Chapter 81 The Immortal in the Hermitage (24) The third person.
Since the man was in his early twenties and dressed well, Yu Qi couldn't help but take out the sachet to examine it. As he stroked it, he thought to himself that this man was indeed quite capable, having relationships with Yi Cilian and Miaohua at the same time. He wondered who this person was.
Therefore, he instructed Jiuli, "When you go to the temple this afternoon, remember to ask Jingyue if there is such a young gentleman who often comes to the temple to offer incense."
Jiuli nodded and changed into a white mourning dress when she returned. She had never worn mourning clothes before. Looking in the mirror, the white dress and skirt gave her a unique and poignant charm. She couldn't help but smile. "No wonder people say that if you want to look pretty, wear mourning clothes."
As Xiuzhi pulled at her skirt, she chuckled and said, "Don't say that. I wish I could never wear this kind of dress again!"
Yu Qi walked down to the bottom of the screen and laughed, "Logically speaking, I'm supposed to die before you, so you'll definitely have to wear this outfit someday."
Upon hearing this, Jiuli spat on the ground a few times, turned around and glared at him, "Don't say such unlucky things!"
He chuckled. "Don't want me to die?"
She didn't say anything, her face puffed up with anger.
Xiuzhi then said, "Master, please don't say such things. Although you are joking, it will make the young lady sad. She lost her parents at a young age and only you and the old lady can rely on her. How could she bear to see you die?"
Yu Qi looked indifferent. "It's no use not talking about it or thinking about it. Everyone has to die eventually."
Jiuli said defiantly, "Fine, if you die, I'll bring my children to keep vigil for you for three days and three nights!"
The old woman also changed into plain clothes and came over. Fengqiao hired a carriage, and the two of them went to Qinglian Temple together. In the afternoon, the sky cleared up again, and the road was mostly dry. The carriage bounced back and forth, making the old woman's forehead crease with endless worry.
The old lady was afraid of making a mistake and giving herself away, so she kept asking Jiuli about the matter. Jiuli just said, "There's nothing to be afraid of. You're just accompanying me to make it look good. Those old nuns will definitely try to keep me here. Just go with the flow and do as they say, and go home on your own."
The old woman nodded blankly, then realized something was wrong. "What if they really have bad intentions towards you and leave you there? What if something happens to you?"
"No, Xu Bai is still in the temple, and there are quite a few yamen runners there too."
"If those people are going to do something bad, they certainly won't do it openly. What if they try something underhanded? It's hard to guard against a villain."
Jiuli chuckled and said, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If they don't use tricks, how can we use them as evidence of forcing women into prostitution?"
The old woman glanced at her sideways and muttered, "This is something the government should be handling—"
“Isn’t Uncle practically a government official now?” Jiu Li placed his hand on hers and shook it reassuringly. “Besides, even if it has nothing to do with me, I can’t pretend to be blind. If everyone in the world were to protect themselves, wouldn’t the world be full of troubles and turmoil?”
The old lady scolded, "I don't know how I raised you. I was supposed to raise a maid, but you turned out to be a knight-errant."
But the matter was not over, and another twist occurred. By dinnertime, upon arriving at Qinglian Temple, they found four constables guarding the gate, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving. Inside the temple, they found a large crowd gathered in front of the room where the body had been kept. Jiuli was puzzled. Hadn't Liaoyi Cilian's body been buried? Why were these nuns crowding in front of that room?
The old lady also chimed in, "It seems like something's happened again?"
Jiuli was also confused. The two of them walked down the corridor together. Before they reached the door, they saw Zhang Da hurriedly squeeze out of the crowd, holding onto a corridor pillar and gagging.
"Brother Zhang, what brings you here? Didn't you say you were coming tomorrow?"
Zhang Da shook his hand and grinned, saying, "Stop talking. After we parted ways, as soon as I got home, I found Ah Liu waiting for me at home. He said that the yamen runners who rushed to Qinglian Temple at noon found a body in the pond outside the mountain gate, so I rushed over with the coroner without stopping."
Jiuli was greatly surprised. "Another corpse has been discovered?!"
Zhang Da's expression was grave. "This murderer has absolutely no respect for the authorities. We're still guarding Qinglian Temple, and he's killing people with such impunity!"
"Who died this time?"
"You would never have imagined that several nuns would recognize Huixin's corpse."
"Huixin?!" In her shock, Jiuli also found his words strange. How could only a few nuns recognize her?
