The Wandering God

51 Part With What You Treasure 1/3

忍痛割愛
Rěntòng gē'ài
Part with what you treasure.
Part reluctantly with what one treasures.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Kageyama had seen many bodies in his lifetime. Those who had fallen in war, or passed with old age. He had grown accustomed to death, or at least to how to deal with it. But it was still never pleasant.

The eyes of the corpse, as it lay on the grass of the canal side, looked to the heavens. The pupils and irises alike were cloudy white, as though the color had been washed out by the river.

Death washes the detail from our lives. The line of forgotten poetry slipped through Kageyama's mind and away.

"Male. Fourth or fifth decade of life." The green king's soldiers from the nearest guardhouse had been summoned, and the doctor assigned to the unit was now squatting beside the body. "I can tell little without his fingers, but I suspect from his palms he was a farmer at one point. He was severely malnourished though, and his clothes mere rags. Most likely one of the many refugees fleeing famine in the central regions."

The doctor lifted the corpse's wrist. The sawn off stubs where the fingers had been were black circles on transparent flesh. "The fingers were most likely removed prior to death, as you suspected Lord Kageyama. There are no signs of a struggle or of restraint, so some sort of drug was used to sedate him as they were removed."

"Was that the cause of death?" Sanli asked, coming to stand beside Kageyama.

"No. After removing the fingers, a blow to the back of the head was delivered. Several blows actually. It looks like the killer was too weak to kill in one hit."

Kageyama frowned. A woman perhaps, or someone inexperienced in violence.

"This is the third one this week," the doctor sighed to himself.

"The third?" asked Sanli in surprise. "How many times has this murderer struck?"

The doctor covered the bloated body with a straw mat, and nodded for the soldiers to take it away. Then he stood, wiping his hands on his medical apron before respectfully bowing to Sanli.

"Forgive me my prince, but this isn't the work of one murderer. The bodies are coming from further upstream, from the Central Lands. The rebels there have taken to this manner of execution to make an example of those who refuse to join them."

Sanli's jaw set. Kageyama reached out and discreetly squeezed his elbow.

"Is there something else, doctor?" Kageyama asked, sensing the doctor was holding something back.

The doctor's mouth wrinkled as he pondered. "Hmm, it is hard to tell exactly, but this body was not in the water as long as the others. I would say no longer than three or four days."

Kageyama glanced at Sanli, wondering if the prince realized what that meant.

"The body is from Linjing," Sanli said.

The doctor nodded. "Most likely. Though forgive me, I may be incorrect." The man bowed. "If my lords have no further questions for me, I will return to my post."

"Thank you for your information, doctor," Sanli said, and nodded the man away.

Sanli and Kageyama turned and made their way toward where Ao waited, perched by the small shrine beneath the willow tree.

Beside him, Kageyama could hear Sanli's grinding teeth. Wait... three... two...on-

"How can these rebels claim to be against the oppression of the Five Gods and then go around killing those who refuse to join them!" Sanli spat.