Over the past three days, several events of varying significance had unfolded within Jiugao City and the martial world.
Supervisor Qiu Ling and Governor Fan Tong finally seemed to have ceased their public bickering over Kang Renshou’s case, primarily because the former was facing a new dilemma.
According to insiders, the case was linked to the Su family, prominent medicinal merchants in the north of the city. Master Su Lin had been enjoying a streak of good fortune lately, acting with considerable arrogance. In truth, he was backed by a member of the imperial clan in the capital. Meanwhile, Supervisor Qiu’s patron was the Estate of General Pingnan. The General had earned his stripes by suppressing rebellious vassal kings and eliminating traitors; he was a sharp blade at the Emperor’s side and a figure of dread for the imperial nobility. Now that the two sides were pitted against each other, neither would yield, yet neither was ready to spark an all-out confrontation. This left Qiu Ling caught in the middle, struggling to appease both factions.
As for the affairs of the martial world, the most prominent news concerned the ill-fated Fangwai Temple. It was rumored that Yuan Shuqing’s adopted son, Yuan Qi, had used some unknown method to secure the protection of the "Number One Villa under Heaven." Under the shadow of such a great power, the remaining disciples of Fangwai Temple finally didn't have to flee from constant assassination attempts. They were undoubtedly spending their days and nights hunting for the true culprit behind their sect’s massacre, intent on vengeance at any cost.
On another front, the chaos at Baoshen Pavilion had already spread throughout the martial world. Many believed the entire incident was a deliberate ruse designed to use the crowd as a smokescreen to hide the secret treasure that had vanished from its chest. As for whose hands the treasure had fallen into, theories abounded. Some guessed it had "returned to its rightful owner" at Fangwai Temple; others were certain the "White Ghost Umbrella" Teng Hu had staged a "thief crying thief" act to keep the prize for himself. There were even whispers about the several assassins found dead in an alley near Baoshen Pavilion that day, hinting that the Number One Villa under Heaven might be involved as well.
Returning to the matter of Kang Renshou, his end was even more pathetic than merely being a corpse rotting on a riverbank. It turned out he was only one of the Kang family’s many adopted sons. He had been pushed into the spotlight previously only because of his exceptional medical skills. Now that he had met a mysterious end, Huichun Hall was making a grand show of his funeral on the surface, but behind the scenes, everyone was already plotting how to seize the seat he had left behind. The heads of the Kang family were busy visiting various medical halls in the city to win people over; few truly grieved for him.
Xu Qiuchi finally paused his narration. He picked up the cold tea bowl from the table, drained it without a second thought, and concluded leisurely.
"As for the Second Miss of the Su family... she is indeed quite strange. After the murder, her illness seemed to miraculously improve. She hasn't summoned any other physicians to the manor since. It’s as if that previous grand spectacle never happened; even the clinics and pharmacies in the city have stopped discussing it."
Qin Jiuye couldn't help but curl her lip upon hearing this.
That was because every physician who had left the Su manor had received "hush money." As long as the Su family stopped making a fuss, the storm would quickly blow over. In another half-month, no one would even remember it.
And as for the Second Miss’s illness...
"If Kang Renshou’s prescription really worked, it’s still strange. He was only there for a day before he died. Is there truly someone in this world who can cure a mysterious, intractable disease with a single prescription?"
Xu Qiuchi turned his gaze toward her. "Shopkeeper Qin, you are a physician. You should be asking yourself that question."
That day, she had only conducted a consultation from behind a screen. She hadn't even seen the patient’s complexion or felt her pulse. Thinking back, it wasn't impossible that the girl had been faking her illness.
But why would she fake an illness for no reason?
Qin Jiuye remained silent, but Tang Shenyan analyzed the situation with an air of gravity. "Perhaps the Su family had consulted him before, or perhaps Kang Renshou had seen this strange illness elsewhere. What if he simply had more experience than the others?"
At these words, Qin Sanyou and the others shook their heads, finding the suggestion absurd. If that were the case, why would the Su family go to such lengths to announce a reward to the whole world? They could have just invited Kang Renshou privately.
Yet, for some reason, a detail from her visit to the Su manor suddenly flashed in Qin Jiuye’s mind.
