Chapter Fifty-Five: The Divine Logic of the Public Trial (IV)

"Don't be afraid. Even though I know you forged this counterfeit, as for its true purpose, you could never have imagined it—otherwise, you would never have sent your foster father to his death with your own hands," Chen Tianyu said gently.

Li Futang trembled all over, unable to speak.

Chen Tianyu pressed on, "Someone threatened you, made you forge the counterfeit in exchange for your shop's survival. You run a shady business—surely you didn’t have the courage to refuse, did you?"

"You… how did you know?" Li Futang blurted out, which was as good as a confession.

Chen Tianyu smiled faintly. "I guessed. In fact, with bronzeware, the hardest thing to imitate isn't the inscription, but the verdigris coating the entire piece. Over long ages, that patina undergoes several transformations; in the end, it clings to the bronze as if it grew there, no longer resting on the surface—impossible to simply wipe off, and even harder to fake. Inscriptions, however, are easily forged and artificially aged."

"Don’t ask me how I know these things—we have an expert who’s studied relics for years." He was referring, of course, to Liu Zichen, the relic enthusiast.

"But in front of everyone, within minutes, you pointed out a flaw in the inscription. Either your knowledge is truly impressive, or you failed to anticipate that the real Fish Intestine Sword’s inscription would be so crisp. Earlier, I’ve proven your expertise is only amateur level…" He'd just played a bit of sleight of hand; naturally, he knew where the genuine piece was.

"Are you even human—or something else?" Li Futang shuddered uncontrollably.

"Whether I’m human or not, I only want to hear from your own lips who the real killer is," Chen Tianyu said coldly.

Li Futang reflexively glanced toward a certain face in the crowd—one that remained inscrutable.

Chen Tianyu gave a mocking laugh, tossed the counterfeit into Li Futang’s arms, bent to pick up the real Fish Intestine Sword, and sighed softly.

"People are blinded by profit and greed. All they see is your price, never caring that you were once an object of terror! Master Ouyezi, assassin Zhu Zhu, perhaps you lie uneasy in your graves."

"Li Futang, to make ill-gotten gains, you haven’t dared return home for over a decade. Who knows how many relics from Licun have passed through your hands? Now you’ve even indirectly caused your foster father’s death—will you still refuse to wake up?" Chen Tianyu rebuked him sternly.

Suddenly, Li Futang clapped his hands over his ears, growing manic. "It’s not my fault—it’s not my fault! These people, they were so desperate, they forced me to traffic relics—I didn’t want to! I’ve made enough, I don’t even need money! I’m not short on money! I didn’t kill my father—it wasn’t me—it wasn’t me!" He jabbed a finger at the crowd, as if he’d like to poke them all in the face.

He stumbled back a few steps, then turned and fled, not caring if the ground was road or field, falling several times and plastering himself with mud, but heedless—his only thought was to escape this place of sin.

The crowd exchanged uneasy glances. Evil thrives among many; perhaps they too needed to reflect deeply.

Chen Tianyu had no time to ponder the original sin of secretly selling off family relics. He gave a bitter laugh. "Qiu Xi, I truly don’t know if I should call you a killer or a righteous avenger!"

"I admire you," Chen Tianyu said, his tone desolate. "To be honest, I’d rather end things here—not probe further—but the law is not merciful."

Qiu Xi replied calmly, "Even the law demands evidence. Right now, you're simply making baseless accusations."

"Baseless?" Chen Tianyu sneered. "Very well, let me show you the evidence, piece by piece."

"Luoming, have you ever seen Officer Qiu’s credentials?" he suddenly asked.

Luoming was caught off guard. "I… I met Officer Qiu at the police station, but credentials? I wouldn’t dare ask to see them!"

Chen Tianyu pressed on, "Think carefully—did you meet Officer Qiu in the station or somewhere else?"

So many days had passed that Luoming was truly uncertain. "I think… I think it was at the station entrance… That’s right—he wasn’t even in uniform…"

"Exactly. That struck me just now. I called the central prosecutor’s office to verify—there is no Officer Qiu Xi on the force. Fortunately, the personnel system is networked now. I’m starting to suspect the story of the detectives coming to the mountains was pure fabrication—it’s no wonder they never arrived…"

"Qiu Xi, you’re clever—using a fake official identity, you easily won everyone’s trust, entered Licun with justification and in the name of justice. But don’t you see? Now you’re the only outsider here."

Qiu Xi neither admitted nor denied it; he smiled. "Aren’t you all outsiders too?"

