Rise of Qinglian Chapter 3
Reeling Silk From Cocoons*
“No need, I’m already here.” A male voice suddenly spoke up.
Wang Changsheng stepped in with Wang Qiusheng close behind him.
“This elderly one is Wangjia Town’s mayor, Wang Qingyun. This one pays homage to the celestial master”, said Wang Qingyun as he bowed towards Wang Changsheng respectfully.
“We pay homage to the celestial master.”
Upon seeing the situation, the rest of the Wang clan members paid their respect as well.
“A brush cannot write two ‘kings’*, there’s no need to regard me so distantly. Let me hear the details of the situation!” Wang Changsheng waved his hand while saying this in a pleasant tone.
[TL/N: 一支笔写不出两个王字- This is equivalent to another Chinese saying, ‘a mountain cannot hold two tiger kings’. Incidentally, the surname ‘Wang’ also means king, hence the TL. Changsheng means to say that there was no need to be deferential to him because the mayor is both the official authority in the town, and despite Changsheng being ranked higher in seniority, the mayor was much older than him. Experience wise, the mayor deserves respect as well.]
Wang Qingyun nodded his head and looked toward Wang Qiusheng.
Wang Qiusheng understood and spoke up, “Third Uncle, Grand Ninth Uncle was informed that Wangjia Town is being plagued by an evil spirit of demons and rushed over without giving a second thought to eating food.”
Wang Qingyun understood the implication. “Ninth Uncle, it’s like this; half a month ago, a clan member was found dead in his home one morning with no observable injuries to his body. We had originally concluded it as a homicide case and my nephew tasked Tianlong and Tianhu to find the killer, but they were unable to find a lead and the case made no progress. In the next half month, more clansmen were killed one after the other. It was then that my nephew realized this did not bode well and had someone send a messenger pigeon to inform Ninth Uncle. I had not anticipated for Ninth Uncle to arrive so quickly.”
After listening to Wang Qingyun’s statement, Wang Changsheng frowned and asked solemnly, “You mentioned just now, clansmen were killed one after another? Were all those killed, specifically of the Wang clan?”
This matter was much more severe than Wang Changsheng had previously thought. A demon or spirit appearing in Wangjia Town wasn’t too surprising. But if someone was targeting the Wang clan, then the nature of this issue will be entirely different.
“Correct, up until now, a total of nine people met their end- all were clansmen without exception. All died during the night and within their homes with no signs of physical injury and no traces of fighting. That was when my nephew surmised this may be the work of a demon or evil spirits.”
Wang Changsheng’s frown deepened. According to Wang Qingyun’s words, the killer was undoubtedly an evil spirit.
From what he knows, evil spirits were naturally inclined to, and fond of, sucking the life essence of humans to feed themselves. If too much of a person’s life essence was taken, then their life would be put at risk.
This evil spirit could have been a local one, or one that came from afar; the former would not be so alarming, but if it’s the latter, then that complicates things.
Wang Changsheng contemplated this for a moment, then asked, “Are there any unmarked burial-mounds* in Wangjia Town? Or has there been any unusual happenings that occurred lately?”
[TL/N: Traditional Chinese graves look like a small mound with a stone marker in front of it.]
“There are no unmarked burial-mounds here within the town. We have had immortal cultivators amongst our ancestors; having unmarked graves will accumulate yin energy and very easily attract demons or evil spirits. Thus, if a person died without anyone to help with funeral rights, my nephew would send someone to burn the corpse; we do not condone unmarked mounds or mass graves. There have not been any strange occurrences either!”, Wang Qingyun explained thoroughly.
“Not so, Third Uncle. The ‘tofu-beauty’* Xiaofeng went missing about a month ago.” The short and chubby constable hesitated before bringing up this reminder.
[TL/N: 豆腐西施 ‘a beauty who sells tofu’ has a insulting connotation, stemming from a tale about one of the Four Beauties of China during the Spring and Autumn Period in Chinese history. Kind of meaning to say, the tofu is only selling because of the woman’s looks, though in this story, that remains to be seen. I’m going to keep the TL like this since there is no English equivalent.]
Wang Changsheng furrowed his brows and asked with a deep voice, “Went missing? Has this person not been found yet? What are the origins of this ‘tofu-beauty’? Is she also a Wang clan member?”
“No, Ninth Uncle, she wasn’t part of the Wang clan. She was eighteen years of age and quite the radiant beauty. She also had a blind, elderly mother at home. Xiaofeng sold tofu for a living* and so others nicknamed her as the ‘tofu-beauty’. About a month ago, Xiaofeng suddenly stopped opening her stall because her mother was frail and susceptible to many illnesses. In order to care for her, she would not open the stall at times so no one thought it strange. It was not until a few days later, when a terrible stench emanated from Xiaofeng’s house led Tianhu to pay a visit that we discovered the mother had died. But Xiaofeng was not at home. Nephew sent people to search for her for a period of time but to no avail, so we had the corpse burned.”