When she entered the manor, she had been at the very end of the queue. Kang Renshou was ahead of her; logically, he should have been the sixth person to go in. However, the purple-clad maid named Xin Yu had insisted she go in first. At the time, her mind was entirely on the consultation, so she hadn't questioned the detail, assuming Huichun Hall was just putting on airs.
Thinking back now, perhaps it didn't matter which number she was. What mattered was that Kang Renshou had to be the *last* one to enter.
Was it because no one would know how long the last physician stayed inside? Or was the entire rewarded consultation just a front? Had the Su family only been looking for one person from the start, while the rest were just small fry lured in to serve as cover?
Qin Jiuye was startled by her own sudden, strange thought. But sometimes, the stranger the thought, the more truth it revealed upon closer inspection.
What secret was the Su manor hiding? What was the deal with Su Muhe’s strange illness? And how did all of this relate to Kang Renshou’s death?
Qin Jiuye was lost in thought, the unease in her heart growing heavier.
On the other side, the youth who had been silent all along suddenly spoke. "If that is the case, and Kang Renshou had visited Tingfeng Hall, it’s possible he struck some kind of deal with someone in the Su manor. For some reason, the deal fell through, and he was silenced because he knew too much."
This was a bold guess, but it fit the typical patterns of grievances in the martial world.
Tang Shenyan, who dealt with such stories daily, followed the logic. "Perhaps we can check if Kang Renshou’s pharmacy or residence recently saw an influx of silver or gold. Or if there are any subtle discrepancies in Huichun Hall’s recent ledgers?"
The silk-clad young master in the seat of honor continued to wave his fan slowly, appearing quite willing to listen. "Go on."
Tang Shenyan continued, "As Young Master Li said, if Kang Renshou was silenced because he was involved in something, and he had previously reached a deal with someone, such illicit transactions are usually settled in cash. After the storm passes, they use their own business to launder the money. Kang Renshou’s death was sudden; he likely didn't have time to move that gold and silver."
Xu Qiuchi raised an eyebrow, but Qin Jiuye shook her head.
"Even so, what if we find it? Most gold and silver circulating in the black market lacks official stamps, making it nearly impossible to trace. Besides, he was so careful even when visiting Tingfeng Hall; I fear this path will only lead to a dead end."
Tang Shenyan, who hated being contradicted while telling a story, shot back, "Gold and silver don't have legs like people do. How can you say there’s no harvest before we even look? Besides, if we don't try this path, what do you suggest?"
Qin Jiuye ignored his irritation and spoke plainly. "There’s no need to look so far afield. Instead of that, why don't we go back to the day the man died?"
This gave Tang Shenyan an opening to clear his own name. "The events of that day have nothing to do with my Tingfeng Hall. You said it yourself—we’re all in the same boat now. Don't hide anything; tell us everything, start to finish. It’s not too late."
Seeing him insist she was hiding something, Qin Jiuye felt a spark of anger. "I told the authorities everything I knew that day at the yamen. If you don't believe me, what use is there in saying it again?"
Having hit a wall with her, Tang Shenyan shifted his target. "If you’re telling the truth, then the problem lies with Old Qin."
Qin Sanyou’s eyes widened, his beard quivering. "I’ve said it all too! I left the manor at the hour of the Rooster to drop him off, and then I went back to the Su manor. If I had really killed him, why would I have gone back?!"
Du Laogou, standing to the side, began to giggle. "How long are you lot going to argue before you get anywhere? Everyone has their own version of the truth..."
Before he could finish his rambling, Qin Jiuye grabbed him by the hair again. "I haven't even settled accounts with you yet, and here you are making sarcastic remarks!"
As Du Laogou wailed, Xu Qiuchi, who had been watching the spectacle, suddenly spoke. "I heard that Brother Du happened to be sleeping under Liaowu Bridge that night. I’m quite interested in hearing more from him. Shopkeeper Qin, if you have a clear conscience, stop trying to shut his mouth."
His words were both unpleasant and absurd. Qin Jiuye let go immediately and stepped aside with a cold sneer. "If I really wanted to shut his mouth, I’d have ten thousand ways to make sure he couldn't crawl out of bed or see another soul today."
