Xiao Nuo chuckled and said, "Isn't it because you're cunning and calculating?"
Feng Chenxi chuckled: "Aren't you one too?"
Xiao Nuo glanced at her: "Likewise."
Feng Chenxi sighed, "I just hope the murderer didn't think of this possibility like we did."
Xiao Nuo thought for a moment and said, "Probably not. My father has never mentioned those two people again afterward. The murderer probably didn't expect that those two people were already suspected. As long as we haven't traced them to them, they should be out of danger for the time being."
There's no immediate danger as long as they haven't been traced back to us, but what about those who have been traced? A scene suddenly flashed through Feng Chenxi's mind, and she immediately cried out, "That dead rat that someone rummaged through!"
“Sister Youli…” Xiao Nuo’s expression suddenly changed.
————————————Everyone on Earth knows I'm a dividing line——————————
After reading this chapter, do you still think Xiao Zuo is disappointing? Hahaha! He's a cunning old fox; every move he makes is purposeful. I told you all to give him some confidence long ago... Hahaha, *laughs wildly*
Oh, okay, I have to climb back up. I want to thank everyone, especially those who complained of being tired. It's so touching! We're so grateful you've gone through all that trouble to keep reading. *bows*—Please keep going, I bet you won't be able to get over it until the very end. Sorry, we did it on purpose, on purpose…
P.S.: There have been fewer replies these past few days. Is it because the progress of this story is not satisfactory to you all? If so, please point it out. Don't keep it to yourself, it will break my heart!
A bet is a bet.
No one would disturb a dead mouse in someone else's room for no reason, unless they knew the hidden secret behind it.
Without a doubt, the murderer already knows that we have noticed Youli, so her current situation is naturally extremely dangerous.
Xiao Nuo and I exchanged a glance, then quickly went downstairs and headed straight for Fenglin Residence.
Upon entering the courtyard, Xiao Nuo grabbed a maid who was sweeping the yard and immediately asked, "Have you seen Sister You Li?"
"Sister Youli is in the kitchen. When she brought dinner to the Second Young Master just now, he threw a huge tantrum and threw all the food out."
I frowned and asked, "Why is the Second Young Master throwing a tantrum?"
"I don't know," the maid said. "I was too far away to hear clearly, but I heard Sister Youli shout at the Second Young Master, 'I've done so much for you, and yet you treat me like this,' and then the Second Young Master threw out the dinner. Sister Youli was heartbroken and ran out crying, shouting that she would never be so foolish again before running away."
Before I could ask any more questions, Xiao Nuo tugged at my sleeve and said, "Let's go find Sister You Li first, or it might be too late if we delay any longer."
My heart sank, and I quickly turned and walked with him towards the kitchen. When I saw the light streaming into the kitchen and the rich aroma of food filling the air, my heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down—no matter what, she was still alive, which was good news.
Xiao Nuo sniffed and exclaimed, "Ginseng Chicken Hot Pot! It smells so good!" Then she rushed in first, shouting, "Sister Youli, you absolutely have to make me a portion this time..."
The sound stopped abruptly.
The door was ajar, and the light cast a dim yellow hue over Xiao Nuo's back, subtly evoking an ominous atmosphere. He took a deep breath, turned around, and said in a low voice, "We're still too late."
He took a step to the left, revealing the corpse on the ground in front of him, dressed in red like a sunset; it was indeed You Li.
I rushed over to inspect the scene and saw Youli with wide-open eyes, a distorted expression, disheveled hair, and bruises on her face and body. On the ground beside her, seasonings were spilled everywhere. A pot of ginseng chicken was simmering on the stove, uncovered, and the broth inside was almost boiled dry.
I turned around and looked at Xiao Nuo, saying, "She has been dead for less than half an hour. Before she died, she had a fierce conflict with someone. Those minor injuries were from the struggle, but they were not fatal."
"So what was the cause of her death?"
