Traditionelle Chinesische Medizin

Kapitel 4

Yang Nianqing coughed twice, changing the subject: "What kind of case happened here?"

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In the distance, the night was pitch black. A cool breeze swept in, and under the red lamplight, raindrops drifted obliquely into the eaves. Beside the pavilion, the branches of the large tree swayed, casting shadows and making a rustling sound. Yang Nianqing then felt a chill run through her body, and goosebumps rose on her skin.

Li You looked at her: "Can you see this tree in front of you?"

She rolled her eyes in annoyance: "I don't have presbyopia, nor am I nearsighted."

"Three people died here."

Yang Nianqing immediately trembled and moved closer to him.

The face on the belly

Updated on Shuxiang Chinese Website: 2008-02-26 10:50:34 Word Count: 5075

The massacre at Nangong Villa has become so widely known that almost everyone knows about it.

Three months ago, Master Situ, the master of the Broken Wind Palm, went out to visit an old friend, but disappeared on his way back. On the night of the fifteenth of that month, his body was found hanging from a tree in the back garden of Nangong Villa!

Two months ago, Tang Jingfeng, the lord of Tangjiabao, mysteriously disappeared. On the fifteenth night, his body was also found hanging from a tree in Nangong Villa.

A month ago, Liu Ru, the swift swordsman, disappeared. On the same night of the fifteenth, his body was also found at the Nangong Villa.

Earlier this month, Zhang Mingchu, known as "One Slash to Slay Jiangnan," disappeared while on business in Nanjing.

Today is the fifteenth.

Will the body of Zhang Mingchu, who "cleaved Jiangnan with a single stroke," be hung on this tree again?

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If it were anyone else, this place would probably have been turned upside down by those seeking revenge. But now almost everyone knows that Nangong Xue, the master of Nangong Villa and the number one young master of the martial arts world, would never kill anyone. Moreover, Tang Jingfeng and Old Master Situ had both received his kindness before their deaths, so he had no reason to kill them.

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Yang Nianqing felt a chill run down her spine, imagining the three corpses hanging from the tree. She slowly moved closer to Li You; dying right after transmigrating wouldn't be good...

Li You smiled wryly: "So your courage isn't as great as your voice suggests."

"What!" Her eyes widened, and she immediately moved away from him, glancing nervously and warily at the large tree in front of her. "Could the murderer be..."

Nangong Xue shook her head and smiled, "Don't worry, young lady. With Brother He and Brother Li here, the murderer probably won't dare to come."

“Yes, yes,” she let out a long sigh, trying to calm herself down, and smiled ingratiatingly at He Bi, “With the First Divine Detective here, of course everything will be fine, hehehe…”

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"How come all the dead people were found in your house? Could it be that you...? No, if you killed them, why would you leave the bodies in your house?"

Nangong Xue frowned slightly: "I haven't seen them many times either, and there are even some of them whose appearance I don't know, I've only heard their names."

Li You nodded with a smile: "The idea that the number one philanthropist would kill people is probably the biggest joke in the martial arts world."

Nangong Xue smiled and said, "Miss Yang's suspicion of me is not entirely unreasonable. Anyone who encounters such a thing would definitely suspect me first, especially since the person was found in Nangong Villa, so I am naturally a suspect as well."

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Yang Nianqing thought for a moment, shivered, and looked at the tree beside her: "So, their bodies were all hung on this tree on the night of the fifteenth, and today is..."

"It is exactly fifteen."

Today?! That means... tonight, that guy who said "One Slash Through Jiangnan" will be hung up this tree! Thinking of this, her hair stood on end, and she moved closer to the three of them.

Nangong Xue frowned and said, "I have already ordered my men to surround the manor and not let anyone in."

That's good! Yang Nianqing breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Li You glanced at her, suppressed a laugh, and said seriously, "I remember Brother Nangong was just as wary last time, but he still let people in on time."

Yang Nianqing froze instantly. His wild imagination hadn't been so foolproof; even if they surrounded them, the culprit could still get in!

Nangong Xue nodded in agreement: "I really don't understand how he got in."

Yang Nianqing pondered for a while and said, "So, they must have been killed first, and then the murderer brought their bodies here and hung them in the tree?"

Li You said, "It is not an easy task for anyone to bring a living person into the Nangong Villa."

Nangong Xue smiled: "It wasn't killing, it was more like poisoning."

He Bi suddenly spoke up: "Are you sure it's poisoning?"

Nangong Xue thought for a moment: "When the servants found them, their faces were all purple, their eyes were bloodshot, and their lips were bluish-black." He paused, then sighed: "Brother He should also know that this is clearly a sign of poisoning."

He Bi nodded: "That's right."

A hint of hesitation flashed in her phoenix eyes. Nangong Xue shook her head and pondered, "That's the strange thing. I've tried many methods, but I haven't found any poison in their bodies."

He Bi immediately exchanged a glance with Li You and said nothing more.

