The Full Story

“Not only did you tell me that there’s a dead body, but you’ve also told me that all of you are very close to the deceased.”

Those words from Song Caitang made the room fall silent.

Xin Yongwang’s pupils constricted for a moment before he narrowed his eyes. His smile looked dangerous. “Could you tell us how you came to this conclusion, Miss Song?”

Song Caitang smiled faintly.

Since she had fallen into their hands, she knew things wouldn’t end well if she wasn’t cooperative. She didn’t know what these guys planned to do or whether there’d be a chance to get out of this, but her priority now was to ensure hers and Guan Wan’s safety.

And in order to do that, she had to prove that she was valuable to them.

So, she proceeded to tell them her observations.

“Initially, I didn’t notice anything. We were the ones who wanted to get off the boat and shop in the city. But the obstruction we faced on our way back…” She mentioned the large crowds that blocked their way and forced her and Guan Wan to wait by the side for them to clear several times. “That was a bit strange.”

It was just a bit strange, but she still did not think too much of it.

“After getting onto the boat, there were many wearing the uniform of the Guan’s trade caravan, and all the ship staff looked like gang members, so they did seem like they would have belonged to the Green Gang. The ship’s the same, the layout of the ship is the same, the makeup of the passengers are similar, the rooms are the same, the bed, closet, table, chair, tea sets are all the same… every effort was made to ensure that the environment remained familiar, so that we would feel comfortable in it.”

The people behind this were clearly very detailed and made sure that the new boat looked exactly like the old one.

Song Caitang’s long brows accentuated her eyes, which flickered with extraordinary intelligence. “But there are no two things that are exactly the same in this world. Even if you’ve tried your best to find the same things, there’s still something different. The feeling isn’t right. The smell isn’t right.”

“The pillow and blanket were all new and fluffy. Even though the fabric and pattern was the same and they had been fluffed up to make them look like they’ve been used before, it’s still different from what they are like after they’ve really been used. The window was in the same position as the previous ship, but it’s a tiny bit taller. The porcelain tea set on the table looks the same as the previous set, but the previous set came with some imperfections. One of the cups is a little chipped, so the base isn’t flat against the table. As for the tablecloth… I didn’t notice anything different about it, but my sister accidentally spilled some osmanthus flower essence on it, so it ought to smell just like osmanthus flowers. But it doesn’t.”

“You’ve tried really hard to make everything look and seem identical, but this is definitely not the same boat we were on at first.”

Guan Wan covered her mouth with a hand as her eyes widened.

So, the one on the wrong boat wasn’t the super skinny young man with bright eyes. It was them!

Her cousin had noticed, but didn’t say anything.

Was it because she knew that they wouldn’t be able to get away, but also that they would be safe for the time being?

Song Caitang squeezed Guan Wan’s hand to assure her. She maintained eye contact with Xin Yongwang as she went on, “Since you’ve used such a gentle method instead of threatening us or using physical force, I assume it’s because you didn’t want to affect us emotionally. Victims of kidnapping would definitely have to suffer in some way or another, but we didn’t suffer and we were even specially taken care of. I would say that when you called us VIP guests, you meant it.”

Those two meals, the way they sounded her out and the way she sounded them out had proved this.

“But that’s just the best case scenario. Since you targeted us right from the beginning, it means that you wouldn’t let go of us easily. Even if we had not chosen to get off the boat at the last pier, you would have found some other way to achieve your aim. And if everything failed, you would have kidnapped us by force.”

Unless she and Guan Wan hired a huge group of highly skilled bodyguards to accompany them on this trip like a princess, this would eventually happen to them.

But they weren’t princesses and traveled like ordinary people, so they were destined to fall into the hands of these people.

Song Caitang was too lazy to think too far ahead, so she decided to just ask two questions at this point. “What’s happened to our maids? And this plan has gone so smoothly because you’ve planted someone in our trade caravan, right? Was it someone you found before the trip? Or someone you bribed over the last few days during the trip?”

Guan Wan became even more antsy and her eyes widened.

A plant? There was a mole among their own people? Was her older sister in trouble?!

Song Caitang squeezed Guan Wan’s hand again and blinked at her as she mouthed: Trust Eldest Sister.

Guan Wan stared back at her for a moment and felt some warmth in her heart.

