Compendio de hombres apuestos en el mundo de las artes marciales

Capítulo 38

"It's unlikely," Duan Chen said softly. "This person is very meticulous. The windowsill of the back window was wiped clean, which was obviously done by him when he wiped away his footprints before he left. If it weren't for the four rows of footprints left in the snow, it would be hard for us to be sure that he entered the house along this path."

Liu Yichen frowned, about to ask something, when a piercing scream suddenly rang out from next door: "Ah! Help! Uncle, save me!"

Chapter Nine: Old Friends • Startled

Hearing the noise, the group rushed out of the house and ran to the next room. As soon as they entered, they heard Liu Mandie sobbing and Yue Yiyi comforting them. There was no sign that anyone had broken in, and the group breathed a sigh of relief. Liu Yichen ran to the bedside and saw Liu Mandie leaning against Yue Yiyi, both of them with tears streaming down their faces.

"Mandie, what's wrong?" Upon seeing Liu Yichen, Liu Mandie cried even louder, kneeling upright and throwing herself into his arms, mumbling, "Uncle, it's so scary...my cousin...waaaah..."

Liu Yichen patted his niece's back repeatedly, comforting her in a hoarse voice, "Mandie, don't be afraid, it's alright. Uncle will never let anything happen to you. Don't cry, Mandie."

After a while of coaxing, Liu Mandie gradually stopped crying, loosened her arms, and slowly knelt back on the bed. Beside her, Yue Yiyi held a handkerchief to wipe her cheeks, while she herself couldn't stop crying. Liu Mandie took the handkerchief to wipe her eyes, then blew her nose; her pretty face was streaked with tears, looking incredibly pitiful. Blinking her slightly swollen eyes, Liu Mandie slowly raised her head, only then noticing the other four people in the room. She blushed and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry, please forgive my embarrassment."

“Miss Liu, Miss Yue,” Duan Chen took two steps forward and asked softly, “Did Miss Lou ever mention wanting to visit the Plum Garden before she passed away?”

Upon hearing this, Liu Mandie sneered, "That's right. My cousin was anxious all morning, and she went there to look for him without even eating lunch." As she spoke, Liu Mandie got out of bed and slowly walked up to Duan Chen. "You're the one who killed my cousin! If it weren't for you, my cousin wouldn't have gone to that plum grove alone. If it weren't for you, my cousin wouldn't have been targeted by those villains and died such a tragic death. You, the culprit, still have the nerve to stand here—" As she spoke, Liu Mandie walked up to Duan Chen, raised her hand, and slapped her across the face.

Duan Chen reached out and grabbed Liu Mandie's wrist: "Miss Liu." Liu Mandie glared angrily, and was about to strike his face with her other hand when Zhao Ting stopped her with his palm.

Liu Mandie angrily flung her hand away, but Duan Chen didn't hold on tightly enough, and she broke free. Turning around, she grabbed Liu Yichen's sleeve, crying and screaming, "Uncle! She's the one who killed my cousin! We can't let her get away with this! Uncle, you have to avenge my cousin!"

"Young Master," Yue Yiyi, who had been sitting silently by the bedside, weeping, spoke softly, "Before she passed away, Sister Yue Ru mentioned to me and Man Die that she saw Young Master Zhan's cousin sneaking into the plum garden in the morning, heading straight to the innermost part. Sister Yue Ru followed her, afraid that she might do something bad to the manor. Later, the two of them started fighting, and it was because of her that Sister Yue Ru struck there with her whip." As she spoke, strings of crystal tears fell down her cheeks again.

"Uncle, I don't know what this woman is up to by entering our Liu family!" Liu Manyie glared at Duan Chen through gritted teeth. Her beautiful eyes, which were originally a little red and swollen, were now surprisingly bright with tears. "You woman, you're a jinx! That young master Fang who died unjustly yesterday afternoon, didn't he also speak to you? How come one after another, people who have had conflicts with you have died tragically? You..."

"Mandie." Liu Yichen patted his niece's arm, signaling her to stop talking. When he looked at Duan Chen again, his eyes, though not as full of hatred as Liu Mandie's, were still icy cold: "Miss, Mandie's words are a bit excessive, but I, Liu, do hope you can tell me the truth. What were you doing in my manor's plum garden this morning? And why did you get into a fight with Yue Ru?"

