Li Hao remembered!
Speaking of swords, the Li family really did have one... or was it a pendant?
The reason he felt uncertain was that the sword he remembered didn't quite look like a sword.
Yet Li Hao knew for a fact that it was one.
It was contradictory.
Nevertheless, it was the truth.
When he was a child, his father had placed a sword-shaped jade pendant around his neck and told him with utter seriousness, "This is called the Starry Sky Sword. It is the only heirloom passed down through our Li family. In the future, when you hand it down to your own child, don't say it's jade—this is a sword."
His father had been dead serious when he said it.
Of course, after a moment of gravity, seeing Li Hao's bewilderment, his father had sighed helplessly and added, "That's what your grandfather told me. Those were the exact words handed down from our ancestors—they insisted on calling it a sword. In any case, that's just what you're going to call it."
That was why Li Hao had immediately thought of it: the Li family truly had a sword, and its name was the Starry Sky Sword.
In fact, it hung around his neck right this moment—a tiny, sword-shaped jade pendant.
Li Hao felt a bit bewildered.
If the Li family's sword mentioned in the folk rhyme referred to this jade pendant, then the Li family indeed possessed a sword.
Did the Zhang family have a blade?
He wasn't sure about the others, but Zhang Yuan's parents had passed away early, and Li Hao had known him for years. He knew Zhang Yuan inside and out.
"The Zhang family's blade..."
Li Hao racked his memory. Did the Zhang family have a blade?
Sifting through the past, his expression soon flickered with realization. The Zhang family might genuinely have had one.
Unlike his jade pendant—jade was at least something of value, especially an antique piece, so the Li family treated it with some care.
As for the Zhang family's blade, Li Hao suddenly remembered going to Zhang Yuan's house to play as a boy. Zhang Yuan had snuck something out for them to play with, only for his father to catch them and give Zhang Yuan a sound thrashing.
That object... had looked like a knife-shaped stone.
Li Hao's memory was distant and fuzzy, but he vaguely recalled Zhang Yuan's father scolding him that day, saying it was an ancestral heirloom. He said that even though it wasn't worth anything and was just a broken piece of stone, it was still passed down by their ancestors, and he wasn't allowed to leave it lying around.
Naturally, Li Hao had clearly seen Zhang's father toss the stone aside with utter indifference afterward. Li Hao suspected the man had simply wanted an excuse to beat his son and made one up on the spot.
Could that have been the Zhang family's blade from the folk rhyme?
If that was the case, everything matched up.
Li Hao had never seen that stone again. As they grew older, neither he nor Zhang Yuan had any reason to play with a rock—there were plenty of those by the roadside.
At this moment, Li Hao was largely convinced: the claims in that folk rhyme might all be true.
Subconsciously, he touched his chest. The jade pendant felt cool to the touch, showing no change whatsoever.
That trace of cool clarity instantly snapped Li Hao out of his thoughts. Looking toward Chen Na with urgency and eagerness, he quickly asked, "Na-jie, can I meet your grandmother?"
He wanted to know where the song had originated, who started spreading it, how many years it had been passed down, and whether it was complete.
Why would these spontaneous combustion cases be linked to a rural folk rhyme?
What was that red shadow, and why was it killing people from the eight families in the rhyme?
Furthermore, when it killed, did it target just one person, or did it kill everyone connected to the eight families? If that was the case...
"Wait..."
Before Chen Na could reply, Li Hao froze.
He rapidly flipped through the files. Though he had read them countless times, he scanned through them again, murmuring under his breath, "Hong Jiao's parents were already dead, and she was young when she died. After Hong Jiao was gone, there was no one left of the Hong family.
"As for Zhou Qing, his wife is still alive, but he had no children. The couple never had any offspring throughout their years together.
"Zhang Yuan goes without saying..."
Zhang Yuan was the sole remaining branch of the Zhang family. His parents had died years ago, making him the only descendant left.
"Wang Haoming wasn't married when he died, but he wasn't an only child—he had a younger brother...
"Liu Yunsheng was an old bachelor his entire life.
"Zhao Shihao had a daughter. After Zhao Shihao died, she left Silver City with his wife, and her whereabouts are unknown."
