PCA Chapter 116

Thirty li outside Chang’an City stood Mount Guifeng. Midway up the mountain was a pavilion named Wanqing Pavilion, its name inspired by the famous verse of Li Yishan: “Heaven shows mercy to the humble grass; the world cherishes the evening glow.”

 

The pavilion wasn’t famous simply for being a lonely structure; rather, it was renowned for its location amidst a vast maple forest. Every late autumn, after the frost touched the trees, the entire mountain would be ablaze with fiery red leaves. Sitting in the pavilion to quietly watch the endless sunset and falling leaves created an unparalleled sense of tranquility. If one were fortunate enough to witness a sudden rain followed by clearing skies—when the fresh scent of rain lingered over the autumn landscape—it would be an extraordinary and rare sight.

 

Thus, Wanqing Pavilion earned its name.

 

When Su Cen first saw this pavilion, he didn’t think much about its poetic origins. Instead, he found it amusing that it shared the same name as his sister-in-law, Wanqing.

 

Now, however, it was late spring. The maple trees had only just begun to sprout new buds, far from their autumnal splendor. As such, the area was sparsely populated; aside from Su Cen, Ah Fu, and Huang Mian, there wasn’t another soul in sight.

 

The maple forest spanned a considerable area. The three of them decided to use Wanqing Pavilion as their central point and spread out to search.

 

Although Su Cen was certain that Huang Wan’er had visited this place before her disappearance, he couldn’t guarantee they would find any clues after such a long time. Many pieces of evidence are time-sensitive—exposed to wind and rain or buried under growing grass and fallen leaves, they could easily become unrecognizable. Searching for traces in such a vast forest felt akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

 

However, this was the only lead they had.

 

By midday, they marked the areas they had already searched and regrouped at Wanqing Pavilion. Su Cen had anticipated that they wouldn’t make it back home for lunch and had instructed Ah Fu to bring some provisions beforehand. Now they retrieved their food from the carriage and made do with a simple meal in the pavilion.

 

Halfway through their meal, they heard the sound of a bell ringing from not far away. The chime echoed through the mountains, distant and ethereal.

 

Su Cen paused mid-bite and stood up to look toward where the sound came from. Unfortunately, the dense trees obscured his view.

 

Turning back, he asked, “Where is that bell coming from?”

 

Huang Mian replied between bites of food, “Brother Su might not know—if you walk another quarter of an hour ahead, there’s a temple called Caotang Temple. The monks there must be ringing the bell because it’s time for their meal.”

 

“Caotang Temple?” Su Cen frowned in thought. The name sounded familiar—as if he’d heard it somewhere before. After pondering for a moment, he remembered: wasn’t Caotang Temple where Feng Yiming had taken him once? He still recalled that it was known for its famous well—though they hadn’t seen it themselves back then—and how they’d spent quite a bit on incense offerings.

 

“Does Caotang Temple specialize in prayers for marriage?” Su Cen vaguely recalled something Feng Yiming had mentioned during their visit and sought confirmation from Huang Mian.

 

“Yes, it is said to be very effective. People from Chang’an city all come here to offer incense and pay their respects,” Huang Mian suddenly remembered something and stood up abruptly. “Are you saying that Wan’er came here to offer incense that day?”

 

“A young girl, in the prime of her youth, would most desire to pray for a good marriage.” Su Cen sat down, eating as he spoke. “On their way back, they encountered heavy rain and took shelter in this pavilion. This explains the mud on Liu Si’s shoes and the maple leaf. During the time they were taking shelter, they must have met someone, hit it off, and had a pleasant conversation, which led to the fulfillment of a vow and a secret meeting the next day. However, something must have happened later, which prevented your sister from returning home.”

 

“So that’s how it was,” Huang Mian realized, “It all makes sense, Lord Su, you are truly divine!”

 

“These are just speculations, without evidence.” Su Cen smiled slightly, quickly finished his dry rations, took a few gulps of water, and stood up. “Now that we’ve eaten, let’s continue searching. If there’s evidence, it should be around here.”

