Chapter Fifty-Eight: Leaving Heluo

Three days passed quickly, yet the murderer remained at large. However, this time, the Tian family was truly finished. Though the world of business valued integrity, the moment one became entangled with the authorities, there was never a shortage of those eager to strike a man when he was down.

Following Qin Shilei’s order for a thorough investigation, all of the Tian family’s questionable dealings were soon exposed one by one. The corpse of the murdered girl was finally claimed—she turned out to be the daughter of Butcher Li from the east side of the city. Before seeing her body, Li had believed his daughter had spent the night with her aunt in the south of the city.

Li saw his daughter’s corpse at the magistrate’s office; the sight left him nearly insane with grief. He ran home like a madman, seized the butcher’s knife from his chopping board, and stormed into the Tian household, injuring several people before he was finally subdued and temporarily thrown into jail. Fortunately, no one died from his rampage, so his punishment amounted to only a few days behind bars. Compared to the agony of losing his daughter, such consequence meant little.

The authorities’ investigation soon led to the Cuiwei Brothel. The madam there had accepted money from Tian Huan and was clearly supplying him with young boys and girls—a crime devoid of conscience. According to the madam’s confession, their usual targets were impoverished but good-looking youths who had nowhere else to turn. That particular night, unable to find a suitable victim, desperation had made them reckless enough to attempt abduction.

On the public court, Qin Shilei was so enraged that he hurled the gavel straight at the madam’s face, knocking her unconscious. There was no escaping this calamity for the Cuiwei Brothel. The madam and several others involved would be lucky to spend the rest of their days in prison, while the girls were consigned to serve as military prostitutes. Thus ended Cuiwei Brothel in tragic disgrace.

When Lian Yue heard the news, her first thought was that her second brother surely had a hand in fueling these events. Who told those people to foolishly cross paths with Yao Yao, that tempestuous young lady? In fact, after she and Yao Yao discussed the situation, they concluded that if Yao Yao had truly been a helpless, defenseless girl, the corpse carried away the next day would most likely have been hers.

Of course, even without Qiao Zhi, there was Meng Chuchen; with either of them, such a tragedy would never have unfolded. But the simple-minded Yao Yao stubbornly insisted that she was somehow implicated in the misfortune that befell Butcher Li’s daughter, and begged Lian Yue to personally petition the Qin household to secure Li's release from prison.

Yet even then, Yao Yao felt it was not enough. If Lian Yue had not stopped her, she probably would have rushed to Li’s home and tried to buy up all their pork just to make amends.

It was then that Yao Yao finally remembered her savior, Qiao Zhi, and that she still owed him money. Lian Yue realized that, ever since Qiao Zhi had escorted Yao Yao home, he had not been seen again. Could he really have taken offense at something she said?

Lian Yue admitted to herself that she had indeed gone too far that day, so she prepared to swallow her pride and extend an olive branch. They sent a message, but the reply came that Qiao Zhi was not in the city. So both their thanks and apologies were postponed.

On the third day of Lian Yue’s stay, word finally came from the Qin residence—they were at last able to depart.

With a murder case still unresolved in Heluo Prefecture, the plan for Yue Shi Ru to travel with Lian Yue’s group fell through, and she could only see them off.

All the city gates of Heluo were under tight scrutiny; anyone bearing wounds had to explain their origin and was subject to examination at the magistrate’s office. This clue arose because Zhang Xingtai, the deputy, had noticed that one of the dead men at the crime scene gripped a sword with about an inch of blood on the tip. Judging by the blood pattern, such a mark would only result from stabbing into a body and drawing the blade out. Blood stains were also found on a nearby rooftop, leading to the deduction that the culprit must have been seriously injured.

Lian Yue and her companions, of course, were spared such interrogation and left the city smoothly. Since they had already lost some time in Heluo, as soon as they were outside, Yue Lingjun quickened the pace, and Lian Yue once again found herself plunged into the endless darkness of the carriage. Fortunately, this time she had Yao Yao for company, so it was not so lonely.

In fact, lonely was hardly the word for it—the atmosphere in the carriage could only be described as lively and boisterous.

Lian Yue and Yao Yao had rolled up their sleeves, each bracing their slender arms against the small table in the center of the carriage, faces flushed and sweating as they shouted at a jar on the table.

Zizhu and Lanshui wielded round fans, diligently creating a breeze for them.

“Bite! Come on, mighty general, attack!” Lian Yue’s eyes blazed. This was the last one—if she lost again, she’d be defeated for good.

Yao Yao, eyebrows raised in triumph, shouted provocatively at the jar, “Go, fierce tiger! What general? Not even worth mentioning here!”

“Bite!”

“Go on!”

“Good job!” Yao Yao clapped her hands and flashed a victory sign at Lian Yue. “See? I told you this one was powerful. It beat all four of yours. Admit defeat.”

