The Murder on the Western District

On the west side of the Capital City, a few soldiers were seen gathering around the riverside. Someone had reported that a dead body was found in the western district and the men from the Department of City Security arrived to investigate the murder.

Officer Zhou Ming watched as soldiers did their job to inspect the dead body and frowned when he reached closer.

Blood pooled on the ground. The man's eyes widened and his tongue lolled out. The most frightening thing was that the man's head was almost detached from his body. The scene was too gruesome that anyone with a faint heart would not be able to take it.

A deep frown appeared on Officer Zhou Ming's face and he quickly looked away. A few officers who came to inspect the dead body crouched not far away and vomited.

"Who on earth was cruel enough to do something like this?"

Officer Zhou Ming turned around and saw that Han Jing was watching the dead without much change in his expression. He heaved a long sigh and watched the soldiers again. After a while, Officer Zhou Ming walked over to one of the men. "How is the situation over here?"

The soldier turned to Officer Zhou Ming and his expression turned polite when he recognized him. "Officer Zhou Ming." The soldier called Xiang Yuan might know that everyone in the Department of City Security would usually ignore Officer Zhou Ming and the men in his team, but the officer still ranked higher than him and Xiang Yuan could only lower himself in front of the officer.

"Tell me," Officer Zhou Ming spoke again. His gaze darkened, frightening the soldier a little bit.

"Yes," the soldier nodded. "The man has been dead for a while. The cause of death is the cut on the neck and loss of blood. However, it seemed that his head was cut off after he was taken to the riverside."

Officer Zhou Ming listened to the man's report and the frown on his face deepened.

At this time, there was a loud whistling sound in the sky, followed by an explosion.

Everyone around tilted their head up and watched as the night sky filled with the colorful fireworks and the show continued for a long time The expression on their face loosened a little bit when they saw the direction where the firework had come from.

The soldiers who had tensed expressions on their faces after witnessing the brutal murder loosened up a little bit after watching the beautiful fireworks show.

"I guess, this should mean the end of this festivity. By now the lantern should be lit up, brightening up the city square with its light," Han Jing spoke and sighed. "I wish I was at the square to witness the beautiful lantern. Officer Zhou Ming, aren't you curious?"

Officer Zhou Ming chuckled. "Who asked you to wander around to this side of the city? If only you stayed around at the square, you and the others will be able to watch the lantern and fireworks up close."

"That's right." Han Jing nodded. "If I wasn't curious enough about that dead body, perhaps I will be able to watch them up close."

Officer Zhou Ming shifted his gaze towards the dead man again and spoke, "Perhaps the person who had done this inhuman thing shouldn't be too far away. Let's split and look for anyone suspicious."

"Yes," the soldier nodded. Then, he turned around to a few of his men and instructed them to patrol the area.

"Officer Zhou Ming, you're not going?" Han Jing asked when he realized that the officer was not planning to leave the area.

"You go ahead," Officer Zhou Ming said before he turned around and walked over to look at the dead man's body.

Han Jing stared at the officer for a few seconds longer before he finally turned around and left.

As soon as Han Jing and a few others had left, a soldier walked over to Officer Zhou Ming and whispered a few words. Instantly, Officer Zhou Ming's expression changed. He wanted to turn around towards where Han Jing had disappeared to, but he could only hold himself from making a sudden move.

If anyone noticed anything, then, he would be in danger.

"The words you said, was it true?" Officer Zhou Ming spoke in a low tone.

The firework in the sky continued. The noises were masking the officer's voice from others from eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Yes." Wen Ping nodded. "When we departed, the little boy was heading to the square to deliver the message to the prince. The lantern is lit up and there was no explosion. I'm guessing that he managed to send the message in time."

Officer Zhou Ming heaved a sigh in relief but was still worried about the situation in the city center.

"As for what will happen in the Western District… the boy wasn't too sure about it. He just mentioned that those men were working on something underground and hearing about some explosive along the route that the Emperor was going to take later."

"Wen Ping."

"Yes, master."

"Han Jing… when he left, did he leave alone?"

Wen Ping glanced in the direction where Han Jing had disappeared to without moving his head too much. "Yes."

"Go and trail after Han Jing," Officer Zhou Ming said. "If what the boy said is true, then perhaps, that person should be heading over to check over the explosive."

"Yes."Wen Ping nodded again before he disappeared among the group of soldiers, and then into the night.

Officer Zhou Ming clenched his hands into fists as he recalled a few strange moves and words coming from Han Jing earlier.

…

Meanwhile, outside the watchtower in the square… a long line of soldiers were seen lining up on both sides of the palanquins.

Qin Zhi Hao walked around the area for a final inspection as they were ready to depart to leave the place and head back to the palace. Seeing a figure walking over to him, Qin Zhi Hao stopped in his track. He watched as General Li Mu approached him, saluted, and gave him his report.

"Your Highness," General Li Mu spoke after a while. "What is your plan?"

"The most important thing is to bring the Emperor to safety and return to the palace," Qin Zhi Hao said. "Uncle, I can only count on you and the others to look out for the people. Bring them to a safe place and prevent the others from entering the Western District. If what the boy said is true, then, I expected that the explosive prepared should be bigger than what they have prepared to blow up the watchtower."