Zhang Da squinted and swallowed repeatedly, then pointed to the wall with his backhand, "You'll see when you go in."
Jiuli squeezed into the house. Before she even entered, a stench hit her nose. From afar, she could see that the corpse on the bed was bald, with a swollen belly and layers of skin like a crumpled cloth. Upon closer inspection, the skin on his face was so wrinkled that his features were unrecognizable. No wonder he couldn't be identified at a glance.
It was the first time she had ever seen a corpse like this, and she didn't dare to approach it for a moment. Xu Bai hurriedly walked towards her, his face also solemn. "There is a small flower-shaped tattoo on her back. Huixin has had it since she was a child. It is probably a mark that her parents made when they abandoned her."
Jiuli was still in a daze. He covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief and glanced towards the door. "How are the preparations for Mr. Yu's funeral going?"
Upon being asked, Jiuli suddenly came to her senses and hurriedly said with a few sobs, "Du Zhong is at home making arrangements, and the old lady and I are here to pack up my uncle's things."
As she spoke, she kept looking at the bed board, recalling Huixin's gentle smile when she spoke to her that day. She couldn't bear to connect it with the unrecognizable, decaying corpse before her. "Wasn't Huixin supposed to be attending some kind of Wuzhe Assembly at Dajue Temple? How could she have died?"
The coroner had just finished his examination, packed up his box, and came back to report, "It seems that Huixin has been dead for seven or eight days. She drowned and has been submerged in water. In addition, the weather has been unpredictable these past few days, with alternating sunshine and rain, and the water temperature has been unstable, so the body has decomposed very quickly."
Upon closer examination, if Huixin died seven or eight days ago, wouldn't that be the two days she went to Dajue Temple to attend the Wuzhe Assembly? Surely she wasn't drowned in the lotus pond by the murderer as soon as she left the temple? But she left during the day; if she encountered the murderer outside, how could she not cry for help? If she had cried for help, the people in the temple shouldn't have missed her.
After pondering for a moment, Xu Bai frowned and murmured, "If she drowned in the pond, how could it have taken so many days to be discovered—"
The coroner said, "That's possible. When a body drowns, it usually sinks to the bottom and only rises to the surface a few days later due to decomposition and bloating."
Jiuli shook her head. "No, we often go to that pond. The water is less than half a zhang deep, so even if someone is submerged, we can still see them."
Xu Bai nodded. "I think the murderer killed Huixin elsewhere and moved her body to the lotus pond in front of the gate last night." He then went to the gate and instructed a yamen runner, "Go to Dajue Temple and ask if Huixin has been to the temple."
Dajue Temple is located in Shangyuan County, and it takes only half a day to get there. According to Jingzhen, Qinglian Temple and Dajue Temple often have exchanges. In the past, whenever there was such a grand event, Huixin would go alone. She was already familiar with the route. If she had never been to Dajue Temple, she would have met with a terrible fate on the day she left.
The nuns below, including Yu Qi, saw that there were already four lives lost, and a sense of panic arose. Some cried, some were afraid, and their murmurings blended with the stench, making one feel as if they had fallen into a pit of rotting flesh. Xu Bai could not bear it any longer, so he led Jiu Li out of the room, dispersed the crowd, and ordered Jing Zhen and the others to quickly burn the bodies to prevent the spread of plague. At the same time, he secretly instructed Zhang Da to inform Yu Qi.
Logically, Zhang Da rode his horse to Liuli Street, and by then it was already dark. The shops in front had long since closed, so he went into the alley and knocked on the ceremonial gate. At that time, Yu Qi was in his room settling accounts with Feng Qiao. When he heard the ceremonial gate knocking urgently, he thought something had happened to Jiu Li at Qinglian Temple, so he and Feng Qiao hurried to the front yard.
Yu Qing had just opened the door when she saw Zhang Da rushing over. Yu Qi couldn't wait to greet him and asked, "Is there something going on between Yu'er and the old lady at the temple?"
Zhang Da quickly waved his hand, "It's not the old lady and the girl Yu'er. Another body has been pulled from the lotus pond outside Qinglian Temple. It's Huixin's."
Yu Qi's expression softened, and he led him inside, instructing Yu Qing to serve tea. Once inside, Zhang Da recounted the coroner's examination of the body in one breath. When Yu Qing brought in the tea, he noticed it was cold-brewed and hurriedly drank the whole bowl before taking out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.
