A Man Should have a Fire in Him
“Brother Wang San is dead?”
Since Tang Ye could not determine how the pale Hong Jiu was feeling, he chose to wait for a while before sharing the information he heard from Song Yanluo. Hong Jiu remained wordless even after Tang Ye finished, only to roar as he charged onto the street, scaring bystanders off. Tang Ye knew that it was impossible to stop Hong Jiu, so waited for the latter to return later at night.
Hong Jiu returned reeking of alcohol, but he looked to be in a stable mood. “Does anyone else know?”
Tang Ye shook his head.
“Hmm… Brother Wang San is Marquis Dubu’s son. The fact that he died on his way to Hangzhou means that someone is trying to cast the blame on Hangzhou.”
That was a take that Tang Ye did not expect. Nobody could have been certain if Marquis Dubu would remain as a recluse and stay silent after learning about the loss of his son. More importantly, regardless of how he was ridiculed or ignored, he ruled Dark Robe Brotherhood and had insisted on holding onto the reins.
Indeed, Dark Robe Brotherhood no longer had any place in the martial world. That did not mean that their centuries-long foundations had ceased to exist, though. Nobody could reliably imagine what sort of stir they would cause and what sort of turmoil Hangzhou would be plunged into if Dark Robe Brotherhood returned to the pugilistic world.
One perplexing question was, why Hangzhou? In spite of how green he still was, Tang Ye could see that the tension building in Hangzhou had unquestionably exceeded the realms of “normal”. It was a stretch to claim that Matriarch Zi’s invitations were the trigger; adding Wang Sanping’s homicide to the equation was akin to blowing air into fish maw. The motive was written on the wall, but again, why Hangzhou?
“So, how are you going to investigate the case?” asked Hong Jiu, voice low.
It was Tang Ye’s first time seeing this side of Hong Jiu. Hearing sighs, cries and even seeing people rush to Hangzhou to avenge their late friend were expected. However, he never expected to see bloodlust in Hong Jiu’s eyes, which led to him suspecting that he hit a nerve somewhere.
“His cause of death is most bizarre. As I have not seen his corpse, I can’t judge. The information that Song Clan provided isn’t adequate to determine the discipline or weapon used to commit the murder. As much as I wanted to find out more, Miss Song didn’t know any more.” Tang Ye exhaled a heavy breath. “Patriarch Song’s third son has been beside himself ever since he returned, staying cooped up in his room all day.”
Patriarch Song’s third son was a notorious pleasure-monger who preferred to keep himself entertained rather than work, so imagine him not leaving his room.
“They have gone to retrieve his body, so we will need to wait for the detailed report to come out first before we can decide where to start,” added Tang Ye.
Had Tang Ye not joined Liu Shan Men, he would never have been able to give that response. Plus, he had been there for a while and improved his capacity as a detective, yet Hong Jiu shook his head as he wagged his hand.
“This isn’t how you deal with this case.”
“What is your opinion, Brother Hong?”
Hong Jiu sneered. “Simple. Find the key person. The person who was at the scene is the first suspect. Why did Patriarch Song’s son not die there when he witnessed what happened? What could be more suspicious than that? To hell with erasing his suspicious involvement. I suspect him. Let’s pay Song Clan a visit now.”
Tang Ye could virtually already see Hong Jiu smashing Song Clan’s wall down with their plaque as soon as he saw Hong Jiu get up. Seeing as this was Hong Jiu’s reaction, what were the reactions of Wang Sanping’s other friends going to be? Could this fiery reaction have been the perpetrator’s goal?
“In spite of Song Clan’s network and influence, it’s no simple task to suppress the news of Hero Wang’s death. Knowing how thorough they are, he’s unlikely in Yangzhou if they’re trying to cover up his involvement.”
Song Ou may not have been representative of Song Clan’s modus operandi, but Song Chi was.
Smirking, Hong Jiu responded, “You think it’s that easy to run? A monk can run, but a temple can’t. If he’s not around, Boss Song is.”
Hong Jiu had already walked out the door by the time Hong Jiu realised Boss Song did not refer to Song Ou but Song Lian. Thus, he rushed out after Hong Jiu and quietly questioned, “If we’re going to go after Song Clan, shouldn’t we inform Big Bro first?”
Hong Jiu stopped in his tracks – and even showed signs of cooling down a tad. Tang Ye took the opportunity to catch up and then continued, “Even if we put aside Mount Daluo, this does pertain to Night Fortress and Song Clan’s relationship. If we assault Song Lian and it turns out that he is innocent, Big Bro will be put in a dilemma.”
The mention of Ming Feizhen calmed Hong Jiu down significantly. Deep down, Hong Jiu was aware that he did not want to fight Song Lian because he suspected the latter’s son; he just wanted to have a fight. Once he recomposed himself, he realised the error of his way.
“… You’re right. Where’s Leader right now?”
“He…” Tang Ye hesitated to speak since Hong Jiu was fired up enough to seek out Song Lian.
“What? Spit it out already. Are you a girl or something?”
“I don’t know myself. Maybe you should take a look for yourself.”
Hong Jiu snapped up the sheet of paper Tang Ye passed to him and then went silent. He narrowed his eyes. “What mettle. Leader truly is our exemplar. Only he would challenge Shifu on his own… Just to be sure.”
“What?”
“Leader… hasn’t really lost his mind, right?”
Tang Ye paused to think, then rubbed his nose. “No… probably not.”
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