Chapter 132: The Death of Wu Er

  Qī Bǎozhū said sorrowfully: "Wǔ ér was my personal maid, serving me since she was 14 years old. Yesterday we went to Pǔ Fǎ Temple together, and after I got into trouble, I haven't seen her again. At first, I thought she couldn't find me and returned to the mansion ahead of time, but when I came back, no one had seen her. This morning, a corpse was pulled out from the well at Pǔ Fǎ Temple, my father has sent someone to identify it, and it's indeed Wǔ ér, with a stab wound on her abdomen, bleeding profusely." Qī Bǎozhū was heartbroken, knowing that Wǔ ér had died for her sake, and was implicated because of her.

  Qin Dai suddenly remembered the bloody smell she had smelled in the pagoda of Pu Fa Temple, and she thought it was because the bound person was injured. After seeing Qi Baozhu, she found that she was not injured. Later, she guessed that the thief was injured, but he had extremely high martial arts skills, and ordinary people couldn't hurt him at all. How could he be bleeding then?

  She thought and thought but couldn't figure it out, where did this bloody aura come from.

  It seems that the blood is indeed from Wu Er. The murderer tied up Qi Baozhu, killed Wu Er, and inevitably got splashed with Wu Er's blood on his body. He didn't have time to destroy the evidence, so he appeared himself, knocked himself unconscious, and then threw Wu Er's body into the well.

  Why did the murderer, who could have temporarily spared even himself as an intruder to cover up his crime, choose to kill someone in a temple? With so many people around, wasn't he afraid of being discovered and unable to escape?

  There is something strange.

  "Sister, sister." Zibaozhu didn't understand why Qindai suddenly became stupid!

  Chun Dai's mind snapped back to reality, and she comforted her sister: "Don't be too heartbroken, Sister. A person's life is predetermined by heaven. Although Wu Er is dead, heaven won't let the person who killed her go unpunished. That person dared to take action in a temple - doesn't he fear being condemned by the gods? He will eventually face retribution."

  "Exactly," said Zhenbaozhu.

  Qin Dai's heart sank as she glanced around cautiously and asked in a low voice, "Sister, how will you explain this to your father and brother when you return?" Her keen sense of hearing allowed her to detect even the slightest sound, so she wasn't afraid that someone might be secretly following or hiding nearby, which is why she dared to ask about this private matter.

  Qī Bǎozhū whispered: "Sister, rest assured, I didn't betray you, I just said what we agreed upon, not a single word more." She continued: "But since it's a serious matter and lives have been lost, can't we really just ignore it? Those four black-clad men are one thing, but now that Wǔ'ér has died unjustly, how will we deal with them if they come again?"

  Does she mean it's really beneficial for finding the mastermind behind the scenes?

  It's not that simple, some people are being used, others are being sold out, and there are still others...

  "Good sister, this matter is not something we can handle, my younger sister is also involved and will definitely not harm you. If others ask about you, just pretend to be ignorant, I absolutely won't harm you." Qin Dai's eyes were serious and distinct, making Qi Baozhu secretly shocked.

  It's either nothing or something too big, she doesn't want to get herself involved.

  Zi Baozhu thought that Qin Dai's heart was a clever person, and she might have already known some things. It's no wonder, with such skills, she is not an ordinary person.

  "I believe my sister." Qi Baozhu's reply was loud and clear, like pearls falling onto a plate, crisp and pleasant to the ear.

  Qin Dai's heart was filled with gratitude that she didn't ask further, after all, he himself wasn't even clear about what had happened, how could he just ramble on. Since she believed in him, he would definitely not let her down, and if there came a day when he needed help, she would certainly not refuse.

  Being trusted is a delightful thing, and Qibaozhu also counts as her first friend in this life.

  The two of them had unknowingly walked a long way, and Qin Dai sent her to the outer courtyard. It was inconvenient for him to go further, so he instructed the servant women to take good care of her. He wanted to say a few more words, but someone came to urge him again, and the two parted ways.

  Miss Qin's spirit seemed to have fallen, and she thought that she couldn't bear to part with Qi Baozhu. So he said: "Miss, let's go back! Miss Qi has already gotten on the carriage, and it's likely that they've gone far away. If you can't bear to part with her, we can invite her to our mansion for a small gathering another day. At this moment, Madame's courtyard hasn't been locked yet, and we can still make it back in time."

  Qin Dai Xin glanced at the sky and then said: "Let's go back!" Not returning to Fang Wanru's courtyard, but returning to her own Chang Xiao Garden.

  Qin Congwen met with Master Qi and must have mentioned Qin Zichen's marriage, they might be discussing it right now! How can she go disturb them?

  "Let's hurry up, I'm tired."

  As he said so, he hastily picked up the lantern and led the way forward.

  Qin Dai'er returned to her own room, letting the maids attend to her simple grooming. Although she also wanted to read a few pages of a book, for some reason, she couldn't get through even one page. The book was in her hands for half the day, but she only managed to read two or three lines.

  Ailian also noticed her distraction, but she had always been taciturn and didn't know what was bothering the young lady, so she couldn't persuade her to focus. She simply put down her needlework and sat beside her in silence.

  Qin Dai sighed softly, almost inaudibly.

  Somehow I thought of that Wu Er whom I had never even seen before.

  Misjudged or conspiracy? Related to power or money? Everything is unknown.

  The grand event of Taizhou Chamber of Commerce, the gathering of four major families, is it a coincidence or an intentional arrangement?

  No trace can be found.

  Qin Dai Xin put down the book, gently rubbed her forehead, she liked to analyze problems, it seemed that this habit couldn't be changed. Rather than entangling herself in these things without a clue, it was better to rest early and sleep well, after all, the cave wasn't a good place.

