Chapter 94: Chen Hai

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The Tide Gang had been rooted out, and the docks were cleared at last.

He arranged for Ah Zheng and his men to confiscate the gang’s property, while Ling Chi had the corpses burned to ashes before returning to town.

The Thunder Pearl’s ability to detect evil was simply too useful. He had become deeply addicted to the sensation.

It was as though he had returned to the early days of his previous life, when he had just begun his business—filled with professional fervor.

The pleasure of slaughtering wicked men and evil spirits ranked just below the satisfaction he gained from advancing in martial cultivation.

However, he could not pretend to belong to the Ghost Cult in Jiqing Town as he had in the provincial capital. Anyone with a discerning eye would immediately realize that something was amiss.

He wandered through the town, secretly noting down his targets.

From peddlers and porters to the town headman and minor clerks, no distinction of wealth or status existed before Ling Chi’s blade.

He recorded his targets one by one, intending to return later under some pretext and arrest them.

After making a circuit of the town, he found only a dozen or so targets and returned in disappointment.

He took a large bundle of case files from the archives and leafed through them, picking out every person who triggered a response from the Thunder Pearl.

“My lord, the property seized from the raid amounted to more than three thousand gold coins. There are also several women and children who had not yet been sold. What should we do with them?”

Ah Zheng came to report.

“I’ll keep one thousand gold coins. Leave another thousand in the Jing’an Office’s accounts. Divide the rest among yourselves. As for the victims, arrange things as you see fit—send them home, or find them some means of making a living. Just don’t give them too much money. They won’t be able to protect it.”

Ling Chi spoke casually.

Ah Zheng had not expected them to receive a share and felt somewhat embarrassed.

“My lord, these are ill-gotten gains. Shouldn’t some of them be turned over to the authorities?”

Ah Zheng worried that Ling Chi, being young and impetuous, might mishandle the matter and ruin his own future.

“Stop fussing. Do you really think that’s stolen money? Don’t I deserve payment for the work I’ve done? Take it when I tell you to. And from now on, stop extorting those poor wretches for a few copper coins. You lot are hopeless.”

“Go deal with it at once. When you’re finished, summon everyone back. There are still plenty of households to search today.”

Ling Chi’s tone suddenly changed, and Ah Zheng shuddered. He hurriedly took his leave.

“My lord, your residence has been prepared. Would you like to inspect it first? If anything is unsuitable, this servant can have it changed,” a young attendant suddenly called from outside after knocking on the door.

“No need. We martial artists aren’t particular about such things. Just make sure He Quan never lived there.”

Ling Chi had an aversion to He Quan.

The attendant refilled his cup of tea and withdrew.

Once Ah Zheng arrived with all the banner officers to report for duty, Ling Chi led the group out once more.

On the surface, they were arresting people according to the case files. In reality, they were acting according to the Thunder Pearl’s reactions.

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With a saber resting across his shoulder, Ling Chi passed by a particular courtyard.

His nose twitched. Amid the strong smells of fish and medicinal herbs, he detected the faint stench of a decomposing corpse.

A sweep of his spiritual sense immediately revealed the truth: a body had been buried beneath the courtyard for several days.

Yet the Thunder Pearl remained utterly still.

Ling Chi furrowed his brow and was just about to kick down the courtyard gate when he noticed a family of three inside, happily eating a meal. The child, no more than two or three years old, was being held between his mother’s knees as she forcibly fed him. The little boy twisted and dodged like a bobble toy.

After a moment’s hesitation, Ling Chi pushed open the door.

“You there. Come outside for a moment. The Jing’an Office needs to speak with you.”

Ling Chi lowered his voice as he called out. He had discovered that the man possessed the cultivation of the second stage of Body Tempering.

When the man saw that the Jing’an Office had come to his door, his heart trembled. The chopsticks in his hand clattered to the floor.

All color drained from the woman’s delicate face. Her eyes filled with mist, and her trembling fingers clutched at her husband’s sleeve, unwilling to let go.

Only the two-year-old child, unaware of what was happening, continued playing with his mother’s hair.

The man drew a deep breath. His gaze toward his wife and child was filled with love and reluctance. He seemed to want to say something, but no words came.

He pried away his wife’s pale fingers, took another deep breath, and walked out of the courtyard.

Once they were beyond the family’s view, Ling Chi spoke directly.

“What’s your name? Your crime has been exposed.”

