“Lin Zhi is thirty-six years old this year.”

Thirty-six years old?

Yan Qing’s brow creased. Qian Lan was twenty-four this year. If she had any connection to Lin Zhi, what kind of relationship could it be?

If they were lovers, then Qian Lan would not have been an adult when Lin Zhi was around over a decade ago. How could she have had any dealings with an adult man like Lin Zhi?

Long Yunxiao looked at Hall Master Ying. “Continue.”

Hall Master Ying went on: “If Lin Zhi were still alive, he would be thirty-six this year.”

“He’s dead?” Yan Qing was both startled and disappointed. She had thought she had found a lead, only to learn that Lin Zhi was already dead. “How long has he been dead?”

“He died fourteen years ago.” Hall Master Ying said. “When I learned this I was also very surprised, but he truly is dead — reportedly cut down by a hail of bullets.”

“Did he offend someone, or…?”

“It seems he did offend someone. But the men who were with him at the time all died as well. I’m still looking into whether any witnesses survived.”

Long Yunxiao asked: “Did this Lin Zhi have no family?”

“He did.” At this, Hall Master Ying’s expression turned sorrowful. “He had one elder brother and one younger sister, with both parents still living. The whole family resided in a large compound in the western district. Three months ago a great fire broke out without warning. All eight members of the Lin family, young and old, were burned to death.”

Three months ago?

Three months ago, Qian Lan had not yet appeared before the Marshal. At that time Qian Lan may have been in Huxi Town, or she may have gone to Shun Cheng early — but was that fire at the Lin family home truly unrelated to her?

Lin Zhi was already dead, and now the Lin family had been devastated by fire. Yan Qing could not help but connect all these events together.

“What caused the fire?” Yan Qing asked.

“It was said to have been started by a child playing with fire. But since Lin Zhi had been dead for some time and the Lin family members all perished in the blaze, naturally no one bothered to investigate the cause carefully.”

Yan Qing glanced at Long Yunxiao, and Long Yunxiao instantly understood her meaning. He looked at the sky: “It’s too late now and the light is poor. I’ll take you there tomorrow.”

“Mm.” Yan Qing smiled slightly. Speaking with an intelligent man like Long Yunxiao meant very little needed to be said.

Long Yunxiao gave Hall Master Ying a few more instructions, and Hall Master Ying took his leave.

“You came to Huxi Fang for Shi Ting’s sake?” After the two of them had sat down again, Long Yunxiao refilled the cooled teapot with fresh water. “Why didn’t he come with you?”

“He went to Qianguan City.”

Long Yunxiao knew that the two sons of the Shi family were in a struggle for power. Though it had nothing to do with him — regardless of who became master of this world, it would have no effect on him — now that Yan Qing was involved, he naturally hoped that Shi Ting could smoothly take his seat.

Victory goes to the victor and defeat to the vanquished. If Shi Ting lost, Yan Qing would be implicated as well. That was not an outcome he wished to see.

“If there’s anything you need in Shun Cheng, just say the word.” Long Yunxiao’s voice carried absolute conviction. “Whenever the time comes, I will stand on your side. That badge — it’s good forever.”

Yan Qing looked up, shocked, and met the depths of his dark eyes. A warmth welled up in her heart.

“Thank you.”

“Between you and me, there’s no need for thanks.” Long Yunxiao set the freshly filled teacup before her. “Tomorrow morning I’ll come for you.”

“Alright then. For great kindness, no words of thanks suffice.” Yan Qing laughed openly.

Long Yunxiao looked at her and laughed as well.

The next day, Long Yunxiao took Yan Qing to the Lin family’s residence.

One great fire three months ago had reduced this compound almost entirely to ash. What remained at the scene were some walls charred to black — walls too solid to burn — along with scorched broken timbers and rubble.

Hall Master Ying walked at the front, stepped over a large black gate lying flat on the ground, and turned back to caution: “Mr. Long and Miss Yan, please be careful.”

“Watch your step.” Long Yunxiao reached out slightly to steady Yan Qing as she stepped over the debris.

“What happened to the bodies?” Yan Qing asked.

Hall Master Ying said: “The Lin family had no relatives in this area, and after Lin Zhi died the family gradually fell into decline. This compound was still here from when Lin Zhi was alive, so after the fire, no one came to collect the bodies. The bodies were buried up on the hill by kindhearted neighbors — buried just like that, with not even a proper coffin or gravestone.”

Yan Qing walked through the compound. Whether it was the side rooms or the annexes, everything had burned beyond recognition. Aside from blackened charcoal, almost nothing of the original structure could be made out.

“Does anyone know when the fire started?” Long Yunxiao asked.

Hall Master Ying said: “Apparently around midnight?”

Long Yunxiao frowned. “What child plays with fire in the middle of the night? You don’t cook at midnight, you don’t start a stove — where would the fire have come from?”

Hall Master Ying shook his head. “The neighbors heard screaming in the dead of night, and when they got up to check, they saw the Lin family’s compound engulfed in flames. By the time they came to help put it out, the fire was already beyond control.”

Long Yunxiao saw Yan Qing enter one of the side rooms and quickly followed.

