TGCFNM -Chapter 80 The Moon Token

The painted pleasure boat docked, and the people inside filed out one after another.

Young Master Song was also tightly bound, his mouth gagged, and escorted off the boat straight to the prefectural office.

Chu Ling remained on the second deck, watching the figures slowly depart. She then looked toward the other flower boats still glittering with lights upon the river. It sounded as if she were questioning herself—or venting:

“So those who know martial arts can simply disregard the law? Kill without paying with their lives?”

“Everyone ought to abide by the law. Only then can wanton oppression be prevented,” Fu Qingyu said softly. Looking at Chu Ling, he added with some helplessness, “Magistrate Chu, the law does prevent certain situations.”

Chu Ling looked at him. “But it doesn’t prevent all of them, does it?”

Wan Sanjin called out nervously, “My lord…”

“Indeed, it does not,” Su He replied as he packed up his tools.

Chu Ling suddenly let out a cold laugh. “What nonsense about a prince breaking the law being punished the same as a commoner. What nonsense about equality before the law!”

She clenched her teeth. What a damned feudal dynasty.

“My lord, Great Zhou’s laws never claimed that everyone is equal—nor that all crimes receive equal punishment,” Fu Qingyu said, a trace of sorrow in his voice. “In today’s Great Zhou, the powerful and the noble always find ways to live outside the law.”

Chu Ling looked at him. “Is that why you refuse to take the imperial examinations and enter officialdom?”

Fu Qingyu nodded. “Yes.”

Chu Ling folded her arms and lowered her gaze with a faint, helpless smile.

“Magistrate Chu.” Fu Qingyu gave a formal bow. “Fu shall take his leave first.”

“Fu Qingyu, Young Master Fu,” Chu Ling called out. “If you think Great Zhou is still worth saving, then perhaps you should step into officialdom and see for yourself. When water enters ink, whether it is stained black or dilutes the ink—it depends entirely on the water.”

“Thank you for your guidance, my lord. Fu will keep it in mind.” Fu Qingyu curved his lips in a slight smile, nodded, exchanged farewells with Wan Sanjin, and then left.

After Fu Qingyu departed, Chu Ling turned around, her gaze firm as she looked at Shaoyao—and at Zhengzheng standing before her.

“As a magistrate, I am the people’s parent-official. I must seek justice for them. So even if we cannot catch the murderer this time, there will always be another opportunity,” Chu Ling said resolutely.

Zhengzheng’s eyes brimmed with tears. She bowed deeply—and slowly dissipated.

“Miss Shaoyao, please… bury Miss Zhengzheng,” Chu Ling said quietly, motioning for Wan Sanjin to give her some silver.

Shaoyao refused. “My lord, most of us were sold here against our will. We have no parents, no brothers or sisters. So we are all sisters to one another. Zhengzheng is gone, but the girls in the house will see to her burial. Rest assured, my lord.”

After speaking, Shaoyao bowed deeply.

“It’s not easy for you either—how could you have much money?” Wan Sanjin insisted on pressing the silver into her hands. He also instructed the people from the flower boat to place Zhengzheng on a stretcher and carry her off the boat together with Shaoyao.

Once everyone had left, Zhang Dong approached Chu Ling and said in a low voice, “My lord, this… was clutched in Miss Zhengzheng’s hand.”

Chu Ling took it and examined it. It was a crescent-shaped token made of what looked like bronze, about the size of a thumb. On the front was engraved the number Wu-Liu (Five-Six). The back was blank.

“What is this?” Chu Ling asked casually, only to look up and see the Ghost Scholar and Bai Su wearing expressions of shock.

They recognized it?

Zhang Dong said, “When I rescued Miss Zhengzheng, she was gripping it tightly in her hand. I was worried it might be evidence. And since many people suddenly surrounded us at the time, I kept it privately.”

Xiao Hua glanced at it and asked, “So this belongs to that killer?”

Chu Ling gave a soft hum and flipped her hand, putting away the moon token. “Let’s go. We’re getting off the boat too.”

.

After returning to the inn, Chu Ling shut the door tightly and looked at Ghost Scholar and Bai Su. She took out the moon token directly. “Sir, Aunt Su—what is this?”

Bai Su didn’t know where to begin. She simply pointed at the jade token hanging at her own waist.

It was the first time Chu Ling had really noticed that plain-looking jade pendant. An immortal crane was carved upon it. She had always thought it was just an ordinary ornament and hadn’t paid it much mind.

Ghost Scholar spoke in a low voice, “Logically speaking, these things should have been reduced to ashes in that great fire.”

“And yet… they’ve reappeared.” Bai Su frowned at Ghost Scholar. “Mr. Wen, do you think someone is forging them, or did some of those people back then survive?”

Ghost Scholar shook his head. “Since we are already dead, we naturally have no way of knowing.”

Chu Ling shook the moon token in her hand, interrupting their memories. “Sir, explain it to me?”

Ghost Scholar gazed at the token, sinking into recollection. “These tokens are divided into Sun and Moon. The Sun Tokens are like the one your Aunt Su carries—round jade pieces carved with animal symbols. Your Aunt Su’s is a crane. But Sun Tokens are extremely rare. Only those closest to the Master possess them.”

“As for Moon Tokens, they are all marked with numbers. When a person dies, their number dies with them. So every number is unique.”

“Sun Tokens walk under heaven and earth, living openly beneath the clear sky. Moon Tokens move through the darkness, mostly carrying out assassination missions. And the Sun-Moon Sect serves the imperial clan—more secretive even than the Four Symbols’ death warriors.”

Chu Ling looked thoughtful, her gaze shifting from Ghost Scholar to Bai Su and back again. “So you and Aunt Su once belonged to a sect under the imperial clan’s control? The imperial family meddles in the martial world too?”

“Any force that threatens the imperial authority must be controlled,” Ghost Scholar said seriously. “Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.”

Chu Ling suddenly smiled and leaned forward deliberately. “Aunt Su once said she surrounded and attacked the Four Symbols’ death warriors—and that some died by her hand… So although both served the imperial clan, you were from different factions?”

“You little clever ghost. Only you would notice.” Bai Su tapped her lightly between the brows. “You’re right. They were indeed different factions. And back then, it was truly a fight to the death between us.”

Ghost Scholar gently shook his folding fan, his eyes filled with worry. “By all logic, these things should have vanished long ago.”

Bai Su touched the jade token at her waist and murmured softly, “Has someone restarted it?”

Chu Ling put away the moon token. “Sir just said that behind each number is a single person. That greatly narrows down the range for me to search.”

Ghost Scholar seemed about to speak but stopped.

Chu Ling raised her eyes to look at him.

He shook his head slightly and smiled helplessly. “It was I who taught you—if one serves as a parent-official, one must stand up for the people. You’ve done very well.”

“But at present, you cannot shake such a colossal force,” Bai Su added. “And if you truly want to investigate, you’ll have to go to the capital.”

Chu Ling’s hand at her waist paused. The capital was, to her, no less than a dragon’s pool and tiger’s den. Going herself was out of the question. “But I have Adviser Wan. I’ll ask him to investigate.”

The Wan family’s informants could be said to be spread throughout Great Zhou. It would be far more convenient for them to look into it.

“That’s your decision.” Ghost Scholar smiled faintly. “You wanted to come to Qingyang from the start. Now, do you have your answer?”

“I more or less do.” Chu Ling lowered her gaze with a smile. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Tomorrow, we’ll head to Changzhou. After all, there’s a silver mine in Changzhou waiting for me.”