A raincoat wind and snow to the small garden

Chapter 10: The Strange Story of Sea Lady (Part )

chapter Ten

The sea breeze squeezed in through the crack in the door, making the candlelight on the table crackle.

The lamp flower jumped, waking Xiang Xiaoyuan from his confusion.

Huai Yu seemed unaware that he had said something kind. He remained as cold as ice, turned sideways towards the small garden, and left the house.

Xiang Xiaoyuan looked at the young man's thin back and blinked thoughtfully.

Huaiyu left, and Lin Qiyu and Yan Yun happened to come in with some medicine.

Lin Qiyu put the medicine on the table and reached out to Xiaoyuan to ask for water: "Hurry up and pour me a glass of water. I almost lost my life helping you get medicine."

Xiang Xiaoyuan looked at Yan Yun in confusion.

This time, Yan Yun acted out of character. She didn't scold Lin Qiyu, but instead pleaded for him: "This time, Lin Qiyu really did a great job. He was interrogated by those medical workers for half an hour in order to get the drugs for you. Only after they found out that he had no motive to kill did they let him go."

Xiang Xiaoyuan was busy pouring tea for Lin Qiyu: "Thank you for your hard work."

"It's a small matter." If Lin Qiyu had a tail, it would be lifted up proudly at this moment.

Lin Qiyu approached the jar of butterflies and asked curiously, "Now that we have the medicine, what should we do next?"

Xiang Xiaoyuan said, "Go find some cloth or paper to cover your face and seal your mouth and nose. I'm going to use the knockout drug."

Lin Qiyu's eyes widened, and he said in disbelief: "Who are you trying to charm?"

After saying that, Lin Qiyu suddenly jumped behind Yan Yun and stuck half of his head out: "Xiao, Xiaoyuan, you are not the real Queen Hai, are you? You tricked me into getting the drug, but you actually want to attack us? Considering that we have lived and eaten together for a few days and have a deep friendship, you can't harm me."

Yan Yun pushed Lin Qiyu away in disgust: "Are you crazy? If Xiaoyuan didn't sleep with us that night, she wouldn't have the time to kill anyone even if she wanted to."

Xiang Xiaoyuan's head was buzzing from the noise.

She ignored Lin Qiyu, covered her mouth and nose, and lit the incense.

Xiang Xiaoyuan used a bamboo pole to guide the curling incense smoke into the jar, and the white smoke soon filled the entire pottery jar.

Xiang Xiaoyuan calculated the dosage of the drug. She used to use a packet of the drug to drug domestic pigs. For a small insect like a butterfly, only a little bit like the size of a fingernail should be needed.

Xiang Xiaoyuan put out his cigarette and put his ear close to the jar to listen to the movement.

Sure enough, after the butterfly inhaled the drug, the sound of its flapping wings soon subsided.

When the earthen jar was opened again, the butterflies inside had already turned into thin dead leaves, neatly stacked in circles in the small jar. The butterflies did not move at all, as if they were dead.

Lin Qiyu and Yan Yun looked at each other in surprise. They both understood the trick of "butterfly coming back to life".

Yan Yun said solemnly, "There really is a murderer hiding on the ship. If he knew Xiaoyuan had cracked the 'Death Butterfly' illusion, he would definitely come and kill her to silence her."

Lin Qiyu said worriedly, "What should I do? I feel like following Xiaoyuan is the only way to survive, and I don't want to die yet."

After saying that, they both looked out the door. They held Xiang Xiaoyuan's hands, one on each side, and said seriously, "Xiaoyuan, you must follow Lord Huaiyu obediently. He's the only person on this ship that the criminals dare not mess with."

She nodded to Xiaoyuan in agreement. She had actually listened to her friends' advice, but before she took it, she did something dangerous.

Xiang Xiaoyuan directly made the dead butterfly's trick public.

"Look, these are the butterflies I killed with the drug. In just a quarter of an hour, they will come back to life."

Xiang Xiaoyuan stood on the roof of the cabin, and a bunch of butterflies fell down.

After waiting for a while, everyone saw the butterflies fluttering their antennae and dancing in the wind.

Everyone's faces turned pale when they realized that they had been fooled by the murderer's tricks.

In order to save face, some people whispered, "I told you, there's no such thing as Hai Niangniang. This is a murder case!"

Some still suspected Xiang Xiaoyuan of playing tricks, muttering, "What if this is a trick played by the evil spirits to fool the world? Just when you thought there were no gods, the evil spirits appeared again and killed you in your room."

Several groups of people argued endlessly.

It was Eunuch Fusheng who led the troops to search every cabin. Anyone who secretly kept the butterflies would be considered a murderer who was pretending to be a ghost.

But after a search, there was not a single butterfly on the entire ferry.

