This sudden turn of events left the Taoist and the others completely dumbfounded.
They all stood frozen in place, mouths agape.
"Stop daydreaming!"
Just as the mad son was about to pounce on the woman, Jiang Mu lunged forward in a single stride and drove a fierce kick into the young scholar's stomach, sending him rolling away.
"Hold him down!"
Jiang Mu barked sharply.
The two burly men, still shaken, finally snapped out of it and scrambled to throw themselves on top of him, pinning the frantically struggling scholar to the ground with all their strength.
Jiang Mu strode over to the pale-faced young Taoist and snatched the cinnabar brush and the stack of fresh yellow paper from his hands.
The Taoist was still lost in shock and self-doubt, mumbling in a daze:
"How could this be... How could it not work? I used the exact same brushwork... That's exactly how Master taught it... Why... Where did I go wrong?"
Jiang Mu couldn't be bothered with him. He dipped the brush tip in rich crimson cinnabar and began to write, his strokes flowing like the wind, moving like dragons and serpents.
In just a few breaths, a talisman with fluid brushwork and a mysterious, intricate structure was complete.
He picked up the freshly drawn talisman, walked over to the pinned-down scholar, yanked open the front of the man's robe, and slapped the talisman directly onto his chest.
The instant the talisman touched his skin, a ring of clear light seemed to ripple outward.
The young scholar, who had been howling nonstop, shuddered, and the blood-red in his eyes rapidly faded. After a few unconscious murmurs, his head lolled to the side and he sank into a deep sleep.
The room fell silent, save for the heavy breathing of everyone present.
Having witnessed all of this with his own eyes, the Taoist was utterly dumbstruck, his mouth hanging wide open, looking as if he'd seen a ghost.
Jiang Mu tossed the cinnabar brush back onto the table and gave the woman his instructions:
"Keep the talisman on for three days, and make sure it isn't touched or gets wet during that time. Remove it at noon on the third day. After that, have your son get plenty of sun each day and rest quietly for a while, and he'll be fine."
With that, he said nothing more, turned, and left.
The scholar had been possessed for a month now—clearly he couldn't be the murderer behind the recent killings.
There was no need to investigate any further.
After Jiang Mu left, the young Taoist still hadn't come back to his senses, staring blankly at the talisman on the scholar's chest.
That talisman... was simply too beautiful!
He had trained at Chongtian Temple for years and had seen his master and senior brothers draw countless talismans, yet he had never seen such free-spirited, effortlessly natural cloud-seal script.
At first glance, it seemed somewhat similar in form to what he had drawn.
But in terms of the interweaving brush intent and the flow of Dao rhythm, the difference was that between cloud and mud—they were simply not comparable.
"Immortal... Immortal Master,"
The woman gazed at her soundly sleeping son on the floor, swallowed hard, and asked timidly, "What should we do next? My son will be all right, won't he?"
"Huh? You're asking me?"
The young Taoist blinked, looking utterly lost. "I... I don't know either."
Then a jolt of realization struck him, and he rushed out of the house.
But by the time he reached the street outside, it was empty and silent—not a trace of Jiang Mu remained. He beat his chest in regret: "Ahhh! Why did I just let him leave!?"
"You brat, what are you howling about out here!?"
A sharp scolding suddenly came from behind, startling the Taoist.
"Master?"
The Taoist turned around to see his own master, Daoist Master Wenhe, and asked in astonishment, "Didn't you say you had business today and weren't coming?"
"I was worried you'd botch something, so I came over specially to check."
The plump, stout Daoist Master Wenhe blew his nose and wiped it on the sole of his shoe, then asked crossly, "Have you finished replacing Young Master Shen's 'Evil-Suppression Talisman'? How is he now?"
The Taoist named Xiaohai quickly replied:
"Master, Young Master Shen's condition has gotten worse. The two talismans I drew didn't work at all, and then... then a yamen constable came by, drew a talisman offhandedly and stuck it on, and Young Master Shen just... just fell asleep..."
"What!?"
Before Xiaohai could finish, Daoist Master Wenhe's face changed drastically.
"Absurd! Can talismans be drawn by just anyone? This is sheer nonsense! Someone could die from this!!"
