Chapter 16 Synaesthesia

Ming Huachang felt a little embarrassed after she finished speaking. She had no evidence at all, but based on a "feeling", she made Ming Huazhang give up his plan and join her in her nonsense. She was really too self-righteous.

Unexpectedly, Ming Huazhang turned around, looked at Ming Huachang seriously, and asked, "Is this the reason why you insisted on coming with me?"

Ming Huashang felt even more embarrassed. She nodded slightly and looked at him with her grape-shaped eyes, looking weak and pitiful, but righteous.

As expected, Ming Huazhang was not surprised. He had long felt that Ming Huachang's behavior these days was a little strange. It wasn't that she was suspicious, but that she seemed to see the world differently from others.

Ming Huazhang still remembers that when she first saw Wei Zi's corpse, she sorted out the legends about the snake and the ghost, and thought of putting herself on the side of the snake and the ghost.

It was a strange angle, but it was also a new idea. Since Ming Huazhang had come out, he had no intention of going back early. He didn't mind the trouble and nodded, "Okay."

He was also curious about what she wanted to do.

Ming Huazhang's answer was simple, without any extra conditions or reasons, and he didn't ask her why. Ming Huachang was stunned for a moment, and then said in surprise: "Thank you, second brother! Second brother, you are the best!"

Ming Huazhang was a little worried that she would come at him again, but fortunately, Ming Huachang was wrapped in a thick cloak and was able to control her joy in time. Ming Huachang could only express her gratitude verbally, and she kept giving Ming Huachang compliments without asking for money, and she also pointed out the direction: "Second brother, I want to go there first."

Ming Huazhang was not used to her way of expressing her feelings. The friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, while the friendship between villains is as sweet as honey. Ming Huachang was acting coquettishly and hugging him, which was a bit too sweet. But this was her only sister, and Ming Huazhang was afraid that it would hurt her face if he said it out loud, so he could only let her do as she pleased.

Ming Huashang was immediately more courageous with someone by her side, and she even walked more boldly. She followed her memory and went to the banquet hall on the 14th day of the first lunar month.

Ming Huazhang saw the road around him and understood her intention: "Are you suspicious about the banquet on the 14th?"

"That's right." Ming Huashang stood on the corridor, her white cloak covered with snow, looking like the wind and snow, staring at the dark palace in front of her. In her eyes, time seemed to flow backwards, the lanterns on the corridor lit up, charcoal fires were burning in the palace, the voices were bustling, and many beauties in gorgeous clothes were talking and laughing under the lights. The noble ladies leaned on the railings and chatted, they were dressed very lightly, as if the cold wind from the mountains could not blow on them at all. Many maids were also inside, they were obviously poor, but they were dressed like the daughters of princes.

Ming Huashang stared blankly ahead, as if it was not a desolate and dark place, but a banquet with clinking glasses and warm aromas. She was still herself, but now she was not herself.

Ming Huazhang stood behind and looked at Ming Huashang silently.

Ming Huashang continued to walk forward. The rest of the place was so dark and cold. What drove him to leave the lights in the banquet hall? Because he saw a woman. She was wearing a red dress. Under the lights, her back looked exquisite, charming and lovely.

The villa was dark and silent late at night, with howling wind and snow. The corridor was dark and empty, but in Ming Huashang's eyes, there was a maid holding a lantern walking in front of her. She had a slender figure and walked particularly gently, as if she could be knocked down with one punch.

Why didn't he kill her? Maybe she was going to deliver something, or meet an important person. If he killed her now, it would only alert the enemy. So he had to wait until she put the things down before he killed her. The return trip was so long, and there were opportunities everywhere.

But there were several unpleasant surprises along the way. First, near the rockery, she bumped into Ren Yao, a young lady from a noble family. She stopped and said a few auspicious words to Ren Yao. She finally continued walking forward, and finally got out of the sight of the young lady from a noble family, but she met another uninvited guest.

A female guest named Ming Huashang, also from a noble family. They both scared each other, and he must have been a little anxious at this time, so after Chi Lan left Ming Huashang, he didn't wait any longer, and almost couldn't wait to jump out and strangle her neck with the rope he had prepared long ago. He stared at her eyes until those eyes lost focus.