Did the murderer know in advance that Xiang Xiaoyuan had discovered the clues and dealt with the butterflies early; or did the Queen of the Sea really have magical powers and brought these butterflies from the underworld?

After all, drugs can make butterflies stun, and so can witchcraft.

Eunuch Fusheng was at a loss, and once again asked everyone present about Zhu Fangfei, and by the way asked them where everyone was when Zhu Fangfei died last night.

Lin Qiyu, Yan Yun, and Xiang Xiaoyuan were all sleeping in the room and could testify for each other.

When the incident happened last night, Xiang Xiaoyuan heard noises coming from Ni Miaoyi's room. She was sleeping soundly, clutching her Buddhist beads. How could she possibly have the chance to hurt anyone?
Therefore, Ni Miaoyi also has an alibi.

After much questioning, everyone was found innocent.

Things have reached a dead end again.

No matter what, Xiang Xiaoyuan's action actually pushed herself to the forefront. She knew that her current situation was the most dangerous and the most eye-catching, so she advised Yan Yun and Lin Qiyu to go back to their rooms and sleep instead of taking risks with her.

Yan Yun asked anxiously: "If we leave, what will you do?"

Xiang Xiaoyuan gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, I will go find Master Huaiyu."

Yan Yun thought of her spear skills, which were nothing more than fancy moves in front of Huai Yu, not even worth mentioning. Huai Yu had protected Xiang Xiao Yuan many times before, so the two of them probably had a past relationship, so she didn't say anything more.

Yan Yun and Lin Qiyu both left. Xiang Xiaoyuan breathed a sigh of relief, but she couldn't help feeling uneasy.

In fact, she was not sure whether Huaiyu would protect herself. She just felt that Lin Qiyu and Yan Yun were innocent, and there was no need for her to involve her friends.

Xiang Xiaoyuan must go to Beijing to avenge her parents. She cannot die on the ship.

So, Xiang Xiaoyuan tidied up her clothes. She wiped her body, washed her hair, and changed into a clean and tidy narrow-sleeved green robe. She also worked hard to twist her hair into two pointed buns, and wrapped two circles of raspberry red silk ribbons around her black hair. The long hairband hung vertically on her shoulders. Occasionally, the breeze blew it, and the curled ribbon looked as bright red as fire.

Huaiyu was very clean. Xiang Xiaoyuan had noticed more than once that after hurting someone or touching someone else's things, he would take a handkerchief and wipe his hands slowly and meticulously.

If she went to see him, she must not be untidy and offend others.

Xiang Xiaoyuan got ready and knocked on the door next door.

But there was no one in the room, not even the lights were on.

Isn’t Huaiyu in the room?
Xiang Xiaoyuan cast a blank glance at the silent, dark sea. The waves were a thousand feet high, the water and the sky were a line apart. Only a ferry was tossing and turning on the dark, steep sea, surging with the tide. Huaiyu couldn't leave this boat; he must still be on it.

Xiang Xiaoyuan searched aimlessly for someone, and finally she found Huaiyu at the stern of the boat.

The young man, still dressed in black, stood silently. His robe billowed in the wind, the sash constricting his well-proportioned waist and abdomen. He stood against the side of the boat, arms folded, looking down at the rough sea, not knowing what he was looking at.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Huaiyu raised her eyes, a murderous look on her face. Her sharp hair swayed in the wind, hitting his face and sinking into the pale line between his lips.

Knowing that she was coming towards Xiaoyuan, he stretched out his finger and gently hooked away the unruly strand of hair.

Xiang Xiaoyuan grabbed the two flying hairbands on the back of her head. She looked up at Huaiyu's indifferent eyes, her mouth filled with cold air.

"Huaiyu."

The boy's voice was cold, and he looked down at her: "What's wrong?"

"Can you... protect me for a few days?" Xiang Xiaoyuan knew that her request was extremely shameless. She and Huaiyu had only known each other for a short time, but she sought his help and protection again and again. Huaiyu did not refuse, so Xiang Xiaoyuan took advantage of him even more.

Xiang Xiaoyuan herself felt quite embarrassed. She touched the tip of her nose and said, "When I arrive at Xuanqi Division in the future, I will listen carefully to your instructions and follow your lead."

She showed Xiaoyuan her talent in solving cases, and she thought that Huaiyu would need her someday.

Therefore, protecting her now is just a matter of mutual assistance and benefit, and it does not count as her deliberately taking advantage of Huai Yu.

Huaiyu did not respond to this sentence.

He glanced at the unfathomable tide.

"With such strong winds and waves, the fish should have been frightened and driven ashore, but these fish are still following the ferry..."

Huaiyu suddenly said something that made everyone confused. Xiang Xiaoyuan was curious, so she also stood on tiptoe to look at the sea.

