In the teahouse, everyone was startled and rushed to the window. They saw a man running down the street—it was Chi Ge, the pancake seller. He was scrambling forward, covered in dust from head to toe, his basket long gone. As he ran, he screamed at the top of his lungs for help.
Right behind him was another figure in hot pursuit, wielding a gleaming kitchen knife and letting out wild cries. It turned out to be Li Xiurcai—Li Mei—who had been absent for so long!
Li Mei no longer bore the gentle demeanor of a scholar. His hair was disheveled, and he wore only a nightgown, with one shoe on and the other missing. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, filled with madness. His delicate face was twisted into a grotesque expression as he shouted, “Where are you running? Die! Die! Take this slash!”
As he spoke, he staggered forward, wildly swinging the knife, its blade flashing in the sunlight.
Chi Ge, running ahead, spotted the crowd in the teahouse and desperately stumbled toward them, shouting, “Help! Li Xiurcai has gone mad—he wants to kill me!” But in his panic, he tripped and fell flat on the ground, struggling to get up.
Behind him, Li Mei shrieked, “Where are you going? Die! Die!” He lunged forward, leaping four or five feet, eyes fixed, knife raised high. With a terrifying yell, he brought the blade down toward Chi Ge’s head.
Just as the knife was about to strike, everyone screamed, “Stop!” But Chi Ge, quick-witted, rolled aside just in time. The blade struck the brick floor with a sharp clang, splitting a deep crack into the stone.
At that moment, the crowd rushed out. Li Mei, eyes wild and panting heavily, frantically looked around. When he spotted Chi Ge nearby, he let out another shriek and charged forward with the knife.
At that moment, a teahouse worker happened to be stepping out with a bamboo pole used for hanging paintings. Seeing Li Mei charging violently, he quickly swung the pole at Li’s legs. But Li Mei seemed not to notice and ran straight into it. With a loud crack, the pole snapped in two, and Li Mei crashed headfirst onto the ground, his knife clattering noisily onto the bricks.
Everyone, confused and alarmed, rushed forward. The worker, quick on his feet, used the broken pole to push the knife away. Chi Ge, seeing the chance, scrambled up and cowered into a corner, sobbing loudly.
Mei Qing and Wang Shigu had already stepped out of the teahouse and pushed through the crowd. They saw Li Mei struggling on the ground, trying to rise while still letting out guttural cries. His body seemed stiff and unresponsive. He managed to roll over but fell back with a thud. Lying on his back, a large wound bled heavily from his head, his face twisted, eyes askew, a truly eerie sight.
Mei Qing hurried forward, calling out, “Brother Li! Brother Li! What happened? Do you recognize me?”
Li Mei struggled to lift his upper body, his eyes slanting toward Mei Qing. He let out a couple of guttural sounds and gave a strange, eerie smile before slowly collapsing back to the ground.
Ignoring Wang Shigu tugging at him, Mei Qing rushed forward, cradling Li Mei’s head and calling his name. Li Mei’s tightly shut eyes trembled briefly before slowly opening. The madness in them faded, replaced by clarity. With great effort, he recognized the people around him, then suddenly grabbed Mei Qing’s arm, gasping weakly, “Brother Mei… the inkstone—the Qixing Inkstone—kill… kill…”
He stopped mid-sentence, eyes wide open, and died.
The crowd, witnessing this bizarre scene, fell silent, stunned and confused. Only Chi Ge continued to sob quietly.
“What’s going on? Let me through! Let me through!” shouted two men dressed as constables as they pushed through the crowd.
“Hey, Chief Zhang, Senior Gao, you’re finally here! Something terrible’s happened—a man’s dead…” someone shouted from the side.
Indeed, it was two constables from the local magistrate’s office. The tall, bearded one in front was Zhang Liang, the head officer. He grumbled, “Damn it, can’t a man get a moment’s peace? I just got two days off and now another murder. What’s going on here—who’s dead? Isn’t this the painter Li Xiurcai? Who killed him?”
His companion began examining the body while Zhang questioned a few bystanders. Then, without hesitation, he clapped the worker in irons, saying, “Alright, got it. You attacked someone with a weapon in public—you’re coming with us.”
