Chapter 22
(The real murderer is locked between the two.)
After they departed from the library pavilion, Yang Ye and Gu Liang went to the weaponry storehouse.
The various weaponry were placed on different weapons racks, ranging from knives, spears, swords to halberds.
While he was doing a brief survey, Gu Liang noticed that a knife was missing from the knife racks.
A few words were etched into the shelf, and it wrote: “Water Cutting Knife”.
Gu Liang walked over to measure its size, and a visual estimate told him that the knife which was originally placed there should be the knife that they found at the crime scene.
Since the weaponry storehouse was very close to Perennial w.a.n.g’s bedroom, it was not hard to guess why the murderer had chosen to take a knife from this place to stab Perennial w.a.n.g with, before he chose to leave the knife at the scene of the crime.
Besides the single, missing knife, there were no other clues in the weaponry storehouse.
Thus, the pair left the weaponry storehouse and headed towards the managerial room.
It was the place where the stewards of Xiaoyao Sect stayed. The interiors of the room were surprisingly luxurious and quite a few household utensils looked extraordinarily valuable. In fact, there was even a jewel case that was packed to the brim with pearls and agate.
“It seems like being a steward here yields quite a lot of profit.”
Gu Liang raised his eyebrows slightly in reply. Just then, his fingers skimmed over two books in the drawer he was searching. One of them was a ledger while the other book had the words ‘Steward’s Daily Records’ written on the front face.
Gu Liang looked through the ledger first.
The large and small expenditures of Xiaoyao Sect were all recorded in the ledger.
As he combed through each page meticulously, Gu Liang specifically searched for information that concerned Perennial w.a.n.g and the several murder suspects.
Needless to say, he made a few important discoveries.
“Seventh Day of the Third Month, the Sect Leader bought the named sword Scattered Shadows for Oldest Martial Brother, money spent 1200 slivers.”
“Tenth Day of the Fifth Month, the Sect Leader bought a white jade xiao for Oldest Martial Brother, money spent 520 slivers.”
…
“This Perennial w.a.n.g is truly willing to spend money on the Oldest Martial Brother. This must be true love.”
Once Gu Liang was done skimming through the ledger, he flipped out the “Steward’s Daily Records”.
This was probably the journal that the steward wrote in, and it recorded numerous trivial and minor matters as well as the gossip in Xiaoyao Sect.
One of the things that caught Gu Liang’s attention was a diary page.
“Tenth Day of the Eighth Month. I accidentally discovered the illicit s.e.xual affair between Beauty Yi and Master Hui and told the Sect Leader secretly. Who would have thought that the Sect Leader would ask me to help him keep this secret. I felt affronted for the Sect Leader and thought he should punish Beauty Yi in a ruthless manner. Unexpectedly, the Sect Leader said that it hadn’t been easy for Beauty Yi, and he told me that I should not leak this secret out by any accounts or the rest of her life would be ruined. He even said that the Yi Family Clan has a lot of prestige in our rivers and lakes, and I should not affect the Yi Family’s reputation.”
When he read that, Gu Liang actually felt like sighing.
Beauty Yi had been afraid of Perennial w.a.n.g discovering the secret romantic affair she had with Master Hui, and she wanted to kill him no matter the consequences.
No one could have thought that he had already known about this matter a long time ago. Moreover, he had never intended to pursue the matter from the start and he even went an extra mile by conceiving a plan to help her conceal her liaison, while simultaneously protecting her and her clan’s reputation.
Eyebrows furrowing slightly, Gu Liang continued to flip forward and found another entry that caught his interest.
“Tenth Day of the Third Month, I accepted the Sect Leader’s orders to go down the mountain to select and buy a considerable amount of goods. I swallowed some silvers selfishly and I was reported by someone. Who could have thought that not only did the Sect Leader not punish me, he even awarded me with some pearl agates. When I admitted my wrongs, the Sect Leader actually said that my desire to embezzle had risen from the fact that he had previously embezzled our monthly allowances. The Sect Leader’s words made me feel deeply ashamed. The past Sect Leader killed people like they were flies, had a bloodthirsty dogma, and was severe in conduct. It seems like, apart from raising his martial arts skills, the seclusion also gave rise to ideological attainment. After secluding himself for several years, the Sect Leader’s personality has changed a lot.”
Gu Liang placed down the two books and tilted his head. Similarly, Yang Ye had found a book under the steward’s pillow and he was currently engrossing himself in it.
