November 25th—Dingshui City was shrouded in fog once again.
Fang Zhi brought good news: after the information about the Biqing Flower was fed into the Du Residence, a small fish had taken the bait. Additionally, there had been a critical discovery regarding the deadly poisonous pill found among Du Zhongtao’s belongings.
Fang Zhi gulped down an entire pot of blue flower tea in front of Meng Rui, complaining, “Lord Kong’s place is giving me such a headache. In just one day, he issued three prefecture orders to investigate the Twelve Corpses Case. I told him someone deliberately sabotaged the crime scene, but he wouldn’t listen. He even pointed his finger at my nose and gave me a thorough scolding.”
“I’m sorry, Brother Fang.” Meng Rui’s tone was unusually gentle. “I promised to help you investigate the Twelve Corpses Case, but I never expected you’d end up helping me instead.”
“Bullshit! I’ve been investigating Du Zhongtao’s case all along. I could say you’re the one who barged in, so what’s this about me helping you? Keep dreaming!” Fang Zhi said viciously for a couple of sentences, then added with a smile, “But once this case is wrapped up, you’d better come back and help me.”
“It’s a deal.” Meng Rui almost told Fang Zhi that Du Zhongtao’s case and the Twelve Corpses Case seemed unrelated on the surface but actually had a mysterious connection. However, the words reached his lips but he swallowed them back—the secret of the green-eyed person was better kept from as many people as possible. It was too dangerous for Fang Zhi.
It was another foggy afternoon. Meng Rui deliberately sent Fang Zhi away and ventured alone through the mist into the Zizai Tower in the western part of the city.
At the entrance of Zizai Tower, two bright red pillars bore a five-character couplet:
Left: “Much freedom dwells within.”
Right: “Few worries in the mortal world.”
A waiter came running over with a bow, saying, “Welcome, honored guest! Sir, are you here to drink or to scatter flowers?” (Scattering flowers was a form of gambling popular among the common folk of the Great World.)
Meng Rui looked up at the three-story Zizai Tower, paused for a moment, and said, “I’m looking for someone.”
“Looking for someone?” The waiter was startled, then smiled ingratiatingly. “Ah, so you’re looking for a pretty girl! Yes, we have them! Please follow me to the second floor.”
Meng Rui didn’t move. He shook his head with an indifferent expression, “I’m not looking for a girl. I’m looking for a man.”
The waiter’s smile instantly froze, and he stammered, “A man? We don’t have that kind of…”
Before he could finish, Meng Rui pointed his finger at another waiter in blue clothing running about, “I’m looking for him.”
“Ah!”
The principle of Zizai Tower was that as long as you paid, they would provide anything. Therefore, this most secluded small room on the third floor often conducted the most secretive business. Meng Rui was already seated inside the room, and the blue-clothed waiter had entered as well. He wasn’t very tall, his complexion pale with a tinge of green, and his expression somewhat twisted.
The blue-clothed waiter clutched his clothes tightly, “Sir, what do you want to do?”
“There’s no one around—no need to pretend. You knew I would come, didn’t you? From the moment Meixiang came to find you.” Meng Rui spoke frankly about Meixiang—the portrait of the woman that Fang Zhi had sent was indeed Meixiang, the one who had secretly purchased the Biqing Flower. Meng Rui had used Meixiang as bait, deliberately applying pressure to force her to meet with the mastermind behind the scenes. As a result, Meixiang had come to Zizai Tower to find the waiter.
The playful expression on the blue-clothed waiter’s face faded somewhat, “Oh, you mean that girl Meixiang. Hehe, so she’s the one who ruined things.”
“This isn’t the first time we’ve met, is it?” Meng Rui stared at the blue-clothed waiter thoughtfully. “Five days ago, around the si hour, on the ancient road outside the city—you and I met. Du Zhongtao was there too.”
The waiter simply sat down opposite Meng Rui and picked up a grape from the table to eat, “I was wondering why you looked somewhat familiar—so we have met before. But I don’t understand why you’re looking for me.”
“You really don’t understand? Fine, take a look at this.” Meng Rui took out a white silk cloth containing a Biqing Flower seed, its silver light flickering like a shadow. Meng Rui continued, “Do you understand now?”
The waiter shook his head and smiled, “A flower seed? What am I supposed to understand from that?”
“Then I’ll be direct.” Meng Rui said straightforwardly, “You used this Biqing Flower seed to kill Du Zhongtao.”
Silence filled the small room for a moment. After a while, the waiter ate another grape and spat the seed out forcefully, “Like spitting him to death? You must be joking. How can a tiny flower seed kill someone!”
“Naturally, there are far more clever and ingenious methods. Since you’re unwilling to admit it, let me explain it to you.” Meng Rui took a deep breath and spoke slowly, “Where should I begin? Well, let’s start with the Red-Bellied Fierce Bird.”
The waiter’s eyelid twitched, but he quickly grabbed another grape and stuffed it into his mouth.