Her words were chilling, and those around her couldn't help but steal glances at her. Only the youth beside her kept his head down, though the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
Du Laogou smoothed his messy hair and gave a mockingly formal bow to the man in the seat of honor. "Since the start of summer, I have slept under Liaowu Bridge every single day. The men, women, young, and old who pass by can testify to it, as can the heavens, the moon, and the stars. That night, during the curfew, I did indeed see someone on a boat throwing something. The rain was starting to get heavy then, and the sound of the water in the river was incredibly loud and chaotic. But I have always been sharp; amidst that noise, I discerned a slight anomaly. When I looked up, I saw a dark shadow flash across the river, swift as a ghost..."
It was no wonder Du Laogou and Tang Shenyan got along so well; both made their living with their tongues.
As the man continued his long-winded tale, Qin Jiuye began to analyze the information hidden in his words.
If the figure Du Laogou saw was the true culprit, and the time when the rain intensified was roughly between the end of the Xu hour and the start of the Hai hour—just as she had returned to Guoran Ju—then this timeline actually corroborated some of what Su Muhe had said at the yamen.
Thin threads were silently connecting. She began to analyze the discrepancies.
"That day, Su Muhe said she hadn't seen Kang Renshou since noon to check on her medication, yet everyone else insists he left the Su manor at the hour of the Rooster. And what about her claim that she heard a disturbance in the villa where Kang Renshou was staying when the rain started that night?"
Jin Bao couldn't help but interject. "Second Miss Su is a member of the Su family, after all. If she wanted to hide something, she could have just said whatever she wanted to confuse everyone."
Qin Jiuye recalled everything she had seen and heard at the yamen, as well as Su Muhe’s expression when Su Lin took her away. She clearly didn't agree.
"If that were the case, wouldn't it have been safer for her not to show up at the yamen at all? Why appear just to say a bunch of nonsense? And you didn't see Su Lin’s face that day; he was clearly furious that she had come on her own."
Tang Shenyan huffed and summarized bluntly, "If all of you swear you aren't hiding anything, then this case can never be solved."
The threads formed a net, and the net formed a picture. An incredible hypothesis surfaced in Qin Jiuye’s mind. She suddenly spoke up.
"What if... I mean, what if none of us are lying?"
Tang Shenyan clearly didn't understand. "Then how do you explain what happened that night? Did Kang Renshou master some art of teleportation or cloning?"
Teleportation? Cloning? No. It was likely just a stratagem—crossing the sea under cover.
Qin Jiuye took a deep breath and analyzed her thoughts word by word.
"Previously, we all assumed that even if Kang Renshou wasn't attacked near Ziyu Bridge, it must have happened somewhere nearby in the middle or lower reaches of the Liao River. Therefore, the person Du Laogou saw was the killer disposing of the body, and from every angle, Grandpa Qin was the prime suspect. But what if the place where he actually died wasn't by the river at all?"
Xu Qiuchi was the first to react. He spoke in a low voice, "Are you saying someone killed him elsewhere and then transported him to the river?"
"Not elsewhere. In the Su manor," Qin Jiuye said, the light in her eyes growing steadier, her narration becoming calm and powerful. "If what Su Muhe said is true, Kang Renshou likely met his end between the end of the Shen hour and the start of the Rooster hour. But at that time, the curfew hadn't started, and there were too many eyes inside and outside the manor. They had to wait until nightfall to act. After the hour of the Rooster, the city gates closed. In the final moments before the curfew, the light in the city was already dim. If someone put on Kang Renshou’s clothes, took his medical chest, and left the Su manor through the back gate on Grandpa’s boat for everyone to see... while someone else waited until nightfall to take the actual corpse out of the manor by boat and throw it into the river... it wouldn't be impossible."
This would explain why there was no outer robe on Kang Renshou’s body and why his medical chest was found in a different waterway.
The deduction sounded wild and bizarre, yet no one could find a word to refute it. The room fell into a sudden silence.
Ignoring the others, Qin Jiuye focused on proving her theory. She looked at Qin Sanyou. "That day, did you see Kang Renshou’s face clearly?"
