Immortality Path: From the Blind Man at the Pharmacy-Chapter 35 - . Subdue

Chapter 35: 35. Subdue

Chapter 35: 35. Subdue

The case involved the Ruyi Commerce Chamber, and with the death of the well-known Guard Captain Shi Yi, the Shanghe County government office didn’t dare show the slightest negligence.

Everyone knew that Shi Yi had achieved Force Realm Perfection, a truly formidable warrior.

What a significant threat, a perilous hidden concern the murderer who could kill Shi Yi posed.

Additionally, the disaster that wiped out nearby villages left the County Magistrate, the County Magistrate’s assistant, and officials up and down the hierarchy with a chilling sense down their spines.

With a unified front, they naturally worked with high efficiency.

In the morning, they discovered a death on Dates Lane, and Ruyi Commerce Chamber identified the corpse. By the afternoon… everyone on Dates Lane had been interrogated, and the investigation was thorough regarding the owners of the houses, rental documents, and any intermediary agents involved.

…

At 3 a.m., the County Magistrate led the government officials directly to Ruyi Commerce Chamber.

The manager cautiously greeted them, respectfully asking, “Sirs, have you found the murderer?”

The County Magistrate replied, “We’re precisely here to investigate.”

The manager paused in surprise.

The County Magistrate coldly stated, “The final renter of that sinister house on Dates Lane was your chamber’s maid, Ling. She rented the house only two days before this murder, and I am here to ask her some questions.”

“Ling?” The manager was taken aback, then said, “Please…”

…

…

Ling lay on the bed at this time, feeling both hot and cold, her heart in turmoil and fear.

She was terrified that the investigation would lead to her.

She was aware of the officials’ investigatory skills; they often made muddled judgments without skillful interrogation techniques, favoring intimidation and coerced confessions instead.

She, a mere maid, even though a maid beside the young lady, couldn’t possibly extricate herself from such a serious murder case.

Even if she were fortunate enough to escape from the government office, she wouldn’t be able to escape the chamber’s scrutiny.

Inevitably, countless people would question her. “As a simple maid, why secretly rent a house for Shi Yi?” And with the young lady’s cleverness, she would surely see through Ling’s intentions…

The young lady would kill her!

She was doomed.

She began to worry about whether anyone had seen her last night.

She started to worry that the terrifying murderer of Shi Yi might kill her too.

The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became, her face turning pale, her breathing labored.

At that moment, she heard Song Cheng’s gentle woman’s voice in her ear.

“Are you alright, Miss Ling?”

In panic and uncertainty, she couldn’t even answer.

Simultaneously, hurried footsteps could be heard outside the door, followed by the door being flung open with a crash.

Ling was so frightened she dived into the bedding, shutting her eyes tightly.

She heard Song Cheng’s woman getting up to greet.

“Miss Ling needs to rest.”

“Government office investigation!”

Those four words fell, and beneath the bedding… Ling felt as if her heart was about to leap out of her weak chest.

…

…

A moment later.

In the courtyard.

Miss Ling stood weakly wrapped in a large coat.

The County Magistrate sat on a stone bench, sipping fragrant tea served by the manager, silently waiting.

After all the serving maids, servants, guards, and even a few families living in the same block as the Ruyi Commerce Chamber gathered, forming circles inside and outside, the County Magistrate slowly said, “There’s no need for me to explain the crime of implication. If anyone harbors, they shall be treated as guilty as the culprit.”

Everyone was terrified, hurriedly saying they dared not.

The County Magistrate sneered, fixed his eyes on Ling, and shouted, “Bold maid!”

Ling was so frightened that her legs went weak, and she kneeled immediately.

The County Magistrate looked down on her coldly and asked, “Where were you last night?”

Ling replied, “I was at home, always at home. I… I don’t know; I know nothing. It was Guard Captain Shi who asked me to rent the house for him. He was the Guard Captain, and I am just a maid. I couldn’t refuse him…”

Meanwhile, the manager, having examined the rental documents, remarked, “When you rented the house, the young lady hadn’t left yet, had she? Why didn’t you inform her?”

Ling cried, “Guard Captain Shi asked me to keep it secret; he was the Guard Captain, and I am just a maid. How could I dare refuse him?”

The manager said, “Then you deceived the young lady?”

Ling knelt on the ground, wailing.

The County Magistrate squinted, listening, then suddenly asked, “Were you really indoors last night?”

He then surveyed his surroundings and asked, “Was she… really indoors last night?”

The punishment of joint liability was harsh.

