Chapter 24 - Little Rabbit's Embarrassing Moment
After interrogating Scholar Wen, Leng Xinnan ordered her subordinates to take him to the county jail to await trial.
Although the Demonic Creature and the Grave People were still missing, with the Wan Ying Ying case solved, at least the Wan family had an answer, and Magistrate Shen Chun He no longer had to face them with a worried expression every day.
"Are you still confused about anything?"
Leng Xinnan asked, looking at the man who was frowning from time to time as they walked down the wide street.
"Many things," Li Nan Ke said, habitually pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Actually, I'm wondering who resurrected He Qing Yu."
This was the most crucial point of the case.
Li Nan Ke had roughly sorted out the timeline of events in his mind, but this one point puzzled him.
It wasn't that he was confused about who resurrected He Qing Yu.
But rather, he was confused about why.
Leng Xinnan crossed her arms and, imitating Li Nan Ke, began to analyze.
"According to the law of Grave People, only the person who misses the deceased the most is likely to resurrect them in a Red Rain dream.”
“Therefore, the person who resurrected He Qing Yu must have deep feelings for him.”
“But we can now confirm that there was no romantic relationship between Lin Jiao Yue and He Qing Yu. That girl is arrogant and clearly looks down on a disgraced scholar from an ordinary family.”
“Excluding Lin Jiao Yue, that leaves Wan Ying Ying and Wen Jin Er.”
“Wen Jin Er is already dead, and Scholar Wen also said that his sister wouldn't like He Qing Yu. As for Wan Ying Ying, she was given 'Red Rain' after He Qing Yu's resurrection and was eventually killed by a Nightmare.”
“Therefore, we can completely rule out these three people.”
“I also had people investigate the students He Qing Yu taught. Most of them respected him, and there was no romantic involvement.”
“I also carefully interrogated He Qing Yu's sister-in-law, Mrs. Zhang. Although she did have some affection for her brother-in-law, it wasn't strong enough to resurrect him in a Red Rain dream.”
“At the same time, I used an artifact to check her body, and there were no traces of Red Rain.”
“Therefore, we can also rule out his sister-in-law."
Leng Xinnan finished her analysis, but she didn't receive a response from the man. Instead, she saw him staring at her with a strange expression.
"What's wrong?"
She asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable under his gaze.
Li Nan Ke gave her a thumbs-up and flattered his superior.
"As expected of an official in the Night Patrol, your abilities are impressive."
Faced with the man's praise, the woman blushed, which was rare for her.
She felt a bit proud.
After all, this was recognition from a wise person.
"Continue your analysis."
"......"
The small smile that had been playing on Leng Xinnan's lips froze. She bit her lip and shook her head helplessly.
"I don't know how to analyze this further."
Li Nan Ke said calmly.
"We've ruled out all the suspects, which means we've missed an important person. Who do you think it is?"
"I don't know."
The woman shook her head again.
Li Nan Ke gave her a hint.
"Since you don't know, then where should we go to find clues?"
‘Clues?’
Leng Xinnan furrowed her brows and stood still, thinking.
Li Nan Ke didn't rush her and waited patiently for the beautiful woman to give her answer.
The number of pedestrians on the street gradually increased.
Vendors hawked their wares on both sides of the road.
The cool breeze fluttered the woman's black hair and her black skirt, making her look like an elegant ink painting come to life. She was undoubtedly the most beautiful scenery on the street at this moment.
Passersby couldn't help but stare in admiration.
Especially seeing the handsome and elegant Li Nan Ke standing beside her, they couldn't help but marvel at the perfect couple.
"Let's go find He Qing Yu's sister-in-law!"
Leng Xinnan didn't think for too long before realizing the key point, her eyes sparkling.
"Perhaps we can only find the answers we need from his sister-in-law."
Li Nan Ke snapped his fingers and smiled faintly.
"Correct."
…
He Qing Yu's sister-in-law, Mrs. Zhang, was a widow whose parents had already passed away.
Now, she was also without a husband or children.
After her husband died, she lived alone, occasionally taking care of her brother-in-law, fulfilling her husband's last wish.
It could be said that He Qing Yu was her only family.
When Li Nan Ke and Leng Xinnan arrived, Mrs. Zhang was arranging her brother-in-law's funeral with the neighbors. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, showing her deep sorrow.
Learning their intentions, Mrs. Zhang didn't dare to neglect them and led them to the inner room.
"My lords, just ask whatever you want. I won't hide anything I know. I just hope you can catch the murderer as soon as possible to comfort my brother-in-law's spirit in heaven."
Mrs. Zhang started crying again as she spoke.
Li Nan Ke comforted her with a few words and then went straight to the point.
"Why didn't He Qing Yu ever get married?"
"I don't know what he was thinking. Maybe he was used to a carefree life and felt that he couldn't support a family," Mrs. Zhang said between sobs.
"Did He Qing Yu have any affairs with other girls when he was a music teacher?"
"How is that possible!"
Mrs. Zhang said angrily.
"Although Qing Yu could be lazy sometimes, he never took advantage of those girls. Even when some girls took the initiative, he ignored them and kept his distance as much as possible, to protect their reputation..."
She suddenly asked tentatively, "My lord, could it be that a girl was rejected and killed Qing Yu out of love and hate?"
Li Nan Ke didn't answer, just quietly pondered.
However, his silence made Mrs. Zhang mistakenly think that she had guessed correctly. She suddenly burst into tears, slapping her thighs and wailing.
"Qing Yu, your death was so unjust! I always warned you not to teach those young girls music, not to get involved with those women, that something would happen sooner or later, but you wouldn't listen.”
