Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll Chapter 64 - 60: Homicide

Three homicides: a serial rape and murder, a locked-room mystery, and a local lumber rchant killed for his money.

The first two cases occurred in the first half of the year, so they were already cold. The last one, however, was from just half a month ago. Zhao Lin decided to start with the most recent.

It was mid-autumn, and the crops were ripe. At the eastern docks of Qinghe County, open-topped boats from the countryside were moored every which way.

The boats were loaded with freshly harvested rice, weighing their hulls low in the water.

Leading up from the river wharf was a street wide enough for two horse-drawn carriages to travel side by side.

Sunlight spilled down, bathing the figures of Zhao Lin, Liang Song, He Qingquan, and Tao Erleng.

From a great distance, Zhao Lin could see dockworkers, white sweat towels slung over their shoulders and black sashes tied at their waists, bustling about as they unloaded cargo.

"Don’t push! The boat isn’t steady yet! Ma Jiu, take a few n over to the next one..."

A foreman yelled, brandishing a bamboo tally stick.

The familiar scene brought a pang of sadness to Zhao Lin’s heart as he recalled working here with Zhou Pao at the start of the year, hauling cargo.

The two of them would toil all day just to earn twenty or thirty *wen*, squatting on the riverbank to eat their midday al. But things were different now, and people were gone.

Liang Song, unaware of Zhao Lin’s thoughts, assud he was brooding over the homicides. He grumbled, "That Sun Zhang is a real piece of work. Dumping these cases on us at the last minute—the nerve!"

"Why don’t we just refuse? We don’t have to take the fall for this. Let him find soone else."

Zhao Lin pulled himself from his reverie and forced a smile. "You’re right, but I won’t be satisfied until we’ve at least given it a try. We still have seven days, don’t we?"

Liang Song sighed. "It’s too short a ti."

The case files for the three homicides were shoddy, containing little more than a few interrogation transcripts. The notes on the cri scenes were sparse, and it was clear no in-depth investigation had ever been conducted.

Zhao Lin knew he was no reincarnated Song Ci or resurrected Di Renjie; he didn’t possess any supernatural ability to read minds.

But he did have sothing those master detectives lacked: extraordinary hearing.

This was his hidden advantage, allowing him to monitor suspects without their knowledge.

The problem was, there were no confird suspects in any of the three cases, which was a real headache.

His purpose in coming to the docks today was to get a feel for the situation.

"Constable Zhao, I’ll go take a look over there."

He Qingquan said, pointing to the shops lining the street.

With that, he untied the cloth pouch at his waist, slung it over his shoulder, and trotted off.

He moved with an agility that belied his sixty-odd years.

Zhao Lin knew he was off to collect so "benefits."

Collecting taxes was originally the bailiffs’ job. Most constables were sent to collect taxes in the countryside, where the folk were simple and honest.

But the constables, being martial n, were unwilling to give up such a lucrative prize. They used excuses like rchants resisting taxes or gangs causing trouble to stake their claim on the more profitable districts.

It was one of the unspoken perks of being a constable.

A short while later, He Qingquan returned, a look of disappointnt on his face.

"Damn, it’s all been skimd clean."

"Elder He, what’s wrong?"

Zhao Lin asked and learned that Sun Zhang had already collected this year’s taxes—and had done so just this morning.

’He screws over and still makes sure to grab one last haul before leaving. The gall of that man.’

"Good. I’ll settle this score with him later."

For now, Zhao Lin had no ti to dwell on such matters. He decided to focus his energy on the homicide investigation.

"Master Bang, taking a break?"

Down by the riverbank, Zhao Lin approached Master Bang, who was savoring so tea.

Master Bang had more than a hundred dockworkers under him. They were in and out of every street and alley, dealing with all sorts of people, which made them the best-inford network in the area.

Since he needed information, Master Bang was the first person Zhao Lin thought of.

Master Bang turned his head. Seeing a young constable addressing him, he shot up from his chair in surprise, his face breaking into a wide smile. "Constable, sir! What can this humble one do for you?"

"Don’t you recognize , Master Bang?" Zhao Lin asked with a faint smile.

Master Bang was taken aback. He dared to stare at Zhao Lin’s face for a long mont. The man seed vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t place him. He hesitated, "Sir, you are...?"

At the start of the year, Zhao Lin’s fra had not yet filled out. Now, he was tall and powerfully built, a world apart from the person he had been. It was no wonder Master Bang didn’t recognize him.

"My surna is Zhao. I worked for you at the beginning of the year. Ring any bells?" Zhao Lin prompted.

