Volume One, Chapter Two: The Hand Is Truly Red

After the initial strike, Shen Ji quickly withdrew his blade and put some distance between himself and Song Qingluan.

Song Qingluan felt a sudden chill, instinctively clutching her blood-soaked chest. She retreated in terror, begging for mercy with a tearful voice: "Spare... spare me, I was wro—"

*Slash!*

Shen Ji lunged forward, his sharp knife slicing across Song Qingluan’s throat.

Finish the job!

Never waste words until the enemy has turned cold!

Song Qingluan’s eyes bulged, blood gushing from her neck like a fountain, and she collapsed, her face twisted in resentment.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

Chichi stood there, stunned and motionless, staring blankly at the scene before her.

Shen Ji was about to crouch down but suddenly paused.

"Chichi, come here!" Shen Ji called out.

Chichi regained her senses, her expression dazed as she trotted over to him.

"Quick, loot the body!" Shen Ji pointed at Song Qingluan’s corpse.

"Loot... loot the body?" Chichi asked, bewildered.

Shen Ji explained, "It means searching her for anything valuable or useful!"

He had been struck by lightning for no reason and possessed by a ghost the moment he transmigrated. It seemed... a bit ominous! He figured he should let Chichi handle this.

Chichi hesitated for a moment, but under Shen Ji’s urging, she began to search the body.

To be fair, this dead woman had quite a few valuables on her. The jewelry and silver coins added up to at least a thousand taels. However, this amount of silver wasn't even enough to cover the interest on the money he had spent on the Song family.

"Young Marquis, there is half a jade pendant here..." Chichi pulled half a jade pendant from a hidden pocket in Song Qingluan’s clothing.

Hmm?

Shen Ji took it. He had seen that man give something to Song Qingluan yesterday. This must be it, right? Was this their token of love?

A token of love that had to be hidden so carefully? Besides, any man capable of catching Song Qingluan’s eye had to be wealthy or powerful, right? Would such a person give half a jade pendant as a token of love?

"Stop looking at it for now!" Chichi pulled at him. "We need to deal with the scene immediately!"

"Huh?" Shen Ji looked at her, surprised. Shouldn't that be his line?

"Aren't you going to ask me why I killed her?" Shen Ji asked out of curiosity. He had expected Chichi to pester him with questions.

"This is not the time for that!" Chichi had recovered from her initial shock. "I will take the body further away and find a hidden place to bury it. You need to clean up the blood on the ground right now."

"Ah?" Shen Ji was stunned.

"No more 'ahs'!" Chichi urged. "The Song family are imperial merchants. If something happens to Song Qingluan, the authorities will definitely investigate thoroughly. We must not let them find any evidence..."

"Shouldn't we just set her on fire and destroy the evidence?"

Shen Ji interrupted with a smile.

Chichi’s face twitched slightly, then she nodded heavily. "The Young Marquis is right, but we might not have enough time. We must be back in the city before dark!"

Shen Ji remained unconcerned. "It’s fine, as long as she’s burned beyond recognition!"

...

On the way back, Shen Ji told Chichi how Song Qingluan had dragged him off the cliff. A woman with such a venomous heart—should he have kept her to celebrate the New Year?

Upon learning the full story, Chichi even wanted to turn back, dig up Song Qingluan’s remains, and stab them a few more times.

While venting her anger, Chichi looked at Shen Ji with resentment. "I told you long ago that this Song Qingluan was no good! If you had seen her true colors earlier, you wouldn't have even lost your title..."

"Don't worry, I will definitely be able to keep my title!" Shen Ji smiled at her.

Chichi rolled her eyes. "There’s so little time left, how could you possibly keep it?"

Shen Ji smiled confidently. "Have you forgotten about the disaster relief silver..."

As he spoke, he suddenly seemed to grasp something, stopping in his tracks to think. Chichi looked at him in confusion, and just as she was about to ask why he had stopped, Shen Ji grabbed her hand and rubbed it, saying with a broad smile, "Your hand is indeed quite lucky!"

Startled by his sudden grasp, Chichi blushed. "Young Marquis, what are you saying?" She pulled her hand back, asking in confusion.

"The Song family is most likely involved in the case of the stolen disaster relief silver!" A look of realization dawned in Shen Ji’s eyes. "The person who was having a secret tryst with Song Qingluan yesterday was likely a cultist from the Fire Worship Sect..."

Twenty days ago, one million taels of disaster relief silver bound for the south were plundered by the Fire Worship cultists while passing through Qingzhou. The authorities had verified through various investigations that the silver had not left Qingzhou, yet they could never find it. Consequently, the Emperor had issued an imperial proclamation: anyone who could find the silver or provide relevant clues would be heavily rewarded.

