Chapter 65 The Immortal in the Hermitage (08) The story begins with the arrival of Xu Bai.
Hearing this, Yu Qi also had a vague recollection of it. The woman didn't seem to be a local of Nanjing; her accent was mixed, making it impossible to discern her origin. However, judging from the accents of the two maids beside her, he could guess that they came from the Huai'an area. This small Qinglian Temple was indeed renowned far and wide; its worshippers came from Changzhou, Huai'an, and if one inquired further, it was likely that they came from all over the country.
Thinking of this, Yu Qi smiled and said, "If that woman had killed someone, how dare she openly proclaim it?"
Jiuli argued, "That's true, but if she didn't know the truth, how could she have said such a thing? Besides, she was in the cafeteria when we had lunch yesterday. You forgot, the sharpness in her words seemed to be specifically aimed at Yi."
Yu Qi thought about it carefully and realized it was true. Normally, people who come to temples to worship Buddha, even if they have a bad temper, should know to restrain themselves in front of the gods and Buddhas. But that woman seemed to have come specifically to cause trouble. Could a pilgrim from out of town have some kind of grudge against Liao Hui?
He picked up the sachet again to look at it. Youjun saw it and gently took the sachet from his hand. "Could this be from that woman? Judging from her clothes and appearance, she seems to be a married woman. Perhaps she is carrying something that belonged to her husband."
Jiuli thought about it and shook her head. "Even if she is someone's grandmother, she should travel light when she goes out. No matter how much she loves this kind of thing, it's better to leave it at home. Carrying it with her is useless and just adds to the burden. I don't think it's hers."
Youjun returned the sachet to Yuqi, looked at her and nodded with a smile, "You are usually so carefree, but I didn't expect you to be so meticulous and clear-headed. It's truly rare." Then, she smiled at Yuqi again, "Teacher, you have really taught me well."
Yu Qi glanced at Jiu Li, a slight smile playing on his lips, but remained silent.
Jiuli felt both embarrassed and awkward under their admiring gazes. She thought to herself that anyone who didn't know better would think they were a married couple playing with a child! She secretly rolled her eyes, then turned and lifted the curtain to look outside.
The road ahead was lined with fields, and there were few people around. If someone were following her, she wouldn't notice. Therefore, she wondered if the person who followed her yesterday knew her, which was why she hadn't been alerted—were they actually traveling together?
Before long, they arrived at Wu Family Village. Youjun was waiting at the entrance of the village. Yu Qi and the other person entered the village and inquired about the old woman Wu's house. It was indeed a humble and simple house. The courtyard was full of chicken droppings. Jiuli carefully lifted her skirt and tiptoed to follow Yu Qi into the village. She asked the old woman Wu, but it turned out that she was hard of hearing. Yu Qi was not used to speaking loudly, so Jiuli had to shout to her three or four times before she could hear her.
“Master Liaoyi? He went back a long time ago! He came to drop off his things yesterday afternoon and left! Look, the things are still there! I must say that Abbess Jingzhen is truly kind-hearted. I am so grateful to her for taking care of me these past two years, otherwise I would have starved to death long ago! Master Liaoyi is also a good person. Every time he comes back, he tidies up the house for me. It is truly a blessing from the Bodhisattva to take care of me.”
The old woman was moved to tears, and Jiu Li couldn't tell her about Liao Yi's death, so he leaned close to her ear and asked, "Old woman, let me ask you, how many people did Master Liao Yi have yesterday?!"
"Why are you shouting so loudly? I can hear you!" The old woman glanced at her and stepped aside. "You came alone!"
Jiuli lowered her voice sheepishly, "Did you see any strangers in the village yesterday?"
"What did you say?!"
"Didn't you say you could hear me—" Jiuli muttered, then had to raise her voice again, feeling like a rooster crowing, "I said, did you see any strangers in the village yesterday?!"
The old woman waved her hand, "No strangers. We know everyone in the twenty-odd households in this village. It's rare for a stranger to come here."
"Has Master Liaoyi ever argued with the villagers?"
"Nonsense! She's from a temple; we treat her with the utmost respect, who would argue with her?!"
Yu Qi looked around and saw that the houses in the village were all spaced some distance apart, the courtyard walls were only half a meter high, and the roads were all winding through the vegetable fields, with unobstructed views. If a stranger had followed Liao Yi in and out, he would have been spotted. Since the old man said he hadn't seen anyone, then he probably hadn't. That confirmed that the murderer was indeed hiding in that grove of trees, waiting for Liao Yi to pass by.