"Oh, right. My mistake—you’re a bona fide Licun native, related by blood to Fourth Uncle Li Qiuyuan. That was a slip of the tongue," said Chen Tianyu.

Qiu Xi remained composed. "I don’t admit to that. I have credentials, but I can’t show them to just anyone. We can verify at the station. Besides, it’s normal for the system to not have new officers entered yet."

"You’re calm, I’ll give you that. Li Futang is deranged—even if he points to the one who threatened him, you can deny it. You have excellent counter-surveillance skills; you’d be sure not to leave prints on the counterfeit. But don’t forget, a DNA test can always be run—your father’s bones can be exhumed for a paternity test."

"By all means. The innocent have nothing to fear," Qiu Xi replied indifferently. "And remember, the one caught stealing the sword was Li Fuqi—not me."

Chen Tianyu’s eyes lit up. "So you moved your parents’ remains long ago—no wonder you’re so fearless. I underestimated you."

"Brother, say what you like—I can’t stop you," Qiu Xi said.

Chen Tianyu nodded, almost talking to himself. "A rival like you truly gives me a headache."

Qiu Xi smiled. "Since I’m not the killer, no wonder you’re troubled."

"Indeed, you planned every step with precision—you don’t seem like a murderer. But there’s no perfect crime—do you believe that?"

"Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t," Qiu Xi replied lightly.

Chen Tianyu nodded. "You created alibis with great skill. For example, on the night Li Qiwen died, young monk Luoming said you and he were on a returning train…" Luoming, bewildered, nodded in agreement.

"But today I did some calculations and found discrepancies. The city is about ninety kilometers from Luoshui Village. With winding mountain roads and night fog, a car averages 30–40 miles per hour—so it takes over two hours. According to Luoming, you arrived in the city after midnight. So even if you rushed to Luoshui Village to commit murder, you’d only get there after 2 a.m. But Yiting estimated the time of death at midnight, with less than an hour’s margin. He’s a professional detective—he wouldn’t make a mistake."

Qiu Xi nodded, unperturbed.

Chen Tianyu continued, "But then I checked the express train schedules from the provincial capital to the city. By coincidence, our city is small and surrounded by wilderness—only one express train at night, arriving at 10:35 p.m. Even with delays, you’d reach the city by 11 at the latest. But why did Luoming say it was past midnight? I asked Yiting, who explained the train station is far out, and with buses, it takes at least an hour to get downtown."

"That’s right," Qiu Xi agreed. "But what does that prove?"

Chen Tianyu wasn’t ruffled. "I checked the map. While it doesn’t show all the mountain roads, there’s something odd. The city and Luoshui Village are in opposite directions from the train station."

"In other words, if you left the train and went straight to Luoshui Village, you’d cut the distance by nearly twenty kilometers."

Qiu Xi shook his head. "Even so, even at top speed, I’d arrive after one in the morning—that’s your own calculation. The mountain road is winding and steep—how could I manage that? Am I not afraid of crashing?"

"I couldn’t figure that out either, so I ruled you out. But later I realized, in the mountains, the most common vehicle isn’t a car, but a motorcycle. That was my blind spot. Yongkun, tell me—how long did it take you to come from over ten kilometers just now?"

Wan Yongkun thought for a moment. "A little over ten minutes…"

"Exactly. On mountain roads, as long as the engine is big enough, a motorcycle can go 70–80 miles per hour. Even if you go slower, 60–70 is easy. The station is only about seventy kilometers from Luoshui Village. If you wanted to kill, you could arrive in about an hour—just at midnight."

Chen Tianyu fell silent, looking at Qiu Xi.

"Brilliant!" Qiu Xi clapped in admiration. "Brother, I’m amazed you’ve never been a real detective, yet you’re so meticulous—puts me to shame. But there’s a flaw: does it really take all this effort to kill an old man? You found out the killer wasn’t alone—he had accomplices. Why go to all the trouble?"

Chen Tianyu smiled slightly. "I suspect two reasons. First, you learned Yiting, a detective, was returning, so you were cautious. Second, and more crucial, to kill Third Uncle Li Qiwen and blame it on ‘divine retribution,’ only you—a professional with the right skills and a close family tie—could pull it off."

"That makes sense," Qiu Xi admitted. "But it’s still just your guess, not fact."

"True," Chen Tianyu agreed. "But now I can keep reasoning. I was baffled—did the killer stroll to the Guanyin Temple on foot, murder at leisure, then wander off? Li Fuqi lives nearby. If someone was wandering around at night, passing by his window, wouldn’t he notice? Unless Li Fuqi was the killer—just as I was led to believe."