“The Red-Bellied Fierce Bird has a belly as red as blood and loves to eat venomous snakes, so it’s also called the Poison Flame Bird. The Poison Flame Bird is originally a bird from the Western Wastes with quite a large appetite, so raising a Poison Flame Bird requires large quantities of fresh snake meat. I investigated all the restaurants and taverns in Dingshui City, and recently only one establishment has been purchasing snakes in large quantities—that’s Zizai Tower. The truth is, you used Zizai Tower as a front to purchase snakes. If my inference is correct, the Poison Flame Bird is right now in some corner of Zizai Tower. Would you like to go find it?”
The waiter’s expression remained unchanged, “No need to search. That’s a very brilliant deduction. The Red-Bellied Fierce Bird—yes, the Poison Flame Bird is indeed raised by me. But so what?”
“Don’t rush—the story is just beginning.” Meng Rui paused and continued, “Having acquired the Poison Flame Bird, you then bribed Meixiang, a maid at the Du Residence. You had Meixiang smear Biqing Flower juice on a white silk handkerchief. The silver flower seed was carelessly dropped at that time. The reason for smearing the Biqing Flower juice was because its fragrance contains the scent of snake saliva, which can confuse the Poison Flame Bird and make it mistake Du Zhongtao for its target.”
“What happened next, we both witnessed that day.” Meng Rui recalled, “The Poison Flame Bird flew out from the forest. Because it was full, it only circled around Du Zhongtao and finally dropped a pile of bird droppings on his face.”
“Haha, so you’ve gone from talking about flower seeds to bird droppings. What else do you want to say?”
“Naturally, I must continue—the truly marvelous part comes next. With bird droppings on his face, Du Zhongtao went to Li’s Tea House to wash up, but inadvertently encountered Widow Sun, who was relieving herself. The two shouted loudly, alarming the tea patrons. Among them was a messenger from the Du Residence, whose lover was Meixiang, and Meixiang told Madam Du. Madam Du then quarreled with Du Zhongtao and even got physical. Du Zhongtao, feeling dejected, went to a pleasure house to lift his spirits but unexpectedly fell to his death from the building.” Meng Rui finished in one breath and sighed, “Du Zhongtao died pathetically and pitifully. Some might suspect Madam Du or Widow Sun, but there’s no evidence either way. Over time, people would forget.”
“However, Du Zhongtao’s case was too naturally sequential, which made it somewhat unnatural. For instance, every stage of his death had different witnesses, like nails securing each segment: the bird droppings on his face, the commotion at the tea house, the quarrel at the Du Residence—even his fatal fall had an eyewitness. Yes, that was me. It felt as if a group of people deliberately witnessed Du Zhongtao’s death and infinitely suspended it in the air.” Meng Rui said with an agitated expression, “But within each stage, there were too many coincidences. Like how the bird droppings just happened to hit Du Zhongtao, how the outhouse just happened to be occupied, how Widow Sun just happened to drink aged wine all night, how there just happened to be a Du Residence messenger at the tea house… There are countless ‘just happeneds’ already.”
The waiter stopped eating grapes and instead tapped the table with his fingers, producing rhythmic tapping sounds.
Meng Rui ignored him and continued, “These numerous suspicious coincidences constructed the illusion of Du Zhongtao’s death, making him die as if it were natural and expected—like a wave disappearing into the sea, forgotten before people even had time to lament. Your terrifying brilliance lies in linking these coincidental points into a line of death, killing without anyone knowing… Or perhaps it should be called control.”
“Omnipresent control, omnipotent scheming. Everyone’s details and actions were under your control—from the initial Poison Flame Bird onward, Du Zhongtao’s actions, Widow Sun’s actions after feeling the urge to urinate, the actions of the messenger, Meixiang, and Madam Du—you knew everything like the back of your hand. As if they were all marionettes, with every movement, every word and deed suspended from your hand.” As Meng Rui spoke to this point, he couldn’t help but feel a chill down his spine.
“As for the specific methods of control—for example, using the Biqing Flower to control the Poison Flame Bird, using aged wine and the outhouse to control Widow Sun, using emotions to control the messenger, and so forth. But while it sounds simple, putting it into action requires enormous energy.”
“In short, you killed Du Zhongtao. Using the most peculiar method—the coincidence of details.”
The waiter became somewhat more serious, examining Meng Rui carefully, “The renowned God-Catcher of the Great World truly lives up to his reputation.”
“I haven’t finished speaking yet.” Meng Rui took another deep breath. “Du Zhongtao’s case is still not entirely clear.”
“There’s more? Very well, please continue.”
“I’ve always been puzzled by one question. Even if you could control the details, could you truly orchestrate someone’s death flawlessly?” Meng Rui’s cold gaze locked onto the waiter. “Finally, I found the critical flaw.”
