Chapter 71 The Immortal in the Hermitage (XIV) It is water.
After saying this, Jiuli went to Madam Gu's room to eat fruit without a care in the world, leaving Yu Qi alone in the room, angry for half a day. Helpless, he could only stop thinking about Jiuli and temporarily put the sachet and money bag on the table to study, pondering the words Youjun had said.
Before they knew it, it was afternoon. Zhang Da returned on horseback, and to their surprise, Du Zhong came along with him. He brought a change of clothes, which he packed in a bundle and tucked under his arm. As soon as he entered Qinglian Temple, he looked around and smiled broadly. “Brother Zhang, let me make a deal with you. How about I share a room with you? I don’t want to share a room with my master and be constantly under his control. I don’t want to be so uncomfortable.”
Zhang Da glanced at him with a hint of disdain, "Your master asked me to bring you here, which means he values you highly. So shouldn't you be diligent and always keep a close eye on him?"
"Hey, he doesn't think highly of me at all. He called me here so that I can keep an eye on Little Fish all the time."
"Monitoring the little fish? Why?"
Du Zhong sighed and laughed, "Isn't Qi Xubai here too?"
Zhang Da smiled knowingly, then glanced at him sideways, "You brat, you still have the nerve to sleep in the same room as me? Have you forgotten that last time I mentioned your master's 'illness,' you turned around and sold me out! These past two days, Mr. Yu has been looking at me with displeasure."
Du Zhong nudged him with his elbow, "That wasn't Master interrogating you. Besides, I've already explained for you. You were only doing it because you were concerned about his health. Master isn't completely heartless; he knows your good intentions."
Zhang Da, unable to resist the persistent questioning, had no choice but to agree. As they walked into the guest courtyard, he happened to run into Jiu Li, who was standing on the veranda. Upon seeing him, Jiu Li pulled him aside and asked about family matters. Du Zhong shoved the bundle into her hands and glanced at the room across the way. He saw Yu Qi sitting at the table with a stern face, so he casually exchanged a few words with her before rushing over to pay his respects to Yu Qi.
Upon entering the room, Yu Qi immediately ordered him to close the door and gave him detailed instructions. Just as he had expected, this time he was specifically summoned to monitor Jiu Li's every word and action. "The older she gets, the more troublesome she becomes. She completely ignores what I say. You and she are of the same generation, so be closer. From now on, whatever she says or does with Qi Xubai, report it to me. If you show favoritism—"
"Zhong'er wouldn't dare!" Du Zhong smiled and knelt down knowingly. He thought to himself that no matter what he was called here for, whether it was for a case or to monitor Jiu Li, it was better than being stuck at home facing those dull medicine cabinets! To show his loyalty, he quickly stated his position, "Actually, like my master, I don't want Yu'er to marry Qi Xubai."
"Get up." A hint of relief finally appeared on Yu Qi's face. "Tell me why."
Why else could it be? It's simply because he doesn't like it! Du Zhong chuckled and said, "Isn't there a saying that most unfaithful people are scholars? I think he's a bit of a hypocrite."
Yu Qi smiled and then inquired about the situation at home. Du Zhong recounted in detail how the old lady was doing and how the business was progressing. Fortunately, Yu Qi had only been at the temple for two days, and there were no major problems at home or any seriously ill patients. Reassured, Yu Qi waved him away.
Du Zhong then went into Zhang Da's room and saw Jiu Li rummaging through his bundle on the couch. He pulled out a large oil paper package, held it up, and waved it at Zhang Da. "Brother Zhang, guess what this is?"
Zhang Da was pouring tea at the table when he glanced at it and thought, "It can't be some gold or silver treasure."
Du Zhong closed the door and came in. "That was secretly packed for me by Aunt Qing before I came. She was worried that we weren't used to vegetarian food, so she gave us some dried meat and smoked meat to treat us."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Daxi beamed and quickly put down his teacup, laughing as he entered. "At least you have some conscience!"
