PCA Chapter 97

Su Cen rushed back to the Dali Temple from the painting shop. First, he ordered people to find the person called Cao Wei, then called for the case files from Shu, diving into the search for the Shen family case from eleven years ago.

 

As expected, it was similar to what the old man had said. Eleven years ago, the Shen family was indeed wiped out by a fire. Thirty-two bodies were found at the scene, matching the 32 members of the Shen family. The housekeeper who luckily escaped was also found later, but he had an alibi at the time of the incident, so the authorities didn’t trouble him much.

 

The cause of the fire wasn’t determined, and the case became a cold case, sealed away for years until these three paintings brought it back to light.

 

If things really happened as recorded in the case files, there was still one contradiction. Su Cen remembered the old man from the painting shop saying that the housekeeper had rescued these three paintings from the fire scene. But the housekeeper wasn’t at the Shen house when the incident occurred. How did he rescue the paintings?

 

Did the housekeeper lie and somehow fabricate an alibi, actually stealing the paintings and setting the fire? Or was the old man from the painting shop lying?

 

Unfortunately, there were no further records about the housekeeper in the case files. According to the old man from the painting shop, it seemed the housekeeper was now dead and couldn’t testify.

 

Closing the case file, Su Cen ordered, “Someone come here.”

 

When a yamen runner came, Su Cen said, “Go investigate the background of that old man from the painting shop, and the shop itself. Something doesn’t feel right.”

 

As the yamen runner left to carry out the order, Su Cen stood up and stretched. Outside the window, dusk was falling. Another day had passed.

 

Su Cen left the duty room, intending to ask Zhang Jun about the recent court trends. Passing by the front courtyard, he realized Xue Chengzhen was hearing a case. These past few days, with Su Cen busy with the heaven worship case, other Dali Temple cases had been pushed to Xue Chengzhen, who was also a Assistant Magistrate. Feeling a bit guilty, Su Cen casually asked, “What case is this?”

 

Xiao Sun, who was attending in the front courtyard and had nothing to do at the moment, replied, “It’s not a big case. Someone claims to be haunted by a ghost and is seeking official protection.”

 

Su Cen thought to himself how ghosts seemed to be everywhere these days. He was about to leave when he felt the person kneeling in the hall looked familiar. He asked another question, “What’s the complainant’s name?”

 

Xiao Sun thought for a moment, “I think it’s… Cao Wei?”

 

Su Cen suddenly raised his voice, “What did you say?!”

 

This outburst not only startled Xiao Sun but also caught Xue Chengzhen’s attention on the main hall. He glanced at Su Cen disapprovingly, only to see him not only failing to restrain himself but striding quickly to the hall, addressing the complainant, “You’re Cao Wei?”

 

The complainant nodded, looking confused.

 

Su Cen remembered where he had seen this person before. The portrait drawn based on the Xu family steward’s description was about 70% similar to this person, and the muscular build further confirmed it. The third owner of Cuiji Pavilion, whom they had been searching for tirelessly, had effortlessly delivered himself to their doorstep. The people sent out to search hadn’t even returned yet.

 

Xue Chengzhen, sitting in the hall, felt awkward for a moment. He coughed lightly and said, “Lord Su…”

 

Su Cen turned back with a smile, “I’ll take this case.”

 

Cao Wei’s reason for reporting was simple. Xu Youhuai had “Blossoms Glowing” and was burned to death in front of the emperor. Liu Kang had “Leaves Lush” and burned to death in his own home last night. As the person holding the third Peach Blossom painting, Cao Wei’s concern for his safety was not unreasonable.

 

Unfortunately, he didn’t know that the Xu family’s steward had already revealed their joint operation of tomb raiding and selling funerary objects. Coming to the Dali Temple to report was like walking into a trap.

 

This Cao Wei, despite his muscular build and involvement in grave robbing, turned out to be as timid as a mouse. With just a bit of intimidation from Su Cen, he confessed everything.

 

As the sky darkened, Cao Wei trembled even more violently, gnawing on his fingers as he muttered that it was his turn now. Xu Youhuai and Liu Kang were dead; he was next. He admitted to the grave robbing, hoping the authorities would protect him from the vengeance of Shen Cun’s ghost. He didn’t want to die.

 

Su Cen asked, “Do you know why Shen Cun is dead and yet you still bought that painting?”

 

Cao Wei seemed to know some history about the Shen family. Logically, one would avoid anything related to the dead, so why would he bring it home to gaze at daily?