Lian Yue shot a fierce glare at her own listless, motionless cricket in the jar, then at Yao Yao’s still puffed-up champion. In a fit of pique, she snatched up the jar and hurled it out the window.

Yao Yao was too late to stop her and looked out the window in distress. “Why’d you do that? That’s cheating!”

Wiping sweat from her brow with an embroidered handkerchief, Lian Yue retorted stubbornly, “Did I say I’d cheat? I lost, I admit it.”

“Then why throw it away?” Yao Yao, realizing Lian Yue wasn’t trying to destroy the evidence, felt a little apologetic. But if that wasn’t her motive, what was?

“There’s only one left. If I didn’t throw it out, would you have it stay and sing songs for you?” Lian Yue replied.

Yao Yao thought for a moment and let the matter drop, turning instead to claim her spoils. “Ten beauty pills—after we return from Nanping, you go to Aunt Lan and get them for me.” She eyed Lian Yue suspiciously. “You really don’t have any on you?”

Of course Lian Yue wouldn’t admit she had two pills in her purse, reserved for use in Nanping. “No! You know how closely Aunt Lan guards them. Doubt me again and I won’t get you even one!”

“Alright, alright. Why so serious? Have some iced tea to cool your throat.” Lanshui handed them each a cup.

Indeed, after all the shouting, their throats were sore, and with the stuffy weather and the threat of rain, the cool drink was refreshing. “Sister Lan, Zizhu, have some too. When we rest, brew a few more pots for the others.”

“No need for you to worry, miss. How could Sister Lan forget the young master?” Zizhu replied with a careless smile.

But her smile froze under Lanshui’s icy stare. Hurriedly, she took the kettle and refilled Lian Yue and Yao Yao’s cups, then poured a cup for Lanshui, only relaxing when Lanshui finally accepted it and brought it to her lips.

Lian Yue shot Zizhu a warning glance and quickly turned to distract Lanshui. “Sister Lan, I heard from my brother that in two days we’ll be able to switch to traveling by river. Is that true?”

“Yes, at our current pace, it'll take three or four days to reach the nearest ferry. The boat is already arranged. If everything goes smoothly, we’ll drift downstream for about four days, then travel one more day to reach Nanping Prefecture.”

“A boat? Does that mean we’ll be sailing?” Yao Yao practically jumped with excitement.

Lian Yue gave her a look that said, “What a silly question—if not by boat, would we swim?” But Yao Yao didn’t mind in the least. Her eyes sparkled as she asked, “What’s it like to ride a boat? Is it dizzying? Is the scenery beautiful?”

Lian Yue, curious herself, joined in as if she hadn’t just scoffed at Yao Yao. “Sister Lan, tell us all about it!”

Lanshui had only travelled by boat a few times, the most memorable being when she accompanied Lian Yu for her wedding. She recounted the sights and her impressions from the journey, captivating the girls with her story.

Lian Yue propped her chin on her hand, completely absorbed, occasionally interrupting with odd questions like, “Do boats ever capsize?” Lanshui took all their questions in stride, patiently explaining each one.

Suddenly, the carriage jolted violently. Lian Yue, who had been reclining on the couch at the back, was thrown up and then landed hard.

She thought she heard a muffled grunt—a man’s voice.

Puzzled, she called through the carriage door to Qingqiu, who was driving, “Did you just make a sound?”

“No, miss!” Qingqiu was equally perplexed. He had clearly seen the rock in the road, yet somehow the wheel had still hit it. His arms felt strangely weak today.

“Elder Sister Yue, did you hear a man’s voice? I did. It seemed to come from right under where you’re sitting.” As she spoke, Yao Yao pointed at the couch.

Lian Yue realized she hadn’t imagined it. She hurriedly moved away from the couch, only to stumble and collapse into Lanshui’s arms. This time, Lanshui failed to catch her, and poor Lian Yue ended up sprawled on the floor of the carriage, barely able to move a finger. Yao Yao and Zizhu fared no better, all of them limp and powerless—they had clearly been drugged.

Moreover, hidden in the secret compartment beneath the couch, among the bedding, was an enemy. When had he administered the drug? How had he done it? What kind of poison could incapacitate four trained martial artists so silently and efficiently?

Thankfully, though they could not move, they could still speak. The ever-calm Lanshui was first to act, ordering Qingqiu to stop the carriage.

One breath, two, three—the carriage came to a jolting halt. Qingqiu finally responded, but with troubling news. His voice was tense and tinged with panic: “Miss, I have no strength at all. The young masters seem to be the same. Some of the horses have even collapsed. What’s happening on your end?”

Lian Yue’s heart raced with fear. Even her brothers had been affected—what on earth did this person want? The one now hiding in her carriage was almost certainly the murderer her uncle was seeking. That meant...

She looked at Lanshui in terror, seeing her grave expression, yet she remained calmer than the others. Staring at the couch, Lanshui spoke coldly, “Surely you’ve heard everything by now. None of us can move. Why keep hiding in the shadows?”