Peony Lantern (7) No. 34

  However, too many links are missing in between, and now I am completely unable to convey information to them.

  For example, the cause of death. The silver needle can't detect it, and in the absence of Master Yinye, if I say that this person died from poisoning, what makes people believe me?

  "What's the cause of death?" I asked Luo Dachun quietly.

  Who would have thought that Lao Da Chun would say in a low voice without hesitation: "It's poisoning."

  I was shocked. But then I heard Lao Da Chun say: "It was Autumn Yu who tested it, he said it's a special kind of poison that seals the throat at the sight of blood, ordinary methods can't detect it."

  Last night I was so amazed by Ren Pingsheng's professionalism that I forgot, my male god seemed to be in no way inferior to him.

  "Brother Lu," I said, pointing to the peony lanterns displayed in the main hall as evidence, "speaking of which, these peony lanterns, if looked at upside down, also somewhat resemble those Kongming lanterns!"

  Luo Da Chun was stunned, as if a bolt of lightning had struck his brain.

  "I understand!" shouted Luo Da Chun suddenly with excitement.

  The people in the hall stared at him in surprise.

  I understand that I have bet on Lu Da Chun's IQ, and this person's intelligence is probably not inferior to Nie Qiu Yuan and others. With just a hint, he can immediately break through the mystery.

  "I understand now, the principle of the sealed room and the reason for this person's death!"

  Luo Da Chun called someone to bring a small piece of wax, lit it and put it into the peony lantern. The hot air filled the lantern, and gradually, the lantern swelled up and slowly floated upwards.

  "Indeed it's a Kongming lantern! This peony lantern is probably a tool for some organization to convey messages!"

  Everyone looked puzzled, so Luo Da Chun explained: "The deceased lived in an inn. According to the owner, he was always mysterious and secretive, locking his doors and windows all day. This suggests that the deceased had a rather unusual identity. Looking at the scene, although it's sealed off, there is a small air vent on the roof that people or animals can't pass through, but lanterns could still be passed in. Maybe someone was passing information to the deceased."

  Lu Daichun was painstakingly recreating the scene at that time. The bookworm was in the house copying the Diamond Sutra, why did he want to copy the Diamond Sutra? It is said that the Diamond Sutra can calm one's mind and spirit, from which it can be seen that this person may have been extremely tense inside. He was waiting for something. At this time, a peony lantern slowly descended from the air vent on the roof. Yes, it was what he had been waiting for all along, an intelligence report, or rather, a piece of paper tied to the peony lantern.

  In a tense and urgent situation where time is of the essence, what are the usual methods to destroy this piece of intelligence after reading it?

  Burn.

  However, burning leaves traces, so well-trained Shadow Weavers usually adopt another method.

  Yes, it's the kind of scene often seen in anti-Japanese war dramas: I, an underground party member, remain unyielding, grab the intelligence with one hand, stuff it into my mouth, chew on it a bit, and swallow it down.

  Swallow the paper strip as intelligence!

  If there's poison on the paper strip, this person would quietly kick the bucket in a sealed room!!!

  Although this is a method of killing that has a certain probability of failure, thinking about it from the perpetrator's point of view, the success rate is surprisingly high.

  And besides, aren't people going to die anyway?

  "It's just like this, but still can't lock in who the suspect is." Lu Da Chun sighed with some regret.

  "Dachun, you're absolutely right." Nie Qiuyuan, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up. "However, this case might not be able to be investigated further. Because the deceased is likely a member of the Tianjing Gate, and may even be... a traitor of the Tianjing Gate."

  My heart skipped a beat. The deceased was from the Tianjing Gate, this was told to me by Ren Pingsheng. But how did Nie Qiuyuan know about this?

  The expressions of everyone around me suddenly turned solemn. Probably in this world, except for me, there is no second person who doesn't know about the Tianjing Gate.

  "So, is this Tianjing Gate cleaning up its own doorstep?"

  Nie Qiuyuan shook his head: "The people who were supposed to clean up the door hadn't even had a chance to take action, this was probably done by that group of people who were trying to win him over."

  Luo Da Chun finally asked with a hint of curiosity: "Qiu Yuan, how did you know all these?"

  Nie Qiuyuan said coldly: "Because Ren Pingsheng is the eldest disciple of Tianjingmen who holds real power."

  I feel like my blood has frozen. No wonder Ren Ping Sheng treats Tian Jing Men as his own family, it turns out he is actually the core leader of that terrifying organization!

  This swindler is a dangerous character. He talks big, but in fact he himself was the one who came to clean up the door, only to be preempted by the other side!

  Wait a minute, the eldest disciple of the Tianjing Gate, why is he so familiar with Nie Qiuyuan? Why investigate the people around him? Why get close to me? No, it's that I accidentally bumped into him...

  But was it really unintentional?

  Suddenly, a thread of worry surged up in my heart.

  "Nie Daoren, if Ren Ping is such a core figure of the Tianjing Gate, how come we've never heard of this name before?" asked County Magistrate Ge in puzzlement.

  "Have you heard of Qinglong, Baihu, Zhuque and Xuanwu?" Nie Qiuyuan asked.

  Everyone nodded in unison: "This is the name of the four apprentices of Tianjing Gate, all four are mysterious and unpredictable martial arts masters."

  I'm afraid the four of them are still masters of detective work! I thought to myself secretly. However, these "Blue Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise" are really too common, which martial arts film doesn't have these four?

  "Ren Pingsheng is indeed the Azure Dragon Envoy." No sooner had Nie Qiuyuan's words fallen than a chill ran down his spine.

  Qing Long is ranked first among the Four Symbols gods, I suppose his status in Tianjing Gate is also high, second only to the gate master?

  No wonder I felt he was extraordinary at first sight.

  Looking at Nie Qiuyuan's expression and words, he seems to be quite wary of Ren Ping. But my impression of Ren Ping is actually not bad. How did the two of them become enemies?

  "Bring people!" Ge County ordered decisively, "Since the corpse has not been identified and no one has claimed it, let's carry it out and bury it."

  It seems they also avoid Tianjing Gate like a snake's nest.

  "We'll go back to the inn now and settle this matter. I wonder if Lord Nie would condescend to accompany us?" Ge Qing Song obviously had a high regard for Nie Qiuyuan.

  Nie Qiuyuan nodded. Luo Dachun said: "Or I'll send Liu Yue back first."

  Chief Steward Chen Shou stepped forward and said, "This matter doesn't require your trouble, sir. I'll take care of it myself. Breakfast has also been arranged. If the young lady hasn't had breakfast yet, she can go have some first."

  It seems that the steward is in charge of managing some daily necessities such as food and clothing in addition to handling documents.

  The men all went to attend to their affairs, and I followed behind Chen Shou, led by him slowly walking towards what was probably the dining hall.

  As they walked, they soon arrived at the garden where they had met Ren Ping last night. The pavilion was not far from the lotus pond, surrounded by lush vegetation. Although the lotuses had already withered in this season, the scenery here was still elegant and refined.

  "But you remembered me?" A pleasant male voice rang out, with a hint of laughter even in his tone. "Actually, I was going to give you a little push, and find out how that person really died. Who would have thought that Ah-Yueng, you're so clever, you figured it out yourself."

  Long live Chairman Mao!

  I was shocked and lost color. What made me even more shocked and lost color was that Chen Shou turned around, with a strange smile on his face, staring at me.

  "I told you I'm the chief clerk of Feng County, how can they just say something and you don't believe me?" Chen Shou said.