Chapter Seventy-Five: Dumbstruck

As night fell, the cell sank into darkness. Liu Rushuang sat in the corner, gazing gloomily out the window.

Suddenly, a stir came from the corridor. Ying Xi and Lu Hehuan had come to visit, and the duty officer opened the cell door.

At the sound, Liu Rushuang looked up. The moment she saw them, shock and joy lit her face. “Brother Xi, Hehuan...”

The duty officer looked awkwardly at Ying Xi and Lu Hehuan. “Inspector Ying, please make it quick. Don’t put me in a difficult position.”

Ying Xi shot him an impatient look. “Save it. What trouble would it be to let us speak a little longer?”

“But Chief Bao instructed—”

Ying Xi made as if to strike him, and the officer hurriedly fell silent.

“So now you’re using Chief Bao to pressure me,” Ying Xi said with a sneer.

“I wouldn’t dare.”

“Then get lost!”

The officer obediently stepped aside and dared not utter another word.

Ying Xi and Lu Hehuan entered the cell.

Lu Hehuan looked at Liu Rushuang with grave seriousness. “Miss Liu, tell me exactly what happened today.”

Liu Rushuang nodded. “Today Chief Bao brought several officers to search my house, saying they were looking for evidence of murder. Later, they found some bloodstains in my room, and then they said the blood was my sister’s. After that, they falsely accused me of killing her, and claimed I was the real culprit behind the Blood-Red Robe Curse murders.”

Lu Hehuan frowned in puzzlement. “Why would there be Liu Suxue’s blood in your room?”

Liu Rushuang slapped her forehead in frustration. “How should I know...” Then her eyes suddenly brightened. “I remember now...”

Not long ago, one night, Liu Rushuang had been reading in her room when there came an unexpected knock at the door.

“Coming.” She went over and opened it, only to find Liu Suxue standing outside.

Liu Rushuang looked at her coldly. “What do you want?”

Liu Suxue shoved her aside with an icy face and walked straight in, taking a seat at the table. She poured herself a cup of tea and took a sip. “Did you tell Father that Hehuan doesn’t like me?”

Liu Rushuang put her hands on her hips, justified. “I only told the truth, so Father wouldn’t go to the Lu family and force a marriage.”

Liu Suxue’s gaze turned vicious. She slammed the cup onto the table; it shattered, and the shards sliced open her hand. Blood gushed out at once.

“What, what are you doing?” Liu Rushuang cried in alarm.

“Liu Rushuang, listen carefully. If you dare ruin my affair with Lu Hehuan again, I won’t spare you!” Liu Suxue’s voice was cold as frost. Blood dripped from her hand, one drop after another, beneath the table.

Liu Rushuang stared in terror at the blood streaming from her sister’s hand. “Your hand...”

Liu Suxue glared at her, then turned and left.

Recalling this, Liu Rushuang looked at Ying Xi and Lu Hehuan. “Those bloodstains must have been what my sister dripped onto the floor that day.”

Ying Xi scratched his head in irritation. “Then why didn’t you explain it to Chief Bao sooner?”

“I only just remembered,” Liu Rushuang said, aggrieved.

Lu Hehuan looked at her. “You said Liu Suxue threatened you because you stopped your father from proposing to my family?”

Liu Rushuang nodded. “You didn’t see her eyes. They looked as if they could kill.”

Lu Hehuan frowned in confusion. “If that’s so, then why would Liu Suxue run away with another man...”

Ying Xi cut him off impatiently. “Enough. Now is not the time to wonder why Liu Suxue eloped. We should be thinking about how to help Liu Rushuang avoid conviction.” He rubbed his beard, somewhat worried. “From what I know of Bao Kang, he’ll want to close the case as quickly as possible in order to claim credit before Gordon.”

Liu Rushuang and Lu Hehuan were both startled.

Deep into the night, Bao Kang had still not gone to sleep. He sat on the sofa in his home’s living room, chatting with Bao Rong.

Bao Rong stood by the doorway, looking at Bao Kang. “Brother, I think we should be more careful with Miss Liu’s case. Although Liu Suxue’s blood was found in her room, those bloodstains could have been accidental. After all, they are sisters by blood.”

Bao Kang spoke with earnest persuasion. “Little Rong, do you think every brother and sister in the world is as loving as we are? There are plenty who slaughter one another for profit. Human nature is evil. Don’t be too kind, and don’t trust people so easily.”

“Brother, you shouldn’t assume the worst of everyone either.”

“In any case, don’t interfere with this case anymore. I’ve already reported to Chief Inspector Gordon. Tomorrow, Liu Rushuang will be handed over to the court.”

“So soon?”

“The chief inspector is desperate to avenge his niece. He’d sentence the killer at once if he could, so of course it’ll be quick.”

Bao Rong hesitated, then said, “Brother, don’t wrong a good person.”

Bao Kang gave an air of complete confidence. “Do you think your elder brother became chief by luck? I’ve investigated more cases than you’ve even heard of. That Liu Rushuang is definitely the murderer. I saw bloodlust in her eyes.”

Bao Rong could only shake his head helplessly and turn back to his room.

