During the New Year spring when the night was full of colors and celebration and packed with cheerful pedestrians, no one had predicted that a wild noise of horse hooves would be shooting forward along the crowded streets chasing away shocked humans, dogs, and rats alike and dusting away the atmosphere of the festivity.
According to the freezing wind, the horse riders had mounted somewhere 20li away thereafter, in front of a brightly lit gate that stretched out as vast as two giant temples combined. Some people had run out in a freed of frenzy with their shaky rabbit lanterns through the half-opened gate upon spotting the blotch of red uniforms.
"Greetings, the Liyuan Investigators! Another murder has happened in our sect! Please-" the poor guy in the front could barely hold in his snot, not to mention, his composure. "Please avenge our elder-"
"Go on," the rider in the middle had cut off his weeping. He wore a slightly different uniform in a deeper color of red than the others. It reminded the disciples vividly of the bloody corpse that they had just run away from. He had on a rigid expression and never looked at any of them as if they were the culprits of his long-gone vacation and as such, he seemed to be silently venting anger.
"Yes, Captain!!" The investigators started pooling into the threshold of Nightstone Sect like a tiny swarm of bees followed by the bunch of confused disciples tailing behind shouting directions.
The Liyuan Investigation Bureau was true to their reputations. They immediately caught to the chase, blocking off the entrance of the victim's room, scouting, and calling for witnesses, examining the crime scene, collecting evidence all within the timing of three hours. They worked vigorously and silently like mouses at night scrambling around for leftover food.
Even the sect leader wasn't allowed to step a foot in, despite his consistent questioning and angry bellows in the courtyard. Currently, he had had someone brought him a set of tea and sweets sitting under the shade of a tree on a stone chair. "Alas, how long are you going to keep ignoring me!?" He was yelling at an investigator that was guiding the door. She was a woman with a long pretty face but like the rest of them, her eyes were stern and she stared off into the distance.
"Is this how the famous Investigation Bureau acts towards the citizens? Where is your general?? Why is he not here?? An elder of my sect is murdered because of you incompetent lots! Answer me!" He finally stomped his feet to signify that his old man's patience had truly run out.
"Sect leader Mao! It's not good for your health if you continue like this. You've been shouting for an hour already." Next to him was another Elder named 'Dong Qiu'. Around his waning eyes were red rims that he had gotten from gazing at the gruesome murder for too long out of shock. His wrinkly hands were shaking but he insisted on shutting up Mao Wu for fearful reasons from his guts.
"Who's looking for me?" The new voice made them turn heads in unison, not excluding the female investigators. Under the unusually bright moon, a man had just turned the corner stepping into the courtyard with a sophisticated attire of black and purple fur rope. His dark hair was long and satin-like, loose, and unrestrained. The chilly air and light snow swept the long bang away from his face revealing a pair of brazing eyes like hot iron and a tall nose like Mountain Tai.
"G-general Gu!" The female lieutenant suddenly flashed from head to toe before she could compose herself and bowed.
The two old men alike completely forgot the fact that they knew how to speak. The intimidating figure scrolled to them like the murderer himself. Elder Dong Qiu had a feeling that his awful gut premonition earlier was reserved for this surname Gu all along. "This humble one greets General Gu of Liyuan Investigation Bureau."
"Sect leader Mao Wu," he ignored the pale-lipped elder and averted his sharp gaze at the rowdy man in front. "The soul of the dead hasn't left this place in peace and the shadow of the murderer is still lingering by the wall, may I ask why sect leader has the idea to act so childishly and irrational?"
That quiet but bone-scraping tone came to hunt him in the face like revenge. Amidst the shocking event and the blur of the moment, he had forgotten how awful this voice could be for his poor health alone even if it was only an invisible sound that came and went through the ears. Gu Changming was not only a man with power. No matter that he was a sect leader, at this moment in time, he had to thicken his face to apologize.
Mao Wu cupped his hand extremely painfully, "I'm sorry, General Gu. I...I've been in shock. I don't know what I was doing." After all, he couldn't afford to offend the Gu family when his Sect leeched off of them.
"I am sure that the man next to you has been risking his life whispering in your ears all kinds of things you've done. If you make him drop dead, I will arrest your humble one, the Sect Leader, as a suspect for both murders. This is my final warning."
