Chapter 31: Family Massacre

"Finding someone is the most important thing. Li Qing, please go and get busy."

Xuan Shu said, turning behind him and saying, "Suifeng, Ruyue, you go with Lord Song."

Song Qianzhao bowed.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Then, Song Qianzhao turned around and was about to go and investigate, but was stopped by Wang Feng and his wife, who insisted on going with him.

"You two haven't slept all night, so you should go home and wait for news." Song Qianzhao looked at their dark circles under their eyes and advised them gently, "If you have any clues, you will let me know as soon as possible."

Dusk fell, and the last ray of sunset glow in the sky was swallowed up by the night.

Song Qianzhao and the other two whipped their horses and walked out of the city gate. The sound of horse hooves was particularly clear on the quiet official road.

Suddenly, there was a burst of hurried horse hooves sounds behind him, accompanied by the clear shouts of the young man.

"Brother! Wait for me!"

Song Qianzhao reined in his horse and looked back, only to see Fan Zhiyu riding towards him at a distance, his robe rustling in the wind, his face still showing some excitement.

Song Qianzhao frowned slightly and said helplessly, "Didn't I tell you to rest well? The road is difficult to walk at night, why do you have to follow us and suffer?"

Fan Zhiyu grinned.

"Brother, it's definitely a good idea to take me with you! I might be able to be of great help!"

Song Qianzhao shook his head and laughed, and finally let go.

"Forget it. We've already chased you here. If I send you back, you'll probably get angry with me."

The night wind grew cooler, and the four riders rode side by side.

Soon, the outline of Stone Village emerged in the lights.

What was surprising was that the village was not only brightly lit, but also had many villagers gathered there. It was obvious that something had happened.

As soon as Song Qianzhao and his group stepped into the village entrance, they were surrounded by several villagers holding axes and hoes.

"Where does this stranger come from in the middle of the night?"

Someone shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, get off your horse!" another person snapped back. "They might have done it!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the villagers became even more angry. In a blink of an eye, more than ten people rushed forward and surrounded the three people.

Song Qianzhao hurriedly bowed: "Big brother, we are..."

"He's definitely not a good person!"

A woman screamed, "Look at that woman wearing men's clothes, it's indecent!"

Song Qianzhao's heart skipped a beat and he subconsciously touched his face. Could it be that my disguise technique has failed?

But when she saw everyone looking at Ruyue behind her, she couldn't help but feel relieved.

Ruyue raised an eyebrow and quietly placed her hand on the dagger at her waist. Suifeng quietly took a half step forward, blocking Song Qianzhao and Fan Zhiyu behind him.

Fan Zhiyu pointed at the woman.

"Hey, what are you talking like that, woman? Who cares what our Miss Ruyue wears?"

The villagers picked up their hoes and hit him: "You're looking for death!"

Suifeng sighed, his right hand quickly reaching out to firmly grasp the wooden handle of the hoe. With a "crack", the bowl-thick wooden handle broke in two in his palm.

The whole audience fell silent instantly.

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Suifeng said in a low voice, "Let us pass."

The villagers were shocked, but a young man suddenly rushed towards Ruyue, who seemed to be the weakest, from the side with a hatchet.

"Take this bitch down first!"

Ruyue's eyes lit up: "Good timing!"

She flashed by, and before anyone could see her movements, the young man had already fallen to the ground with a cry of "ouch," and the hatchet was somehow in Ruyue's hands. She put one foot on the young man's back and played with the hatchet: "That's it?"

"Witch!"

Someone shouted, and five or six villagers rushed up together.

The scene that followed was truly comical. Suifeng lifted two large men like chickens and slammed them into each other. Ruyue weaved through the crowd, each time she passed someone, there was a crisp "pop" sound, followed by villagers covering their faces and jumping up and down. In less than half a cup of tea, seven or eight men lay groaning on the ground, their weapons scattered everywhere.

Fan Zhiyu squatted beside a young man who was slapped by Ruyue and poked his swollen cheek with his fan.

"Tsk tsk, how does our Miss Ruyue's Spring Breeze Palm taste?"

The young man gasped in pain but dared not make a sound.

Seeing this, the surrounding villagers took several steps back and dared not move forward.

Song Qianzhao narrowed his eyes and his gaze fell on a house a few steps away - more villagers gathered there, all of them with pale faces. From time to time, they would look into the yard, then hurriedly retract their gaze.

Facing these frightened villagers, Song Qianzhao couldn't help but ask.

"You just said 'we did it'. What do you mean by that?"

"Someone's dead! He Heng's entire family was poisoned to death!"

Someone in the crowd shouted.

Song Qianzhao was surprised. Isn’t He Heng Zhao Tinglan’s husband?

Why did the He family get wiped out right after Zhao Tinglan disappeared?

She grabbed the trembling old man beside her.

"Uncle, take us in to have a look."

The old man waved his hands repeatedly.

"That's impossible! Let's wait until the headman comes!"

Song Qianzhao said in a deep voice: "I am proficient in toxicology, maybe I can be of some help."

The old man had no choice but to call out to the two young men, "You two follow us in."

Unexpectedly, the two young men's legs went weak and they kept backing away.

"What are you dawdling for?"

