act40side

Sure! You're from Baizao, aren't you? That's perfect. You know your way around these parts!

Then again, it's getting kind of late. Let's meet here again tomorrow at noon. What do you say?

Certainly.

Oh, right. By the way, my name is Blaze. I'm a tourist from Victoria. How should I call you?

I am a woman of few hobbies. I like to write, and I like to eat.

My pen name is 'The Wandering Foodie'. In any case, you may call me Xingzhu for short.

Such a trove of knowledge, those wonderful archives...

Ashes to ashes... dust to dust...

The dark space still has a lingering, acrid smell. On the collapsed beams of ironwood, murky raindrops tremble, ready to fall.

The iron chests that once held so many records and books have been warped and twisted by the flames. The paper and ink within have smoldered into ash, leaving only faint traces of words.

Do not linger too long. Rain showers after a fire send smoke up into the air.

What have we learned so far?

We've determined this to be arson.

The absurd part? The fire's time and location match Yu Cheng's confession perfectly.

The scrollery was heavily guarded, yet on the night of the fire, the guards didn't notice anything.

Not only was the perpetrator highly skilled in kung fu, but they also had intimate knowledge of the Judicial Review Office's layout. They must have been working with Yu Cheng for quite some time.

You're saying... you think this was an inside job?

We cannot be certain.

How bad was the damage?

All records that were burned were from old cases, which has little effect on our current work. However, if these cases were ever to be reviewed in the future, there would be no evidence to go on.

Nearly all of these cases were Yu Cheng's responsibility.

Do you really believe Yu Cheng was the one who burned the scrollery?

Absolutely not...

No matter what nonsense he spouts, he was imprisoned when the fire broke out. There's no way he could have done it himself.

However, I'm sure he's involved in some way. He's working with someone else.

What did he mean when he suggested the files are 'dirty'?

Is there something on your mind?

Do you still remember... the last case Yu Cheng investigated before he retired?

How could I forget?

Forty years ago, the Minister of Justice was stabbed in the street. The assassin turned out to be a mad beggar.

The Judicial Review Office did everything in their power to uncover the man's identity, to no avail.

In the end, they classified the murder as a random, spur-of-the moment act of violence.

But nearly thirty years later, Yu Cheng accused the sitting Minister of Rites, Ning Shu, of being the murderer.

I worked with Yu Cheng for many, many years. I knew him better than anyone.

However, in his last few years at the Office, he began to change.

Something radicalized him. He began doing 'whatever it takes' to catch criminals. He even started fabricating evidence to close cold cases and settle old scores.

If the accusations against him were baseless, then why did Minister Ning resign?

What do you mean?

Do you still remember... Gu Quan?

It all began when Gu Quan, serving as the envoy of ceremonial rites, died en route to Victoria...

Yu Cheng believed that Minister Ning murdered the Minister of Justice, and then killed the important witness in the case thirty years later.

But that's the absurdity... the envoy had only just taken office. How could he have been connected to a case from thirty years prior?

Moreover, the envoy's manner, place, and time of death were all clearly established: he drowned near the Victorian border. How could the Minister of Rites have orchestrated his death, all the way from Baizao?

The Judicial Review Office recorded Gu Quan's death in the case files...

The files are somewhere in this pile of ash that lays before you...

Why raise these two cases now? Do you think they are connected to the fire somehow?

I would call it a hunch...

Yu Cheng's confession has drawn our attention, but clearly, there's some kind of larger scheme behind the fire. The real question isn't who set the fire, but the arsonist's ultimate goal.

Would you hand this case over to me?

No.

On what grounds?!

Yu Cheng asked you to take notes during his trial. This is why you stand here now, and it is also the reason I cannot allow you to participate any further.

Whatever Yu Cheng's plan, you are most certainly a part of it.

I know you regard him as a mentor and couldn't bear to see his reputation tarnished, but I will assign someone else to investigate the fire. Rest assured, we will get to the bottom of this.

What about the cases that Yu Cheng once investigated?

You'd best forget about those.

No matter what you intend to investigate, it's simply not a good time.

Why do you say that?

Lin Qingyan, you are a Deputy Minister in the Judicial Review Office, not some patrolwoman. Every case you handle has a ripple effect.

Your so-called 'act of justice' may very well become a dagger in the hands of those with ulterior motives.

So you know what's really going on with these cases, don't you?

Stay away from Yu Cheng's cases. That is my suggestion. Do not force me to make it an order.

Oh, and I have one final piece of advice...

You must learn to prioritize. The past is never as important as the present.

The young Deputy Minister is still standing in the same spot.

She walks down the path that's been cleared through the rubble, through the place that once held so many case files.

The arsonist's motive is quite clear: he never wanted those files to see the light of day.

Whether Yu Cheng fabricated evidence or not, all available clues in both cases point to Ning Shu.

But why would the Minister of Rites assassinate another high-ranking mandarin?

She bends down and brushes aside a charred beam, revealing a hint of green emerging from the ashes.

It's a pine tree.

Yu Cheng, you...

I planted this tree myself, right before I assumed my post in Baizao.

After I die, cut down the tree. Use its wood to fashion my coffin.

Lin Qingyan, it's almost time.

Do not forget.

This month's water bill is two thousand, and electricity is two thousand five hundred, while ingredient costs...

Go do your accounting somewhere else please. I can't stand you buzzing in my ear.

According to my calculations, if you can come up with another three thousand, we'll be able to keep the doors open past this month.

And where am I going to dig out that coin?

There are ways to do it—like the two months of meals owed by Wang the carpenter, or you can visit Shopkeeper Liu across the street and ask him for the balance he owes for last month's funeral banquet.

Collect enough of those outstanding debts, and we'll have what we need to make it through the month.

That's... less than ideal... isn't it?

Customers on credit are in a tough spot. Going up to them and calling in the debt right now... feels awkward, to say the least.

You want to play the good guy? Why, every time the rent collector comes calling, do you ask me to deal with him?

You're... big-boned. Even if the rent-collector is angry, he won't take you in a fight.

Maybe... there's another way...

Ding Feng Lou is coming here again today to hand out invitations to the competition.

They're hiring chefs in preparation for the Feast of a Hundred Delicacies. If you can manage to win the competition, the prize money alone will be enough to pay our rent through the end of the year!

No! No way, no how!

I am the proud owner and head chef of 'Savors at Yu's'! How could I stoop so low as to work for someone else?

This is no ordinary cook! The head chef of Ding Feng Lou doesn't take apprentices, but even a casual demonstration provides enough to keep most chefs learning for three to five years. Plenty of people dream of working under him, never to get the chance!

Besides, it's for the Feast of a Hundred Delicacies! The menu is recorded every year and passed down through generations. This is the lifelong dream of countless chefs—

Those who want to attend are free to go. I shall not.

Are you scared?

I'm not scared! You're scared!

Hmmph. What Feast of a Hundred Delicacies? It's nothing more than a group of old gray-hairs hosting a big dinner party.

All they ever talk is politics. They don't even have a chance to eat. It's a waste of time.

Just listen to your arrogance. You talk as if you've been there in person.

I've catered so many banquets. They're all the same.