With the previous cases of Lin Hechang and Huai Yi setting the precedent, Song Jian was now quite experienced. After receiving this case, he attached great importance to it and directly transferred a large group of the Tiancha Division‘s elite members.
Meanwhile, on Xiao Yinghuai’s side—
“Long Xiao.”
Silence filled the surroundings.
Soon, another shadow guard descended.
“Replying to Your Majesty, Lord Long Xiao was taken away by Lord Song to investigate a case.”
Xiao Yinghuai’s hand paused slightly as he held his brush, but he said nothing.
A while later—
“Seventeen.”
The shadow guard replied, “Replying to Your Majesty, Lord Seventeen was taken away by Lord Song to investigate a case.”
“Eighteen.”
“Your Majesty, Lord Eighteen was also taken away.”
“…”
The shadow guard added, “And Lord Chang Ying, Lord Wu Chang, Lord Song Feng… they’ve all been taken away.”
Only then did Xiao Yinghuai raise his head.
“He took so many people. Is he investigating a case or staging a rebellion?”
Shadow guard: “…”
At this moment, Song Jian had already left the palace.
Outside the prefectural office, a dark row of Tiancha Division shadow guards stood in formation, with a dog in the middle.
Standing in the center and petting the dog’s head, Song Jian took out his token and announced loudly, “By His Majesty’s decree, the Tiancha Division has come to the Capital Prefecture Office to assist in investigating a case.”
The guards at the entrance hurried inside to report it. Before long, the Prefect came out.
“My lords, forgive me for failing to welcome you from afar. May I ask… what case you have come to assist with today?”
As he spoke, his mind raced. He reviewed every major case he had on hand recently, yet in the end still couldn’t figure out which one would warrant people from the palace coming to assist.
“The Zhao residence theft case was already transferred to the Ministry of Justice yesterday…”
Song Jian waved his hand.
“No, no, no, no. We’re here to assist with Lord Yi Geren’s case. I heard his family lost a spotted pig, a rabbit, a dog, a rooster, and an old goat. Do you have any leads now?”
The Prefect: “…”
“Hiss~~~~”
With an odd expression, he rubbed his official hat and took a long while before squeezing out a few words.
“Maybe… perhaps… possibly… probably…”
One look and it was obvious they hadn’t taken this case seriously at all. They probably even had to think for a while before remembering who Yi Geren was.
Long Xiao and Chang Ying stood to one side. Resting their hands lightly on their Saber hilts, they lifted them just enough for the blades to hum.
Hei Dashuai also raised his neck and barked.
“Woof!”
The Prefect shuddered in fright.
“I remember! I remember! My lords, please come inside first. I’ll have them bring out the case file. We’ll handle it immediately!”
After going inside to inspect the file, they found that in just four or five days, it had already gathered a layer of dust. Clearly, ever since Yi Geren reported the case, it had been tossed into some forgotten corner. No wonder there had been no news.
Leaning over the table, Song Jian flipped through the file together with the others.
“This is written way too carelessly.”
The contents were very general, merely describing the case in broad strokes without much useful information. They would have to rely on themselves.
After reading for a while, Song Jian closed the file and stood up briskly.
“To the Yi residence!”
“Oh, right.” Song Jian instructed Chang Ying, “Borrow an artist from the prefectural office and bring him along.”
After saying that, he hurried out of the Capital Prefecture Office.
However, as soon as he stepped outside, Song Jian heard a familiar rough voice.
“Lord Song~”
Turning around, Song Jian saw a tall man walking beside Chang Ying.
Who else could it be but Qi Jingzhi?
The moment he saw Song Jian, he dashed over, looking as though he were about to fling himself at him again.
Song Jian jumped in fright and hurriedly reached out.
“Qi… Qi-Qi-Qi-Qi-Qi… Artist Qi! Calm down! Finding the pig, the dog, the rooster, the rabbit, and the goat is more important!”
Qi Jingzhi immediately stood upright.
“Oh, oh, oh.”
