Chapter One Hundred and Two: Vanished Without a Trace

In the ghastly pallor of the candlelight, the three of them only peered in for a single glance before being stunned beyond words.

There was no blood pouring from all seven apertures, no face spattered red with gore, no fierce and contorted glare of death.

What shocked them was simply this:

In the coffin,

there was no one.

Not even a ghostly trace.

The person who should have been lying there had vanished without a sound.

What was going on? Where had Wei San’s body gone?

The first thought that flashed through Liu Qin’s mind was, Someone got here first.

It seemed the crux of the matter lay with the corpse. Perhaps Wei San had not been poisoned at all, or perhaps the poison had not been the same as the one in the brine. That was why someone had gone to such trouble to steal the body.

Too late. They should have come that very night.

While Liu Qin’s mind raced, a few soft coughs came from inside the room, followed by the rustle of clothes being put on. Xiao Wu and Jiang Li exchanged a glance, then gently set the coffin lid back in place and moved, one after the other, toward the courtyard wall.

Just as they reached it and were about to leap over, the door creaked open.

There was no time left to vault the wall. Conveniently, there was a pile of firewood nearby. Xiao Wu did not hesitate. He tightened the cloak behind him, stooped low, and slipped into the pile. Because he was protecting Liu Qin on his back, he dared not lower or turn his head. He had not expected the firewood to be made of thorny locust branches, uneven and jagged; several whipped across his face with a sharp hiss, stinging painfully at once.

But such minor injuries meant nothing to Xiao Wu.

Jiang Li followed suit and hid on the other side.

In truth, the firewood was only a small bundle, too sparse to conceal so many people. But it was night, and with the darkness plus the lack of any light by the courtyard wall, from a distance it all just looked like a dark, shapeless mass. One could not tell wood from men.

No sooner had the three of them hidden themselves than an elderly woman emerged unsteadily from the doorway. Her features could not be made out. She slowly made her way into the shed, stroked the coffin wood, and murmured to herself in a low voice.

They were too far away to hear clearly. Only now and then did the wind carry over a phrase or two: “My son... my son...”

The wan candle flames were buffeted by the night wind, flickering in and out as though they might be snuffed out at any moment, only to stubbornly rekindle a little light. They illuminated the old woman’s solitary, frail figure and filled one with an especially poignant sense of desolation.

White candles, white cloth, white streamers fluttering in the air, and that head of white hair so stark even in the night, all set against the dark, black coffin. What should have been the scene of a horror story was abruptly transformed into a tragedy.

At that moment, Liu Qin felt sympathy for Wei San, who had met such a violent end, and deep pity for the old woman who had lost her son.

If, before this moment, she had felt nothing for Wei San’s death, and had not only felt no pity but even resentment—someone who sought death, someone who harmed others, utterly undeserving of sympathy, dead served him right, and if he had not died she would have wanted to kick him once more—then now she could no longer hold on to that anger.

A son’s wrongdoing was not borne by the family. Wei San had ruined himself and also the mother who had worked herself to the bone raising him. Of the three great misfortunes in life, losing a husband and losing a son, she had suffered both.

What, then, was there still to resent? He had already paid the price for his mistakes, though it was a price no one would ever willingly bear.

Once Liu Qin had thought it through, her mind became calm.

As long as Cheng Bo and the others could be rescued, whether the shop remained open no longer mattered. If it had to close, then let it close.

Only that hidden hand behind all this, the one who had treated human lives as nothing in order to strike at her, she would certainly root him out. She would never let him go.

The old woman stood with one hand on the coffin for a long while. Jiang Li crouched until his legs had gone numb. Just as he was about to peek out, the old woman seemed to sense something. She suddenly turned her body and stared straight in their direction, frightening Jiang Li and Xiao Wu into shrinking back at once, not daring even to breathe.

Liu Qin hid behind Xiao Wu. Through the gaps in the firewood, she could still feel that the old woman’s gaze was utterly unlike what her aged appearance suggested. It was sharp, fierce, like that of a she-wolf guarding her cubs, carrying a savage, crazed intensity.

Though they only locked eyes for a brief moment, the three of them felt as though a very long time had passed, so long that they could hardly breathe.

Then the old woman moved. Thinking she was coming to expose their trespassing, Jiang Li and Xiao Wu both tensed. They were already weighing what to do—whether to knock her unconscious or simply force their way out—when she suddenly turned, went back into the house, and slammed the door shut with a bang.

Among the three, Xiao Wu had the longest experience in martial arts and the sharpest instincts. He felt, almost certainly, that the old woman had discovered them, though for some reason she had let them off.

When there was no answer, there was no need to keep thinking about it.

If they did not leave now, when would they?

Xiao Wu shielded Liu Qin as they slipped out. He exchanged a glance with Jiang Li, then leaped over the wall. They quickly wound through the narrow lanes and returned to the main street of the North City.

“Brother Ali, Brother Xiao Wu, who do you think stole Wei San’s body?”

Back on the main street, Xiao Wu and Jiang Li relaxed a little and slowed their pace, walking side by side.

Both of them shook their heads at once. The matter seemed to be growing more and more complicated, and for the moment neither could make sense of it.

Liu Qin had been clinging to Xiao Wu’s neck the whole time, and her arms were starting to ache. She switched hands and shook them out, then, for safety’s sake, hugged Xiao Wu tightly again.

Xiao Wu, who had been tense all this while, had not noticed much before. But now that he had relaxed, the weight of the girl on his back and the soft touch of her body became especially clear.

First there was the side of his neck, brushed several times by an inquiet little hand. Then came the gentle breath by his ear, carrying a sweet, warm fragrance that swept across his skin again and again, as though lightly stroked by a soft fingertip.

A faint ripple stirred in his heart, bringing with it both the urge to draw back and the delight of wanting to come closer.

It was a strange sensation, yet one tinged with an unspeakable physical allure.

Jiang Li glanced over at Liu Qin. Though he could not see her clearly, the thought of his sister being carried on Xiao Wu’s back made him feel strangely uneasy. He could not help saying, “Xiao Wu, you’ve been through a long night too. Let me carry my sister.”

Xiao Wu turned his head and shot Jiang Li a challenging look.

Jiang Li could not see it, but he could clearly feel the naked provocation. Then he saw Xiao Wu suddenly spring forward, shooting far ahead in an instant and leaving him far behind.

“You—”

Jiang Li flushed with anger. He wanted nothing more than to curse him out, but Xiao Wu’s figure was already out of sight, so he had no choice but to gather his strength and chase after him.

Liu Qin found it somewhat amusing. She reached out and patted Xiao Wu’s face twice. “Brother Xiao Wu, you’re so wicked.”

A faint hiss slipped from Xiao Wu’s lips.

Only then did Liu Qin realize that the skin under her fingers was no longer smooth and even. It felt rough, and a little damp. At once she remembered the bundle of firewood, one of the branches of which had snagged on his clothes earlier. She had been about to pull it free when Xiao Wu stopped her, saying it had thorns.

So Xiao Wu’s face had been cut by those thorns?

Heart aching, she touched the wound gently. “Does it hurt?”

“No.”

Xiao Wu answered readily. He truly did not think it hurt.

But hearing this only made Liu Qin’s heart feel more sore, while also giving rise to a warm feeling. He had been scratched because of her. If he had not protected her, with Xiao Wu’s skill, would he not have dodged those branches?

Because she felt that soreness, Liu Qin could not help joking, “Brother Xiao Wu, if you get a scar on your face, you won’t be able to find a wife in the future.”

Xiao Wu said nothing. After a long while, he finally replied, “I won’t marry a wife.”