Shocked and furious, Daoist Master Wenhe hurried into the house.
Inside, the two burly men and the woman, who were just about to carry Young Master Shen to bed, hurriedly bowed in respect upon seeing the renowned Daoist Master Wenhe of Chongtian Temple.
Daoist Master Wenhe spotted the talisman on Young Master Shen's chest at a glance. His fat face instantly turned livid, and he rushed to the bed in two or three strides, raising his hand to tear off the talisman before disaster struck.
But the moment his fingers were about to touch the talisman, he suddenly froze.
"This is..."
He stared fixedly at the talisman with its fluid brushwork and effortlessly natural Dao rhythm, his brows knitted tightly.
As he looked, his eyes gradually widened.
His pupils contracted from shock.
Daoist Master Wenhe trembled all over as if struck by lightning.
He rubbed his eyes hard, confirmed he wasn't seeing things, then nearly threw himself over Young Shen's body, greedily scrutinizing every stroke of the talisman, his voice quivering:
"This... this... how can this be?"
"How can this possibly be!?"
"This is a true 'Evil-Suppression Talisman'! This is the complete 'Evil-Suppression Talisman'!"
"No wonder the key strokes of the version passed down in our temple never connect properly, no wonder it always felt like half a thread of spirit was missing there... So this is how it's done!"
He reached out to touch the brushwork on the talisman, then pulled back, afraid of profaning this "divine miracle." He was so excited that he trembled all over, the fat on his body jiggling nonstop.
The woman and the two burly men nearby watched in complete bewilderment.
The woman especially, seeing this Taoist Master "grinding" against her son, wore an increasingly strange expression.
If he hadn't been the highly respected Daoist Master Wenhe, she probably would have thrown him out as a pervert long ago.
"Xiaohai! Xiaohai!"
Daoist Master Wenhe shouted excitedly.
Xiaohai hurried over. "Master, this disciple is here."
This was the second time he had seen his master lose his composure like this.
The first time was years ago, when Master had secretly taken him to a brothel to "preach the Dao" and was caught red-handed by Master's wife.
Daoist Master Wenhe grabbed his disciple by the collar, spittle flying in his excitement: "Who!? Who was that great master who drew this talisman? Quick! Quick, take me to pay my respects!"
Xiaohai replied flatly, "I don't know. He was just a yamen constable."
*Slap!*
Xiaohai was smacked to the ground.
Daoist Master Wenhe, discarding all dignity, straddled his disciple and grabbed him by the neck, shaking him:
"You blockhead! You didn't think to ask the great master's name? You didn't think to ask him to leave his address? A constable? You think your master is a senile old fool?"
"Cough, cough... M-Master, please calm down..."
Xiaohai's eyes were rolling back from the choking, and he hurriedly said, "He was wearing constable's uniform... We... we can search slowly through all the yamen offices in Yan City and the nearby prefectures..."
"Then what are we waiting for? Come with me to find him now!"
Daoist Master Wenhe no longer cared about decorum or bearing. Like a rolling cloud of fat, he rushed out of the house in a frantic hurry.
Xiaohai scrambled after him.
Only the three people in the room were left staring at each other in bewilderment.
—
—
After visiting two more suspects in succession, a full day of running around had yielded no substantial progress for Jiang Mu.
"Six households have been ruled out, with three remaining. Uncle An said his instincts told him the murderer was among these households. So these last three are the ones requiring focused investigation."
Jiang Mu did not doubt An Chenghu's instincts.
Twenty-odd years of accumulated experience solving cases had earned him the reputation of "Divine Constable"—a title not given in vain.
Dragging home his slight weariness, he found his aunt busy working in the kitchen.
In the courtyard, besides the big white goose that Jiang Mu had long been agonizing over whether to "stew clear" or "braise in soy sauce," there was now another little addition.
"Boss!"
Upon seeing Jiang Mu, the little tyke came darting over with a whoosh.
Wielding a wooden sword in her hand.
"Take this!"
Before she could even reach Jiang Mu, she tripped over a rock, fell flat on her face with a *thud*, and the wooden sword flew from her hand.