Song Jian hadn’t expected Qi Jingzhi to have so many side jobs.
He cupped his hands.
“Sorry to trouble you!”
Qi Jingzhi blinked shyly.
“Why would you say it’s troublesome? It is my honor to serve Lord Song.”
They soon arrived at the Yi residence, where Huaiyi first led them to Huahua’s escape scene.
Mm.
The pigsty had been torn apart.
The other animals’ escape scenes were all more or less the same.
Supported by Yi Geren, Madam Yi looked extremely frail, tears streaming down her face.
“Lord Song, you must seek justice for our Huahua, Bao Gong, Coalball, Zihan, and Lamb Skewer…”
Song Jian’s brain was assaulted by a string of names.
And… wasn’t there something odd mixed in there?
He said, “Madam Yi, don’t worry. Please tell us in detail what your beloved pets… look like. We’ll have the artist from the prefectural office draw them first, then we’ll post notices in crowded places.”
Madam Yi nodded.
Qi Jingzhi spread a scroll of paper across the table.
She said sorrowfully,
“Our Huahua… has two big, big eyes… and two adorable pig nostrils…”
“Our Bao Gong… has two big, big eyes…”
“Our Coalball… has two big, big eyes…”
“Our Zihan…”
“Our Lamb Skewer…”
…
After finishing the portraits of the five animals, Qi Jingzhi first handed them to Song Jian for inspection.
Looking at the five chibi-style, big-eyed adorable animals on the page, Song Jian fell into deep thought.
He asked, “Madam Yi, what do you think the dog we brought looks like?”
Hei Dashuai immediately sat up straight with a bark.
“Woof!”
Madam Yi looked for a while.
“It has two big, big eyes…”
Hei Dashuai happily wagged his tail.
“Woof woof!”
Great.
They’re doomed.
In the end, Song Jian had to ask a whole list of additional questions before obtaining more detailed characteristics.
The spotted pig from Lord Yi’s family had grayish-black markings on all four hooves.
The rabbit had a crescent-shaped patch of black fur on its head.
The little dog was pure white.
The old goat was very old.
The rooster loved to crow.
They wrote these characteristics onto the notices and posted them everywhere, offering an extremely generous reward—a little gold bean.
That’s right. The little gold bean came out of Song Jian’s own pocket.
Standing in front of the notice board, he clapped his hands.
“Find the rooster, dog, rabbit, goat, or pig and receive a little gold bean~ Don’t miss it as you pass by~ Don’t miss it as you pass by~”
Before long, a large crowd gathered.
“My lord! My family has a pig!”
“My lord! My family has several roosters!”
“I’ve seen them! I’ve seen them!”
“My lord! My lord! They’re at my house!”
“My lord! You’re all so handsome~”
…
Amid the chaotic voices, Song Jian singled out several key people and questioned them one by one.
Each of them swore that the animals they were talking about were the ones described in the notice.
So Song Jian told them to go home and bring the animals to the Yi residence.
Half an hour later, the entrance of the Yi residence had turned into a marketplace.
Standing at the entrance with his hands on his hips, Song Jian frowned tightly.
“You’re telling me… this is a rooster?”
The visitor was a somewhat hunched man, cradling the “rooster” in his arms.
“Yes, My lord! Isn’t it obvious? This is a rooster!”
Song Jian narrowed his eyes and examined it carefully.
“Quack—quack quack quack quack quack—”
Song Jian: “…”
The man proudly stroked the paper rooster comb attached to the “rooster’s” head.
“Listen, My lord! It even crows!”
“Quack—quack quack quack quack quack—”
Ha.
What a fine case of calling a duck a rooster.
Things weren’t any better on the other side.
Someone was even standing in front of Long Xiao, calling a cat a pig.
“Lord One-Eyed, look! Such a plump body. Other than a pig, what livestock could possibly be this fat? And look at these four paws. Don’t they all have markings? Doesn’t that match the official notice exactly, My lord? My lord, open your eyes and look.”
