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墨書 Inktalez
Stealing gems in the name of Night Phantom is no longer a first for me; it has happened many times. Since returning to Chang'an and becoming a "police officer" again at the Dali Temple, I have simultaneously immersed myself in the Underworld and taken on the role of a thief.
The concept of justice has suddenly become very distant in my heart, so how could I fall from being a Police Flower to a thief? Questions about whether stealing is a crime or not seem utterly pointless to me now. In fact, this isn't even a crime; I'm merely helping my husband retrieve what belongs to him.
Before we met, Nie Qiuyuan had already been stealing gems under the name Night Phantom, adopting the style of a phantom thief. He hoped to recover seven gems left by his family and uncover the secrets hidden by his family that had suffered Annihilation, seeking vengeance for their blood feud. However, before he went missing, there was no progress on this task; he had only found one gem.
I searched through his belongings for a long time and, with the help of people from Snowfall Villa, finally understood the principle behind the potion that reveals the secret characters on the gems. Thus, I began to take on Nie Qiuyuan's role, employing the same style and methods as Night Phantom to openly steal gems from various places.
I donned the same dark blue attire, wore the same extravagant mask, and issued public announcements just like before. Then, using unexpected and bizarre methods, I managed to obtain gems that were heavily protected by others. Don't underestimate me; my skills are more than capable of achieving this. Coupled with years of experience in Criminal Investigation that have honed my meticulous thinking and counter-surveillance awareness, my version of Night Phantom is just as dangerous as my idol.
Now, compared to before, the current Night Phantom has maintained a 100% success rate in thefts but is much more high-profile. Like Qiu, most of the stolen gems will be returned once I confirm they are not what I want. However, when I do return them, I will certainly cause quite a ruckus at their homes.
In the eyes of Constables in Chang'an, Night Phantom is seen as a public enemy—a rat everyone wants to catch. Yet they would never dream that Night Phantom often sits among them peacefully and, in some sense, is even their ally.
The reason I act so brazenly is that I want to amplify Night Phantom's reputation and spread news of his extreme activity far and wide. I hope this news reaches him; he will immediately understand that I miss him. No matter what he is doing now, he will surely strive harder to come home.
But it has already been a year and a half—what has happened to you? Why haven't you returned?
Another reason I continue to live and wait is that Luo Dachun recounted to me the conversation between Nie Qiuyuan and Ren Pingsheng just before they fell off the cliff.
At that time, we were quite far from Qiu and his group. Even after Luo Dachun enhanced his senses with internal energy, what he heard was still limited and fragmented. Yet every time I chew over those snippets of their conversation, I still feel a glimmer of hope.
Underneath the deep blue full moon, Nie Qiuyuan and Ren Pingsheng exchanged these few lines that were clear enough to hear:
"Qinglong, the Ghost Fire Five Poisons Curse is an ancient forbidden technique. If it's true, do you know how many people would die?"
"How many die has nothing to do with me."
"Release what you have on you, and the entire Luoyang will turn into a dead city. You are at the core; can you really escape its harm?"
"What are you afraid of? With your skills, just protect yourself well. At most, you'll lose half your life, but you won't die."
"Ren Pingsheng, if I'm not mistaken, you have no ambition at all. What reason do you have to serve Rong Fu?"
"And what reason do I have to answer you?"
"Ren Pingsheng, perhaps you and I won't die, but Zhenzhen won't make it through."
"…"
"Zhenzhen is here too. Seeing me, you should understand that."
"…"
"And she's coming right now! Do you want her to die?"
"…"
"Is Rong Fu here?"
"Is that even possible? He has no reason to take such risks."
"So it's the eyes watching you, then?"
“……”
“Well, it seems this is the only way…”
The so-called “this way” refers to going down together with Ren Pingsheng, doesn’t it? But does this statement carry a hint of confidence? Could it be part of his plan? Surely, I can’t be the only one thinking this.
It seems that Ren Pingsheng holds the key to the Mirror Gate Project. According to what Luo Dachun mentioned, Rong Fu appears very eager to open the Disaster Gate; he has been working tirelessly towards that goal. If what Ren Pingsheng possesses were to be released, it could turn Luoyang into a dead city. In other words, if such a massive death toll were to occur simultaneously, based on the conditions mentioned in legends, the Disaster Gate would likely open.