Jiang Mu stepped over her without changing expression, casually kicking aside the big white goose blocking the way, and asked:
"Why didn't you stay home and do your schoolwork today?"
The little tyke's mouth puckered, about to cry, but seeing the white goose get kicked, she quickly scrambled up and ran over to scoop up the goose with a pained expression.
Then she picked up the wooden sword, scampered over to Jiang Mu, put on a stern little round face, and demanded with puffed cheeks:
"Boss, why won't you take me out to play? Am I not worthy, this heroic maiden?"
The little girl was around seven or eight, not yet as tall as Jiang Mu's leg, her two little hair buns tied sky-high with silk ribbons.
Her little face was round and chubby with plenty of baby fat—sure to be soft and squishy if pinched.
And that's exactly what Jiang Mu did.
He pinched the little girl's pink cheeks with both hands, kneading them left and right.
Until her big, blinking eyes filled with mist and her mouth flattened, on the verge of launching a sonic attack—only then did Jiang Mu let go.
Then, as if by magic, he produced a skewer of bright red candied hawthorns.
"Wow—huh?"
At the sight of the candied hawthorns, the little girl's impending wail jammed to a halt.
Her face lit up with joy, and she snatched the skewer:
"Thanks, Boss."
Jiang Mu ruffled her hair buns and asked, "I heard from your big sister that the little chick your brother raised went missing. Did he find it?"
"Oh, you mean A-Kun."
Shi Shuaisui generously plucked a candied hawthorn off the skewer and stuffed it firmly into the white goose's mouth, saying, "Not yet. Maybe it found out its mother was eaten by the stupid rock, so it ran away from home."
Jiang Mu asked, somewhat amused, "Who told you that?"
"Big Sister did."
The little girl's big eyes were limpid and flawless, her pupils extremely black, the whites tinged faintly blue, looking at people with an unguarded, innocent purity.
"That old hen really was eaten by the stupid rock. Big Sister said she needed to eat some to make up for the brain damage. Even I barely got any—I only had two drumsticks and one chicken butt..."
Shi Shuaisui pouted, looking terribly aggrieved.
Jiang Mu couldn't resist pinching her squishy little cheeks again, then said:
"Your brother is going to be working at the yamen with me from now on, so he won't have time to play with you. At home, you need to listen to your sister Yurou and do your schoolwork properly, understand?"
"No! I want to go to the yamen too!"
When Shi Shuaisui heard she was about to be abandoned by the "organization," how could she stand for it? She immediately wrapped herself around Jiang Mu's leg like an octopus, clinging on tight.
"Why won't you take me when you all go out to play? We kowtowed as sworn family! We share blessings together, and when there's trouble, the rock takes the trouble."
"At your age, at your stage in life, how can you only think about playing? Have some ambition, will you? Studying hard is the proper thing you should be doing right now."
Jiang Mu shook his leg twice but couldn't shake her off, so he whistled at the big white goose.
Dabai stretched out its long neck and gave the little girl's upturned bottom a fierce round of pecking.
"Waaah!"
Crying out in pain, the little girl let go, wailing, and glared at Jiang Mu through tear-filled eyes. "Boss, you've changed."
Jiang Mu couldn't be bothered to argue with her. He grabbed her by the back of the collar and hoisted her up like a little kitten.
He was just about to toss her back over the neighboring courtyard wall when the corner of his eye caught sight of a familiar carriage stopped at the courtyard gate.
A beautiful, mature woman with a voluptuous figure and a coldly elegant aura was stepping out of the carriage.
After alighting, the woman waved for her female bodyguard to wait where she was and strode directly into the courtyard, her tightly stretched skirts outlining a shape like a great millstone, exuding the air of someone accustomed to command.
"Ugh, my head aches just seeing this woman."
Jiang Mu muttered under his breath, tucked the still-flailing Shi Shuaisui behind him, straightened his clothes, stepped forward, and saluted with cupped hands: "This humble officer greets the Chief Superintendent."
Shi Shuaisui peeked her chubby little face out from behind Jiang Mu, curiously sizing up the uninvited guest.
When her gaze fell upon the beautiful woman's rather magnificent endowments, she instinctively touched her own little head, her big eyes going wide as copper bells.
Good heavens...
Bigger than my head!