The Killer Saw Through Them

Could it be that… Wenxiang and Yuetao had guessed who the killer was?

Song Caitang’s words successfully made everything freeze in the room. The atmosphere changed immediately.

Zhao Zhi narrowed his eyes suddenly, his gaze bright.

Wen Yuansi gently put down the teacup in his hand. His gentle smile was gone and his expression was frosty.

Qi Yan subconsciously rubbed his arms, because he felt even colder now.

“W-wait…” He tried hard to hold up against the cold and oppressive atmosphere around him and slowly squeezed his question out, “Wait up… am I the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on again? Why would Wenxiang and Yuetao know that someone wanted to kill them?”

Song Caitang, Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi glanced at Qi Yan from the corner of their eyes and said in unison, “Because of the yearly courtesan deaths.”

Qi Yan… suddenly felt the urge to squat in a corner against the wall, to hug his knees tightly and just turn his back on the rest of the world.

It wasn’t that the rest were too clever. He was just too dumb.

Song Caitang smiled faintly, “Some courtesans would die or disappear every year at a certain time. Weren’t you the one who told us about it in the first place?”

The rumors about this were only known to the top courtesans of the flower boats, and both Wenxiang and Yuetao happened to be top courtesans.

Qi Yan scoffed, “So, for some unknown reason, Wenxiang sensed something amiss and thought that Yuetao was a target, so in order to protect her younger cousin, she snatched away the chance to be at the Double Seventh Festival event? What about Yuetao then?”

Wen Yuansi said quietly, “Yuetao knew about this rumor, but perhaps Wenxiang had managed to keep it down, so she might not have known much and was just making some guesses.”

Qi Yan let out a long “ohhhhhh”, but still felt that something still didn’t quite make sense. “But Wenxiang died.”

If she already knew who the killer was, then even if she couldn’t take the killer down, she could at least hide from the killer, right? Courtesans were very clever young ladies, after all.

Zhao Zhi responded, “That’s why Yuetao died too.”

Qi Yan felt the urge to flip the table now.

What did he mean by “that’s why”?! How were these details even linked??! Why did Yuetao die? Why did they always speak in such riddles???!

Song Caitang was more softhearted than the two men, so after throwing Qi Yan a pitiful glance, she gave him a hint, “Their suspicions turned out to be wrong.”

Qi Yan had a huge question mark on his face.

Song Caitang added, “They suspected the wrong guy.”

Qi Yan used every brain cell in his mind to sort these details out.

The two girls knew that some courtesans would get killed every year, so they were constantly vigilant. Wenxiang probably discovered something and suspected someone, but she was afraid that something would happen to Yuetao, so she took it upon herself and snatched that event away from Yuetao. Perhaps she had also gone snooping around as well, but because she was going after the wrong target, she ended up dead.

Yuetao knew a little about the courtesans’ deaths, but Wenxiang had downplayed it and explained it away, so she didn’t know that much about it. But when Wenxiang failed to come back that night, she realized something bad must have happened and wanted to avenge her. Perhaps she too, went snooping around, and because of the way Wenxiang behaved, she focused on a particular person too. On the Ghost Festival, she wanted to avenge her cousin, but she got the wrong person and so, she died too…

After exercising his brain so vigorously, Qi Yan felt a little dizzy, but also very excited as he finished explaining his guess to the rest in one breath. “Is that what happened? Am I right?”

His eyes burned brightly as he stared at the other three with anticipation, like a large dog waiting to be praised.

Wen Yuansi nodded and smiled elegantly, “You’re very clever, Young Master Qi.”

Qi Yan was so pleased with him. “Of course!”

Zhao Zhi snorted.

Qi Yan wiped the smug look off his face immediately and sat down properly as he continued to think, “So, who did both Wenxiang and Yuetao suspect?”

Song Caitang lowered her gaze and smiled as she slowly put her teacup down on the table. “Whoever they really went for that night is the one they suspected.”

The beginning of the events, in particular. The way the two courtesans behaved at the start of the event proved this point.

Qi Yan had just finished looking through the notes but he still had a frown on his face. “On the Double Seventh Festival, Wenxiang really went for Liu Zhenghao. But he was the main guest that night, and Wenxiang was hired to entertain him. It would be strange if she didn’t work hard to earn his favor, right?”

The same logic applied to Yuetao. Zheng Kanghui was the main guest at the Ghost Festival event, so it made sense that Yuetao would devote all her attention to him.

“Or, could it be Mi Gaojie? He argued with both of them at each of their events!”

He kept pestering Wenxiang during the Double Seventh event, shamelessly trying to get her in bed with him. He quarreled with Yuetao during the Ghost Festival event, because he blamed her for his failure to get Wenxiang to sleep with him, or even talk to him.

Wen Yuansi thought of something else. “We should find out when and why Wenxiang and Yuetao’s mood changed during their events.”

Zhao Zhi smiled mysteriously.

Or rather, it wasn’t really mysterious. It was slightly smug, or rather, fairly antagonistic.

“About that. I’ve already investigated that point.”

Wen Yuansi was surprised. “So fast? You’ve already checked?”

