Xing Kan pointed to the indentations on the tall man’s face and said, "This man was killed by a single, powerful blow. It was clean and efficient. The killer must be tall, strong, and ruthless. My theory is that the Imperial soldier and Police Chief Wang got into a conflict, leading to the chief's death, and the soldier was subsequently taken out by an unknown party seeking revenge."
"Impossible!" Qian Jin growled. If anyone knew the truth, wouldn’t it be him? Wang Shengcai was supposed to close a massive deal with the Imperial soldier today. Why would the soldier kill him now? Why abandon a fortune to turn to robbery?
Xing Kan chuckled. "What does it matter? Two groups of people arrived; you can rewrite the order of events however you like. In any case, the heads of the Wang family are all dead. With only the elderly, the weak, and the women left, what kind of trouble could they possibly cause?"
Qian Jin realized what he meant and smiled. He would simply report that a gang of notorious bandits was rampaging through Beiping, had slaughtered the Wang family, and happened to kill the Imperial soldier who was visiting them. As for the remaining Wangs, they were useless—penniless and doomed to starve. Anyone Wang Shengcai had ever offended would descend upon them like leeches by tomorrow. The survivors would soon wish they were dead. The Japanese wouldn't care; one minor police chief was easily replaced by another puppet. Beiping was short on everything except traitors. The only people who might mourn the Wang family were the Japanese merchants waiting to trade opium, as one less competitor meant lower prices.
Qin Shuli was frustrated; he had killed his targets too quickly to extract the location of the trade, otherwise, he wouldn't have minded wiping out the opium dealers as well. He was currently wandering outside the Rolling Mill. At this time, it was just a small plant with a few hundred workers, surrounded by wasteland with no real security. Qin Shuli spotted several ways to break in, but he didn't risk it. It didn't matter; Jia Fugui wouldn't live to see the end of the day.
After surveying the area and confirming it was safe, he waited on the main road leading from the Rolling Mill to Nanluoguxiang, ready for Jia Fugui to walk into his own grave.
Inside the plant, Jia Fugui was working half-heartedly, looking exactly as he had on the day Jia Dongxu would later die.
"You, why are you not working?" the Japanese supervisor barked, his expression rigid.
Jia Fugui snapped out of his trance. Seeing Ono standing before him, he quickly bowed; Ono hated anyone taller than him. "Supervisor Ono, that woman I mentioned to you—did she agree to come to the plant to work?"
Ono recalled the conversation and swallowed hard, his voice full of anger. "That woman, why hasn't she come? Didn't you say she needed to support three children?"
"Supervisor Ono, it’s exactly because she has three children that she can't leave. The children are very young, so she invites you to come to her home tonight instead."
"Yosh."
Ono smiled in realization and patted Jia Fugui on the shoulder. "Jia-sang, you’ve done very well. If this goes well, the position of Production Team Leader is yours!"
"Thank you, Supervisor Ono. Shall we go after work?"
"Why wait for the end of the shift? You’re not feeling well today, Jia-sang; you should go home and rest early!" Ono could hardly wait.
"Yes, yes! Supervisor Ono, let’s go now!"
Jia Fugui gathered his things and led Ono out of the gates. All the way there, he talked about how beautiful Wang Yueshu was and what a perfect figure she had. Ono’s eyes glowed with lust, and his pace quickened significantly.
Qin Shuli had been waiting idly in a sheltered corner by the side of the road. He had expected to wait until the end of the shift, but to his surprise, he spotted two men approaching in the distance.
"Heaven has a path you refuse to take, but you force your way into the gates of hell!" Qin Shuli muttered to himself. "I thought I'd have to wait until tonight, but you’ve come out so early. I’ve never met anyone so eager to die!"
As Jia Fugui and Ono reached the entrance of the alley, Qin Shuli lunged out, slapping his hands against the small of their backs. In the next instant, all three disappeared into the grazing area of his Space. Jia Fugui felt the scenery shift and turned to see the masked Qin Shuli.
He and Ono scrambled forward, putting some distance between them before turning to demand, "Who are you? Where is this?"
Qin Shuli removed his mask, revealing his pale, clean-cut face. "I am Qin Shuli, and this is your burial ground!"
Jia Fugui hid behind Ono and roared, "You little brat, let us go at once! If you offend Supervisor Ono, you and your entire family won't live until tomorrow!"
Ono, still confused, patted Jia Fugui on the back. "Jia-sang, do you know this boy?"
Jia Fugui whispered, "This is the son of the woman I told you about!"
Ono stepped out from behind Jia Fugui and smirked. "Boy, I have taken a fancy to your mother. As long as you let her—"
"Bang!"
Qin Shuli pulled his pistol and sent the Japanese soldier to his grave. Seeing Ono drop dead before him, Jia Fugui’s face turned deathly white. He raised his hands high, stammering, "Little... Little Qin, it's a misunderstanding... it's all a misunderstanding! Please, don't kill me!"
Qin Shuli walked toward Jia Fugui with a blank expression. "My mother was right after all. Since she wouldn't come to the Rolling Mill, you decided to bring the Japanese to my house instead. I never realized you had such a natural talent for being a traitor, Jia Fugui!"
"No... no, really, that's not it! I was... I was... yes! I was taking him to find my own wife. He likes short, stout women like her; they’re a perfect match!"
"That might work on a toddler, but do you really think you can lie to me?"
With that, Qin Shuli shot Jia Fugui dead. There was no need to waste words on trash like him. He tucked his gun away and searched the bodies, finding six silver dollars and over thirty yen in Japanese currency. Moments later, the pasture grass parted, wrapping around the corpses and decomposing them rapidly, as if no living soul had ever entered the space.
Qin Shuli picked up the shell casings and the spent bullets from the grass, checked to make sure no one was around, and flashed out of the Space. The Space was incredibly useful, though it would be less convenient once he started raising cattle and sheep.
With Jia Fugui dealt with, Qin Shuli felt refreshed. He headed to Zhengyangmen, bought a pile of goods, and returned home. Wang Yueshu was reading the newspaper under the eaves, and the twins were running wild in the clean courtyard, their laughter filling the air with joy.
As soon as Qin Shuli knocked, the twins came running to open the door, their faces lighting up when they saw him. "Big brother! We missed you!"
Qin Shuli closed the gate, carried the goods in one hand, and scooped up both children with the other as he walked into the courtyard. Hearing the voices, Wang Yueshu looked up and caught sight of the bundle in his hand.