Volume 2 Chapter 7: Watching Thunder with Despair
Diao Beidou said, "Elder Tang is devoted to avenging the old gang leader, so why be so hard on yourself? We can discuss this matter later. It's getting late, and the brothers from the branch and I will not see you off any further. You should get on your way quickly." After saying that, he waved his hand. The two men in the carriage raised their whips and cracked them in the air with a "snap". The horse neighed long and galloped forward in a hurry. The three men nodded and followed closely behind the carriage not far behind.
As soon as he entered Chang'an, there were already several Beggar Gang disciples with white cloth wrapped around their waists waiting at the city gate. One disciple held a tray with a white belt and a white hairpin flower on it. Lin Jianlan immediately jumped off his horse, picked up the white belt, tied it around his waist with a serious expression, and pinned the white hairpin flower on his lapel.
It was the first time for him to come to the capital of the Tang Dynasty, which he had only heard of. It was indeed a prosperous scene. Looking into the distance, he saw pavilions lined up on both sides of the long street, one higher than the other. The flags of various shops were flying in the cold wind, and the streets were crowded with people. The liveliness made the chill lessen a bit.
Lin Jianlan turned around and saw that Tang Zimu had dismounted. He also looked forward with a look of loneliness in his eyes, but he restrained himself after a moment. He and Qi Fan changed into plain clothes, said a few words, and then accompanied Lin Jianlan to the headquarters.
As he walked along the road, he saw some Beggar Gang disciples in plain clothes walking on the street, as well as many martial artists with white flowers on their lapels. They all looked sad. He thought that Tang Zimu had sent someone to post a notice in the martial arts world. Lin Jianlan thought to himself, "Even so, Uncle Qing must have received the news. I wonder if he will come here in person."
After walking for more than an hour, they finally arrived at a place, which was not as dilapidated as the one in Luoyang. In front of them was a temple, wrapped in white cloth everywhere, with all the disciples guarding outside the door. There were several tents set up in both places, and many people from the martial arts world were already sitting on the ground below. It must be that Nian Yongshou was highly respected by his peers when he was alive. Therefore, although there were many people coming to worship, they all followed the rules and there was no noise.
Tang Zimu made a gesture of invitation, and Lin Jianlan stepped forward and looked carefully at the side. There were wooden signs hanging at the corners of the mourning shed, each with its own sect inscribed on it. It was respectful yet orderly. He secretly admired the Beggars' Sect, which seemed to be made up of poor beggars on the surface, but actually contained many meticulous people.
All the people from various martial arts sects were waiting in the mourning shed, but they saw the two elders Tang and Qi personally leading a young man straight in. They were all very surprised and wondered who this young man was.
Lin Jianlan entered the mourning hall, but saw a clay-carved general holding a flute in his hand. On the table below was the tablet of the Beggars' Sect leader. In front of it was a bamboo stick, which was black and shimmering. Ten bells were hung on one end, and the other end was cracked due to frequent use. This was the one used by the Beggars' Sect leader. There were no offerings on either side, only three incense sticks burning in front of the tablet.
A moment after the three of them entered, a disciple walked in quietly and quickly, whispering, "Lei Kan has been detained, and we are just waiting for all the fellow martial artists to arrive so that we can pay tribute to the old leader."
Lin Jianlan turned around suddenly and saw Tang Zimu smiling and shaking his head, saying, "It's not you who decide when the memorial service will be held. Go down." The disciple suddenly looked extremely nervous, bowed and said, "Forgive me for my rudeness." Then he hurriedly left.
Tang Zimu said: "Mr. Lin, some things are inconvenient to talk about at the moment. Since you are suspicious, I..." He suddenly stopped here and said: "You go out first!"
Lin Jianlan found what he said strange and was about to ask a question, but he saw something crawling out from behind the altar. It was a very thin beggar. It was hard to tell his age, and from his stature he looked no more than six or seven years old. His eyes were blank, and he was holding a small bamboo pole, but there was no bell on it. He tapped the ground with a "knock knock" sound, and slowly walked forward with his other little hand groping.
Seeing that he was blind, Lin Jianlan hurried over, held his hand, and slowly led him out of the door. Only when he let go of his hand did he feel that his hand was as thin as a stick. Seeing him staggering forward with the bamboo pole in his hand, his heart ached. He stared at him for a long time before retracting his gaze and walking back into the mourning hall.
Seeing that he was paying attention to the little beggar, Tang Zimu said, "This child was taken in by the old gang leader a few days before he passed away. After the old gang leader passed away, he just stayed in front of the coffin and refused to leave no matter who called him. But he still listened to me."