“I asked Miss Song to come here today because we wanted to discuss this matter.”

What he was trying to imply was that this was something he and Song Caitang had noticed already.

If these two uninvited guests hadn’t appeared out of nowhere, he would have told Song Caitang all about his findings by now!

Wen Yuansi was gentlemanly, but he was pretty thick-skinned and obtuse when necessary.

“Oh?” His expression did not change, as though he had not noticed the tone that Zhao Zhi used. “The level of foresight you’ve displayed has truly been very admirable. Please enlighten us with your findings.”

Zhao Zhi had led armies through war, so he wasn’t a petty fellow. He glanced at Song Caitang, then began speaking.

“During the Double Seventh event, Wenxiang was fully prepared and very confident. Once she got to the event venue, she went straight for Liu Zhenghao without doing anything else in between. Mi Gaojie tried to block her way, but she wasn’t going to change her mind and just found Mi Gaojie very annoying.”

It was clear that the one that Wenxiang suspected was really Liu Zhenghao. She didn’t ingratiate herself toward him only because he was a guest.

“But after having a fun chat with Liu Zhenghao for a while, she excused herself to touch up her makeup. Inside the room, she broke a bottle of blusher, and her expression was odd when she emerged again.”

Zhao Zhi added, “According to the maid attending to her, Wenxiang was alone in the room at that time. There was no one else inside.”

Song Caitang frowned slightly.

In other words, only Wenxiang herself knew why her mood had suddenly turned foul.

“After that, Wenxiang continued to devote her attention to Liu Zhenghao, but her attitude…” Song Caitang was around, so Zhao Zhi picked his words a little more carefully so as to sound less vulgar, “her attitude was clearly a lot more patronizing. She did go with Liu Zhenghao into a room, but she was very eager in bed, as though she wanted to get it over and done with as quickly as possible because she had other things to attend to.”

Zhao Zhi and his men had asked many servants separately, and this was the conclusion after comparing the statements, so this was definitely exactly what happened that night.

The change in Wenxiang was obviously because she had thought of something, as though she realized that she had gotten it wrong.

But she had to do what was required of her job, so she put in her best effort in bed, hoping to please Liu Zhenghao enough so that she could leave and continue the next part of her plan, which might include finding another person, escaping, locating the right person, and so on.

Song Caitang interjected, “But she died in the end, which meant that her final guess was still wrong.”

Zhao Zhi nodded. “Yuetao’s change in mood and hers was almost the same.”

When Yuetao got to the event venue, she had turned all her attention to Zheng Kanghui, but that was definitely not only because Zheng Kanghui was the main guest. She found Mi Gaojie a nuisance, so she had a huge argument with him, but was coaxed into a better mood by Liu Zhenghao’s painting of her, and her mood changed too.

Her attitude toward Zheng Kanghui began to seem fake, and she was very enthusiastic in bed, as if she was in a hurry to go elsewhere.

Their moods had changed exactly the same way, but toward two completely different men.

Wen Yuansi remembered something, “The notes they left. On the Double Seventh, Wenxiang slept with Liu Zhenghao, but she left Zheng Kanghui a note. On the Ghost Festival, Yuetao slept with Zheng Kanghui, but left Liu Zhenghao a note.”

There had to be something of significance here.

Qi Yan slapped his palm with the handle of his folding fan and said worriedly, “Liu Zhenghao and Zheng Kanghui? But the two girls spent all their time around them!”

Song Caitang shut her eyes. “The killer probably saw through both of them.”

This serial murderer targeted courtesans. When he was looking for a way to satisfy his desire, he would be in hunting mode and would be very sensitive to the signals the girls were giving.

If he was targeting Yuetao and Wenxiang was clearly trying to replace her, he would have noticed. Besides, Wenxiang might not have been trying to replace her as a victim. She might have been just hoping to lure him out so that she could report him or kill him.

And even if he hadn’t targeted Yuetao, the way Wenxiang was paying him attention would be too obvious. He would have become suspicious and he would have realized what was going on by sounding her out.

The killer in this case was a psycho, but not an idiot, so he wouldn’t want to get caught. If Wenxiang’s actions angered him, what would he do?

Like a human with a cat toy, he would tease Wenxiang, make her think that she was on the right path and on the way to achieving her aim, only to find that…

Song Caitang could even imagine the expression on Wenxiang’s face when she realized who the killer was.

She must have been very shocked, very indignant, very regretful.

She had walked right into his trap.

The same could be said about Yuetao.

Regardless of whether Yuetao was the killer’s target or not, Yuetao was here to avenge Wenxiang. The killer had been playing this game of abuse and murder for so many years, so it must have been very enjoyable for him to make it more interesting.

Misleading the courtesans while making them believe they were on the right track, then leading them straight to him, then abusing them inhumanely before killing them…

He must be very pleased with these two murders.

For all she knew, he might still be relishing it.

Wen Yuansi couldn’t maintain his gentlemanly demeanor anymore. His smile faded and his gaze was steely. “An animal like him does not deserve to live.”

“Humph,” Zhao Zhi narrowed his eyes as he clenched his fists and the sound of his knuckles cracking filled the air, “I’ll make sure he doesn’t get away.”