The “pig” lazily yawned.
“Meow~”
Long Xiao turned to look at Song Jian.
Song Jian turned his face away and closed his eyes.
All kinds of sounds filled his ears.
“Woof woof woof woof—”
“Cluck cluck cluck cluck—”
“Meow~”
“Quack—quack quack quack quack quack—”
“Baaaa baa baa baa—”
By the time the entrance of the Yi residence fell silent again, the sky had already grown dim.
They all sat together on the steps, each resting their chin on one hand.
Seventeen: “My lord.”
Eighteen: “Should we…”
Chang Ying: “Now…”
Wu Chang: “Perhaps…”
Song Feng: “It’s time to…”
Long Xiao: “Return to the palace.”
Song Jian changed from resting his chin on one hand to both hands.
After sitting quietly for a while, he said,
“How about we eat first?”
The remaining six immediately stood up.
“Okay.”
Song Jian got to his feet, swinging his sore arms as he walked.
“Let’s go to Zuixian Tower! My treat! Eat well, drink well, and tomorrow we’ll keep working hard on the case!”
Hei Dashuai: “Woof!”
Zuixian Tower.
At this hour, there still weren’t many customers.
Strangely, even after they had taken seats in the main dining area, no one came over to serve them.
Song Jian looked around.
Then he spotted the young waiter who was usually so enthusiastic and quick-witted.
He was now leaning drowsily in a corner, swaying as he was about to fall asleep.
Smack!
Someone walked over and slapped the back of the waiter’s head.
“Sleep, sleep, sleep! All you ever do is sleep! What’s been wrong with you these past few days?! Customers have arrived and you don’t even know to greet them! Do you want to pack your bags and leave?!”
The waiter jolted awake, wiping away his drool.
“Oh… oh… oh! Right away! Right away!”
He rubbed his eyes hard and turned to leave.
After taking just one step, he got smacked again.
“Where are you going?! They’re in the main dining area!”
Only then did the waiter notice Song Jian’s group.
He hurried over, and before saying a word, let out another yawn.
“Ahhh—haaah— What would you gentlemen like to eat?”
Song Jian stared at the dark circles under his eyes that resembled a panda’s.
“Didn’t you sleep last night?”
The waiter barely managed to perk himself up.
“I did sleep. Thank you for your concern, My lord. What would you like to eat?”
Song Jian gave an “Oh,” then ordered a familiar dish first.
“Plum-Roasted Chicken!”
The waiter lowered his head and scribbled in his notebook.
The others each ordered a few dishes as well.
The waiter yawned again, this one even longer than before.
“Ahhhhhhh————haaaaaah————”
Unable to help himself, Song Jian asked another question.
“Do you all work this late every day?”
The waiter shook his head.
“No, My lord.”
“It’s actually because… ah… these past few days… my sleeping schedule has been… haaah… completely reversed…”
“How so?”
The waiter replied,
“You don’t know. A rooster showed up at the entrance of our village a few days ago. I don’t know whose rooster it is, but it crows day and night without any regard for time. Not a single day of peace.”
“Today was even worse. I finally managed to fall asleep, but just after the Hour of Chou1Chou (丑时): 1:00 a.m. – 3:00 a.m., that rooster started crowing. One crow after another. Ahhh—haaah—”
“I haven’t had a good night’s sleep for four or five days straight.”
Song Jian and the other six looked at one another.
The next second, Song Jian jumped up from his seat.
“Holy crap!!”
“It’s Lord Yi’s rooster!!”
Song Jian tossed down a small piece of silver.
“We’ll settle the bill first! We’ll come back to eat later!”
Hei Dashuai: “Woof woof woof!”
The waiter lowered his head to look at the silver. His brain hadn’t quite caught up yet.
When he looked up again, the seven black-clad figures had already vanished from Zuixian Tower.
The waiter stood there blankly, rubbing his eyes.
“…”
Was he dreaming?
You can read the full completed story here with instant full access. ✨
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