Li Cheng asked, “What’s on the other side?”

Ji Yinshu: “The answer.”

An answer that we all want.

Soon, the guards finally found a wooden raft!

The raft wasn’t large—it could only hold five people.

Following their orders, several guards worked together to carry the raft to the lake.

It floated on the surface.

Ji Yinshu looked at everyone and said, “Only five people can board.”

So Li Cheng brought along an experienced older official and one guard.

Together with Ji Yinshu and Jingrong, they boarded the raft.

The rest remained in the pavilion on this side to wait.

They also began speculating.

“What do you think is really over there? What’s Ji Gongzi up to?”

“Who knows.”

“Should we also find a raft and go over together to see?”

“Better not.”

“Who knows what’s over there—what if something happens? Better to stay here.”

The group dismissed that notion.

On the raft, several people sat while the guard used an oar to row the raft, slowly approaching that patch of woods on the opposite side.

Because the lake water was stagnant and unmoving, many strange things floated on its surface.

When the wooden oar dipped into the water, it immediately stirred up wave after wave of nauseating stench!

It made people feel sick and want to vomit.

Their stomachs churned!

Li Cheng sat there pinching his nose, his entire face twisted.

That smell was absolutely the most disgusting thing he’d ever encountered.

“This water really stinks.”

He complained.

The old official beside him also said: “It really does stink.” He covered his own nose too.

Li Cheng said, “This smell… I really can’t stand it anymore. It’s like many corpses have been soaking in this lake water.”

Ugh!

Only he could come up with such a comparison.

Jingrong, who had been silently quiet the whole time, suddenly shot him a remark: “You’d better shut your mouth quickly, to prevent the stench from entering your throat.”

Reminding him!

Li Cheng suddenly realized: “You’re right.”

Saying this, he immediately covered his own mouth.

To prevent the foul smell from getting in.

Jingrong couldn’t help but smile.

Soon, the raft reached the opposite side of the lake.

This was an overgrown and extremely desolate patch of woods.

After several people disembarked from the raft, the guard pulled it to the side.

Jingrong and Ji Yinshu didn’t care at all whether their shoes would get dirty, directly stepping onto the muddy ground.

Li Cheng, however, was somewhat concerned!

He had never been to such a place before.

The moment his toes touched the ground, his brows furrowed together.

As if he’d stepped on a landmine!

“I just don’t understand—if you’re investigating a case, then investigate. What answer are you looking for here? Don’t tell me the murderer is here.” He said while lifting the hem of his robe.

Ji Yinshu ignored him, following Jingrong deeper into the woods!

Both of them maintained serious expressions throughout.

“Wait for me.” Li Cheng chased after them.

Ji Yinshu walked forward along the woods, seeming to search for something.

Walking and looking.

Suddenly—

She stopped beneath a large tree.

Ji Yinshu looked at something at the base of the tree, the corner of her mouth curving up. “Just as I guessed.”

Jingrong said: “Yes, this is it.”

What’s here?

Li Cheng stared for a few moments and asked: “What’s here? Is the murderer inside the tree?”

Pfft—

This person’s imagination…

Ji Yinshu pointed at several rows of rotten wooden stakes beneath the large tree and said: “Young Master Cheng, look at this—what is it?”

Li Cheng looked again carefully. He only knew it was wood, but didn’t know what it was.

He shook his head. “Don’t know.”

Jingrong continued: “This is a raft, a raft that can only hold two people.”

“A raft?” Li Cheng didn’t quite believe it, so he leaned in to look and touched his chin.

Still couldn’t see clearly.

Jingrong: “This raft was abandoned here many years ago!”

“But how can you tell this is a raft?”

Jingrong took out a handkerchief he carried with him, wrapped it around his hand, then reached toward that pile of dirty wood full of wood chips and mud, and pulled something out from it.

It was soft bamboo!

Bamboo is naturally decay-resistant, and even after years of wind, sun, and rain, it wouldn’t suffer much damage.

“These soft bamboo strips were used to bind these pieces of wood together, and there’s more than one. Plus these pieces of wood are arranged in an orderly fashion, so we can be certain this is a raft that was abandoned many years ago. It’s just that after years of rain exposure, and because this woods is also very damp, the raft slowly rotted away.”

After hearing the explanation, Li Cheng finally understood, but—

He asked in confusion: “So what if it’s a raft? What does this prove? What does this have to do with the case?”

Deeply skeptical.

“Of course it’s related!” Ji Yinshu said. “Let’s keep walking forward. I’ll explain to you later.”

So the five people continued deeper into the woods.

Actually, this patch of woods wasn’t very large.

After walking for a while, they reached the end, and before their eyes appeared a residence!

A dilapidated, severely collapsed wooden house.

By the look of it, no one had lived there for at least thirty years.

Everyone entered the house and went from the back courtyard toward the front.

The front of the house was a very long alley.

The alley was very dark!

And after passing through this alley, they surprisingly arrived at a somewhat secluded street.

Ji Yinshu recognized this place.

This was only one street away from the Literary Society.

Turn the corner, and you could reach the back entrance of the Literary Society.

At this moment, she truly understood!

Her suspicions were confirmed!

Li Cheng and the old official he’d brought, along with that guard, were completely bewildered throughout!

They simply didn’t understand the significance of Ji Yinshu leading them here for this circuit.

The old official asked: “Ji Gongzi, what exactly is the murderer’s method of attack?”

Ji Yinshu remained very calm: “Let’s return to where we were just now.”

Saying this, she retraced their steps along the same route.

They came before that rotted raft again.

The officials on the opposite shore craned their necks, seeing that they had returned.

Each one excitedly said: “They’re back, they’re back.”

All of them strained to look in that direction.

Fortunately the distance wasn’t far, and they could see the people in the woods.

But they saw them standing beneath a tree without moving.

On this side, Ji Yinshu also slowly began explaining to Li Cheng, saying: “Didn’t you want to know how the murderer committed the crime? I’ll tell you now!”

Li Cheng quickly cleared his ears.

Listening carefully.

He saw Ji Yinshu walk before that raft, saying with great certainty: “The murderer committed the crime through this raft.”

Hm?

“From certain details, the murderer is a very clever person.”

“Why do you say that?” Ji Yinshu continued explaining: “The murderer was worried that if Du Mubai’s death was eventually discovered to be murder, then at that time, the authorities would definitely follow the trail and find this place. Therefore, he had to have a very good alibi! He knew very clearly that the pavilion area across the lake had been abandoned for many years and no one would go there! He also knew that the only way to get there was through that alley. In order to have an alibi, his only method was to avoid everyone’s line of sight! He had to enter that pavilion silently without anyone knowing, and this method is actually quite simple—it’s through a raft!”

A raft?