Li Hao reviewed the facts swiftly. Some of these victims had been married, some had children; not all had been solitary individuals. That was why Li Hao hadn't noticed any pattern in that regard before.
Yet now, Li Hao suddenly thought of himself.
My parents died in an accident three years ago... An absolute accident, an overturned vehicle when the car lost control. But... was it truly an accident?
His parents had died three years ago.
In an accident!
It bore no connection to spontaneous combustion, which was why Li Hao had never factored his parents into the equation or associated them with this case—because these were cases of spontaneous combustion.
At this moment, a thousand tangled thoughts swirled through Li Hao's mind.
The Zhang, Hong, Zhou, and Liu families were completely wiped out, leaving behind no direct lineage.
Wang Haoming had a younger brother, Zhao Shihao had a daughter, and if he himself was the 'Li' from "the Li family's sword," then the Li family... seemed to consist of only him now.
This isn't just killing one person—this is... exterminating whole bloodlines!
A growing terror seized his heart, and alongside that terror surged an even fiercer rage!
Were my parents' deaths truly an accident?
Of course, none of this could be confirmed just yet. After all, members of the Wang and Zhao families were still alive.
***
"Li Hao!"
Chen Na's call snapped Li Hao back to reality.
"Are you all right?"
Chen Na noticed that after asking his question, he had completely ignored her answer, his mind drifting elsewhere.
"I'm fine!"
Li Hao hurriedly shook his head.
Chen Na looked at him and said hesitantly, "Do... do you think these people are connected to the families in the song? But these are just country folk rhymes. Some are adapted from old myths, and others are just sung off the cuff. I think it might just be an accident, a coincidence. Besides, aren't there two families missing?"
As she spoke, she started to laugh, but before the laugh could leave her lips, she froze, her eyes falling on Li Hao.
Two families were missing: one named Zheng, and one named Li!
Li Hao?
Could this be connected to Li Hao?
She was an inspector after all, equipped with basic logic and deductive ability. In an instant, she drew the connection to Li Hao. Li Hao had been investigating these victims relentlessly—could it be related to him?
"Li Hao, your surname is Li, right?"
"..."
Li Hao gave a bitter smile. Could he say no?
Chen Na frowned immediately. "Tell me the truth. Is there something wrong with the deaths of these six people?"
She had glanced at the files without reading them closely, but they all seemed like accidental deaths spread across different years. How could they possibly be linked?
"Na-jie, let's not get into that right now. Can I meet your grandmother?"
Li Hao didn't want to dwell on the topic.
Seeing his reluctance, Chen Na pressed the matter down and said, "I just told you, but you weren't listening—my grandmother passed away several years ago..."
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine. She was over ninety when she left us; it was a joyful send-off."
Chen Na didn't mind. She quickly added, "Still, plenty of people in my grandmother's hometown know that tune... At least they did when I was little. I don't know about now. I'm not sure how many elders back home are still alive—I haven't gone back in years."
Noticing how invested Li Hao was, Chen Na suggested, "How about this? If you're really interested, we can find some time to visit my old village together and look around. If we run into an elder who still sings it, we might learn something."
Li Hao thought about it and nodded.
"We have the day after tomorrow off. Does that work for you, Na-jie?"
"Works for me!"
With that settled, Li Hao didn't linger on the matter. He quickly asked, "Na-jie, you have broader connections in the Inspectorate than I do. Could you do me a favor?"
"Let's hear it."
Having already shown her the files, Li Hao no longer kept secrets. In a low voice, he said, "Could you help me track down the whereabouts of a few people? First, Wang Haoming's younger brother. He's not in Silver City. Wang Haoming was his only family here, and he hasn't returned for a long time since Wang Haoming died.
"Second, Zhao Shihao's daughter! After Zhao Shihao died, his daughter moved away from Silver City with his wife, and all trace of them went cold."
The Silver City Inspectorate's jurisdiction ended at the city limits; it had no authority over other regions, let alone permission to search external registries.
He went to Chen Na because she knew far more people within the Inspectorate.