I pulled a dagger from my boot and tested You Li's blood in the same way I had tested Lu Shuang. Sure enough, the potion turned green again.
Xiao Nuo stood there stunned for a while, then sighed and said, "It's Lei Jun again."
“This time, instead of putting it in incense, we grabbed her mouth and shoved it in. That’s why you see bruises on her chin,” I added.
Xiao Nuo said with a complicated expression, "Sister You Li doesn't know martial arts, so it's easy to kill her."
"Judging from the chaotic situation at the scene, the conflict lasted for some time, and the assailant finally managed to subdue her and force her to swallow the poison. Someone who knows martial arts wouldn't need to go to such lengths."
"Are you trying to say that there are only two possibilities: one, the murderer really doesn't know martial arts; two, the murderer does know martial arts but is unable to use internal energy due to drug withdrawal?"
I smiled and said, "You have the same suspicion, don't you?"
Xiao Nuo glared at me and said indignantly, "I still maintain that it wasn't my second brother who did it!"
I laughed off his childish behavior, squatted down and picked up the spilled seasonings one by one. Halfway through, I suddenly noticed a hairpin under the table leg and immediately took it out.
Xiao Nuo stared at the hairpin in my hand and said, "That belongs to Sister You Li."
The hairpin was made of copper, with a simple and beautiful design, but it seemed a little light in my hand. As I frowned, Xiao Nuo took it from my hand, examined it carefully for a moment, and then opened it in a very strange way—the copper hairpin was hollow, and there were some unknown powder residues at the joint.
He scraped off some powder with his fingernail, licked it with his tongue, and then handed the copper hairpin to me. I imitated him and tasted it, then looked up and said, "Cold-Resistant Powder!"
Are you sure?
"Um!"
Xiao Nuo sighed, "So she usually hides the cold medicine powder in this hairpin and brings it into the kitchen, then adds the medicine to the dishes."
My gaze shifted to the chicken soup on the stove. I ladled out half a bowl and tasted it. The taste was normal, but You Li always used small doses of medicine, so I couldn't tell just by tasting it. I said, "We can't be sure if there's any cold medicine in this soup. It seems we need to catch a mouse to test the medicine."
Xiao Nuo pondered, "If there is cold medicine in the soup, it means that Sister Youli has put the medicine into the soup. The fact that the murderer did not touch this pot of soup means that he was not interested in the cold medicine. Therefore, her death should also be unrelated to the hairpin."
I deliberately steered the conversation in the worst possible direction: "If the hairpin is empty, it means the murderer has already taken the Cold-Covering Powder. In that case, You Li might have lost her life because of this hairpin." And currently, it seems that only Xiao Jian in Baili City is interested in the Cold-Covering Powder.
Xiao Nuo's eyes flickered a few times, then she suddenly leaned closer to me and said, "How about we make a bet on whether there's any cold medicine in this soup?"
He was provoking me, and of course I wasn't going to back down: "The bet?"
"If not, then I lose. You can ask me three questions, and I will answer them all."
I raised my eyebrows and said, "Okay, if I do, then I lose. You can also ask me three questions."
Xiao Nuo extended his hand to me, and we exchanged three handshakes, thus making a pact. Then I returned to my room to test if the soup had been drugged, while he went to You Li's room to see if there were any other clues.
On the way back to my room, I suddenly found it quite amusing. This trip to Baili City seemed to have been a constant series of bets—first with Xiao Zuo, then with Xiao Nuo. If I lost the bet with Xiao Nuo, even if he asked three incredibly awkward and outlandish questions, I wouldn't suffer much. But if I lost the bet with Xiao Zuo…
I suddenly shook my head. No, I can't lose!
This bowl of chicken soup is my first step in indirectly defeating Xiao Zuo.
In the middle of the night, I knocked on Xiao Nuo's door. He came out, put on his clothes, and when he saw me, he perked up and said, "Is there a result?"
"Okay, come with me." I led him back to my room, where a rat caught in a drug craving was ignoring the chicken soup in a cage on my desk.
