bayedsolid Chapter 84: Looking for peace, where is peace?
Chapter 84: Looking for peace, where is peace?
The next morning, Xing Tianqi bid farewell to He Yuqing under the red bean tree beside the Yulong Waterfall.
Before leaving, Xing Tianqi took another look at the waterfall in front of him and hurriedly left Yulong Village.
I didn't even dare to look back.
However, Xing Tianqi did not rush to Shaotian City immediately, but returned to the mansion first, disguised himself as a servant, sneaked into Duan's house, and then sneaked into the basement when no one was paying attention.
Looking at the tools in front of him used to make coreless incense and extract essential oils, Xing Tianqi's eyes darkened, with hatred hidden in them.
He originally wanted to let go of his hatred and live an ordinary life in Yulong Village.
But things don't always go as planned, and this is God's will.
Xing Tianqi's fingers were tightly clasped around the edge of the table. He wanted everyone in this house to pay for the lives of his dead family members and Weisheng.
In the following days, Xing Tianqi stayed in the basement without going out, concentrating on making Fu Sheng Zui. He put in the largest amount of Datura flower as the main ingredient.
Once they inhale enough, they will fall into hallucinations, become unconscious, and finally die painfully in the illusion they created.
Five full days passed like this.
Finally, on the eighth day of June, Xing Tianqi finally refined what he needed, poured it into the mold, and waited for the coreless incense to take shape.
By the time Xing Tianqi came out of the basement, it was already night.
The bandits were chatting and laughing in the yard, as if they had no one around. Some of them gathered in the corner of the yard to gamble, saying all kinds of nonsense.
After seeing Xing Tianqi, they also invited Xing Tianqi to join them.
Xing Tianqi pretended to go to the toilet, his funny appearance made everyone laugh, then he left everyone's sight, lit Fu Sheng Zui in various places in the mansion, and then returned to the basement.
Xing Tianqi sat down against the wall, but there was no joy in his eyes, nor the happiness of revenge.
With a slight turn of his eyes, Xing Tianqi looked at the branding iron that had been burning in the brazier for five whole days. During these five days, Xing Tianqi had continuously added charcoal into it, causing the branding iron to burn red.
Then Xing Tianqi took off his shirt, picked up the hot iron and covered the mark on his left shoulder without any hesitation.
The soldering iron made a sizzling sound when it touched the skin, and bursts of white smoke came out. Xing Tianqi cried out in pain immediately, and the huge pain almost made him faint.
But Xing Tianqi did not stop there. While the iron was still warm, he gritted his teeth and pressed a few more marks around the first one to cover the shape of the iron.
When he was finally done, the branding iron in Xing Tianqi's hand fell to the ground. Xing Tianqi's face was pale, beads of sweat the size of beans flowed from his forehead, and the wound had been burned many times and was bleeding.
Xing Tianqi stood up, staggering, and walked to the table. He took the white cloth that had been prepared in advance from the bookshelf behind him, spread it on the table, and then used the blood that flowed from his shoulder to express his grief that had nowhere to go:
The family moved to a new state and its home was destroyed.
It is my fortune to meet Brother Li and the He family in this life.
I admire Brother Li's extensive knowledge of literature and learning. He is a close friend of mine. I still remember how much fun it was when we went boating on the rivers, reading poetry, and drinking tea.
However, fate plays a trick on me. Brother Li died because of me. The injustice is so deep that I cannot redeem myself even if I die a thousand times.
Even if I am drunk, I still cannot relieve the hatred in my heart.
In the end, the old times are nowhere to be found, and there is nowhere to find them, except the heart of youth.
Sad!Painful!
It is hard to regain the youthful heart, so in exchange for Brother Li’s life, I changed my name to Weisheng. Fortunately, I encountered a clear sky under the yew tree, and a rainbow appeared after the rain. It was bright and colorful, which made me yearn for it.
Looking for a safe place, no matter where it is, the place where my heart is at peace is my hometown.
I will wait for the day when my name is on the list of successful candidates, and my red wedding dress will not let you down.
--------
The blood letter on the wall was written by Xing Tianqi in blood. Every word shows the grief in his heart when he wrote it.
Lin Lezhi looked at the bloody words on the wall and fell into deep thought. He always felt that there was a sense of incongruity. He lowered his eyes and frowned slightly, with confusion in his eyes.
Xiao Yihuo saw the emotion in Lin Lezhi's eyes, glanced at the blood writing on the wall, and then asked, "But what did you think of?"
