The Great Song Coroner: Ghosts in the Rainy Night

In the fourth year of the Shaoding era (1231), a steady spring rain shrouded Bianjing. The streets and alleys were dark, and the lamplight flickered. The night market had long since closed, leaving only the cold wind sweeping across the stone roads as rainwater washed over the ground, filling the air with dampness. Song Ci stood before an old house, dressed in a blue robe and wearing a cloak. He looked down at the muddy ground and frowned, then raised his eyes to the dilapidated gate before him. It stood half open, with a paper white crane hanging from its knocker. Wind and rain had torn the bird's body slightly, as though it were silently sobbing. This was a most bizarre murder case Three days earlier, news of a tragedy had come from the estate of Lord Wang in the western city. Wang Wenqing, the lord's eldest son, had mysteriously died inside a locked room in his own home. His death was horrifying. According to the servants, the doors and windows had been shut tight on the night of the murder, and no one could have entered or left. Yet Wang Wenqing's body was covered in deep claw marks, as if he had been torn apart by a wild beast. Even stranger, a pool of blood had been found in the room, its shape faintly forming a single character, as though written by hand: “Wronged.” After news of the case spread, the people were thrown into panic and rumors ran wild through the city. Some said Wang Wenqing had offended a “mountain god” and been claimed by it; others insisted he had committed some heinous deed and a ghost had come to collect its debt. For days, the Patrol Office had been at a loss, making no progress. With no other choice, the prefect sent for Song Ci.