Early next morning, Shen Xian followed the yamen constable‑chief to Wealth‑Master Li’s estate in the western part of town.
Li Wancang, one of Qinghe County’s richest men, stood before his chicken coop.
He looked as though he had aged ten years overnight.
Yellow talismans were plastered across the wooden gate, and a string of copper coins hung over the lintel — all trinkets meant to “ward off demons”.
“Mr.
Shen, you’ve arrived.” Wealth‑Master Li cupped his hands.
“Please take a look… Could this be a river demon that has come ashore demanding sacrifices?
The Taoist priest from Azure Cloud Temple says it is most likely so…”
“What the priest says means little.” Shen Xian cut him off.
“Show me the chickens first.”
As the coop door swung open, a stale, stifling odour wafted out.
More than three hundred chickens lay sprawled beside their feeding troughs.
They had been dead all night; the smell was not typical rot, but a suffocating, fusty stench.
Shen Xian did not step inside right away.
He squatted on the threshold and observed.
“Mr.
Shen?” The constable‑chief frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“Rule number one for investigating a crime‑scene: if your feet go in before your eyes, you destroy all the evidence.” Shen Xian pointed at the ground inside the doorway.
“Who has been in here already?”
“The Taoist priest went in and sprinkled talisman‑water all over the place.”
*Great.
In modern times that would get you locked up for three days for tampering with evidence.*
He swallowed the thought, then tiptoed along the base of the wall and slipped inside.
He inspected the chickens: plumage neat, wings held tight to their bodies, claws curled, eyes half‑bulging.
There were no signs of struggle.
“They were not scared to death,” he stated flatly.
“How can you tell?”
“Chicken terrified to death will fly into a frenzy.
Three hundred chickens crammed in one shed — if a real monster had appeared, they would tear the thatched roof apart, and feathers would drift for miles.” Shen Xian lifted one chicken’s claw, then pried open its beak.
“Everything in this coop is neat and orderly.
That means they could not move before they died.
They were first drugged unconscious, then perished.”
He checked their combs, which were dark purplish‑black.
“Poisoned.”
Wealth‑Master Li gasped.
“Poisoned?!
Who would poison my chickens?
What have my chickens ever done to anyone?”
“Good question.” Shen Xian walked over to the feeding trough.
Half‑a‑serving of chicken feed remained.
He pinched a pinch between his fingers, sniffed it, moistened it with a dab of saliva and rubbed it.
The instant it touched his tongue his mouth went numb.
“Bitter, astringent, numbs the tongue.” He spat.
Turning to the constable‑chief, he asked: “Constable‑chief, what is the main ingredient of knockout powder sold on the county black‑market?” This chapter was taken from novelping dot com without permission.
The constable‑chief’s expression darkened.
“Drunken‑Immortal Herb.
The government has banned its sale, yet on the black‑market…”
“Exactly.
Humans are knocked out by it; chickens die from it.
A heavy dose wiped out the whole flock.” Shen Xian clapped dust from his hands and scanned the coop.
“Still, Master Li, the culprit over‑did one detail.”
“What detail?”
“The back wall of the chicken coop.”
Everyone circled round to the rear.
A patch of fresh loose earth lay by the wall, covered with a few broken bricks.
Shen Xian moved the bricks aside, revealing a hole the size of a washbasin, with fragments of dry grass stuck to its rim.
“A dog‑hole.” Wealth‑Master Li stared blankly.
“I don’t keep dogs.”
“This hole was not made for dogs.
It was made for a ‘demon’.” Shen Xian stood and brushed dirt off his palms.
“Poisoning the chickens was only a diversion.
What he really wanted was to terrify you, Master Li.”
Wealth‑Master Li stood dumbfounded for a long moment, then slapped his thigh.
“Could someone be plotting to seize my property?!”
“I cannot say for certain whether he wants your fortune.” Shen Xian gazed at the hole and drawled, “But I know the man who dug this hole will probably sleep poorly tonight.
He still has to go light those lanterns in the river.”