What Love Looks Like

“And why not?” Zhuang Qingyu was an aloof character, but an easygoing one as well. He straightened his sleeves, put down his teacup and began, “I am in charge of Zhuang Thunder Pavilion, so members of the martial arts world call me Pavilion Master out of courtesy. I’m older than everyone here by a few years, and I’m an old friend of Xingjian’s. I got to know him ten years ago and we’ve been on very good terms. I was invited to be his groomsman.”

His voice was clear, his speech just a little on the slow side, like the trickle of the stream. It was a little emotionless, but not repulsive.

“I was asked to do someone a favor, and it’s a matter of loyalty too. Since Xingjian trusted me this way, I wanted to make sure his wedding went smoothly. Everything was rehearsed beforehand and arranged properly. A full list was laid out with what time we had to do each thing, so that we would know exactly what to do and nobody would panic.”

“On the 13th day of the 9th month, before Xingjian was killed, the last time I saw him was to confirm the program for the day and check if he had anything else that needed to be arranged or added.”

Song Caitang asked, “What time was that?”

“Very early. The sun had just set, so around 6pm.”

Song Caitang’s gaze flickered. “What did you talk about?”

“It was just about the program for the day. Nothing else.”

“Was there anything amiss about the victim?”

Zhuang Qingyu paused to think, then shook his head. “I didn’t notice anything. He was in a very good mood and even said that he wanted to eat some dumplings the next morning.”

“What happened after that?”

“I left after that and was busy with a lot of things, so I didn’t see Xingjian again all the way until the next day when I couldn’t find him. Xin Yongwang came over and ran into me, so we went to search the bedroom and the study together.”

Song Caitang looked at Xin Yongwang. “Was that what happened?”

Xin Yongwang looked away from Ye Nan and scoffed sarcastically. “We did search the bedroom and study the next day, but what happened the night before, and whether Zhuang Qingyu is speaking the truth or not, I can’t be sure.”

Xi Rui snorted and spoke sarcastically too, “Still trying to bite at each other at this point? You think nobody knows what you guys are thinking about?”

She even threw Ye Nan a meaningful glance.

Since she seemed to enjoy talking so much, Song Caitang called on her next. “So, uh…” She realized she didn’t know how to address Xi Rui. Calling her “Mrs. Liao” wasn’t correct either, so she just went with the most neutral option, “Madam Xi, how are you related to the victim?”

“You can’t tell?” Xi Rui showed off the mourning dress she was wearing. “Who else is allowed to wear this sort of mourning dress for him? I am his woman.”

Xi Rui spoke with great pride. Her gaze scanned past Ye Nan and she added, “All these years, I’ve been his only woman.”

Song Caitang asked, “How did you get to know the victim? Did you already live here?”

“No, Xingjian is my benefactor. Five years ago, he saved me from an evil bully. I immediately fell for him and wanted to follow him for the rest of my life. He was an upright and kind man and rejected me initially, but thankfully, God took pity on me and he accepted my feelings for him four years ago…”

Xi Rui was rather shy and gigglish when she spoke about the past and Song Caitang didn’t get anything useful out of that, so she cut her off and asked, “Did you see the victim on the night of the 13th day of the 9th month?”

“Of course.” Xi Rui pressed her handkerchief against her lips and smiled beautifully. “He was my husband, so I see him all the time. He was going to get married, so my emotions were very conflicted and I was jealous, but I couldn’t help but go and meet with him.”

“I’m a simple person. Love is love, hate is hate. I don’t like hiding my emotions. My husband was not taking the initiative, so I did. I made a pot of soup that night and brought a bowl to him.”

Song Caitang asked, “What time was that?”

“I think it was around half past 8?”

“How was he feeling at that time?”

Xi Rui sighed. “Of course he wasn’t feeling good. This wedding was so difficult to put together. Even a man of steel would feel tired. He was a little distant.”

Song Caitang asked, “What did you talk to him about?”