“Tell me honestly what you buried in the courtyard. Don’t make me interrogate you in front of your son.”

Thunder surged within Ling Chi’s eyes, and an aura of heavenly might gathered around him as he stared at the plain, honest-looking man.

“I am Chen Hai, my lord. I confess. Zheng Yu is buried in the courtyard. My wife and child had nothing to do with it. I beg you to spare their lives.”

Chen Hai’s heart tightened. The thunderous authority radiating from the young man before him far exceeded anything he had imagined.

“Stop calling yourself a humble commoner. Why did you kill him? And why bury him in your own courtyard? You really have no idea what you’re doing.”

Ling Chi had already guessed most of the story and teased him lightly.

A trace of sorrow welled in Chen Hai’s heart. How could he possibly have had any experience with such matters?

“Zheng Yu was a traveling merchant who went from street to street selling needles, thread, and other household goods. He coveted my wife’s beauty and conceived wicked intentions.”

“A few days ago, while I was away fishing, he tried to assault my wife. Fortunately, a heavy rain began to fall, and I returned home earlier than expected. I caught him in the act. We struggled, and I killed him by accident.”

“Panicking, I buried him in the courtyard.”

Having resigned himself to his fate, Chen Hai finished his account and stared into the courtyard with reddened eyes.

“Look into my eyes and answer me. Is everything you’ve said true?”

Ling Chi’s voice exploded within Chen Hai’s mind.

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“It is all true. I would never dare deceive you, my lord.”

Chen Hai’s mind collapsed beneath the pressure, and he answered in a daze.

Ling Chi’s spiritual sense had already thoroughly examined the ground beneath the courtyard. More importantly, the Thunder Pearl had not reacted even once. What Chen Hai said was most likely true.

Ling Chi gave Chen Hai a slap on the shoulder. Clarity returned to the man’s eyes, along with fear. The methods of this young lord were as unfathomable as those of ghosts and gods.

“Since you killed him to protect your family and acted in self-defense, I’ll spare you this once.”

“Even if you did not trust the authorities enough to report the matter, you should never have buried him in your own courtyard.”

Ling Chi decided to let him go and, in passing, quietly offered him a few words of advice.

Chen Hai’s expression froze. He had never imagined that this lord would simply believe him. How could he have known that Ling Chi possessed a Thunder Pearl capable of judging good and evil?

Ling Chi returned to the courtyard with him. When Chen Hai’s wife saw her husband return safely, the tears she had been holding back finally fell to the ground like scattered pearls.

The couple’s legs went weak, and they were about to kneel and kowtow when Ling Chi stopped them. They thanked him again and again.

“Find some time to dig the body up and burn it. If anyone gives you trouble over this matter, tell them that I, Ling Chi, ordered you to do it.”

Ling Chi turned to leave, but a small hand caught hold of his brocade robe.

“Thank you, big brother.”

Though the child had no idea what had happened, he imitated his parents’ words.

“Eat your meals properly from now on, or I’ll have you sent to the Jing’an Office to sweep the floors.”

Ling Chi ruffled the boy’s hair, then threw back his head and laughed as he left the little courtyard.

The husband and wife stood at the gate, holding their child and watching him gradually disappear into the distance. The gratitude in their eyes only grew stronger.

For days, the couple had lived in constant fear, pretending to boil medicinal herbs in order to mask the stench.

When the Jing’an Office came to their door that day, the weight in their hearts finally lifted.

His wife had even made up her mind that if her husband were arrested, she would raise their son to the age of sixteen and then join her husband in death, refusing to live on alone.

But fate had taken an unexpected turn. They had never imagined that Ling Chi would neither demand money nor make things difficult for them. Instead, he released Chen Hai outright and told them that if anyone ever harassed them over the matter, they were to invoke his name.

“Husband, let’s set up a memorial tablet for our benefactor. We’ll offer incense on the first and fifteenth days of every month and pray that he remains safe and well.”

After wiping away her tears, the woman carried their child inside and spoke to Chen Hai.

“Of course. We must set up a memorial tablet for Lord Ling Chi. By sparing me, he saved our entire family.”

Chen Hai put an arm around his wife’s shoulders, his voice full of gratitude.

“That lord is young and handsome. Why would he have such a frightening name?”

The woman was curious.

“That is not something people like us should concern ourselves with. If the name frightens you, I’ll have a tablet carved simply in honor of Lord Ling.”

Chen Hai’s eyes brightened as inspiration struck.