Cold moonlight spilled into the police dormitory. Ying Xi and Lu Hehuan lay in bed, each sleepless and tossing in the dark.

Ying Xi looked at Lu Hehuan. “Hehuan, Liu Rushuang didn’t kill anyone. Promise me you’ll help her.”

Lu Hehuan nodded. “I promise. I’ll find the truth no matter what.”

Ying Xi hesitated, then nodded.

Suddenly, Lu Hehuan seemed to sense something. He looked at Ying Xi thoughtfully. “Do you like Miss Liu?”

Ying Xi gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “I’m only moved by her sincerity. Since I’m destined to fail her in matters of the heart, I want to help her as much as I can in everything else.”

“Why must you fail her? My story with Ling Yan is already a tragedy. Why can’t you and Miss Liu be a comedy?” Lu Hehuan’s emotions stirred.

Ying Xi let out a long sigh. “Some things are fated... Liu Rushuang and I are simply fated.” With that, he turned over, facing away from Lu Hehuan, and closed his eyes.

Lu Hehuan looked at Ying Xi’s back, then closed his own eyes as well.

On the day of the trial, the courtroom was packed with people.

Liu Rushuang stood in the dock, flanked by two bailiffs. She twisted helplessly at the hem of her clothes. Not far away, Bai Yulou sat in the gallery, his face full of worry. Supported by a servant, Liu Shan sat in the front row. Already old, he seemed even more aged now, his eyes fixed fiercely on his daughter in the dock.

Lu Hehuan and Ying Xi sat in the back row of the gallery, both uneasy.

The judge swept his gaze across the courtroom, finally fixing it on Liu Rushuang. He announced in a ringing voice, “The facts of the serial murder case involving Liu Rushuang are clear, and the evidence is conclusive. The criminal, Liu Rushuang, acted with extreme cruelty and caused severe social harm. This court now pronounces sentence: death. Execution will be carried out in three days.”

As soon as he spoke, the courtroom erupted in uproar. Liu Rushuang stood frozen in place as though nailed down.

“My daughter is innocent... innocent...” Liu Shan cried himself hoarse.

Bai Yulou sprang up in agitation. “Sister Shuang didn’t kill anyone. You’re mistaken! Retry it! Retry it!”

Seeing that the crowd rejected the verdict, the judge struck the gavel hard. “Silence! Silence!”

Lu Hehuan and Ying Xi exchanged a glance, their faces unable to hide their disappointment.

Lu Hehuan and Ying Xi walked silently through the street. The voices of passersby drifted in from time to time.

An old man said, “I hear the serial murder case has been solved! The killer was a woman!”

A young man hearing this could not help sighing. “So beautiful, and she’ll be executed tomorrow...”

Lu Hehuan and Ying Xi exchanged a glance and quickly walked away.

Bao Kang emerged from the police headquarters and saw Lu Hehuan and Ying Xi circling around Hua. Afraid that Hua might be bullied, he rushed over at once and scolded them, “Ying Xi, Lu Hehuan, what are you two trying to do to my Hua!”

Ying Xi and Lu Hehuan looked at Bao Kang and plastered on smiles.

Bao Kang came closer and saw that Hua was wearing a little foreign-style dress, with a box of worms beside her. She was happily pecking at them.

Ying Xi ingratiated himself. “Chief Bao, I know Hua loves beauty, so I specially had a custom-made dress tailored for her at the finest clothing shop in Old Gate. She looks much more charming in it now.”

Lu Hehuan added, “Chief Bao, I know Hua loves eating worms, so I caught a hundred for her. She can eat to her heart’s content.”

Bao Kang nodded with satisfaction, then suddenly felt something was off. He looked at them suspiciously. “What exactly are you two trying to do?”

Ying Xi smiled obsequiously. “We just want to be good to Hua.”

Bao Kang gave a cold snort. “I see you’re the weasel paying a New Year visit to the henhouse.”

Lu Hehuan was blunt and straightforward. “Chief Bao, we do indeed need a favor from you, but we mean no harm.”

Bao Kang eyed them coolly. “It’s about Liu Rushuang?”

Ying Xi nodded. “Chief Bao, from what I know of Liu Rushuang, she would never kill anyone.”

Lu Hehuan joined in from the side. “Chief Bao, this case is still unclear and the evidence is insufficient. I’d like to request that the investigation continue.”

Ying Xi hastened to add, “Chief Bao, please give us a little more time to uncover the truth.”

Seeing the two of them speak one after another on Liu Rushuang’s behalf, Bao Kang’s heart softened. “I know you’re friends with Liu Rushuang. But the verdict is already in, and she’ll be executed in three days. If you want to investigate, then do it quickly.”

Lu Hehuan and Ying Xi nodded eagerly.

Late at night, Ying Xi was already fast asleep, while Lu Hehuan tossed and turned in bed. Suddenly, he sat up.

At the table, under the lamplight, Lu Hehuan took up a pen and wrote names one by one on a sheet of white paper: Ling Yan, Mary, Song Xiaowan, Liu Rushuang, Liu Suxue, and others.