“He was unhappy, so obviously I had to console him. Nobody wanted things to turn out this way…” Xi Rui suddenly raised her eyebrows and her eyes lit up as she casually glanced at Ye Nan, “As for how women comfort men, especially a man and woman who’s on intimate terms… you get what I’m saying.”

It wasn’t hard to imagine what probably happened.

Ye Nan lowered her gaze and clenched her fists.

Song Caitang frowned slightly and asked, “Did he consume that bowl of soup?”

“We were so busy, he didn’t have time to eat it.” Xi Rui covered half her face with her handkerchief in a coquettish manner. “I just left it on his desk. He could eat it even if it turned cold anyway.”

“Even if nobody else cares about my man, I do.”

Song Caitang sighed quietly. “I’m not a court official and this is not an official interrogation. But in order to find the killer as soon as possible, I’ll advise you against lying.”

“And who says I’m lying?” Xi Rui immediately got angry. “I’m Xingjian’s only woman all these years! Whether he’s nice to me or not, how our relationship is and all that is a matter between the two of us! Nothing to do with other people! In any case, I couldn’t possibly have killed him! You should be focusing on catching the real killer!”

As she spoke, she glanced sideways at Ye Nan and continued in a sarcastic tone, “I’m not like SOME other women who might look pure and innocent, but are capable of really mean moves like leading a man on by being warm and close sometimes, but cold and distant at other times, and making these men chase her round and round… those are terrible women!”

Ye Nan couldn’t be bothered to respond to her and started speaking before Song Caitang prompted her to.

“I last saw Xingjian at around 9pm.”

Song Caitang noticed that was very close to Xi Rui’s time. If Xi Rui had left a little later and Ye Nan had arrived a little earlier, they might have run into each other.

“Just like you’ve heard from the rest, I am the Young Mistress of Night Sanctum.” Ye Nan looked at the osmanthus tree standing outside the window calmly. “My father has only one daughter, and I’m the sole heir to this giant estate. Xingjian and I grew up together, and our marriage was decided more than ten years ago. We’ve always been close, so even though we’ve had our fair share of arguments, we’ve also had good times together. We learned martial arts together, we shared experiences out there in the underworld of martial artists. I was short fuse and obstinate when I was younger and got into a lot of trouble, and he helped to clear up the mess I made many times, but he never blamed me for it. I’ve saved his life before, and he’s saved me even more times. Both of us became one a long time ago and neither was going to leave the other’s side.”

“And we also agreed a long time ago that regardless of how the world changes, or what happens in the future, I will only marry him, and he will only marry me…”

Ye Nan’s voice was not loud, not agitated and not boastful, as though she was just recounting some ordinary things that happened in the past.

But the things she mentioned were so vivid, so moving. She didn’t say much, but it was enough for everyone to imagine what could have happened.

As two people who grew up together, they shared all experiences, they were part of each other’s past, they relied on one another, they missed each other, they would quarrel and get angry with one another, but they would also have sweet and happy times together. They explored the world together, admired the same moon together, climbed the same mountains together, tasted the same wine together.

In this world, they knew each other the best and left the deepest impression on each other’s soul. They promised they would never change.

Ye Nan had put it very lightly, but it made everyone feel terribly sad inside.

Song Caitang glanced at Guan Wan and saw that she was already using her handkerchief to wipe her tears away.

But Ye Nan did not cry. Her expression was completely calm. It was hard to say if she had cried too much, or if she couldn’t bring herself to cry in public.

Song Caitang went on, “So, you were looking for him because…”

“I wanted to ask if he regretted it.”

Her gaze was calm and she spoke honestly, “We ended up in this situation because fate had been unkind to us. If he regretted it and didn’t want to get married anymore, I would not blame him and we could cancel the wedding.”

“There are many rules surrounding a wedding. For example, the bride and groom cannot see each other until they have exchanged their wedding vows. I sat on it for an entire day until I finally found some time at night. I ran out to ask him one last time if he was certain he wanted to marry me.”

Song Caitang lowered her gaze. “How was he feeling then?”

