Ex-Wife is a Big Villainess
Chapter 57 - 53 Never Despised

Chapter 57: Chapter 53 Never Despised

By the time Jiang Shouzhong had expended a great deal of energy to find Wufeng Temple, he discovered that Ran Qingchen was sitting on a damaged statue, draped in half a torn robe, lost in thought.

The woman resembled a delicate winter orchid that had weathered a storm, silent in the world.

The rabbit demon was already dead.

All that was left on her body was the bellyband and undershirt.

Jiang Shouzhong’s expression was strange upon seeing this scene.

"I encountered a master from the Demon Clan, but she got away."

Ran Qingchen wrapped herself tightly in the half-piece of clothing she had taken from the rabbit demon and spoke indifferently, "This rabbit demon was also killed by her. I will convene the other halls of the Liushan Division to conduct a thorough search throughout the Capital."

Although the woman had covered most of her body, the tiny tears at the hem of her skirt could not be concealed.

The section of her calf that was barely visible beneath the skirt was whiter than ivory, delicate and lustrously smooth.

Jiang Shouzhong’s brows furrowed, "You’re injured?"

"A minor wound, nothing serious."

Ran Qingchen got up expressionless and said, "Take the body to the Liushan Division for registration and reporting. Whether the case can be closed depends on the outcome of your investigation."

After she spoke, the woman left the temple.

Jiang Shouzhong looked around at the marks of the fight within the temple and approached the rabbit demon’s corpse.

To be precise, with the rabbit demon’s soul dissipated, it was now the body of Zhao Wancang’s wife.

Looking at the body that had begun to rot, Jiang Shouzhong sighed regretfully, saying, "It’s a pity we couldn’t capture her alive, and it’s uncertain whether this rabbit demon took Ge Dasheng’s heart."

After a short while, a burly man limped over with an axe on his back.

"Zhang!"

Jiang Shouzhong’s expression changed, and he hurriedly stepped forward to support him.

Zhang Yunwu grinned and sat down with effort on the threshold, waving his hand, "It’s nothing serious, I was injured in the leg by an expert while chasing the demon. But I was lucky, I saved my life."

"What did the person who injured you look like?"

Jiang Shouzhong asked in a deep voice.

Zhang Yunwu shook his head, "I didn’t get a clear look, but luckily another expert appeared and scared off the one who injured me."

Seeing the deep, bone-revealing gash on Zhang Yunwu’s thigh, Jiang Shouzhong tore off a strip of cloth to bandage it briefly, his face as dark as ink.

The sight of Zhang limping recalled to Jiang the recurring nightmare he had.

In the dream, Zhang Yunwu was lame.

...

Elsewhere.

Shen Shengyuan was taken aback upon seeing Qu Hongling’s disheveled return and asked, "Did you run into an expert?"

The girl, still fuming, remained silent.

It wasn’t until she got back to the inn and changed into her usual red dress that Qu Hongling finally spoke in a muffled voice, "While inquiring about Xi’er, I got entangled with a despicable woman from the Liushan Division who knows no martial virtue. It’s not a big deal."

"Xi’er, she..."

"I killed her."

Qu Hongling’s mood was visibly downcast.

Not knowing how to console her, Shen Shengyuan began to share his own encounter, "I met a woman who uses a pipa as her weapon. It seemed Xi’er was being chased by her. On the way, a Liushan Division agent with an axe attempted to stop her, and if I hadn’t shown up, that agent would have undoubtedly died.

I planned to deal with that woman, but then I sensed the Sword Demon nearby and mistook them as allies, so I didn’t dare act rashly. By the time the Sword Demon had left, the woman had already vanished without a trace."

"The Sword Demon was in the Capital as well?"

Hearing about this illustrious person, Qu Hongling’s eyes shone brightly, her spirits lifting, sweeping away her previous dejection.

She looked, for all the world, like an avid fan who had heard her idol was nearby.

