Jing Shu thought for a moment. “Ling’er gave them.”
“The same Ling’er who studied the guqin under Hui Yuan?”
“Yes, that’s her.” The name clearly brought back vivid memories for Jing Shu. “She could make all kinds of sachets, but Master Hui Yuan was allergic to flower pollen, so instead Ling’er filled the sachets with herbal medicines — they could be used for fragrance and also as a remedy. The sachet in your hand is one she gave to Master Hui Yuan, who then passed it along to Master Hui Xiu and to the abbess.”
Yan Qing turned the small, faded sachet over in her fingers, lost in thought.
The sachet had long since lost its fragrance; its colors were dull, its style dated. Why had Hui Xiu and Hui An kept it all these years? Was it to remember someone who had died — to hold on to Hui Yuan?
“What was the relationship between Hui An, Hui Xiu, and Master Hui Yuan?”
“They were as close as sisters,” Jing Shu said. “Back then, the abbess was not yet the abbess — all three were disciples studying Buddhist teachings under the old abbess. The three went everywhere together, ate and slept in the same quarters. Their bond ran very deep.”
“After Master Hui Yuan died, the abbess grieved so deeply that she missed morning prayers for many days. Master Hui Xiu was devastated as well — she shut herself in her room, saying she was reciting sutras to help Hui Yuan’s spirit move on.”
Yan Qing looked again at the sachet. Had Hui Xiu and Hui An kept it as a way of holding onto the bond between the three of them?
When the two returned to their own courtyard, Yan Qing placed the sachet taken from Hui An’s room beside the one from Hui Xiu’s, and laid them side by side.
After comparing them carefully, she felt more certain than ever — both sachets had been made by the same hand, and the herbal compounds within them were identical.
If the sachets had been given by Ling’er, it aligned with what Jing Xin had told them earlier. Ling’er’s family may well have been in the incense or herbal medicine trade, which would explain why she had learned to make such sachets from a young age.
“What are you thinking about?” Shi Ting walked over to find her completely absorbed in her own thoughts, utterly still.
“I’m not entirely sure.” Yan Qing let out a soft sigh. “There’s nothing unusual about these two sachets themselves. Hui Xiu and Hui An kept them — most likely just to remember Hui Yuan.”
Shi Ting sat down across from her. “Qing Qing, there’s something wrong with that cave behind the waterfall.”
“What did you find inside?”
“Footprints and drag marks left by whoever moved the body.” Shi Ting’s expression was grave. “Judging by the size of the footprints, the killer’s height is no more than 160 centimeters.”
“A height of 160 centimeters, with small feet — that points to a woman.”
Shi Ting nodded. “I believe the cave has a mechanism inside — one that can only be activated from the other side of the sealed opening. The killer entered through that way, dragged the body to the position in front of the waterfall and strung it up, then retraced their steps and sealed the entrance again.”
“Did you find where the other entrance is?”
“The rock in that area has been loosened, and there are sliding marks on the ground. I can tell where the opening is, but I have no way of getting it open. The cave is situated below the waterfall — if we tried to blast it open, the whole thing would likely collapse.”
“If the killer was able to move Hui An’s body into the cave, then the other end of that passage must exit somewhere within Baiyu’an Convent.”
Shi Ting met her eyes, his gaze sharp and alert. “Which only confirms further that the killer is someone who knew the victim — and is here, within this convent. Whoever it is knows Hui An’s every movement, and is deeply familiar with the layout of Baiyu’an.”
The killer seemed almost close enough to reach — somewhere within these walls, perhaps someone they had already spoken with. But for now the evidence was insufficient, and there was simply no way to determine who it was.
“There must be clues we haven’t uncovered yet.” Shi Ting fixed his eyes on the two sachets on the table. “Both Hui Xiu and Hui An heard music the night they died. Both nights were rainy. According to Jing Xin, Hui Yuan also died on a rainy night — and these sachets are connected to Hui Yuan as well.”
Yan Qing seemed to catch a faint thread of light in his words. “Are you saying that all of this connects back to Hui Yuan, who is already dead?”
“Qing Qing, you said before that Hui Yuan’s death shouldn’t have been a suicide. If it wasn’t — then she was murdered. What if someone inside this convent wanted to avenge her?”
“You suspect Hui Yuan’s death had something to do with Hui Xiu and Hui An?”
“I have no evidence, but every thread of this case seems to lead back to Hui Yuan. If we start there, perhaps we can find the truth.”
Yan Qing agreed with Shi Ting’s reasoning. But Hui Yuan had been dead for more than a decade — how were they to uncover the truth of her death?
The two of them looked at each other, and spoke in near-perfect unison: “Jing Xin.”
Jing Xin had been at Hui Yuan’s side since childhood, and was the person closest to her.
Jing Xin had just been about to extinguish her lamp when she saw the two figures appear at her doorway. She couldn’t help but give a small start.
