The remaining piece of deboned rabbit meat was slowly smoked over a low fire.
Since there was still time to wait, it didn’t waste any effort.
Lu Yang ran over to report the latest progress to Song Qiyun, but after sniffing the aroma of the meat, he couldn’t hold back.
“So fragrant! So fragrant!”
He hadn’t eaten dinner yet today.
Lu Yang headed straight toward the scent but was shot a sharp glance from Song Qiyun.
Immediately, Lu Yang reined himself in and handed Song Qiyun the letter they found on Duan Gu’s body, then helped him light a lamp for better reading.
The letter was a farewell note, very brief in content.
“To my honorable parents, Duan Gu respectfully wishes you well: I, your unfilial son, stop here like a mound, bringing shame upon my parents. Hence, I write this letter to bid farewell. I am ashamed of my parents’ kindness in raising me and bow a hundred times in apology, promising to repay it in the next life.”
The letter appeared genuine and without suspicion.
Aside from the three blood spots found on the soles of the corpse’s feet, all evidence seemed to point to suicide.
Yet, Song Qiyun did not believe in such a convenient coincidence.
The so-called strange occurrences and coincidences were often the work of someone behind the scenes.
“What’s roasting? Smells amazing!”
While Song Qiyun was deep in thought, Lu Yang had already scampered to the fire pit, eyes sparkling as he stared at the meat hanging on the rack.
“Rabbit meat roasting. Want to try some?”
Shen Weimu asked with a friendly smile.
“Yes, thank you!”
Lu Yang was given a small piece of leg meat.
As soon as he bit into it, the fragrance exploded in his mouth.
The meat was lean but not greasy.
It was just a pity there wasn’t more—it was gone in two bites, leaving him craving more.
Song Qiyun stepped in front of Lu Yang, blocking the greedy “traitor” who was eyeing another piece.
“Duan Gu failed the imperial exams and sought death, bidding farewell to his parents—it’s too abnormal. You said before that Duan Gu was a prostitute’s son who sought death. Can you elaborate?”
“Brother Duan is from Shangzhou. This past spring in February, he came to Jingdu, initially to prepare for the autumn exams. But after falling in love at first sight with Dongling, the top courtesan of the Red Sleeve Pavilion, he became entangled with her. During that time, he spent all the money meant for his studies in Jingdu on Dongling. I tried to advise him several times—that women in pleasure districts are just for amusement, not to be taken seriously. He mustn’t let himself fall too deeply, but he wouldn’t listen! Eventually, after spending all his money, he wanted to stay with Dongling forever, so they arranged to elope last night. Unfortunately, love was one-sided; she never showed.”
Song Qiyun’s first reaction after hearing this was still suspicion toward Shen Weimu.
“You, as his sworn brother, even know the details of his elopement last night?”
“Of course. Song Shaoqing, surprised? A few days ago, Brother Pang told me about catching him in the act. You’ve seen it yourself, haven’t you? Now, as a sworn brother, I’m just passing along the elopement story. How is that a problem? Besides, I don’t fancy that Dongling girl and wouldn’t steal her.”
Shen Weimu’s tone was as innocent as could be.
Song Qiyun thought: He’s acting like he’s naïve, but he’s clearly doubting me!
Yet, Song Qiyun couldn’t say this outright—it would sound rude.
“Shen values sincerity above all in friendship. His sworn brothers treat him with honesty in return. I suppose it’s the saying ‘birds of a feather flock together.’ Song Shaoqing isn’t like that, so it’s understandable he doesn’t get it.”
Shen Weimu added gracefully.
“Pft!”
Lu Yang, who was eating snacks, couldn’t help but laugh, spraying crumbs everywhere.
Luckily, his reflexes were good, and he quickly turned toward an empty spot.
Song Qiyun’s mouth twitched, his face blending almost completely with the pitch-black night.
That Shen Weimu!
Song Qiyun suppressed the irritation just beginning to bubble up and forced himself to remain calm and methodical as an investigator.