“The wooden railing of the pleasure house had been damaged long ago—how could Du Zhongtao not know? Since he knew, why didn’t he repair it? That’s the first flaw.” Meng Rui continued, “People are more alert at night than during the day, yet Du Zhongtao overlooked the dangerous wooden railing. I even discovered two hand-pushed crack marks on the railing—he was deliberately damaging it. That’s the second flaw. Furthermore, among Du Zhongtao’s belongings was a deadly poisonous pill, which was also confirmed to have been commissioned by Du Zhongtao. That’s the third flaw.”
“From these three flaws, one can conclude—Du Zhongtao committed suicide.”
This also perfectly matched the four strange verses left by the green-eyed person. Meng Rui thought to himself:
At the fifth watch, the sparse desire breaks, on one tree the green shows no mercy. There is intent to gamble with no life, Yama peers through double doors.
The “there is intent” in the third line meant deliberate, “gamble” meant to fight for destruction, and “no life” equaled death. Put together, it meant deliberately seeking death—suicide!
“I learned that the current Madam Du was actually a concubine. Du Zhongtao once had a previous wife who was divorced and took away Du Zhongtao’s only son.” Meng Rui’s eyes flickered. “Du Zhongtao had a premonition he would meet this calamity, and he didn’t want his son implicated, so he deliberately abandoned his wife and child. If my inference is correct, you found Du Zhongtao’s son and used this to coerce him into suicide.”
“Du Zhongtao, for the sake of his own flesh and blood, was willing to do anything. He even worried about what would happen if he didn’t die from falling from the pleasure house. So he also prepared the poison pill to take his own life in case that situation arose.” Meng Rui exhaled a long breath. “You pushed open the gates of hell for Du Zhongtao and made him willingly jump in. Although he sought death, you are in fact the murderer.”
The waiter’s expression changed several times. His smile completely vanished, and he looked at Meng Rui with a grave expression.
“As for the motive for murder—Du Zhongtao made his fortune as a maritime merchant. Between you and him, there should be conflicts of interest related to maritime trade and money, or perhaps even deeper entanglements.” Meng Rui said with a stern expression, “Have I spoken incorrectly?”
“What an excellent God-Catcher of the Great World! Every sentence is like a knife, stabbing one so painfully.”
The waiter jumped down from his chair and looked out the small window at the bustling crowds outside, “I truly don’t want to be your enemy.”
“I feel the same way, but many things cannot be decided by individuals.” Meng Rui slowly moved to block the waiter’s path.
The waiter suddenly smiled, “Everything you just said—I won’t deny it, but I won’t admit it either. It’s just a pity… you have no evidence.”
“I have evidence! The Poison Flame Bird and the Biqing Flower are physical evidence, and Meixiang is a witness. Although it’s somewhat troublesome, I’m confident I can bring you to justice.” Meng Rui said with certainty.
“Mm, you mention Meixiang.” The waiter’s expression became cold. “From the moment you stepped into Zizai Tower, a person named Meixiang ceased to exist in this world.”
“Meixiang was selfish and greedy. Compared to Du Zhongtao, there are more people willing to see her dead.” The waiter said meaningfully, “So there are even more methods to make her die as if it were natural and expected.”
Meng Rui retreated two steps in a daze, making way, “I caused Meixiang’s death…”
The waiter walked to Meng Rui’s side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him.
“I only want to tell you this: Dingshui City is like a giant spider web woven across a thousand-ren cliff. People survive in the crevices by the spider silk that connects them to each other. Once the silk thread supporting them breaks, what awaits them is a bottomless abyss that devours bones and seizes souls.” The waiter leaned in slightly and spoke in an almost inaudible tone, “And I am merely a stone hanging on the web. The one truly orchestrating everything is the Spider Queen.”
“Spider Queen?” Meng Rui glanced at the “Death God,” killing intent flickering in and out.
“Bang!” The waiter opened the door and looked at the pitch-black stairway. “You don’t need to look for me anymore, and you won’t be able to find me again.”
“Where is my sister?!”
“The answer is in your hands.” The waiter paused slightly. “You only need to grasp it. Grasp it very tightly.”
“Sir is giving a reward!” the waiter shouted loudly. Another blue-clothed waiter ran up and said, “I should get a share of the reward too!”
The waiter smiled again, half-turned his head, and said, “I almost forgot—I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Ye Huancheng.”
Having given his name, Ye Huancheng suddenly drew a dagger from his sleeve and viciously stabbed it into the abdomen of the approaching blue-clothed waiter. The blue-clothed waiter clutched his stomach and screamed miserably, “Murder! Someone’s been murdered…”
“There’s been a murder! Quick, report to the authorities!”
“Block him—don’t let him get away!”
“He can’t escape—seal the door first!”
Through the window, a group of yamen officers could already be seen. Ye Huancheng brushed his sleeve, raised the dagger high, and smiled like a child, “In the future, somewhere, I hope we can… meet again.”
Meng Rui watched as he was taken away by a group of constables. He knew he had deeply etched this name into his memory—Ye Huancheng.