Jiuli glanced at the several Buddha statues on the long table, grinned, and said, "Isn't it inappropriate for us to eat meat in a temple?"
Du Zhong and Zhang Da both said, "What's good or bad about it? Wine and meat pass through the intestines, but Buddha remains in the heart. Would a Bodhisattva not even care about such a trivial matter?"
So while eating, Du Zhong inquired in detail about the case. Jiu Li and Zhang Da told him everything, one after another, which made Du Zhong think deeply and doubt at the same time, and he talked nonsense.
The next morning, as the nuns were just arriving at the lecture hall for their morning prayers, the guest courtyard was still quiet. As dawn broke, Jiuli dressed and came out, knocking on the door and calling Du Zhong and Xu Bai to go to the front to check on Cilian, asking them to take the opportunity to find out if Cilian was really acting strangely.
And along the way, he kept reminding them, "But let me make this clear, you are not allowed to take advantage of them in any way."
Du Zhong yawned, "I'm not worried about her taking advantage of me!"
Xu Bai laughed, "Do you think I'm such a rude and despicable person?"
"But let me give you a word of advice." She glanced at them from side to side, "You're all men, after all. Who knows? Anyway, all men are lustful. Didn't you see how beautiful Cilian is?"
Xu Bai smiled and asked, "More beautiful than you?"
"She has no hair. If she had hair, then it's hard to say."
Jili mumbled as he walked to the front courtyard. He heard the nuns chanting coming from the main hall, buzzing like a swarm of mosquitoes. Cilian was exempted from all her spiritual practice due to illness. The sky was still dark, and the wind was chilly. Jiuli walked to Cilian's door with his arms crossed, listening intently. There was no sound inside, and he wondered if she was awake or not.
She gently knocked on the door. "Master Cilian, it's me, Yu Jiuli. Are you feeling any better?"
There was no answer from inside. Jiuli had just stepped close to the door when she accidentally pushed it open a crack. Looking inside, she saw a large wooden bathtub behind a screen, with a person sitting inside with their back turned. A bald head was resting on the edge of the tub, and the person remained motionless for a long time, as if asleep.
Jiuli turned her head and said, "She's taking a bath. Let's wait a bit."
The three of them sat under the eaves and talked quietly. After a while, they didn't hear any water. Xu Bai frowned and asked, "Why is there no sound?"
"She seems to have fallen asleep in the tub." Jiuli turned her head to look at the window, thinking that something was wrong. Cilian was already weak and frail, and if she fell asleep in the tub, she wouldn't even know that the water was getting cold. She would get even sicker soon. So she stood up and said, "Don't come in, I'll go and wake her."
Pushing open the door, she called out "Master Cilian" and walked into the screened area, but Cilian remained motionless. Suspicious, she circled the bathtub and saw that Cilian's face was pale, her mouth wide open, her lips bluish-purple, her pupils dilated, and there were messy, bloody scratches on her neck—clearly signs of poisoning! Startled, she stumbled backward, causing the canopy bed to creak!
Du Zhong and Xu Bai heard the commotion and went to the door to see what was wrong. They found Jiu Li sitting in front of the bathtub, her face pale, so they pushed the door open and came in. "What's wrong?"
Jiuli pointed tremblingly at Cilian, "She...she's dead."
The commotion quickly drew everyone in the temple, crowding the room. Yu Qi pushed his way through the crowd, and Du Zhong rushed forward to tell him, "Master, he died from arsenic poisoning. It looks like the dose was quite strong; he died within a moment of taking it."
Yu Qi nodded and walked into the screen. Jiu Li then showed him an empty bowl from the bedside. "I've looked at it carefully. It's a bowl of bitter vegetable porridge. Arsenic smells like nothing, but it probably tastes a bit pungent. The bitterness of the bitter vegetables can mask its taste."
