The girl with red braids is called Qiu Fanger. She has lived in the compound since she was a child and depends on her grandfather for everything. She just turned 18 this year. She is pretty and has a pair of black eyes. Although she is poor, she does not live in a sloppy way. She wears clean clothes and combs her hair neatly. It seems that she wants to live a good life.
Being suddenly brought to this inn by Lan Yan, she was naturally panicked and nervous. After seeing Li Hou, she was so frightened by the strong chill and oppression from the other party that she dared not look up. The grandfather and granddaughter stood by the table in panic, not knowing what to do. Then, the door slammed, and a young man in white suddenly appeared in the room, bringing in the fragrance of flowers and a breeze, diluting the previous heavy deathly atmosphere.
She secretly raised her eyes to glance, then quickly looked away. In fact, she didn't see the face clearly, but she thought it was so white, as white as the snow falling on the petals of plum blossoms in winter, without a trace of worldly dirt on it.
Li Sui said: "Tell me, how did you kill Cui Wei?"
Zhu Yanyin was shocked by this incoherent sentence. Wasn't Cui Wei killed by the Demon Cult? How could he be replaced midway? He quickly observed Qiu Fang'er again. He didn't think she looked like a disciple of the Burning Fire Hall. Her face was pale and her eyes were red. She looked pitiful. But judging people by appearance is wrong. Maybe she is really a witch. She will suddenly change her face in the next moment, and she will stretch out her bright red nails to dig your eyeballs with a sharp smile, and her hair will fly.
Too scary! Mr. Zhu was frightened by his own imagination, so he decisively moved closer to Li Sui. Although the big devil's perennial black wind evil spirit is also quite scary, it is definitely better than the demon girl.
Lan Yan was quite surprised. She had not followed the main group this whole trip and had been secretly watching the Demon Cult. So although she knew that the Palace Master and the Second Young Master of the Zhu Family were traveling together, she thought they were just traveling together. Why did they look so close now
Of course, at present, neither party has thought of "intimacy". One of them moved naturally, and the other did not get angry. Instead, she watched him move closer inch by inch with a cold eye. You know, if any other person in the martial arts world dared to get close to Palace Master Li, he would have been thrown out of the window and hung on a tree.
Qiu Shun said: "I killed that rapist surnamed Cui because he wanted to rape my granddaughter and also said he would demolish the compound and leave us homeless."
This is too much of a villain. Zhu Yanyin instinctively glanced at Li Sui, but saw that he still had an indifferent expression on his face, as if he was not surprised at all. The same was true for Lan Yan who was standing next to him. It suddenly seemed that everyone who came out of Wanren Palace was very calm and wise, and only he was inexperienced and startled.
"… "
Qiu Shun told the whole story.
That day, the grandfather and grandson were performing on the street as usual to make a living. Not long after the stage was set, someone threw a small ingot into the plate.
Qiu Shun had lived for most of his life and knew that everything should be done in moderation. The villagers were happy to see him throw in two more copper coins, which was a good thing, but if they exchanged it for such a large silver ingot, it would definitely not be a good thing, so he hurriedly declined with a smile, but the other party refused to take it back, and instead walked away laughing.
The grandfather and grandson were uneasy about such a windfall, so they ended the event early. When they were walking back, they were blocked in the back alley by the man who had just given them the big reward.
"He claimed to be rich and powerful, and said he wanted to marry Fang'er as a concubine." Qiu Shun said, "It seems that he drank a lot of wine, and his mouth is dirty. He is a jerk."
Li Sui asked: "Is he the only one?"
Qiu Shun recalled: "No, there were four others, three men and one woman. They stood aside at first, but then they heard him getting more and more rude, so one of the tall ones came over to persuade him, saying that it was important to hurry on and it was okay to eat less street food, and asked him not to make a big deal out of it."
Lan Yan had prepared portraits of four people and brought them to Qiu Shunyi for identification. They were indeed Cui Wei and his group. The tall one was Liu Xiyang who had been missing until now. As for the remaining woman, Qiu Shun continued, "She was in her forties, with a burly figure. She looked kind, but her expression was very creepy."
Zhu Yanyin listened and felt that this description seemed to be about the same person who had spread rumors in recent days, claiming that he was a spy for the Demon Cult.
After throwing the silver ingot back, Qiu Shun hurriedly returned to the compound with Qiu Fang'er. Although they didn't know how powerful the man was, they all felt that a man with a sword must be more difficult to deal with than a rogue, so they planned to pack up and go back to the village to live for a few days to avoid the limelight.
"When did you leave the city?"
"The next morning, it was still dark."
Qiu Shun drove his small carriage along the misty forest road in the early morning. The farther he got from the tall city gate, the more at ease he felt. But when he reached the depths of the dense forest, someone cut off his horse's reins with a sword.
"Is it Cui Wei?" Zhu Yanyin asked, "Did you run into him again?"
"Yes, but we didn't run into each other. The villain laughed loudly and was very proud. He said he guessed that we would definitely run away, so he waited outside the compound and followed us all the way out of the city."
There were still neighbors in the city who could help, but in the wilderness there was really no one to turn to. Cui Wei didn't take Qiu Shun, who was nearly sixty years old, seriously at all. He pulled Qiu Fang'er off the carriage and tried to drag her onto his horse.
"So you killed him?"
"right."
"How did you kill him?"
