Mo Sang – CH 093

Chapter 93. Evil Demon

Li Sangrou and her group had lunch at the best restaurant in the county town. Around noon, Li Sangrou finished tidying up, had Jin Mao carry Guo’er, and left the inn.

Zou Wang and Lu Hepeng stood at the inn’s entrance, startled to see Jin Mao carrying Guo’er behind them.

“Boss, Guo’er…?” Zou Wang did not know what Li Sangrou was up to, but seeing her with Guo’er being carried, he instinctively felt something was wrong.

“Boss, are you still investigating a case? Bringing a child along?” Lu Hepeng, having considered Li Sangrou’s mention of torture, felt even more strongly that bringing Guo’er was inappropriate.

“She’s already like this; carrying her will not do any more harm.” Li Sangrou glanced back at Guo’er and sighed.

Guo’er had been standing about ten steps away from her mother’s corpse, watching helplessly as her mother was raped, beaten, and tortured to death.

Psychologically speaking, this shock was too intense. At her age, she could not handle it; she might become withdrawn and self-protective, or she might even be traumatized.

Regardless of the cause, she could not recover on her own. There were no facilities for psychological treatment here. If things continued like this, nine times out of ten, Guo’er would become mentally impaired.

She wanted to take good care of Guo’er for Sister Qi, not just to keep her alive, but to ensure she lived a good life.

Although she had not studied psychology and did not know what to do, she could not let things get any worse.

Taking her there, letting her see things, perhaps there would be some change. Any change would not be a bad thing.

“Taking her there might be good. She’s lost her soul there; if she calls out along the way, maybe she can find it again.

Sigh, if Sister Qi has a spirit, she must protect your daughter’s lost soul and bless her to find it again,” Zou Wang muttered, as if to himself, yet also as if in prayer.

Li Sangrou walked at the front, unhurried.

Two quarters of an hour past the hour of Shen¹, Li Sangrou stood at the Wang family’s main gate, facing the gatekeeper who was staring at her. Her gaze traveled from the two gatehouses upwards, past the gate itself, then to the tall ginkgo tree extending from within. She carefully examined the gate, then turned right and walked along the courtyard wall.

After circling the courtyard wall, Li Sangrou looked up at the still-high sun, stepped back, and stood quietly under a large tree a few dozen paces from the Wang family’s gate, her hands behind her back.

Hei Ma and Jin Mao sat on either side of Li Sangrou’s feet.

Zou Wang, holding Guo’er, stood behind Li Sangrou, looking on with suspicion and unease.

What did the boss want, standing so openly outside the Wang family’s gate?

“Sir?” Zou Wang stood for a moment, then moved closer to Lu Hepeng, whose brows were furrowed, and called out with a puzzled expression.

Lu Hepeng shook his head at him, his voice extremely low. “I do not know either, but judging from the way the Boss is acting, it does not seem like a small matter. Stay calm.”

From inside the Wang family’s gate, a man dressed as a steward came out, stood on the steps outside the gate, frowned at Li Sangrou and the others, hesitated for a moment, then turned and went inside.

A while later, a stewardess came out, stood on the threshold, peeked a few times, and then quickly went inside.

Lu Hepeng was a scholar, and soon he got tired of standing and sat down on a protruding tree root.

Zou Wang, holding Guo’er, squatted beside Lu Hepeng, his heart pounding wildly.

Judging from the Boss’s actions, was she waiting for dark? Why did she not come out later? Just to leave the city at the same time as Sister Qi?

Alas, Sister Qi was so pitiful.

Leaving the city at the same time! What exactly was the Boss planning?

They’d break into the Wang family home after dark, take their belongings, and force a confession?

Yes, that was definitely it; there was no other way!

That was one option. Sigh, a last resort.

Night fell.

Li Sangrou raised her hand, unbuttoned her left sleeve, folded it up, fastened it again, and took out a box of small arrows from her waist pouch. One by one, she loaded them into her crossbow.

Zou Wang stared wide-eyed at the dark crossbow bolts being loaded, gasping for breath.

Was she going to slaughter the entire Wang family?

“Let’s go.” Li Sangrou finished loading the bolts and strode forward.

Hei Ma and Jin Mao leaped up, one on the left and one on the right, charging towards the Wang family gate.

