Jing Lin lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, partially revealing his face. His gaze fell on the entranceway of the Chen household. Many people were gathered here, all for the murder case.
"Could it be that the copper bell is connected to this family?" Cang Ji said from the inside of Jing Lin's sleeve. "But this place is clearly that of a common household."
Jing Lin leaned over to get off the sedan chair and said, "I can still sense the copper bell's presence here. If we don't get to the bottom of this case, I'm afraid we will not be able to find it."
"This case is bizarre; it doesn't seem to be done by a human." Cang Ji recalled the scene from a few days back and said, "There are five members in his family, but a little girl is missing. I heard talks of demons from next door. Perhaps a demon had taken her for her blood."
"If it's a demon," Jing Lin closed his fan and put it in his sleeve. "Hui'an and the Demarcation Division will not sit by and do nothing."
Cang Ji had not noticed it, but Jing Lin remembered it clearly. Although the corpse in the courtyard that night had been feasted upon by the Luocha bird, it still left many traces behind.
Among them, the trail of blood was the most conspicuous. The murderer had clearly tortured the person to death rather than finishing the person off in one stab.
"Investigate the case, huh." Cang Ji rested his head on the small stone figure, crossed his legs, and said, "Can we still enter this place? Zui Shan Seng has probably set up traps everywhere, waiting for you to walk right into the ambush."
"The Demarcation Division takes charge of everything, except for cases involving human life." Jing Lin lifted his head. Catching a glimpse of the constables from the prefectural yamen entering and exiting the courtyard, he changed directions and moved away.
The waiter was stretching his neck to watch the show. When someone bumped into him, he immediately turned his head and fumed, "Are you blind..."
Jing Lin was splendidly dressed. His expression was arrogant, and there was a dignified air about him. Standing at the outer edge, his gaze followed the crowd to the center of the drama. He asked with great interest, "What's up? The one who bumped into you wasn't others, but the God of Wealth."1
(1. 财神爷 Cai Shen Ye, literally, God of Wealth. He's a mythological figure worshiped in the Chinese folk religion and Taoism. Also used to refer to someone who is very rich and generous with his money. Jing Lin is referring to himself as the "God of Wealth" here.)
The quick-witted waiter quickly swapped the towel on his shoulder to the other side, grinning as he made way for Jing Lin. Moving closer beside Jing Lin, he said, "It's indeed the God of Wealth! Grandpa2 looks unfamiliar, you don't usually come here, do you? A few days ago, the prefectural yamen posted a notice announcing the death of a household. It's just right here."
(2. The waiter calls him Yeye (爷爷) here. A single "ye" (爷) is also used as "Master". It was customary for waiters or shopkeepers to address their male patrons as Surname+(Lao/Shao) Ye, which means "(Old/Young) Master Surname". Ye is also affixed behind titles to turn it into an honorific form of address. Jing Lin called himself the "God of Wealth" i.e. Cai Shen Ye (财神爷). So the waiter called him Ye Ye (爷爷). However, Yeye also literally means Grandpa. I'm just going to take it as he's calling Jing Lin 'grandpa' as a form of respect for an '(slightly) older, super-rich man of a higher social status' LOL.)