[TL/N: Wow, she actually sells tofu in this case.]
“How did Xiaofeng’s mother die?”
“After conducting the examination, the mother had starved to death. Xiaofeng and her mother relied upon each other for survival since young so it’s impossible that she abandoned her mother. This case was under investigation for over a month without any leads and ended up with nothing definite. Not long after Xiaofeng’s mother passed, some of the clansmen began to die.”
“Third Uncle, it can’t be that Xiaofeng’s mother returned to exact revenge! We have never harmed her in her lifetime! When Xiaofeng’s family was short on food and had nothing to eat, I even sent her ten jin* worth of white rice! Now she’s come to harm us after death, returning kindness with vengeance.” Wang Tianhu said with grievance.
[TL/N: About 4kg/11lbs]
Wang Qingyun glanced sharply at Wang Tianhu, and unceremoniously reprimanded him, “You still have the audacity to say this? You threatened Xiaofeng in your desire to take her as a wife. When Xiaofeng refused, you took back that ten jin of rice.”
“Is this true?” Wang Changsheng turned towards Wang Tianhu, doubt written on his face.
Wang Tianhu saw Wang Changsheng looking his way and stiffened his face. He confessed, “This is the truth. But I never pestered Xiaofeng after that, and she shouldn’t exact her wrath upon us over such a matter! Pock-faced Li* had once spied on Xiaofeng whilst she was bathing! If her mother returned as a vengeful spirit, why not seek out Li Er Mazi? He’s still well and alive at the moment!”
[TL/N: 二麻子 (Er Mazi)- A nickname to call someone who is the second child of the family and has a freckled/pockmarked complexion. I will be translating it as Li(his surname) Er Mazi, to keep it short from now on, since everyone keeps calling him that…]
“Li Er Mazi? Have someone find and bring him over. I have questions for him.”
Wang Qingyun nodded and instructed a middle-aged man standing beside him with, “Qiuxian, have Li Er Mazi brought over.”
The middle-aged man voiced his accent and quickly left.
Wang Changsheng thought for a moment before asking directly, “Prior to Xiaofeng’s disappearance, didn’t anything unusual occur? Perhaps any signs or indications?”
Wang Qingyun shook his head and directed this question to the others. “Do any of you know? If you do, inform Ninth Uncle. Any who dares to conceal information will be severely punished.”
“We do not know.”
All of the clansmen present shook their heads and replied thus in unison.
They all had their own lives to live, they couldn’t have possibly monitored Xiaofeng everyday.
Wang Changsheng directed his attention to Wang Tianhu again, “What about you! You were fond of Xiaofeng, do you know?”
Wang Tianhu also shook his head and replied with seriousness, “This grandson is usually doing work at the Yamen* so it’s impossible to surveil Xiaofeng everyday. My attempt to propose already failed and my family arranged a marriage afterwards. I just married so how could I dare provoke Xiaofeng.”
[TL/N: Government offices. Since they don’t specify, I’ll leave it as is.]
At that moment, Wang Qiuxian brought over a middle-aged man whose face was covered in pockmarks.
This middle-aged man had a long face like a horse; those small eyes compounded by the pockmarked face lent him a rather unpleasant and sordid feeling.
Wang Changsheng turned his gaze on the middle-aged man and questioned him with a frown, “You are that Li Er Mazi? Does Xiaofeng’s disappearance have anything to do with you?”
“That fatty constable already asked this several times so why ask again? I already said it has nothing to do with me. This old man did spy a look at her bathing, but her disappearance has nothing to do with this old man, dammit.” Li Er Mazi drew back the corners of his mouth to reveal the rows of yellowed teeth, causing everyone to feel disgusted.
“Li Er Mazi, keep your mouth clean*. The one standing before is my Ninth Grand Uncle.” Wang Qiuxian frowned and rebuked him curtly.
[TL/N: Kind of like saying ‘watch your mouth’ or if a person cursed, ‘wash your mouth’ of profanity. Here, it’s hinted that this has a literal and figurative meaning, since Mazi is both unhygienic and extremely disrespectful.]
“It’s not like your Ninth Grand Uncle is this old man’s Ninth Grand Uncle, so what the hell is it to this old one!” Li Er Mazi, countered.
Wang Tianhu’s expression became frosty and spoke darkly, “Li Er Mazi, I advise you to keep your mouth clean. Whatever Ninth Great Elder* asks of you, you will answer with honesty. If you want to eat jail food, just say so.”
[TL/N: The term ‘elder’ is interchangeable between referring to someone’s age and referring to someone deserving of respect and acknowledgement of their authority.]
At hearing this, Li Er Mazi reluctantly said, “If there are questions, then ask! This old man guarantees to answer openly.”
~~ * ~~
TL/N: Note on the title- 抽丝剥茧 ‘reeling raw silk from a cocoon’ is no easy task and painstaking in labour, so here, it is a way to describe how much effort, thoroughness, and care they are putting into the investigation.
