Chapter 11: Strange Occurrences

“How could that be possible? Most of their bodies were found in their bedrooms. Does that mean the murderer drowned them somewhere and then moved them back to their rooms?” Constable Li was bewildered. He had overseen the crime scene himself, leading his men to collect the bodies from all corners of the Wang estate, and not a single body had been found in water.

If the killer had drowned the entire Wang family and then carefully moved their corpses back to their bedrooms, what would be the point of such an elaborate charade?

Coroner Cao shook his head. “That, I do not know. From the preliminary autopsy, it appears they all drowned, and their bodies had remained in water for some time.”

Constable Li looked down at the corpses on the ground. “But their hair and clothes are dry. There’s no sign they were immersed in water.”

“That, too, is what puzzles me,” Coroner Cao replied.

In truth, they both harbored the same suspicion, though neither dared voice it aloud.

Fang Yue’s eyes were fixed on the twisted, pale corpses before him, a chill creeping up his spine.

“Could this be the work of malevolent spirits? How strange and terrifying, to die so silently. The entire Wang household perished in a single night, and not a single soul outside heard a sound. It was only discovered the next day that the household had been wiped out. If I ever face such phantoms, will I survive?”

He reached into his robes, touching the jade pendant he carried for protection—a talisman that had saved him in his nightmares, though he still didn’t understand its true use.

“This must be the vengeance of a wicked ghost!” someone exclaimed in terror.

Among the crowd, the fainthearted began to slip away, unable to bear watching further.

“They must have committed terrible deeds to invite such a fate,” another said with a bitter sneer.

“But Master Wang was renowned for his kindness. Folks called him ‘Wang the Good.’ How could he have brought this upon himself? Is this not proof that virtue goes unrewarded?” someone protested.

“Nonsense! You have no idea what he did in secret. People were simply too afraid to speak out before,” another scoffed.

“I heard rumors that Master Wang was in league with the sea bandits.”

“But he mended roads and built bridges, spending generously for the town’s sake. Now that he’s dead, you slander him as you please—aren’t you afraid of retribution?”

“Retribution? Look at them—the whole family wiped out in such a bizarre manner. If that isn’t retribution, what is? Those sea bandits Wang consorted with would rob passing ships, not only stealing but killing, and they delighted in throwing innocent people into the sea, watching them struggle until exhaustion claimed them and they drowned.”

“Look at the bodies—don’t they seem like people drowned alive?”

“They do. I once saw a corpse washed ashore, and it looked exactly like this.”

…

The onlookers’ murmurs grew, panic spreading among them as the thought of vengeful spirits took root. People began to disperse rapidly, leaving only a hundred or so where there had been hundreds.

Constable Li approached Magistrate Hu, lowering his voice. “Sir, what should we do now?”

From the evidence and clues at the scene, this case was truly daunting, almost entirely without leads.

Magistrate Hu felt uneasy, especially as the crowd thinned and the tremor of fear seemed contagious.

After a moment’s thought, the magistrate said, “Seal off the scene for now and question anyone with a grudge against the Wang family.”

He was troubled. Sixty lives snuffed out in a single night, without a sound—if this was the work of man, the perpetrator must be fearsome indeed, perhaps even a threat to himself, the investigating authority. If it was not man, the situation was even more dire.

“When we return, assign Sub-official Zeng to this case. He’s been far too cozy with Vice Magistrate Zhang and needs to be reined in,” Magistrate Hu decided, already scheming how to shift the burden and keep troublesome subordinates in check.

“Master, could it have been poison?” Coroner’s apprentice Cai Jin whispered to Cao.

Magistrate Hu’s eyes brightened; it was a reasonable explanation. To silently annihilate an entire household—if someone had poisoned them, it could be done.

“What do you think, Coroner Cao?” Magistrate Hu asked.

Cao shook his head. “There’s no sign of poisoning, and I know of no toxin that could cause such symptoms. Of course, my knowledge is limited; just because I haven’t heard of it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Poison still cannot be ruled out entirely.”

He paused, then continued, “We could have someone fetch a dog, then bring water and leftover food from the Wang kitchen. A simple test will tell.”

“What are you doing? Stop right there!”

Magistrate Hu was about to give the order when a commotion broke out nearby.

He looked over to see a young man sneaking from the rear of the Wang estate, caught by a sharp-eyed constable who shouted at him.

The young man’s belly was bulging under his clothes, his hands cupping his haul protectively. He’d hoped to slip away unnoticed, but with the crowd thinned, he stood out with nowhere to hide.

Startled by the constable’s shout, he bolted, and in his haste, his ill-gotten goods tumbled out: bronze mirrors, jade hairpins, combs, rouge boxes, even women’s undergarments.

He must have raided some lady’s chamber, pilfering the belongings of the dead, unafraid of taboos.

As he fled, two constables pounced, pinning him to the ground with the fury of hungry wolves.

These constables had arrived late, missing their chance to loot the back rooms. Seeing the earlier group of officers return with spoils had already irked them, so when a mere commoner dared to pilfer, he bore the brunt of their anger.

“Speak! Are you the murderer? Did you slaughter the whole Wang family?”

“Innocent, sirs! I only stole a few things. I wouldn’t dare kill anyone!” the young man cried.

Just then, two more slipped from the rear of the Wang estate, their clothes bulging with loot.

Magistrate Hu was incensed—how dare anyone defile the scene of such a tragedy! He thundered, “Seize them all!”

Several constables advanced, fists clenched. One drew his blade, snarling, “On your knees! Hands in the air! Resist and you’ll regret it.”

The two petty thieves, seeing the constables draw steel, dared not run. They followed orders, kneeling and raising their hands.

As they did, their hidden loot spilled to the ground—mostly everyday items, the more valuable things already taken by the first wave of officers.

A constable approached with rope, ready to tie them up, when suddenly one of the thieves gasped in pain, thrashing wildly, his throat rasping and choking as if he were drowning.