So, Nie Qiuyuan intends to create the appearance of going down together with Ren Pingsheng? Yes, that’s what I think. If it weren’t for leaving a way back for both of them in the future, why would Qiu bother asking if there were any eyes watching?
But why not return?!
In this past year and a half, everything has been calm since coming from the Mirror Gate.
They seem completely off the radar in the martial world. Perhaps Nie Qiuyuan and Ren Pingsheng’s “going down together” truly disrupted their long-prepared plans; they need time to regroup and manage. For a year and a half, they haven’t caused any trouble at all, and even the Jade Balance Bureau has unknowingly started to thrive.
Li Shimin, with Fang Xuanling’s assistance, has been continuously improving the Tang Code and other legal systems, gradually establishing an orderly society. If this continues without any disturbances from the Mirror Gate, a prosperous era will soon be upon us.
However, during this past year, as I repeatedly sorted through certain matters in my mind, I slowly came to realize something quite terrifying.
That is, how exactly did Sikong Han die in that battle at Baiyun Mountain?
He was struck by Rong Fu’s strange poison; his death was due to the onset of toxicity. So then, everything seemed stable—how could it have suddenly erupted so violently during that brief moment when the Mirror Gate was breached?
There must have been some kind of trigger.
The most suspicious person is Bai Yu. However, later on, Luo Dachun tried to distract me by talking about many things related to the villa. Bai Yu is a trusted confidant of their father and grew up alongside Sikong Han, having risked his life for Snowfall Villa over the years. After Sikong Han was injured, he stayed by his side to care for him, so there were countless opportunities for him to quietly kill Sikong Han. Why would he choose this particular moment and risk his own life?
So why was Bai Yu kneeling beside Sikong Han with a single knife in hand?
I asked Luo Dachun what the standard procedure was at Snowfall Villa if a companion was poisoned and in critical condition without any visible wounds.
Luo Dachun replied that the first step would be to administer a universal antidote, followed by considering bloodletting, using internal energy to expel the poisoned blood, and possibly even blood transfusion.
We both suddenly realized that Bai Yu might have been in a panic at that moment, intending to perform bloodletting on Sikong Han, which would explain why he was holding onto Sikong Han's arm.
Bai Yu is definitely not the murderer; I am completely convinced of this.
So, did the poisonous mist seep in from outside?
That is impossible because the mist has strong corrosive properties. Many of the tents ahead that came into contact with it turned yellow, yet the tent where Sikong Han was located showed no signs of discoloration. Therefore, it wasn't due to the mist.
Could there have been a third person who entered the tent and harmed my brother?
That too is unlikely because Bai Yu is a skilled fighter. If an outsider had intruded, there would certainly be signs of a struggle inside the tent. Bai Yu wouldn't have remained so calm while thinking about how to perform bloodletting on my brother.
Thus, it seems that Sikong Han suddenly suffered from poisoning after we left, and the cause of this poisoning likely occurred before we departed to engage in battle.
Moreover, three details cannot be overlooked.
First, if bloodletting was necessary, why did he hesitate to release it while holding onto his arm?
The second question is, why did Bai Yu point at my nose and glare at me in anger?
The third question is, why did Bai Yu choose this moment to take his own life with a knife?
After thinking it over, I believe the most likely explanation is as follows.
When Bai Yu raised the knife, intending to draw blood from Sikong Han's arm, he discovered something that shouldn't have been there on his arm. In other words, he had found the cause of his elder brother's poisoning.
However, we had already conducted a preliminary examination of the elder brother's body at that time and found no external injuries or any other peculiarities.
This means that before we examined the body, that strange detail had already been dealt with.
The only people capable of doing this were those who arrived at the scene first: myself, Nie Qiuyuan, and Luo Dachun.
If one of these three was the murderer, then unless the author of my life has gone mad, we can completely rule out these three individuals.
That leaves just one person remaining, as only the four of us entered the tent together at that time.
The great detective Sherlock Holmes once said in "The Sign of the Four": "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
Thus, after eliminating all the possibilities that could have caused the elder brother's death, the only suspect left is Fu Zhifeng, the owner of Medicine King Pavilion.
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