Chapter 635 - 354: Overlord of the Mountains!
Chapter 635: Chapter 354: Overlord of the Mountains!
Beneath the overcast sky of Shu State Prefecture City, the wind began to howl.
RUMBLES of thunder echoed as a bolt of lightning tore across the sky, illuminating the crowd on South Street. The atmosphere grew inexplicably heavier.
The man who murdered Ma Shuhan hadn’t fled. Instead, he stood right beside Inspector General Tang Zixing.
Upon closer inspection, he was revealed to be a middle-aged man of unremarkable appearance, sporting a handlebar mustache. He was surprisingly clad in Court Attire—a Red Silk Robe with a Cyan Silk Border and a Red Luo Robe covering his lower half. He held a forearm-length dagger in his hand, drops of blood trailing down its fuller.
CLANG.
He dropped the dagger and looked at Tang Zixing with an expressionless face. "My Lord, forgive me," he said in a hoarse voice.
Tang Zixing glared fiercely at him, enunciating every word. "Xu Jitong! You normally keep such a low profile. I never expected you to be a Martial Arts expert!"
The incident had happened so suddenly that Tang Zixing hadn’t gotten a clear look at the assailant’s face, assuming it was an intruder. Only now did he recognize the man’s identity—it was actually Xu Jitong, the Senior Fifth Grade Assistant Imperial Censor of his own Inspectorate Office.
"Speak! Why did you kill Ma Shuhan?! Who ordered you to do this?!"
The middle-aged man named Xu Jitong shook his head silently. "I have my own difficulties that forced my hand."
Infuriated, Tang Zixing stepped forward and kicked him.
"Difficulties? Xu Jitong, do you even know what you’re doing? You’ve killed Ma Shuhan, which means you’ve already forfeited your life. Have you spared a single thought for your wife, your children, and your parents? Exactly who is worth you throwing away your life like this?!"
Xu Jitong let the man kick and pummel him, keeping his posture straight and unmoving.
The surrounding government officials from the Inspectorate Office and Governor’s Office, along with the Imprisonment Officers of the Imprisonment Department, all stared at him with high alert, guarding against any sudden movements.
Most of the commoners who had gathered to watch the Annual Examination were stunned and at a loss. The Scholar examinees similarly wore bewildered and conflicted expressions, unable to comprehend how Academic Administrator Ma Shuhan, who had been bossing them around just moments ago, could have died here. Even less could they understand why someone from the Inspectorate Office would murder him.
Chen Yi looked at the center of the scene thoughtfully. He realized that this Assistant Imperial Censor Xu Jitong was merely a sacrificial pawn, specifically used by the mastermind to eliminate Ma Shuhan.
He pondered inwardly, "The Annual Examination, the policy questions, the arrival of the Inspectorate Office’s personnel, the backup plan of assassination... they’re all tightly interlinked. The next step is probably..."
THUD.
As if to confirm Chen Yi’s deduction, Xu Jitong, who had just committed the murder, began bleeding from his seven orifices. Blood gushed out from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
Seeing this, Tang Zixing’s expression changed again. Forgoing any further beatings, he rushed forward to ask, "Xu Jitong! Jitong! Tell me, who ordered you to do this?!"
But Xu Jitong’s pupils rapidly lost their luster. His lips parted, muttering only a single word: "No..." Then, his breathing ceased entirely, and he collapsed stiffly onto the ground.
Tang Zixing clenched his fists in fury, slamming them onto the man’s lifeless body. "Xu Jitong, you... you bastard!"
Yang Ye, who was nearby, grabbed hold of him. Without bothering to explain, he issued a grim order to the surrounding government officials.
"Huai’gu, take your men immediately and disperse the crowd. Take over the Annual Examination and seal the exam papers. They will be dealt with later after I report this matter to the Holy Emperor!
"Liu Si, have the personnel from the Imprisonment Department investigate the scene at once. You must uncover the truth behind this incident as quickly as possible!
"Yunfan, take a few government officials and cooperate with Prefect Liu. Find some time to search the homes of Xu Jitong and Ma Shuhan to see if there are any clues!"
Liu Si replied with a slightly pale face, "Yes..." Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he hurriedly went to find the Thousand Households of the Imprisonment Department.
Li Huai’gu snapped back to his senses. Glancing at the bodies of Ma Shuhan and Xu Jitong lying in pools of blood, he quickly led his men to disperse the onlookers.
Chen Yunfan, on the other hand, paid no mind to whether Ma Shuhan or Xu Jitong lived or died. He leaned in close to Chen Yi and asked, "Brother Yi, there’s something very strange about what happened today."
Chen Yi gave him a look and nodded slightly. "It is indeed off." He thought for a moment before saying, "If you’re going to investigate this matter later, I’m afraid it will be very difficult to find any clues."
Chen Yunfan hummed in acknowledgment, then raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you looking down on me? I’m going to get to the bottom of this and see exactly who is playing tricks behind the scenes."
Chen Yi couldn’t help but chuckle. He patted his brother’s shoulder and walked toward Xiao Wan’er.
Chen Yunfan twitched his lips. Although he knew Chen Yi probably had some insight, he didn’t press the issue since his brother hadn’t explicitly stated anything yet. However, he also knew that this case would indeed be difficult to investigate.
Ma Shuhan was the Academic Administrator of Shu State. He could be considered the teacher of all scholars in Shu State, with numerous former students and subordinates. For such a prominent figure to be assassinated in the streets would inevitably send shockwaves through the scholarly community. Furthermore, the assailant was an Imperial Censor of the Inspectorate Office...
He thought to himself, "Could this kind of incident... somehow be another piece of merit prepared for me?"
Chen Yunfan shook his head. Ma Shuhan was one thing, but Xu Jitong had been highly valued by Tang Zixing, which meant he likely wasn’t a corrupt official. Even if the White Tiger Guard wanted to help him secure a promotion, they wouldn’t commit such blatant disregard for human life.
It wasn’t long before the crowd began to disperse.
Soon after came a torrential downpour. The chaotic and noisy crowd scattered into the distance as the sounds of carriages and horse hooves faded away. Outside the Governor’s Office, only the officials and government officials from the various Government Offices remained.
As Yang Ye watched several forensic doctors from the Imprisonment Department examine the bodies of Ma Shuhan and Xu Jitong, he quietly asked Tang Zixing, "Xu Jitong is a man from your Inspectorate Office. You... need to think carefully about the truth behind this incident."
Tang Zixing turned a deaf ear, calmly staring at the two corpses on the ground.
A complex look appeared on Yang Ye’s aged face. With a sigh, he said, "I know you have a rigid and upright temperament, and that you would never compromise your principles to play political games. But Ma Shuhan was the Academic Administrator of Shu State. One moment he was inciting debates among the scholarly community with his policy questions during the Annual Examination, and the next, he died at the hands of the Inspectorate Office..."