The worker turned pale, fell to his knees, and cried, “Chief Zhang, I only used the pole to stop him—he was going to kill Chi Ge! I was trying to save him! Ask Master Mei—he saw it! Chi Ge, say something!”
The worker burst into tears, crying and resisting as he was dragged away.
Chi Ge, still trembling with fear, was shouted at by Zhang and became even more tongue-tied.
At this moment, Mei Qing stepped forward and recounted what he had seen. Zhang, who knew Mei Qing was a man of standing, listened carefully and frowned deeply. “This is strange. Li Xiurcai was such a timid man—how did he end up running around with a knife? Master Mei, since you witnessed it, would you mind coming with us too, just to testify? Would that be okay?”
Seeing Mei Qing hesitate, Zhang pulled him aside and whispered, “Master Mei, I know you’re a man of status. But when something like this happens, we have to report to the magistrate. If Old Wu from the front street were here, he’d just pin this on the worker to make it easy. I don’t want to do that, but we still need a credible witness. I know you’re kind-hearted—you wouldn’t want this worker punished for doing the right thing. Your status will protect you, right? Just help the boy out.”
Mei Qing was moved. Zhang’s words made sense. Though Li Mei had gone mad and the worker only tried to stop him, once in court, it would still be a death case. And since Li Mei had a scholarly title, a typical official would likely blame the worker. Though Zhang could be rough, he had a decent reputation and was often willing to help people. His motives weren’t entirely selfless, but he genuinely wanted to protect the worker.
Thinking this through, Mei Qing looked at Zhang, whose rough face hid a glint of shrewdness. He smiled and said, “You sure know how to rope people in. Fine, I’ve heard you’re a man of integrity. I’ll go with you. But before that, Li Mei mentioned something about an inkstone before dying. I’d like to check his residence first—I have a hunch.”
Mei Qing had been puzzled when Li Mei clutched him and said “Qixing Inkstone.” It must have been the same inkstone Liu Bazi had shown the day before. Li Mei had looked at it with strange longing. Mei Qing also recalled how Li had clutched the inkstone case during the funeral, and how he had placed it into the coffin without opening it. Perhaps Li had taken it back secretly. If the inkstone was indeed strange, it was worth checking.
Hearing this, Zhang dared not object. Since Li Mei had gone mad suddenly, and it might be connected to the inkstone, he had a duty to investigate. He left instructions for his colleague to stay behind and sent someone to report to the magistrate’s office. Then he led the worker, Chi Ge, and Mei Qing toward Li Mei’s residence. Wang Shigu, who loved to get involved in such matters, had also joined them, fanning himself as he walked.
Li Mei’s residence wasn’t far. After a short walk and a turn into a narrow alley, they arrived. At the entrance, they saw Li Mei’s young servant, Moyu, peering anxiously from the doorway.
Seeing Mei Qing and Wang Shigu approach, Moyu ran out, tears still on his face, and asked with a trembling voice, “Master Mei, Master Wang—what happened to my young master? They said… they said he’s dead!”
With that, he burst into tears again.
Zhang, frowning, was about to question him, but Mei Qing stopped him and gently asked Moyu, “Don’t be afraid. Your master has passed away. But before he died, he mentioned something about the Qixing Inkstone. Do you know anything about it?”
As soon as Mei Qing finished speaking, Moyu’s face turned pale with terror. His eyes widened, his face turned ghostly white, and his lips trembled as he whispered, “The inkstone?… Master Mei, you mean the Qixing Inkstone?”
Wang Shigu suddenly understood and exclaimed, “So Li Mei secretly took the inkstone back!”
Before Zhang and the others could ask further, Moyu suddenly screamed and darted into the house.
Zhang was the first to react, shouting, “Where do you think you’re going?” and chased after him, followed closely by Mei Qing and Wang Shigu.
Li Mei’s residence was small—three main rooms. To the left was his study, to the right his bedroom. Moyu ran into the study, and everyone followed. They found him standing by the desk, staring fixedly at something on the table.
Following his gaze, they saw a purple inkstone neatly placed on the desk—no case, unmistakably the Qixing Inkstone they had seen the day before.
Wang Shigu’s sharp eyes spotted it and he shouted, “The Qixing Inkstone! So it’s true…”
Before he could finish, Moyu screamed, “It’s you! You killed him! You evil thing! I’ll kill you!”
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