Lin Lezhi looked at the bloody words on the wall, his brows still furrowed as he said, "Don't you think that what's written in this bloody book is a little strange?"
"What's so strange?"
"It's very strange, and there are three things that are strange about it."
"Which three points?"
Lin Lezhi looked at Xiao Yihuo and said, "Let's put aside the strange things for now. Before that, I want to ask you a question."
"You ask."
"Do you think what is written in blood on the wall is true?"
Xiao Yihuo looked at the blood writing on the wall, thought for a moment and said, "Only people from the Xing family or those who have solved the mystery of Lan Mo can enter this underground room. Since no one can see it, I think there is no reason to lie."
"Yes, that's it. This is the first strange thing."
Xiao Yihuo lowered his eyes and waited for Lin Lezhi to continue speaking.
"If we didn't know about the past between Mother Zhao and Xing Haocang, it would be impossible for us to deduce the secret of Lan Mozhong. No one in the Xing family, including Xing Tianqi, was spared. The number of people who could enter this underground room is almost zero."
"Since it is zero, Xing Tianqi has no reason to lie in the blood letter. In other words, the experience written in the blood letter has a high probability of being true, and was written by Xing Tianqi out of extreme grief."
“But if it’s true, everything that has happened since Yulong Village is contradictory.”
"Why?"
"From the blood writing on the wall, and comparing it with the clues we know, we can be sure that Li Weisheng and Xing Tianqi exchanged identities. Li Weisheng died in place of Xing Tianqi, and Xing Tianqi changed his name to Li Weisheng and stayed in Yulong Village."
Lin Lezhi looked at Xiao Yihuo and said, "Since we met in Yulong Village, we all thought that it was Xing Tianqi who changed his name to Li Weisheng, and then used Fushengzui to kill the He family in order to pass the imperial examination."
"But look at this sentence." Lin Lezhi walked to the front of the blood letter and pointed at 'I will be on the list of successful candidates and wait for you to return home one day. I will not let you down with my red makeup.' Then he said: "In the blood letter written by Xing Tianqi, did he mention that he wanted to kill the He family?"
"In this underground room where no one can enter, Xing Tianqi didn't perform for himself at all."
"Look at this sentence again." Lin Lezhi pointed at 'Drunk like floating life, still can't relieve the hatred in my heart.' and said: "Since leaving Yulong Village, Xing Tianqi has been making floating life drunk in this basement."
"According to Shi Peng, when he sneaked into the house that day, the bandits in the house were all drunk, and were then hacked to death with a knife by the second in command brought by Yan Jingyi."
"According to what Mama Zhao said, they saw a man in the house at night holding his left shoulder and running away from the house. It should be Xing Tianqi who burned himself with a branding iron, and then when Enke verified his identity, he lied that he was scalded by boiling water."
"These clues combined are enough to prove that Xing Tianqi has been staying in this underground room since he left Yulong Village. He never went out until he finished his business and left this place."
Xiao Yihuo's eyes darkened a little more, and he looked at Lin Lezhi and said, "You mean... Li Weisheng and Xing Tianqi had no chance to escape with Fushengzui when they were in danger, so where did He Yuqing get the Datura seeds from?"
"After that, Li Weisheng never returned to Yulong Village, and there was no trace of the Datura flower in Yulong Village, so it was impossible for him to poison the He family."
"That's right. Xing Tianqi might have learned about the death of He Yuqing's family only after he returned from high school. The inconsistency between what was written in the blood letter and what was inferred from reality is the second strange thing."
"What about the third point?"
Lin Lezhi looked at Xiao Yihuo and asked, "What do students usually bring with them when they take exams?"
"In addition to the dry food and writing materials needed for exam preparation, the other thing is to prove your identity..." Xiao Yihuo's expression suddenly became serious, and he looked at Lin Lezhi and said, "The written citation."
"Yes. If you want to take the exam without a 'literary certificate' to prove your student status, it will be extremely difficult."
"Yan Jingyi is the chief official of Zhouqing Town. He also served as the housekeeper of the Xing family for a period of time. He was recruited into the mansion by Xing Tianqi himself, so Yan Jingyi knows what Xing Tianqi looks like."
"The Xing family has declined to this point. If no one helps him, is it possible for Xing Tianqi to get the 'Wen Yin' stamped by the county magistrate by himself?"
"These three points seem to indicate that there is an invisible person who is driving all this. He is afraid that the He family will leak something that is unfavorable to them, so he chose to kill them to silence them."
Lin Lezhi's eyes were filled with worry, and he murmured softly, "No wonder, ever since the case in Yulong Village ended, I've felt a vague sense of discomfort, as if something is still unsolved."