Her cousin was right. She had to have faith in her sister. Her sister would be able to handle anything that came her way.

She had to have faith in her cousin too! Her cousin was an amazing person too!

“Very, very exciting,” Xin Yongwang’s eyes glinted as he applauded her. “Now I know why Miss Song is famous for cracking cases! I can only tell you that your maids are perfectly fine, but as for how we did it…”

He smiled. “I won’t tell you.”

Song Caitang frowned slightly.

She found this person a little contradictory.

Before this, he was prickly, arrogant and stubborn, yet seemed a little unsure. But now, he exuded great confidence. It was somewhat contradictory.

Was it because he was now in his own territory?

“Those observations are only enough for you to realize the boat’s been switched,” Xin Yongwang kept his eye on Song Caitang, “but there’s no sign that someone’s dead.”

Song Caitang pointed to herself and Guan Wan. “There must be a reason why you’ve taken so much effort to ‘invite’ us here. If it’s not because of her, then it’s because of me.”

Guan Wan hardly left the house and remained mostly in the inner house. Her favorite hobby was to cook, but very few outside the house knew about this. Guan Qing was very strict about what people knew about her younger sister. Only the family knew that Guan Wan was a cute and innocent girl. She hadn’t gotten into trouble recently and had no contact with anyone outside the household, so it was unlikely that these guys were here for her.

But things were different for herself.

She dissected human bodies, cracked cases and became an official coroner with the court. Also, she had been involved in the few recent major cases in Luanze.

Anything mysterious or taboo spreads the fastest. She wasn’t bragging or anything like that, but her name and her abilities were something that everyone in Luanze knew. It wasn’t surprising that people outside Luanze would know about her too.

“I’m afraid I’ve implicated my younger sister this time,” said Song Caitang as she caressed Guan Wan’s hair. She turned back to the men and said, “So, if you need my help, it means there’s a dead body somewhere.”

She stood beneath the sunshine, her features exquisite, her smile confident. The tassels in her hair swayed gently like quiet waters, as though they could touch one’s heart.

“There’s been a murder and there’s a body. You didn’t call the authorities but you ‘invited’ me to come here instead. My guess is that the three of you have rather unusual identities and you are not on good terms with the authorities.”

For example… they could be from some independent school of martial arts.

Most martial artists preferred to settle their matters themselves, and did not like the authorities to interfere.

Xin Yongwang narrowed his eyes. “What about your conclusion that we’re close to the deceased? How did you come to that?”

“You are the main planner for this operation and you’ve made all sorts of preparations. You decided on the route, you were the one who made all the connections with the necessary people and you found this place. That’s no easy task.”

Song Caitang pointed at Zhuang Qingyu, “He looks like someone who enjoys quietness and likes being alone, so he doesn’t go out if he doesn’t have something important to do. But every time he goes out, he would settle many things. There’s bits of paper on him and based on the smell, it’s a mix of incense and paper money, which are things meant for funerals. If he’s conducting a funeral for the deceased, he can’t be a distant connection.”

“As for this young man. He seems to stick out among you guys and keeps saying ‘I didn’t do it, it wasn’t me’. Perhaps he wasn’t very close to both of you or the deceased in the past, but he’s definitely had a lot more interaction very recently.”

“The three of you don’t like each other and you argue almost every time you see one another. Yet, all three of you appear at the same time all the time.”

Song Caitang’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. “You’re watching each other.”

“You suspect that one of the other two is the killer.”

Song Caitang explained every point systematically and clearly. It sounded very simple, but she was someone who was thrown into this situation all of a sudden. How quick did her reaction have to be, and how fast did her brain have to process everything in order to be able to analyze the situation to this extent and without breaking into a panic?

Everyone stared at her differently now. They were thoroughly impressed.

While Guan Wan was admiring her cousin, she also noticed that her cousin was constantly holding onto a flute.

It was a bamboo flute, but it was very short and very smooth.

Was her cousin… also secretly feeling afraid? Was she holding onto this because she was trying to hide her anxiety?

Guan Wan felt really bad now. It seemed like she was nothing more than a burden, since she was of no help to her cousin.

She did not know that Song Caitang was holding onto this short flute because it was the one from Zhao Zhi.

Zhao Zhi told her that regardless of the time or place, if she blew on the flute, he would come to her as quickly as possible.