“How did you know Duan Gu would go to the forest to commit suicide today? If you knew, why didn’t you stop him earlier?”
“I didn’t know. I was heading out to visit my third brother in Shangzhou. Halfway there, I overheard someone mention a man in blue muttering ‘Dongling’ alone, riding a horse slowly forward, shaking his head. After asking around, I learned the man had a mole behind his ear. Then I remembered last night was supposed to be his elopement day. I figured my sworn brother had been stood up and was upset, so I ordered my men to catch up. Near this forest, I saw his horse and gathered my courage to go look for him in the mountains.”
Song Qiyun already knew the rest of what happened, so Shen Weimu stopped recounting.
Just as Song Qiyun was about to question the unlikely coincidence, Shen Weimu’s eager gaze stopped him.
He swallowed his words to avoid giving Shen Weimu a chance to retort.
Now was not the time for arguments; evidence must speak.
If Shen Weimu was involved, sooner or later he would slip up and give himself away.
“As a key witness, you can’t leave Tang County for now.”
Shen Weimu nodded, then asked a question to Song Qiyun,
“I just reported the case. How did you get here so quickly?”
“This morning we received a secret tip—demonic cult activity near Tang County. Matters involving the Jianghu fall under the jurisdiction of the Jianghu Department of the Court of Justice. When we arrived at the county office, your servant was already there to report, so we came straight here.”
Shen Weimu cupped his hands and bade farewell to Song Qiyun.
“Then I wish you success tonight, Song Shaoqing. I’ll head back to the county to rest.”
“Boss, we caught him!”
Before Bai Kaizhi even appeared, his loud shout came from the forest.
He dragged over a skinny, monkey-like man and kicked his back leg, forcing him to kneel before Song Qiyun.
The man cried and begged for mercy, insisting he had nothing to do with the deaths in the forest.
“Still claiming innocence?”
Bai Kaizhi presented a silver awl to Song Qiyun.
“He just tried to stab me in the foot with this.”
Song Qiyun had planned for Bai Kaizhi to pretend to be a corpse, hung from a tree as bait.
“What’s your name?”
“Dong Xing, from Tang County Yizhuang.”
Dong Xing confessed that earlier this month, a tall man wearing a mask came to him, offering ten taels of gold to stab the soles of every corpse in the suicide forest three times.
Though hesitant at first, the man added another twenty taels and demanded Dong Xing check the forest daily for new bodies and stab their feet promptly—no bodies to remain overnight without the marks.
At month’s end, the payment would double.
Tired of work for Yizhuang and tempted by the gold, Dong Xing agreed.
Knowing the matter was suspicious, he didn’t dare ask questions.
He considered himself half a Jianghu man.
Years ago, he joined a small gang.
When it dissolved and enemies came after him, he changed his name and settled in Tang County.
So he was braver than most and understood the principle of taking money without asking questions.
“What about the masked man’s build?”
Dong Xing thought a moment, then his eyes landed on Shen Weimu.
With delight, he pointed at him.
“About the same build as him!”
Everyone’s gaze immediately fixed on Shen Weimu.
Unfazed, Shen Weimu asked,
“What about the voice?”
Dong Xing shook his head.
“Different. Your voice is much nicer than his, sir.”
“Voices can be disguised. Many in the Jianghu are skilled at mimicry,”
Lu Yang chimed in.
“But many people also share similar builds. Please don’t jump to conclusions about Young Master Shen,” someone cautioned.
Shen Weimu nodded in thanks and gave the remaining roasted rabbit to Bai Kaizhi.
Bai Kaizhi politely refused.
“He doesn’t want it? I’ll take it then,”
Lu Yang said bluntly.
Bai Kaizhi immediately shoved Lu Yang aside, snatching the oil paper-wrapped rabbit meat.
“Dream on, it’s mine.”
Bai Kaizhi didn’t believe it was Shen Weimu.
