Chapter 113 (1/2)

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Chapter 113

While the folk customs of the Great Tang Empire were wild and fierce, the city of Chang'an was a friendly place. As the capital, with innumerable imperial courts, ministries, government offices, and military camps scattered within it, where high officials and n.o.ble lords resided, daily public security was naturally very good.

In addition to several corpses that resulted from dueling events, very few cases of abnormal deaths occurred in the city of Chang'an. Of course, that was not counting the slaughter that was acquiesced by His Majesty in the night at Spring Breeze Pavilion.

So, after the homicide case had occurred on the lakeside of Southern City, the Chang'an Local Government suddenly became nervous in the early morning. The newly-appointed Judicial Military Supervisor dared not to go out and stayed in the autopsy room with his coroners. The leaders on duty traveled around the marketplace, drenched in sweat and accompanied by hundreds of local government runners. The prefectural magistrate, Shangguan Yangyu, who had just gotten up, looked extremely bad.

”Your Eminence, the villain must be adept at murder. No clue has been found during the investigation around the place where the homicide case occurred. Only a piece of clothing was found in a side alley on Vermilion Bird Avenue, which was estimated to be left behind by the villain.”

The criminal official responsible for the investigating and arresting work respectfully handed the dilapidated-looking coat and a piece of cloth strip over and said, ”It was not our fault to fail to catch the villain, even the Yulin Royal Guards could not find him.”

Shangguan Yangyu took the ragged coat, looking at it against the sunlight that was penetrating from the outside. His triangular eyes shrunk almost like two soybeans, but he could not decipher anything. He said in a hoa.r.s.e voice, ”Let the old bird in our department investigate the clothes. If no clues can be found, the needlework should be paid attention to.”

”This piece of clothing is made by Lanxiu workshop. We have already asked someone

to inquire previously. The ready-made clothes of this size were made a few years ago and the number of pieces sold are unknown. This piece is clearly old, so... ” The subordinate looked up at the His Eminence's facial expression, then said cautiously, ”We are unable to investigate further, neither the needlework nor the cloth.”

Shangguan Yangyu gently stroked the spa.r.s.e beard on his jaw without any expression on his face, and said indifferently, ”The imperial court pays us officials to handle affairs, should we stop investigating due to difficulties?”

The subordinate walked up to him after a moment of hesitation, and said in a low voice, ”Your Eminence, the coat that was left by the villain had innumerable openings hacked into it by sword blades, but no bloodstains were found. There are only two possibilities, according to my judgment.”

”Speak,” said Shangguan Yangyu angrily as he could not endure his sluggish temperament.

”The first one is that the villain might wear very expensive soft armor next to his skin. However, judging by where the clothes were split, especially where a few of the splits are, even the best soft armor in the empire couldn't protect him.”

The subordinate looked at him again and said in a lower voice, ”Then there is only the second possibility... The villain is a powerful man at the peak state of Martial Arts. Ordinary weapons can only cut into his coat instead of penetrating his primordial layer, which is for protecting himself. As a result, he didn't bleed.”

Hearing the words ”a powerful man at the peak state of Martial Arts”, Shangguan Yangyu's finger fondling his beard abruptly stiffened. His sight became cold as he was looking at his subordinate... A powerful man in Martial Arts, who could resist the flying sword from a Sword Master only by relying on Primordial Qi for protecting himself, must be vigorous. Few such powerful men could be found in the entire empire.

”Nonsense!” Shangguan Yangyu said in a fearful voice, staring at the eyes of his subordinate coldly. ”The only powerful men

men at the peak state of Martial Arts in the Great Tang are the four senior generals, who are safeguarding the borders on orders of the former emperor. They are not in Chang'an. Even if they are situated in the city of Chang'an presently, do you suppose that the dignified senior generals would commit a homicide?”

The subordinate bowed repeatedly, expressing that was not what he had meant.