The situation was quite clear and she was confident that she was safe for the time being, but just in case… she kept the flute in her palm.

She did not think that Zhao Zhi would have planted a lot of formidable characters around her, and she had never sensed anyone like that following her. But she trusted in Zhao Zhi’s character and what he said. As long as he said so, he would definitely do it.

This time, she did not have bodyguards or anybody like that. She had to rely on herself to protect her cousin. She didn’t want anything bad to happen to them.

The rippling waters of the river surface were reflected in her eyes, both clear and bright as each other.

The wind that blew past their faces was slightly chilly.

Song Caitang held Guan Wan’s hand tightly to comfort her. Don’t be afraid, I’m around. She knew that if the younger girl were left on her own, she would have started bawling by now.

But Guan Wan glared at the men on the shore and scoffed loudly. She kept close to Song Caitang, but straightened her back as much as she could.

She wasn’t afraid! She was going to fight too!

Since things had come to this, the men had to come clean.

Xin Yongwang put a palm over his fist politely and said, “You’ve guessed it right, Miss Song. We do have a case on hand and we need your help to crack it. If you are able to put in every effort and help us to find the murderer, then I will definitely ensure your safety. I will send people to escort both of you to the capital.”

Song Caitang asked quietly, “And what if that doesn’t happen?”

Xin Yongwang’s smile widened. “You’re being too modest now. Do you think you would have trouble finding the murderer if you truly put in every effort?”

That was essentially a threat.

If she couldn’t crack the case, it meant that she hadn’t put in enough effort. And if she didn’t put in enough effort… the result was obvious.

Guan Wan’s arm began to tremble.

Song Caitang remained fairly calm, however. “Since you’ve invited me here, I’m sure you know what I’m best at. But I did not bring my tools.”

“We’ve prepared them for you already.”

Xin Yongwang snapped his fingers.

The men next to him brought two wooden boxes to the front and opened them. One was full of scalpels and other tools for dissection, while the other was full of miscellaneous things required for an autopsy of this era, such as alcohol, vinegar, ginger and other herbs…

She knew her own things well and could recognize them immediately. These things were not the ones she had been using all this time. They were newly made based on what her tools looked like.

These guys were really well prepared.

Song Caitang narrowed her eyes. “Since that’s the case, where’s the body? What happened? I will need you to explain everything to me.”

“We’ll talk as we walk. This way please, Miss Song.”

Xin Yongwang led the way.

And so, Song Caitang found out that she was at the Night Sanctum, the headquarters of a martial arts sect, as she had suspected. They were the dominant sect in Shouyan, and they even had a falling out with the Green Gang before. They did not get along with the authorities at all.

The Night Sanctum relied on themselves to survive, so whether the authorities liked them or not didn’t matter. Their business was all done on land and they had no share of the water routes. Their previous feud with the Green Gang wasn’t important either. The most important thing to them was to make sure that their school of martial arts was passed on from generation to generation, to ensure the safety of their leader and to make sure their leader’s successor could rise up when needed.

“Our sect leader is very old and he has fallen ill because of this matter, so you have to…”

When he put it this way, Song Caitang understood what he was driving at. “If it’s not convenient, I’ll take a look at the case first. I can always greet him when he’s feeling better.”

“That’s great! This way, please!”

The journey was a little long, and perhaps it was not convenient to talk about certain things in public, so Xin Yongwang just kept walking and walking and did not talk much about the case.

Zhuang Qingyu and the youngest, Hua Rong, quietly followed behind them and did not go elsewhere.

Song Caitang noticed that the place was very big, and rather spacious, as though very few people lived here.

The atmosphere was very typical of a martial arts sect, though. It was extremely solemn, tense, and rather unfriendly to people outside the sect like herself.

As they walked past several doors, Song Caitang realized they were about to walk through a living room. She asked Xin Yongwang, “Where’s the body?”

“It’s preserved in ice and I’ve already told someone to bring it out. Please take a seat first, we’ll be ready in a short while.”

After they entered the smaller inner room behind the living room, she thought it would be private enough to ask about the victim. She wanted to know his name, his connection to the Night Sanctum and all that, but before she could ask, she could hear the sounds of women quarrelling in the corridor.

“What right do you have to wear a mourning dress for him? You weren’t married to him yet!”