The autumn executions passed quite quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the busiest period at the Vegetable Market was over. After that, the daily number of corpses Xu Qing performed salvation rituals for gradually decreased from a high of two hundred down to fifty.
By mid-September, the chief officer in charge of overseeing the executions, Lu Zhizhou, had left Linhe, leaving only Li Tongpan and County Captain Dong to manage the execution platform.
During this time, Xu Qing happened to meet an old acquaintance.
To be precise, it was an old acquaintance who had just been beheaded.
Do you all remember, several months ago, Mr. Xu was out doing part-time work and took on corpse collector duties. Near the Reed Marsh, he discovered an upside-down corpse.
Xu Qing had seen the spinning lantern of the corpse, and the deceased was named Zheng Deli, who, before his death, had been strangled by two water bandits and thrown into the river on the Baijiang.
Zheng Deli feigned death to escape, drifting along with the currents, ultimately surviving a catastrophe, only to meet his end at the hands of the Water Tiger, strangled by weeds near the Reed Marsh, becoming the upside-down corpse.
Those two water bandits weren't bandits on the surface; they were boatmen disguised as helmsmen.
After throwing Zheng Deli into the water, the old helmsman and his assistant opened his bags, only to find that inside were just stones.
Many people had seen Zheng Deli boarding the boat, and the two, fearing exposure, went to the Corpse Recovery Team, claiming Zheng Deli had fallen into the river due to a mishap while relieving himself and was missing.
Xu Qing was intolerant of the two's behavior and, with thoughts of aiding Senior Brother Wang's forensic achievements, took Zheng Deli's corpse to the Government Office forensics room, attributing the Water Tiger's killing of Zheng Deli to the helmsman and his assistant, Yuan Hu.
Wang Lingyuan, upon examining the corpse, discovered the deceased was indeed strangled, and reported the case to the Government Office.
Xu Qing initially thought things would end there, but unexpectedly, several months later, he saw the helmsman again in Zheng Deli's memories.
As the saying goes, you reap what you sow.
The corpse seed Xu Qing planted months ago had now borne another body.
Turning the pages of the Sutra of Salvation, the helmsman's notorious life unfolded before him.
Digging open graves of absolute orphans, kicking widows' homes—anything involving others, this helmsman wouldn't engage at all.
When the helmsman was a bit older, suddenly, a rogue friend came knocking.
"Zhang Da, I've got a money-making business for you. Are you interested?"
"What kind of business?"
"Of course, the business of robbing the rich and giving to the poor!" Yuan Hu chuckled and said, "I see many travelers on Baijiang; these folks are either traveling with money or going to the dock for trade with goods or cash. If you and I pretend to be helmsmen ferrying people..."
"The waters of Baijiang are swift. If we kill someone and throw the body into the river, who would ever know?"
The helmsman asked, confused, "I've grown old and my legs are not nimble. Why do you seek me instead of younger, stronger men to partner with?"
Yuan Hu laughed, "If they're all young and strong, passengers would be wary. But it's different with Brother Zhang. When others see you, they'll let their guard down. No matter how they guess, they wouldn't expect Brother Zhang, with his years, to be a murderous water bandit!"
The helmsman had a sudden realization.
People only know to respect the elderly and care for the young, often forgetting that villains age too.
The two made up their minds and the next day, acquired a black canopy boat to start ferrying people.
They specifically chose solitary people; while these individuals might be somewhat cautious, upon seeing the helmsman's honest smile, they dropped their vigilance.
Helmsman Zhang Da lured people onto the boat cheaply, and once they reached the river's heart, his assistant Yuan Hu teamed up with Zhang Da to strangle the passengers and throw them into the river.
In half a year's time, the duo used this method to kill dozens.
Among them was Zheng Deli, on his way to the dock to buy fish on credit.
Xu Qing continued reading, and ever since Zhang Da and Yuan Hu were featured on the Sea Arrest Warrant, they hid on Brick Street in Jin Sect.
Brick Street was a place for the poor, a melting pot of various backgrounds, with many residents carrying their own baggage.
Xu Qing thought there was nothing noteworthy, but just as he was about to skip these scenes, a constable from Jinmen Prefecture suddenly approached Yuan Hu.
The constable was surnamed Zhou, and upon seeing him, Yuan Hu addressed him as Master Zhou.
The constable spoke bluntly, "Yuan Hu, you've committed murder and robbery; according to the law, you should be executed! If I capture you both today and bring you back, I can earn at least a hundred taels of silver..."