Ruyue's eyes widened, and she swung the short knife at her waist, "Go in!"

The two young men were intimidated by her aura and pushed open the gate tremblingly.

The old man pointed towards the main hall with a trembling voice.

"Right, right there... The family of four, except for the missing daughter-in-law and the son-in-law who was kicked out, are all there."

The candlelight flickered, revealing the scattered figures in the hall. Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew through the hall, and the candlelight trembled violently...

The two young men and the old man suddenly froze in place, not daring to take another step forward.

Fan Zhiyu and others also stopped here.

Song Qianzhao had no choice but to enter the house first.

Song Qianzhao took a closer look and immediately took a breath.

The table was full of delicacies and the cups were neatly arranged, but the four people sitting around were all bleeding from all seven orifices and their faces were hideous!

Song Qianzhao leaned over the dining table and sniffed the leftovers in the bowl. Then, she squatted in front of a corpse, staring at the dead man face to face, and even pried open the dead man's mouth with her hands.

Fan Zhiyu felt a chill running up his spine and onto the back of his neck. Suifeng and Ruyue also felt a chill run through their bodies. The old man and two young men beside them were so frightened that their faces turned pale.

"Old man," Ruyue asked, "what happened to this family?"

The old man trembled and said, "We don't know how it became like this..."

Ruyue's eyes were calm, "When did this happen?"

The old man pinched his fingers.

"About...about half an hour ago. Someone reported to the village head that something happened to the He family, and the whole village was alarmed. When we arrived, it was already..."

At this moment, Song Qianzhao suddenly appeared at the door. "Old man, who was the first to discover the scene in the middle of the night?"

"I don't know!"

The old man said it very simply.

"I know," a young man interrupted. "It was Liu Dashan, the son-in-law of the He family. He came home late from playing cards and happened to see me."

"Wasn't that son-in-law kicked out of the house by He Heng's mother a long time ago?" the old man asked doubtfully.

"Old man," Song Qianzhao waved, "could you please come over and point out who is He Heng?"

The old man looked frightened and only dared to point into the house from a distance, his fingers trembling slightly.

"The one in the back, facing the door, is He Heng. To his left is his sister He Qian and his nephew; to his right is his mother He Ye. As for his daughter-in-law Zhao Tinglan, she's been missing for several days. Alas, she's a carver at Jin Mantang. I've always said it's not good for a woman to show up in public. Look at this..."

As the old man continued his story, the identities of the four bodies in front of the dining table gradually became clear.

Fan Zhiyu couldn't help but interrupt, "Old man, you're not right. If she hadn't become a sculptor, wouldn't she be lying here like them today?"

The old man was startled for a moment, then nodded and said, "Well, you're right."

"This is arsenic poisoning," Song Qianzhao said solemnly, "but it has been specially modified to make it even more toxic. The person who poisoned it must be well versed in pharmacology."

"But," another young man frowned, "there are many people in the village who know about medicinal herbs. Our village has relied on medicinal herbs for generations, so anyone could..."

"Arsenic..." The old man suddenly remembered something and his voice trembled. "This thing is not something that ordinary people can get. Although we are engaged in the sale of medicinal herbs, no one has ever touched arsenic, right..."

"By the way," Song Qianzhao suddenly asked, "Where is He's son-in-law Liu Dashan?"

The old man frowned and said something crisply.

"I don't know!"

The two young villagers also shook their heads and speculated, "Could it be that someone from the same village has gone to report to the authorities?"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sudden commotion outside.

Someone shouted excitedly.

"The murderer has been caught! It turned out to be these two!"

In Song Qianzhao's opinion, the post of village head was always held by a highly respected elder, usually a clan elder. However, the village head before him was surprisingly young, appearing to be no more than 27 or 28 years old.

But this man was wearing a brand new dark grey brocade robe and a mandarin hat, and he looked like a young master from a wealthy family.

The man following closely behind him was none other than He Heng's brother-in-law, Liu Dashan. He was tall and thin, with a slightly hunched back and a full beard. Although he was also wearing a satin brocade robe, the material was dull and worn, and compared to the village head's sleek attire, he looked shabby.

Song Qianzhao couldn't help but whisper to the old man, "Aren't village heads always held by older people? Why does this village head look like he's not even thirty years old?"

The old man curled his lips and lowered his voice.

"I only heard him brag about it once when he was drunk, saying he'd hooked up with some wealthy man. He'd paid a lot of money, and he'd bribed his way into becoming a village head..."

Song Qianzhao frowned and was about to ask who the noble man was, but seeing the old man's expression of "not knowing", he had to give up.

At this moment, the courtyard door was pushed open with a bang, and the village head and Liu Dashan, leading several burly men, rushed in, escorting a limping man and a woman. The two had disheveled hair and disheveled clothes, and it was obvious that they had been forcibly dragged out of their sleep.

The man struggled to break free, but was forced to his knees by the burly man. The woman cried out, "It's unfair! We really didn't do it! You're bullying me..."

Before she could finish her words, the strong man shouted at her and pushed her to her knees, not daring to say another word.

"Um?"

The village head stepped into the yard and took a quick look. Suddenly, he saw Song Qianzhao and his group of strangers. He was immediately startled and asked hurriedly, "What are you doing?!"