The two gatekeepers, sitting on either side of the main gate, were already tired of their discussion and were planning to finish one more cup of tea before closing the door so they could go inside and rest.

The two men stared blankly at Hei Ma and Jin Mao charging towards them, only reacting after a long pause: “Hey! Hurry! Master!”

Jin Mao, slightly faster, rushed through the gate first, kicking down the gatekeeper, who had only taken a few steps inside. Hei Ma followed closely behind, knocking out the other gatekeeper. Together with Jin Mao, they stood on either side of the gate, letting Li Sangrou and the others in, then slammed the gate shut and bolted it from the inside.

Hei Ma leaped and bounded to the front, accompanying Li Sangrou straight towards Wang Yide’s residence.

Turning the corner past the screen wall, two coachmen were brushing their horses, staring dumbfounded at Hei Ma and the others who had charged in.

Hei Ma and Jin Mao each pushed one of them: “Inside!”

The two grooms, heads in their hands, ran inside, dizzy and disoriented.

Zou Wang and Lu Hepeng, tightly clutching Guo’er, followed Li Sangrou shoulder to shoulder, their faces tense, their fear and panic no less than the grooms’.

Inside the second gate, two young girls screamed in terror. Hei Ma and Jin Mao pushed them aside, while Li Sangrou ignored them completely.

Lu Hepeng instinctively covered his ears, clinging to Zou Wang like one person, following closely behind Li Sangrou, not daring to lag behind.

“Throw them out! Quickly!” Finally, a steward rushed out, shouting as he grabbed a flower stand and charged at Jin Mao.

Li Sangrou raised her hand; the mechanism clicked softly, and a small arrow pierced the steward’s shoulder blade with perfect accuracy. The steward screamed and collapsed to the ground.

“This is none of your business; find somewhere to hide!” Li Sangrou shouted, having shot down the steward.

“Get him out of here! A reward of one hundred taels of silver!” Master Wang rushed out, his fear far outweighing his anger, shouting fiercely.

His henchman followed closely behind, wielding a long sword in both hands, raising it high to strike Li Sangrou.

Li Sangrou kicked the long sword away, her right hand flashing out a short sword that grazed the henchman’s neck before kicking him towards Master Wang.

The henchman stumbled forward, blood spurting upwards. The surrounding terror fell silent for a moment, then a series of terrified screams made Lu Hepeng’s and Zou Wang’s ears ring.

Jin Mao had already pounced and grabbed Master Wang, quickly tying him up.

Hei Ma rushed, running and walking, straight towards Wang Yide’s residence.

The afterglow of the commotion still lingered in Wang Yide’s courtyard.

Lu Hepeng and Zou Wang stood at the courtyard gate, dumbfounded as they watched Hei Ma and Jin Mao swing their fists and Li Sangrou kick them as easily as chopping vegetables and melons, knocking out Wang Yide and his two guests, as well as all the servants and attendants in the courtyard, leaving behind the maids and old women who were either already unconscious or pretending to be.

Jin Mao tied everyone up one by one, while Hei Ma brought over several terrified male servants who carried Master Wang, Wang Yide, and the entire courtyard of servants and attendants onto the two-door carriage and harnessed it to the horse. Hei Ma drove it out of the Wang family gate.

Zou Wang already knew what Li Sangrou was going to do; his face was deathly pale, and he tightly hugged Guo’er, as if she were his only support.

Lu Hepeng stumbled behind, remembering again the Boss’s question about whether he had seen torture and whether he was afraid!

Now, he was a little scared.

Hei Ma drove the carriage; Jin Mao stood behind it, knife in hand, watching inside. Li Sangrou sat in front, while Zou Wang and Lu Hepeng stumbled and trotted behind, heading straight for the sparse grove where Sister Qi’s body lay.

The carriage sped into the woods. Hei Ma reined in his horse and looked at Li Sangrou.

“Have Master Lu hold Guo’er, and Old Zou, come and help. Hoist them all up, but not too high, feet on the ground.

Jin Mao, light a fire; make sure they can see clearly,” Li Sangrou instructed.

“Alright!” Hei Ma unloaded ropes from the carriage, and Zou Wang helped. Soon, they had Master Wang, Wang Yide, and all the servants and attendants in Wang Yide’s courtyard, all with their hands above their heads, hanging in a circle around the fire Jin Mao had started.