Qin Sanyou frowned, thinking back carefully. "The curfew was about to start. The manor suddenly called me over to say I needed to ferry a guest. I was in a hurry to finish the job and get home, and it was getting dark. Thinking back... I really didn't look closely at the guest’s face. I only vaguely remember he wore a bamboo hat and carried a medical chest. Once we reached the destination, he left in a hurry."
Qin Jiuye then turned to Du Laogou. "You said you heard someone dumping a body under the bridge in the middle of the night. Did you see the person’s face?"
As expected, Du Laogou became vague. "If you mean perfectly clearly... then no, of course not..."
Seeing this, Tang Shenyan felt his conviction waver, but another doubt remained. "But if that’s true and the killer is in the Su manor, why would Su Muhe speak up about what she saw that night?"
Before Qin Jiuye could speak, the silk-clad young master in the seat of honor said leisurely, "The Su family is not a monolith. There are things the Second Miss might not know, or perhaps she knows but has her own ideas."
Qin Jiuye paused, stealing a few more glances at him.
Xu Qiuchi hadn't been at the yamen when Fan Tong was giving her trouble, yet he seemed to know exactly what had happened. Or rather, his understanding of the Su family was far from ordinary. His appearance at the Su manor that day, acting like a brother to Qiu Ling in front of her, was certainly no accident.
It couldn't be that he was infatuated with the Second Miss Su, and that was why he had turned against his own brother and opposed him at every turn, could it?
Qin Jiuye felt a sudden chill at this random guess and quickly looked away.
Unaware of their expressions, Qin Sanyou was immersed in his own worries. "These deductions sound plausible, but they’re all without evidence. How can we pin a crime on the Su manor? Even if the Supervisor himself went, he couldn't just search the manor without proof. He’d be accused of being arbitrary and lose his footing."
Tang Shenyan glanced at the worried old man. He seemed to think the old man was worrying about the eldest young master of the Qiu family while his own life was still on the line—a classic case of the meddling bystander. He spoke up bluntly.
"If evidence were that easy to find, would it be our turn to sit here and point fingers? Not to mention several days have passed, and that heavy rain that night washed away all traces. Even on the day it happened, proving Kang Renshou was killed in the Su manor would have been no easy feat. According to Commander Lu, they’ve searched the river up and down. They say not even a copper coin was missing; the man was sent out of the manor perfectly intact..."
A flash of golden light flickered in her mind. Qin Jiuye suddenly spoke.
"Actually, there was one thing left behind."
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
九皋城 | Jiugao City | The main setting of the story.
邱陵 | Qiu Ling | The Supervisor (Duhu) of Jiugao City, Xu Qiuchi's older brother.
樊统 | Fan Tong | The Governor (Junshou) of Jiugao City.
苏凛 | Su Lin | The head of the Su family.
平南将军 | General Pingnan | A powerful military figure, patron of the Qiu family.
方外观 | Fangwai Temple | A sect that was recently massacred.
元漱清 | Yuan Shuqing | A leader or figure associated with Fangwai Temple.
元岐 | Yuan Qi | Yuan Shuqing's adopted son.
天下第一庄 | Number One Villa under Heaven | A powerful and prestigious martial arts estate.
宝蜃楼 | Baoshen Pavilion | A location where a major incident and theft occurred.
白鬼伞 | White Ghost Umbrella | A title/alias for the character Teng Hu.
滕狐 | Teng Hu | A character in the martial world known as the White Ghost Umbrella.
回春堂 | Huichun Hall | The medical hall where Kang Renshou worked.
苏沐禾 | Su Muhe | The Second Miss of the Su family.
心俞 | Xin Yu | A maid in the Su manor.
申末酉初 | End of the Shen hour to the start of the Rooster hour | Approximately 5:00 PM.
酉时 | Hour of the Rooster | 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
戌末亥初 | End of the Xu hour to the start of the Hai hour | Approximately 9:00 PM.
了无桥 | Liaowu Bridge | The bridge where Du Laogou witnessed the body disposal.
陆参将 | Commander Lu | A military officer (Canjiang) involved in the investigation.
