The three exchanged glances!

In the air, a strange and oppressive atmosphere circulated.

If they were wrong, where exactly had they erred?

All the evidence appeared flawless!

Muruo’s eyes deepened. He glanced at Jingrong before voicing the doubts in his heart. “When I was administering acupuncture to Zhao Qing, I discovered a mark on his neck from a blade. Judging by the degree of healing, it should have been left there a year ago. Moreover, the scar is very fine—it must have been made with an extremely sharp and particularly flat small knife…”

His words were somewhat reserved, not daring to draw conclusions immediately.

The answer in Ji Yunshu’s heart had originally been somewhat hazy, but hearing Muruo speak this way, it became more certain.

“I previously overlooked one point. A skeleton soaked in wine is actually like being placed in a large ice cellar. The time of death would also vary due to the materials used in brewing. Just now, I accidentally spilled medicine on Jiu’er’s skeleton, and that small section of bone immediately turned red. If I remember correctly, among the medicinal ingredients you prescribed, there’s one called cassia seed. This medicine can penetrate into the skeleton and turn it red, but that skeleton must have been dead for more than two years for this to work. And as you said, if Zhao Qing’s neck truly has a knife scar, and it was indeed inflicted a year ago, then my hypothesis should be correct.”

Ninety-eight percent certain!

After listening to what the two had said, Jingrong pondered for a moment.

He reached a conclusion: “That also means Jiu’er actually died two years ago, and the person who married Zhao Huai a year ago… was actually Zhao Qing?”

This…

A millennium’s strange tale!

Jingrong smiled wryly and shrugged his shoulders with a sense of helplessness.

“What on earth are these two brothers up to?”

Engaging in twisted love!

Muruo considered carefully, his face grave. “It appears Zhao Qing doesn’t just have two personalities, but three. The third one is Jiu’er.”

Ji Yunshu nodded, agreeing with his assessment, though a chill arose in her heart.

Analyzing the events: “Two years ago, Zhao Qing’s second personality pushed Jiu’er down, causing her shoulder and head to strike the corner of a table, killing her on the spot. Not long after Zhao Huai buried Jiu’er’s body, Zhao Qing’s second personality dug up Jiu’er’s grave, severed her head, and threw the body into a jar. During this process, he developed Jiu’er as a personality. In his subconscious, he always believed Jiu’er was still alive. A year ago, when Zhao Qing manifested the Jiu’er personality, he believed through self-hypnosis that he was going to marry Zhao Huai. But unexpectedly, Zhao Qing’s second personality emerged again. Because his second personality hated Jiu’er—hated that the person Jiu’er loved was not him but Zhao Huai—so the second personality killed the Jiu’er personality once more. It was precisely this self-directed drama that caused the knife scar on his neck.”

Muruo questioned, “But I don’t understand. If Zhao Qing’s third personality is Jiu’er, then why didn’t Zhao Huai expose him? And there’s no reason the people in the mountain stronghold wouldn’t know.”

“Think about it—Zhao Qing himself was in love with Jiu’er. If he learned that he personally killed Jiu’er, how could he possibly bear it? So Zhao Huai, along with everyone in the entire mountain stronghold, accompanied Zhao Qing in acting out this drama for a year, until the Jiu’er personality was killed.”

“This scheme is too elaborate, isn’t it?”

A chill ran down their spines.

Just then—

“That’s correct. You’ve all figured it out.”

Zhao Huai’s voice came from the doorway.

His entire face was dark and gloomy as he stood at the entrance, his massive frame completely blocking the door. Then he strode in.

He looked at Ji Yunshu. “You’re truly formidable. Based solely on some inconspicuous evidence, you’ve recounted the entire sequence of events without missing a single detail.” He paused, his expression darkening further, his voice low: “But you… shouldn’t have learned this secret.”

It was the secret of the entire Gaoshan Stronghold.

Family scandals should not be aired publicly!

As he spoke, his hand reached for the blade at his waist.

Seeing this, Shi Ziran immediately moved to draw his sword but was stopped by Jingrong’s gaze. He could only stand to the side, highly alert.

Jingrong said, “Rest assured, since it’s your Gaoshan Stronghold’s secret, naturally we won’t reveal it to outsiders.”

“Can I trust that?”

“Is your secret so valuable? Worth this prince gossiping about everywhere?”

Of course not!

Zhao Huai pondered deeply, silent.

Ji Yunshu then said, “Actually, what the truth is doesn’t matter anymore. What’s most important is curing Zhao Qing’s illness. In fact, this isn’t just a knot in Zhao Qing’s heart, but also yours. Jiu’er’s death dealt you a great blow as well.”

As if seeing through Zhao Huai!

After a long while—

Zhao Huai slowly removed his hand from his blade.

But just at this moment.

Someone outside hurriedly came to report.

“Chief, this is bad.”

Zhao Huai responded and quickly went out.

“What’s happened?”

“Someone has brought troops to attack the mountain. There are several thousand of them. They don’t look like court soldiers, nor like soldiers from Shanhuai County. Judging by their banner, they’re from Jingzhou.”

Zhao Huai’s eyes widened. He turned to look at the people in the room.

Ji Yunshu, Jingrong, and Muruo came out.

Zhao Huai’s anger flared as he demanded, “You actually sent people to attack the mountain!”

The face that had just calmed down was instantly filled with murderous intent, his bloodthirsty eyes staring deep as a chasm.

Jingrong looked confused and turned to ask Muruo, “Before you came, did you give any orders?”

Muruo shook his head, his expression puzzled: “Zhang Huanping and Lang Bo didn’t receive your command. Logically, they wouldn’t attack the mountain.”

Strange!

So Jingrong said to Zhao Huai, “It’s not a command this prince issued. There must be a reason behind this.”

Zhao Huai wasn’t having it.

“Since I agreed to let you go in five days, it seems I, Zhao Huai, must go back on my word now.”

His eyes tightened, and he waved his hand.

Immediately, thirty or forty bandits emerged from the rooftops around them, surrounding the small courtyard tightly. Each held a sharp arrow, all aimed at the people in the courtyard.

At such speed to surround this place, even with bows and arrows prepared, one could imagine that Zhao Huai had long been prepared as a precaution.

Wei Yi, who had been sitting on the stone steps, suddenly stood up, instinctively moving behind Ji Yunshu. His clear, inscrutable eyes swept around the perimeter. He pressed his lips together, not daring to speak.

Jingrong’s hawk-like eyes scanned the surroundings. The dense array of arrows left no escape route. If they were to fight, the chances of victory were uncertain.

He steadied his gaze and said calmly, “Zhao Huai, rather than shooting us dead here, why not let me go down the mountain? With this prince’s command, those troops will naturally retreat, avoiding unnecessary bloodshed.”

“Since those people obey your commands, they naturally came to attack the mountain under your orders. If I let you go now, I’d be releasing a tiger back into the mountains.”

“If you kill us, three thousand soldiers will attack. When both sides suffer losses, what’s the point?”

“Three thousand soldiers? Even if it were thirty thousand, I, Zhao Huai, wouldn’t fear them. Since you’ve taken this risky gambit, don’t blame me for being ruthless. This will ensure Zhao Qing’s secret remains a secret forever. If we’re to die, we’ll die together. But first, I’ll send you on your way.”

His hand raised in midair, index and middle fingers together, trembling slightly!