Although Nangong Xue wasn't an expert in poisons, her knowledge of them was definitely no less than that of a master poison user.

Yang Nianqing asked in confusion, "Could it not be poisoning?"

Nangong Xue shook her head: "They have no injuries. Apart from being poisoned, what palm or fist technique in the world would turn a person into that state after killing them?"

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“Interesting,” Li You’s lips curled into a smile, his long, narrow eyes flashing as if he found it very amusing. “Why not ask Mr. Chrysanthemum to take a look?”

No wonder He Bi said he should be called "Young Master Curious." Yang Nianqing chuckled inwardly, yet wondered: Who is Mr. Chrysanthemum?

Nangong Xue smiled helplessly and said, "You know his temper. Besides, anyone with eyes can see that he's been poisoned. It's fine if he says I'm ignorant, but I'm afraid that if I anger him, he'll say that I underestimated him and bothered him with such trivial matters."

Upon hearing this, Li You frowned and fell into deep thought.

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“It’s obvious that the murderer is trying to frame you!” Yang Nianqing blurted out. “He’s done this to you, so he must be your enemy or have a grudge against you. Why don’t we start with them?”

Nangong Xue shook her head. (8d)

Li You smiled and said, "You're not stupid. It's just that Brother Nangong has no enemies in his life."

"No enemies?" Yang Nianqing was stunned. "Then... what about those with whom you have a grudge?"

“I have never had any conflicts with anyone in my life,” Nangong Xue said with a slight smile. “I really don’t understand why he would frame me.”

"Never had any conflicts with anyone?!" Yang Nianqing looked at him in disbelief, unable to believe that such a kind-hearted person truly existed in the world—no, such a kind-hearted handsome man. "Could it be... that he has a grudge against your parents, siblings, or nephews, and is deliberately harming you to get revenge on them?"

Nangong Xue shook her head again: "My parents passed away ten years ago, and I have no brothers or sisters."

Yang Nianqing was stunned for a moment, then muttered, "Then why did he specifically frame you? Could it be... that he's jealous of your family's wealth? Or are you more handsome than him, or more popular...? A psychopath is terrifying..."

He Bilian closed her eyes as well.

After a long pause, Li You took a sip of wine: "The reason is very simple."

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"First, since the murderer framed him for this, who do you suspect first?"

"Of course, they are his enemies."

"But what if he doesn't have any enemies?"

Yang Nianqing was speechless. (68)

Li You smiled and said, "I'm afraid you'd never be able to figure it out, no matter how hard you try."

She widened her eyes, genuinely unable to think of anything: "Then who do you think it is?"

“Since he is not his enemy, he must be the enemy of the murdered person,” Li You said leisurely. “But many people are easily influenced by their previous thoughts and only care about investigating Brother Nangong’s enemies. I’m afraid that’s exactly what the murderer wanted.”

“Yes, that’s absolutely impossible to find,” Yang Nianqing said with great admiration, nodding repeatedly. “And the second one?”

“Secondly, he’s a good man. If I were looking for a scapegoat, I would definitely choose him,” he said, looking at her with interest. “Isn’t it safer to frame a good man than to frame someone else?”

“That makes sense!” He Bi suddenly opened his eyes and nodded. “Framing him will definitely save us a lot of trouble.”

"good!"

Yang Nianqing didn't understand: "What do you mean?"

"If the blame is pinned on you, won't Tang Jingfeng, Liu Ru, and their relatives and friends seek revenge on you?"

"meeting."

"Won't you die at the hands of these people?"

“…Yes,” Yang Nianqing glared at him, “Can you please stop using me as an example! It’s too unlucky!”

Li You ignored her protest: "If you were killed by them, wouldn't they try to find a scapegoat the next time they kill someone?"

She nodded dejectedly, "Yes."

He Bi coldly replied, "If something is handled too complicatedly, it will inevitably leave some clues."

“That’s right,” Li You said, glancing at Nangong Xue. “If we frame him, we can avoid a lot of trouble.”

Nangong Xue finally nodded, frowning: "He approached me from the very beginning. Everyone knows I can't kill people, and I've helped them before. He was sure their family wouldn't seek revenge on me, so when he needed to kill again, he could easily frame me without any flaws."

Li You looked at him and sighed, "It seems you're really suited to be a scapegoat, so it's better not to be a good person."

Nangong Xue remained silent for a while, then suddenly revealed a gentle and clean smile: "I find my own enjoyment in this, just as Brother He enjoys public cases and Brother Li enjoys beautiful women and fine wine."

He Bi said coldly, "Your heart is too soft."

Nangong Xue smiled: "There are many kind-hearted people in the world, not just me. What's wrong with that?"

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Yang Nianqing was stunned.

Faced with something like this, most people would start by looking at Nangong Xue's enemies, but he has no enemies, so the trail goes cold. I never thought these people would be so clever, managing to uncover so many clues, even guessing the murderer's thoughts! They truly deserve to be called the number one "god" and "man" in the martial arts world.