“If you had listened to your sister-in-law, you wouldn't have ended up like this. What's so great about those girls? You could have come to your sister-in-law for fun, couldn't you?"
The woman's cries were heartbreaking.
Li Nan Ke felt something was amiss and quickly said.
"He Qing Yu's death has nothing to do with those young girls. I just want to know, didn't He Qing Yu have a lover when he was young?"
"No relationship?"
Mrs. Zhang was taken aback. Wiping her tears, she said,
"Of course he had. When he was studying for the imperial examinations, he seemed to have a girl he liked, but he kept it a secret, and no one knew who she was.”
“Later, my Qing Yu was wrongly accused and involved in the examination cheating scandal. His future was completely ruined.”
“After that, he and that girl lost contact. At least, I never saw him contact her again.”
“Sometimes, he would shut himself in his room and draw pictures of women, not letting me see them. Although he didn't say anything, I could tell that he missed that girl very much..."
Mrs. Zhang's words further confirmed Li Nan Ke's suspicions.
He finally understood some of the mysteries.
"Did He Qing Yu exhibit any unusual behavior recently?"
Li Nan Ke asked again.
Mrs. Zhang thought for a moment and said with a frown
"He did. About half a month ago, he became very absent-minded. Sometimes he would laugh, sometimes he would be in a daze, and he even cried twice.”
“I asked him about it, but he wouldn't say anything. He just kept mumbling strange things like 'I shouldn't have broken up with her' and 'Heaven is kind to me.'"
Li Nan Ke jotted down some useful information and, confirming that there were no other clues to be found, left Mrs. Zhang's house with Leng Xinnan.
Walking out of the courtyard, Leng Xinnan's eyes flickered.
"Nan Ke, do you think He Qing Yu's lover from his early years could be..."
"Lord Leng, where do you think we should go to find clues now?"
Li Nan Ke suddenly asked.
"To He Qing Yu's house?"
The woman suggested.
Li Nan Ke smiled faintly.
"That's right. But I want to go to Cuihong Mountain now to investigate and see the crime scene with my own eyes."
…
The peak was shaped like a sword, rising sharply into the sky.
Looking up from below, Cuihong Mountain was extremely tall and imposing, like a dragon raising its head, ready to take flight.
The mountain was covered with pines and bamboo, obscuring the clouds and the sun.
Leng Xinnan looked up with a bright expression, sighing with emotion.
“This Lin Jiao Yue is truly lucky. She fell from such a high cliff and survived. She was given 'Red Rain' by Scholar Wen, but was rescued in time."
"She is indeed very lucky."
Li Nan Ke looked at the mountain peak and said calmly.
Just then, Iron Ox, Guo Gang, and a few others who were searching for the Demonic Creature nearby saw Leng Xinnan and came over to greet her.
"Sister Leng, did Scholar Wen confess?" Iron Ox asked.
Leng Xinnan nodded slightly and then asked coldly, "Have you found Little Rabbit?"
Iron Ox and Guo Gang lowered their heads and remained silent.
It seemed they hadn't found her.
"That girl really needs a good spanking."
Leng Xinnan cursed under her breath.
Li Nan Ke already knew that the Little Rabbit they were talking about was Meng Xiao Tu, the senior Dream Weaver of the Night Patrol.
However, he wasn't interested in her.
Just by hearing her name, he knew she was an unreliable girl, and he wasn't excited to meet her.
As he was thinking, Guo Gang suddenly exclaimed, "Sister Leng, look!"
Li Nan Ke followed his gaze and saw a giant bird swooping down from the cliff.
But as it got closer, they realized it looked like a large kite.
And there was a person standing on the kite.
The figure looked like a woman.
"It's Little Rabbit!"
Iron Ox's eyes widened, and he was instantly furious.
"Damn it, when did that girl steal the Flying Kite from the Divine Mechanism Sect? We've been searching for her for so long, and she's out playing around."
The Flying Kite was an artifact created by the Divine Mechanism Sect, usually used for various tasks and even in wars.
After several generations of modifications, it could not only be equipped with weapons, but it could also freely change its speed when descending from the sky. Even ordinary people could operate it and land safely.
Leng Xinnan's face turned green with anger.
As the Flying Kite got closer, Li Nan Ke could make out the young woman's figure.
She was standing on it, waving her hands at them.
"That girl still has the nerve to greet us?" Iron Ox said, exasperated.
However, they gradually realized that something was wrong.
The Flying Kite didn't seem to be slowing down at all and was heading straight towards them.
The young woman's voice also became clear.
"Get out of the way—"
"Get out of the way!"
The young woman shouted while waving her hands frantically.
"Holy shit!"
Iron Ox's expression changed drastically, and he jumped up.
"Scatter!"
Everyone quickly dispersed.
Leng Xinnan grabbed Li Nan Ke's arm and retreated more than ten meters.
Seeing the Flying Kite approaching rapidly, Leng Xinnan tapped her foot and leaped into the air. Just as the kite was about to crash, she grabbed the wing spar and abruptly stopped it.
Meng Xiao Tu, however, was thrown forward uncontrollably.
Although she managed to land on her feet, she stumbled over a stone and, due to inertia, fell forward. With a thud, she landed on her knees in front of Li Nan Ke.
Instinctively, she grabbed his legs.
Her cute little face even bumped against his lower abdomen.
Time seemed to stop at this moment.
Everyone stared blankly at the scene, their mouths agape, finding it too awkward to watch.
Li Nan Ke was also stunned.
Looking down at the young woman, he asked dryly,
"Why are you performing such a grand gesture of respect, Miss?"