"I..." He got cut off by the bitterness of his own lips.
Gu Changming paid no more heed to the other's wronged expression and turned to the stunned female lieutenant. "Have they finished clearing up?"
"Yes...yes, sir!"
Captain Shao wasn't surprised to see the man physically here himself on a New Year holiday. In fact, he had arranged his report ready in his head and evidence on the tray. "Reporting to General Gu, we have received an emergency request at the time of dog today. The victim, Elder Luo Xuefeng of Nightstone Sect is presumed to have been dead for a while before he was discovered. Through investigating the crime scene, we have come to a clear conclusion that he had been murdered with a slim sword approximately 70 centimeters long. The murderer has stabbed him five times in the torso before beheading the victim. We have also found evidence on the crime scene."
Someone had stepped forward with a long horizontal white tray. Gu Changming's eyes held a mysterious light as he spotted the only lone evidence they had ultimately gathered. It was a single white magnolia flower, pure as snow, not the least bit dyed by the dirty blood of its victim. It was protected by a slim vile of retention magic. What came out of his lips next were two wicked words, "Midnight Magnolia."
Everyone in the room who had been upset about their lost vacations immediately pecked up their ears like hearing a shaman declaring a ghost. Although they couldn't bear hearing that unlucky name anymore, hearing it from their scary General Gu was a different story. They wouldn't say it to his face but they had wished for a long time for Gu Changming to snatch his sword and magically beat up that petty scum of a murderer for them much like a father going to beat the son's bullies.
Anything but let that scum be alive and run free.
It all started in the south of Liyuan province. A series of crime reports embedded each month of the calendar from the same criminal. A special investigation unit was even formed under the great General Gu to apprehend the most notorious criminal known as 'Midnight Magnolia'. He was a felonious murderer that went into action on the twelve-day of every month. No one had seen his face in entirety, however, a witness who had accidentally grazed their eyes on the criminal had described his silhouette to be a man with a lean physique, draped in a dark blue cloak, and held a slim blue sword that glinted blood under the moonlight. After he murdered someone, he would always leave a single magnolia flower at the crime scenes for whatever incredibly messed up reasons.
Rumors had it that the cruelty from this criminal could be summarized from his foul origin of a demon mother and a slave father. However, rumors were just rumors. There was no justification nor ironclad evidence or knowledge of his or her background except for the criminal's well-known method of assassination and a glimpse of his body and weapon. Demons had been sealed off from the human realm three generations ago after the sacrifice of many figureheads in the cultivation world. There was no possible way that a half-demon would be still alive today running amok committing murder alone in a realm full of powerful cultivators. The rumor was ruled out just as ridiculous as the person who spread it.
As the entire province had known so far, he had murdered five people, all from the Nightstone Sect, one by one. The motive for the murder was obviously a deep-seated grudge against the disciples of the Sect, albeit refusal from the leader of the Sect. The Special Investigation Unit was even threatened to be sued for such a slender on a well-established and law-abiding sect if it weren't for the man backing it, Gu Changming, himself.
Not only was he able to repel the mess so cleanly, but he was also able to add an investigation warrant to the list as well. Despite the effort, without the criminal's identity, it was bound to be difficult in the first place. Whether the Sect was truly hiding something shady beyond expectations or not, they hid it well enough from the hawk eyes of General Gu and the whole Bureau.
The captain of the Special Investigation Unit was just ready to mount his horse and head to the main quarter when he was pulled back by the voice of his one and only superior. "Shao Weimin, bring all the previous cases to my home by tomorrow. Have people check the victim's background and inform back to me as well. After that, you can rest until the holiday is over."
"General..." He got off his horse with a perplexed look. "Are you planning to catch him all by yourself?"
"Can you do it?"
His ears turned even redder in the cold, a rare occasion. "Forgive my incapability, General. I shall work-"
"No, you have done enough. It is my fault and miscalculation that the culprit is yet to be apprehended. I have underestimated the Midnight Magnolia and thereby, it lies solely on my shoulders alone to clean up the mess I have made," the General uttered with his face staring up to the moonlight. Perhaps it was the drowsiness in his eyes and the muddiness in his mind that made him thought of Gu Changming as more attractive today than any other day he had seen him.
