Unparalleled Duo

Huang Donglai managed to buy a ticket for his trip to the High-speed Train Gang's branch, though it wasn't a direct ticket to Luoyang, it allowed him to travel directly from Lu Zhou to Xuzhou City.

It was timely as the horses he and Sun Yixie acquired from the bandits were already showing signs of fatigue, and it was time for a change.

He had planned to stay the night in Lu Zhou, mix some pills in his inn room, sell the two horses the next morning, and then depart on the High-speed Train Gang's bus in the morning.

Unexpectedly… after purchasing his ticket and collecting the herbs from the pharmacy, upon returning to the inn, he found a large crowd gathered at the entrance for some unknown reason.

Huang Donglai squeezed through the crowd and was about to step inside when two government officers blocked him.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? Don't you see we're handling a case here?" Although the government officer who stopped Huang Donglai held a low position, he spoke with an authority that was not insignificant.

"I'm staying here," replied Huang Donglai.

"Oh?" Hearing this, the government officer's expression changed slightly, "Staying here?" He sized up Huang Donglai, "Which room are you in?"

"The one at the end of the corridor on the second floor," Huang Donglai said.

"What?" Hearing this, the government officer exclaimed, "Brothers, arrest him quickly!"

Before he could finish his sentence, five or six more officers burst forth from who knows where and pounced on Huang Donglai without a word.

Huang Donglai thought to himself that he hadn't done anything, so why would he surrender without a fight?

Without further ado, holding the medicinal herbs in one hand, he single-handedly tackled them, swiftly dealing with the officers.

These government officials, in fact, were not much different in combat prowess from the bandits of Zouma Village, even somewhat worse, as back in the day the courtyards only recruited local thugs and ruffians.

Of course… the lowest of the low didn't make the cut. The courthouse sought thugs with connections, reputation, and the capability to intimidate ordinary and ignorant folks, only such men could dominate and deceive as required.

But these government officers could only handle ordinary citizens; against someone from the Martial Arts world, and moreover a scion of a prominent lineage like Huang Donglai, they stood no chance.

At that moment, an "arrest officer" was needed.

An arrest officer isn't just any ordinary thug... at the very least, it had to be someone recognized in the underworld, a knight-errant with a small degree of fame in the martial world, or perhaps a head from the army.

Hence, the arrest officer's martial skills and ability to handle situations were incomparable to an ordinary government official.

Moreover, the degree of influence arrest officers held varied.

Some senior arrest officers could merely announce their name and even the leaders of the major sects had to show some respect; while the lesser ones, so small that they had to pay even after eating wontons at a roadside stall…

The Lu Zhou City arrest officer, Zhou Wu, was neither highly influential nor insignificant, and his martial skills were moderate.

Today, he was personally leading the team to handle the case. Hearing the commotion downstairs, he immediately rushed down, just in time to see Huang Donglai taking down his men.

"Stop fighting!" Although Zhou Wu's command seemed pointless—as his men would've lost even if they continued—it sounded as though he had granted Huang Donglai a favor.

"This young hero…" Sensing Huang Donglai's age and skills, Zhou Wu knew he must be a martial world figure, likely from a reputed school, so he took care with his tone, attempting to maintain the dignity of his office while showing respect, summing it up with neither servility nor overbearingness, "…I am the Lu Zhou City arrest officer, Zhou Wu, may I ask who I have the honor of speaking with?"

"From the Huang Sect, Huang Donglai." Huang Donglai hadn't done anything to warrant hiding his identity and immediately reported his name respectfully.

"Turns out to be the young master of the Huang Sect, my apologies." Zhou Wu bowed back and continued, "My men were clumsy and reckless, I hope Brother Huang can forgive them." The corners of his eyes swept over the men feigning injury on the ground, afraid to rise lest they be struck again, and he sharply commanded, "Enough! Get up, this man has already shown mercy, stop your shameful pretense!"

Indeed, Huang Donglai had shown restraint; after all, these were government officers, not bandits, and overly harsh treatment could have complicated things.

"Officer Zhou puts it too heavily," Huang Donglai replied politely upon seeing the other party giving him face, and gave everyone an easy way out, "My fellow officers here were just performing their duties, I hope you'll forgive my impoliteness."

Though what was exchanged might seem like utterly false pleasantries, both parties needed to smooth things over in public, ensuring mutual respect in front of the onlookers before they could sit down and talk quietly. Otherwise… either these officials would never be able to raise their heads in public again, or Huang Donglai would end up making irreconcilable enemies with the government.

Long story short, after this performance, Zhou Wu invited Huang Donglai inside the inn to discuss the matter thoroughly.

Unexpectedly, upon entering, Huang Donglai saw Sun Yixie squatting in a corner of the inn's lobby in handcuffs, his trident confiscated by an officer nearby.

"Hey? Brother Sun, what's with the handcuffs?" Huang Donglai couldn't help but laugh at Sun Yixie with a schadenfreude grin.