Li Hao wasn't familiar with out-of-town inspectorates, but colleagues, former classmates, and friends often served in other branches. If they pulled a few strings, they could dig up information.
Chen Na's eyes flickered. Investigating the victims' relatives?
What is Li Hao getting at?
"Na-jie, do you think you can find them?"
Chen Na considered it and nodded. "If you have a general region, it's manageable. The real trouble is having no leads at all. You have to realize that once you step outside Silver City, the world is massive. We don't have cross-regional enforcement powers or file-searching clearance. If we ask people for favors, we need a specific target to point them toward."
"Understood. I have some information on them, and I'll write it down for you later. Even if I don't know their exact locations, I know which cities they were in."
Li Hao had been investigating for a long time and possessed some understanding of the victims' families; he simply hadn't been able to contact them because they were out of town.
"Then it's easy enough. Leave it to me!"
Chen Na agreed readily.
Li Hao thanked her repeatedly.
After talking a bit more, Chen Na lowered her voice. "Li Hao, some things... just be careful out there. I feel... I feel like this might not be simple."
She wasn't a fool; she had pieced together the broad strokes.
Right now, Chen Na was wondering: if Li Hao really was the 'Li' from "the Li family's sword," could he be in danger too?
The Inspectorate didn't fear danger—it feared danger from an unknown origin.
All of those cases had been ruled accidental deaths.
Li Hao nodded slightly without saying much.
He had plenty of his own tasks to attend to and verify.
He needed to investigate the cases from ten years ago to see if anyone from the Zheng family had died.
If circumstances permitted, he also wanted to visit Zhang Yuan's home. The place had sat empty since Zhang Yuan's death, and Li Hao wanted to see whether the Zhang family's blade was still there.
Not just the Zhang family's blade, but also the Hong family's hammer and the Zhou family's spear—did the weapons mentioned in the folk rhyme actually exist, and were they still around?
Was the red shadow targeting the descendants of the eight families, or was it after the weapons mentioned in the rhyme?
Fist and foot arts left nothing behind once their practitioners died.
Weapons, on the other hand—if each family had truly passed them down as heirlooms like the Li family had—might still yield some clues.
He had to determine the red shadow's objective; only by understanding his enemy could he better confront the coming crisis.
***
Li Hao didn't head straight to Zhang Yuan's home, nor did he return to his own. He still had work to do.
The Inspectorate.
The archives.
Auntie Zhao, who managed the records, hauled a stack of documents out of the dust-choked storage room. She slapped the dust off, kicking up a gray haze.
Handing the yellowed papers to Li Hao, she asked with curiosity, "Xiao Hao, what do you need these for? These are all the records of people surnamed Zheng whose household registrations were canceled due to death in Silver City between 1715 and 1719. A few hundred names in total, but they've all been dead for years..."
Li Hao offered a bright, innocent smile. "Sister Zhao, the Confidential Records Office is looking into some cold cases connected to this. I can't go into details, but thank you for your trouble! Once I turn up a lead, I'll treat you to a meal."
"Forget about the meal! Xiao Hao, you're already twenty—not a boy anymore. My daughter is twenty-two this year, just two years older than you..."
"..."
Li Hao felt helpless, though he kept his smile steady. "Sister Zhao, let's talk about that later. I'm still young."
With that, he beat a hasty retreat, clutching the files.
The aunties in the Inspectorate were warmhearted to a fault, but they had one annoying habit: they loved trying to set him up with their daughters.
If it wasn't a daughter, it was a niece, or someone else's girl.
Who told him to have passed the entrance exams for the Silver City Ancient Academy? Even though he had dropped out, his popularity remained completely undiminished.
With the list in hand, Li Hao flipped through it rapidly.
A few hundred names weren't too many, and most outlined the cause of death. These were cancellation records; Li Hao still had to eliminate unlikely candidates and cross-reference them with other materials to pinpoint whether the Zheng he sought was among them.
The best outcome would be an explicit record of death by spontaneous combustion—that would be the clearest and most convenient.
Li Hao had realized that the red shadow—or whatever faction lurked behind it—relied on spontaneous combustion whenever it killed the direct descendants or sole heirs of the eight families.
