‘Yes, these things could have been complicated in the Tang Empire. But no politics over the cups, Bao. The steamed live carp is not bad. It tastes so tender and fresh. Have a piece more. Now let me ask you a different question. Why should Xuanji have killed the maid?’

‘Because she’s so bewitched. And, more likely than not, the maid was bewitched, too. About ten days ago, a villager saw a young woman kneeling stark naked in front of the nunnery, her head hung low, her face covered in long black hair, and her bare back glistening with sweat and crisscrossed welts,’ Bao went on, taking another large gulp, licking his lips voraciously, and squinting his eyes as if surveilling the very scene. ‘When he tried to take a better look, however, it turned out to be a black fox kneeling there, kowtowing to the full bright moon like crazy, and vanishing into the air the next moment.’

Once again, the evil of the black fox spirit came to serve as the infallible interpretation of the bizarre murder case. Yang smothered a sigh, stuffing into his mouth a large fatty chunk of pork braised in red soy sauce.

‘The villager must have heard so many fox spirit stories that he perhaps imagined things in the depth of the night,’ Yang said, waving his hand in dismissal of the hallucination as he changed the subject. ‘By the way, please tell me something about Wei. People told me he may have things – valuable things – from Xuanji. I’m just wondering whether it would be worth my while to contact him.’

‘Wow, you have heard of Wei, too! Let me tell you what. He’s an impossible gigolo, and he sucked her dry like a leech. In fact, the place he stays in was also bought with her money, a wooden hut fairly close to the nunnery, so he could have easily sneaked over to her at night. People say she’s simply bewitched by him.’

‘You mean he is the black fox spirit?’

‘Who knows? There are both male and female fox spirits in this red-dust world of ours. No one can tell for sure. I don’t know too much about Wei, but if you want, you may talk to a flower girl surnamed Zhang or Zhan. She’s a sort of a confidante for Xuanji. Her flower garden is located near the southern end of the village. She sent flowers to Xuanji regularly for her parties, and Xuanji or Wei occasionally went to her flower garden to pick up the orders, too. She surely can tell you much more about him. And about her as well. Most of the neighbors here did not want to mix with Xuanji or Wei, but that flower girl was an exception. Xuanji’s a very valuable customer for her.’

‘That’s true.’

‘I don’t have her address, but you don’t have to worry about it. You just need to ask the village people there for the flower girl. She’s just another young fox spirit like Xuanji.’