The Rebirth Of The General Who Always Sees Himself As A Replacement

Chapter 58: Do You Know Who Was I With Yesterday?

As the carriage noisily rocked as it traveled through the streets of the Capital, Mu Zhiming’s face looked remarkably pale as he lightly pinched his forehead.

“Young Master, are you alright?” Wen Heyin asked worriedly. Today, when he walked into Mu Zhiming’s wing room to look for him, he saw that Mu Zhiming, who was supposed to be having a lunch break, was sitting on his bed, out of breath, and his forehead was covered in a cold sweat. Wen Heyin didn’t know what had happened to him.

“I’m fine.” Mu Zhiming reluctantly smiled and then proceeded to close his eyes.

However, as soon as Mu Zhiming closed his eyes, the pictures of the dream he had during his lunch break came, one after another, to haunt him.

Mu Zhiming dreamed that he was back on his way to exile, walking in the cold snow with his disheveled hair, and chained wrists. The cold was so bitter it chilled his bones, while the pain he felt was so shocking it even seemed to tear at his guts.

With every step he took, Mu Zhiming saw a person. First, he saw his father, who had been cut in half. Then, he saw his mother, who had frozen to death, with her skin turning purple. Then, Caiwei, who laid in a pool of her own blood, still pregnant…..

Finally, he saw Wen Heyin.

A’Yin, who was dressed in rags, disheveled hair, bruises and whip wounds covering all his body. As he stood in the snow, A’Yin repeated over and over again: “Young Master, I’ll go find someone to save you. I’ll find him.”

However, Wen Heyin then began to cry and scream: “Young Master, it hurts! My whole body hurts, aahhh—!!!!”

Mu Zhiming, drenched in sweat, woke with a start from his nightmare when he heard the door of his room opening softly. When he saw Wen Heyin standing in front of him, unharmed, Mu Zhiming was shocked.

Wen Heyin on the other hand, seeing Mu Zhiming in this state, worriedly asked him: “Young Master, what’s wrong with you?”

“A’Yin!” Mu Zhiming shouted with a trembling voice.

Wen Heyin walked over to the bed. Mu Zhiming hurried to grab Wen Heyin’s wrist, holding it tightly and brought it closer to him. When Mu Zhiming felt that the skin felt both warm and real, he gradually began to calm down.

“Young Master….” Embarrassed, Wen Heyin said: “I don’t—”

“Yeah, yeah.” Mu Zhiming didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “I know you don’t like me that way. Go and bring me a glass of water.”

“Oh,” Hearing this, Wen Heyin hurried to serve Mu Zhiming, pouring him a cup of warm water.

Mu Zhiming drank it slowly, took a deep breath, and tried to calm down. Then, Mu Zhiming asked Wen Heyin: “Why have you come to my wing room, is someone looking for me?”

“Um, yes.” Only then did Wen Heyin remember the purpose of his visit.

A nameless female corpse, with an extremely gruesome death, was found yesterday by the Capital Prefecture.

The corpse showed some bruising and whiplash wounds on her back, while on the front, above the waist, she had burn marks. Due to this, it was impossible to recognize the victim’s face.

These injuries were consistent with the type of corpse that Mu Zhiming had previously described to Pei Hantang.

Curious, Wen Heyin asked: “Young Master, how did you know that a corpse like this would appear?”

Mu Zhiming looked at Wen Heyin, and with an extremely soft voice, replied: “If I were to tell you that I guessed it, would you believe me?”

Wen Heyin: “Yes, I’ll believe whatever you say.”

Mu Zhiming smiled.

It was because in fact, he really just guessed.

Although Mu Zhiming knew why each of his closest relatives and friends had died in his previous life, he knew nothing of Wen Heyin’s death.

In Mu Zhiming’s previous life, Wen Heyin told him that he would go to find someone who could help him. After leaving, Wen Heyin disappeared for two days and two nights. On the third day, he was found dead, lying on the streets.

Although they were separated for two days, only two days, they ended up being separated between life and death.

There were two reasons why Mu Zhiming assumed that the murderer would dare to be so bold. On one hand, after seeing the pitiful state the Mu Family was in, the murderer must have believed that no one would care about a Bodyguard of that family. On the other hand, the murderer must have been a serial criminal, meaning that A’Yin may not have been the first victim to die under their hands.

Therefore, when Mu Zhiming saw Pei Hantang, the Shaoyin of the Capital Prefecture that day, Mu Zhiming remembered that he was in charge of criminal cases and the security of the Capital, so Mu Zhiming asked him about it.

Even then, Mu Zhiming didn’t expect that the clues about that murderer would arrive so soon.