"Shut your mouth!" Sun Yixie retorted irritably, "I'm cooperating with the officers, pretending not to resist!"

"Oh…" Huang Donglai continued, "So what did you do this time? Peeping at female guests bathing?"

"Get lost!" Sun Yixie replied, "I didn't do anything! Hurry up and tell them to release me!"

Huang Donglai didn't continue the banter and instead turned to Zhou Wu saying, "Brother Zhou, this man is a fellow traveler of mine, may I know what crime he has committed that warrants his imprisonment?"

"Oh? So he's your friend?" Zhou Wu turned to gaze at Sun Yixie for a few seconds, then back at Huang Donglai, "Here's the thing—there was a murder in a room on the southeast corner of the second floor. We received a report and came here to investigate…" He paused, "When questioning the guests, because he was carrying a unique weapon and—well, he looks somewhat suspicious with his thief-like brows..." Zhou Wu had blurted out that last part but caught himself midway, swallowing the words back, "…I thought he seemed suspicious, so we handcuffed him, intending to take him back to the office for questioning."

"A damn joke! You have no evidence and handcuff people based on their looks, is there no law left?" Sun Yixie overheard and immediately lashed out with his complaints.

But truth be told, at that time, the law had considerable flexibility in its application…

If you were powerful and influential, even if the officials had evidence of your guilt, they had to repeatedly consult their superiors before coming to arrest you, and even then, they had to wait politely outside your door while a servant went in to announce, "My lord, the officials have arrived, requesting your presence for a questioning."

If you were a lowlife, sorry, modern concepts of arrest warrants or search warrants did not exist; a few officers would kick in your door, handcuff you, and take you away, and resisting would get you beaten on the spot.

"Haha… Brother Zhou, there seems to be a misunderstanding," Huang Donglai spoke up, "Although my brother may not look the part, he is not a bad guy. Perhaps you've heard… he is the son of an influential figure in Hangzhou and a magnate at the fish market, Sun Yixie of the Sun Mansion."

Whether Zhou Wu had heard of him or not didn't matter; he would pretend he had, then act as though it had all been a misunderstanding and release him.

After Sun Yixie's handcuffs were removed and his trident returned, the three of them sat down to discuss matters.

As fate would have it, Zhou Wu mentioned that the man who died today in the inn on the second floor was He Da.

A few days ago, after He Da had taken silver from Zeng Mansion and did not leave Lu Zhou City but settled in an inn without going out—a fact attested to by the inn's shopkeeper and server.

Why he did this was unknown to anyone.

Until today, when a server went to deliver dinner and discovered He Da's lifeless body on the floor, prompting the inn staff to rush to report to the police station.

Those poor officials had just carried a corpse from Zeng Mansion in the afternoon and hadn't even warmed their seats at the police station when they were notified of yet another murder, forcing them to head out once more.

As for how Officer Zhou handled the investigation upon arriving at the scene… that was in a typically straightforward and rough manner.

He ordered all entries and exits sealed, then knocked on each room door in the inn, detaining anyone who seemed suspicious for questioning, and those who seemed innocent were also interrogated to see if their statements had any inconsistencies.

Sun Yixie… was arrested during this process.

After hearing Officer Zhou's account, Huang Donglai recounted a "ghost story" he had recently heard from an old man by the roadside to Brother Sun, also asking Zhou Wu for the veracity of this story; after all, according to the old man, the entire story originally came from Zeng Su, the housekeeper of Zeng Mansion, with Officer Zhou being the first listener.

Zhou Wu confirmed that the content was largely true, except for those vivid, immersive details… those were absent when he heard it.

Obviously… those were embellishments added by the common folk in their retelling process, a common occurrence.

As the three conversed up to this point, Zhou Wu felt the timing was right and finally spoke up, "Brother Huang, there is something I wish to ask, though I'm not sure… whether it's appropriate to say."

"Feel free to speak, Brother Zhou," Huang Donglai replied, "As long as it is within my capabilities, I will do my best to assist."

By now, the familiarity of their calls had significantly warmed, indicating a pleasant interaction, showing Zhou Wu to be a trustworthy acquaintance.

"I've heard that the Huang Sect is renowned for the 'Three Excellences'…" Zhou Wu began, "Which are Qinggong, hidden weapons, and... using poison."

"That's correct," Huang Donglai confirmed.

"Hmm…" Zhou Wu nodded, "I've examined the crime scene earlier and discovered that He Da died from poisoning..."

"Oh?" Huang Donglai raised an eyebrow, "Does Brother Zhou suspect me…"

"No, no," Zhou Wu hurriedly reassured, "How could that be?"

It was the truth, for Huang Donglai had no motive, and moreover, he had an alibi. Besides, with Huang Donglai's martial skills, killing He Da wouldn't have required poison, nor would there have been a need to return to the scene of the crime after the deed.

"What I was thinking is… since Brother Huang is well-versed and knowledgeable in poisons," Zhou Wu continued, "since you happen to be here today, could you please help me examine and determine the exact type of poison that led to He Da's death?"