Yu Qi came out of the room, one arm behind his back, frowning as he looked out the window. "Liaoyi, Cilian, Huixin—what is the connection between the murderer and them?"
"Right now, all we know is that the murderer is a young official, and nothing else. Although there are a few young gentlemen among the regular worshippers at Qinglian Temple, I have asked the other nuns in the temple, and they all say that they have never seen them have any private dealings with these deceased people."
Yu Qi gazed at the crescent moon half-hidden by clouds. “Perhaps those young nuns below are completely unaware of the situation above. Qinglian Temple is most afraid of too many people talking about such things. Jingzhen and the others must be acting in secrecy. Even if you ask these old ones, you won’t get any real information. Right now, we have to expose their crimes first, imprison them, and then question them.”
Zhang Da nodded, "Lord Qi thinks so too."
Yu Qi suddenly looked down at him, "By the way, did you see that Miaohua at Qinglian Temple?"
“No, that’s not true. I asked around when I got to Qinglian Temple this afternoon. The young nuns all thought that Miaohua was still staying in Liuhe County. I think those old nuns probably know that Miaohua left the temple to have an abortion, or that Miaohua’s departure was arranged by them. They should also know that she is temporarily staying near Lion Bridge, but they just won’t admit it.” Yu Qi was silent for a while before saying, “You should go back to Qinglian Temple and take good care of Yu’er for me.”
Although Xu Bai was in the temple, Zhang Da was a martial artist and more alert than the average person, so he had to hurry back to the temple.
Just as the temple gates closed, they heard someone knocking again. The guards looked and saw that it was Jingzhen and others who had returned from the back mountain with a group of nuns after burning Huixin's body.
After a flurry of activity, it was nearly midnight, and a light rain was falling. Jingzhen, Jueming, and Jueguang returned to their room with lanterns. Soon after, Jingyue brought in dinner for the three of them. Jingzhen glanced at her and saw that her eyes were red from crying, making her even more pitiful. Instead of feeling sad, she started thinking about how she and Jiuli could further promote Qinglian Temple.
Taking the opportunity, she asked about Jiuli and the old lady. Jingyue replied, "The two of them have been settled in the guest room where Mr. Yu used to stay. They have put away the things Mr. Yu left behind and said they will go home first thing tomorrow morning."
Na Jueming chanted Buddhist prayers, "With Mr. Yu's death, I wonder how heartbroken she and her granddaughter will be, and how they will cope with the days to come."
Jueguang sighed, “What kind of longevity can an old woman have? The Yu family has no heirs, and even if they have a family business, there is no one to carry it on.”
Jueming opened his eyes and asked the two of them in confusion, "I saw that Mr. Yu's face was dark a while ago, as if he had offended a jinx, but it was hard to say. Now it seems that not only has he offended a jinx, but my Qinglian Temple has also been cursed. Otherwise, how could so many misfortunes have happened one after another? I heard that Miss Jiuli lost her parents when she was young, could it be that—"
Before he could finish speaking, Jingzhen interrupted him while chanting Buddhist prayers, saying, "You can't just say things like that."
Jueguang chimed in, "This is not nonsense. Recently, our temple has been plagued by misfortunes. I did some divination at night, and it was precisely because we have clashed with an inauspicious star. If you think about it carefully, ever since that young benefactor came to our temple, first it was Liaoyi, then Cilian, and now it is Huixin. How could it be such a coincidence?"
Jingyue had been listening to the three women talk for a while and found their words to make sense. The temple had always been perfectly fine, but things had indeed started to go haywire after Jiuli arrived. Thinking of this, she turned to open the door and leave, saying, "I'll go and drive Yu Jiuli away right now!"
"Stop!" Jingzhen shouted at her to come back, her face compassionate but her words righteous. "Buddha always helps people overcome difficulties. Moreover, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva once said, 'If I don't go to hell, who will?' Instead of helping her and her family through this calamity, you drive her away? You've wasted the last two months of your Buddhist practice."
Jueming and Jueguang hurriedly echoed, "Amitabha, Abbot's words are the right ones. With the Buddha's compassion, she can be converted into Buddhism and practice under the Bodhisattva for a few years, and she will be able to expel the evil spirits."
Upon hearing that Jiuli was to shave her head and become a nun, Jingyue felt a pang of pity. What a pampered young lady she was, who could have enjoyed endless happiness at home, why should she come to this place to live a life of hardship? For a moment, she felt sorry for Jiuli and sighed.