Upon hearing this, a group of nuns began to make a fuss in the outer room. Abbess Jingzhen was filled with grief and was chanting Buddhist prayers with her eyes closed. The two elderly nuns, Jueming and Jueguang, immediately questioned the crowd: "Who made this bowl of porridge? And who brought it to her?"
Jingyue stepped forward and said, "Reporting to Master and Uncle, I cooked this porridge, and I personally brought it to Senior Sister last night."
Jingzhen, Jueming, and Jueguang were all surprised. In their eyes, although Jingyue had just arrived at the temple and had not been practicing for long, she was somewhat unruly and often argued with others. However, she was kind-hearted and not someone who would do evil. So Jingzhen asked her to explain in detail what had happened the night before.
Jingyue recalled that around midnight last night, she had been awakened in the head monk's room by the snoring of a nun. Unable to fall back asleep, she cursed under her breath as she got up. After sitting on the bed for a while, she opened the door and went for a walk in the courtyard to cool off in the moonlight. Seeing that Cilian's light was still on, and remembering that Cilian seemed to have improved slightly after her acupuncture treatment that morning—though she had vomited at lunch and dinner, it was less than before—Jingyue wondered if Cilian was feeling any better and came to inquire.
Cilian opened the door, dressed in white clothes, saying she had just taken a bath. She let her in, saying, "Now that you're in charge of the canteen, you have to prepare breakfast, which means you have to get up even earlier than when you're doing morning classes. If you're not sleeping now, how will you be able to get up tomorrow morning?"
As soon as Jingyue sat down, she cursed, "Their snoring is so loud! I had already gone to bed, but they woke me up. I'm just hoping that next year I can have my own room. I really don't want to sleep on that big communal bed with them for even a day longer!"
Cilian smiled gently and poured her a cup of tea on the table. "Actually, it's more lively when everyone is crammed into a big room. At night, after the lights are out, there are people to talk to. Although it's not noisy to live alone in a room, it's not necessarily any better."
“But I wish I could sleep alone. Back when we were at home, the four of us sisters were all crammed into one room, and there was hardly any room to move around. I’ve never slept alone before.”
Cilian touched her face affectionately, "Missing home and your parents?"
She shook her head defiantly, "I can't be bothered to think about them. They were willing to sell me to others as a substitute, why should I think about them?"
Even so, Cilian overheard the young nuns gossiping about her behind her back, saying that she was unusually attentive as the receptionist simply to extract some benefits from the worshippers so she could secretly send them home to support her parents. It was clear she was tough on the outside but soft on the inside, a trait somewhat similar to Liaoyi.
Thinking of Liaoyi, he couldn't help but sigh deeply, "Have you heard anything from the officials about Liaoyi's matter?"
Jingyue shook her head. "No, that Miss Yu keeps asking me about it. I think they're all useless people. It's been two days, and I haven't gotten any results from asking them."
Cilian glanced at her, "What did Miss Yu ask you?"
"She's asking all sorts of pointless questions." Jingyue gripped her teacup, a sour feeling rising in her heart. "I don't know why she's getting involved in this mess. A young lady like her shouldn't be staying at home; instead, she's causing trouble among a bunch of men. I think she's living too comfortably, with nothing better to do than be spoiled by her family. Look at her uncle; he's completely indulging her. Yesterday, they were having dinner in the dining hall, and she ate a couple of bites less than usual. Her uncle said, 'If you're tired of vegetarian food, I know there's a restaurant about four or five miles from here. I'll hire a carriage to take you there for a meal.' Humph, how many days has she been vegetarian? She must be indulging in lavish meals at home all day long!"
Cilian smiled and said, "That's how young ladies from wealthy families are."
Jingyue suddenly asked, "Senior sister, do you think she's prettier or I am?"
“Each has their own charm. You are a nun, and she is a layperson. What are you comparing yourself to her for?” Cilian comforted her gently, then quickly brought up the previous topic, “You said that the people from the yamen are staying in our temple. Do you suspect that the murderer has some connection with our Qinglian Temple?”
