A Constable’s Disguise and a Chilling Discovery

On the fourth day, Quzhou City’s streets were noticeably emptier than usual.

The sun hung high, blazing down as Tan Xianglong, dressed in simple commoner’s clothes, navigated the labyrinthine streets and alleys.

The previous night, he had returned to the crime scene, where he gathered several crucial clues.

Firstly, there was the state of the corpses.

Neither body bore any obvious external wounds, nor were there any signs of struggle within the house.

Thus, Tan Xianglong concluded that death by poisoning or internal injuries was the most probable cause.

If the white-robed woman was indeed the culprit,

traces of her unique martial arts style would undoubtedly be found on the bodies.

However, an autopsy required the presence of the yamen’s coroner, making a quick conclusion impossible.

For now, he could only set this avenue aside and seek a breakthrough elsewhere.

Given the urgency, Tan Xianglong swiftly conducted another thorough search of the house.

A small, yellowed slip of paper on the table caught his eye.

Upon examination, it proved to be nothing more than an ordinary medicinal prescription.

It listed common ingredients such as “angelica, licorice, white peony, ginseng,” and others.

These were all well-known herbs for replenishing qi and nourishing blood, even to him.

Ordinarily, such a commonplace sight would not have given him a moment’s pause.

Yet, a sudden thought sparked within him.

He glanced at the two large ceramic cups placed side-by-side on the table before him.

Tan Xianglong picked them up, sniffing the rim of each cup in turn.

The lingering scent of traditional Chinese medicine still wafted faintly from them.

‘Was the poison administered in these cups?’

The thought had barely formed before Tan Xianglong dismissed it.

These individuals were mere commoners; coercing them to ingest poison after subduing them would have been simple enough.

There would have been no need for such elaborate efforts to secretly administer the poison.

‘Then what was peculiar about this prescription?’

As Tan Xianglong pondered, a sudden flash of insight struck him.

‘Right, there’s been a strange illness spreading through the city recently.’

‘And there’s also a white-robed immortaless, said to be generously offering aid,’

‘who rented a pharmacy in the city to treat and save common folk for free.’

‘Could this prescription have come from one of her pharmacies?’

‘It’s highly probable that the two died shortly after consuming the medicine.’

‘Could such a coincidence truly exist?’

Tan Xianglong made up his mind: tomorrow, he would go in disguise to investigate discreetly.

The white-robed woman’s martial arts skills were likely exceptional, and she seemed to be a figure from the jianghu.

To avoid alerting her, Tan Xianglong decided not to notify the authorities for the time being.

****

After turning through several streets and alleys, the clamor of the crowd grew distinctly louder.

From a distance, a dense throng of people could be seen gathered around the entrance of a pharmacy.

Today, Tan Xianglong had adopted the persona of a “hot-headed, boorish man whose family member had been ill for a long time without recovery.”

Such a facade often made others drop their guard,

making it easier to extract useful information.

Tan Xianglong first joined the queue obediently.

After a short while, however, an expression of irritation began to spread across his face.

He repeatedly let out crude, exasperated ‘Tsk!’ sounds.

When his turn finally arrived,

Tan Xianglong slammed his palm heavily onto the redwood counter before him and bellowed:

“How do you run this establishment? My mother took the medicine you prescribed here, and after half a day, she’s still not better!”

He was attended by a young pharmacy apprentice, dressed in a simple cloth tunic.

Seeing such a display, the apprentice was utterly stunned, only managing to stammer out after a long moment:

“Sir, esteemed Sir… are you q-quite certain you obtained the medicine h-here…?”

Tan Xianglong roared in fury:

“That’s right! The medicine came from here, and the prescription was written by your shopkeeper! You won’t wriggle out of this so easily!”

The young apprentice replied tremblingly:

“Perhaps, perhaps the course of treatment hasn’t been completed yet, which is why there’s no improvement… Why don’t you get a bit more medicine according to the prescription and try taking it for a few more days?”

Tan Xianglong shook his head emphatically:

“Absolutely not! Quickly, tell your shopkeeper to get out here! I have words to exchange with him.”

The young apprentice couldn’t help but look troubled.

His shopkeeper, having received rent money from the white-robed immortaless these past few days,

had completely washed his hands of the pharmacy’s affairs.

He spent his days indulging in gambling dens, pleasure quarters, and taverns across the city.

Before leaving, he had only instructed him:

“Just prescribe some common Chinese medicine that won’t kill anyone; a bit of a deception will do. Even if this strange illness truly turns deadly, our prescriptions will withstand scrutiny, and the blame won’t fall on us.”

Although the young apprentice harbored considerable reservations about the shopkeeper’s conduct,

he was merely an errand boy; what right did he have to question him?

For the past two days, he had simply followed the shopkeeper’s instructions,

prescribing ordinary tonics to patients seeking treatment, meant to replenish qi and invigorate blood.

Yet now, this burly man was specifically demanding to see the shopkeeper.