“What are you doing! This is a place where there is law!” Master Wang, jolted awake by a splash of cold water from Hei Ma, screamed in terror.

Li Sangrou seemed not to hear, watching as Hei Ma jolted Wang Yide awake. She walked up to him and slapped him twice across the face. “How many people did you kill in this forest? Ten? Twenty? One hundred? Two hundred? Five hundred? One thousand?”

“Let me go!” Wang Yide cried out, his voice trembling with sobs.

“Why did you kill Miss Qi? What did she do to you?” Li Sangrou slapped him twice more.

“Stop! What are you trying to do?! He’s just a child!” Master Wang, seeing his son being beaten, was in so much pain that he forgot all fear.

“He’s just a child?!” Li Sangrou chuckled, glancing back at Guo’er. “There are no children here, not even her. Tell me, why did you kill Miss Qi? What did she do to you?”

“I did not! I did not! Father! Save me, Father!” Wang Yide looked at his father, struggling desperately to break free.

“Pull him up.” Li Sangrou took a step back, gesturing to Hei Ma.

With a powerful pull, Hei Ma hoisted Wang Yide, whose hands were bound and arms were raised, until only his toes touched the ground.

Wang Yide screamed in agony.

“What did Miss Qi do to you? Why did you kill her?” Li Sangrou slid out her narrow sword, slicing open Wang Yide’s clothes and waistband, exposing his front and lower body.

Li Sangrou’s sword tip pressed against Wang Yide’s crotch. “Tell the truth.”

“Let him go! Let him go! I will give you anything you want, as much money as you want; just name your price! Let him go! He’s just a child! Come at me! He’s just a child!” The old man, in agony, screamed far more pitifully than his son.

“She was standing on my doorstep! She’s a whore! I did not… She died on her own, not me! Father, Father!” Wang Yide looked down at the cold glint of the sword pressed against his crotch, terrified beyond measure.

Li Sangrou took a few steps back, looking around at the horrified faces.

“Um, one, two, three, the fourth one is Second Wang’s servant. He seems quite favored.” Hei Ma pointed to a servant diagonally opposite him.

Li Sangrou walked up to the servant. “Why did your master kill Sister Qi?”

“I will not…”

Li Sangrou pressed her short sword against the servant’s arm, the tip piercing it.

The servant let out a bloodcurdling scream, “Do not kill me! Do not kill me! I will talk, I will talk! It was Second Master! Second Master said he wanted to find some fun, to find some new fun for Third and Fifth Masters, that Miss Qi was a prostitute, that she knew how to play tricks, that it was the men who wanted to find fun! I did not know!”

Li Sangrou sheathed her short sword, walked to the hanging Wang Yide, slightly raised her head to look at him, twirled the short sword in her hand, and then swung it, cutting off Wang Yide’s genitals.

Wang Yide and Master Wang screamed simultaneously.

“Let him go! You harlot, you beast, you beast! I will tear you to pieces! Let him go! Come at me!” Master Wang struggled desperately, cursing wildly.

The others around him stared, dumbfounded, at Wang Yide’s bleeding lower body.

Zou Wang had already brought Guo’er back, clutching her tightly in fear, forgetting to turn away or cover her eyes. This… he could not let Guo’er see! She was just a child!

Lu Hepeng instinctively clasped his hands between his legs, feeling a chill run down his spine, his legs trembling slightly.

Just now, he had spoken too boldly; he should not have said he was not afraid to watch the torture.

“Sister Qi was beaten to death by you. How long? Tell me,” Li Sangrou said, looking at Wang Yide, her short sword pointing at the servant.

“More than two hours.” The servant trembled, barely able to speak, but dared not refuse.

“Several men raped Sister Qi. Who are they? Point them out.” Li Sangrou continued, her short sword still pointed at the servant.

“My Lords, later, Second Young Master rewarded me, and him, and him, and him,” The servant said, pointing to a circle of men. “I did not want to, but Second Young Master made me… I dared not; it was not me. I am just a slave.”

Li Sangrou stepped forward, using her sword to tear open Wang Yide’s clothes. Looking at the unconscious Wang Yide, head drooping, she gestured to Hei Ma. “Wake him up.”

