Moon Tavern never sleeps. It was a bit of an exaggeration, yes.
Martial Kim didn’t just say it to look cool or believe he could do anything he wanted like an arrogant young master who was confidant enough to challenge gods or demons at whim.
He was that kind of person to stand by his beliefs and helping others out of tough times.
Be the victims be trapped in fire and brimstone, he would try to be the first one to lunge in to grab them out of the heat. Martial Kim can be reckless at times, perhaps headstrong, especially when it comes to saving others. So it was obvious he was too stubborn to admit he was really, really tired.
Martial Kim spent the whole day tending to Fae Fae’s injuries.
He made sure the poor girl had a sound sleep even in a comatose state. New clothing, brand new bandages, even fed her rice gruel to sustain her weak body. He was hoping he made everything comfortable enough where Fae Fae would open her eyes to say thank you!
Alas, dreams could never become reality.
Even now, Fae Fae remained unresponsive. At least she was breathing, he thought. There were a couple of times he had to ‘tap her awake’ to restart her breathing, like she forgot to do so.
In the end, Martial Kim rarely took a break for himself or left her side. Fae Fae was essentially fighting this battle alone, and it would be shameful if the young master of Moon Tavern were to turn his back on her now.
Fortunately, he was not alone.
Inspector Lee and Martial Yellow Sister returned, albeit as zombies. They had yet to sleep themselves since the previous day and spent the whole daylight gathering information to share with Martial Kim.
To thank them for their efforts, he shared some of Fae Fae’s rice gruel from a clay pot he had prepared. Not like Fae Fae could eat the whole thing in a single sitting.
Inspector Lee stared at his bowl of rice gruel, stirring his spoon to find any speck of rice inside. Essentially, he was staring at boiled rice water. “Hey, Martial Kim. I appreciate the gesture, but it wouldn’t kill you to deep fry a couple of donut sticks to go with the gruel you know?”
“It wouldn’t kill you, but it would kill Fae Fae,” Martial Kim shook his head, suppressing a chuckle. “She can’t handle any fatty foods. And it would be unfair if I made a full course meal with heavenly sauce right next to her unconscious body, no? Besides you should blame yourself. Your entire station has a single stove the size of a study desk, I can only do so much!”
Inspector Lee rolled his eyes and slurped his gruel. He made a face to review how bland it was. Even bland tofu has more character than this!
“Fae Fae doesn’t have money problems as we believed – but her brother does.” He ate his gruel. “A rat worm bastard through and through!”
“To be frank, I am very surprised Fae Fae even have a brother,” Martial Kim wondered as he joined everyone at the table. “You would think someone like him would try to convince Fae Fae to stay out of the fire like brothel work. Selling one’s body is never pleasant, no matter how desperate one is. Granted, she bore fruits of her labour but not everyone could be as lucky as her.”
Martial Yellow Sister frowned. “Unfortunately, it was the opposite. The Brother was the one who convinced Fae Fae to step INTO the fire. After all the things I heard about him from everyone, I very much want to stab him six times himself with a hairpin.”
After a sip of her gruel, she noticed everyone staring at her. She groaned, “I was only joking!”
“Your crankiness made your comment awfully believable.” Martial Kim tried not to chirp about it. “What can you tell me about him? Inspector Lee? Judging by your tone it seems you know very well?”
“I wish I didn’t!” Inspector Lee downed the whole bowl into his gullet and started to refill for seconds. “I knew him way before I learned he was Fae Fae’s brother. The guy is a troublemaker, always kicking up a storm! A gambler, born to suck from the very beginning. The man isn’t just neck deep in debts, he’s six feet under the whole mountain! Barely clears them in time to avoid a wallop here and there!”
He then got riled up, slamming his bowl onto the table to splash some gruel everywhere. “Either comes running into the station for asylum from those he owed money to, or we catch him for all sorts of nuisance: dine and dash, freeloading in an inn, pickpocket, petty thievery! Usually sits in the cells for a bit before he walks out on his own. I never once saw Fae Fae come to rescue him, let alone visit.”
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“Now that, speaks volumes,” Martial Kim replied as he played around with a bowl. He wasn’t hungry, no no, his attention was on Fae Fae every 10 seconds to see if she forgot to breath. So he just played about with the empty bowl like a spinning top, “Makes me wonder, if the brother had anything to do with her murder?”
“Are you kidding?” Inspector Lee raised an eyebrow. “The guy is just petty, a small fry. For him to upgrade straight to murder is as rare as him winning the lottery! And isn’t that his own flesh and blood sister we’re talking about?”
