Xie Yuanlan asked curiously, "Isn't that right, Young Master Su?"
Su Xiaoying glanced over and suddenly felt a suspicious and fierce gaze shooting towards her. She hurriedly said, "Although I also have the surname Su, I have absolutely no relation to the Su family." She emphasized her words and swore, "Really, no!"
Xie Yuanlan couldn't help but smile and said, "Others would love to have a distinguished family background, but Young Master Su seems to think that getting involved with one would bring bad luck."
Yi Mei snorted and turned to Xie Yuanlan, saying, "Master, it seems that the Langgan Sword Technique and the Jingyue Sword Technique were both lost twenty years ago."
Xie Yuanlan sighed, "That's right, it's all because of the 'wrong flower painting' incident... Alas."
Su Xiaoying smiled and said, "If that's the case, then if I really am a descendant of the Su family, it would be a good thing if I could pass down a sword technique."
Yi Mei said, "Come on, you're not one."
After thinking for a while, Su Xiaoying said, "I'll investigate this properly another day, just in case I really am one of them."
"Alright, alright," Yi Mei scoffed, then turned to Xie Yuanlan and said, "Master, what important matter have you invited us here to discuss? It can't just be idle chatter, can it?"
Xie Yuanlan stood up and said, "My Xie family has been in business for generations. Through careful management, our industry has accumulated to a considerable size. To put it bluntly, in the martial arts world, only Diaoliang Xiaolou can surpass my Xie family."
Yi Mei let out a soft "Mmm".
Xie Yuanlan said, "I am willing to give one-third of my family fortune to Miss Dong."
Yi Mei's eyes widened immediately. After a moment of stunned silence, she exclaimed, "What did you say?!"
Xie Yuanlan sighed, but said calmly, "Although Hua Jian broke her promise this time, the danger will not be over until the murderer is eliminated. I cannot be completely at ease."
Yi Mei let out an "Oh," and sneered, "You're paying me with a third of your fortune to find the murderer for you?"
Xie Yuanlan said, "That's right."
Yi Mei sneered, "Business is business. Why are you saying 'gift' out of the blue?"
Xie Yuanlan smiled quietly and said, "I originally thought that saying it this way would make it seem more polite."
Yi Mei said, "This is a big deal. Both of us need to prepare before we can decide whether to do it or not."
Xie Yuanlan asked, "What does Miss Dong need to prepare?"
Yi Mei said, “I’ve never done such a big deal before, so I need to think it over carefully. As for the owner, you need to take stock of your assets and calculate the total. What if you suddenly feel that one-third is too much and regret it, and then hide your assets? Wouldn’t I be at a great disadvantage? Therefore, you need to tell me a clear figure now. If both of us agree, that would be best; if we can’t reach an agreement, business may be over, but friendship will remain, and we won’t have any conflicts.”
Xie Yuanlan said, "Miss Dong's calculations are very accurate."
Yi Mei said, "I've always been best at accounting."
Su Xiaoying almost burst out laughing, then quickly picked up her teacup and took a sip.
Xie Yuanlan said, "In that case, how about I give you a number first thing tomorrow morning?"
Yi Mei said, "Okay, I'll give you an answer tomorrow, whether or not we'll do this business."
Su Xiaoying gently tugged at Yi Mei, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Are you really going to take this job? This job is going to be very difficult."
Yi Mei sighed and whispered, "People die for money, birds die for food. A great reward will surely bring forth brave men. Such a large sum of money, aren't you tempted?"
“Well…” Su Xiaoying thought for a moment and said, “I’m also a little tempted.”
Yi Mei said, "If you're not moved, are you even human?"
Su Xiaoying said, "If we can really earn such a large sum of money, how will you manage it all by yourself? Let's get married soon."
Yi Mei smiled and reached out to pinch his arm hard.
Xie Yuanlan coughed and said, "I will go to the accounting office now and gather the clerk and the teacher of my estate. I will make sure to give Miss Dong an explanation tomorrow."
Yi Mei nodded and said, "Okay."
Xie Yuanlan got up and left. She walked a few steps to the door when a servant suddenly rushed in. The servant ran in with great haste, his eyes seemingly unable to find their target, staring intently at some unknown spot in the room. In a shrill voice, he stammered, "No...no...it's over!"
Xie Yuanlan's heart sank heavily for a moment, but she managed to keep her composure and whispered, "What happened?"
The servant's face was ashen, and his whole body trembled violently as he stammered, "Four...four..."
Xie Yuanlan interrupted him, saying sternly, "Has something happened to the Fourth Young Master?"
The servant shook his head frantically, saying, "No...no...no..."
Xie Yuanlan felt relieved and softened her voice, saying, "Take your time."
Yi Mei and Su Xiaoying exchanged a glance, then looked at the servant. He was shaking his head frantically, his voice trembling with fear, saying, "No...it wasn't Fourth Young Master...it wasn't just one person...Fifth...Fifth Young Master...died...died in..."
Xie Yuanlan shuddered, his face turning even bluer than iron. In a daze, he seemed to lose his balance. Yi Mei frowned, and when she looked again, he had vanished without a trace, having run away.
