Wang Chong beamed and said, "No need!"
He dismounted, casually broke off a "Withered Branch," made a sword flourish with it, and thrust it straight out. The Withered Branch emitted wisps of smoke, curling and swaying, with tiny points of light flickering along its front section.
Li Qingge sighed and said, "One of Wudang's Seven Paths Divine Sword—true to its reputation."
This female constable had indeed come in haste with suspicions about Wang Chong, but Wang Chong's move was complete in spirit and energy; his sword produced candlelight, seemingly surpassing even Mo Zhenxing—the youngest, most talented, and most formidable of Wudang's Seven True Ones. There was no room for suspicion left. White Chrysanthemum could never possess such swordsmanship; if Wang Chong were White Chrysanthemum, at least half of the Chrysanthemum-Killing Alliance would already be dead.
Moreover, she had already met Su Luo Yan and Chu Qiuzi of the Six Beauties of Qingcheng. With the discernment of one of the Three Great Constables, the only female divine constable today, she could naturally tell what standing Wang Chong held in Su Luo Yan and Chu Qiuzi's hearts!
To put it unpleasantly, if this Young Master Wang were a lecherous person, he needed only to lie down—why bother acting as a lecher?
Li Qingge pondered for a long time and said, "This case has two suspicious points. First, this person was certainly not killed by Qin Han. He suffered two injuries: one from a heavy-handed technique, and one from a long sword striking a vital point, but the attacker's martial arts were very low. Second..."
Li Qingge sighed and said, "Not long ago, White Chrysanthemum committed another crime."
Wang Chong was startled and thought, "So there really is another White Chrysanthemum!?"
He quickly declared, "If this thief is still at large, I, Wang, am willing to assist Constable Li with all my strength."
Li Qingge pondered for a moment and said, "Very well."
Wang Chong was not merely being polite; he wanted to catch "White Chrysanthemum" more than anyone.
Most importantly, "White Chrysanthemum has committed another crime recently," and he had been aboveboard and honest lately—Chu Qiuzi could vouch for that, as the two were nearly inseparable.
Sun Yanqi was not White Chrysanthemum, so it would be best if there were another "White Chrysanthemum." After all, this lecher could not be Wang Chong!
Li Qingge breathed a little easier. This time, acting on orders to handle the case, she had reviewed all files related to White Chrysanthemum and found that this lecher's martial arts were astonishingly high—he mastered at least six or seven sects' techniques. Not only did he know Wudang swordplay and the long-lost evil art Ice Soul Finger, but he also seemed to understand the Buddhist Diamond Prajna Palm Strength.
Although this female constable had great confidence in her own martial arts, her years of casework taught her that martial arts were not everything. Within the government there were also highly skilled, experienced veterans who had capsized on small fry. Wang Chong's martial arts and swordsmanship were both excellent, making him a fine assistant.
As for why she did not trust fellow martial artists or government colleagues, that was a long story.
In her first few years out, Li Qingge had been badly betrayed by martial artists and government colleagues several times, and since then she preferred to work alone.
Wang Chong coughed lightly and asked, "Constable Li, I don't know what crime White Chrysanthemum has committed again?"
"I know little about this lecher. If Constable Li could say a few more words, I could prepare in advance, so as not to be unfamiliar with this thief and fall victim to a sneak attack."
Wang Chong was truly extremely curious about the lecher White Chrysanthemum, but during the Chrysanthemum-Killing Alliance, he had always feared "exposure" and being beaten up by a gang of "brothers," so he dared not ask indiscriminately.
This time Constable Li had come to his door and asked him to assist in the investigation—an opportunity delivered to his doorstep. If he didn't ask now, he would be stifled.
Li Qingge said, "There are travelers on the road, and much is inconvenient. Let us go to my lodgings, and I will explain in detail to Young Master Wang."
Li Qingge brought Wang Chong off the main road. After walking a short distance, they saw a Taoist temple.
A young Taoist nun heard the commotion, pushed open the gate, and ran out, seeing Li Qingge and calling out in surprise and joy, "Auntie Li is here!"
Li Qingge smiled and said, "I've brought a friend. Go prepare tea quickly." The young Taoist nun went off happily.
She brought Wang Chong inside and said in a low voice, "Several years ago, I solved a human-trafficking case and rescued one hundred twenty young girls. I had intended to send them home, but after detailed investigation..." The female constable sighed softly and said, "Most of those who sold them were elders in their own families. Sending them back would only mean being sold again by their own relatives. So I established some temples in various places and sent them there to make a living from the incense offerings."
Wang Chong didn't know what to say for a moment.
Li Qingge had Yu Zao and Wang Dong settled, then took Wang Chong to a quiet room, fetched a stack of case files, and said, "The White Chrysanthemum cases are all here."
Wang Chong opened the files, first glancing at the case titles. On the earliest file, he saw the name Mo Yuncong.
This case was relatively simple. Mo Yuncong had discovered White Chrysanthemum abducting innocent girls and acted out of righteousness, but was killed by White Chrysanthemum using Wudang swordsmanship. The lecher had used Holding-Candle Swordplay, and the killing move was the same "Sword Candle Mountain Sea" Wang Chong had used against Qian Luo Yi.
Seeing this file, Wang Chong gritted his teeth in hatred and cursed Tie Mingzhu roundly. This little girl had indeed betrayed him.
White Chrysanthemum's first case was killing Mo Yuncong. If he had introduced himself as "Mo Yuncong of Wudang," this lecher's name would never have been shaken.
Fortunately, he had been cautious and never used the name Mo Yuncong, always giving his real name, which was why he had managed to muddle through to this day without slipping up.
He couldn't help but ask, "Is Mo Yuncong definitely dead?"
Li Qingge replied, "I examined the corpse myself, and Wudang sent people to take the remains away. There is no mistake in this case."
"The girl Mo Yuncong protected was named Xiang Xiang—a courtesan who sold her art but not her body. She died a miserable death, with twenty-eight wounds on her body, after days of abuse, dying with resentment. This beast is truly not human."
Wang Chong patiently read through the files and suddenly felt a bit of creepy dread, because when he transmigrated, the Holding-Candle Swordplay seemed to be no more than what was recorded in the files.
Why White Chrysanthemum used Wudang swordsmanship to kill Mo Yuncong was also puzzling.
He silently prayed for a while, then couldn't help thinking: "If I really am White Chrysanthemum, I might as well kill myself. If I can be reborn, let me live three more lives. If I cannot be reborn, then let this cause and effect end. In any case, I absolutely cannot live freely and at ease under the identity of a lecher."
Wang Chong spent over two hours reading the rest of the files. Every case was shocking. White Chrysanthemum was not only a lecher but also extremely brutal. Every crime involved murder—not necessarily killing the women he harmed, but almost every martial artist who encountered White Chrysanthemum was silenced, and their deaths were gruesome. He set down the files and pointed to the seventh, twelfth, and sixteenth, saying, "Besides the female victims, these three cases had survivors. Has Constable Li questioned the parties involved?"
Li Qingge said, "I've questioned them all. One was a Songcheng constable whose arm was cut off; he fainted at the time, and White Chrysanthemum did not finish him off. Another was the Shaolin Monk Wu Jue, already a great master of the Innate Realm. White Chrysanthemum exchanged twelve palms with him, neither side winning, when other martial artists happened to arrive and drove the lecher away. The last case involved survivors from a band of bandits called Hengjiang Nest of Tigers. Although White Chrysanthemum killed several of them, he ultimately could not withstand the bandits' superior numbers."
...White Chrysanthemum: Everyone, guess how many of me there are...
...Mo Yuncong: I died after all...
Chapter 30