 

Ah Fu also finished eating and stood up, patting his chest in assurance, “Lord, rest assured, I will not miss a single stone or leaf.”

 

Huang Mian felt guilty and bowed to the two of them. “Thank you for your trouble.”

 

After the meal, everyone hurried to continue the search. Su Cen had just found the spot he had marked earlier when he heard an “ouch” from somewhere.

 

“What happened?” Su Cen shouted.

 

It was Ah Fu who replied, “Nothing, Lord, I just tripped.”

 

Just as Su Cen was about to continue searching, he heard Ah Fu suddenly shout, followed by, “Lord, Lord, I’ve found something!”

 

Su Cen and Huang Mian rushed over to see a protruding round log on the ground, only a small part of it was visible, easily mistaken for a tree root if not for Ah Fu tripping over it.

 

After some effort, they managed to dig out the entire log, revealing it to be a wheel. Huang Mian stepped forward to examine it closely and suddenly felt his throat tighten.

 

“This… this is my family’s carriage,” Huang Mian pointed at the hub, his fingertips trembling. “Our carriages are all marked with a ‘Huang’ character on the wheel hub, this is definitely ours!”

 

Su Cen’s eyes darkened. “Dig around here!”

 

Knowing they might need to dig, they had brought shovels and picks. Soon, they found the carriage shaft and horse reins, all disassembled and buried. Huang Mian was increasingly certain it was his family’s carriage but couldn’t understand why it was buried here.

 

With another swing of the pickaxe, Huang Mian heard a dull thud, knowing he had hit something again, he quickly squatted down to look.

 

Moments later, Huang Mian screamed and collapsed to the ground.

 

When Su Cen rushed over, he saw half of a skull had been unearthed, its empty eye sockets staring blankly at him.

 

Even though Huang Mian was reluctant to believe, seeing such a scene, he knew something terrible had happened. With a dead body involved, it was beyond his control, and he had no choice but to report it to the authorities.

 

The officials from the Dali Temple arrived quickly, as soon as they heard about a body found in the suburbs, especially since their superior was already there, no one dared to delay.

 

Ning Santong also came, carrying his large wooden box, climbing mountains and crossing ridges to get there. Upon seeing Su Cen, he complained, “On a good day off, you had to come out and stir up trouble. I was just discussing with Zheng Yang whether to go for a drink or listen to some music, and you’ve ruined it all.”

 

Su Cen could only offer an apologetic smile. “It’s a murder case, please bear with it.”

 

Despite his verbal complaints, Ning Santong didn’t stop working. He opened his wooden box, prepared his tools, and looked at Su Cen. “Where’s the body?”

 

Su Cen pointed casually at the hill. “Still digging.”

 

Ning Santong was intrigued. “How many are dead?”

 

Su Cen glanced at Huang Mian, who was already terrified by the half skull, trembling in the pavilion, too scared to continue. Su Cen sighed. “Not clear yet.”

 

While the Dali Temple officials were digging with enthusiasm, Su Cen called Ah Fu over, whispered something to him, and Ah Fu nodded, leaving first.

 

After more than an hour of digging, the Dali Temple officials had unearthed the entire area. The carriage was pieced together, having been disassembled and buried. Fortunately, only one body was found, identified by the clothing as the missing coachman, Liu Si.

 

Ning Santong began the autopsy. “The deceased is a middle-aged man, about seven feet one inch tall, with hair about one foot nine inches long, wearing a single cloth short jacket and a skirt, with bloodstains on the front of the jacket, and a one-inch long tear, possibly from a sword wound.” He continued to examine the body, then suddenly fell silent.

 

“What’s wrong?” Su Cen approached.

 

“There are no wounds.” Ning Santong frowned.

 

“How can there be no wounds?” Su Cen looked at Ning Santong in disbelief. “Didn’t you just say it was possibly a sword wound?”

 

“At least on this body, there are no wounds,” Ning Santong explained, pointing at the skeleton, which had decayed due to being buried for a long time. “The hole in the clothes is directly over the chest, suggesting a sword pierced the heart, but look at the ribs, there are no marks from a sword. This means the killer not only struck fatally but also accurately avoided the ribs, the sword passing through the gap between two ribs.”