Before even entering the house, a pungent smell of blood assaulted the nostrils, making one want to vomit. A long trail of blood stretched out the door and down the steps.
A pile of broken porcelain lay at the entrance, mixed with sweet and soft pastries. Steward Feng stood beside the porcelain and pastries, his face deathly pale. He stammered, "This humble servant...this humble servant brought tea and snacks...Fifth Young Master wants to be with Fourth Young Master...This humble servant didn't know..."
Xie Yuanlan's knees went weak, but she still managed to fling open the curtain. A stench of blood assaulted her senses. She saw Xie Chuanle and Xie Chuanshi, both impaled by a long sword and pinned tightly to the wall. Xie Chuanle was pinned outside, only the hilt of the sword protruding from his chest.
Xie Chuanle's eyes remained wide open, his expression shrill. The man, completely dead, hung limply, yet was held in place by the longsword, refusing to fall. —The power of that sword strike was truly ferocious.
The Wind Master was still muttering incoherently to himself.
However, at this moment, everyone present felt that the surroundings were suddenly empty.
Xie Wangyi also arrived. She came in a hurry, her hair was not properly tied up, and she was only wearing one shoe. When she saw this scene, her eyes immediately went blank, and then she screamed almost like a madwoman.
Xie Wangyi's scream jolted Yimei awake. Yimei went over and pulled the curtain that Xie Yuanlan was tightly clutching in her hand. She let go, and the curtain bounced a few times, once again concealing the horrific scene inside.
Everyone then seemed to wake up from a dream and catch their breath.
Yi Mei asked, "Who was the first to discover that something had happened here?"
Main pipe maker: "This humble servant...this humble servant came with Ah-Qiang to deliver tea and snacks...when we got to the door, I suddenly felt something was wrong..."
Yi Mei asked, "Where's A-Qiang?"
Feng, the head of the department, said, "I've gone to... deliver a message to the manor lord."
Yi Mei asked, "Did you find the flowered stationery?"
No one answered. Clearly, the letter hadn't arrived. Yi Mei frowned.
Su Xiaoying suddenly remembered what she had told Xie Chuanle last night, "If something unexpected happens tonight, this will be the last time you see the sunset." Who knew that nothing unexpected would happen last night, and Xie Chuanle really would never see the sunset again.
Su Xiaoying said calmly, "Steward Feng, don't let any unauthorized people come over. A while ago, we registered the names of everyone who was alone without companions, and we don't want them wandering around."
Steward Feng paused for a moment, then repeatedly said, "Yes! Yes!"
At this moment, Xie Yuanlan slowly turned around, facing the group of people, and fixed his gaze on their faces, scanning them one by one. Xie Wangyi trembled slightly and said, "Father..."
Xie Yuanlan's voice was already very hoarse in that short moment, but his tone was surprisingly calm as he slowly said, "Wang Yi, Miss Dong, Young Master Su, please come inside to talk."
The four arrived at a warm pavilion.
Upon entering the room, Xie Yuanlan could no longer support himself and staggered a few steps. He used his hand to steady himself on the edge of the low couch before finally managing to sit down with difficulty. As he sat down and looked up, the wrinkles on his face seemed to suddenly deepen, making him appear extremely old.
“Now—” Xie Yuanlan sighed deeply, wearily saying, “I finally have a clue about my enemy.”
Yi Mei was startled and stared at him. A slant of light caught Xie Wangyi's eye, and she too looked up in shock.
Xie Yuanlan slowly said, "Twenty years ago, when the Cuohua Tu was rampant, a message came from Chuzhou that the Su family of Langgan Sword had been completely wiped out, all of them killed in the Cuohua Tu. I was young and curious at the time, so I made a special trip to Chuzhou to inquire about this news. But when I arrived, I saw that the Su family had fallen into ruin, and everyone inside had long since dispersed. There is a very famous mountain in Chuzhou called Liangzi Mountain, with extraordinary scenery. When I saw the tragic state of the Su family, I was filled with resentment and had nowhere to vent it, so I went to Liangzi Mountain to play and find some relief."
Xie Yuanlan's eyes suddenly flickered with a strange light, and he slowly said, "Who knew that on Liangzi Mountain, he would save a woman he should never have met in this lifetime."
His tone was so peculiar that it defied description, and involuntarily, everyone thought of the phrase: "a beautiful woman is a source of trouble."
Xie Yuanlan said, "That woman was extremely beautiful, especially her eyes. With just a slight glance, anyone she looked at would have their soul completely captivated. I had never seen such a beautiful woman before, nor have I seen such a beautiful woman since. Just one look at her was enough to know that she was peerless. So that's what it means."
His tireless description of a woman was actually somewhat amusing, yet the three people present were all engrossed and didn't find anything amiss.
