TGCFNM -Chapter 238 Karma

Chu Ling shifted the topic, saying, “Why don’t you take a look at that severed arm and leg? See if you can figure anything out.”

The post station clerk had originally come to find someone to carry a wooden box, but when he saw Su He half-squatting, inspecting the bones with his tools, he couldn’t help pausing, curious to watch.

“This… just a single arm and a leg of bones… what could you possibly tell from that?”

Su He spoke slowly: “Judging by the bone age, roughly twenty-seven or twenty-eight, definitely not over thirty. It’s a male’s arm. This is the right arm; the wrist bones show accumulated wear, probably from years of writing or accounting. The upper arm has a crack, likely an old injury that never fully healed, which would ache on rainy days. Most likely from a fall. With such a fragile body, he must have been a scholar.”

Chu Ling couldn’t help but glance at Cheng Dian — indeed, fragile.

The post station clerk beside them was stunned; could bone analysis really reveal so much?

“Now, this leg bone is also the right leg,” Su He continued, examining it thoroughly with his tools before concluding, “He had a slight limp on the right leg. The foot bones show wear, and there’s something off with the ankle bones. His legs are very thin, so his overall build was slender. Also…”

Su He paused, frowning as he looked at the knee.

“His kneecap is shattered. That’s an expression of venting anger, meaning the killer was an enemy. Cutting off his arm and leg indicates revenge — this is a case of retaliatory murder.”

After hearing this, Chu Ling looked at Su He and said, “Pack the bones back into the box. Once we reach Yuchuan, we’ll bury them. They can’t remain at the post station.”

The clerk once again expressed his heartfelt thanks.

Su He stood, and after watching the clerk nervously place the bones back into the box, he turned toward Chu Ling.

“The one who died behind the post station in the vegetable patch… if not an official, then who else could it be?” Su He asked.

Chu Ling shook her head gently and replied in a low voice, “It can only be an official.”

Wan Sanjin also approached, lowering his voice: “If it were an official, surely someone would have reported them missing… or perhaps one arm and one leg were severed, but they survived?”

Chu Ling sighed lightly. “Not sure. But since we encountered him, let’s just bury him ourselves.”

Wan Sanjin asked, “So… we leave right after lunch?”

Chu Ling shook her head. “Eat lunch first. Then we’ll leave — rest a bit beforehand.” Saying this, he glanced once at the wooden box, then led everyone back to the post station.

Having been up since early morning digging in the vegetable patch, they were tired, and simply returned to their rooms to rest.

After returning, Chu Ling closed the main door, glared at Cheng Dian, and said directly, “You lied.”

Cheng Dian shook his head frantically, trying desperately to defend himself: “I didn’t lie! Really didn’t! I’m just a poor scholar — what kind of enemy could I possibly have?”

“But this is clearly revenge and torture,” Chu Ling frowned. “You must have offended someone. Think carefully — who could it be?”

Cheng Dian’s brow furrowed tightly. He sank into utter confusion, pacing aimlessly around the room. He could not fathom how he, a scholar traveling to the capital for the imperial exam, could have provoked anyone.

At that moment, Cheng Dian froze, staring blankly at Chu Ling.

Chu Ling looked at him anxiously. “You figured it out?”

“My lord… among scholars going for the imperial exams, if one’s face is unattractive or one has a physical defect, they cannot achieve merit,” Cheng Dian said. “So the shoes Sister Yu made for me… each pair had one higher than the other.”

Chu Ling thought carefully for a moment — it seemed that such a notion did exist.

Cheng Dian looked at Chu Ling with a shameful expression. “Among the students taking the exam together, there was one who was a bit lame. His shoes were fine, but he had stuffed some paper inside. When he saw my shoes, he even kindly warned me. But…”

“But what?” Chu Ling raised an eyebrow.

“But when the proctor searched him, they found the paper. It was just scrap paper, but… but I… I said that having paper was against the rules, so… he… he was expelled.” Cheng Dian said, lowering his head deeply.

Chu Ling stared at him silently for a long while before speaking slowly, “You were all poor students, perhaps living together by chance, helping each other along the way. But in that final moment, you chose to give him up. Because without him, your own chance increased.”

Cheng Dian nodded heavily, his face filled with anguish. “I was at the very bottom of the second tier, and by some stroke of luck, somehow I ended up with a post as magistrate of Yuchuan County.”

Chu Ling sighed, frowning. “You hadn’t even taken the exam yet—how did you know he would have definitely beaten you?”

Cheng Dian was so ashamed he didn’t dare look up at Chu Ling. “I… I don’t know what I was thinking at the time. My mind was blank, and instinctively I thought that without him as my competitor, I might get through. And… I really did.”

Chu Ling rubbed her forehead irritably. “Did he have any relatives or friends in the capital?”

Cheng Dian shook his head. “He never spoke of his family.”

Chu Ling suddenly asked, “Since you lived together, and you were honest with each other at the start, did you fully tell him about your own situation?”

Cheng Dian nodded. “Yes.”

Chu Ling rested her chin on his hand. “Alright, the culprit is probably him. What’s his name? Where is he from?”

Cheng Dian panicked, not knowing where to look, the tension and guilt making him unable to speak.

“Speak!” Chu Ling barked.

Cheng Dian trembled, his voice quivering. “His name is Xu Wangshan. He said he was from a small village… a very poor place. For this exam, the travel expenses were all raised by the villagers. I… after finishing the exam, I regretted it, so I wanted to go apologize. I was willing to pay any price to apologize, but… but he hanged himself.”

Chu Ling froze. “He… hanged himself?”

Cheng Dian nodded, shamefully.

Chu Ling frowned, studying Cheng Dian. “Is there anything you haven’t said? You had a conflict with him, didn’t you?”

Cheng Dian hurriedly replied, “No, no, sir. On the road, I barely saw anyone; even in the capital, I only met him. Neither of us had money, so we pooled what we had and stayed in the firewood room of the inn.”

“He hanged himself that very day?” Chu Ling asked.

Cheng Dian nodded heavily. “The innkeeper said that since no one collected the body, it was thrown onto the pauper’s grave. And I… since I passed the imperial exam, the innkeeper let me stay a few more days without charging me.”

“Have you gone to the pauper’s grave to look for him?” Chu Ling asked, her eyes cold.

Cheng Dian shook his head. “I was too afraid. I didn’t dare. I couldn’t face him, even though he was already dead.”

“Cheng Dian…” Chu Ling sighed. “The seed you planted yesterday has borne fruit today.” This is karma.

Cheng Dian looked at Chu Ling painfully. “It’s my fault. It was a moment of selfish thought. But, sir, I want to see my mother one last time… and my sister Yu.”

Chu Ling looked at him, and in the end, softened. “I’ll make inquiries in Yuchuan. If I can’t find anything, then you’ll be buried there. It’s time for you to enter the cycle of reincarnation.”

Cheng Dian bowed deeply. “Thank you, sir.”