Chapter 7

Chen Chao had a dream, a very serious one.

In the past two years, he often had dreams, and the content of these dreams was always about a woman.

In the dream, there was a woman who kept watching him. In the dream, Chen Chao could do many things, but he could not look into the woman's eyes. Every time he wanted to look at her eyes, he could only see a scorching light, blindingly bright, and the pain would instantly wake him up.

However, this time, before he could look at the woman's eyes, he was startled awake by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

Along with the knocking, there were warm calls.

"Commander Chen, Commander Chen..."

Chen Chao opened his eyes and saw a wild cat stop on the roof in the distance, its emerald eyes staring at him.

"Scram!"

Chen Chao, without any courtesy, picked up a piece of chipped wood and threw it accurately at the wild cat's feet.

The wild cat turned and ran away without a moment's hesitation.

Chen Chao stretched and glanced at the sky, muttering, "It's only the third watch?"

He went to the door, opened the courtyard gate, and saw a clerk holding a lantern, covered in snow, shivering from the cold.

Chen Chao glanced at him and asked, "What's up? Is Mr. Mi inviting us for a midnight snack again?"

This was Mi Ke's hobby, enjoying calling people to have midnight snacks.

The clerk was taken aback; he never expected Chen Chao's first words after opening the door to be this.

"Tell me, what happened?"

Chen Chao looked at the snow on the clerk's body. Coming to invite him for a midnight snack in such a heavy snow? He was just speaking off the cuff.

The clerk regained his composure and, without hesitation, began to recount the events that had happened at the county office, though it took him a full half an hour to finish. Finally, he panted, "The butcher on Changyuan Street is dead too; we won't have pork to eat anymore!"

Chen Chao twitched his lips. You're still concerned about this now?

"It's fine; if the butcher is dead, we won't eat hairy pigs."

Chen Chao asked, "What does Mr. Mi... the magistrate think?"

"The magistrate asked Commander Chen to go to Changyuan Street immediately, suspecting it's the work of a monster."

Monster? At the mention of this, Chen Chao's back straightened up.

His spirit was completely different from when he opened the door.

Seeing Chen Chao like this, the clerk couldn't help but admire his superior's insight. Indeed, it was as he thought!

However, Chen Chao did not immediately follow the clerk out but turned to look at the courtyard.

"What's wrong, Commander Chen? Is there anything else?"

The clerk was a bit anxious, after all, this was a matter of life and death. If the investigation wasn't clear, the entire Tianqing County would be in turmoil the next day.

Before he could finish speaking, the side room door was pushed open, and a girl in a light blue cotton coat walked out.

Seeing the beautiful girl, the clerk was momentarily lost in admiration, then felt his face heat up and lowered his head in self-reproach. Disturbing Commander Chen's good time in the middle of the night was really not right.

No wonder Commander Chen didn't seem in high spirits when he opened the door.

Chen Chao looked at Xie Nandu with some suspicion and asked, "Going out, want to come along?"

Xie Nandu nodded and picked up the oil paper umbrella by the door.

Chen Chao nodded and followed the clerk out.

Xie Nandu followed behind Chen Chao, not too close and not too far.

The clerk, a chatterbox, couldn't help but ask after a few steps, "Commander Chen, who is this young lady? A new bride?"

Chen Chao remained silent.

"Commander Chen, you are indeed young and talented. At your age, you are already a commander, with a high martial realm. Now, even the bride you found is more beautiful than the magistrate's wife."

"Too much, can Mr. Mi's wife be compared to her?"

"You can't say that. The magistrate's wife is still very good. If I could marry such a wife in my life, I would die content."

"You have low standards."

"Yes, how can I compare to Commander Chen?"

"You speak so well."

...

...

With the clerk's constant flattery, Chen Chao and the two others arrived at a house on Changyuan Street, which was already surrounded by constables, with countless torches lighting it up like daylight.

There were footprints of varying depths on the street.

Seeing Chen Chao, the constables' tense expressions relaxed. In Tianqing County, the young man before them was a stabilizing force.

With him here, everything would be fine.

However, when Xie Nandu appeared in their line of sight, the constables couldn't take their eyes off her. Although the oil paper umbrella obscured most of her face, the half that was visible was enough to captivate them.

The clerk cleared his throat, "What are you looking at? This is Commander Chen's wife. Don't have any improper thoughts!"