Yan Qing turned a circle through the side room, then crouched down and began clearing away the debris on the floor.

“Yan Qing, what are you doing?” Long Yunxiao hurried over. “It’s filthy and cluttered in here. If you cut your hand on something, what then?”

Even as Long Yunxiao spoke, he had already noticed that Yan Qing’s hands were covered in black soot, and the hem of her cloak dragging on the ground had gotten entirely dirty.

“Looking for the point of origin.” Yan Qing said without lifting her head. “Every fire scene must have a point of origin. Only by finding it can we know what caused the fire — whether it was deliberate or accidental.”

“I’ll look.” Long Yunxiao took hold of her and pulled her upright in one swift motion, setting her to one side. “Just tell me how.”

He was very strong, and Yan Qing found herself lifted up and placed aside in an instant. She looked at him with a touch of helplessness. “Mainly look for any ignition material and accelerant. If the neighbors heard screaming and then arrived to find the fire already uncontrollable, there must have been an accelerant at the scene.”

“I understand. I’ll look.” Long Yunxiao said, and crouched down, beginning to clear the debris to either side one by one.

Trace examination was Bai Jin’s specialty. Yan Qing rarely participated in trace work herself, but she was familiar with the theory.

After Long Yunxiao had moved aside the obstructing charred material, there was still a great deal of burned ash on the ground.

Without a sieve to filter the ash, Yan Qing crouched down beside Long Yunxiao and reached impatiently into the ash to feel around.

Long Yunxiao watched her root through the ash without any fastidiousness, and when he looked up, her face had somehow gotten smudged with soot.

Instinctively he raised his hand to wipe it away for her, but when he raised his hand he found it was even dirtier than her face. He smiled helplessly and followed her example, probing around in the ash.

Yan Qing searched and spoke at the same time: “Look at the roof overhead — it’s burned far more severely than the other areas, and the items around it are the most heavily damaged, almost completely reduced to ash. That’s why I suspect this is the point of origin.”

Long Yunxiao took on the expression of one arriving at understanding. “It seems I’ve learned another trick.”

Yan Qing smiled slightly. But no sooner had that smile reached the corner of her lips than her hand closed around something hard. She pulled the object out of the ash, wiped it vigorously on the hem of her cloak.

“Found something.” She held the object out toward him, a grin spread across her face. “What do you make of this?”

“This is…” Long Yunxiao took it and examined it carefully. “This is a lighter.”

The lighter was made of pure copper, which is why it had withstood the high temperature without melting, though it had turned almost carbon-black, its original appearance nearly indistinguishable.

Yan Qing cleared away all the remaining ash, then knelt on the ground, her face almost pressed flat to the surface.

“What are you doing?” Long Yunxiao was startled by her action.

“Not bad — there’s a smell of petrol.” Yan Qing pointed at the floor in front of her. “These floor tiles are made of fire-resistant material, so they weren’t reduced to ash. Long Yunxiao — I’m going to pry one up and have a look.”

Hearing this, Long Yunxiao immediately found a tool and, working at the warped tile seam, levered the tile open. The moment the tile was pried up, a rush of petrol smell hit them full in the face.

A confident smile curved Yan Qing’s lips. “The culprit poured petrol on the floor, then used a lighter to ignite it. The petrol seeped into the soil beneath the flooring and was preserved there.”

Long Yunxiao’s brow furrowed slightly. “It seems it truly was deliberate arson. This was no child playing with fire.”

“Do you recognize this lighter?” Yan Qing asked.

She recalled that Long Yunxiao smoked. People who smoked generally had some familiarity with lighters.

Long Yunxiao rubbed the black soot from the lighter’s surface until a faint, blurred pattern began to emerge.

“This is an imported lighter — a foreign brand.” Long Yunxiao said. “The brand is called PIPO. Because each style of PIPO lighter is produced in a single edition only, they’re highly sought after in upper-class society.”

Yan Qing had heard of the PIPO brand. Shi Ting also owned a PIPO lighter — though he didn’t smoke, he always carried a lighter.

Since each pattern was produced as a single edition, if the lighter’s origins could be traced, there might be a lead.

“The marking on this lighter only has a partial fragment remaining. The original pattern is no longer distinguishable.” Long Yunxiao said. “Even if someone took it to a shop to ask, there’s probably no one who could identify what it originally looked like.”

Yan Qing asked Long Yunxiao to keep the lighter safe, then stood up. “Since this was deliberate arson, the Lin family members must all have died in the fire.”

“But the people are dead and buried. How do we investigate their cause of death?”

“The people may be dead, but the bodies are still there. If we can find where they were buried, dig them up, we may be able to determine their true cause of death.”

Long Yunxiao regarded Yan Qing in silence. Her face was streaked with black soot, which looked almost comical — yet her eyes were bright as snow, carrying a self-confidence that captivated the soul. He suddenly recalled the scene when she had performed an autopsy on Shu Banxue.

What had drawn him in then must have been exactly this kind of confidence that radiated from deep within, a magnetic quality entirely her own.

Long Yunxiao felt that at this moment, no matter what she said, he would do it without a second thought.