 

Su Cen understood. “A skilled assassin.”

 

“I haven’t found any other cause of death yet. We’ll need to take the body back to the Dali Temple for further examination.”

 

Su Cen nodded, instructing the officials to take all the evidence back, then approached Huang Mian. “Brother Huang, let’s go back for now.”

 

Huang Mian, still in shock, looked up at Su Cen. “There’s no body of Wan’er here, does that mean she’s still alive?”

 

Su Cen pursed his lips, offering some comfort. “At least she didn’t die here.”

 

Huang Mian looked defeated. “Then where is Wan’er?”

 

Su Cen forced a smile. “As I said, I have a theory, and now we can verify it.”

 

The group returned to Chang’an city, where the news had already spread like wildfire. Lord Su had discovered a body in the maple forest on the outskirts of the city, and the Dali Temple was swiftly investigating the case, having now found evidence related to the murderer.

 

The process was described with a touch of mystique. Some said Lord Su had opened his third eye, able to identify the murderer with just a glance at the body. Others claimed the deceased had appeared in Lord Su’s dreams to seek justice, revealing the identity of the killer. A more plausible theory was that Lord Su had found evidence on the unearthed carriage that could confirm the murderer’s identity, and they were just waiting for the court session the next day to interrogate the suspect.

 

As soon as the Dali Temple’s team entered the city gates, they were surrounded by a crowd. The officials from the Dali Temple, though initially confused, stood tall and accepted the people’s warm welcome, seeing their Lord Su calm and composed, as if he had everything under control.

 

Given the gravity of the situation, Huang Mian dared not return home and spent the night in the Dali Temple’s duty room with Su Cen.

 

Huang Mian, still shaken from the day’s events, couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning. He thought about talking to Su Cen, but Su Cen seemed exhausted from the day and had already turned off the lights and gone to bed, his breathing soon slowing down.

 

Huang Mian could only stare blankly at the ceiling, his mind alternating between the skeleton from the day and thoughts of Wan’er. However, after digging all day, he gradually felt sleepy as midnight approached. Just as he was about to drift off, he suddenly heard the sounds of a fight outside.

 

Huang Mian sat up abruptly, looking at Su Cen, who was already up, dressed, and alert, his eyes like stars in the cold night, showing no sign of sleepiness.

 

Su Cen smiled. “The murderer has come to us.”

 

They lit a lamp and went outside, where two shadowy figures were engaged in combat in the courtyard. One wielded a sword with sharp, cold flashes, while the other moved with eerie agility, throwing various hidden weapons from unexpected angles.

 

Then, torches lit up from all directions as the officials who had been lying in wait surrounded the two fighters.

 

Realizing he had fallen into a trap, the black-clad figure tried to escape, but Qu Ling’er clung to him like a ghost, not causing much harm but effectively hindering his movements.

 

Suddenly, the black-clad man exerted force with his right hand, twirling his sword in a flourish, and the blade turned sharply towards Su Cen.

 

“Brother Su, watch out!”

 

Qu Ling’er lost his composure and moved to protect Su Cen. Su Cen hadn’t expected the man to resist so fiercely, targeting him, the one without martial skills. As he stumbled back, the sword was about to slice his neck when there was a loud “clang.” Qu Ling’er threw a swallow dart, deflecting the sword by an inch, and it grazed Su Cen’s neck, hitting the door frame.

 

Seeing his attack fail, the black-clad man didn’t linger, and as Qu Ling’er didn’t pursue, he leaped onto the roof and disappeared into the night.

 

Qu Ling’er stomped his foot in frustration, but seeing Su Cen was unharmed, he was about to chase after him when Su Cen shook his head. “Ling’er, let it go.”

 

Qu Ling’er returned, dejected. “Brother Su, I couldn’t beat him.”

 

“It’s okay,” Su Cen smiled at Qu Ling’er. “Did you do what I asked you to do?”

 

“Of course,” Qu Ling’er suddenly grinned mischievously, opening his palm to reveal fine phosphorescent powder glowing faintly in the dark.

 

 

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