When Ming Huachang thought of this, she was suddenly squeezed out of the state of synaesthesia.

No, that doesn't make sense.

Ming Huachang turned around and saw the long and deep corridors. The wind and snow passed through the courtyard, making it even more quiet. This scene was very similar to the day when she bumped into Chi Lan when she was fourteen. She also didn't take a lantern and walked in the courtyard. The difference was that this time, Ming Huazhang stood quietly three steps behind her.

Ming Huazhang looked at her silently and secretly, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I don't think it makes sense." Ming Huashang frowned and said distressedly, "The murderer followed Chi Lan from Nuan Ge to here. When I was talking to Chi Lan, he must have been nearby. He followed for such a long time and even prepared a weapon, which shows that he had planned it. If he had planned it, why did he choose a banquet with so many people and a lot of excitement? This kind of place is the most likely to have accidents."

There were bruises on Chi Lan's neck. Although she was hung on the beam, the marks ran from the side of the throat to behind the ear. This direction was definitely not something that could be caused by hanging herself. She must have been strangled to death.

He gouged out the eyes of the murderer after killing him, which shows how deep his hatred was. If he was seeking revenge, why didn't he choose a quiet place at night? If he was impulsive, why would he follow him for so long?

Ming Huashang's mind was in a mess, because she couldn't figure out this node, and she couldn't enter the state of empathy with the murderer. Ming Huashang had a hunch that if she solved this puzzle, the case would be solved.

Ming Huazhang raised his eyebrows: "When the murderer killed Chi Lan, you were not far away?"

Ming Huazhang only knew that she had met Chi Lan, but she didn't expect that the two places were so close. Ming Huachang only realized at this time that she had been so close to death.

Ming Huashang suddenly had an idea in her mind, and she suddenly realized something: "Maybe I know why he placed the body in our yard."

Ming Huazhang looked at her without comment. Ming Huashang took two quick steps, stopped in front of a pillar, and looked up at the beams.

Princess Taiping wanted to keep things quiet, so she had already cleaned up all the traces, including the bloody words on the ground and the blood spots on the pillars. Ming Huashang ran over from behind and saw an empty body when she looked up. She didn't think it was unusual at the time, but now she thinks that this is the back hall of the banquet hall, and it is common sense that the direction should be facing the banquet hall.

Why were Chi Lan's eyes, which had been dug out, not facing the direction they came from, but facing backwards?

It seemed that the other party knew that Ming Huashang and Ren Yao were behind and deliberately wanted them to see this scene. Unexpectedly, another young lady and a maid came by by chance and saw the dead body before them.

Ming Huachang suddenly became enlightened, and the thoughts that had been blocked just now became clear.

Ming Huazhang kept observing her expression and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Second brother, I understand!" Ming Huashang was excited. She didn't care about the difference between men and women. She grabbed Ming Huazhang's arm and said, "Look at that maid hanging here. Doesn't she look like a flag?"

Flag? Ming Huazhang didn't notice that Ming Huachang was too close to him, and looked in the direction of her finger. He still remembered the length, angle, and shape of the body. He had been looking for details before, but now that he had separated himself from the details and looked at the whole, he indeed made many new discoveries.

As a murder case, it is not reasonable for the murderer to hang the victim in such a conspicuous place. Unless the murderer did it on purpose and wanted more people to see it.

Ming Huazhang frowned and asked, "But why would he do this? The sooner the body is exposed, the greater the chance that he will be discovered. Why would he want to cause himself trouble?"

Ordinary people would cover up their murders for self-protection, so why did they do so braggingly? Ming Huashang tried to imitate the murderer's mentality at the time and said, "People will be afraid after committing a crime and will never make it public unless they are not afraid. What is his basis? Why is he not afraid?"

Ming Huachang's eyes widened in focus, as if she had returned to the day of the murder, when Chi Lan lost her breath in front of "her" eyes. Then, he dug out Chi Lan's eyes, with people in front and behind him, and he was a little flustered. He hastily hung Chi Lan up, wrote something on the ground, and fled, without even having time to clean up the bloodstains on the ground.