Jingyue slowly shook her head. "I guess so. I also thought that the murderer might be one of the worshippers at our temple. There are quite a few male worshippers who come to our temple to offer incense."
Cilian smiled but didn't reply. After a while, she said, "Your senior sister Miaohua has gone to stay overnight. Her room is empty right now. If you can't sleep tonight because of the noise, you can go and borrow her room to sleep for the night."
"Senior Sister Miaohua is very clean. She won't allow anyone to sleep in her room. Just before, she wouldn't even let me in because the soles of my shoes were a little dirty."
"She won't be back for a while. After you've gone to sleep, just clean up for her. If she says anything, just tell her that I told you to go to sleep."
After talking for a while, which had taken up half her time, Jingyue thought that she must be a little hungry, so she said she would go to the kitchen to cook something for her. Cilian smiled and said, "Mr. Yu gave me acupuncture this morning, and my appetite improved by the afternoon. I don't feel so nauseous anymore. I am actually a little hungry now. Don't bother, just use the leftover rice from last night to cook a bowl of porridge."
Jingyue agreed and went to the kitchen. She lit a lamp and started a fire when one of Granny Chen's maids came over with a lantern. She said that her grandmother had woken up and was a little hungry and had come to ask for something to eat. "Since you're here, there's no need to go to any trouble. Just cook a bowl of vegetarian noodles for her."
"I'm not here to serve your master. I have other things to do and can't do it!"
Seeing that there was no room for negotiation with her, the girl had no choice but to return to the guest courtyard and report to Granny Chen. Granny Chen was furious upon hearing this, and immediately dressed and went to the kitchen to argue with Jingyue. Jingyue, as usual, sat under the stove picking vegetables and tending to the fire, not even glancing at her.
Grandma Chen walked to the stove, lifted the pot lid, and said, "You clearly lit a fire and boiled water here. How much trouble would it take you to cook me a bowl of noodles? This temple isn't yours to run, so why are you so stingy? Even if it were yours, I've already given you enough money for incense! If you hurry up and make me this bowl of noodles, I'll give you extra money as a reward."
Jingyue sat behind the stove and sneered, "What business is it of yours if I light the fire and boil water? It's not for you. Who has time to knead and stretch dough for you in the middle of the night? It's not like it's in your house. If you have money, go buy it outside. I don't care about your few pennies."
Grandma Chen slammed the pot lid down with a bang. "I heard you're new here? Who do you think you are? Just because you're prettier than others, you think you can't tell east from west? Let me tell you, you'll regret this!"
She stormed off in a huff, and only then did Jingyue raise her head and scoff at the empty stove.
Looking back now, who knows if Granny Chen San slipped something into the pot while she was lifting the lid? Jingyue immediately wiped away her tears and pushed her way out of the crowd, "I'll go pull her over. I want to ask her why! Even if someone else was inconsiderate, Sister Cilian has only been recuperating in her room these past few days and hasn't even seen her. How could she have offended her? Why would she want to harm her?!"
Xu Bai quickly winked at Zhang Da, who then pulled her back and left on his own.
Initially, the nuns were all jealous of Jingyue's favoritism towards the abbess and speculated that she was the one who poisoned Cilian. Now, after hearing her words, and because they disliked Granny Chen even more, they felt that Granny Chen was even more suspicious. They all concluded that she was the one who poisoned Cilian. Some said that she was originally vicious, while others said that she came to the temple to pray for blessings but was actually harboring evil intentions. For a time, there were many different opinions, and they all seemed to make some sense.
Jingzhen turned to the crowd and gently scolded, "Monks should not speak nonsense, and should not falsely accuse people without evidence. Although that Granny Chen has a bad temper, she has no grudge against Cilian. Why would you want to harm her for no reason?" Then she asked Jingyue, "Besides Granny Chen and her maid, did anyone else go to the kitchen last night?"
