When Zhan Yang directed Tong Yu to search for the hidden weapon, he noticed blood on Princess Qin Wan’s elbow. His expression changed slightly, “Princess, you’re injured?!”
White Ying’s brows furrowed deeply. “My Lady—”
Qin Wan raised her hand to stop the inquiry. “It’s nothing serious. Did you see anyone when you went out?”
Zhan Yang quickly nodded. “We chased for two streets but saw no one. Worried about the Princess and Daoist Zhang being left here alone, we hurried back.”
Qin Wan sighed. “Then we fell for their trap.”
She turned to look at Daoist Zhang, her gaze somewhat gloomy. Daoist Zhang was puzzled by her expression. “Princess, what’s wrong?”
Qin Wan looked at Daoist Zhang, and then at the stone millstone that had created a shallow pit in the ground. “Daoist, you said before that the Stone Mill Hell kills those who broke precepts, and you mentioned you were such a person. So was the killer trying to eliminate you ahead of schedule?”
Daoist Zhang’s expression changed slightly as he considered this point. “But something’s not right… the timing is wrong… it should have been two nights later…”
Qin Wan pressed her lips together. “If they weren’t planning to use you as a living sacrifice, then the killer must know you’ve been helping us, so they wanted to eliminate you—”
Indeed, Daoist Zhang was currently the government’s greatest asset. He could calculate the timing and locations, and though the killer had escaped narrowly last time, they would need to kill at least three more people to complete this ritual. All three murders would have to be carried out under the government’s close surveillance. The killer would be caught if they made even the slightest mistake!
Daoist Zhang still had a light sheen of sweat on his face. “They must have known I was helping and wanted to kill me. Today they either followed us here, or the killer was already in the vicinity when we arrived, and what happened was just a coincidence.”
Zhan Yang looked around with a grave expression. Tong Yu quickly returned, holding an exquisite small knife in his hand. The knife was as thin as a bamboo slice with an extremely sharp edge. Earlier, this knife had cut through the rope.
Though the rope wasn’t particularly thin, it was quite remarkable that the killer had managed to cut it with a hidden weapon from outside the courtyard. Zhan Yang examined it. “This knife seems to be used for carving something.”
Qin Wan’s brows furrowed, and Daoist Zhang spoke up, “I used to use knives like this for wood carving.”
Zhan Yang gripped the knife, glaring hatefully toward the courtyard entrance. “Too brazen! Simply too brazen! Knowing we were here, they still dared to come kill someone. This person truly has no respect for the law.”
Someone who could kill four people in succession naturally had no respect for the law. Qin Wan’s eyes darkened. “It seems we’ll need to be much more careful when traveling from now on, especially Daoist Zhang.”
Daoist Zhang laughed carelessly. “This old man’s life isn’t so short, Princess. Don’t worry.”
Qin Wan’s lips curved slightly. Zhan Yang said, “I’ll take two men to look around the area. The rest will stay to protect the Princess.”
Qin Wan nodded, and Zhan Yang left the courtyard with his men.
White Ying looked worriedly at Qin Wan. “My Lady, your arm…”
Qin Wan smiled reassuringly. “It’s nothing. Don’t I know the severity of my injuries? Just a scratch, nothing serious. How far did you chase earlier?”
White Ying quickly replied, “Captain Zhan and I split in different directions, but we both only went about two streets.”
Qin Wan sighed. “The killer must be hiding nearby, not having left. They’re more familiar with this area than we are. There are many abandoned houses around here where they could easily hide.”
As she spoke, Qin Wan narrowed her eyes. She recalled that flash of blue cloth robe. Though the robe was ordinary, when she thought of that fleeting shadow, she felt a sense of familiarity. She couldn’t tell if it was the shadow that was familiar or if she had seen someone wear such a robe before.
Zhan Yang returned quickly, clearly worried about potential incidents here. “I looked around but found no one behaving suspiciously. However, I met a night watchman who said that six or seven days ago, he saw a tall, thin man enter the mill late at night. He thought it strange that someone would enter such a desolate place so late, but when he followed to check, the mill was completely dark with no one inside. The watchman thought he’d seen something supernatural and quickly left.”
“Six or seven days ago, a tall, thin man…”
Tong Yu rushed over. “Could it be the killer?!”
Zhan Yang nodded. “Most likely. Why else would someone come to this mill so late?”
After speaking, Zhan Yang frowned deeply. “This person couldn’t have been guarding this place every day for so many days. Was today truly a coincidence? Or did they know we were coming?”