Who dared to hide anything, each began questioning others, trying to recall.

However, yesterday was rainy, and it was difficult to distinguish in the dark amidst the wind; who would notice who was walking outside?

The manager suddenly pointed at two people and said, “You two were on duty last night. Did Ling go out?”

One of the two guards quickly said, “No, absolutely not.”

The other added, “My brother was standing guard at the main door; Ling certainly didn’t go through the main door.”

The manager thought for a moment and then said, “Sir, our chamber’s walls are high; Ling couldn’t climb over them. But there’s a hidden dog hole in our premises that can also be used for exit. Unfortunately, the area around the dog hole is secluded, with no residents. If one went that way, no one would know.”

The County Magistrate coldly asked, “Are there stone tiles laid by the dog hole?”

The manager shook his head and said, “There are none.”

The County Magistrate remarked, “It rained heavily yesterday, and the soil was muddy. If someone went through the dog hole, wouldn’t it be impossible not to leave footprints? Manager, take my two men and go have a look.”

Saying this, he waved and called out two government officials.

The officials stepped forward and followed the manager off into the distance.

At the scene, Ling felt weak in all four limbs, her face ashen, her head buzzing like a dying traveler in the desert, a condemned criminal at the execution ground. Her heart was filled with indescribable fear and anxiety; she didn’t even know where she was.

Time seemed to pass extremely slowly, yet as if in a flash…

Before long, the officials returned, respectfully reporting, “Sir, there are no footprints.”

Ling: ????

The County Magistrate asked, “Are there traces that seemed altered?”

The official replied, “There don’t appear to be any. The dog hole is quite deep; attempting to alter traces on a rainy day would only leave more traces.”

The County Magistrate nodded, then motioned for Ling to rise. After further questioning, he hurriedly departed.

Neighbors also dispersed one after another.

The manager glanced at Ling and sighed, “You’ll just have to wait for the young lady to return.”

Regarding Shi Yi and the young lady, how could this old martial arts world veteran of a manager not understand?

The young lady was a self-reliant and ambitious woman.

Shi Yi, on the other hand, intended to make her his possession.

There was conflict between the two, though not yet public, the elders in the mansion could sense it.

For Ling, being the young lady’s personal maid, this matter was unbecoming—it was practically “colluding with the enemy.”

However, the manager couldn’t intervene; after all, he was merely the chamber’s manager, not the young lady’s manager.

But Ling was different.

As everyone from the mansion dispersed…

Madam Tong helped the pitiful Ling to her feet.

Ling, lost and bewildered, let herself be supported and returned to the bed.

After a while, Madam Tong went out to prepare medicine again.

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Since Ling was the young lady’s close maid, she had a little authority within the mansion, wielding her influence like “a fox borrowing the tiger’s might.” As the young lady was not back yet, the manager undoubtedly sent people outside to procure medicine for her illness.

…

The girl’s boudoir quickly became tranquil.

Ling lay on the bed, her heart filled with terror because everything that happened today was beyond her imagination.

Suddenly, the door creaked open.

Someone circled around the folding screen and entered.

Ling assumed it was Song Cheng’s woman returning and, though curious about why she returned so soon, didn’t ask.

Yet with the commotion, she suddenly sensed something was off, widening her beautiful eyes to see it was a young man holding apricot blossoms.

“Song Cheng, you… why are you here?”

Ling asked.

Song Cheng placed the apricot blossoms into a nearby vase, saying, “Yesterday’s spring rain, the apricot blossoms outside the dog hole have just bloomed. I picked two branches.”

After arranging the flowers, he smiled and said, “Newly bloomed flowers always bring a good mood.

Now that the footprints are gone, the patient no longer needs a troubled heart.

Being sisters with the young lady for years, having a good cry over the situation might not be impossible to get through.

Like this…there should be no further concerns, focus on recuperation.”

The gentle, even polite and somewhat elegant words fell into Ling’s ears, making her feel like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, ready to explode…

Her scalp tingled as she looked at the young man in fear.

The young man sat in front of the bed, gazed at Miss Ling, glanced at the apricot blossoms nearby, and said warmly, “Do you like them?”

Miss Ling trembled, opened her lips, and said, “I… I like them…”

After saying this, she added, “I like them very much.”

Song Cheng patted her head, saying, “You’ll be one of us from now on.”

Ling nodded vigorously.

Whether it was out of fear or dependence, she tightly grasped the young man’s sleeve, as if clutching at a lifeline, as if pleading for mercy.

And her favorability began to shakily climb upwards, reaching 90 in a brief moment.