Chapter 58: The Constable Is Merely Seven

Shopkeeper Xu took a sip of water before continuing, “Actually, Shí Zhòngguāng was spot on about this matter!”

It was just a few days after the newspaper published the story that the relatives of those involved in the fabricated case—the reporters, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, the police chief inspector, and the commissioner—vanished without a trace. Even the few people imprisoned as scapegoats mysteriously disappeared under heavy guard.

The journalists and editor who had exposed the false case, knowing they were being targeted, retaliated fiercely by revealing everything in the paper.

Several high-ranking officials were publicly humiliated and so enraged that they executed the chief inspector on the spot, issuing a strict order to solve the case at all costs.

No one in Changchun City dared to take on the case, and eventually, someone recommended Shí Zhòngguāng to the authorities.

Shí Zhòngguāng set three conditions, one of which was that no one was allowed to interfere with his work under any circumstances.

Everyone knew Shí’s temperament at the time and reluctantly agreed to his terms.

Upon arriving in Changchun, Shí quickly uncovered a group of mysterious individuals operating within the city.

They used a local funeral home on Mourning Street as their secret meeting point, and after each meeting, several coffins were transported out of the city.

Shí mobilized a large force to surround Mourning Street, arresting dozens of suspects in one sweep.

He did not bother with formal interrogations; instead, he ordered brutal torture, executing any interrogator who failed to extract information by dawn.

That night, the prison in Changchun turned into a hellscape—agonized screams echoed so loudly they could be heard across the street.

After hours of relentless questioning, nothing useful was obtained. Pressed to the limit, Shí randomly selected a few prisoners and publicly dismembered them to force confessions.

This harsh method finally bore fruit.

One confessed, “The coffins were taken to the city’s charity mortuary. Those transporting them always carried a white banner on the left and a red lantern on the right. They departed at midnight and returned at 2 a.m., never varying their schedule.”

“And the coffins used were always from the Fújì Coffin Shop.”

Shopkeeper Xu raised his cup again, and the elder thief seized the moment to ask, “Are you saying three people from the Thirteen Ghost Gates came?”

“The white banner to summon souls, the red lantern to illuminate the earth”—these are likely the rites of the Thirteen Ghost Gates practitioners. Their secrecy stems from the abundance of people performing banner-waving and lantern-carrying during funerals. In the past, when someone passed away, it was customary to have five or six people hired specifically to handle banners and lanterns. No one knew if any were disciples of the Thirteen Ghost Gates.

As for the charity mortuary outside the city, it might be the “Place of Passage” mentioned in ghost tales. Traditionally, charity mortuaries were temporary resting places for bodies, thus earning the name “Place of Passage.”

If three factions of the Thirteen Ghost Gates converged in Changchun, it was clear they intended to undertake something significant.

Shopkeeper Xu added, “Not only that, but a faction of prison guards may have been involved too.”

Shí Zhòngguāng had long tracked these people’s movements. While his men tortured prisoners, he secretly ventured to the charity mortuary outside the city and captured a prison guard who was there to pass messages.

This time, Shí brought the guard back openly and told the reporters who had rushed over, “We’ve made a major breakthrough. We’ve caught the insider who helped release the suspects.” He even had the reporters photograph the guard.

Behind the scenes, Shí leaked the message through underworld contacts: the other party had only three days to return the missing people, or the guard would be boiled alive.

Shí was skilled at investigations but only had a rudimentary understanding of the occult arts, knowledge he had quietly acquired from his ancestors who once captured sorcerers. He could handle ordinary spirits but would be powerless against true masters.

That night, Shí stationed heavy troops in the prison and personally brought the guard down to the lowest dungeon level.

Yet those people bypassed the heavily guarded three prison floors and reached Shí in the dungeon.

They had no intention of negotiating and immediately engaged in fierce combat with Shí. Though unfamiliar with secret arts, Shí knew that sorcerers could not withstand soldiers armed with guns.

When setting up the dungeon defenses, Shí had anticipated that the upper three floors would not hold against the sorcerers. He stationed his elite troops at the lowest level, positioning them with orders to cover their eyes with black cloth as soon as gunfire erupted, then fire blindly from the railings until their ammunition was spent.

Shí himself refrained from using firearms until the perfect moment, then struck unexpectedly and mercilessly. Except for one severely wounded sorcerer who was dragged away by Shí, the rest fell under a hail of bullets.

The sorcerer captured alive eventually broke under Shí’s brutal torture and revealed the whereabouts of the missing individuals.

After recovering the missing persons, Shí had the last sorcerer minced into pulp, leaving only the severed head displayed as a warning.

Shí Zhòngguāng was hailed as a hero. The authorities planned to reward him, but he mysteriously disappeared the night before the award ceremony and did not return until after the founding of the new nation.

He intended to live a quiet, anonymous life but was recognized and compelled to return to police work, serving until his retirement.

Shí never wanted his sons to become policemen, but both secretly joined the force and tragically died within a few years.

Afterward, Shí retired with his granddaughter Shí Qí and lived in seclusion in the county town.

It was only after Shí Qí heard voices inside a box that Shí sought me out.

Shopkeeper Xu paused, as if waiting for me to respond.

I pondered briefly and asked, “So, Shí Zhòngguāng left Changchun to avoid retaliation from the Thirteen Ghost Gates?”

“Where did he go during his disappearance? And what about those six boxes?”

Shopkeeper Xu replied, “I asked him about that too.”

“Shí said he fled to his master’s place. His master was also a constable, and his sworn brother.”

“Shí thought his master was just an ordinary constable but was surprised to learn he was involved in the occult as well.”

“That old constable, knowing Shí had come seeking refuge, gathered many allies and fought a fierce battle against the sorcerers hunting Shí. Though they won, the old constable’s group suffered heavy casualties.”

“He also told Shí the matter was far from over. Those sorcerers would come for him eventually. To survive, Shí was told to take back those six boxes and use them whenever trouble arose.”