Jingyue shook her head, crying, "Everyone was asleep by then, and no one went there again. I cooked the porridge and brought it to Sister Cilian, and then went to sleep in Miaohua's room."
Did you see her eat it with your own eyes?
"The porridge was still hot then, so I put it on the table and told her to let it cool down before eating. She agreed, but didn't touch it and told me to go to sleep."
Jingzhen asked Xubai, "Lord Qi, could it be that the poison isn't in the porridge, but in the tea or something else?"
While Xu Bai was still pondering, Yu Qi said in a deep voice, "No, there's no freshly brewed tea in this room. There's only half a pot of tea in that teapot. Didn't Jing Yue just say that she drank tea from that pot last night?"
Jingyue nodded hurriedly, "That's right. Besides, it's the middle of the night. Even if Senior Sister Cilian wants to drink fresh tea, there's no one to brew it for her. Even if someone does, I've locked the kitchen door. Only I and a few people in charge of cooking have the key. Someone will have to come and ask us for the key."
The young nuns in charge of cooking also said they didn't have any.
Yu Qi placed the empty bowl on the small table by the bedside. "There's only this porridge. If the abbot doesn't believe me, just catch a mouse and add some of the leftovers to this bowl, and you'll see."
When Jingzhen heard that he was a miracle doctor, she naturally had no more doubts. She said sadly, "My little disciple Cilian is the gentlest and most compliant in the temple. She has never said a harsh word to anyone. Even if she had met Granny Chen, she would never have any conflict with that benefactor."
Jiuli also thought that Chen San's grandmother was indeed a troublemaker, but even if she loved to cause trouble, she wouldn't be this bad. Besides, she had finally risen from a concubine to the position of wife. No matter how arrogant she was, she should prioritize her future. How could she think of killing someone? She wanted to say something to Yu Qi, but when she saw Yu Qi slowly circling the bathtub, she also lowered her eyelids to look at the bathtub.
Although Du Zhong had never met this person before, he had heard Jiu Li and Zhang Da talk about him yesterday and knew that this person was difficult to deal with. He whispered to Xu Bai, "Could it be that Granny Chen thought that Jing Yue was cooking for herself last night, and did not realize that the porridge in the pot was actually cooked for Master Ci Lian, so that she accidentally harmed someone?"
Xu Bai frowned and remained silent. He walked to Yu Qi's side and asked, "Do you think this case and the Liao Yi case might be the work of the same person?"
Yu Qi glanced at him coldly without answering, and instead twisted his hands behind his back. "What does Lord Qi think?"
Xu Bai chuckled and said, "I feel that the two cases are somewhat similar, but I can't quite put my finger on where the similarities lie."
Jiuli walked up to the two of them and whispered, "It's water."
Yu Qi smiled faintly, but Xu Bai frowned and asked, "What did you say?"
“I said the similarity between the two cases is water.” Jiuli stared at Cilian’s naked body in the bathtub, her brows furrowing. “Liaoyi was stripped of his clothes and deliberately stuffed under the large stone slab in that ditch by the murderer. We all thought it was to hide the body, but now we understand that the murderer’s purpose was not to hide the body, but to deliberately immerse it in water. Cilian’s body was soaking in the bathtub, but just now Jingyue said that when she came in last night, she asked Cilian why she wasn’t asleep yet, and Cilian replied that she felt more refreshed after taking a bath and couldn’t sleep for a while. Cilian had clearly finished bathing and even talked to Jingyue for a while while still dressed, so how come she was in the bathtub? It’s clear that she was stripped of her clothes and put back into the bathtub where she had taken a bath after she died.”
Just as Xu Bai was realizing what was happening, Yu Qi pointed to a few pieces of clothing on the bed and said, "Although the murderers used different methods, they disposed of the bodies in the same way, which clearly indicates that they had the same motive. Moreover, this time the murderer was calmer and his methods were more refined. He didn't just throw the victim's clothes around; instead, he folded them neatly."
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Author's note: Thank you for reading.
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