"I rescued her in the valley and asked about her family background. She said she had been abandoned by her husband and, heartbroken, had jumped off a cliff to her death." Xie Yuanlan sighed softly. "At that time, my heart was completely with her. I took care of her and helped her recover from her injuries before proposing to her. This woman asked me if I already had a wife. I already had one wife and two concubines, but under her unparalleled beauty, I couldn't bring myself to tell the truth. I was momentarily blinded and lied to her that I wasn't married. At that time, I thought that my sincere affection and gentle treatment of her would surely win her back."
"After returning to Banshao Manor, she didn't say anything and willingly became my fourth wife. I was relieved and pampered her even more. A month later, she suddenly asked me when I would kill my wife. I was shocked and broke out in a cold sweat, but she looked serious and natural, not like she was joking. Later, she noticed my surprise and stopped asking. After a while, I forgot about it."
A look of horror appeared on Xie Yuanlan's face as she murmured, "Who knows...who knows..."
He stopped abruptly at this point, and the three listeners, engrossed in their conversation, remained silent, the warm pavilion quiet for a moment.
Xie Yuanlan paused for a long time, his facial muscles contorting again, and said, "Three months later, one day she told me that she had been my woman for so long. I didn't understand at the time and ignored her. Three days later... it was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month... my wife's birthday. It snowed that day, and I prepared a black sable coat as a gift for her. That day, that day I will never forget for the rest of my life! I walked into my wife's room and smelled the pungent stench of blood. My wife and my eldest son were pierced through by a long sword and nailed to the wall!"
Xie Wangyi involuntarily leaned back and let out a soft cry.
Xie Yuanlan, however, seemed not to hear and continued, "The woman stood beside the corpse, not afraid at all, smiling as she observed it. When I saw her like this, I was completely stunned. She smiled easily and told me that she had already killed my wife and asked me to kill my two concubines. Only then did I realize that she was a madwoman, a devil! I drew my sword and stabbed at her!"
Xie Yuanlan said, "Although that woman's martial arts were not as good as mine, they were not weak either. When she saw me make a move, she immediately dodged. But the expression on her face changed, and she shouted sharply, 'You want to kill me! You want to kill me!' I was so excited that I didn't care about her. I stabbed at her again. This time, the stab was more accurate and ruthless than the last time. She couldn't dodge and actually stretched out her right hand to block. Half of her arm was cut off by me. I was stunned. When I looked again, she had already flipped over and jumped away."
Xie Yuanlan paused here, catching his breath. The three people listening to the story, hearing him breathe heavily, involuntarily let out a sigh of relief as well.
After a long pause, Xie Wangyi asked, "What happened to that woman afterward?"
Xie Yuanlan shook his head dejectedly and said, "No further news."
Su Xiaoying suddenly looked at Xie Yuanlan and asked, "What's this woman's name? Does she have any relatives?"
Xie Yuanlan said, "Her name is Fu Wuqing, and she said she has a younger sister."
Xie Wangyi whispered, "This murder with the flowery note, is this woman coming back for revenge?"
Xie Yuanlan remained silent, then suddenly, two streams of tears slowly flowed down his cheeks, his expression one of utter despair, which he could no longer conceal. "Wangyi," he said, "please ask Miss Dong and Young Master Su to escort you out and seek refuge. Right now, you are the only child left in the Xie family..."
Xie Wangyi's bewildered, sorrowful, and desperate expression vanished abruptly after hearing those words. She sneered, "Father! What do you mean by this!"
Xie Yuanlan was taken aback.
Xie Wangyi said, "When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact? I will never leave!"
A glimpse of the truth
Su Xiaoying held a large wolf-hair brush between her fingers, lingering it in the inkstone for a long time until it was fully soaked in ink, before finally lifting the brush and drawing two thick black circles on the list.
Seeing his serious expression, Yi Mei asked, "We are bodyguards hired by Xie Yuanlan. It doesn't seem right for us not to protect Xie Wangyi, does it?"
Su Xiaoying casually said, "How can we protect her now? The murderer doesn't pass on any documents, and we don't know when she'll make her move. Does she expect us to follow her around even when she's pooping or peeing?"
Yi Mei said, "You're right. I think the Xie family are all pretty good people, how could they be so unlucky? Unless we find the murderer quickly, none of them will escape."
Su Xiaoying said, "Now the Xie family only has two people left." She spread the list on the table, tapped it, and said, "Come and look at this. This list lists the names of the individuals who were alone when Xie Chuanle and Xie Chuanshi died, and who might have been the perpetrators. Besides Zhang Dafu and Li Fugui, there are only these two—"
Yi Mei leaned closer to take a look and saw that Xie Wangyi and Xie Sange's names were circled on the list.
Yi Mei frowned and said, "Third Brother Xie seems quite mysterious. Although he's the manager of the manor, he doesn't like to talk and doesn't socialize. I haven't spoken a single word to him alone yet. As for Xie Wangyi... he doesn't seem quite like him..."
Su Xiaoying asked, "Do you remember Xie Chuanli's death? I once asked the coroner who examined him, and there was no sign of poisoning on his body. The only unusual thing was that his skin was unusually white. At the time, they couldn't find out the cause of his death. It was Xie Wangyi who determined that the poison he was given was a kind of poison from the southern natives, which they called 'corpse white'."