With Xing Tianqi's courage and intelligence, how could he expose his own flaws?
Could it be... he wanted to use this to tell himself that the truth of that year was not what the world saw, but due to his identity he could not explain it and could only admit to all the charges of murder.
Shouldn't he have left clues?
Why didn't you say anything...
Or maybe he has left clues but I just haven't discovered them.
Lin Lezhi closed his eyes and recalled everything that had happened from Yulong Village to the present.
After Xing Tianqi died in the He family, he never returned to the He family. The only time he returned was when he threw the small piece of wood from the corner of the table in the house. The places he often went to when he came to Changluan County were only this basement and the Hongzhu Temple in Yulong Village.
Now the Hongzhu Temple has been burned down, and the only place where clues are left is this basement.
Lin Lezhi opened his eyes and walked to the front of the bookshelf, his eyes sliding over all the objects in the secret room. All the objects in the secret room were in full view, and there was no place to hide anything.
Or maybe I'm just overthinking it all.
Lin Lezhi's mind became more and more confused. Since he came here, too many secrets have not been solved. Why do so many people want to kill Jiang Lian'an?
Why did Xing Tianqi want to kill himself but deliberately reveal his true identity?
Xiao Yihuo is hiding something again. Lin Lezhi always feels that someone like Xiao Yihuo would not appear in Yulong Village for no reason. What is his motive?
Would it be best to just ignore it from the beginning and leave this world directly?
Lin Lezhi was becoming more and more confused.
"Lian'an, relax."
Xiao Yihuo's voice awakened Lin Lezhi from his complicated emotions, and now he seemed to have gradually accepted Jiang Lian'an's identity.
Xiao Yihuo asked with concern: "Lian'an, do you remember some memories from the past?"
Lin Lezhi turned around, smiled and said, "No, there are just too many loose ends and I can't sort them out."
"It's hard to figure it out, and there's no need to rush. We still have plenty of time anyway."
"You're right. There's no point in getting anxious. Let's see if there are any other clues here."
Lin Lezhi looked at the exquisite wooden box on the table and remembered that he had forgotten to pack up those Fu Sheng Zui.
The circulation of this room is not good, and Xiao Yihuo has health problems. If he leaves it here for too long, it might be bad for his health. Maybe the wild thoughts he had just had were caused by Fu Shengzui.
Lin Lezhi joked in his heart.
Lin Lezhi picked up the kraft paper and wanted to put it back into the wooden box. When he was about to put it in, Xiao Yihuo suddenly said, "Wait a minute."
Lin Lezhi looked at Xiao Yihuo and asked puzzledly: "What's wrong?"
"Is Fu Sheng Zui wrapped in this paper?"
"Yes, what's the problem?"
Xiao Yihuo said with doubt in his eyes: "The poison of Fu Sheng Zui is extremely toxic. Whether you want to avoid being poisoned or to preserve it properly, you should seal the wax on the outside, not on the top of the box."
"What's more, the wax doesn't even reach the opening, it only reaches halfway up the lid."
Xiao Yihuo reached out and took the wooden box, carefully inspected the inside and outside of the box, and found four small wooden blocks connected to the four corners inside the box.
Xiao Yihuo tried it and found that all four wooden blocks were movable.
Xiao Yihuo pulled the four wooden blocks outwards, then placed the box horizontally on the table. He clasped the inside of the box with his hands and took out the inner layer of the box.
Lin Lezhi couldn't help but praise: "Not bad, you can even find this."
Xiao Yihuo smiled and said, "It's inconvenient for me to be in the palace. Every time Master wants to bring me something or send me a message, he often uses this method to hide it from the people in the palace."
"You dare to tell me this? Aren't you afraid that I will reveal all your secrets to you one day?"
Xiao Yihuo smiled and shook his head, then said: "There is no need to worry about this problem now."
"why?"
Xiao Yihuo's eyes darkened, and then he slowly said: "Because my master has not contacted me for many years since I moved out of the palace. I call him Master, but in fact I don't even know what he looks like, what his name is, or where he lives."
Lin Lezhi looked at Xiao Yihuo and said, "In my opinion, I think your master feels that you have learned a lot, so he went out to travel around the world."
Xiao Yihuo smiled and said, "I hope so."
"Look at this."
Lin Lezhi pushed the box between the two of them. On the outer wooden wall of the box, there was a sentence written in small characters.
'The candlelight shines on half of the silver jade, and the scent of musk wafts lightly over the beautiful lotus.'