Master Bang’s jaw dropped in shock. It took him a mont before he managed to say, "Younger Brother Zhao..."

He cut himself off and gave himself a quick slap across the face. "Look at this stupid mouth on ! What can this humble one do for you, Constable Zhao?"

He never imagined that in just over half a year, Zhao Lin would have beco a constable in charge of this very dock. He inwardly congratulated himself on his good judgnt back then; he was glad he hadn’t done anything to cross the young man.

Zhao Lin waved a hand dismissively. "It’s nothing," he said with a smile. "I’ve just been appointed constable for this district. I ca to pay my respects to you, Master Bang."

Master Bang quickly replied, "Constable Zhao, you flatter . My surna is Tian, and my given na is Dabang. Please, just call by my na."

"How has business been lately?" Zhao Lin asked casually.

Tian Dabang smiled. "Thanks to your good fortune, sir. The weather’s been good this year, so business is booming."

After a few more pleasantries, Zhao Lin got to the point. "You know about Chai Qihong’s death, don’t you?"

Chai Qihong was the lumber rchant who had died at ho half a month ago.

The dical examiner determined he died during the night, but his body wasn’t discovered until the next morning. The cause of death was a stab wound to the chest, but the murder weapon was missing.

At the ntion of Chai Qihong’s na, Tian Dabang snorted with disdain. "I know of it. The mont he died, his three sons started fighting over the inheritance. His body lay there for ten days before they even buried him. A fine bunch of filial sons they are."

’Fighting over the inheritance?’

A thought struck Zhao Lin. According to the case file, on the day of the incident, both Chai Qihong’s eldest and second sons had gone to him to borrow money.

The third son, who was unmarried and lived with his father, was at a gambling den that night.

Chai Qihong had been so furious he couldn’t bear to stay ho. He stord out to go drinking, and a friend brought him ho later that night. Not long after, he was dead.

"What kind of man was he? Did he have any enemies?"

Tian Dabang stroked his chin, thinking. "Chai Qihong was a decent businessman, treated his workers well. I never heard of him having any enemies."

"What, are you thinking of investigating the murder, Constable Zhao?"

Zhao Lin nodded. "To be honest, I’m new to this post and want to make a good showing. I’d appreciate it if you could ask around for , Master Bang. Find out who Chai Qihong was in contact with before he died, anything about their backgrounds."

Tian Dabang slapped his chest. "No problem. I may not have many other skills, but there’s nothing on these docks I can’t find out."

"Then I’m in your debt." Zhao Lin clapped him on the shoulder.

That clap on the shoulder seed to make Master Bang’s bones feel a few ounces lighter. "Don’t you worry, Constable Zhao. I’ll have his family’s entire history dug up for you in half a day."

...

HUFF...

Zhao Lin lay prone on the plum blossom posts, limbs spread-eagled. Iron sandbags were placed on his head, back, and waist as he repeatedly lifted his head and arched his back.

This was an exercise to strengthen the tendons of the cervical and lumbar spine.

Longer tendons ant greater strength. The human body had several major tendon groups; stretching them greatly improved flexibility and agility, and also laid the foundation for the next stage of training: cultivating *qi*.

Having absorbed the Essence Soul of a Black-horned Antelope, Zhao Lin’s ligants were already tough and his Achilles tendons flexible, but the tendons in his torso—in his neck, back, underarms, and lower back—still needed strengthening.

He believed in being vigilant even in tis of peace. The martial way was his foundation, and though he currently had the protection of the yan, Zhao Lin dared not underestimate the threat from the "Beards."

Besides, even if the Beards gave up the chase, Zhao Lin had no intention of letting them off the hook.

Today, Zhu Huaishan had told him that a ssage had co from the security escort agency: his family had arrived safely in Changliu City and were now well-settled and secure.

Hearing this, the weight on Zhao Lin’s heart finally lifted. Only when his family was safe could he focus all his energy on dealing with the Beards.

As evening approached, Zhao Lin practiced his staff forms for a while longer before leaving the Liuhe Sect.

On the way back to the yan, he glanced at the house on Shuncheng Street.

Construction was in its final stages. But plans rarely survive contact with reality, and for now, the place served no purpose.

’Still, my position as constable is precarious. I might need to co back and live here one day.’

’Who stands to gain is the most suspicious.’

Walking down the road, Zhao Lin’s thoughts returned to the lumber rchant’s murder. He recalled what Tian Dabang had said. ’His three sons should all be suspects, but...’

’A son killing his own father... is that possible?’