With the flickering light of the torches on the boat, Xiang Xiaoyuan saw the big fish chasing the waves, their silvery-white bellies shimmering in the light of the torches.

Even though the waves were big enough to overturn the school of fish, they still kept chasing the ferry.

He murmured to Xiaoyuan, "It's really strange. It's as if our ferry boat is some kind of bait that can lure them along."

The sea breeze was so cold that it brought a short sneer into Xiang Xiaoyuan's ears.

She seemed to hear Huai Yu laugh?
But when Xiang Xiaoyuan looked up, Huaiyu had already jumped off the boat wall and headed towards the room.

There were boatmen performing a ritual at the bow, and the sound of their chanting was like sobbing, suppressed by the chilly wind, floating from far away to near.

She glanced at Xiaoyuan hastily and was about to leave when she heard a very clear and pleasant sound: "Dong."

It's the sound of the balls.

Xiang Xiaoyuan looked back in surprise.

She saw the boatmen carefully pick up the burned ball.

They used a fire bell to remind themselves that they had to replace the offerings on the altar and place fresh incense and candles at regular intervals. The ritual process was absolutely impeccable, and not even the slightest mistake could occur.

Nowadays, most of the timekeeping instruments are lotus clepsydras, but ancient temples sometimes use fire clocks to set time and remind people of the steps of rituals and offerings.

The so-called fire clock is a timekeeping tool. On the wooden frame of the fire clock, there are usually several small balls hanging with strings, and an incense stick is placed horizontally in it, next to each string.

Once the incense sticks begin to burn, the crimson flames slowly burn through the thin strings holding the balls. At specific intervals, one of the balls, its string severed, tumbles heavily to the ground. The resulting clattering sound of the balls startles the watchman, alerting them to the time.

Xiang Xiaoyuan thought of the burn on Ni Miaoyi's hand, a round burnt blister, which looked like a finger burned by incense.

What if the rolling sound of the beads that Xiang Xiaoyuan heard last night was not caused by Ni Miaoyi accidentally dropping the beads while she fell asleep, but rather Ni Miaoyi had set up a fire clock in the room in advance and deliberately used the excuse of "sleeping with the beads" to confuse people and create a false alibi?

Then, Ni Miaoyi’s alibi no longer exists.

Xiang Xiaoyuan recalled that when Ni Miaoyi said she coughed at night, she subconsciously covered her throat instead of her mouth and nose... If the cough was unbearable, how could an average person hold their neck? Wouldn't it be more difficult to breathe if the throat was suffocated?

Ni Miaoyi is a little weird.

Xiang Xiaoyuan's palms were sweating. Although she slaughtered pigs, she had never killed anyone. She was only fourteen years old, so it was natural for her to be terrified when she encountered a murderer.

Warm sweat oozed from Xiang Xiaoyuan's nostrils, and he subconsciously reached out and grabbed the sleeve of Huaiyu in front of him.

The boy's footsteps suddenly stopped.

Huaiyu turned around, and a pair of clear phoenix eyes glanced at him sullenly, as if asking the reason.

Mustering her courage, Xiang Xiaoyuan whispered, "Huaiyu, can you accompany me to do something bad?"

Huai Yu lowered his eyes slightly and glanced at her from top to bottom, as if trying to figure out the meaning of her words.

How could someone so blatantly encourage others to do evil?
Huaiyu didn't speak.

Xiang Xiaoyuan took another deep breath and said, "I'm going to check Ni Miaoyi's room at night. I think Master Fusheng didn't search it thoroughly enough. There must be something left behind."

At night, Ni Miaoyi went to the dining room for dinner, and Xiang Xiaoyuan sneaked into Ni Miaoyi's room.

Although Huaiyu did not go into the house with her, he stayed nearby and did not leave.

Xiang Xiaoyuan thought that maybe Huaiyu was helping her keep watch.

Xiang Xiaoyuan carefully climbed into Ni Miaoyi's bed and found three Buddhist beads beside Ni Miaoyi's pillow.

There are thin threads on the beads that have been burned, which shows that these Buddhist beads were indeed used as rolling balls for fire clocks to tell time.

Her guess was right.

Xiang Xiaoyuan was about to get up when she suddenly touched a thick jacket and skirt.

There were two bulging objects tucked into the layers of skirt.

Xiang Xiaoyuan turned over her dress and saw two steamed bun-sized cushions sewn on the chest of her dress...

Suddenly, Xiang Xiaoyuan had an epiphany. She finally understood why Ni Miaoyi covered her neck and why she fell asleep alone...

She covered her throat to hide her Adam's apple. Even as a teenager, her Adam's apple had begun to become bony and hard.

She didn't dare sleep with Xiang Xiaoyuan, obviously because she was afraid that her secret would be exposed.

Because Ni Miaoyi is not a girl at all, she is a man!

(End of this chapter)