 

The burly man lifted his shrunken eyes and murmured, “That painting not only contains Shen Cun’s ghost but also the treasures of the Shen family.”

 

Su Cen raised her head, “What treasures?”

 

Cao Wei continued to gnaw on his fingers, “Shen Cun himself said that their family treasures are hidden in these three paintings.”

 

After repeated questioning, Su Cen understood that Cao Wei and his group had once robbed the Shen family’s ancestral grave, thinking that a renowned artist’s tomb would surely contain a couple of famous paintings as burial goods. However, after digging for a long time, they found the grave cleaner than his own fingers.

 

Unexpectedly, at that moment, the current head of the Shen family, Shen Cun, announced that their treasures were hidden in these three paintings. What treasures could the Shen family have? Naturally, it referred to those priceless paintings; perhaps even the lost “Houyi Shooting the Sun” by Shen Xingzhong. The three men were still greedy and set their sights on these paintings. However, before they could act, the Shen family burned everything clean.

 

They thought the treasures had been obliterated and would never be known again, but to their surprise, the paintings resurfaced. They bought them back to study closely in hopes of finding some clues.

 

“We didn’t know Shen Cun’s ghost was so vengeful. Had I known this, I wouldn’t have brought it home,” Cao Wei pleaded as he knelt forward two steps. “Lord, you must save me; I don’t want to die.”

 

Su Cen lightly tapped his fingers on the table and calmly said, “So on the night before the sacrifice to heaven, you quarreled over these paintings?”

 

Cao Wei was taken aback; clearly, he hadn’t expected Dali Temple to know about their quarrel. He broke into a cold sweat and nervously replied, “Yes, yes! I thought I was the only one with a painting; I didn’t expect those two brats each had one too. Xu Youhuai said we should all take our paintings out so he could find out the secret of the treasure and we could go look for it together. That bastard thought we were fools; he just wanted to monopolize the treasure! Over these years, Liu Kang and I have been working hard outside while he enjoyed life in the capital. We couldn’t stand him anymore and that’s why we quarreled.”

 

Su Cen asked, “So you killed both of them to monopolize the treasure?”

 

Cao Wei was immediately terrified and fell to his knees repeatedly: “Lord, please investigate! I didn’t kill anyone; how could I dare to kill someone?”

 

Su Cen understood that Cao Wei wasn’t the murderer. If he truly intended to seize both paintings for himself, he would have fled with them by now instead of coming to Dali Temple voluntarily. Observing this burly man’s panicked demeanor made Su Cen smile: “You’re so timid yet dare to rob graves?”

 

“It’s just some skills passed down from my ancestors for making a living,” Cao Wei lay prostrate on the ground without daring to rise. “There’s nothing to fear about dead people; what’s frightening is when some people die unwillingly and turn into vengeful ghosts haunting us!”

 

“Unwilling spirits?” Su Cen raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying there’s injustice in the deaths of thirty-two members of the Shen family?”

 

Cao Wei’s body stiffened noticeably as he repeatedly bowed his head: “I don’t know anything; I don’t know anything at all…”

 

Now fearful for his life, Cao Wei claimed ignorance about everything. Su Cen decided not to waste more words on him. Fortunately, they had found a person of interest. To avoid alerting any potential suspects, Su Cen ordered Cao Wei sent back home. The murderer had already killed Xu Youhuai and Liu Kang and even dared to commit murder in front of others; naturally, they wouldn’t let Cao Wei sit idly at home.

 

Su Cen then led a group of officers disguised as commoners into Cao’s house under cover of nightfall, waiting patiently for an opportunity.

 

By the time they arrived at Cao’s house, night had fallen thickly. To prevent alerting the murderer, Su Cen instructed Dali Temple’s officers to hide around the bedroom while he changed into a servant’s outfit and followed Cao Wei into his room.

 

Previously, when he spent a night in a room with a corpse under pressure from Li Shi, now being alone with Cao Wei for another night made him wonder how that master would act up again.

 

The third painting from Shen Cun’s “Peach Blossoms” titled “Laden with Fruit” hung in Cao Wei’s room. Su Cen approached it for inspection; it resembled the previous two but with blooming fruits hanging from branches instead of flowers and leaves—its brushwork free-flowing and expressive.

 

From just looking at this painting alone, it seemed that Shen Cun was an open-minded person capable of creating such vibrant art; he hardly seemed like someone who would haunt others after death.