Xiao Nuo said with a wry smile, "It seems I've lost."
"You have to accept the consequences of your bet," I reminded him, emphasizing that he should keep his promise.
Xiao Nuo shrugged, pulled up a chair and sat down, saying casually, "Alright, alright, what questions do you want to ask? You can ask now."
I looked him straight in the eye and said, word by word, "Your naivety, your ignorance, are all an act. You're not an idiot at all, are you?"
A strange light flashed deep in Xiao Nuo's eyes. Instead of showing surprise, her smile deepened, and she answered me lightly, "Yes."
I was taken aback when I realized he would be so quick and direct.
He curled his lips into a smile, then suddenly moved closer to me, the distance between us instantly shrinking. He stared at me intently from that close distance, and said with a slight smile, "You're right, I've been playing dumb all along."
His breath brushed against my face as he spoke, and I quickly took a step back, creating some distance, and asked, "Why?"
He moved closer again and replied, "Fun."
"Fun? You're acting crazy just because you think it's funny?" I saw my own face reflected in his pupils, filled with astonishment and panic.
Xiao Nuo raised an eyebrow and said, "Is this the third question?"
I was stunned for a moment, then quickly denied it: "Of course not! The third question is—besides me, who else knows about this?"
What I really meant was—does Xiao Zuo know?
Xiao Nuo raised her head and touched her chin, looking troubled. "Ah, I don't know why, but so far you're the only one who's come here so directly to ask me if I'm pretending to be stupid. But don't think it's because you're smarter than others; it's just that some people choose to keep their suspicions to themselves."
In other words, perhaps Xiao Zuo knew in his heart that his son was pretending to be stupid? If he knew, why did he still make that bet with me? After spending these past few days together, I've already realized that Xiao Zuo is even more intelligent and cunning than my master described. He's like a bottomless ocean, making it impossible to fathom what he's thinking or what he'll do...
Just as I was filled with doubt, Xiao Nuo said again, "Do you know why I admitted it so readily?"
I looked up and met a pair of eyes exactly like Xiao Zuo's, equally black as ink, equally unfathomable.
"Why?" I asked instinctively, following his lead.
Xiao Nuo smiled again, his lips curving into a smile that seemed both mocking and teasing: "First, of course, it's because I lost the bet to you. A bet is a bet, and I've always been a very trustworthy person. Second, we're not enemies, at least not for now, and you're not a troublemaker, so you won't go around telling everyone, right? Third, even if you did go around telling everyone, no one would believe you. Compared to an outsider who's only been in Baili City for a few days, those who have known me for over ten years are more likely to trust their own judgment. Fourth..." He paused.
"There's a fourth one?" I frowned.
He stared at me, his eyes shining brightly, like stars, as if they held boundless hope and joy.
“Because it’s you, because you’re the one I’m confessing to…” Xiao Nuo said softly, slowly retreating back to his chair. The air seemed to lighten instantly with his departure, yet mixed in with that lightness was a faint, inexplicable sense of loss.
I couldn't help but bite my lower lip, and asked nervously, "What are you talking about?"
"I didn't say anything. If you didn't understand, that's fine." Xiao Nuo shrugged again, his face once more displaying that harmless, idiotic smile. "Alright, I've settled the bet. Can we talk about some serious business now?"
"That guy who speaks so unclearly!" I took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil within me, and then said seriously, "Let me recount everything from beginning to end. First, Lu Shuang died mysteriously at the competition, from poisoning by Lei Jun. The gatekeeper claimed that no outsiders entered, but Qiao Laosan bumped into You Li, who was in a hurry, at the competition venue. Then, when Xiao Er Gongzi was poisoned, it was You Li who put the Cold-Taking Powder in his food. Finally, You Li was forced to take Lei Jun and died, and the Cold-Taking Powder in her hairpin was taken away. On the surface, everything is related to your second brother. Because he took the Cold-Taking Powder, he couldn't participate in the competition, so he ordered his maid to poison Lu Shuang. Yesterday, You Li discovered a woman in his room, and out of love turned to hate, she decided to stop giving him the Cold-Taking Powder. In anger, Xiao Er Gongzi threw away his dinner, and then followed him to the kitchen to force You Li to take out the Cold-Taking Powder. You Li resisted, so he had no choice but to kill her."
