Yi Mei asked, "Does that mean we can call him the murderer?"
Su Xiaoying said, "I didn't say yes. It's just that when we first arrived at Banshao Manor, Xie Yuanlan brought out 'Purple Bamboo Shoots' to entertain you, saying that the tea was brought back from the south by Xie Wangyi. This shows that she had been to the south and knew about the poison 'Corpse White'. Since she knew about it, she could have possessed it, so I just thought she was a little suspicious."
Yi Mei said, "Others may have been there too, so this doesn't count. Besides, I've fought with her before. Although her swordsmanship is not bad, it's not at the level of the murderer. In my opinion, it can't be Xie Wangyi."
Su Xiaoying thought for a moment and said, "Alright. Then, only Brother Xie is left. But I think this person is also very suspicious." He added the three words "Manager Feng" to the blank space on the list. "He was with the kitchen staff at the time. If he left in the middle and then went back later, the kitchen staff would not find it suspicious. When writing the list, they would naturally assume that he was always with them."
Yi Mei said, "Could it be that someone outside the manor did it? Like that woman named Fu Wuqing?"
Su Xiaoying shook her head and said, "The murderer killed several people cleanly and efficiently, without even leaving a trace. I think the absence of traces is a good clue. If it were someone outside the manor who did it, how could they have gone unnoticed every time? This murderer must have been running around the manor without being noticed. He is not only someone from the manor, but also has considerable prestige within the manor."
Yi Mei spread her hands and said, "You said it yourself, the murderer didn't leave a single trace. Even if you think Brother Xie and Steward Feng are suspicious, so what? You're just making wild guesses."
Su Xiaoying frowned and said, "He must have left a flaw, but none of us noticed it."
Yi Mei said, "This manor has about a hundred people, and countless of them know martial arts. It would be very easy for the murderer to hide and go unnoticed. Since we can't find any flaws in the murderer's story, let's think of a way to lure him out!"
Su Xiaoying said, "That's a good idea! Tell me, what's the plan?"
Yi Mei said, "How would I know?"
Su Xiaoying said, "Didn't you say you wanted to lure him out?"
Yi Mei said, "Yes, my method is to lure him out."
“…” Su Xiaoying suddenly fell silent.
Yi Mei said, "Isn't this a good idea?"
Just then, there was a soft, polite knock on the door, but Yi Mei immediately fell silent. Three more knocks followed, and Su Xiaoying asked, "Who is it?"
"Me." Xie Wangyi's voice.
Yi Mei was somewhat surprised and went to open the door. Xie Wangyi stood in the doorway, her back ramrod straight. Her gaze towards Yi Mei was still icy, but her tone was very polite: "May I come in?"
Yi Mei stepped aside, making way for them.
Xie Wangyi walked in, closed the door behind her, and said coldly, "I came to see you this time to tell you something—about the cause of Xie Chuanli's death."
Su Xiaoying said, "Shouldn't you call him Second Brother?"
Xie Wangyi wore a mocking expression and said indifferently, "Why should I call him Second Brother?"
Yi Mei and Su Xiaoying exchanged a glance, both with serious expressions. Yi Mei asked, "What do you want to say? Do you know the cause of his death?"
"Of course I know," Xie Wangyi smiled mysteriously. "Because I was the one who sent that letter."
Yi Mei's extreme astonishment made her look at Xie Wangyi as if two horns had suddenly sprouted from Xie Wangyi's head. The power of those words, ironically, wasn't so terrifying after all.
Su Xiaoying was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Did you kill Xie Chuanli?"
Xie Wangyi remained calm and nonchalantly admitted, "That's right."
Yi Mei also realized that Xie Wangyi's unusual frankness made the matter seem less tragic and sorrowful. Yi Mei asked in a very ordinary tone, "How did you kill him?"
Xie Wangyi said, "It's very simple. I used a poison that can't be found here called Corpse White. To make Corpse White, you need to mix two things: Corpse Beetle and Corpse Maiden, and then inhale it into a person's lungs. I knew he liked that black dog, so I sprinkled Corpse Beetle on the dog's fur and deliberately let the dog pass by. When he hugged the dog, he naturally inhaled the Corpse Beetle. The thick fog that followed contained Corpse Maiden. He inhaled both things through his nose within twelve hours and naturally died from the poison."
A smile suddenly appeared on Xie Wangyi's face.