But this was, in fact, not bad. The death of Wen Heyin in Mu Zhiming’s previous life had always been a thorn painfully stuck inside his heart. If he can take this opportunity to get to the bottom of it, Mu Zhiming believed he will no longer have so many nightmares concerning Wen Heyin’s death in the future.

—

When the carriage arrived at the entrance of the Yamen1 in the Capital Prefecture, Pei Hantang came to personally welcome Mu Zhiming. After the greetings, Mu Zhiming was invited into the Yamen: “Lord Mu, I really didn’t expect that what you asked me a while ago would actually happen. If I didn’t have any trust in you, I would certainly like to ask you if this matter is in any way related to you.”

“What are you talking ab—?”

However, before Mu Zhiming could even say anything in his defense, Wen Heyin jumped up and angrily said: “If this matter really had anything to do with my Young Master, why would he take the initiative to ask you about it? Wouldn’t that be like turning himself in?”

Pei Hantang laughed and said: “Little one, I was merely joking. Why are you always so anxious to protect your Young Master?” Saying this, Pei Hantang glanced at Mu Zhiming and added: “It was me who was being careless, I hope Lord Mu won’t blame me.”

Mu Zhiming bowed to Pei Hantang and said: “I also have to thank Lord Pei for being willing to inform me about this matter. Could you tell me what happened to the female corpse?”

Pei Hantang said: “The corpse was found in the dry pond of a dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the City. Since that place is desolate and in shambles, no one goes there anymore. Fortunately, a traveling monk passing through the Capital stopped to rest at the temple, and discovered the body there. Otherwise, this injustice would never have seen the light of day.”

After hearing this, Mu Zhiming nodded thoughtfully.

“The coroner hasn’t finished examining the body yet, so we’re still in the dark and don’t have any clues.” Pei Hantang looked at Mu Zhiming and asked: “Lord Mu, since you knew there would be a murder of this nature, do you have anything else you can tell me?”

Mu Zhiming shook his head: “I don’t know any more than you do.”

“So that’s how it is…..” Pei Hantang assumed that Mu Zhiming might know something more, but by hearing his response, Pei Hantang became disappointed.

“Lord Pei.” Mu Zhiming clenched his fist, gathered courage, and said: “There’s something I boldly beg Lord Pei for. Please allow me to investigate this case with you, it’s vital for me to find the culprit of all this. I promise not to trouble Lord Pei, and I will make sure to lend you a helping hand in any way I can.”

Pei Hantang looked at Mu Zhiming in bewilderment. Pei Hantang genuinely couldn’t understand why a young man like Mu Zhiming would be so interested in this sort of matter. After thinking about it for a moment, Pei Hantang said: “Lord Mu, you should know that all of us in the Capital Prefecture have always acted according to the rules. It’s not appropriate to allow others to intervene in a case….”

Hearing this, Mu Zhiming immediately appeared rather saddened. However, Pei Hantang hurried to say: “Even so, Lord Mu’s Bodyguard has made great contributions to the Capital Prefecture by capturing a thief before. This Bodyguard’s skills are superb, and I believe that with his help in this case, it would be as good as help from Heaven. Of course, as he’s Lord Mu’s Bodyguard, it is only natural for him to follow his Young Master.”

Mu Zhiming’s eyes lit up, immediately understanding what Pei Hantang was hinting at. Mu Zhiming then hurriedly bowed and clasped his fist in gratitude.

“No, no, no!” Pei Hantang rushed to reach out his hand to stop Mu Zhiming. “The death of this female corpse is complex, so I’m afraid it will be impossible for the coroner to come to a conclusion today. Lord Mu can return tomorrow afternoon.”

“Alright, I’ll be leaving for today.” Mu Zhiming bid his farewell and left with Wen Heyin.

—

The next morning, the morning dew gently soaked the leaves of the parasol trees. At this time, the Gu Residence was brimming with activity.

As Gu Heyan was having breakfast in his wing room, Pei Hantang suddenly pushed open the door and eagerly walked in with large strides, showing great enthusiasm: “Yuyi, who do you think I was with yesterday?”

Gu Heyan, who couldn’t share Pei Hantang’s excitement, asked indifferently: “Who?”

Pei Hantang dragged over a round wooden stool, sat down in front of Gu Heyan, and rested his elbows on the table. Then, he leaned closer, winked at Gu Heyan, and said: “The one you yearn for. The son of the Duke of Yan, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, the one and only, Mu Zhiming.”

Gu Heyan: “…..”

Footnotes

衙门 yá men; A Yamen was the Administrative Office and/or Residence of a local Bureaucrat in Imperial China. However, a Yamen could also be any Government Office or Bureau headed by an Official.