If not for that method, Li Hao would never have been able to identify the previous victims.
Some secret likely hid behind that choice, one Li Hao had no way of uncovering just yet.
A spontaneous combustion took place in 1720, followed by another in 1723. The earlier intervals should either be equal or progressively longer. In all likelihood, the death occurred before 1717.
Li Hao read as he walked. He had to confirm whether someone from the Zheng family had died.
If they had, it meant his previous deductions were sound.
If not... well, if someone from the Zheng family was still alive, that wasn't a loss either. A living person might provide Li Hao with far more clues; in fact, a living descendant might be even better, as they would likely hold a direct connection to the red shadow.
The rhyme says the Zheng family's young master dragged everyone down, which sets him apart from the other families... Maybe the Zheng family was genuinely different in some way.
As he pondered, Li Hao turned to a page.
"Zheng Yunqi. Died September 12, 1715. Cause of death: gas explosion..."
Li Hao's eyes sharpened instantly. A gas explosion?
If that was the case, the body might have been destroyed beyond recognition, much like the aftermath of spontaneous combustion.
Moreover, such a manner of death wouldn't draw undue suspicion.
"Could it be him?" Li Hao murmured.
A gas explosion might have claimed more than one life, potentially wiping out the Zheng family in one fell swoop!
Of the hundreds of names on the list, this man was the most likely candidate to be the Zheng family member from the rhyme.
Maybe... I should go check it out.
The file listed an address. Of course, whether the place still stood after fifteen years was another question entirely.
Chen Na's folk rhyme had provided Li Hao with a wealth of clues in a single day.
In his mind, the critical threads of these spontaneous combustion cases were gradually falling into place.
If Zheng Yunqi was indeed the Zheng he was looking for, then out of the eight families, he might be the only one left alive.
Revenge? Or something else?
Is the red shadow a creature raised by human hands, a special ability, or merely an illusion?
Li Hao touched the jade sword against his chest once more. Was this ancestral jade sword just an ordinary family heirloom, or did it serve some other purpose?
Descendants of seven families are dead, so the next one is bound to be me. How did they find me, and how did they find the others? We have nothing special about us—how does the red shadow track us down?
The crisis of death seemed to be creeping closer.
At this moment, Li Hao could already sense the gathering storm. He quickly pulled out his communication device to check the weather forecast, searching for the next rainy, overcast day. Judging by past patterns, the next overcast and rainy spell would likely be when the red shadow appeared.
"July 18th: Overcast!"
Li Hao's expression shifted slightly. Today was the 12th. The next few days would bring fair weather, but the 18th would turn overcast, followed by a prolonged stretch of clouds and rain.
Which means, at the earliest, the red shadow might appear again in six days? Even if not in six days, it could strike during any of the rainy days that follow.
Li Hao felt as though an invisible hand had gripped his heart!
Previously, he hadn't been certain whether the creature was after him or if he was the next target. Now, he was utterly convinced: the red shadow's next target was him.
When Xiao Yuan told me to run at the very end, had he guessed it, or had he learned from the red shadow that I was next?
Then why didn't the red shadow kill me right then? Why wait a whole year?
Does the red shadow face restrictions when it kills? Or can it only use that spontaneous combustion method once within a certain timeframe, and killing me requires that exact method?
Rubbing his temples, Li Hao suddenly smiled.
"What a relief!"
Fear of the unknown far outweighed fear of an impending crisis.
Before, he had known far too little about the red shadow—its purpose, its origin, its targets... Li Hao had been completely in the dark, which had left him terrified for the past year.
Yet now that he had pieced together the clues and knew with certainty that he was the target, his fear receded.
All that remained was anger, boiling into hatred!
Blood had to be paid with blood!
If the creature truly showed itself this time, even if he had to risk exposing himself, he would go to the Night Watchers. He would seek them out and tell them he could see the red shadow!
If it meant destroying the red shadow, dying in the process would be worth it!
"Xiao Yuan... and Mom, Dad... If your deaths were at the hands of that red shadow too, then this time, I swear I'll avenge you!"
Li Hao clenched his fists, an uncharacteristic ferocity flashing across his gentle face.
Chapter 4