Xiao Nuo smiled bitterly, "Our thoughts always seem to go in two different directions. What I'm thinking is: someone deliberately wants to frame my second brother, so they bribed Sister Youli to poison his food. When the competition starts, knowing that my second brother can't compete, they have Sister Youli poison his opponent. Then, using the method of tracking down the murderer, they make my second brother's drug addiction kick in. In this way, everyone will think that my second brother was afraid to lose, so he poisoned Lu Shuang. Then, because he realized that we suspected Youli, he killed her to silence her and cleverly arranged things in the kitchen, giving us the illusion that my second brother killed someone because he wanted to steal the Cold Medicine Powder."
“Then your second brother is really unlucky, because this mastermind not only knows him inside and out, but is also elusive and can come and go freely in Baili City.” As I said this, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind, and Xiao Nuo’s eyes lit up at the same time. I read a certain possibility in his eyes.
“We missed two clues: First, who brought the poisonous fungus into Baili City; second, how did Youli obtain the Cold-Covering Powder? As a maid, she couldn't possibly have left Baili City. The source of her medicine may be the key to uncovering the whole truth.”
Xiao Nuo said, "Hanfu Powder is not hard to find. I dare say that Doctor Yu has it. If you know the recipe, you can make it yourself by just buying the raw materials from the pharmacy in Baili Town."
I nodded and said, "So, the Cold Medicine Powder was started being given to Young Master Xiao three months ago, or even earlier. But the poisonous fungus is only found on the eastern ridge of Changbai Mountain. Unless it was really Young Master Xiao who did it, it must have been brought into the city by someone from outside."
Xiao Nuo continued, "And in the three days since the city opened, the only group of outsiders who are suspicious is from Fa Cai Gu. Their arrival was too coincidental, and their departure was too bizarre. The most suspicious thing is that my second brother once said that I was wrong. He said that four out of the ten people in Fa Cai Gu are experts, and they can at least be ranked in the top fifty in the martial arts world today."
I smiled slightly and said leisurely, "With Young Master Xiao's experience and martial arts skills, he certainly couldn't be wrong."
“So, we have two things to do next. First, we need to check the purchase records of the ingredients for the Cold Relief Powder at the pharmacies in Baili Town; second, we need to bring back the people from Fortune Valley for questioning.” Xiao Nuo said, then suddenly paused, “Wait, there’s something else!”
"Goalkeeper!" I shouted at almost the same time.
Xiao Nuo nodded and stood up: "Let's go find them. In any case, it's better to alert them than to let the murderer get there first again."
I wholeheartedly agreed, and immediately opened the door to go with him to find the two guards who were guarding the gates of the Lu Shuang tournament. But as soon as we entered the courtyard, we saw bright lights shining in the distance, and Abu was hurrying past with a group of people.
Xiao Nuo ran over and asked, "Wait, what are you doing in the middle of the night?"
"Oh, Third Young Master, do you think I want to run around like this in the middle of the night? I don't want to either! It's just that Uncle Cai is old and goes to sleep as soon as it gets dark. He can't be woken up even by thunder. If something happens at the manor, of course I have to take care of it..." This Ah Bu, perhaps because he has been following Uncle Cai for too long, has actually picked up this talkative habit.
Xiao Nuo interrupted him impatiently, asking, "What exactly happened?"
"Oh, a disciple just reported that A Ding and A Yi were found dead in their rooms, so I'm taking some men to check on them now."
Xiao Nuo and I exchanged a glance, and our hearts sank.
Too late again!