Duan Chen pursed his lips, a hint of stubbornness flashing in his clear, cold phoenix eyes: "I went over there to look for something. We didn't explain things clearly at the time, and then we started fighting. I am mainly responsible for this."

"What are you looking for?" Liu Yichen's gaze grew colder as he continued to press for answers.

Duan Chen remained silent for a long while before slowly replying, "A painting."

Everyone present was stunned. Liu Yichen hadn't expected such a completely unrelated answer, while Zhan Yun, Zhao Ting, and Zhou Yufei were surprised by Duan Chen's honest response. Liu Manyie and Yue Yiyi exchanged a glance, clearly disbelieving: "Uncle, don't listen to her nonsense! There are no paintings in our manor! She's obviously making it up to get away with it!"

Liu Yichen frowned and scrutinized Duan Chen for a long while, but the hostility and wariness in his eyes lessened somewhat. Judging from her demeanor, she didn't seem to be lying. However, he couldn't recall any famous paintings in the manor that would warrant such a search! After a moment's hesitation, Liu Yichen said in a deep voice, "To be honest, I really don't remember any valuable paintings in the manor. Who told you that, young lady?"

“That painting isn’t worth much,” Duan Chen said softly, lowering his eyes. “It’s a portrait painted by Boss Liu himself. I came here specifically to find it on the behalf of an old friend. I hope Second Master Liu will grant my request.”

Liu Yichen's heart skipped a beat, and a faint joy lit up his handsome face. He stepped forward and grabbed Duan Chen's wrist, asking urgently, "You, the old friend you mentioned, is she a woman?"

Duan Chen remained calm and composed, and nodded slightly.

"Where is she now?" Liu Yichen's face flushed slightly with excitement, his eyes shining like the afternoon sun illuminating icicles: "Is she... is she doing well?"

Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events. Just a moment ago, Liu Yichen was coldly questioning Duan Chen about his suspicious motives and furtive actions, but now he was greeting him with such excitement and warmth? Liu Manyie, having been abruptly pushed away by her beloved uncle, stumbled to the side, staring at the two in disbelief. Zhou Yufei, having missed Duan Chen's explanation that morning, was also somewhat confused, leaning casually against the table behind him, one eyebrow raised high, treating it all like a theatrical performance.

Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun were initially surprised that the person Duan Chen had mentioned that morning was actually a woman. Then, after observing Liu Yichen's current appearance, they discerned something amiss. This young master Liu seemed to have a close relationship with the old friend Duan Chen had spoken of. There was more to this than met the eye! Next, their gazes fell upon Duan Chen's wrist, which was being held tightly. One frowned, the other gave a cold look. Zhan Yun cleared his throat twice and said gently, "Young master, please—" Zhao Ting, however, acted directly, stepping forward to grasp Liu Yichen's arm. His brow furrowed, and he began to gradually apply pressure.

Liu Yichen wasn't stupid. Seeing the expressions on the faces of the two people beside him, and with the strength in his forearm gradually becoming unbearable, he quickly released Duan Chen's wrist: "I'm sorry!" Liu Yichen stepped back a little, somewhat embarrassed, but his eyes still shone brightly as he looked at Duan Chen: "Miss, can you tell me how she's doing now?"

Duan Chen curled his lips into a cold smile: "Since you say we're old acquaintances, we're naturally no longer in this world. How come Second Master Liu didn't know all this?"

"Impossible!" Liu Yichen shook his head repeatedly, feeling as if his heart was about to leap out of his chest. "Impossible! How could she... Girl, you must be lying to me! She's not letting you tell me, is she? She doesn't want to see me, she holds a grudge against me, she..."

Liu Yichen felt as if the successive blows of the past two days were heavier and more deadly than the last. His chest heaved violently, and he almost couldn't catch his breath. Even witnessing his loved ones being murdered hadn't been as shocking as this news. Liu Yichen felt his heart pounding wildly before gradually calming down. His blood seemed to freeze, and a chill ran through his body, causing him to shiver violently. His eyes stared blankly ahead, and the man mechanically repeated, "No. That person clearly said he would take good care of her. Yiyi, Yiyi, it can't be..."

Duan Chen kept her eyes half-closed, her expression a mixture of a smile and a frown, neither crying nor not crying. A thin mist of confusion seemed to gradually shroud her cool and aloof brows, making it impossible to see the meaning in her eyes, yet one couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow.

