After two days of calm, trouble arose again on the third day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, which was October 12th.
A Tong was a child with a father but no mother. His father was lazy and fond of eating, drinking, gambling, and boasting all day, rarely taking care of him. When in a bad mood, he would beat A Tong severely. As a result, A Tong was very rebellious and joined the Butterfly Gang after barely finishing elementary school. Due to his robust build and daring nature, he became a core member of the Butterfly Gang in our village.
A Tong had been beaten by me that day, and his father, knowing he was in the wrong, didn't dare to come to my house to make a fuss. Instead, he angrily scolded his son. A Tong's injuries were all superficial, looking bruised and swollen but actually not serious. After applying some bee wax, the swelling and bruising had mostly subsided after five or six days. He seemed fine yesterday, but this morning he was found dead in bed, and soon rumors spread that he had died of "relapse of old injuries."
A Tong's relatives arrived at my house in a fierce manner, claiming it was my responsibility, so I had to go and check it out. When I arrived, the house was crowded with people. Wu Zhangya and Old Fan were examining the body, and they had already called the police, but the police wouldn't arrive so quickly.
I saw A Tong's body with wide-open eyes, his mouth slightly agape, showing a look of terror and despair. His skin had a slightly blue-black tint and was somewhat swollen. I couldn't tell if the color change was due to being dead for too long or if he had been poisoned. I really didn't have any experience with this, and to be honest, I didn't dare to look too closely. Besides, there were already two people examining the body: Old Fan and Wu Zhangya.
Old Fan was a relatively honest person, straightforward in his findings. He determined that A Tong had been poisoned, but he couldn't identify the specific type of poison. Wu Zhangya, on the other hand, was certain that it was snake venom, but there were no wounds found on the body. Fortunately, both of them concluded that it was poisoning, which automatically eliminated me as a suspect in the death. However, A Tong's relatives still wouldn't let me leave and insisted on waiting for the police to arrive.
Before long, two police cars arrived with five police officers. After understanding the sequence of events, three officers took me to a separate room for questioning. They repeatedly asked about the fight that day and what I had done and where I had been for the entire day yesterday.
This was my first intimate encounter with the police, and even though it wasn't in an interrogation room, it still made me a bit nervous. However, I wasn't afraid because I had neither the possibility nor the motive to poison anyone. A Tong had tried to steal my chicken, and I had already beaten him; what more did I need to do? Besides, I had never been to A Tong's house, so I didn't have the opportunity to poison him. Moreover, it was impossible for the fight to have caused a delayed reaction; it had been six days already, and no injury would take that long to manifest.
The police officers were just asking questions and didn't offer any conclusions. Their attitude towards me wasn't too bad. Later, A Tong's relatives, my mother, and my master were also questioned separately. In the end, the police said that the preliminary conclusion was poisoning. They took the body and some extracted samples with them, stating that they would wait for the forensic examination to determine the cause of death. I was still a suspect and was ordered to stay at home and not leave the village for the next few days.
My mind had been somewhat foggy, but when I returned home and saw the meaningful look in my master's eyes, I suddenly realized something and couldn't help but take a sharp breath. A Tong had died from snake venom, and his face showed extreme terror, which meant that the one who had killed him must be the snake demon I had sensed before!
It was unlikely that A Tong had angered the snake demon, and the snake demon wouldn't have killed A Tong for no reason. There was only one possibility: Granny Shengyu, in an attempt to frame me, had used a malevolent entity to kill A Tong! Any person with a bit of sense wouldn't do such a crazy and vicious thing, and anyone with common sense would know that this wouldn't frame me. But that old witch had lost her mind, not much different from a madwoman, and where was there any sense or common sense left?
I was extremely angry. Although Lu Chengshan had caused me great harm, I had never been so angry and hateful towards him. This was the first time I had ever hated someone so much that I wanted to strangle them alive. If I knew any harmful spells, I would definitely not be able to resist making her taste them, but unfortunately, I hadn't learned them. I had no evidence to report her to the police, and I couldn't rush to her house and accuse her either. This made me even more frustrated and irritable.
My master placed his hand on my shoulder and spoke with deep earnestness: "Don't be impulsive. If she really dared to do such a thing, both the law and human sentiment will not spare her, and neither will the will of heaven!"
"Where is the will of heaven?" I asked, my anger unchecked. "Ever since I was a child, I've listened to my elders and teachers, trying to be a good person, never doing anything that heaven and earth would not tolerate. Yet Lu Chengshan has caused me such suffering; I merely punished a few thieves, and now I'm framed for murder. Has heaven gone blind?"
My master fell silent, and after a long time, he said, "You are a scholar and should understand the idiom 'do not judge until the coffin is closed.' It's too early to say anything now. Besides, when heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on someone, it will first test their heart and will."
I felt frustrated and shook off his hand. Such words were only meant to deceive children, and I was an adult.
My master didn't get angry either. He just smoked in silence. Just then, my mother came in, and we didn't continue that conversation.
Not long after, a group of people rushed in outside the door, each holding knives and sticks, with a murderous intent, led by Fan Qiang. I quickly picked up the club next to me, which had been shortened to only 1.5 meters, and greeted them, shouting loudly, 'What do you want?'