Privy to a secret of the Demon Clan, Shen Shengyuan was well aware of the girl’s admiration for the Sword Demon, and he quickly tried to soothe her:

"Sect Master, you mustn’t act rashly now. Zhao Wuxiu inside the imperial palace in the Capital may have already set his sights on us. While your identity is still not exposed, we must hurry and leave this place,"

"Oh, I understand,"

Qu Hongling felt a deep sense of loss.

Shen Shengyuan looked at the girl with compassion and consoled her softly:

"Sect Master, the Sword Demon may have been possessed by his sword and doesn’t distinguish between good and evil, but after all, he is human, and we are from the Demon Clan; we’re two different camps. You must remember that any human could be a potential enemy to us. Otherwise, Ms. Qiu wouldn’t have..."

Seeing that the girl kept her head down in silence, Shen Shengyuan didn’t want to speak too harshly. He changed the topic and asked, "Did Xi’er mention where that bottle of Demon Energy might be?"

"It might have been taken by the Liushan Division undercover agent who killed her that night."

Qu Hongling said.

Shen Shengyuan thought for a moment and then said softly:

"Sect Master, I’ll take the risk and look for it once more. Whether I find it or not, we must leave the Capital as soon as possible. Stay at the inn and don’t go anywhere else."

Qu Hongling nodded her little head and said with a smile, "Don’t worry, Mr. Shen, I know what’s important."

After Shen Shengyuan left, Qu Hongling returned to her room.

The girl undid her garments again and stood in front of the bronze mirror looking at her delicately contoured, softly undulating figure.

"Too small? Jiang never seemed to mind though."

...

After sending the body off to the Liushan Division morgue for registration, Jiang Shouzhong went to the Wenxin Department to give a brief report on the case and then planned to visit Zhang Yunwu’s residence to check on his injuries.

When reporting the case, Jiang Shouzhong had originally planned to close the matter outright.

Pin both the murder and the heart extraction on the rabbit demon.

But after hesitating, Jiang Shouzhong didn’t do so, instead subtly suggesting some vague conjectures about the ’rabbit demon extracting hearts’ during his report. This would allow for the possibility of a future reversal of the verdict while buying more time to reinvestigate.

On his way out of the Wenxin Department yard, he happened to meet Yuan Anjiang, the inspection official he had encountered at Wufeng Temple.

"I have seen Mr. Yuan."

Jiang Shouzhong stopped to greet him.

Yuan Anjiang, who usually kept a stern face, unavoidably softened it a bit at the sight of the handsome young man in front of him, smiling as he asked, "Jiang Mo, any leads in the Wufeng Temple case?"

Jiang Shouzhong shook his head helplessly and briefly described the progress of the case.

Yuan Anjiang was quite surprised after hearing the case report and looked at Jiang Shouzhong’s glowing eyes, stroking his short beard with a smile, "This case sounds very complicated. It’s impressive that you’ve investigated this far. With other divisions, there wouldn’t have been such quick progress."

"You flatter me, Mr. Yuan. The others at the yamen are all capable,"

Jiang Shouzhong said modestly.

Yuan Anjiang was increasingly pleased with the capable young man before him, feeling a sense of regret that he didn’t have a daughter of his own. Suddenly, with a hint of mystery in his voice, he asked softly, "Have you received the new assignment orders from the academy yet?"

A smile played on Yuan Anjiang’s lips as he waited for the other’s reaction.

Assignment orders?

What assignment orders?

Jiang Shouzhong looked utterly bewildered.

Seeing his reaction, Yuan Anjiang frowned slightly, "What? You haven’t received them?"

Jiang Shouzhong shook his head, "I haven’t seen any kind of assignment orders."

Yuan Anjiang was filled with doubts.

That couldn’t be right.

The membership list for the new academy was basically finalized, and the orders that needed to be issued had been sent out. Jiang Mo should have been notified by now.

Besides, Jiang was someone he had personally recommended.

Could it be Lord Ran didn’t see it?

Yuan Anjiang’s expression turned dark and forbidding. Without further conversation with Jiang Shouzhong, he turned and headed directly for the new academy administrator’s office courtyard.