Returning to Chaoyang Alley.
There were two places in the alley with white lanterns hanging.
One was Aunt Liu the matchmaker's home.
The other was Butcher Wang's house at the head of the alley.
No one knew who Aunt Liu had offended; a few nights ago she was chopped to death in her own yard.
The next morning, when Jiang Feng passed by Butcher Wang's front door, Wang's old illness flared up and he collapsed right in front of his house.
Unfortunately, Jiang Feng had been working at Zhenbei Prison these past few days and couldn't get out, missing out on two banquet feasts.
Back home, Jiang Feng first boiled water and washed up.
After scrubbing himself inside and out, using up several buckets of water, he changed into clean clothes, sniffed his body, and felt like there was still some lingering stench of toad that he just couldn't get rid of.
He wondered if it was hard to remove,
or maybe he'd gotten used to the odor these few days, but that smell just wouldn't go away.
