The Casebook of Song Ci: A Fantasy Mystery

In the fourth year of Jiading under the Southern Song (1211), the Jiangnan rains fell without end, and the sky was as leaden as dusk. In a remote mountain village in Nanfeng County, a piercing cry suddenly rang out. A village woman’s scream shattered the quiet of the countryside. Song Ci had just been relieved of his demanding duties at the Judicial Review Office in Xingzhou Prefecture, Jiangxi, and reassigned to inspect the local region. He happened to be passing through the area. He had planned to rest briefly in Nanfeng, but at the county yamen he heard of a strange case. An old farmer named Liu San had been found dead in a field that morning after going up the mountain. The sight was horrifying: his mouth was full of mud, his eyes were wide open, and his right hand clutched a bloodstained scrap of cloth. A few crooked red characters were faintly visible on it. But after examining the body, the local coroner could not determine the exact cause of death and had no choice but to report the case to the county yamen. Song Ci listened, his brow furrowing. Though he had not been assigned to the case, professional instinct compelled him to accompany the county magistrate to the scene. The field was muddy and slippery, and the body had been covered with a straw mat. When they lifted it, the old farmer’s expression still seemed to cry out in accusation. His slightly curled fingers held the scrap of cloth just far enough out to reveal a corner.