Lin Jianlan sighed, "This kid is quite kind and righteous. Brother Tang, there are only a few of us here now, can you tell me the details?"
Tang Zimu sighed, "Master Lin, you are so determined to get to the bottom of things. I really admire you. If there is no real evidence, the Beggar Gang will never frame one of their own disciples. Please follow me." After that, he whispered a few words to Qi Fan. Elder Qi left in a hurry, and Tang Zimu walked around the clay statue. There was a corner door at the back. After entering, he found himself in a very simple hut, which was very messy. There was only a straw mat piled in the corner, and a torn quilt with cotton wool showing on it.
Looking carefully, there were a few drops of dark red scattered on the ground next to the blanket, and several blood arrows were flying on the opposite wall. It was shocking. Lin Jianlan was shocked and said, "Could this be..."
Tang Zimu nodded and said sadly, "Yes, this is where the old leader was killed. Beggars don't have a fixed residence. If the leader returns to the headquarters, he will live here. Nothing here has changed. Master Lin, take another look here."
Lin Jianlan looked in the direction where his finger pointed and saw some faint words on the ground. He hurriedly stepped forward and squatted down, but it was an incomplete word, with only a horizontal, a vertical and a fold, and some tiny scratches next to it. The blood had long since dried and solidified.
Tang Zimu asked, "What might Master Lin have thought of?"
Lin Jianlan did not stand up, and said in a deep voice: "If I were Brother Tang, I would naturally be the first to think that this was the clue left by the old gang leader Nian to find the murderer. Unfortunately, among the people who were close to Gang Leader Nian, the first three strokes of the character '雷' in Lei Kan's name are exactly one horizontal stroke, one vertical stroke, and one fold. But it is hard to say whether this is not an attempt to frame Gang Leader Nian after his death ."
Tang Zimu said, "We also thought about what Master Lin was thinking that day. After all, the old leader treated Lei Kan very well. Although this character only has three strokes, it has been confirmed by several elders and guardians in the gang that it is indeed the handwriting of the old leader. You will know it if you look at it carefully."
Lin Jianlan looked at the handwriting again, his face pale. The ground where the handwriting was drawn was a little shallower. There was a broken nail next to it. It must be that he used a lot of force when writing, and the nail was split. He couldn't help but sighed and stood up and said, "If someone wrote with the old gang leader's blood after his death, he would definitely not use so much force, and the nail would definitely not be broken. This must be the last bit of strength he gathered before he died, but he died of exhaustion before he finished writing."
Tang Zimu said: "Even so, we did not immediately identify Lei Kan as the person responsible. After the old leader got into trouble, the gang was in chaos at first, and then split into two groups. One group advocated burying the body immediately and then investigating, while I advocated postponing the burial and sending someone to invite 'Divine Soldier Zhang' to check on the old leader's wounds."
Lin Jianlan asked, "Is it Master Zhang who knows all kinds of weapons in the world?"
Tang Zimu said, "Yes, the old leader was wounded on his back. The wound was round and not very big, less than half an inch, and was neither a sword wound nor a knife wound. Master Zhang was still unable to confirm it and asked to open the wound. Most people in the gang were against such desecration of the leader's body. It was only because of my insistence that we found something. Although the wound was only a small wound on the surface, there were three very deep internal wounds inside. The lungs were cut open, as if they were bursting open inside. Master Lin, if you were me, could you imagine what this weapon looked like?"
Seeing that he wanted to test him, Lin Jianlan did not dare to be careless. He thought carefully for a while before saying cautiously: "I have only practiced martial arts for the past few years, and my experience is still shallow. There are so many strange weapons in the world that I can't even name them. After listening to Brother Tang's description, I can only have a rough guess. The weapon is probably three very thin and sharp blades bundled together, but the appearance is like a sharp awl. After piercing into the body, there must be some way to bounce the blades off!" At this point, looking at the bloody wall, he shuddered and said: "The murderer is too vicious. After the weapon pierced in, he closed the weapon and pulled it out..."
Tang Zimu said, "Master Lin, do you understand my situation now? The old leader's death was already very tragic, but I still insisted on having an autopsy despite everyone's dissatisfaction. I have already incurred the wrath of everyone. If I cannot give an explanation to my brothers at this moment, Master Lin, do you think I can still stand in front of the brothers of the Beggars' Sect?"