It was such a fleeting thought that caused him to shake himself mentally right after. Shao Weimin was never a cut sleeve. He was married to a gorgeous young wife at home and was expecting a baby soon. However, this General Gu was just that type of man that most straight and gay men alike were jealous of.
Gu Changming, frequently called by the name 'General Gu' was a handsome man, well into his mid-20s, with a tall and lean body of an immortal, and a distracting sunglow pair of eyes. He was the only son of one of the six chiefs' leaders, Gu Jianhao. There was absolutely no one who could beat him in archery and only a few within the ancestors who could beat him in the fire elemental cultivation. The man was incredibly a resilient person raised up by a respectable father and a sky-high noble title.
At such a young age, he had elevated himself to the General Commander of Liyuan Investigation Bureau equal to the title of a sect leader without any of his father's influence. Moreover, the title of Chief Commander could have easily fallen in his hands if he had for even bat an eyelash, but the stubborn General Gu was not so fond of his father and sons' relationship. Thus, he made himself stuck in the General position refusing to rise any further because otherwise, he would be under the direct control of Gu Jianhao and every single movement of his freedom would have snatched away like an empty sack of rice.
No one would be deluded enough to do so when they already had someone who was willing to suffer in their stead, Gu Changming's older cousin Yang Zhuo. The chief commander of Liyuan Investigation Bureau, who stormed into his office the next day right after. "Ah Ming, have you lost your mind?"
The man being addressed behind his table didn't utter a single word of reply. Like a sturdy rock under a waterfall, his cousin wasn't spare even a single glance. Despite the silence, Yang Zhuo kept up with a tenacious determination, "If your highness doesn't show up tomorrow to the main house, the old man of yours will burn down this place at any rate. Don't think he would do to save himself face, I tell you right now, Uncle is at his last straw. When was the last time you have visited him? When he had his first wrinkle?"
Instead of sparing half a second of his attention to the desperate plea of his superior, Gu Changming's face started to twitch in his seat. It didn't go unnoticed by the Chief Commander that was in the same room. After all, to be a superior of General Gu was no small task. One had to be on the same page less he would rather boot himself out of his own position unable to withstand the humiliation he brought to himself. "Have you found another clue?"
General Gu's eyes finally flicked. This made it clear that the only thing occupying space in this surname Gu's heart was work. "Zhuo Ge, how many victims have been killed by the Midnight Magnolia?"
"What? Five. Why asking when you know it yourself?"
"He started killing on September 12th between the time of cow and tiger. Not a single month has passed by without a victim and yet, there was no reported case in January but in February instead."
Yang Zhuo felt the arrival of a headache. He spoke despite the stuffy feeling in his chest, "The Sect Leader is the most paranoid person I know. He would know the instance his disciples got their throats slit. The culprit must have either failed in his attempt or he slacked off, General Gu."
A hand was pinched between his nose. Gu Changming didn't loosen his tight grip on a bamboo scroll as he let out a sneer, "Which is what he wanted us to think."
"..."
The chair tumbled down the ground like a gong. General Gu had stood up so abruptly that even the stilled Yang Zhuo got his soul staggered away for a millisecond. "Chief Commander Yang, it is my grave mistake that I have not been adequately thorough within my investigation and let the criminal acquire a free pass of unreported crime. I, hereby, request that you allow this subordinate to suffer through his punishment. The punishment should be a trip up North during the festivity of Lunar New Year in order for this subordinate to investigate and search for the missing fifth victim. I shall not come back until I apprehend the criminal."
No look of bewilderment could surpass that of Chief Yang Zhuo, son to Yang Xiao and cousin to Gu Changming. His mouth opened and shut like a carp out of water. He had intentionally come here to reprimand the cousin of his for neglecting his father, however, the table has turned.
He was positive that he was the one actually being punished at this instance and that there was also absolutely nothing he could do or try as he uselessly watched the surname Gu wrapped up his precious scrolls into his purple qiankun bag that he, himself, had gifted him for his coming of age.
"Farewell, then...Zhuo Ge."
Yang Zhuo slammed a fist in the air after the retreating figure, "Don't you dare call me your Ge ever again!"