Daoist Zhang furrowed his brows. “This person must know martial arts, judging by how they cut the rope. They must have seen the government officials staking out the place early last time and realized someone in the government must know about the Moon Worship Sect’s ritual set up, so they wanted to eliminate me. Though I accompanied you last time, not many people knew my identity.”
Zhan Yang shook his head. “Don’t forget, this killer is likely the same one from six years ago. Six years ago, they watched you get arrested, so they probably recognize you. You were imprisoned for six years, and now you’re suddenly released. They could easily investigate and find out everything…”
Daoist Zhang frowned deeply. “So this might be someone I’ve met before?”
At this, Zhan Yang and Qin Wan exchanged glances. Six years ago, Daoist Zhang had been wrongly accused for no reason. When they asked him about it, he said he didn’t know why. Since the case was from so long ago, investigating it would waste too much time and energy, so everyone had only looked at the case files without returning to Guanyin Town. But Daoist Zhang had experienced the case firsthand—he must have seen the killer from back then.
Zhan Yang stepped forward. “Daoist, did you have any suspects in the case from back then? When you were spreading the Moon Worship teachings in Guanyin Town, were there any particularly enthusiastic disciples?”
Daoist Zhang narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and then shook his head. “At that time, many people believed in Buddhism and Daoism. People treated the Moon Worship teachings as mere curiosities, not taking them seriously. I knew of several believers, but none were particularly zealous. They wouldn’t have known about things like the Evil-Eliminating Ritual Formation—even I hadn’t fully understood it then.”
Zhan Yang looked around once more. Though they had encountered danger on this visit, they hadn’t found much evidence. The only piece of evidence was this knife. Taking the knife with him and seeing that night was falling, he finally led everyone away, first having other constables escort Daoist Zhang back to the government office while he escorted Qin Wan back to the Loyal and Brave Marquis Manor.
When the two groups separated, Daoist Zhang seemed to have something he wanted to say but couldn’t. Zhan Yang found it strange and pulled him aside. “What’s wrong, Daoist? If you have something to say, please speak freely.”
Daoist Zhang smiled bitterly. “The Princess’s injury today was entirely my fault.”
Zhan Yang was startled. Daoist Zhang then explained what had happened during the day. Zhan Yang listened in surprise, having no idea that Qin Wan had been injured while saving Daoist Zhang. Daoist Zhang continued, “The Princess said there was no need to tell others, especially her servants, so I kept quiet. But in my heart…”
Zhan Yang came to his senses and quickly said, “Since the Princess said so, Daoists need not dwell on it for now. If you feel guilty and want to repay her kindness, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.”
Daoist Zhang sighed. Up ahead, Qin Wan had already gotten into her carriage.
Zhan Yang bid farewell to Daoist Zhang and escorted Qin Wan all the way back to the Loyal and Brave Marquis Manor. Fortunately, the journey was peaceful.
Before reaching the manor, Zhan Yang looked at Qin Wan’s elbow and asked, “Princess, is your injury truly not serious?”
Qin Wan smiled. “It’s nothing, Captain Zhan. Don’t worry about it.”
Zhan Yang nodded, glanced at White Ying, then took his leave.
White Ying followed Qin Wan into the manor, saying, “Why did it seem like both Captain Zhan and Daoist Zhang had something they wanted to say but couldn’t?”
Qin Wan replied calmly, “Perhaps they’re still shaken by today’s events.”
White Ying quickly said, “I was scared to death too! My Lady, let’s hurry back to check your wound.”
Back at Pine Breeze Courtyard, when Qin Wan removed her outer robe and rolled up her sleeve, Fu Ling immediately noticed the scrapes on both her elbows. Fu Ling’s eyes instantly reddened. “How did My Lady get injured!”
Qin Wan smiled wryly. “Just a small injury, nothing serious. Quickly get some medicine, it’ll be fine after applying it.”
Fu Ling sighed and hurried to get the medicine. While waiting, Qin Wan’s eyes fell on a lady’s portrait hanging on the wall. Seeing it, her eyes suddenly brightened. Of course! Since the night watchman had seen someone, why not have Ning Buyi help draw a portrait?! Hadn’t there been similar examples before?!
With this thought, Qin Wan immediately made up her mind.
After applying to medicine, Qin Wan retired early. The next morning, after breakfast, she went straight to the government office.