Yi Mei asked in astonishment, "Why would you kill your own brother?"
Xie Wangyi's smile vanished, replaced by deep resentment. "Why did I kill him? Hmph, if it weren't for him, Yi-ge and I would have been married long ago. He drove my Yi-ge away, and Yi-ge... he never came back... I will never forgive him, never! If Yi-ge hadn't left back then, my life wouldn't be so incomplete. Even if we had been husband and wife for just one day, I would have been content."
Hearing the tone of her voice, Yi Mei's heart trembled, and she said, "Then your eldest sister and your other brothers have all let you down?"
Xie Wangyi sighed and said, "No! Hua Jian killed two people. I just imitated the method so that no one would suspect me, but I didn't kill the others."
Su Xiaoying frowned and said, "You probably didn't just come here to confess, did you?"
Xie Wangyi sneered, "Who said I came here to confess? Why should I confess to you? I just want to tell you something. If my father weren't also in danger, I wouldn't be telling you."
Yi Mei asked, "What?"
Xie Wangyi said, "That black dog smelled of corpses. The next day, I found an opportunity to give it a bath, but it turned out that the black dog had already been bathed by Chief Steward Feng."
Yi Mei said, "Manager Feng said it was because of Xie Chuanli's last words."
Xie Wangyi sneered, "That doesn't make sense. He's always been on good terms with Xie Chuanli. How could he not go and take one last look when Xie Chuanli is sealing the coffin? Besides, he's always been the one who handles the most miscellaneous affairs at this manor. How could he not be present for such an important event?"
Su Xiaoying pondered for a moment and said, "So you think he discovered your method and is covering for you?"
Xie Wangyi said indifferently, "Whatever, he's effeminate, which is very strange, isn't it?"
After Xie Wangyi finished speaking, he turned and opened the door, about to leave. Su Xiaoying pressed him for an answer: "Why did Xie Chuanli kick Wuyi Peak out?"
Xie Wangyi's face showed a resentful expression, and he said, "It's all because Brother Yi caught him having an affair with that slut. Humph, that slut is nothing but a rotten child born of a whore. If she likes that kind of person, she's a rotten child herself."
Yi Mei stared in disbelief as she watched her leave, then asked, "Su Xiaoying, did I hear that right?"
Su Xiaoying sighed and said, "That's absolutely right."
Yi Mei said, "This woman... is too... unscrupulous..."
Su Xiaoying said, "What is she afraid of? She herself may die soon. Besides, would you have the heart to tell Xie Yuanlan about this?"
“This…” Yi Mei paused for a moment, then shook her head.
Su Xiaoying said, "This is terrible."
Yi Mei said, "Even now, I still can't quite believe it. Xiao Ying, do you believe it?"
Su Xiaoying retorted, "Do you think I believe you or not? Think about it again, do you believe it or not?"
After thinking for a long time, Yi Mei sighed, "I thought Fu Wuqing was already unique enough, but it turns out there's another woman who can stand shoulder to shoulder with her right here!"
Su Xiaoying said solemnly, "I hope the woman right in front of me is a little more normal than them, but I've heard that women are actually not very normal. What should I do?"
Yi Mei said, "What should we do? Find a desolate mountain, hide there, and remain a bachelor for the rest of your life. If you see any woman's shadow, gouge out your eyes."
Su Xiaoying looked pained and murmured, "Women really are all abnormal."
Yi Mei said seriously, "Now that we've found a murderer... and confessed to being the murderer, our next step is to keep an eye on Steward Feng."
Suddenly, there were hurried footsteps outside, and a person burst in with a thud, covered in cold sweat, his face ashen, sobbing, "Miss Dong... Miss Dong!"
Yi Mei was startled and exclaimed, "Manager Feng!"
Steward Feng choked back tears, gasping for breath as if he were about to suffocate. After holding his breath for a long time, he let out a loud "waa ...
Before he could finish speaking, Yi Mei had already dashed out.
Xie Yuanlan died in the warm pavilion where he had spoken with Xie Wangyi, Yi Mei, and Su Xiaoying a little over an hour earlier.
His face was contorted in a grimace, his eyes wide open, and the only sword wound on his body was a thin line. On his chest, there was a swift sword mark, so clean it was as delicate as a young girl's embroidery. Compared to Xie Chuanshu's sword wound on his chest, this mark was thinner and smoother; it was even very shallow, barely severing the blood vessel in his heart.