"I took advantage of the villain's inattention and kicked him hard in the vitals." Qiu Fang'er gritted her teeth and said, "He fell to the ground and kept cursing, saying that he would join forces with the government to demolish the compound and make everyone homeless. Grandpa knocked him unconscious with a big rock. I was so angry that I took out the sword I used for street performances and chopped him a dozen times, then fled back to the city."
Lan Yan was standing there feeling thirsty. He took out a fruit from somewhere, wiped it twice, and took a bite.
The voice was so clear that Zhu Yanyin couldn't help but look at her.
Question: What is it like to be stared at with surprised eyes by a fair and elegant gentleman while eating fruit
Answer: Thank you for the invitation. I was choked at that time.
Lan Yan threw the fruit out of the window and poured herself a cup of tea without changing her expression.
Zhu Yanyin: …You can continue eating, it’s okay!
The corner of Li Sui's mouth raised imperceptibly.
Lan Yan put down the teacup: "You killed someone, but didn't deal with the body?"
"We did. We found an old tree pit in the forest, threw him in, and filled it with dead leaves and rotten branches. Later, we saw the portrait posted by the government and learned that the rapist's name was Cui Wei. But two other dead people appeared, and they said they were dug out from a well. We didn't know what was going on, and we didn't dare to ask."
"Didn't you strangle Cui Wei with a hemp rope?"
"No."
"Although Cui Wei had many wounds, they were not fatal. He died of suffocation."
The grandfather and grandson were puzzled: "This..."
Zhu Yanyin kindly explained, "That is to say, you probably just knocked Cui Wei unconscious, and after he woke up, he crawled out of the old tree pit, and then he met the next wave of assassins, was strangled to death, and thrown into Shuijingfang, so there is no need to rush to take the murder lawsuit on yourself."
After Qiu Shun and Qiu Fang'er finished listening, before they could breathe a sigh of relief, Li Sui said calmly: "Who else?"
Zhu Yanyin didn’t understand, what does “who else” mean
Qiu Shun stammered, "No... No one else."
Lan Yan laughed out loud: "Even though Cui Wei is a weakling, he still has some dignity. Do you think you can subdue him with just the two of you? I'm afraid he has helpers behind the scenes."
As she spoke, she glanced at the street: "There is a man who followed us out of the compound and now stands across from the inn with a worried look on his face. He did it, right? Your lover?"
Qiu Fanger's expression suddenly became nervous: "It has nothing to do with Brother Shi. He... He wanted to save me and the old and young in the compound. We only have that house. Didn't you just say that Cui Wei is not dead? Then we don't have to go to court, right?"
The Wanren Palace Shadow Guard quickly brought the man up.
His name was Shi Lei. He was tall and strong. He used to work as a security guard. Later, he couldn't stand the rich people's rampant behavior in the village, so he moved into a slum and worked as a carpenter.
Lan Yan threw a green cat's eye over and said, "If you are honest, this is the wedding gift from my palace master to you. If you dare to hide it, I will dig out your eyeballs."
Zhu Yanyin: “…”
Isn't this interrogation method of coercion and inducement too much like the devil
Shi Lei didn't expect to get a gemstone right after entering the door. He was stunned for a moment, then looked at Qiu Shun and Qiu Fang'er, and was relieved to see that they were still safe and sound. He usually liked to listen to stories about the martial arts world and knew the reputation of Wanren Palace. He didn't dare to look at Li Sui at this time, but only took a half step forward and quietly protected the grandfather and grandson behind him.
As Li Sui expected, Shi Lei was also involved in the whole process. When Qiu Shun and Qiu Fang'er ran back to the compound in panic that day, they immediately consulted with Shi Lei. It was also the idea of the three of them to leave the city and hide in the countryside. Qiu Fang'er was scared at the time, so Shi Lei stayed in the carriage and talked to her until Cui Wei cut off the reins.
Shi Lei was very good at boxing and kicking. When he heard Cui Wei swearing and saying obscene things, he got so angry that he punched him. Qiu Fang'er tried to stop him at first, but Cui Wei cursed even more harshly, saying that he would demolish the compound and let the untouchables inside freeze to death on the streets.
Shi Lei wrestled with him and gradually lost the upper hand. Qiu Shun stood by, thinking that he was already this old, and his only concern was his granddaughter. Rather than letting her be bullied by evil people and really being taken to a brothel, it would be better to risk his life in exchange for a stable future. So he also drew the red tassel sword on the car and chopped at random.
Cui Wei felt pain and turned around to resist, but Shi Lei held his head tightly and covered his mouth. His legs kicked wildly on the ground and he died soon after.
Lan Yan asked: "Did you deal with the body?"
Shi Lei said, "I just dragged him to a secluded place, and hurried back to the compound with Mr. Qiu and Fang'er. Later, the more I thought about it, the more dangerous it seemed, so I went back to the woods to bury him again, but I couldn't find the body no matter what I did."
Zhu Yanyin sat upright, listening attentively, his expression changing subtly with the other person's narration, frowning or widening his eyes, or leaning forward slightly, with a look of "it's so strange that it can be like this". The movement was actually very small, but Palace Master Li was too sensitive, so he would glance sideways from time to time, the kind of cold and fierce look that everyone was familiar with.
Lan Yan had been in Wanren Palace for five years. This was the first time she misunderstood the Palace Master's spirit and thought he was annoying her, so she took the initiative to invite him, "Master Zhu, why don't you sit next to me?"
Li Sui's eyebrows jumped slightly.
Zhu Yanyin said: "Oh, OK."