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墨書 Inktalez
"What, Gao Qiu is dead?" Shi Jin exclaimed.
Early the next morning, Shi Jin had originally planned to go to the market with Li Shishi to see if there were any Badger for sale, but first he heard this news. The information came from the coachman, Lao Song.
"That's right. I passed by there this morning, and the body hadn't been taken away yet. He was stabbed over a dozen times, and his face was all mutilated. He's definitely dead," Lao Song said, his face flushed and spitting as he spoke.
Shi Jin was a bit dazed. How could Gao Qiu be dead? What would happen to Liangshan? Lin Chong wouldn't go up the mountain now, would he? His mind was in chaos, feeling somewhat at a loss.
Although he didn't like that guy Gao Qiu, he had unconsciously regarded him as a reference point to compare with some events that followed. So even when he beat up Gao Qiu, he had held back. He never expected that this guy would actually die.
"How could he die!" Shi Jin murmured.
"What are you saying, young master?" Lao Song looked at him strangely.
Shi Jin waved his hand irritably and said, "It's nothing. Prepare the carriage."
As he spoke, he walked outside; he still wanted to take a look and confirm it for himself. Li Shishi followed closely behind him, while Dujian found an excuse not to go; yesterday's incident made her a bit afraid to see the two of them.
Lao Song led the way, and they arrived at the place where Gao Qiu had met his end, which was not far from Great Xiangguo Temple, in a dilapidated courtyard.
A crowd had gathered outside the courtyard, pointing and discussing the scene, while two Yard Officers blocked the entrance. Just as Shi Jin was about to get out of the carriage to take a look, his hand was pulled back; turning around, he saw it was Li Shishi.
"Young master, let's just look from the carriage," she said.
Seeing the fear in Li Shishi's eyes, Shi Jin replied, "You stay in the carriage; I'll go take a look."
But Li Shishi held onto his hand tightly and said, "Young master, you just fought him yesterday. If you go now, won't it raise suspicion?"
Shi Jin paused for a moment. Lao Song frowned upon hearing this; he was worried about causing trouble and quickly agreed, "What this girl says makes sense. Young master should not get out of the carriage; you're an outsider and might attract unnecessary trouble."
Shi Jin thought about how he had clashed with Gao Qiu yesterday and how Gao Qiu had died that night; he indeed had some suspicion surrounding him. So he decided not to move.
However, he couldn't shake off his doubts about Gao Qiu's death and said, "Then Lao Song, you go check it out and see if it's really him who died."
Lao Song agreed and went to investigate. Shi Jin and Li Shishi waited in the carriage, watching attentively.
Shi Jin glanced at Li Shishi sitting beside him and thought, "This girl is quite perceptive."
In a moment of panic earlier, Li Shishi had grabbed Shi Jin's hand but had now quietly withdrawn it.
Before long, Lao Song rushed back and said, "Three people are dead, and one of them is definitely that Gao Qiu guy."
Shi Jin frowned and asked, "With his face all chopped up, how can anyone recognize him?"
"That guy has a half-brother who mentioned a birthmark on his lower back; he just identified him. Da Lang, are we leaving?" Lao Song replied as he jumped onto the carriage.
Shi Jin scanned the courtyard and nodded.
Since the matter was confirmed, there was no need to linger. Although Gao Qiu's death surprised him a bit, to Lao Song and the others, he was merely a hooligan and not worth much concern.
Shi Jin asked, "Do you know who did it?"
Originally just making small talk, Shi Jin was surprised that Lao Song actually had information.
Lao Song cracked his whip and replied, "I heard that a few days ago he had a conflict with some horse traders. That group suffered some losses, so it's likely they retaliated."
It turned out that a couple of days ago, Gao Qiu and his group had their eyes on some horses but resorted to underhanded tactics when they couldn't buy them.
When Shi Jin pressed for more details, Lao Song was vague; he had only heard it from bystanders.
As an old resident of Bianjing, Lao Song took Shi Jin and Li Shishi to a nearby market when he heard they wanted to buy game.
However, due to the delay earlier, the morning market was nearing its end. Shi Jin led Li Shishi around asking several vendors but found no badgers available for purchase.
Eventually, a kind vendor suggested they check around the corner, saying there might be a hunter there who could help.
As they turned the corner, they saw a man receiving a small animal from a vendor.
The creature had a pointed head and a plump body with gray-black fur and three prominent white stripes on its head—it was exactly the badger Shi Jin was looking for.
Shi Jin's eyes lit up as he hurried forward to ask the hunter, "Excuse me, sir, do you have any more of these badgers? I would like one too."
The hunter shook his head and said, "This is the only one; these creatures are rare at this time of year. I got lucky catching it; Da Lang should look for something else."
Shi Jin shook his head and raised his hand to stop the buyer, saying, "Please hold on for a moment."
The buyer turned to look at him; Shi Jin saw that he was a boy around sixteen or seventeen years old—handsome but with sharp eyes that conveyed toughness and defiance.
"What do you want?" the boy asked bluntly, his tone laced with impatience and hostility.
Shi Jin inquired, "I wonder if this badger could..."
"No!" The boy interrupted before Shi Jin could finish and turned away to tie the badger to a cart.
Shi Jin frowned at being cut off; this kid seemed like he was ready for a fight.
"Young master, let's come back tomorrow," Li Shishi suggested softly.
Although she was anxious, she did not want to attract disdain towards Shi Jin. Shi Jin shook his head and walked towards the young man. The hunter had just mentioned that this item was rare at this time of year, and it might take a while to find it. He still wanted to discuss it with the young man.
He saw the young man focused on organizing his things and reached out to pat him on the shoulder. "Hey, big brother..." However, as soon as his hand touched the young man's shoulder, it sank down, and the young man turned around and threw a punch straight at Shi Jin's face.
Shi Jin raised an eyebrow and changed his hand from a pat to a sweep. "Smack!" Their fists and palms collided. Although Shi Jin was in a defensive position, he did not move, while the young man took a step back, feeling a sharp pain in his fist.
Not afraid but rather angry, he cursed, "Damn it! I said I wouldn't sell it; you think you can steal it?" Shi Jin's expression darkened as he scolded, "If you won't sell it, then why are you cursing at me?"
Li Shishi, standing nearby, did not expect them to start fighting in the blink of an eye. She hurriedly grabbed Shi Jin and said, "Young master, let's not buy it; don't get into a fight!" Although the young man felt somewhat guilty, he did not hold back his words. He glanced at Li Shishi and mocked, "Just listen to your boyfriend; go hide back home!"
Shi Jin was so furious that he laughed instead, thinking what was wrong with this guy; he was just a badger after all, yet so sharp-tongued. He pushed Li Shishi aside and scolded, "Come on, let me teach you some manners on behalf of your father!"
The young man was enraged by this and shouted as he charged forward. The two immediately began to fight. After three or four exchanges, both were secretly surprised. Shi Jin noticed that the young man's punches and kicks were quite skillful; he was clearly trained and fought fiercely without holding back, making him difficult to deal with.
The young man also felt a chill in his heart; this seemingly rich young master had impressive skills. His aggressive attacks were easily neutralized by Shi Jin, indicating that Shi Jin's abilities were above his own. However, due to his fiery temperament, he would not admit defeat.
After exchanging several more blows and seeing that they were genuinely fighting hard, they suddenly heard a shout: "Over here! Surround them!" A few Yard Officers pushed through the crowd holding iron rulers and chains, quickly surrounding the two.
Both were startled and jumped back, unsure of what was happening.
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