At the office, both Zhan Yang and Zheng Baishi were present. Qin Wan quickly explained her idea about drawing a portrait. Since there was precedent for this, Zhan Yang and Zheng Baishi understood Qin Wan’s meaning. Zhan Yang immediately went to the art gallery to invite Ning Buyi, while also sending someone to fetch the night watchman.
After half an hour, Ning Buyi had just arrived when the night watchman showed up. On the way, Ning Buyi had already learned why Zhan Yang had summoned him. As soon as the night watchman arrived, Ning Buyi began drawing.
“That person was very tall and slender, about the same height as Captain Zhan, but thinner, about as thin as this young master here. He wore a very ordinary silk robe, but there was something indescribable about his bearing, like a scholar or perhaps a noble young master. Not some common ruffian…”
“I only saw his profile. He had a very high nose bridge, and his eyes didn’t give off any sense of ferocity. The whole person had quite an air about him… I can’t describe it well, but someone like that absolutely shouldn’t have appeared outside a mill.”
Ning Buyi frowned as he listened to these descriptions—the night watchman had provided too few facial features, making it difficult to start drawing. After a moment, he made a few light strokes, and immediately, the profile of an elegant and noble young master appeared on the paper. With this template, the night watchman said, “The neck should be more slender, the jaw slightly raised, the eyes and brows very scholarly… hmm… that’s somewhat like it… one hand was behind his back, the other in front, very graceful…”
Ning Buyi carefully considered the night watchman’s meaning, drawing and revising as he went. It took a full hour and over ten drawings before they had a complete portrait. The night watchman kept nodding, saying it was very similar, but Qin Wan and Zheng Baishi looked at the portrait with some concern. The night watchman had seen too few nobles, so any scholarly young master seemed similar to him. But to Zheng Baishi and Qin Wan, many people could match this portrait.
Ning Buyi noticed the difficulty on Zhan Yang and Qin Wan’s faces and apologized. “I’m sorry, I don’t seem to have been much help this time…”
Since Zheng Baishi and Zhan Yang had known Ning Buyi for a long time, they naturally hurried to comfort him. Zhan Yang had someone escort the night watchman away, then said somewhat helplessly, “He saw the person at night, and didn’t even see the full face, just a profile. It was more of a feeling than anything else. Even if he had seen the full face, he probably couldn’t describe it clearly. You did your best.”
Ning Buyi sighed. “That day when the Princess came to the art gallery, I learned about what happened in the East Market. The capital has been quite unsettled lately.”
Zhan Yang nodded. “Indeed, it’s been unsettled. This case is also very thorny. The killer is particularly brazen, continuing to kill despite the heightened attention. These days, you should also be careful when traveling.”
Ning Buyi smiled slightly. “Alright, I’ll be careful. Though I doubt the killer would target me.”
“That’s not necessarily true! You’d better be extra careful.”
Ning Buyi quickly agreed. Seeing the government office was busy with many official matters, he didn’t stay long and prepared to take his leave. Zhan Yang saw this and personally escorted him. Before they could reach the door, a figure suddenly rushed in—it was Daoist Zhang holding a piece of paper. “I’ve figured it out! Didn’t waste my night’s effort. The third location is at the intersection of the South and West City!”
Daoist Zhang spoke excitedly before noticing Ning Buyi was also in the room. His expression changed slightly, but Zhan Yang said, “It’s fine, he’s one of us, here to help…”
Daoist Zhang relaxed and went straight to find Zheng Baishi with his paper. Ning Buyi looked at Daoist Zhang and asked Zhan Yang, “This is…?”
Zhan Yang walked outside with Ning Buyi, smiling as he explained, “Another remarkable person. He was framed and imprisoned for six years, just recently released. He’s quite accomplished in feng shui and is now helping us solve the case.”
Ning Buyi raised his eyebrows but tactfully didn’t ask more. Just as they reached the government office entrance, they saw another familiar figure—it was Third Young Master Wu Yu from the Distant Security Count’s family!
Zhan Yang was surprised. “Third Young Master, why are you here? Is it about the Fourth Young Master’s matter?”
Wu Yu smiled bitterly. “No, it’s about my eldest brother.”
As he spoke, Wu Yu took out a worn sachet whose color was no longer discernible. “Today while we were cleaning the storehouse, we suddenly found my eldest brother’s sachet. This was his favorite sachet that he always carried with him, but now we found it in his treasure box, which was later collected by the servants. If we hadn’t opened his treasure box while cleaning the storehouse today, I wouldn’t have known this sachet was still in our manor. So I’m here to report to the authorities. My eldest brother didn’t leave home of his own accord. He… he probably met with misfortune…”