"I later realized, a person passing at night is suspicious, but a motorcycle is common. That’s the answer. You knew it had been dry and clear before the New Year, so the dirt roads were hard—no tracks left, especially not by motorcycles. At the scene, we focused on car tire marks, ignoring faint, messy motorcycle tracks."

Li Fuqi, for once, corroborated, "That night, a motorcycle did pass by, but I’m used to it, so I didn’t pay attention. And you never asked, so…"

"We had our concerns," Chen Tianyu sighed, "and without knowing how Third Uncle really died, we had to let the investigation rest. So many talked about ‘divine retribution’ that even our atheist Bei Ting nearly believed it…"

Li Yiting admitted shamefacedly, "I thought I was an atheist, but I guess I’m more superstitious than I thought."

"Everyone has ties to home—it's nothing to be ashamed of," Chen Tianyu comforted him.

He paused, then went on, "Since Qiu Xi arrived in Luoshui Village under the pretext of assisting the investigation, he’s made plenty of mistakes—the biggest being his complete lack of professional knowledge. You, as a senior, tried to mentor him, but that gave him the perfect chance. This amateur detective fooled us all, and you even gave him every opportunity to investigate. In hindsight, we were helping him commit his crimes."

"Remember the day your Fifth Uncle Li Qiumao was killed? Qiu Xi stopped by your house, then joined us for drinks…"

Li Yiqi interjected, "I called him down—it wasn’t his idea to drink."

"That’s Qiu Xi’s cleverness—using every natural advantage for hidden aims," Chen Tianyu said. "Yiting, do you remember what time it was?"

Li Yiting thought. "We eat late at my place—it was after noon…"

Li Qihuai added, "Twelve fifty, nearly one. I checked the time. I thought you’d lingered at the market, so I delayed lunch."

"That was New Year’s Eve. Isn’t it odd Qiu Xi wasn’t home for lunch at one?" Chen Tianyu pressed.

Qiu Xi explained, "I get absorbed in work sometimes—skip meals. It happens."

Chen Tianyu shot him a sidelong glance. "But you always claim to be laid-back, don’t you? And you chose New Year’s Eve to work? Isn’t that odd?"

Qiu Xi remained silent.

Chen Tianyu asked Yiting, "What was the estimated time of death for Fifth Uncle Qiumao?"

"Between nine and ten in the morning. But the body wasn’t found until New Year’s Day, and the autopsy was late. With rain affecting things, there could be a big margin of error."

"How big?"

"Two to three hours, but there’s one thing for sure: he died before noon. Rigor mortis was gone, livor mortis was fixed, and there were insect eggs on the body. For more precision, we’d need a dissection…"

"That’s precise enough," Chen Tianyu said. "So, all morning, Qiu Xi had plenty of time to act, and no real alibi. Drinking at your house was just a smokescreen."

"I was waiting outside Xun Yuanchun’s house to investigate—that whole morning," Qiu Xi protested. "Ask him if you don’t believe me."

Xun Yuanchun hung his head. "He did come by, knocked a few times, but I didn’t want to answer…"

Li Yiting pressed, "Perjury is a serious crime—think carefully."

Xun Yuanchun wailed, "He really was there—I’m not lying…"

Chen Tianyu waved a hand. "What time did he leave?"

"Uh… I didn’t notice. Why would I care what he did if he’s not asking me for a favor?" Xun Yuanchun fumbled.

Qiu Xi snapped, "You’re slandering me—I was sitting outside your door, how could you not know?"

Xun Yuanchun coughed violently. "Yes, I knew you left around noon. I was hungry and wanted to cook, so I waited until you left before going out for firewood."

Qiu Xi sneered, "There you have it—how could I be the killer?"

Chen Tianyu asked calmly, "From when Qiu Xi arrived to when he left at noon, what did he do? Did he leave in between?"

Xun Yuanchun was sweating. "Sir, I really don’t know! I was holed up inside—didn’t move an inch. On New Year’s Day you can’t visit or gamble, so I… I just played cards by myself…"

There was a burst of laughter at his solitary ways.

Chen Tianyu cleared his throat and said to Qiu Xi, "So Xun Yuanchun can’t provide you with an effective alibi."

"But he can’t prove I wasn’t there, either," Qiu Xi retorted.

"You’re quick on your feet," Chen Tianyu said with a smile.

"These groundless charges won’t stand up to scrutiny. Accusing me of murder so lightly—I won’t accept it," Qiu Xi replied, now clearly angry.