Xie Yuanlan's sword was half-drawn, and he died before he could even make a single move.
For the first time in her life, Yi Mei couldn't bear to look at a corpse. She watched Xie Wangyi stagger away. The setting sun was shining brightly outside, and the fiery red sunlight made Xie Wangyi's white clothes stand out brilliantly.
Su Xiaoying stood up very slowly and said to everyone, "Quick Sword, that's the one who killed him."
Yi Mei lowered her head.
However, Su Xiaoying remained unusually calm, his gaze fixed on Xie Sange. "Excuse me," he said indifferently, "I'd like to see your sword."
Xie Sange's face suddenly turned pale.
Su Xiaoying said, "Can't I watch it?"
Xie Sange stood there like a statue. After a very long time, he finally said, "It's alright." His voice was clearly hoarse. When he handed the sword to Su Xiaoying, his arm was even trembling slightly.
Su Xiaoying drew her longsword. Xie Sange's sword was a soft sword much thinner than a typical fine steel sword, with a gleaming sheen and a sharp edge. However, Su Xiaoying's expression suddenly changed when she grasped the sword. She handed the sword to Yimei.
Yi Mei held the sword in her hand, examined it for a long time, and remained silent.
The oppressive atmosphere suddenly weighed heavily on Xie Sange's heart. His face began to twitch as he cried out in anguish, "My sword was just stolen. You must believe me."
"Will a swordsman's sword be stolen?" Yi Mei suddenly murmured.
A hint of despair appeared on Xie Sange's face, because he knew that Yi Mei was telling the truth.
Su Xiaoying said, "When you saw Master Xie, you already knew he would die by your sword, right? Only your sword has such a thin blade that it could pierce such a fine wound!"
Xie Sange said, "But the person who uses this sword is not me."
Su Xiaoying looked at him for a long time and sighed, "If you were the murderer, you wouldn't have used your own sword, and you would have run away immediately instead of standing here. Besides, the sword that killed him before wasn't yours."
Xie Sange said, "I know who stole my sword. It must be Steward Feng. I saw him at the door of the Fourth Young Master's room just now. He also killed the Fourth Young Master and the Fifth Young Master."
The head steward, who had been standing there in a daze, suddenly realized what was happening and screamed, "You're spouting nonsense!" His voice was so sharp that it sent chills down everyone's spine.
"You don't need to argue." Xie Wangyi had returned sometime earlier. She stood in the doorway, her face hidden in shadow. She said without any emotion, "Third Brother Xie, Feng Wuhua, you two stay here today. The most important thing I need to do now is to prepare my father's body for burial and let him rest in peace. Your matter will naturally be resolved by tomorrow morning."
Yi Mei said, "But..."
Xie Wangyi said coldly, "But what? What are you? Do you expect my father to stand here and wait for you to come to a conclusion?"
Yi Mei said, "You can have someone else collect the body..."
Xie Wangyi uttered a single word through gritted teeth, devoid of emotion: "Get lost."
Yi Mei was stunned for a moment, then jumped up in anger. Just as she was about to start cursing, Su Xiaoying grabbed her and dragged her out, saying, "Yi Mei, let it go. You know this woman isn't normal. For Xie Yuanlan's sake..."
"Why should I do this for Xie Yuanlan's sake!" Yi Mei shouted.
"Once you figure this out, you can give her a good beating, right?"
"Su Xiaoying! If you pull me again, I'll beat you up!"
"Why are you involving me?..."
massacre of the entire family and the entire village
There was no moon that night, but countless stars filled the sky.
A night sky like this is truly the most beautiful. Although it's pitch black, you can't see your hand in front of your face, and all the stars hang so low, it looks like you could easily scoop them up in a handful.
Su Xiaoying folded her hands behind her head and lay comfortably on her back next to a strange rock. A thick, ancient vine hung down, forming an inverted "V" shape, almost touching the ground. Su Xiaoying rested one foot on the vine and gazed intently at the starry sky.
In the darkness, he could see nothing but the stars, rippling like waves, vast and magnificent. He had become one with the mountain, the mountain with the earth, and the earth with the night sky. In the vast world, only a shimmering sea of stars remained.
Su Xiaoying suddenly sighed softly.
The starry sky was quiet, and all was still.