Xie Nandu frowned slightly at this, but Chen Chao wasn't paying attention to it.

However, this statement did have some effect. At least, most of the constables withdrew their gazes. Although Chen Chao was young, he had the authority to discipline them. In the bureaucratic system of the Liang Dynasty, he was of the same rank as the magistrate.

It wouldn't be hard to deal with these constables.

Stepping into the courtyard, Chen Chao immediately saw Mi Ke standing there. The magistrate of Tianqing County was standing under the eaves, his face pale. Seeing Chen Chao, he instantly changed his expression and greeted him with a smile, "Young Brother Chen, I've been waiting for you!"

Chen Chao rubbed his hands and asked, "What's the situation?"

Although he had learned some of the details earlier, neither the clerk nor Hou San earlier had clearly explained the specifics of the murder.

Mi Ke nodded and began to detail the two murders. As a well-read and experienced magistrate, he quickly explained the situation clearly.

"No wounds, just died like that. This is quite interesting."

Chen Chao thought for a moment and said, "Let's go see the body."

Mi Ke nodded. The coroner had already examined the body and found no clues, and he himself had found nothing suspicious at the scene. It was almost a complete mystery, which led him to suspect a monster.

Entering the main hall, Chen Chao saw the fat and muscular body of the butcher on the central armchair.

On the side table, there was only an empty wine jar and a bowl with half a cup of wine.

The butcher and the Chen couple had the same cause of death, dying in their sleep. The only difference was that the butcher died in the armchair while the Chen couple died in bed.

"The butcher has been a widower for many years and always drinks after closing his stall. The wine was not poisoned, and his tolerance is good, so it's not due to excessive drinking. As for other wounds, none were found."

The thin coroner bowed to Chen Chao, speaking succinctly. However, the old coroner, who had served in the county office for over ten years, felt ashamed. As a coroner, failing to determine the cause of death multiple times was truly embarrassing!

"Should we summon the witness who discovered the butcher's body for questioning?" Mi Ke looked at Chen Chao and suggested.

Although he had already questioned the witness, he still believed Chen Chao would have some new insights.

"No need, it's definitely the work of a monster."

Chen Chao subconsciously touched the hilt of his sword and narrowed his eyes.

Mi Ke was taken aback and asked, "How can you be sure?"

This was a serious matter. Although monsters were rampant in the Liang Dynasty, Tianqing County hadn't seen one in years. However, in the Liang Dynasty, the most common threat to the lives of the people was the work of monsters.

If the local commander was capable, it would be fine, but if he was like the previous commander of Tianqing County, the people would suffer greatly.

"His eye sockets are slightly sunken, but there are no wounds on his body. His soul has left his body, so he naturally couldn't survive."

Chen Chao glanced at Mi Ke and frowned, "This kind of monster feeds on the souls of the living to nourish itself, so there are no wounds."

When Chen Chao saw the butcher's body, he had already sensed a faint aura of the monster, confirming it was the work of a monster. However, he then had some doubts.

In the past two years, he had almost killed all the monsters around Tianqing County. Even if some had survived, they wouldn't dare to approach the county due to fear of Chen Chao's reputation. But now, not only had a monster appeared, but it had also killed people in the county.

Does it think I can't figure it out?

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes and said, "Let's go to the county office to see the other two bodies."

...

...

"The cause of death is the same; it's the work of the same monster."

Walking out of the morgue, Chen Chao sat on the threshold. It was already dawn, and it was about to be morning. Mi Ke's face showed signs of fatigue, but he and the others in the county office were still holding on, looking at Chen Chao.

"The monster's realm is not high, but its traces are hard to find, and I haven't determined what kind of monster it is."

The monsters in the Liang Dynasty were diverse, and the manual for identifying them issued by the government was hundreds of pages long.

"This thing hasn't appeared in the past few years, why now?" Chen Chao muttered, feeling frustrated.

Not finding the monster's traces meant there could be another victim at any time. Tianqing County was neither large nor small, and where would the monster strike next?

"Both murders happened on Changyuan Street."

A clear voice suddenly rang out.

Mi Ke looked in the direction of the voice and saw the girl in the light blue robe. The magistrate frowned, wondering when a girl had appeared in the county office.

Mi Ke glanced at the chief clerk, Zhang, who had a beard and looked helpless. The magistrate's memory was probably beyond help.