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墨書 Inktalez
I had long sensed that Bai Qianfan was aware of my true situation, for his seemingly gentle gaze contained something too sharp. However, his direct question still startled me.
“Lord Bai, this is…” I suddenly found myself at a loss, feeling that there was little point in pretending in front of him.
“Miss Ye, I am a subject of the current ruler, and you are an acquaintance of his. I have no intention of harming you or your motives; you need not fear,” Bai Qianfan said slowly. “During the incident at White Horse Temple, I was one of the appointed officials. I know very well what kind of assistants I should bring with me.”
“Lord Bai, but Liuying… is responsible for managing daily affairs for my brothers.”
“Then Miss Ye would not have appeared at the banquet on the first day. Moreover, although I later became friends with your two brothers, I have yet to taste the dishes prepared by you; they have not needed your assistance for their daily matters.” Bai Qianfan's smile took on a somewhat cunning quality, nearly choking me.
“That’s because… Liuying unfortunately caught a cold…”
“Miss,” Lord Bai said seriously, “when a person is focused, their eyes often reveal many secrets. For instance, during that banquet when Fang Xianling was explaining the case, what you were paying attention to was clear to me. Whenever the discussion reached a critical point in the case, your focus was undoubtedly intense. I even felt that your insights were more accurate and keen than many seasoned investigators present.”
“…”
I thought this must be a detective's occupational hazard. I had not reached such a level yet; during that banquet, I hadn’t been able to see through any of them, let alone their assistants. Yet Bai Qianfan could notice and judge where someone like me focused while listening to Fang Xuanling speak. Even that detestable woman Ruo Chanjuan had keenly observed the detail of me discreetly spitting out the wine I had just swallowed.
Suddenly, I felt that the Tang Dynasty was truly unfathomable. I had studied modern scientific knowledge and received investigative training, yet in front of these old foxes, I felt as naïve as a child with no secrets to hide.
This world was different from what I had imagined; everything was. Moreover, in terms of age, I really did seem like a child in front of him.
“May I ask Lord Bai what his intentions are in summoning Liuying here?” I thought there was no need for pretense anymore; rather than evade him, it would be better to confront him directly. So I composed my expression, adjusted my cane for comfort, and asked earnestly.
Bai Qianfan merely smiled lightly and replied, “Let’s first hear your thoughts on this robbery case.”
I quietly regarded him for a moment before plainly and succinctly stating my opinion.
“The time of death was this morning at 5 AM… no, at the hour of the rabbit. The murder weapon was a pair of scissors and an iron crowbar. The stab wounds from the scissors were the cause of death; the severed arms were done post-mortem with the crowbar. This is not a robbery; it is an act of revenge.”
Bai Qianfan listened for a moment, fell silent, and then suddenly began to clap lightly.
"Indeed, I see that I was not mistaken!" he said, gazing at me.
I believed he had already seen through everything with those gentle yet profound eyes. But since he had uncovered my thoughts and asked, I would respond honestly. My intuition told me that this was probably the best way to handle the situation.
The estimated time of death could generally be inferred from the degree of rigor mortis. The stab wound on the victim was different from a typical knife wound in both shape and size. This was a fabric shop, yet there were no scissors in sight, which was illogical; thus, the scissors might have been taken by the murderer. The shape of the wound that scissors could create closely resembled the one on the deceased. As for the injuries to his arms, I recognized that shape; it was not consistent with cuts from a knife or axe. I had encountered a similar case before, where such wounds were inflicted by a shovel.
Examining pre-mortem and post-mortem injuries was a key focus of my studies. The victim's arms had been severed; if this had been done to a living person, arterial blood would have spurted out violently. However, beneath this person's corpse, there was surprisingly little blood—an indication that these wounds had lost their life response after death.
Therefore, a robber who killed someone and stole their belongings would not linger at the scene to deliberately sever the victim's arms; this behavior did not align with typical criminal psychology.
Such cases are not uncommon in life. A murderer who would act in this manner, unless mentally ill, likely harbored anger or hatred towards the victim. Severing the arms in such a way could be seen as an act of venting inner hatred after committing the crime.
Thus, I believed this was likely a case of revenge rather than robbery. The murderer’s act of disturbing the scene and taking the money bag seemed intended to mislead us into pursuing the wrong investigative direction.
Bai Qianfan excused himself and walked to another part of the fabric shop, where he spoke with the County Constable from Wannian County for a while, seemingly giving some instructions. After about a quarter of an hour, Bai Qianfan returned and smiled at me. "Miss Ye, your injury has yet to heal; it’s truly a shame to have you standing for so long. Come on, I’ll take you somewhere."
I was surprised internally; having just asked about the case without following up on it, where could he possibly be taking me?
I followed him into a carriage. It seemed we were headed to somewhere in West Market because it wasn’t long before the carriage stopped.
Bai Qianfan opened the curtain and personally helped me down from the carriage. When I looked up, I found myself in front of an antique shop that appeared quite unremarkable.
The attendant at the entrance saw us and broke into a cheerful smile, greeting us: "Mr. Bai! You’ve come! I’ll go fetch the owner right away."
Bai Qianfan nodded with a smile and led me inside the antique shop.
The interior was somewhat disorganized, with rare items from various eras displayed haphazardly; it looked quite interesting. We had barely sat down when a thin old man with white hair and an ethereal presence walked out from behind.
"Bai Qianfan," the old man said without any pleasantries, "is this the patient you mentioned? Sit down and let me take a look."
Isn't this an antique shop? Why does the Boss want to examine a patient as soon as he appears?
"Miss Ye, this Mr. Wuchenzi is a hidden master in the city. It's good for him to take a look at your injury. Besides, this is a great place for conversation," Bai Qianfan explained to me with a smile.
The old man shot him a glance. "You're lucky it's you; otherwise, I wouldn't bother with this."
"Thank you, thank you!" From Bai Qianfan's tone, it was clear that he had a close relationship with the old man. "I've almost got what you wanted. Someone just returned from the Western Regions, and they must have brought it."
As the two chatted cheerfully, the old man began to check my pulse.
"Bai Qianfan, does such an injury really require my attention?" After checking my pulse, the old man's tone carried a hint of displeasure. "The person treating this girl is already a top expert; her injury isn't serious at all. With some rest, she'll be fine. You won't come to me for every little cold in the future, will you?"
Bai Qianfan replied, "Divine Doctor, injuries do have varying degrees of severity. Moreover, I've been thinking about the scent of incense from your home for quite some time."
"You rascal!" The Divine Doctor scolded him while instructing an attendant to prepare a quiet room for us upstairs.
"You two go ahead and chat; I'll prepare some incense and bring up a suitable medicinal soup," the old man said casually to us.
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