Yesterday, he had vaguely heard words like "silver" and "transported." Since the Song family were merchants, mentioning such words wasn't unusual, and he had been so angry at the time that he hadn't thought much of it. Now that he thought about it, he realized the situation wasn't that simple.

Song Qingluan didn't kill him because he was no longer useful, nor because she was afraid of him pestering her. She was afraid he had heard something he shouldn't have!

In such matters, it was better to kill the wrong person than to let a secret slip! Otherwise, Song Qingluan could have simply waited until he was demoted to a commoner before killing him.

"So, you suspect that half of the jade pendant is a token from that man to Song Qingluan?" Chichi suddenly realized.

"Exactly!" Shen Ji nodded. "That person likely wanted Song Qingluan to help him transport the hidden relief silver..."

As imperial merchants, the Song family’s goods were not strictly inspected. Having them help transport the silver was perfect.

The more Chichi thought about it, the more she felt Shen Ji’s reasoning held up. Then, she suddenly felt alarmed. "You don't mean to go and answer the imperial proclamation, do you?"

"Yes!"

Upon receiving his confirmation, Chichi quickly tried to persuade him. "This is all just your speculation! Don't be impulsive! Answering an imperial proclamation is no child's play!"

If one answered the proclamation but failed the task, it was a crime of deceiving the Emperor! That meant losing one’s head!

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" Shen Ji was full of confidence.

Along the way, Chichi tried to dissuade him several times, but Shen Ji remained unmoved. He could keep his title and openly take down the Song family—why wouldn't he do such a good thing?

By the time they returned to their small courtyard, it was nearly dark.

This courtyard had been purchased by Chichi after she sold the items gifted to her by the late Lord and Lady Shen. Otherwise, having squandered his family fortune, he wouldn't have even had a place to stay.

Back home, Chichi busied herself with starting a fire to cook. Shen Ji buried the loot in a small jar, keeping only the half-pendant. After returning, he changed his clothes and burned the ones he had been wearing.

Watching Chichi work, Shen Ji couldn't help but smile to himself. Chichi hadn't originally been called Chichi; it was because she was always so hasty that he had given her that name.

*Bang, bang...*

Just then, a rude knocking sounded at the door.

"Who is it?" Shen Ji rose and walked toward the entrance.

"Open up! Open the door quickly..." The knocking grew louder, accompanied by impatient demands.

When Shen Ji opened the door, he saw Feng Yuan, the son of the Qingzhou Prefect, standing there with a dozen or so soldiers.

"Feng Yuan, what are you doing here?" Shen Ji asked, annoyed.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Feng Yuan’s gaze was cold. "Tell me, what have you done with Qingluan?"

"Qingluan?" Shen Ji asked in confusion. "What could I have done to her?"

"Stop pretending!" Feng Yuan’s face darkened. "Qingluan is missing, and the Song family is searching everywhere for her! Someone saw her leaving the city with you and Chichi this morning. Her disappearance must have something to do with you!"

Listening to Feng Yuan, Shen Ji couldn't help but curse inwardly. This guy had the potential to be a complete fool. The Song family hadn't even come to him to demand her return, yet this idiot was so anxious to do it for them. Being used as a pawn, he was probably still feeling smug about being able to help the Song family!

*Idiot!* Shen Ji cursed internally, then looked at Feng Yuan with an arrogant expression. "Feng Yuan, have you lost your mind? Daring to be so insolent in front of me? Do you think I've been too lenient with you?"

"In front of the Marquis?" Feng Yuan sneered. "Stop putting on airs. You won't be a Young Marquis for much longer! By then, you won't even..."

*Pow!*

Before Feng Yuan could finish his sentence, Shen Ji kicked him squarely in the crotch. Although Feng Yuan had some martial skills, he was caught off guard and took the hit directly.

"Ah..." Having his most vulnerable spot attacked, Feng Yuan clutched his crotch and collapsed, howling in agony.

"Young Master Feng!" The squad leader, Li You, cried out in panic and rushed to his side.

"Destroy him for me... Ouch..." Feng Yuan’s face was twisted in pain, his voice a hoarse roar.

Just as Li You was about to give the order, Shen Ji looked at them with an arrogant glare. "What is it? You dare to lay a hand on me?"

Hearing this, Li You and the soldiers realized a crucial problem: at the very least, for the moment, Shen Ji was still a Young Marquis! They truly had no authority to arrest him.

"From now on, speak to me with some respect!" Shen Ji kicked Feng Yuan once more and roared at Li You, "Take him to the prefectural office! Today, I am going to ask Feng Min how he taught his son to behave!"