  Ai Lian saw that her master had fallen asleep, so she busied herself tidying up the inner chamber. Once Qin Dai's heart was at rest, she blew out the lamp and quietly made her way back to the outer room, lost in thought about past events.

  In the past, the young lady was afraid of the dark and would only sleep with a dim lamp on her bedside table. Nowadays, it's not like that anymore. The young lady seems to prefer darkness, saying she sleeps more soundly.

  People will probably change eventually!

  Ai Lian thought and thought, then fell asleep.

  Qin Dai's heart was restless in her room, she couldn't sleep no matter what, thinking over and over again about the events before and after she was tied up, but still couldn't figure it out.

  The highly skilled thief was alone in the Putuo Temple, first tying up Qibaozhu and killing her maid Wuer. He then appeared in the tower yard and was tied up by others. However, in the ruined temple on the mountain, the highly skilled person suddenly disappeared, replaced by two people with average martial arts skills who looked strange and spoke a fluent barbarian language. They had a strong and pungent body odor that couldn't be acquired from just one or two meals, but rather was developed over time. These two people were likely from Wana. Later, more than ten black-clad men arrived, well-trained and ruthless in their actions. None of them were kind-hearted, and if placed in the present day, they would likely be mercenaries or perhaps even assassins.

  A family of thieves, a group of dead men, and a little servant girl.

  What kind of relationship do they have between them?

  Qin Dai couldn't think it through, but her intuition told her that this was no ordinary murder.

  At this moment, a faint noise came from the window, and then the window was gently pushed open. A nimble figure flipped in from outside the window. Although his movements were light, he made almost no sound when landing, but Qin Dai had eaten two Chi Yang fruits, her senses were sharp, and her perception was keen, far surpassing that of ordinary people. She almost immediately discovered the intruder, and sat up, taking out a dagger from under the pillow, quietly waiting for the intruder's next move.

  "What are you doing with a small knife in the middle of the night when you're not sleeping?" The voice was soft, with an unmistakable hint of teasing.

  Murong Jing plopped his buttocks down on a chair placed against the wall and gazed towards the blurry figure inside the bed curtains.

  Qin Dai's heart cursed a sentence of "Three Character Classic" in a low voice, this sound was extremely familiar, she could think of who it was with her toes.

  The two of them sat on opposite sides of the bed curtain, each lost in their own thoughts, and for a time they both fell silent.

  Murong Jing originally had a lot to say, but when it came to his lips, he didn't know where to start. This woman was like an enigma that one couldn't figure out, the more unclear her true nature was, the more one wanted to know the truth. Her appearance was like a peony, beautiful and noble, not at all like a merchant's daughter; her temperament was more like an orchid, elegant and refined, quiet and dust-free. Murong Jing also remembered how she had gnashed her teeth in the cave of Xiaofeng Mountain, at that time she was clearly a mother leopard with a bad temper! Thinking back to the various events since they met, Murong Jing couldn't help but smile silently, even the chill between his eyebrows and eyes dissipated a lot.

  Qin Dai's heart couldn't help but recall the various encounters she had with Murong Jing over the past six months. The first time, he was injured at Xiao Qianzhuang and she saved him; the second time, he was fleeing from pursuit by others and she saved him again; the third time, he actually helped her out with a small favor, but before long, he brought Snow Qing mother and daughter into the manor.

  Well, okay! Although it was herself who couldn't help but intervene and jumped into his trap, Qin Dai believed that even if she hadn't jumped into the pit he had dug for her, he would have come up with more than ten ways to send someone to their death.

  No matter what, whenever I meet him, nothing good ever comes of it. I wonder what he's here for this time?

  Was it for those two words I wrote: Vana?

  "What are you coming for this time?" The tone was very sorrowful and helpless.

  "With your intelligence and wisdom, can't you guess it?" Murong Jing said in a soft voice.

  "Alas! I don't know if it's because of a debt from our past lives." Qin Dai's voice was very soft, but Mu Rong Jing still heard her clearly.

  "I saw the note you wrote and thought I'd ask, how did you know those people might be from Wana?" Mu Rongjing's voice suddenly became serious, his tone of office affairs made Qin Dai's heart very uncomfortable.

  Qin Dai Xin only said: "I know you're not an ordinary person, but I've never asked you before. Today, I want to ask, who are you?"

  The vague bed curtain blocked Qin Dai's line of sight, and she naturally couldn't see Murong Jing's slightly stunned eyes.

  "Why ask now when you didn't ask before?"

  Qin Dai sighed, "Before, I didn't ask because I thought we had no connection, whether you were a bandit or not. Saving you was both self-preservation and doing a good deed for the day. Now that I'm asking, it's because things are getting too complicated. If you were just an ordinary bandit, I wouldn't be afraid to get involved with you. But your nervousness about this matter has raised my suspicions."

  Qin Dai's heart skipped a beat, and she continued: "Ordinary bandits, who would care about national affairs? Could it be that the two words 'Wa Na' can make you appear?"

  Murong Jing's mouth corners rose, pulling open a small arc. He rarely laughed heartily a few times, but they were all because of the little woman in front of him. What magic did she have?

  "Since you asked, I will naturally tell you the truth."

  Qin Dai's heart suddenly accelerated its beating, and she felt a slight tension as she anticipated the moment of truth.

  Murong Jingzheng said with a serious expression: "It seems I have come to make a self-introduction. My name is Murong Jing, and my courtesy name is Duanrui."

  Qin Dai Xin heard the two words "Mu Rong" and felt her head go "buzz".