Martial Kim spun the empty bowl about, making it dance perfectly on its edge like a tumbling coin, “In my experience, the culprit is usually someone in the family – child, sibling, aunt or uncle, parents, you name it – or has intimate relations with the victim such as best friend, co-worker, or even a disciple. When you add gambler and debt, I can’t help but do the math that way.”
“...Noooo...Nooooooo.” Inspector Lee tried to imagine it, and it didn’t seem to fit in his mind. “That rascal killing someone as sweet as Fae Fae. I mean, what is the motive!?”
Martial Yellow Sister sipped at her gruel to add, “It’s clear Fae Fae has no enemy in her brothel circle, so it’s not about revenge or jealousy. Money, on the other hand: if the brother murdered his sister – a top paying Courtesan – perhaps he would benefit from an early inheritance.”
“Wh-what is this a rich family soap opera!?” Inspector Lee yelped, “Who killed the old geezer and receives the family fortune!? Let’s be real here! The only thing that brother cares about is gambling, wine, and women. And look! See how young Fae Fae is!? Does she look like a grandma who is about to kick the bucket! I doubt she called up a lawyer to make an early will.”
Martial Kim would stop the spinning of the bowl, “According to Imperial Law, if the deceased had yet to write up a will to designate who gets what, all of their fortune and belongings are automatically divided by the surviving kin. This meaning the brother.”
“Hey! Martial Kim, I work for the law so don’t you be picking on me with regulations!”
“Regardless,” Martial Kim rubbed at his forehead, “We have to break the news to him. As he is, after all, her kin.”
Inspector Lee scowled, “Alright, I’ll keep you company. Trust me, the minute you look away he’ll empty your pockets. A terrible pickpocket but he can run like the wind I tell you!”
Martial Kim nod and poured some tea for Inspector Lee to calm down. After thinking over the information that was shared, from the Brothel Owner and the Handmaiden, he then turned to Martial Yellow Sister.
“Heavenly Gardens House of Pleasure,” he asked his disciple, “It seems the problem started there. Any other details you could share, other than what’s already said.”
Martial Yellow Sister put down her rice gruel, losing her appetite, “I spoke to the Flower Princesses who were part of that party. They were so busy serving their ‘partners’ they barely paid much mind on other things. They even stayed the night for...private liaisons on the side, or get to lounge in North Cloud City for a week before they go home. All expenses paid... Only Fae Fae left early, hiring her favorite Palanquin ride the second the next morning dawned. Never spoke about it to anyone when she came back to the Capital.”
She pouted, “Every time I head the words party and rich people in the same sentence, surely it never goes well. Maybe one of those clients were brazen enough to try and molest her, take advantage, make her do things she normally wouldn’t. I mean sure brothel girls do a lot, but surely as humans they have something to draw the line right?”
“Well it be hard to figure it out while sitting in the Capital City, right? Try to look into it when you get a chance.” Martial Kim nodded, then he asked, “Any progress, on the hairpin?”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh.”
“That bad huh?”
Martial Yellow Sister pulled at her hair, “I tried everywhere. Even the shadiest of corners. All I got were: Red STAR Seafood Restaurant, Blue FORTune Opera House, STARlord Pawn Shop that sell random bits and bobs, even another brothel with the silly name of STARry FORTnite. But nothing like a company that makes hairpins with STAR or FORT in their name. It’s like it doesn’t exist!”
“Ah. It may not exist in the Capital, but what about beyond the Capital Walls?”
“...Martial Kim,” dread filled Martial Yellow Sister’s voice. “Th-there’s 10 major cities, 200 towns, and over 1000 villages in the Jade Empire.”
“Why don’t you try North Cloud City first,” Martial Kim grinned, “Might as well visit Heavenly Gardens and ask around while you’re at it.”
“I may be an investigator in training, I have no official authority to ask questions alone. Not to mention, what if they drag me into the fire and turn me into a Courtesan like them!? I am a jade skinned beauty after all!”
“Aaaah! You’ll be fine.” Inspector Laugh snorted, “Surely they need a prerequisite in the height and chest area before someone as fluffy as you can join the big league, right? Don’t fret about it, I’ll have a couple of female constables to back you up. You’ll be fine.”
Martial Yellow Sister scowled, “I would like to address the fact you called me short, flat, AND FAT!?”
“Wh-what!? Look at all those layers on you! It’s like you’re worried Mother Winter would snap awake tomorrow! It’s still spring gods damn it! How can I tell how fit your body is under all those coats!?”
“SLANDER! SLANDEEEER!”
“Sssssh.” Martial Kim shushed them as he cleaned up the empty bowls, fighting back a grin, “Fae Fae is sleeping. Keep your voices down. Pleaaaase.”
The indignation! Martial Yellow Sister was left fuming, spending the whole night tapping her cane to keep everyone awake as a passive aggressive tactic.