Ye Nan smiled bitterly. “All these years, he always gave me the same expression. He was clearly unhappy, but he would force himself to smile cheerfully… I’ve seen it so many times. And it was the same that night.”

“So, when you asked that question,” Song Caitang tapped her fingertips lightly against the table, “what was his answer?”

Ye Nan’s gaze became a little unfocused.

“He said the one thing he’s wanted to do all his life is to take care of me. Forever.”

“And I believed him.”

“Even if he was lying, I believed him.”

After she finished speaking, she fell silent for a while, then looked apologetically at Song Caitang, “I know I’ve done a terrible thing to you, Miss Song, but I promise that nobody in all of Night Sanctum will hurt you in any way. If you can crack this case, that will be best. But even if you can’t, I will not blame you at all. I will just… continue to be obsessed about it.”

“Ten days, I’ll give this whole thing a maximum of ten days. Regardless of whether we can get to the bottom of this case or not, I will send you safely to your destination along with gifts of thanks. Please don’t turn them down, Miss Song.”

Before this, Xin Yongwang had schemed against her and Song Caitang had no choice but to cooperate, which made her feel rather uneasy. But Ye Nan’s words were much more reassuring.

Song Caitang smiled. “Don’t worry, Miss Ye. I will do my best to crack this case.”

Ye Nan nodded, a smile twinkling in her somewhat handsome eyes. “On behalf of myself and Xingjian, I thank you in advance, Miss Song.”

“Tsk,” Xi Rui rolled her eyes, “it doesn’t matter how nicely you put it or how elegantly you carry yourself. You can’t hide the dark and shady side you’re born with!”

As she insulted Ye Nan, she threw a glare at Xin Yongwang as if to challenge him.

Xin Yongwang treated Ye Nan differently, and Song Caitang could tell from the way he looked at her and his actions. But she had her own judgment of the situation.

Xi Rui seemed determined to raise chaos in the room and wanted everyone to be just as agitated as she was, so her words were naturally provoking. But Xin Yongwang’s behavior actually did not cross the line at all. His attitude was still that of a subordinate to his Young Mistress and he respected her as the future leader of the sect. Ye Nan did not harbor any feelings for him at all, and she was purely devoted to Liao Xingjian.

Men might be able to hide their romantic feelings for another person, but not women. It was obvious whom they really loved.

And since the ball was now in his court, Xin Yongwang stepped forward to speak.

“I am the Martial Hall Master of the Night Sanctum, and last year, I became the Head Hall Master of the Sanctum. So now, I am in charge of all matters here.”

“Even though we’re all part of the Night Sanctum, the training of those in the Martial Hall and the others is different. From a young age, I was sent to the mountains to train and to fight, so I’m not very familiar with Young Mistress and Liao Xingjian. I only became familiar with everyone after I rose through the ranks and was allocated to the Inner Hall five years ago to become part of the internal management.”

“I have no feud with Liao Xingjian and no personal misgivings about him, so I have no reason to kill him.”

Song Caitang asked, “On the 13th day of the 9th month, when was the last time you saw the victim?”

“A little after 10 pm.”

Song Caitang lowered her gaze to put the timing together. What a busy groom, she thought, he kept meeting people.

“Did you come to look for him or did he come looking for you?”

“I came to look for him.”

“Why were you looking for him?”

“I asked him if he was serious about marrying Young Mistress.”

Xin Yongwang’s gaze was alert and his voice was firm, “Our Young Mistress of the Night Sanctum might not be a princess or the daughter of some governor out there, but she’s famous in the martial arts circles and she has all the men of the Sanctum to protect her from harm at all times. If he’s not sincere in marrying her but just wants to fool around, or if he just wants to inherit the Sanctum and also enjoy having a wife in name while sleeping with his concubine, the Night Sanctum will not agree to this marriage!”

“Our Young Mistress is someone of high status and has plenty of people who are willing to follow after her and take care of her. We don’t need Liao Xingjian to put himself through something he doesn’t want to!”