Lin Jianlan was speechless after being questioned like this. He thought to himself, "What Tang Zimu said is true. If he hadn't been trying hard to track down the murderer, he would never have offended the old leader's body. He also went against the public opinion at that time and offended many people. If he couldn't find the murderer, he would have had no choice but to leave the Beggars' Sect out of guilt. It's normal that he is so focused on capturing Lei Kan and doesn't want me to get involved anymore."
Lin Jianlan was about to comfort him when he heard the sound of chains dragging on the ground. Turning back, he saw Elder Qi and Lei Kan walking into the hut. Lei Kan's hands and feet were locked with chains. He was injured and had traveled a long distance, so he naturally looked very haggard. When he saw the situation in the hut, his face suddenly turned pale and his lips trembled. He opened his mouth for a long time but couldn't utter a word. After a long while, he knelt on the ground with a "dong". Although he tried hard to suppress it, he first let out a low, hoarse sob, which gradually became louder and louder, and finally the heart-wrenching cry broke out from his throat.
Hearing this seven-foot-tall man so sad, Lin Jianlan felt sorry for him, but he saw Tang Zimu's face was cold and unmoved, and he said to the outside: "Give it to me!"
A disciple walked in quickly, handed something to Tang Zimu, and then left in a hurry. Lin Jianlan looked closely and found that it was the six-bell staff that Lei Kan always held in his hand. He was just wondering when Tang Zimu handed the staff to him and said, "Mr. Lin, take a look."
Lin Jianlan had never examined the staff held by Lei Kan so carefully before. Now, holding it in his hand, he looked at it over and over again. He saw that the handle of the staff was about an inch square, made of two pieces combined into one, with a thin gap in the middle that seemed to be able to loosen.
Lin Jianlan twisted the staff with a little force and slowly pulled it out. He saw a long cone-like weapon, and he gasped. The cone was made up of three very thin blades, and the middle was tightly bound by a small ring. The small ring was connected to the mechanism. Lin Jianlan gently pulled the small ring, and the small ring instantly bounced to the top. The three blades "ding" lightly and burst into a trident. Although the room was very dark, the blades still flashed with a cold light, and looked very sharp. It was exactly the same as his analysis based on Tang Zimu's description!
Tang Zimu said coldly: "Lei Kan, the wound on the old gang leader was caused by your three-pronged thorn. It has been confirmed by 'Divine Weapon Zhang' that there is no other person in the gang who uses such a weapon. What else do you have to say? Look at the blood-written words on the ground. If the old gang leader is still alive, he will make sure that you, the villain, are captured by us in the end!"
Lei Kan shuddered, hesitantly raised his head, looked at his weapon in Lin Jianlan's hand, tears glistening in his eyes, and knelt a few steps to the word, silent for a moment, the brick floor below was wet with tears, he only murmured: "Boss, Boss..."
Tang Zimu waved his hand, and the disciple who had come in before came back. Lei Kan didn't say a word, but he was as dead as a fool, and let Elder Qi and the disciple pick him up and take him out again.
At this moment, there was a strong wind outside the window and the sound of raindrops could be heard. Although it was evening, dark clouds were rolling in the sky like thick ink, and there were occasional thunders, making people feel that the roof was shaking.
Tang Zimu looked out the window and said, "Outside Luoyang City that day, I said, 'Less trouble is worse than more trouble. Master Lin is as cold as ice, how could he not understand this truth?' Master Lin misunderstood that I was trying to stop you from finding out the truth."
Tang Zimu chuckled again and said, "Mr. Lin's judgment today really impressed me. It's not easy for someone so young to have such insight. But..."
Seeing that he was about to speak but stopped talking, Lin Jianlan was stunned. Then he heard him say, "People in this world, if they have some talents, often think they are extraordinary and think they can control the fate of others, life or death. In fact, they often end up making things worse and can't change anything."
Lin Jianlan felt extremely sad in his heart. Although he knew that even so, Lei Kan would never be the real murderer of Nian Yongshou, he had promised Lei Kan and was determined to find out the truth by his own efforts. But today, it was his own inference that convicted Lei Kan and sent him to an irreversible death. At this moment, he heard Tang Zimu's words with a hint of sarcasm, but he had no words to refute and could only look up at him helplessly.
At this moment, a flash of lightning appeared outside the window, making Tang Zimu's face as white as snow. However, it did not contain any sarcasm as Lin Jianlan had thought. Instead, there was a hint of helplessness and self-mockery, and deep sadness in his eyes, which instantly disappeared into the darkness as the lightning disappeared.
After the lightning flashed, there was a series of rolling thunder. After the roar, the room became unusually quiet. Tang Zimu's voice came faintly from the window: "In three days, all gangs will gather here to hold a grand ceremony for the gang leader."