Biting the pen cap, he marked the relationships between the figures. In the weak light, he stared at the densely written page and drew a line between Liu Suxue and Ling Yan.

Then Ying Xi rolled over. Seeing Lu Hehuan seated at the table, he asked, “Why are you still awake?”

Lu Hehuan crumpled the paper and casually tucked it into his pocket. “I remembered something. Go to sleep.”

With that, he lay down and closed his eyes.

Early the next morning, Lu Hehuan arrived at Ling Yan’s old residence. He pushed open the dilapidated gate and stepped inside.

Looking at the decaying house, fragments of memory crossed Lu Hehuan’s mind in restless disorder: a female corpse in a qipao soaked through with blood, Ling Yan’s identity card lying on the body, the gruesome deaths of Mary and Song Xiaowan...

Lu Hehuan took from his pocket the paper on which he had mapped the relationships between the people, and stared thoughtfully at Ling Yan’s name, murmuring to himself, “On a foggy night, Liu Suxue disappeared, then Ling Yan, Mary, and Song Xiaowan were killed, and then Liu Rushuang was arrested... At school, the Four Beauties Gang bullied Ling Yan for years and framed her for murder. Then the person with the strongest motive to kill would seem to be Ling Yan herself—but Ling Yan was the first to die, and then the Four Beauties...”

Suddenly, Lu Hehuan was struck by a thought. “If Ling Yan didn’t die, then...” He paused, then quickly set the paper on the table and drew a circle around Liu Suxue’s name. “The Liu family has always believed Liu Suxue ran away with someone else, so they were ashamed to mention her. But what if she was also taken in the same way?”

At this thought, the faces of two female corpses, their features carved over with talismans, flashed rapidly through Lu Hehuan’s mind.

A cold wind brushed his face, and Lu Hehuan’s expression sharpened. “Each corpse’s face was covered in talisman carvings, making the features impossible to recognize... Was it the killer’s way of hiding the truth and misleading everyone?”

Ying Xi’s voice echoed in his ears: “Anselm-born, Anselm-month, Anselm-day suicide, talismans carved all over the face, a white qipao, blood drained dry—this is the long-lost evil sorcery of the Southern Seas, the Blood-Red Robe Curse! It is the most vicious of all dark arts! Those who die while practicing it will keep seeking substitutes afterward.”

Lu Hehuan shook his head. “There’s no such thing as the Blood-Red Robe Curse as a murder method. Could all of this be...” Pain twisted his brow. “Ling Yan’s appearance was far too coincidental. Missing for so many years, yet she appeared just then, and happened to be seen by Madam Phoenix, and happened to die in this very old house...”

Lu Hehuan sank limply into a chair, staring at Ling Yan’s bed. In a daze, it seemed as though Ling Yan were sitting there.

Ling Yan sat by the bed with embroidery in her hands. As she picked up the needle, she smiled and held the pattern up to Lu Hehuan.

“Hehuan, do you like it?”

At a glance, Lu Hehuan saw that the design was a pair of birds flying in tandem. He silently nodded.

Ling Yan gazed at him with deep affection. “In heaven, may we be paired birds. On earth, may we be entwined branches.”

Lu Hehuan could not help but grow misty-eyed, and Ling Yan’s figure gradually vanished in the blur of tears.

“Ling Yan, I’m in so much pain...” Looking at Ling Yan’s name on the paper, Lu Hehuan clenched his fist. “Is it really you behind all of this?”

Dejected, Lu Hehuan went to the riverbank and sat on the grass, staring blankly at the water. He picked up a pebble and tossed it into the river. The stone skipped once, then again, stirring up layer upon layer of ripples.

A breeze brushed his face. Lu Hehuan murmured under his breath, “Ling Yan, I don’t know whether I should keep investigating...”

He looked over the water, and on the shimmering surface, images of the past faintly emerged.

The weather was bright and clear. In his youth, Lu Hehuan lifted Ling Yan up and spun her round on the grass. Her skirt fluttered in the wind, and her silver-bell laughter rippled beside his ear.

He set her down and looked into her bright eyes with tender devotion. “Ling Yan, no matter how hard it is, no matter the cost, I will marry you.”

Ling Yan nodded, tears glimmering in her eyes.

Under the luxuriant spring light, Lu Hehuan gathered her into his arms.

One morning at Scotland Yard, Lu Hehuan, in police uniform, stood with the other new recruits beneath the flag of Great Britain and took the oath.

“I swear that, as a police officer, I will remain faithful to my duty, protect the lives and property of the public, enforce the law impartially, and uphold justice...”

Lu Hehuan withdrew from his reverie, lay back on the grass, and stared up at the blue sky, his eyes lost and sorrowful. He did not dare think too much. He simply closed his eyes, yet the past still surged into his mind like a tide.

The police emblem set into the office building of the precinct, the judge’s heavy hammer falling hard, the stern officers standing in court, the words written in a diary: Evil is spreading, so justice must be voiced...

At this thought, Lu Hehuan suddenly opened his eyes. “Evil is spreading, so justice must be voiced...” He rolled the words over and over on his tongue, gritted his teeth, and sprang up and ran off.