Liu Yichen suddenly snapped out of his daze, his eyes flashing with a crazed light. He reached out to put his arm around Duan Chen's shoulder, but Zhao Ting brushed him away. Under the cold glare of the man beside him, Liu Yichen gradually regained some of his composure. He took several deep breaths to steady himself, but his low, hoarse voice still trembled: "When...did Yiyi pass away?"

"Six months ago," Duan Chen answered softly.

Liu Yichen blinked frantically, trying to keep the tears from welling up in his eyes: "Then, how has Yiyi been all these years?"

"I'm afraid I'm not qualified to say that." Duan Chen's voice was somewhat cold as he raised his phoenix eyes to look at the middle-aged man who was trying to hold back his tears. "She has always been concerned about that painting. I've come here this time to fulfill her wish."

“You can take the painting!” Liu Yichen nodded repeatedly, eagerly showing his sincerity. Then, he moved his lips somewhat timidly and pleaded in a low voice, “Could you, could you take me to see it, Yiyi?”

“There’s nothing to see.” Duan Chen’s expression grew colder. “No grave, no tombstone, no coffin. That was her wish.”

Liu Yichen was stunned for a moment, then slowly forced a smile and sighed in a hoarse voice, "That's right. She once said that she would rather sleep for ten thousand years than see us troublemakers again, with the sky as her roof and the earth as her coffin."

Duan Chen turned around, his voice flat and devoid of any emotion: "I will leave once the murderer is caught. I hope Second Master Liu will keep his promise."

They hadn't gone far when the three men caught up. Zhao Ting glanced at Duan Chen and asked in a deep voice, "Are you going to the plum garden?"

Duan Chen nodded. On the other side, Zhan Yun hesitated for a long time before softly probing, "The person you just mentioned, is that your master?" She remembered that back in the Prince's mansion, she had mentioned that for many years she had only traveled with her master in the Jiangnan region. Plus, when her junior sister Qingzi came to see her in Hangzhou last time, the two of them mentioned their master several times. Judging from their conversation, it seemed they didn't have anyone closer to her. Zhan Yun had been pondering this since earlier—could it be that she hadn't heard any news about her for the past six months because her master had passed away? If that were the case, everything would make sense.

Duan Chen glanced at Zhan Yun sideways, remaining silent. Zhan Yun wasn't angry, continuing to walk beside her with a faint smile. The moment she turned her gaze, she saw Zhao Ting staring at her with a cold expression. Zhan Yun's pink lips curved even more, her crescent-shaped eyes meeting his gaze frankly. Zhao Ting narrowed his eyes; did this mean they wanted to have a frank discussion?

The two stared at each other for a moment, then tacitly looked away, both understanding perfectly that a fight was inevitable. Zhou Yufei sighed inwardly; these two were really going to get serious!

Duan Chen followed the path he had taken that morning, heading deeper into the plum grove. Finally, he reached the snow-white plum blossom thicket and saw a patch of brown earth, about a foot square, beneath one of the plum trees. Beside it were marks left by whips, the snow torn and stained with blood-red mud. On that patch of earth, two deep, sloping grooves were worn into the ground. Upon closer inspection, it was vaguely discernible that they were made by someone kicking and rubbing their feet together. The sloping shape indicated that the person had been bound to the plum tree, their body forming a diagonal line, rather than standing upright.

Zhou Yufei cursed under his breath, then turned away and said in a muffled voice, "What are you still looking at? Let's go!" It was clear that Lou Yueru had been murdered here. Therefore, Duan Chen's previous deductions were entirely correct. The murderer first committed the crime here, using Lou Yueru's soft whip to hang her from a plum tree around her neck. Then, as the rope tightened, the murderer brutally lashed Lou Yueru's body with a pure steel whip until she finally died. Afterward, the body was taken back to Lou Yueru's room via the path behind the house, where the victim was bound to the bedside with a thunder whip, creating the illusion that she had been strangled inside the house.

Zhan Yun looked around, his brows furrowing slightly. "He didn't leave it here. Did he take Miss Lou's whip with him?"

Duan Chen, unusually, did not answer. Although he was usually quiet, he was never stingy with his words in matters like this, and could even be described as very patient, explaining things step by step to those around him. He also tried his best to answer any questions raised by others.

But right now, Duan Chen didn't utter a single word. His face was deathly pale, and a faint panic flickered in his phoenix eyes. He turned around in disbelief, looking around. For the first time, Duan Chen truly understood what it meant to be terrified.