Hei Ma picked up a copper kettle and poured cold water over Wang Yide’s face.

Li Sangrou looked at the deathly pale-faced Wang Yide and asked with narrowed eyes, “Do you know what it feels like to be beaten to death?

Before you die, you should experience that feeling; that’s the proper way.”

As she spoke, Li Sangrou gripped her short sword and plunged it about half an inch into the flesh, avoiding major blood vessels. Starting from Wang Yide’s forehead, she carefully made cuts, one by one. Wang Yide fainted from the pain, then revived, then fainted again, going from screaming in agony to being unable to cry out anymore.

Li Sangrou meticulously traced Wang Yide’s body from head to toe, then instructed Jin Mao, “Sprinkle fine salt on him; sprinkle it carefully and make sure it’s even.”

Master Wang, already fainting from the pain and shock, was revived by Hei Ma, dousing him with cold water.

Hei Ma carried a copper pot of cold water, circling around, patrolling. Seeing someone unconscious, he immediately poured a stream of cold water on their face; one stream was not enough, so he poured two. There was a ditch nearby, convenient for both disposing of the dead and fetching water.

The boss said that in this kind of situation, everyone needed to be clear-headed and had sharp eyes, seeing and hearing everything clearly from beginning to end!

The people hanging around them were all unclean.

Lu Hepeng did not smell a thing in the strong stench of urine; he was so frightened that he clung tightly to Zou Wang, practically numb.

Guo’er, held tightly in Zou Wang’s arms, suddenly screamed when Li Sangrou was halfway across the room, frantically hitting Zou Wang. “It’s him! It’s him! Please! Ah! Help! Mother! Ahahaha!”

Guo’er seemed insane, like a demon, pinching, kicking, and hitting Zou Wang, her cries and screams seeming to come from hell.

“Boss, Boss!” Zou Wang instinctively held Guo’er tightly, his face and head bleeding from her pinching and scratching, but he did not dare let go.

“Guo’er!” Guo’er uttered a mumbled, indistinct “Guo’er,” and then her head lolled to the side, and she fainted in Zou Wang’s arms.

Zou Wang, hearing that mumbled “Guo’er,” widened his eyes in fright, feeling a chill run down his spine, his hair standing on end.

“It’s alright, it’s alright; the Boss’s aura is strong, the Boss…” Lu Hepeng held the swaying Zou Wang, unsure whether he was comforting Zou Wang or himself.

“Go, have them write down what happened that day.

Everyone writes their own! How the murder started, who said what, who did what—not a single word can be missed, not a single step can be wrong. If anyone writes a single wrong word, I will cut them into strips of cured meat right now!”

Li Sangrou watched as Jin Mao sprinkled salt, gesturing to a circle of people, indicating to Lu Hepeng.

Lu Hepeng, his hands trembling, forcefully pulled off his satchel and took out paper and pen, and Hei Ma poured him some water. Despite his shaking hands, Lu Hepeng managed to grind the ink properly.

Hei Ma loosened the ropes, releasing everyone except Master Wang, and herded them to sit around the fire, kneeling on their legs to write their confessions.

As dawn broke, Lu Hepeng finished organizing all the confessions, each one covered with fingerprints. He checked them again and handed them to Li Sangrou.

“Alas, inhuman. This was written by his servant. Take a look.

Sister Qi is the seventh person he’s killed.

The first six—five beggars, one of whom was guarding the mortuary over there. Alas, this is not a human; this is a beast.” Lu Hepeng clutched the thick stack of confessions, feeling a chill run down his spine.

They said humans were the most intelligent of all beings, but when they became wicked, they were the most vicious.

“Throw him into the cart,” Li Sangrou said, pointing to the already lifeless Wang Yide, then to the others sitting in a circle. “Tie them up in a string; we are going to the county yamen.”

Hei Ma and Jin Mao leaped up and tied up the men one by one.

“We are traveling with a herd of livestock, so we will be slow. You take Guo’er and hurry back to find a physician to check on her.

You also hurry back and make two copies of each of these statements. Once you’ve made them, wait in front of the county yamen.” Li Sangrou then instructed Zou Wang and Lu Hepeng.

The two readily agreed, one carrying the child, the other carrying the statements, and hurried back to the county town.