly.
"Alright, Lu, the head constable, please escort Daoist Priest Cheng Yi for me," County Magistrate Du said with a smile.
...
At the main hall, Chen Mu, who was bored waiting, scrutinized the bronze mirror.
The mirror was circular, with flame-shaped patterns carved around its edge, covered in a patina of green rust, and set upon a delicate wooden stand. He wondered from which dynasty this ancient item came.
As he pondered, two figures emerged from the back hall.
"Daoist Priest Cheng Yi?" Chen Mu looked at the middle-aged Daoist priest in surprise.
"No matter how well you hide, you will eventually show your true colors!" Cheng Yi glanced at Chen Mu and said coldly.
After saying this, he didn't pay any mind to Chen Mu, who wore a baffled expression, and quickly left the main hall.
When did I offend this Daoist priest? Chen Mu wondered, utterly confused.
What was with his furious and hostile tone?
After a while, Lu, the head constable, returned to the main hall, holding a painting in his hand.
He approached Chen Mu and unrolled the scroll, asking, "Young Master Chen, is this your painting?"
Chen Mu looked closely and immediately felt a chill on his scalp.
It was a fine brushwork technique with a lifelike portrait. This was indeed the memorial portrait he had painted for Master Wang of the Wang family.
But eerily, the head of the person in the portrait had vanished, as if someone had erased it out of thin air.
"I did paint it, but I painted a full figure with a head," said Chen Mu, sensing the trouble he was in.
"Last night, the Wang family was massacred, with all direct relatives dead. Just like this portrait—no heads to be found!"
Chen Mu felt his scalp tighten.
Bad news!
They were suspecting him!
"If you cannot prove your innocence regarding the Wang family massacre, I will have to keep you in the jail for a few days," Lu, the head constable, said coolly.
This...