How Much He Meant

When Song Caitang suggested that she should be the one questioning Linglong, the other three men in the room turned to stare at her.

She tilted her head slightly and broke into a brilliant smile. “We’re both women, so I think it would be easier for us to talk.”

Qi Yan rolled his eyes. He wasn’t going to believe that. “Hurry up and tell us why it’s better that you do it!”

Song Caitang knew she couldn’t fool these guys, so she smiled and explained, “Based on the details of all the cases so far, including the sort of emotions expressed during the murders themselves, the killer seems to harbor a special hatred toward men. Perhaps it’s because of her job, but it could also be because of other reasons. But this part is very obvious, so I think we should take it into consideration.”

Song Caitang’s guess was that besides Jing Yan, Linglong probably didn’t like being close to any men and would definitely not come clean with them.

And if they couldn’t provide a space where she felt comfortable enough to talk, then asking her questions would be futile.

The three men couldn’t find a reason to refute her.

But there was one problem…

Qi Yan frowned. “Wouldn’t it be too dangerous though?”

After all, Linglong was a murderer who had committed so many killings.

Song Caitang shook her head. “She needs time to prepare for a murder. If she’s not prepared, she won’t be able to commit murder.”

The other party was an ordinary woman who did not know any martial arts.

Qi Yan threw Zhao Zhi an anxious glance.

Zhao Zhi looked at Song Caitang’s resolved expression and frowned too, but he nodded. “Sure, you can go ahead. I’ll be there to handle any trouble.”

He wouldn’t let her be in any danger.

…

Since they had come to an agreement, there was no time to waste. They had to quickly carry out this questioning.

When Linglong returned from her party, she saw Song Caitang waiting in her room.

“Miss Song.” Her eye twitched a little, but she knew Song Caitang wouldn’t be here for no reason.

As for what the reason could be…nobody knew better than Linglong.

She put her things down, changed out of her clothes, got a teapot boiling and sat down comfortably at the table. “I’m sorry for not coming back earlier to welcome you. I was not told that an important guest was coming.”

Song Caitang replied even more politely, “I’m the one who came to visit you without asking for your permission. I should be the one apologizing.”

Linglong’s smile broadened. “You don’t have to be sorry. I’m sorry if this sounds inappropriate, but I feel rather close to you.”

Song Caitang replied, “There’s nothing inappropriate about that. I think we get along well too.”

The two women sat across each other once more, their faces full of smiles, the room filled with the fragrance of flowers. It should have been a lovely shot of two beautiful young women having a chat, but for some reason, Qi Yan, who was hiding outside the window, felt a little freaked out.

“Jiang Shaoyuan has turned himself in and this case is about to come to a close,” Song Caitang picked up her teacup and broke the silence. “What are your plans for the future?”

Linglongsighed quietly and sounded a little depressed, “People like us…what sort of plans for the future could we possibly have? We just live one day at a time.”

“You’re someone with talent and connections – you mean you really don’t have anybody familiar and reliable you could depend on for the rest of your life?”

Linglong lowered her gaze. “None of that matters, since my body is already tainted. Everything I’ve experienced so far is like looking at the moon’s reflection in the water. I don’t have the courage to believe that any of it could be true.”

“Then at the very least, a place that you’re familiar with…”

“Only a young lady like yourself would miss your hometown,” Linglong’s voice sounded faraway, as though she was hidden behind a curtain of sorts. “The ones that people like us fear meeting the most are those from our hometown.”

Song Caitang was clearly not asking generally about whether there was anybody or anywhere that she could spend her life with, but about the person she wanted to spend her life with, as well as the time she shared with that person in the past.

Linglong was a clever woman, so she must have guessed as much. But she refused to talk about it and effectively ended the conversation.

The two women were engaged in a battle of wits. They knew what each other wanted and was trying to sound the other party out while defending themselves against the other person, yet they were able to keep smiling and looked like they were just having a chat…

Outside the window, Qi Yan shuddered as he hugged himself and leaned toward Zhao Zhi.

But he wasn’t Song Caitang, so Zhao Zhi didn’t want him so close to him. He even threw Qi Yan a look of disgust and pushed him away. “Why are you coming so close to me?”

Qi Yan gave him a pitiful and helpless look. “Brother Zhi, I’m scared…”

“You’re scared?”

“Yes, I’m very scared.”

“Deal with it yourself.”

Qi Yan looked like he was about to cry, but he also couldn’t help but peer into the room out of curiosity.

It was all very strange to him. The room only contained two young women who didn’t know martial arts at all, and their smiles made them look so pretty too. Why did he find them so frightening?

…

Back inside the room, Song Caitang decided to try another method. “I got into a big argument with Prince Ping recently.”

Linglong’s eyebrow twitched a little.

Wasn’t that…a bit too much information, considering they weren’t that close?

“I’m not trying to have a heart to heart talk with you about how I feel and all that. I don’t think mentioning about an argument is a very sensitive topic, that’s all,” Song Caitang smiled as she propped her chin up with her left hand. “I’m just wondering if it’s worth keeping this relationship or not.”

“Would you have any advice for me?” She looked very seriously at Linglong.

Linglong looked surprised, while Qi Yan looked even more shocked. He elbowed Zhao Zhi in the waist and whispered, “You argued with Tangtang?”

“No,” Zhao Zhi frowned at him. “Also, watch your use of words.”