Even though Yuan Hu was surprised and suspicious, he didn't flee.
He dealt frequently with the Government Office and understood the nature of these officials. If they truly intended to convict him, they wouldn't come alone nor waste time speaking nonsense.
"Master Zhou, listen to what you're saying, we're all one family here, you can't catch me whatever happens." The helmsman next to him said with a full smile.
Constable Zhou sneered, "I belong to the government, you're a bandit, who is family with you?"
Saying this, Constable Zhou took out twenty taels of silver from his sleeve, placed it on the table, and said with a slightly relaxed tone, "I know it's been tough for you two to make ends meet these days, take this twenty taels of silver and use it."
Yuan Hu looked at the silver but didn't dare to take it, he tentatively asked, "Master Zhou, please speak plainly, if there's anything you need us for, we will not refuse."
Upon hearing this, Constable Zhou immediately smiled, "There is a matter, the County Magistrate of Baisha County recently took in a son-in-law who was first in the provincial examination, named Wu Zhiyuan, have you heard of him?"
"I seem to have some impression."
"That man offended someone he shouldn't have, and now someone wants his life..."
Seeing Yuan Hu remain silent, Constable Zhou raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't you want to know who wants him dead?"
"I know the rules, don't ask what shouldn't be asked."
Constable Zhou stared at Yuan Hu for a while, then suddenly said, "The one who wants to kill him is the County Magistrate's eldest son-in-law, Yang Hong!"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Hu looked at Constable Zhou with deep eyes.
The latter laughed and said, "Yang Hong is naturally cunning, if he wants to cut ties after crossing the river, I have to be cautious. Yuan Hu, that Wu Zhiyuan has a brother, they will be heading to the dock to catch a boat to the Capital City tomorrow, then I'll go with you two. I'll pretend to be a Government Official delivering documents, you'll pretend to be a passenger, engage them in conversation, and invite them onto the boat."
"Afterwards, you two must bury this matter in your stomachs, but if someday I were to..."
Yuan Hu's brow moved, he said, "If something happens to Master Zhou, I will certainly find a way to expose this matter."
...
In the Funeral Shop, Xu Qing sucked on his teeth, how could he save a corpse and what's with the Wu Family brothers' matter.
Continuing to read, sure enough, the next morning the Wu Family brothers arrived together at the Jin Sect Ferry.
Several people cooperated, performing realistically, with the added authority of Constable Zhou as a Government Official on the same boat, the Wu Family brothers didn't see through the ploy and just boarded the pirate ship like that.
Until—
"What are you doing? There are still officers on this ship, aren't you afraid?"
Yuan Hu laughed, "Taking someone's money to eliminate a disaster for them, blame yourselves for being tactless, offending those you shouldn't have..."
"Say less, get the job done quickly!" Constable Zhou, dressed as an officer, finally revealed his true face.
In the heart of the river, Constable Zhou carried Wu Wencai, with Yuan Hu following closely, when they reached the bow, they threw the Wu Family brothers into the river together.
"..."
Xu Qing was silent and speechless.
After the Wu Family brothers fell into the water, they didn't sink but drifted away instead.
"Strange thing!"
The helmsman rowed the boat to chase, Constable Zhou raised a fishing spear to stab at the two.
Just as the spear in Zhou Heng's hand was about to pierce Wu Zhiyuan's body, a thin white light suddenly emerged from Wu Zhiyuan's waist, enveloping him.
Constable Zhou and Yuan Hu tried to stab again, but it was like stabbing a loach, they couldn't harm the other at all.
When the two's faces began to turn red, a huge wave suddenly swept at the bow.
When the wave fell, they looked around, the rolling bubbles on the river surface couldn't reveal any trace of the Wu Family brothers.
Constable Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, convinced that the two could never have survived such a big wave.
About a month and a half later, the helmsman, staying in the Brickyard Street, ignored Yuan Hu's advice and sneaked back to Linhe alone to dig up the money hidden in the old house.
And it was this trip back to Linhe that the helmsman Zhang Da met Zhao Zhonghe wandering the streets.
At that time, Zhao Zhonghe had just left Xu Qing's shop, and the two bumped into each other right at the coffin shop on Underground Street.
The funeral street was notoriously deserted, and who would usually patrol here among the soldiers and Government Officials? Zhang Da specifically chose such a secluded route to avoid encountering officials.
But who would have thought, in this godforsaken and unlucky place, he would bump into the living King Yan, Zhao Zhonghe.