The two of them had the same idea. After leaving the hospital, Jiuli muttered, "I didn't realize that Liaoyi was actually quite kind. Did you hear that? Not only did she bring things, but she also often cleaned the old lady's house."
Yu Qi chuckled, "She's a nun, what's so surprising about her having a kind heart?"
"She's greedy, yet she has good intentions. Isn't that a contradiction?"
"There's no contradiction here. One person can have a thousand faces; it's always been that way."
The path along the paddy field was extremely narrow. Yu Qi turned back, worried, and saw her walking unsteadily, so he reached out to help her. But Jiu Li was still holding a grudge and slapped his outstretched hand away, saying, "I can walk by myself."
Yu Qi had no choice but to turn back and say, "Then grab my clothes."
Reluctantly, she stuck two fingers into his belt, which, from a distance, looked like a clattering burden hanging down behind Yu Qi. Youjun, watching from inside the car, found it amusing; her smile was intriguing, and her gaze was deep and unfathomable.
The three returned to Qinglian Temple, where it was bustling with activity. Not only had Zhang Da and Xu Bai arrived, but the newly appointed magistrate, Yan Shu, had also come. It seemed that he had encountered a murder case on his first day in office and had to take it seriously. However, Yan Shu ignored everything else upon arriving at the temple and instead sincerely prayed to each of the temple's bodhisattvas. He was not old, not even forty, but he had already mastered the art of being an official who held a position without doing any work and was wise enough to protect himself.
As Yu Qi walked in, Zhang Da secretly chuckled and said to him, "Let me make this clear first, it's not that I'm bothering you this time, but our newly arrived magistrate is determined to keep you occupied. He's even brought a reward. You can't escape this situation now."
It would be better if he didn't see him. As soon as he saw him, Yu Qi remembered the things he had said behind his back about him being "sick". So he gave him a cold stare and said, "If Officer Zhang's ability to investigate and reason is three-tenths as good as his ability to gossip, then there is no need to trouble others."
Zhang Da, not understanding the barb in his words, could only turn to look at Jiu Li. Jiu Li pulled him back and whispered in his ear, "You said Uncle's health is failing, and Uncle already knows."
"That damned Du Zhong!" Zhang Damo clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. "I clearly told him not to mention that I said it!"
Jiuli covered her mouth and laughed gleefully, "You don't know Du Zhong, he never shuts his mouth."
"No wonder there was such a commotion but no sign of him." Suddenly, Guan Youjun appeared. Zhang Da turned to look at her and whispered to Jiu Li, "This Miss Guan is really clinging to your uncle. She even came to the temple with him."
"Don't talk nonsense. She came here because a friend of hers was here to worship Buddha. It was just a chance encounter."
As they were talking, Youjun had already entered Madam Gu's room. Yu Qijiu followed Zhang Da into the guest room on the north side, where Xu Bai sat impatiently at the table, while an official in a black gauze robe stood with his back to the long table, burning incense and praying to the white porcelain bodhisattvas on the table.
Zhang Dasheng waited for him to place the incense in the small burner before stepping forward to report, "Lord Yan, Mr. Yu has returned."
Yan Shu was of average height and build, with a slightly protruding belly. He had a mustache on his lip and chin. He squinted at Yu Qi for a moment, then smiled amiably and invited Yu Qi to sit down. "I had already heard the Prince mention Mr. Yu's great name back in the capital. Now, everyone in Nanjing knows Mr. Yu's superb medical skills and extraordinary intelligence. I have just taken office and am still unfamiliar with Nanjing. I am afraid I will be at a loss when it comes to investigating this murder case. Fortunately, we have young talents like you, Mr. Yu and Lord Qi. This time, I will have to trouble you two to put in more effort."
As he spoke, fearing that Yu Qi might refuse, he took out a letter from his sleeve, "Fortunately, King Zhao is considerate of the people's plight and has personally issued an edict, specially recruiting you as my advisor. Rest assured, the remuneration will naturally be generous."
After speaking, he handed the letter to Yu Qi and called in a yamen runner with twenty taels of silver.
Yu Qi saw that the letter did indeed contain such words and guessed that King Zhao's intention was not to genuinely help Yan Shu solve his problems, but merely to use Yan Shu to keep him in check, as if he were afraid that Yan Shu might leave Nanjing at any time and disappear without a trace. He glanced at Xu Bai on the stool, slowly folded the letter, returned it to Yan Shu, bowed in thanks, accepted the silver, and accepted the order.