Seeing Song Qiyun watching him, Bai Kaizhi confirmed,
“I hope this doesn’t count as accepting bribes from a suspect. Young Master Shen and I have known each other a long time.”
Without waiting for a response, Bai Kaizhi bit happily into the meat, letting out a contented
“Mmm.”
Song Qiyun drew in a slow breath, not wanting to say anything.
After all, he had eaten some of the meat just now too.
As they say, when you eat someone’s food, your mouth is short.
From now on, he must never take even a bite from him again.
The night was deep.
After Shen Weimu said goodbye and took a few steps away, he suddenly turned back and asked,
“Do any of you like growing mushrooms?”
Song Qiyun: “???”
Yu Chi Feng: “???”
Lu Yang: “???”
Bai Kaizhi swallowed the meat and obediently answered,
“No, never tried. Do you like it, Young Master Shen?”
Song Qiyun, Yu Chi Feng, and Lu Yang exchanged blank looks.
Was that important?
“I don’t like growing them either.”
With that, Shen Weimu gave them a meaningful glance and left.
Everyone else was left puzzled and confused.
“Has the poison gotten into Young Master Shen’s head?”
Lu Yang asked Yu Chi Feng.
Yu Chi Feng thought seriously for a moment, then nodded.
“It’s quite possible.”
Arriving in Tang County, Shen Weimu chose a nearby inn to rest.
The next morning, Liu Wuyou arrived with his people to join Shen Weimu.
Kang Anyun was not there; he had urgent business last night and had returned to Jingdu.
Shen Weimu and the others sat in the inn’s main hall, eating breakfast together.
Breakfast was fresh meat and mushroom-filled wontons.
The broth was made from chicken bones and mushrooms, clear and flavorful.
Everyone ate more than usual.
Just as Shen Weimu put down his chopsticks, Kang Anyun appeared, dust-covered and hurried.
He carried a bulging cloth bag, his hair and shoulders coated in thick dust, showing he hadn’t stopped for a moment on the road.
In the guest room, Kang Anyun angrily dumped the bag’s contents onto the floor.
Discarded papers, broken teacups, worn shoes and socks, brocade clothes, sweat towels, and more.
Shen Weimu glanced at them, frowning slightly, displeased with the messy display.
“I’ve been investigating that night thoroughly. Last night I received a secret tip and rushed back to Jingdu. I found these old items used by the young master in Qingfeng’s secret storage, along with this packet of Excitation Drug. That bastard actually dared to covet the young master, thinking it easy to kill him. He got off too cheap!”
Kang Anyun hesitated before speaking carefully.
“That night, Qingfeng seemed to have added Excitation Drug to the young master’s food. Did the young master feel—”
“It wasn’t Excitation Drug, but a poison.”
When the gossip clue interface revealed this information, Shen Weimu had already suspected a possibility.
Since the original owner was poisoned half a month ago, all his food was tested by Qingfeng before being served.
The maids and servants’ food was handled by Qingqiu.
At that time, most of the poison in the original owner’s body had been neutralized.
His martial arts were decent, and there was always someone nearby to attend him.
For the murderer to kill him silently inside the Shen residence was difficult.
So the killer deceived Qingfeng and Qingqiu separately, using them to poison the young master.
The killer replaced Qingfeng’s Excitation Drug with poison, causing the young master to lose mobility that night before suffering the shattered heart palm strike.
He also tricked Qingqiu into poisoning other maids and servants, making Qingqiu believe she had the chance to get close to the young master that night.
The killer only needed to be the cicada-catcher behind the mantis—waiting silently.
Kang Anyun was shocked.
“If the young master was poisoned that night, why didn’t he say anything?”
Shen Weimu looked silently at Kang Anyun.
Suddenly, Kang Anyun understood.
“The young master had long suspected the culprit of the shattered heart palm was someone close?”
Kang Anyun immediately knelt, swearing he was not the killer.
“Now, the only person I trust most is Liu Wuyou.”