The next day, Jingyue brought hot tea to Jiuli's room. When she entered, she didn't see Old Madam Yu. When she asked Jiuli, she learned that the old lady had gone to the front to ask Jingzhen and others to chant sutras for Yu Qi's soul. She thought that Jingzhen and the others would definitely take the opportunity to tell the old lady that they wanted to convert Jiuli to become a nun. But this person knew nothing about it and was just yawning as if it were none of her business.
Jiuli turned her head and noticed her strange gaze, so she asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?"
Jingyue put down her tea and asked coldly, "Your uncle is dead. Do you have any plans for the future? Are you engaged?"
Speaking of this, Jiuli quickly squeezed out two tears, brushed her skirt, and sat down at the table. "I still have my grandmother, so naturally I live with her."
Jingyue curled her lip. "I've heard many stories of grandmothers selling their granddaughters to make a living. Your family has some wealth, so you don't need to do that, but let me tell you the unpleasant truth: grandmothers and granddaughters are from different generations and can't rely on each other. They can easily become distant. Besides, you're a jinx. Even your uncle was killed by you, and my senior sisters suffered misfortunes because you came to the temple. Do you think your old lady won't feel any resentment when she hears these things?"
These words must have been spoken to her by Jingzhen and the others. Jiuli was disdainful, but she raised her red-rimmed eyes and asked, "So you've come to avenge your senior sisters?"
Jingyue sat down, feeling deflated. "Even if you are a jinx, you didn't kill the person. The grievances have their perpetrators, and the debts have their debtors. Why would I seek revenge against you? I only hate the murderer!"
“That’s the clear answer.” Jiuli turned to her and said, “I must catch the murderer to avenge my uncle. You also want to avenge your senior sisters, don’t you? So you have to tell me the truth: where did your senior sister Miaohua go?”
"They went to Liuhe County to stay overnight, so why ask again and again?"
It seems Jingyue is unaware of the truth either. Jiuli rolled her eyes and asked again, "Have your Senior Sister Miaohua ever had any arguments or disputes with Liaoyi, Cilian, and Huixin?"
"Do you suspect Senior Sister Miaohua?" Jingyue shook her head to herself. "No, although Senior Sister Miaohua is a bit aloof and doesn't like to talk to us newcomers, she is very close to the other senior sisters."
Why didn't Miaohua return to Qinglian Temple after leaving the rented house? Could it be that she couldn't stand being manipulated by Jingzhen and the others, and took the opportunity to elope with that young man? But where could she have run off to? And who exactly is that man?
"You should think carefully about whether there is a handsome and refined man in his twenties who often comes to burn incense in this temple, or who has stayed in your temple temporarily and may have some personal relationship with your senior sisters."
“There are plenty of men in their twenties, and some are regulars. Who are you asking about?” Jingyue thought her question was strange, and assumed they thought the murderer was a man in his twenties. So she thought about it carefully for a while. “I’ve only been practicing at the temple for two months. During this time, I’ve only seen ordinary worshippers. My fellow disciples have just treated them according to the rules. I haven’t seen any private interactions with them. If you’re talking about someone who has stayed at the temple recently, it’s that young master Wei you asked about a few days ago.”
Wei Xiao had already returned to the capital; this had been verified, so it couldn't be him. Jiu Li had no choice but to urge her again, gesturing as she spoke, "Think carefully again. He's probably about half a head shorter than Lord Qi, with a slender build, and likely usually wears plain-colored robes."
As Jingyue slowly shook her head, she heard the last sentence, and a figure suddenly flashed through her mind. However, she couldn't be sure if she could say it, so she just remained silent and lost in thought.
Jiuli glanced at her strange expression and pressed her for an answer: "Did you remember something?"
Jingyue was silent for a while before saying, "I can't really explain it. I only remember that during my first month here, one night I woke up because I dreamt that I was at home. I got up and went to the courtyard to clear my head. In the darkness, I thought I saw a man in a white robe disappear from under the eaves. His height and build were about the same as what you described. I thought the temple had been robbed, so I rushed to tell my master. My master told us to search the temple with lanterns, but we couldn't find anyone. We asked the people on night duty at the gatehouse, but they said they hadn't heard anything. They all said I was just dreaming and that's how I saw things. Later, I just assumed I was seeing things."
"Were there any guests staying overnight at your temple that night?"
"No." Jingyue shook her head firmly.