He himself had no idea which dice cup in Ju Cai Fang the shopkeeper was currently betting on,

or in which lady’s room in the pleasure quarters he was spending the night.

How could he possibly answer this burly man’s questions?

Seeing the young apprentice’s hesitant, uncertain expression,

Tan Xianglong immediately scowled, feigning a furious outburst:

“Fine then! So, you’re a bunch of quacks, swindling my money for medicine and failing to cure illnesses!”

Having handled cases for many years, he was confident in his ability to discern people.

The young apprentice’s troubled look did not seem feigned.

Tan Xianglong realized the boy genuinely had difficulties and likely had no idea where the shopkeeper had gone.

Having made his dramatic display, he turned to leave.

He intended to try his luck at the next pharmacy in Quzhou City.

Unexpectedly, as he looked up, a graceful figure approached from a distance.

It was a woman, her white robes purer than snow, her features as exquisite as a painting. As she walked, her sleeves fluttered, adorned with specks of shimmering gold.

The crowd waiting in front of the pharmacy, even those who had previously seen the white-robed immortaless’s true appearance,

found themselves breathtakingly stunned, involuntarily holding their breath.

Some, short of breath, couldn’t hold it any longer; their eyes rolled back, limbs went weak, and they simply collapsed with a “thump.”

Tan Xianglong was evidently far more composed than they were.

After a brief moment of disorientation, he quickly regained his senses.

He scrutinized the woman before him with a wary gaze.

The newcomer was, of course, the white-robed Sword Immortal, Ye Di’s former sworn dao-companion, and now the sect leader of the Thousand Bamboo Sect, Murong Qihuang.

She paused slightly, her brow furrowed as she observed the burly man standing at the pharmacy entrance.

His gaze harbored a subtle hostility.

Though exceedingly faint, it did not escape Murong Qihuang’s keen eyes.

Murong Qihuang spoke calmly:

“I heard you from afar just now, saying you wished to speak with this pharmacy’s shopkeeper. Is that correct?”

Tan Xianglong’s heart involuntarily tightened.

They were in a bustling market, surrounded by a noisy, jostling crowd.

To clearly distinguish his words amidst such a cacophony,

was an feat as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

Such auditory prowess unequivocally marked this person as extraordinary.

‘Could she be the white-robed woman he had pursued under the moonlight last night?’

Tan Xianglong felt confident that,

if he could just ascertain her movement technique one more time,

he would be able to confirm her identity.

Pushing these thoughts aside, he first addressed Murong Qihuang’s question:

“Yes! A few days ago, I came to your pharmacy for treatment and medicine. I took it back for my mother, but she hasn’t improved after several days! Today, I’ve come to demand an explanation!”

Murong Qihuang lowered her gaze, her brow furrowed, and her voice carried a hint of coolness:

“You clearly possess such profound martial arts, why do you choose to impersonate such a boorish farmer?”

Tan Xianglong was instantly horrified, his entire body stiffening.

Though he had prepared himself for his disguise to be seen through,

to have his martial foundation discerned the moment they met was startling.

His opponent’s background was likely far more formidable than he had imagined.

Tan Xianglong’s thoughts raced as he carefully considered his words,

even as he cautiously began to reply:

“The reason I…”

Suddenly, a piercing shriek echoed from the end of the street:

“Help! Help me! There’s a monster, a monster is coming!”

Hearing this, the crowd collectively turned their heads.

Around the street corner, a person lay sprawled on the ground.

Only his head was visible, his face covered in grime.

One hand thrashed ceaselessly, heavily marred with bloody scratches.

He desperately gasped out broken pleas for help, his voice shrill and hoarse.

The next moment, he seemed to be yanked by something behind the wall,

vanishing around the corner in an instant.

‘This is bad!’ Tan Xianglong thought. ‘Saving that person is the top priority!’

Yet, someone reacted even faster than he did.

Murong Qihuang lightly pushed off the ground, soaring into the air like a white bird, sweeping towards the distance.

“What was that just now?”

“Should we… go take a look?”

“N-no, no, no… I’m not, not going… That person’s scream just now was t-terrifying…”

“Nonsense! What’s there to fear in broad daylight? Besides, there are so many of us here! Come on, let’s go see what the commotion is about!”

Amidst this flurry of discussion within the crowd,

many immediately followed Murong Qihuang, moving down the street and into the alley.

Tan Xianglong remained standing in place.

His brows were deeply furrowed as he mused,

‘Judging by that person’s complexion just now,’

‘it seemed precisely like the deathly pallor on the faces of the couple in the household I stumbled upon last night.’

The experience and intuition he had accumulated over years of handling cases,

finally made him subtly sense that something was gravely amiss.

Murders, corpses, strange illnesses, prescriptions—

Though all these elements were now linked, he still couldn’t grasp the full scope of the situation with clarity.

Yet, he caught a scent of something truly terrifying.

A shiver ran through him, raising goosebumps all over his skin.

Under the scorching sun, Tan Xianglong, the Golden Blade Constable of Quzhou City, broke out in a cold sweat.