Thinking about how something had happened to his four手下 (subordinates), Fan Dong suddenly felt a chill run down his spine!
They were alive with no one to be seen, dead with no corpse to be found!
This bizarre situation had occurred less than an hour after Fan Dong left.
Could it be that even in broad daylight, ghosts were causing trouble?
As soon as this thought popped into his head, Fan Dong looked up at Hong Zhi ahead of him and spoke timidly.
“Prefect, what do you think… could it be those ghostly things causing this?”
As the nephew of Fan Wei, the Chief Constable, Fan Dong actually knew a thing or two about those ghostly things.
Hearing this, Fan Wei, standing nearby, turned as black as a pot-bottom and shouted harshly at Fan Dong, who was kneeling on the ground.
“Nonsense!”
“In broad daylight like this, how could those ghostly things possibly appear?”
“You good-for-nothing, all you think about day in and day out is having a good time. Have you completely forgotten everything I taught you?”
Hong Zhi sat up on his platform, silently watching Fan Dong and Fan Wei.
It was only then, having lost his patience, that Hong Zhi spoke calmly.
“Enough.”
The moment Hong Zhi opened his mouth, the hall immediately became quiet.
Fan Wei, who had been full of rage just a moment ago, acted as if nothing had happened at all.
Hong Zhi raised his head slightly and shot a glance at Fan Wei, knowing he was just putting on a show for him.
Fan Dong was his nephew, so of course he wanted to protect him as much as possible from severe punishment.
The next moment, Hong Zhi directly announced his decision for Fan Dong’s punishment.
“Fan Dong, for dereliction of duty, half a year’s salary will be temporarily deducted. Let this serve as a warning to others!”
As the Prefectural Chief Constable, Fan Wei had worked diligently all these years, so Hong Zhi never really intended to punish Fan Dong severely.
When Fan Dong heard it was just a half-year salary deduction, he was secretly delighted. He quickly stood up and began bowing and scraping incessantly to Hong Zhi.
“Yes, this humble officer accepts the punishment. You are wise and heroic, Prefect!”
This petty punishment didn’t affect Fan Dong in the slightest.
Which serious official actually lives on that paltry, meager salary?
That little bit of court salary wasn’t even enough for him to live it up at Xinyue Tower for a few days.
Outside, Fan Dong wrapped himself in the authority of the government, relying on his uncle Fan Wei’s position as Prefectural Chief Constable.
To put it a bit exaggeratedly, the people wanting to give Fan Dong silver could line up from the prefectural gate all the way outside the city.
“As for Wu Wei’s cause of death, did you determine what he died from?”
“Sir, I… I… I…”
Hong Zhi’s question made Fan Dong’s heart feel hollow, and he stammered, unable to speak.
Because, given Fan Dong’s experience, he simply couldn’t determine the cause of death of this unlucky guy, Wu Wei.
“This humble officer only briefly checked Wu Wei’s meridians, just enough to confirm he had no life left in him.”
“As for anything else, this humble officer hadn’t had time to investigate thoroughly.”
“This humble officer thought it best to carry Wu Wei back to the autopsy room first, then conduct a detailed examination there.”
Hong Zhi’s face stiffened at Fan Dong’s incompetent answer. He looked at Fan Wei with dissatisfaction, as if questioning him.
Take a look at the kind of person you’ve trained!
Then, Hong Zhi lost all interest in questioning Fan Dong further and casually waved his hand.
“Alright, there’s nothing more for you here. You’re dismissed!”
After Fan Dong scrambled away in a fluster, Hong Zhi turned his gaze to Fan Wei.
“Those four constables went missing under bizarre circumstances at Shuimen Lane. Have you been there yet?”
“Did you feel anything unusual?”
“Unusual feelings?” Fan Wei immediately caught Hong Zhi’s meaning and answered without hesitation: “To answer your question, sir, no.”
“I went to Shuimen Lane right away to check things out. There was no yin energy from those ghostly things.”
It seemed that what Fan Dong had said made Prefect Hong Zhi suspect those ghostly things.
But a ghostly thing appearing in broad daylight would have to be a Calamity-class entity of legend!
Hong Zhi and Fan Dong’s eyes met, both seemingly arriving at this terrifying conclusion at the same time.
However, after thinking for a moment, Hong Zhi found the idea very absurd.
If it really were a legendary Calamity-class entity, with its terrifying yin energy, those Xuan Niao Wei people would have detected it long ago.
Hong Zhi wasn’t the only one who thought this way; Fan Wei also felt it couldn’t possibly be a legendary Calamity-class entity.
Just then, a glint of shrewdness flashed in Fan Wei’s eyes. He remembered some things about this Wu Wei.
“Sir, on my way here, I looked into some matters concerning this Wu Wei.”
“I discovered that Wu Wei seems to have some connection with the leader of the Tianhai Gang!”
“Oh?”
Hong Zhi signaled for Fan Wei to continue.
“A few years back, Wu Wei married a beautiful, charming wife. A few months ago, the old leader of the Tianhai Gang celebrated his hundredth birthday with a grand banquet.”
“This humble officer accompanied you to it, sir, and Wu Wei, representing the Wu Family Martial Arts School as its master, also attended the old leader’s birthday banquet.”
“This Wu Wei always liked to show off, so he brought along his beautiful wife.”
“Then, the old leader’s son, Hua Yunfei, who is the leader of the Tianhai Gang, has a little hobby.”
“He fancies other men’s wives…”
“So, this humble officer suspects…”
Fan Wei stopped there and looked knowingly at Hong Zhi. He suspected whether Wu Wei’s death might have something to do with this Tianhai Gang leader.
“The Tianhai Gang?”
The thought of that old fellow Hua Tianhai from the Tianhai Gang gave Hong Zhi a headache.
“Enough, don’t worry about Hua Tianhai for now. This official will send someone to notify him to come by.”
“Right now, take some men personally and go to Shuimen Lane. Find those four constables and Wu Wei’s body.”
“If there’s anything unusual at Shuimen Lane, report back to me immediately!”
Until he confirmed whether it was those ghostly things, Hong Zhi wasn’t about to alert the Xuan Niao Wei people.
“Yes, sir!”
After leaving the hall, Fan Wei didn’t stop for a moment. He gathered over a dozen constables and left the prefecture, heading straight for Shuimen Lane in the east part of the city.
Shuimen Lane, Wu Family Residence!
At this moment, the Wu Family Residence was hung with white lanterns, both inside and out.
Not far outside the gate of the Wu Family Residence, over a dozen men in constable uniforms appeared.
Leading them was none other than the Prefectural Chief Constable, Fan Wei!
Fan Wei walked along, surveying the area around the Wu Family Residence, and found nothing unusual.
Behind Fan Wei was an old constable who seemed very familiar with him.
Seeing the Wu Family Residence, the old constable felt a bit puzzled and asked, confused.
“Old Fan, isn’t this the residence of Wu Wei, the master of the Wu Family Martial Arts School?”
“Didn’t you send that kid Fan Dong here earlier today? So why are we coming here again now?”
Hearing this, Fan Wei’s pace began to slow. Then he told him about the four constables and Wu Wei’s corpse having vanished without a trace.