As they were talking, Jingyue heard the old lady return and took her leave. The old lady hurriedly closed the door as soon as she came in, saying that the nuns Jingzhen had indeed told her some "evil star" theories and urged her to leave Jiuli in the temple to cultivate.
Jiuli covered her mouth and chuckled, "So what did you say in response?"
“I couldn’t say I didn’t believe it, but I also couldn’t easily believe it, for fear of arousing their suspicion. The abbot said that my son had just died, and since he died in the temple, I was afraid his soul was still lingering there. I had to write a memorial tablet in front of the Bodhisattva and send a relative here to keep vigil and perform rituals for him. So I took the opportunity to say that I would keep you here for a few days.”
"And what did they say?"
The old lady pouted indignantly, "Of course they'd love to! Girl, I'm going this afternoon, I'm just worried about you being alone here. Your uncle is the same, he wouldn't feel comfortable leaving you here!"
Jiuli could only try to persuade her again and again, but the old lady was still uneasy. She could only secretly call Xu Bai and Zhang Da into the room to entrust them with some matters. After everyone had lunch together, they hired a carriage to go home.
After seeing the old lady off to her carriage, Jiuli saw Xu Bai and Zhang Da leading several yamen runners searching for something on the other side of the lotus pond. She went over and asked, "Have you found anything useful?"
Xu Bai straightened up and pointed to it for her, "Look at this wheel rut, it looks like the mark of a wheelbarrow. I think the murderer must have moved the body from here in the middle of the night. It's impossible for him to drag the body around the streets in broad daylight. The lotus pond is covered with lotus leaves that reach the sky, so even if someone passed by in the morning, they wouldn't have noticed it. It wasn't until the body drifted to the other side at noon that the yamen runners who came to the temple on duty saw it."
Following the cart tracks, Jiuli parted the half-yellowed reeds and discovered a small path hidden there. Looking along the path, she saw rice paddies. "Where does this road lead?"
Xu Bai gazed into the fields and said, "If you go through the fields, you can reach the main road, which connects to the main street we came from on our way to Qinglian Temple."
Jiuli couldn't help but think of Miaohua and frowned. "It seems the murderer is very familiar with the layout of Qinglian Temple. We've walked around this lotus pond several times and still haven't found this path."
Zhang Da walked over and said, "I think it was Miao Hua and her lover. Perhaps it was the lover who did the killing. Even if Miao Hua didn't participate in the crime, she must have known about it. She's probably fleeing to avoid punishment."
Xu Bai nodded. "The people sent to Dajue Temple came back and said that Huixin had never been to Dajue Temple at all."
Jiuli also said, "She probably went to visit Miaohua at her residence that day. Judging from the tone of her voice when she spoke to me that day, she knew about the sordid affairs at Qinglian Temple, so she probably also knew about Miaohua's abortion after leaving the temple. While she was on her way to Dajue Temple, she went to Miaohua's residence first—"
Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Da interrupted, "Then he was killed by Miaohua and her lover."
But there was one thing Jiuli couldn't understand: since the person had already been drowned, which perfectly matched the murderer's previous modus operandi of "immersing the body in water," why did he have to move the body back to the pond in front of Qinglian Temple?
She buried herself in thought for a while, but the sun was so strong that she felt dizzy from the intense heat. Xu Bai hurriedly advised her to go back to her room for a nap, since they had no other clues at the moment. They could only send someone to the main street to inquire whether anyone had seen anyone acting suspiciously passing by the door the night before.
Jiuli agreed to go back to her room to sleep. She opened her eyes groggily at some point and glanced at the man sitting by the octagonal table outside the screen. She looked closely and recognized his lonely back so well that she would recognize him even if he turned to ashes!
She wasn't surprised and got up to walk over. "Uncle, what are you doing here again? Aren't you afraid those nuns will see you?"
Hearing the rustling of bamboo branches on the roof, she looked up at the beam and saw that the glazed tiles on the roof had indeed been removed. She guessed that he must have used the height of the bamboo grove behind to climb over the roof and jump down. She smiled and said, "It's been so many years since you've climbed over a high wall. How come your skills haven't gotten rusty?"
Yu Qi turned his head, scrutinized her for a moment, and smiled slightly, "So you remember things from when you were little."
Jiuli walked up to him with a tilted face, a smile on her face, and a smug look on her face. "I remember some things and I don't remember others, but I can't forget the way you jumped down from the roof back then. You looked like a god descending from the sky, so majestic!"
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Author's note: Thank you for reading.
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