Qi Yan didn’t fall too far behind this time. By this juncture, he knew what was going on, and any other questions he had could wait till later. He slammed his fan handle into his palm several times, “In that case, the killer must be either one of these men!”

“Every conjecture made has to be based on evidence.” Song Caitang was reminding Qi Yan that saying such things without any other supporting proof was pointless, even as she continued thinking about how the killer selected his targets.

How did he pick his targets? What sort of person did he fancy? Yuetao… had been dealt with different from everyone else. What made her different?

As she pondered these things, she subconsciously muttered under her breath, “The killer has been doing this for at least ten years. Ten years ago, the young masters involved in this case were all only in their teens…”

The people of this era got married and had children fairly young, so a lot of them became grandparents in their 30s. The men involved in this case were “young masters”, but they were already in their 20s. They were not called “old master” because their grandfathers were still alive, and their fathers were “eldest master”, “second master” and so on according to their birth order. Those below 30, with or without children, were all called “young master.”

So, logically speaking, ten years ago, these men would have been youths in their teens.

“What hobbies would a teenage boy have?”

Clearly, he would be curious about sex.

But why would a teenager, whose moral values and worldview might not be cast in stone yet, be so cruel? Did he go through some form of trauma? Did it have something to do with sex?

“Hobbies?” Qi Yan scratched his head. “When I was in my teens, the first thing I was obsessed about, something that was different from others… Do you mean the killer could also…”

Thinking about it nearly made him puke. “I don’t think killing makes one special! I liked pretty, good looking, energetic, sparkly things…”

As he spoke, he suddenly realized that courtesans were usually pretty, nice to look at, energetic, and wore hair accessories that were sparkly…

He was so angry with himself that he didn’t want to elaborate any further. “In any case, I’m not like the killer! Not the same type of person!”

But his mention of that did spark a new thought in the heads of others. Zhao Zhi, for example, remembered something. “Hair accessories. That butterfly hair accessory.”

Butterflies were something that most of the victims had by their side when they died. It did represent a special interest of sorts.

The killer liked butterflies?

Did he like butterflies themselves? Or anything with butterflies on it?

Wen Yuansi said, “Maybe he doesn’t particularly like them. It could be a deep impression left on him.”

For example, when he was feeling especially happy or especially sorrowful, something happened, and it left a deep impression in the killer’s mind. Something involving butterflies.

But while all the victims had butterfly hair accessories, they did not share the same design and were not made the same way. Trying to find commonalities between them to find out who the killer might be would take some time.

The room fell silent again.

They had clearly spent a long time thinking about the case and had worked out a number of details, so the road ahead should have been much clearer by now. Why did it still seem so hazy?

They were still unable to ascertain who the killer was.

“Wait,” Song Caitang suddenly piped up, “something’s still not right.”

The three men turned to stare at her with questioning looks on their faces.

“Yuetao’s earrings.”

Song Caitang recalled what she saw when she inspected Yuetao’s body by the river that day. “She was wearing a beautiful, light colored dress, with several hair ties made from silver and turquoise thread in her hair. Her hair accessories, necklace and bangles were all from the same set. The base was either silver or jade, and any other color on it was green or turquoise, so she looked very young and sweet. But her earrings had a gold base and red jade. That was clearly from a completely different set.

“The same logic applies to Wenxiang.” Song Caitang looked at Zhao Zhi. “Do you remember the accessories Wenxiang was wearing when she died?”

The mention of Wenxiang’s body made Qi Yan feel like retching. It wasn’t because he was disrespectful toward a dead person, but that body was really rotten beyond what he could take. Looking at it had been enough to make him vomit for half the day. Who would have taken a good look? Who would have dared to do so, and remember the details?

But Zhao Zhi answered her confidently, “Yes, I remember.”

He wasn’t as sensitive to details as Song Caitang was, especially when it came to things that only women used, like such jewelry, but he had a pretty good memory. “Most of Wenxiang’s accessories had been washed away by the water, and very few were left behind by the time we discovered her body. She liked red, so her accessories were gold and red, except for the earrings…”

His gaze sharpened as he stared at Song Caitang. “They were teardrop shaped crystals. Clear and sparkly ones. They did not match her dress.”

Song Caitang continued, “When their moods changed, nobody else was around, or perhaps it was very secluded and nobody could see them. Could the earrings be a clashing set because of this?”

Wen Yuansi quickly put everything together. “The killer thought of a way to make them switch their earrings, and did something to give them a hint so that they would be misled into thinking they got the wrong guy and switch target!”

So, what about the earrings they removed? Where were they?

Their clouded gazes grew clearer as they looked at one another.

If they could find those earrings, they would definitely be able to make a major advancement in the case!

Zhao Zhi narrowed his eyes. “I’ll get someone to find them right now.”

The servants under their care before and after the events, the room that the victims used, and especially the place they were last seen. At which point were the earrings changed? What time was that? The perspective of the workers would be quite different from the men they questioned…

He had a feeling that if they could find the answers to all these questions, they might be able to crack the case!