“Is there something you need at this hour?”
They had all been questioned earlier in the day, and she had no idea what new development could have brought them here. Her heart gave a nervous flutter.
“Master Jing Xin, do you know where Master Hui Yuan is buried?” Shi Ting asked directly. “We’d like to go and see.”
Jing Xin was taken aback. “At this hour of night — you want to visit a grave?”
“There’s no need to be alarmed. Simply tell us the location.”
“Master Hui Yuan was buried in the rear hills after she died,” Jing Xin said. “There are two large banyan trees there — she loved them dearly, so the abbess said she should rest beside them in death.”
“Thank you, Master Jing Xin.”
“You — you truly mean to go now?” Jing Xin still could not quite believe it.
“We do.” Shi Ting said, “Please get some rest, Master Jing Xin.”
Jing Xin, however, turned back and shut her door behind her with a resolute look. “I can’t sleep anyway. Let me lead you there.”
Jing Xin carried a lantern and led the way. Fortunately it was not raining, and the mountain path was manageable — though the occasional strange cries that drifted from the depths of the forest sent cold shivers through them all.
“After Master Hui Yuan died, heavy rain fell for several days in a row.” Jing Xin picked her way carefully along the path ahead of them. “The rain was too heavy to go outside at all. We all said to each other that Hui Yuan was weeping.”
“Why would you say that?”
Jing Xin seemed to want to say something, but forced it down. “No — it’s nothing.”
“Because you all felt Master Hui Yuan hadn’t really taken her own life — isn’t that right?”
A single sentence from Yan Qing nearly sent Jing Xin stumbling to the ground. She forgot all about guiding the way and turned around in a panic. “How did you know?”
“So Hui Yuan truly didn’t take her own life?”
Jing Xin realized she had already let it slip, and now there was little point in hiding it. In the dim amber glow of the lantern, her eyes took on a layer of sorrow.
“Master Hui Yuan left in the middle of the night. There was a terrible downpour that evening. I was worried her room might be leaking, so I went to check on her — and found she had hanged herself from the ceiling beam with a rope. When I saw her like that, I was so frightened I froze completely. Once I recovered my senses, I ran to call for help. Before long, the abbess arrived with many others. By the time they got Hui Yuan down, she was already gone.”
Jing Xin wiped her eyes. “After that, people buried her in the rear hills. The abbess planned to hold a memorial rite, but the rain wouldn’t stop — it fell for three full days without let-up.”
“Did you ever visit her grave after that?”
“When the three days of rain finally ended, I went to check on the grave. I was afraid the downpour might have damaged it. And indeed, when I arrived, the grave mound had been washed out — the soil had scattered all around, and even the coffin was exposed. I hadn’t brought any tools with me, so I went back and found help. We all worked together to restore the grave.”
Jing Xin spoke as she walked, then extended her arm and pointed. “Right there — the two large banyan trees. You can’t miss them.”
Shi Ting and Yan Qing could now see the two banyan trees as well. In the moonlight, their broad canopies spread like two enormous parasols, standing dark and silent in the darkness.
Beneath the trees lay an open patch of ground. In the center stood a grave, marked by a white marble headstone.
Jing Xin walked forward, set the lantern to one side, and gently brushed the dust from the headstone. “Master Hui Yuan — Jing Xin has come to see you.”
Her voice was heavy with grief. “Master Hui Yuan, do you know — the abbess is gone. Master Hui Xiu is gone too. You three were so close once. Now they have both gone to be with you.”
She wept as she spoke.
Meanwhile, Shi Ting had circled the grave mound several times, his brow deeply creased.
“Master Jing Xin — I would like to open this grave.”
The words made Jing Xin go rigid with shock.
After a long silence, she opened her mouth: “Sir — what did you say? You want to open the grave?”
“I have reason to believe Master Hui Yuan’s death was not what it appeared. To pursue this any further, we need to verify certain things first.”
Jing Xin waved her hands in protest. “Impossible — I watched Master Hui Yuan die and be buried with my own eyes.”
“Did you watch her tie the rope to the ceiling beam and hang herself up?”
Jing Xin shook her head again. “By the time I found her, she was already hanging there.”
“Then how can you be certain she put herself up there, and not that someone else had strung her up?”
The question left Jing Xin speechless. She truly had not witnessed the moment Hui Yuan was hanged.
“But Master Hui Yuan had no quarrel with anyone. She was kind and gentle by nature. Who would want to kill her? She gave generously and had little money to speak of — killing her for gain makes no sense either.” Jing Xin was firm. “I can’t see why anyone would want to kill someone like her.”
In the moonlight, Shi Ting’s eyes shone with particular clarity, the light of the night sky reflected in their depths. “Do you know where she came from before she entered monastic life? Do you know who she was before she took her vows?”
—