Overwhelmed by the tragic news of her son, the woman became agitated but couldn’t speak, a lump in her throat. In an instant, her pale face turned bright red, as if someone was choking her.
“Sister-in-law, are you alright?” The County Magistrate sighed inwardly. Given the woman’s condition, there was no time for a gradual approach. He could only feel apologetic.
The woman’s eyes were wide open, her face rigid and trembling. With great effort, she raised her hand and pointed at Xuancin.
The onlookers’ gazes towards Xuancin grew increasingly strange.
In this situation, Xuancin still maintained the demeanor of a high-ranking monk. He stepped forward, pressed his palms together in front of the woman, and chanted: “Amitabha Buddha. Does the female benefactor have something to say to this humble monk? Rest assured, if the culprit who harmed your son is from our temple, as the acting abbot, I will surely punish them severely!”
The woman’s lips quivered as if she wanted to say something. Suddenly, her body stiffened, and her outstretched hand fell limply.
“Sister-in-law!”
The woman lay on the bed with her eyes open, having breathed her last.
The County Magistrate and others remained silent as they looked at the deceased woman, while the monks began chanting: “Amitabha Buddha.”
“Madam, Madam, please wake up—” The young maid threw herself beside the woman and began to cry bitterly.
Without the woman’s direct testimony about the murderer, the case seemed to have reached an impasse.
The County Magistrate gazed at Xuancin with deep contemplation.
“Amitabha Buddha. If Your Honor needs any assistance, this humble monk will surely lead all the temple’s monks to cooperate,” Xuancin said calmly. Clearly, despite the woman pointing at him earlier, he didn’t seem alarmed.
This wasn’t surprising. Xuancin was the acting abbot, and without solid evidence to prove he was the murderer, the County Magistrate and his men wouldn’t be able to leave Lingwu Temple.
Lingwu Temple, which had flourished for nearly twenty years, had become a powerful tiger in the area, not easily shaken by ordinary hunters.
“Go and invite the people outside the temple gate to come in. I need to ask more questions,” the County Magistrate instructed Constable Zhao, appearing to remain composed.
Soon, a crowd of people surged in, instantly filling the courtyard where the questioning was taking place.
The darkness of night never deterred people’s enthusiasm for watching a spectacle, especially when this one had so many twists and turns. First, the Li family from the neighboring town came to retrieve a body, then they fished out the young master of the Liu family’s cloth shop, and now Liu Sheng’s mother had been attacked.
Missing such excitement would be a thirty-year regret!
“I’ve invited you all in because Liu Sheng’s mother has also died from severe injuries. With two lives at stake, this is a grave matter. I need to ask you all a few more questions,” the County Magistrate said, then whispered a few words to his subordinates before walking into the room.
Soon, his subordinates pointed out someone from the crowd and called him in.
The man was puzzled: “Officer, I live at the west end of town and barely knew Liu Sheng. I don’t know anything!”
“When you’re called in, you go in. No need for so much talk!”
Once the yamen officials showed their authority, the common folk naturally became obedient. The man entered the room nervously.
Several people went in one after another. Jiang Zhan wondered aloud, “Why do I feel like they’re calling people in randomly?”
“That’s exactly the point,” Jiang Si said softly, staring at the doorway.
The woman’s gesture of pointing at Xuancin had already cast great suspicion on him, but given his position as the acting abbot, that alone wasn’t enough to convict him. The County Magistrate now needed more information to deliver a fatal blow.
However, dealing with such an influential figure in Qingniu Town, it wouldn’t be easy to get information from the common people. This seemingly random questioning was designed to put the interviewees at ease.
As the night deepened, strings of lanterns under the eaves cast a soft glow. The cool summer night was more comfortable than the day, though mosquitoes were bothersome, with occasional “slap” sounds as people swatted them away.
Finally, the door opened, and the County Magistrate strode out.
His brow showed fatigue, but his eyes were clear and focused.
Immediately, a yamen runner brought a chair and placed it in the courtyard. The County Magistrate sat down, slowly surveying everyone before addressing Xuancin sternly: “Xuancin, why don’t you confess to your crimes?”
Xuancin remained calm: “Amitabha Buddha, what crime have I committed?”
The monks stared at the County Magistrate with hostility, while the crowd grew restless.
These latecomers didn’t know about the woman pointing at Xuancin earlier.
The County Magistrate raised his voice: “Before Liu Sheng’s mother died, she pointed at you. Does Master Xuancin deny this?”
“This humble monk does not deny it.”
“Have you forgotten that I asked Liu Sheng’s mother to point out her son’s killer, and she pointed at you? Everyone just saw this.”
Xuancin smiled faintly: “She pointed at me because she didn’t know who the killer was, and naturally wanted an explanation from me as the acting abbot.”
“Then why did the monk you sent to protect Liu Sheng’s mother attack her?”
Xuancin looked at Sijie.
Because of what the young maid who had been attending to Liu Sheng’s mother had said, Sijie had already been quietly surrounded by several yamen runners. He now stared at Xuancin with a pale face.
Xuancin sighed deeply: “Sijie, you’ve disappointed your master greatly! I ordered you to bring Liu Sheng’s mother here. Why did you harm her?”
Sijie’s body shook, his lips quivering for a long time before he fell to his knees: “Liu Sheng… I killed Liu Sheng. When Master sent me to invite Liu Sheng’s mother, I feared the truth would come out, so I… I went all the way—”
The crowd immediately erupted in gasps of shock, clearly stunned to hear that a monk from the temple had committed murder.
“Why did you kill Liu Sheng?”
“I—” Sijie’s eyes darted around, his left hand quickly rotating his prayer beads. “He sneaked into the back mountain suspiciously. I thought he was stealing something and tried to chase him away. Who knew he would curse and hit me? I lost control and accidentally killed him. Seeing that I had made a grave mistake, I pushed him into the well—”
“Clap, clap, clap.” The crisp sound of applause rang out as the County Magistrate’s face darkened slightly. “I didn’t expect a monk to lie so smoothly.”
He suddenly turned to Sihai: “Which hand does Sijie use to eat?”
“His left hand,” Sihai blurted out before realizing his mistake and ruefully rubbing his bald head.
“I saw Sijie rotating his prayer beads with his left hand, and with Sihai’s confirmation, it’s clear that Sijie is left-handed, correct?”
“Yes, so what?” Sijie looked to Xuancin for help, but Xuancin remained unmoved.
“Coroner!”
The coroner quickly came forward and bowed: “The killer strangled the victim from behind. The fingermarks on the victim’s neck are deeper on the right and shallower on the left, indicating that the killer is right-handed.”
“The killer is right-handed, while Sijie is left-handed. This proves that the real killer is someone else. And the person Sijie is willing to take the blame for, protecting even at the cost of admitting to murder, should be quite clear now, shouldn’t it?” The County Magistrate stared at Xuancin, enunciating each word.
Perhaps out of habit as a monk, Xuancin also fingered his prayer beads, calmly countering: “What about the motive? As Your Honor previously said when ruling out Jiang Er’s suspicion due to lack of motive, may I ask what motive this humble monk, as the acting abbot, would have for harming an ordinary worshipper?”
“Motive? You have one!”