Qi Yan scoffed inwardly. Refusing to admit it? Tangtang’s going to teach you a lesson later!

But Zhao Zhi did not explain anything to Qi Yan. He knew Song Caitang was saying this on purpose. But…why?

Song Caitang was indeed using this lie to sound Linglong out. She wanted to see how important Jing Yan was to Linglong. She wanted to know how important her love for him was. If it was important enough to her, then she could find a way to agitate her and make her explode.

Just like what her mentor had taught her before, women could be complex, but they could also be simple. If you failed to find the crux of the matter, then you might never find the truth of the case or understand the motives behind it, so the case could remain unsolved forever. But if you could find it, you would hit the bullseye.

Like the old saying goes, women are like water. They’re strong and resilient, but also soft and fragile.

Linglong frowned at Song Caitang. “You’re like a well-fed person who doesn’t understand the concept of hunger… The difference between humans and animals is this sort of emotion. So many people have gone through hell and suffering, or tried all means and ways to find true love. It’s really hard to find true love. Why won’t you cherish it since you have it?”

Those words were very sincere. She seemed a little worked up and a little angry too.

Song Caitang smiled. “Aren’t you the same, though? Jiang Shaoyuan did so much for you, yet all you did was to cry and you didn’t do anything else.”

Linglong lowered her gaze. “That’s why this sort of thing requires both parties to be willing. I won’t force anyone to love me, and I don’t want others to force me to love them either. Love that’s only from one side is considered harassment, a burden. Only love that’s from two parties who truly love each other is sweet.”

When she said that last sentence, she seemed to have recalled something, so her eyes twinkled at that moment. But that brightness only lasted for a second before it was filled with sadness and loneliness again.

“So, everything you’ve done was for the sake of Jing Yan.”

Song Caitang’s words had come out from nowhere and she had not spoken loudly, but they seemed to ring as loudly as thunder and struck Linglong hard in the face.

Linglong couldn’t control her reaction in time and just stared at Song Caitang in shock.

Song Caitang stared back at her and emphasized her words, “You don’t like Jiang Shaoyuan at all. He’s just a tool to you. Everything you’ve done was to take revenge for Jing Yan.”

Linglong stared at Song Caitang as she murmured, “Why…why do you know who he is?”

Song Caitang had a sly look in her eyes. “So, you’re the one who committed all the murders in this serial murder case, right?”

Linglong narrowed her eyes slightly. She got it now.

This woman was trying to trap her!

“I suppose you’re only saying that because you have evidence?” Linglong did not panic and poured herself another cup of tea before changing her sitting position in a relaxed manner. “Why didn’t you arrest me and interrogate me at the courthouse instead?”

Song Caitang nearly rolled her eyes. If she had hard evidence, she wouldn’t be doing this right now.

“Jing Yan’s existence is evidence.”

It was fine if Linglong refused to cooperate now. Song Caitang still had a few tricks up her sleeve.

She looked steely at Linglong, “Jing Yan saved you, fell for you, put aside everything for you, betrayed his family, his faith for you, allowed you to order him about like a dog, and died out there without anybody knowing or feeling sad for him… I’m really curious. What in the world did he teach you?”

These were harsh, critical words, which got Qi Yan worked up as well. “No, that’s—”

Zhao Zhi quickly clamped a hand over his mouth and hissed, “Shush!”

Wen Yuansi piped up, “She’s saying this on purpose to agitate Linglong. She doesn’t mean it.”

He was right. She was just trying to agitate Linglong.

If Jing Yan and Linglong’s past with him was very important to her, if all this was dear to her heart, then saying such nasty things about Jing Yan would make Linglong angry. She would not care if others insulted her, but she would never allow anyone to say demeaning things about Jing Yan.

Song Caitang understood Linglong very well. Linglong was clever and capable, but she also suffered from an inferiority complex and self-pity. Such people would cling on to anything or anyone whom they saw as their hope in life.

Jing Yan was her reason for living, her motivation to keep going.

If there was no such reason, or if Jing Yan was not important to her, then these murders would not have happened.

Linglong tried to stop herself from being affected by what Song Caitang was saying. She clenched her fists tightly and dug her nails into her hands, refusing to look at Song Caitang.

But Song Caitang was even more confident that she was right and went on, “Did Jing Yan tell you who he was? He told you it was a secret and got you to keep it a secret, then taught you how to kill others and even how to humiliate others? Wasn’t it because he was doing the same thing? He was committing arson, robbery, murder; he was selling his soul for money; he was colluding with our enemies to betray the country?”

“I’ll be honest with you – the Count of Peace case that occurred not too long ago? The one where the count’s beautiful concubine died? Jing Yan was involved in that case too. Apparently, he was that concubine’s lover before… Jing Yan went around flirting with women, and didn’t even care that she was a married woman with a child. He didn’t have love for other people and brought harm to his fellow citizens – why would you like someone like that?”

Linglong’s chest heaved as she trembled in anger. She glared at Song Caitang like Song Caitang was her greatest enemy. “He’s not like that at all!”

She had finally snapped.

Song Caitang smiled as she placed her fingers around her teacup. “Why don’t you tell what sort of person he really was then?”

The room fell silent again.

The wind outside picked up and the room was filled with the noise from the swaying branches outside.

For a long, long time, Linglong remained silent. Song Caitang did not force her to speak and just quietly waited as she sipped her tea.

She was taking a gamble. A gamble on how much this relationship meant to Linglong.