Chapter 5: Tattered Clothes_1

Pei Ye recalled the idle chat he had with Lin Lin while learning to fight.

"But it's not like that in a real fight," explained Lin Lin, as he sat beneath a tree, using his True Qi to cool a can of well water filled with plums. Shards of summer sunlight pierced through the leaves and landed on his face, "No one would stand still and let you attack their vital points. If you always aim to kill with a single blow, most often you wouldn't succeed. In an actual combat, you should take advantage of any opportunity to hurt your opponent, strike wherever you can, and slowly gain the upper hand."

"Won't it work if I have superior martial arts skill?"

"Hmm...for that, you'd need to be significantly more advanced," responded Lin Lin, "For example, between us two, I am a more accomplished martial artist, but even then I couldn't kill you in one strike by attacking your heart or lungs. You would react quickly and block my attack. I would need to disable one of your arms first to find a chance to strike. In all, I would need at least three moves."

"Ahh... So those stories of defeating opponents in one move are all false then?"

"Not necessarily, there are many people in this world who are unimaginably powerful." Looking up towards the sky, Lin Lin spoke in an awestruck tone, then, pointing to a wooden dummy, he said to Pei Ye with a smile, "But imagine this, if you're able to slice the throat with a standard sword or destroy the heart with one palm blow, doesn't it imply that the enemy is as defenseless as this wooden dummy in your eyes?"

This past conversation now echoed in reality, the once seemingly invincible elder had become an equivalent of the wooden dummy in someone else's eyes.

Chill, anger and an oppressive sensation making it hard to breathe surged to the surface, but his regret lessened a bit, for he now understood that even if he had arrived in time, the outcome would not have changed. He would only have added one more body to the scene.

Standing up with his fist clenched around the hilt of his sword, Pei Ye looked around.

In the middle of the forest was a flat land covered with stone slabs, the remnants of a dismantled pavilion.

A straight pole stood in the center, holding a dim blue flame that seemed to be on the verge of burning out.

There were seven sets of boot prints on the ground in front of the fire. The set closest to the fire belonged to the man that Pei Ye had been tracking down, while the other six sets were behind him.

Looking further, there were four small bronze cups fallen on the ground. The words "Immortal Water", spoken by the old man, came to mind once again.

Next to the cups were four bloody and tattered clothes, all ripped as if by claws. Their owners were nowhere to be found.

One was a long nightgown, likely belonging to someone in a wealthy household in the county; two were shorts, identical to the ones worn by Pei Ye, belonging to two young boys.

The most shocking was the last one, beautiful fragments of blue silk scattered around a shredded bustier.

A girl's name sprang to mind.

Pei Ye and Lin Yue were very close playmates when they were young. As they got older, Pei Ye took interest in fishing and hunting in the mountains and rivers, while Lin Yue, unable to venture outdoors, enjoyed reading poetry at home. Their interactions became less frequent as a result.

But whenever Lin Yue came to the Martial Arts Hall to bring food to Lin Lin, they could still chat for a while. At that time, she was Pei Ye's biggest cheerleader. Whenever he was competing, whether it was casual sparring in the Martial Arts Hall or annual Mid-Autumn Martial Arts competitions, Lin Yue always cheered for him loudly. Pei Ye, accordingly, always won each match.

Even when his Dantian was injured and his companions hardly visited him, the girl never ceased to seize every opportunity to visit and encourage him. Embroidery, pastries, calligraphy, and sometimes even silver coins; there were countless exchanges between them, and Pei Ye often benefited from them.

Pei Ye slowly picked up the bloody and mud-stained clothes, looking at the clumsy stitches of the embroidered orchid flowers. He could almost visualize the girl, sitting under the candlelight, battling with her uncooperative hands to carefully embroider each stitch.

...

...

The county magistrate, Chang Zhiyuan, was over sixty but still full of energy. His stern face was a reflection of his personality. Despite the graying of his hair, his gaze was still sharp and piercing.

The assistant magistrate, Feng Zhi, was a man in his thirties with a dark complexion, prominent brows, long beard, and a loud and brash demeanor. His bulky frame was such that he often got mistaken for a martial artist when standing next to the fair-skinned Lin Lin. As a matter of fact, Feng Zhi was a martial artist, and besides Shen Yanping and Lin Lin, he was the only one in Fenghui who possessed usable martial arts skills.

Shen Yanping, the Magic Inspector from Immortal Platform, was a refined young scholar with jade pins in his hair. Despite his appearance, he was similar in age to Feng Zhi. The reason Immortal Platform had sent him to each county was to deal with special cases like these. Although Shen Yanping was not a magician, he was like Lin Lin and Feng Zhi, a martial artist with an extensive knowledge in dealing with such issues. After a brief look at the Fire Mark on Pei Ye's head, he returned to the county office to consult his books.

It was broad daylight. Officials busied themselves through the forest. Considering Fenghui's size, almost the entire force of county officials was present.

This was indeed a shocking major case, seemingly a continuation of yesterday's case at the broken temple north of the city. In total, six people had been victimized, the only body left behind belonged to Lin Lin, the county captain, and the murderer had not left behind even a shred of clothing.

Pei Ye had also put on a robe. His wounds had been carefully bandaged. He stood next to Chang Zhiyuan, calmly recounting his experiences, his expression unreadable.

Feng Zhi walked over with a stern face after examining the scene.

"I've sent someone to compare the shoe prints at the tailor shops, but with this kind of people it's likely they come from outside. We probably won't get results unless they have an affliction with dirty shoes," Feng Zhi said with his course voice. "Also...this palm print is extraordinary. We probably can't handle this case alone."

Chang Zhiyuan replied, "I've sent a letter asking for aid from the provincial government, but the messenger just reported back. Last night's rain was so heavy that the mountain road was destroyed by mudslides, making it impossible to ride a horse through it."

"Then once Shen Yanping returns, we will use the Soul Bird to send a message to the Immortal Platform."

"That seems to be the only way," agreed Chang Zhiyuan, nodding his head. "What about on your side? What's the situation with that beast?"

"The claw prints at the scene match those from yesterday, but this time there were four victims. And it has become clear that there is a mastermind behind all this. Come and see," said Feng Zhi, leading the two men. "This beast left blood claw prints at all four clothing pieces, the four victims seem still to have been devoured by it. However, there is no trace of a transition point between each clothing, as if the beast jumped from one person to another."

There was no need for Feng Zhi to explain further as the rest became clear to Chang Zhiyuan and Pei Ye. After devouring Lin Yue, the unknown beast headed towards Lin Lin. The trail of blood paw prints from dark to light became slightly clearer, but instead of eating Lin Lin, it employed an inefficient method to kill him.