After returning, perhaps because no one discovered that he was the murderer, or perhaps because the fear on the faces of the royal nobles pleased him, or perhaps someone encouraged him, he became arrogant again. The second time he chose Wei Zi as his target, she was more beautiful, and most importantly, she was of a higher status, and was the favored maid of Princess Taiping.

He felt even more satisfied, and his confidence also swelled. This time, he made the scene more delicate than the first time, with almost no blood stains on the ground, and he took many details into consideration, even letting Wei Zi write the blood words herself.

He took pleasure from Wei Zi's frightened eyes, and she thought he would let her go after she did so, so she wrote obediently. Then, he killed her in her unbelievable eyes.

He got a supreme pleasure of manipulating other people's fate. He put a red dress on her, and Wei Zi, who behaved like a princess, had to obey him and wear the clothes he liked. Then, he dug out her eyes.

Ming Huashang felt unhappy. Yes, unhappy. The murderer must have been unhappy when he dug out Wei Zi's eyes after changing her into a red dress. This was his woman, his exquisite collection. Digging out her eyes completely destroyed her beauty, but he had to do it.

Before she knew it, Ming Huashang had reached the second crime scene. She stopped in front of a tree where a line of bloody words had been written not long ago. Unfortunately, now only the bare trunk remained, and the bark had been dug out by someone who had ordered it.

Ming Huachang touched the smooth trunk with her fingers. She thought this height was just right, but Ming Huazhang would have to bend down to see it. Ming Huachang's fingertips were cold, and through the endless night, she seemed to feel the temperature of Wei Zi's fingers when she was trembling here writing a word a day ago.

Ming Huashang suddenly said, "Second brother, gouging out eyes and killing people are two different actions."

Ming Huazhang didn't bother her, but he followed her all the time. Hearing this, he tilted his head slightly, expressing his confusion: "Huh?"

"Murdering people, or more precisely, manipulating those rich and beautiful women, is what he wanted to do. Gouging out eyes was another person's idea. Even I think that killing Chi Lan was not what he wanted to do."

Compared with Wei Zi, Chi Lan's death scene was too simple. And in terms of appearance, Chi Lan was far inferior to Wei Zi.

This may be because the murderer was more experienced and calmer the second time, but Ming Huashang thinks it is because these two women are not the same at all.

Wei Zi was the prey that met his aesthetic standards, while Chi Lan was just an accident, a compulsion, or even a mission.

Ming Huazhang raised his eyebrows, stared at her silently with his cold eyes, and asked, "What's the reason?"

"I can't explain it." Ming Huashang exhaled. She didn't lie. She really couldn't explain the reason. "It's just a feeling."

Ming Huazhang realized that Ming Huachang's perception of psychological states was extremely sharp, which was amazing. He did not ask further questions and asked, "What else?"

What happened next? Ming Huashang recalled what happened that morning.

Wei Zi was hung high up just like Chi Lan, but this time the murderer was more pleased with himself. He was eager for others to see it and for everyone to appreciate his "masterpiece".

Everything went as he wished, and the nobles became even more frightened. Everyone was paying attention to him, talking about him, and fearing him, which made him feel extremely wonderful. However, such a feast was ruined by a few people.

Those boys and girls were not afraid of him at all, and they scoffed at the talk of snakes and ghosts. They stole his limelight and searched for him in the villa, as if they didn't take him seriously at all.

How could he tolerate such an offense? He must teach them a lesson!

The wind blew, and the snowballs on the treetops fell down and hit Ming Huachang's hands, but she didn't react at all. Ming Huazhang saw that her fingers were frozen red, frowned slightly, pulled her hand over, and covered it with the cloak.

Ming Huashang didn't care what Ming Huazhang did to her hand. She raised her eyes and looked at Ming Huazhang excitedly, her eyes bright as torches: "Second brother, I think I guessed something. We may have seen this person before."

Ming Huazhang did not say whether he believed it or not, but just asked: "Who do you think it is?"

Ming Huashang shook her head with a frank look in her eyes, but what she said was very strange: "I don't know who he is exactly, but I know what kind of person he is."