Perceiving Gu Liang’s gaze, Yang Ye raised his head to look at him. “How is it going, did you discover anything?”
“Yes,” said Gu Liang. “The current Perennial w.a.n.g is essentially a saint.”
“Why do you say that?” Yang Ye asked.
Gu Liang roughly summarised the contents inside the two books for Yang Ye before he handed the books over to him.
Yang Ye flipped through them and then said: “Therefore, even if we were to argue that the problem in his s.e.xual orientation alone was not enough to nail down the final judgement, these books can help us ascertain the fact that Perennial w.a.n.g has already been swapped with someone else. The book mentioned that his personality changed after his ‘seclusion’, yes? The detail makes it apparent that the problem lies in this seclusion period. The Perennial w.a.n.g before the seclusion was real but what came out of the seclusion was the unknown counterfeit. From s.e.xual inclination to his personality, and further into how he conducts himself in society, everything about him has changed.”
Prior to the seclusion, matters like the elimination of Second Martial Brother’s Kongtong Sect was done by the real Perennial w.a.n.g. He killed people like they were flies; he was the sort of person who would resort to unscrupulous means for the sake of expanding his own Sect’s power and influence.
The current counterfeit Perennial w.a.n.g, however, was a good person.
“Yes, I agree with your words.”
Gu Liang frowned slightly. “But if that’s the case, there’s still something contentious about it. Since he’s such a saint, and no matter how much he loved Oldest Martial Brother, he would not go as far as to… forcing himself on him, right? Even the excuse of being intoxicated or something along those lines feels a little far-fetched. Can he really get it up when he’s drunk?”
Surprised by Gu Liang’s bluntness, Yang Ye let out a bark of laughter before he coughed a few times.
“What?” Gu Liang looked at him in askance.
“No, nothing. Why don’t we ask Oldest Martial Brother for the details later to find out what’s going on?”
Since Yang Ye did not have any gla.s.ses to adjust, he could only brush his index finger against his nose bridge. Then, he uttered, “I merely think that the Oldest Martial Brother doesn’t have any reason to lie about his motivation to kill. Because everyone possesses murderous intentions, and all these motivations are quite strong.”
“Mn, you ought to find a chance to ask Oldest Martial Brother for the details.”
Gu Liang glanced at the book that Yang Ye found and asked: “What did you find?”
“This book is equivalent to the human resources department’s record of personnel changes. It’s quite meaningful. Have a look at it.”
Yang Ye flipped open the book and handed it to Gu Liang. Immediately, Gu Liang saw the comings and goings of the people around Perennial w.a.n.g in a certain timeframe.
Twenty years ago, Perennial w.a.n.g married Yan Ru Yu as his wife, and she was his ninth legitimate wife.
Seventeen years ago, Yan Ru Yu gave birth to a daughter, but she left with her daughter with a letter of divorce in her hands.
Fifteen years ago, Perennial w.a.n.g accepted Oldest Martial Brother and Second Martial Brother as his direct disciples in succession.
Thirteen years ago, Perennial w.a.n.g accepted Youngest Martial Brother as his direct disciple.
Ten years ago, Youngest Martial Brother and Perennial w.a.n.g went travelling outside, and Youngest Martial Brother died in a strange land far away from home. After returning, Perennial w.a.n.g started his seclusion.
Three years ago, Perennial w.a.n.g exited his seclusion; in the same year, he married Beauty Yi.
……
“Which means to say, when he entered seclusion ten years ago, he did not exit from it until three years ago. And after he came out of seclusion, he was already a changed person.”
Gu Liang’s pupils contracted slightly. “Except… who is this Youngest Martial Brother? My story bears no mention of him, which is understandable, considering how he was already dead when I ‘married’ in. But why didn’t Oldest Martial Brother and Second Martial Brother bring him up either?”
Yang Ye extended both his arms to stretch lazily. “We’ll have to prioritise asking them about the story revolving around the Youngest Martial Brother later. Additionally… their respective timelines after mao s.h.i.+ is a key problem that we have to clarify as well.”
Gu Liang: “It seems like we’re basically decided on both of them.”