Now the people in the village know that I am very good at fighting, and they have also worshipped Lao Lin as their second master, so all the ruffians hesitated and slowed down their pace when I shouted at them. Fan Qiang's left arm was still hanging and he dared not charge forward alone. He pointed his machete at me and shouted, "Kill him to avenge Ah Tong
Wait, I have something to say! "I shouted again, risking my life." A-Tong was killed by your mother. It's like going to kill your mother
Fan Qiang angrily said, "Fart, it was clearly you who injured him to death.
I immediately retorted, "The police have concluded that he died of poisoning. Your mother summoned evil spirits to kill him, trying to frame me. Don't believe me? Go ask your mother right now!"
Fan Qiang was taken aback, indicating he was unaware of this matter. However, he knew his mother had the capability to harm others, making it easier for him to believe this. The other thugs looked around in confusion, eventually focusing their gaze on Fan Qiang.
I sneered, "What one does, heaven sees. I dare swear on my life that I didn't kill him. Do you dare swear on your life that it wasn't your mother who caused his death?"
In front of all his "brothers," Fan Qiang couldn't back down from confronting me. His face pale, he demanded, "You swear!"
I immediately raised my hand to the sky, vowing, "May all the gods and Buddhas bear witness, if I killed A Tong, I shall die vomiting blood within three days!"
This solemn oath carried weight. Fan Qiang's expression grew even more grim. They might disregard morality and law, but they held the concept of "righteousness" in high regard and took oaths seriously. My calm demeanor and righteous anger caused him to waver. But if he accepted this, it would implicate his mother as the prime suspect, which would indirectly implicate him in the murder. How could he face his brothers then?
Unable to back down, Fan Qiang clenched his teeth, placed the blade on the back of his left hand, and made a swift cut, causing blood to flow profusely. He declared loudly, "I swear by my blood, whoever killed A Tong, I shall drain their blood!"
I sneered again, "Everyone has heard this, and they are all witnesses!"
The thugs, who had come in high spirits, left disappointed. As they reached the door, Fan Qiang, still seething with resentment, turned around and hacked a fierce blow at the door, vowing, "I will get to the bottom of this. If it was you, I'll kill your entire family, and your uncle's family too!"
My mother and master were so scared they turned pale and dared not make a sound. It was only after everyone had left that they hurriedly closed the front and back doors. I secretly wiped away a sweat; if it weren't for Fan Qiang's doubts about his mother, today might have ended in a bloody confrontation.
It took my master a while to compose himself. He thenThumbs up to me: "You're stronger than your second master. You don't rely solely on bravado. Not only did you successfully defuse a crisis, but you also created a rift between them."
I replied with a hint of annoyance, "Master, you're too soft and accommodating. That's why people keep bullying us over and over again. If it were me, I would have used magic to deal with that old witch long ago!"
My master smiled awkwardly and then took my arm, saying, "Come on, let's go for a walk. Those demons shouldn't be able to take human form yet, so they must be hiding in dark places. There must be some traces to follow when they come and go. If we find them, we might be able to eliminate them."
I was skeptical. If it was that easy, why hadn't he acted sooner?
My master explained to me, "I didn't know before what type of evil beings they were or how many there were, so I didn't know how to start and didn't dare to act rashly. Now that I know their true forms, it's easier to deal with them. Most spirits and monsters can only use their spiritual power to confuse and control people before they can take human form, and their true forms are not terrifying. Besides, with firearms now, we just need to find their lair and let the police shoot them to death."
I couldn't help but feel like I was being used as a mine detector by my master.
Since my master was willing to take the initiative, I naturally accompanied him in searching for the traces of monsters. We started our search near A Tong's house, but unfortunately, we didn't find any obvious traces. Too many people had come and gone, and any traces that might have been there were long gone. We then expanded our search to those dilapidated houses that were unoccupied.
At the back of the village, there were quite a few hundred-year-old houses like the one my master lived in. The younger generation had either built new houses along the roadside outside the village or moved to towns and cities. Some of these old houses had not been inhabited for years, while others were occupied by only one or two elderly people on the brink of death. Such old houses were most likely to breed evil creatures. There were a few places that felt very eerie, possibly haunted by unwelcome entities, but there were no signs of the giant snake's activities. As for the evil being that possessed Sheng Yu's mother, my master believed it to be a yellow weasel. These creatures are small and cunning, making them really hard to find.
If the fox spirit within me could awaken and assist me, I would have the equivalent of fiery eyes that could see through any deception, and small monsters would have nowhere to hide. Unfortunately, I couldn't wake it up. My sensing ability was like that of Duan Yu in the novel 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils'—it worked sporadically and was least reliable when I tried to control it. My master also dared not risk awakening the demon fox. Although he speculated that the fox spirit wouldn't harm me, it was still just a guess. If something went wrong and I ended up in a vegetative state again, it would be disastrous.
After searching for half a day with no results, I did learn from a relative that Fan Qiang had a big argument with Sheng Yu's mother. The specifics of the argument were not clear to outsiders. Undoubtedly, Fan Qiang had confronted the old witch, who of course denied everything, leading to the argument. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least for the time being, Fan Qiang wouldn't bring people to trouble me anymore, allowing me to focus on finding the lair of the evil beings.
I had a bad premonition. The Fengtou Palace had three statues of gods, and there were exactly three ancient camphor trees. The evil beings also numbered three. Was this a coincidence, or was there a necessary connection? This was a big question. I dared not act rashly with the statues and the camphor trees, as it could cause public outrage. I might be burned at the stake by the villagers before the evil beings could harm me.