Yan Shu smiled with relief, too lazy to even sit down and listen to the report. He simply said, "With Mr. Yu and Lord Qi here, I'm relieved. I've already instructed the abbot to prepare several guest rooms. You can stay at the temple to handle the case temporarily. I need to return to the yamen first; there are many official matters waiting for me there. Lord Qi, if you encounter any urgent matters that I cannot decide, just send someone back to the yamen to report to me. I'll leave things here to you." Before leaving, he turned back and added, "Oh, and please take good care of the old lady next door."
While they were talking, Jiuli was already listening intently to the sounds coming from the next room. It seemed as if the radiant woman was right there in the room. Hearing Yanshu's words, she felt even more puzzled. As soon as Yanshu left, she closed the door, walked to the octagonal table, sat down, and grinned at Xubai, showing off her white teeth. "Have you all been questioned since you came to the temple?"
Xu Bai couldn't help but think of the day he ran into her and Wei Hong on the street. A surge of jealousy welled up in his heart, so he looked at her with a half-smile but didn't say anything.
Zhang Da sat down and said, "As soon as we arrived, we questioned all the nuns and resident worshippers in the temple. Na Liaoyi had no grudges against any of them. Even though there were a few nuns who had spoken ill of each other, they were all busy with their own affairs yesterday evening, and they all had witnesses."
Jiuli leaned forward and pointed behind her, "What about that elegantly dressed grandma next door? Have you asked her carefully where she came from and what her purpose is in coming to Qinglian Temple?"
Upon asking, Zhang Da recalled that the woman next door was no ordinary person. "I didn't know until I asked that the lady was the grandmother of the third son of the Chen family, the prefect of Huai'an Prefecture."
No wonder Yanshu asked them to take good care of her, and no wonder she was so arrogant. Jiuli muttered, "Is the prefect's third mistress—is she the principal wife?"
Zhang Da chuckled. "She wasn't exactly a respectable woman. First, she was a concubine of Master Chen. Earlier this year, Master Chen's legitimate wife passed away, so he made her his official wife. Now, having just taken office, she's eager to show filial piety to her in-laws. Hearing that the Medicine Buddha here is efficacious, she brought her maids here to pray for Master Chen and his wife's longevity and good health. She said it's a quiet Buddhist place and she shouldn't put on airs, so she only brought two maids. Master Yan happens to be acquainted with Master Chen and just saw the handwritten letter he brought with her."
Yu Qi sat on the chair above, drank half a bowl of tea, and suddenly threw the sachet onto the octagonal table. "Where is Liaoyi's body currently lying?"
“Master Jingzhen ordered someone to prepare a room in the front courtyard to temporarily store it, but the weather is hot right now, so it can't stay for long. It will be buried in three days at most.” Zhang Da looked through the sachet and asked, “What is this?” He then handed it to Xu Bai.
Jiuli chimed in, "I found this next to the corpse."
Xu Bai examined the sachet with a frown. "We've been to that place. The path is secluded, and most of the people walking around are from the farms. How could such an exquisite sachet have been left there? It's clearly something a man would wear, so it's definitely not something the deceased would wear. Could it have been left behind by the murderer?"
Jiuli noticed something was off about his expression as soon as she entered. He seemed less warm towards her than before. Could it be that they had grown distant since they hadn't seen each other for a while? Being proud as she was, she didn't greet him warmly either. Touching her earlobe, she said casually, "Most likely, but I haven't found out yet."
As the three were talking, Yu Qi suddenly turned around from behind and said, "Officer Zhang, tomorrow you should send someone to the city to invite an experienced midwife to assist me in the autopsy."
Jiuli was somewhat surprised by these words. After thinking about it for a moment, she realized that Liaoyi's body was naked, and her monk's robe had been stripped off in that grove of trees. This was indeed plausible. However, she was puzzled. She stood up and walked to Yuqi. "Uncle, do you suspect that Liaoyi was raped before she died? But it doesn't seem like it. Apart from the three knife wounds on her chest, we didn't see any other marks on her body. She wouldn't have not resisted if she was raped."
Yu Qi glanced sideways, a hint of hesitation in his eyes. "How can you be so sure she was raped, rather than willingly committing adultery?"
She hadn't dared to think of that. Buddhists are always bound by strict rules and regulations, and no one would easily associate a nun with adultery.
Zhang Da also had another idea: "I don't think so. I just saw Liao Yi's corpse. With her appearance, I'm afraid ordinary men would find it hard to have any lustful thoughts about her."
Yu Qi sneered, "Everything should be judged by its examination. Is it possible that Constable Zhang finds it troublesome?"
Zhang Da knew that the man was currently very displeased with him, so he didn't dare to argue and just smiled and touched his nose in agreement, "I'll send someone to invite him first thing tomorrow morning."
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Author's note: Thank you for reading.
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