Yang Ye nodded his head. “Yes, we’ve essentially gone through all the places we’re supposed to search. Presently, the theory that the current deceased is a counterfeit Perennial w.a.n.g is conclusive, and the further lack of clues only mean that someone else is already aware of this matter. Even the stewards who were extremely close to Perennial w.a.n.g all felt that his personality had changed after he secluded himself for seven years. No one knew that Perennial w.a.n.g had been swapped out, and the person that everyone had cursed was the real Perennial w.a.n.g, not the counterfeit. This counterfeit Perennial w.a.n.g died by the knife, not the curse.”
When they concluded their search in the managerial room, more than half of the time out of the two hours allotted for the investigation had already pa.s.sed.
In a pace that was neither leisurely nor hurried, Gu Liang and Yang Ye inspected most of the remaining sides and corners of Xiaoyao Sect but they did not find additional clues.
However, it was undeniable that the map of Xiaoyao Sect was quite big, and the pair were bound to be tired after running around for a near hour. In the end, they chose to go to the kitchen to drink some porridge, which also allowed them to rest and stave off their hunger and thirst.
The murderer was mainly locked between the Oldest Martial Brother and the Second Martial Brother. But as to who had been the true perpetrator, this was still in doubt.
By virtue of the fact that they had been running around, some sweat had gathered on Gu Liang’s forehead and his complexion was not as pale as before since his visage was dusted with a reddish hue. It made it seem like rouge was applied to the corners of his eyes and at his brow bone, which complemented the red robe he was wearing.
When Yang Ye glanced towards him offhandedly, he saw a drop of sweat rolling down to the tip of his nose, and it looked extremely… extremely sensual.
His gaze roved downwards uncontrollably. Gu Liang’s throat knot was slightly damp with sweat, and some of it was dripping further into his lapels.
Yang Ye’s pupils dilated and he s.h.i.+fted his gaze away.
A spoonful of cool porridge entered his mouth, dispersing the dryness in his throat. It was only then that Yang Ye spoke. “Was your appet.i.te spoiled? We pa.s.sed by a vegetable garden and chicken coop just now; the vegetables look fresh and the chicken meat looks quite plump. When the case investigation ends, I’ll go and kill a chicken. Do you want it boiled in a clear soup or braised in soy sauce?”
Gu Liang raised his head to meet his eyes. With some curiosity, he asked: “You’re already thinking about dinner? With regards to the case, aren’t you even a little worried about it as the detective?”
Yang Ye grinned. “Worrying about me?”
Gu Liang arched an eyebrow. “That I am. If you were to die an unfortunate death, we’d have one less great chef.”
“Tch, you’re only concerned about the dishes I make.”
“Mn, yeah, so you should live on properly.”
His chilly expression made it seem like he was giving a careless response.
But his words went straight into Yang Ye’s heart, causing it to warm.
— See, we’re already like this and yet he still refuses to admit that he cares about me.
By sheer coincidence, the Second Martial Brother also came to the kitchen to search for clues.
When he saw Yang Ye and Gu Liang from the entrance, he waved at them proactively. “The both of you are here too? Have you discovered anything?”
Yang Ye beckoned him forward. “Come in first, drink some porridge.”
Although Second Martial Brother gave them a wary glance, he still entered the kitchen
After he sat down, Yang Ye served him a bowl of porridge and asked: “I’ll ask you, what did you and the Oldest Martial Brother do individually after mao s.h.i.+?”
Second Martial Brother thought about it before he said: “Just as I finished tearing the paper with the curse and hiding it, Oldest Martial Brother returned from the toilet. I was famished so I went to the kitchen to find something to eat. However, the servant had just started preparing breakfast and I decided to stay in the kitchen to help. Around roughly five quarters of an hour, I carried the breakfast back and encountered Oldest Martial Brother practicing in the courtyard, and I called him over to eat together. We had only consumed some of our breakfast when we heard the news that the Sect Leader was dead from the servant girl. You should have seen it when you went over to our room, the table still had the remaining food.”
“This means to say that from mao s.h.i.+ to five quarters of an hour into mao s.h.i.+ – which is a whole 75 minutes – you stayed in the kitchen?” Yang Ye was clearly suspicious of his pretext, but it did not affect his tone of his voice.
The Second Martial Brother answered: “Apart from the time spent walking outside, it can be considered that way, yeah. Because I had to keep the fire going and whatnot.”
Yang Ye’s eyes deepened by a fraction, but he did not pursue the veracity of him being in the kitchen for 75 minutes. Instead, he issued another question: “Before you left and when you came back, Oldest Martial Brother had been present. But you don’t know whether he left the room in the 75 minutes you were gone, right?”