 

Su Cen glanced back at Cao Wei cowering in a corner and couldn’t stand seeing this towering man gnawing on his fingers anymore. He asked aloud: “Do you know Shen Cun?”

 

Cao Wei shook his head in fear: “No, no.”

 

“Then I find it puzzling,” Su Cen stroked his chin before turning back around. “Among so many people in Great Zhou, why did he choose you?”

 

Not mentioning anything about the paintings deliberately made Cao Wei fall into his trap as he followed his line of thought: “Maybe… maybe because we robbed their ancestral grave?”

 

“That doesn’t make sense,” Su Cen tilted his head at him. “You did commit grave robbery yourself; you also mentioned that there was nothing left in their tombs. This means Xu Youhuai and Liu Kang didn’t take anything from the Shen family either—if Shen Cun sought revenge first against you then why did he kill Xu Youhuai and Liu Kang?”

 

“This… this…” Cao Wei truly wasn’t clever; Su Cen’s probing left him flustered.

 

Su Cen smiled: “Could it be that this ghost randomly chooses its victims?”

 

“Yes! Yes!” Cao Wei nodded vigorously. “Shen Cun turned into an evil ghost and kills indiscriminately!”

 

“I don’t think that’s quite right,” Su Cen suddenly narrowed his eyes sharply. “He specifically targets those with guilty consciences!”

 

With Su Cen’s voice, the candlelight in the room suddenly flickered. In the fleeting light, a massive shadow loomed over, almost extinguishing the weak candle flame.

 

“Ghost! There’s a ghost!” Cao Wei screamed loudly.

 

Su Cen frowned and followed the dim light, noticing that the window he had just closed tightly had somehow opened a small crack, allowing the night wind to blow in and nearly extinguish the candle.

 

Su Cen walked to the window, intending to close it, but suddenly changed his mind. He fixed his gaze on Cao Wei and asked sternly, “Who killed the thirty-two members of the Shen family?”

 

The night wind continued to blow in, stretching Su Cen’s silhouette as the flickering light and shadows intertwined, resembling a chaotic dance of spirits. The painting hanging on the wall was also swayed by the wind, its sharp edges scraping against the wall like fingernails clawing at it.

 

Cao Wei wished he could bury his head into the wall, repeatedly muttering, “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!”

 

Cao Wei was already on the verge of collapse. Su Cen stepped forward, backlit by the candlelight and dressed in black, lowering his voice to ask, “Who killed me?”

 

As Cao Wei watched that enormous shadow engulf him, he shrieked in despair: “It was Xu Youhuai! It was Xu Youhuai who poisoned and set the fire! I had nothing to do with it! I had nothing to do with it! Wuwuwu…”

 

A gust of wind blew in, completely extinguishing the last flicker of flame. The sudden silence enveloped them along with the darkness. Su Cen abruptly halted his steps; with dusk approaching and the moonlight dimmed, it was now pitch black without even a hint of candlelight. A chill rose from his heart.

 

“Ghost! A ghost!” Cao Wei’s eyes widened as he stared behind Su Cen, letting out a heart-wrenching scream.

 

Noticing something unusual behind him, Su Cen turned sharply. There, where the painting hung, a faint green light began to emerge gradually. The spots where large round peaches had been painted transformed into ghastly green heads of corpses that danced in the wind.

 

Even though Su Cen didn’t believe in ghosts, seeing this scene sent chills down his spine. It felt as if an invisible hand was tightening around his throat, rendering him unable to make a sound.

 

He didn’t know how long it took for him to regain some awareness when he heard knocking on the door. The yamen runners outside were asking what had happened.

 

Su Cen forced himself to calm down and let them in. Once they relit the lamp, darkness and fear were dispelled together.

 

Looking again at that Peach Blossom painting, it had returned to its original state as if that ghostly shadow had vanished like a nightmare.

 

It was too quiet… Su Cen suddenly realized something was missing in this room. Turning back again, he saw that Cao Wei had fainted in the corner.

 

Su Cen frowned and raised his chin towards Cao Wei: “Wake him up.”

 

Several yamen runners stepped forward to pinch Cao Wei’s acupoint and splash water on him. When those methods proved ineffective, one runner reached out to check for a pulse but suddenly slumped to the ground, looking terrified as he stared at Su Cen: “M-Master… he’s… he’s dead…”

 

 

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