Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 88 A False Alarm

Wuxin changed into the new suit that Saiwei had custom-made for him. The suit was made of exceptionally fine British wool, smuggled from somewhere by a silk shop. It was something you couldn't buy anywhere else on the market, no matter how much money you had; only the powerful second young lady of the Ma family could obtain it. The brown wool reflected a subtle purple sheen in the sunlight, perfectly complementing the white silk shirt underneath, making him look exceptionally gentlemanly. Shengyi, a fashion-conscious young man, was in the bedroom instructing Wuxin on how to put on the suit, while secretly feeling a pang of jealousy. Brown wool wasn't suitable for women's clothing, and if it weren't for Wuxin, Saiwei would definitely have given him the better fabric.

"You all ganged up on me last night!" he muttered to Wuxin. "I don't think you're a monk at all; you're a wizard."

Then he paused, and added resentfully, "Bad wizard!"

Without thinking, she bent down to fasten her belt, then looked up at him with a smile and said softly, "Don't be angry, I meant well!"

Sheng Yi frowned, her two flat eyebrows furrowed. Because she still admired and relied on Wu Xin, she didn't mind.

Wuxin, having dressed himself neatly, pushed open the bedroom door and walked out. Saiwei, who was sitting cross-legged on the daybed in the outer room, lost in thought, looked up at him upon hearing the sound and was momentarily stunned. Wuxin smiled and nodded, "The suit is very nice, thank you."

As he spoke, he walked over to the Luohan bed and sat down. He looked down at his new leather shoes, which gleamed so brightly they reflected his image. After looking at them, he looked up and smiled at Saiwei again, a smile that seemed meaningless, as if he were simply happy.

The brown suit and sky-blue tie were a striking contrast; the fair skin and dark eyebrows were yet another. Saiwei stared at him blankly for a moment, finding his handsomeness blinding and making her own features appear blurry. Turning her face noncommittally to the window, she silently sighed, then thought to herself, "It's worth it, even if I have to pay him. With his good looks, I might not have been able to keep him even if I didn't! Luckily, I, Miss Ma, can afford to pay him; I don't mind supporting a husband for nothing. I need to sort out my bankbook later; banks are unreliable these days, freezing accounts whenever they want. 'Antiques in prosperous times, gold in chaotic times,' I'll discuss with Shengyi another day about taking out my mother's savings to buy gold. What if Shengyi disagrees? Humph, what does he know? If he dares to disagree, I'll beat him to a pulp..."

Saiwei's mind was racing, a chaotic jumble of thoughts. Suddenly, she glanced at Wuxin again, noticing that Wuxin had taken off her shoes and was already kneeling on the bed. Her brand-new trousers, worn so lightly, were now bulging at the knees. Even with nice clothes, she couldn't wear them properly. Saiwei thought to herself, "So unkempt, needs a lesson."

Saiwei was completely absorbed in Wuxin's thoughts, so much so that he ignored her for a long time. Shengyi went out for a stroll and returned, looking chilly. As soon as she entered, she exclaimed, "Eighth Aunt has been found!"

Seeing that he was speaking recklessly and loudly, Saiwei anxiously gave him a meaningful look. Shengyi shook his head dismissively and continued, "It was found by Old Chen's son, the gardener! Old Chen and his colleagues were working on the mountain, and his son was fishing by the river when he pulled up a corpse!"

His description grew increasingly horrifying, drawing the servants outside to rush over. Seeing this, Saiwei immediately feigned disbelief and shock, while Wuxin quietly slipped into the bedroom. Shengyi continued her vivid narration to the surrounding audience: "You absolutely mustn't go and see the spectacle, oh my, it's terrifying! Eighth Concubine's head is gone, and her internal organs have been eaten away by fish; all that's left is skin, like a leather bag. Junjie was just summoned; everyone said he shouldn't see it, afraid it would frighten him, but he can't be kept in the dark, after all, Eighth Concubine is his mother, isn't she?"

The audience, upon receiving such terrible news, all turned pale, and the memory of the Second Concubine's sudden death cast a shadow over their hearts. Saiwei, however, asked in front of everyone, "Who's watching over the garden? One bad thing after another is happening in the house, and Father isn't coming home...sigh..." She stood up and stamped her foot, "Don't just focus on spreading the news! Now, we're the only older sister and brother in the family. No matter how terrifying it is, we have to go check it out! We should call the police, we should investigate! Are we really going to let our beloved Eighth Concubine die like this?"

The siblings, working in unison, successfully dispersed the crowd and left one after the other. Once outside the courtyard gate, Saiwei, seeing no one around, whispered, "With our elder brother gone, we're in charge! We can't just sit here and wait to die. If I find something on him and discover the murderer, he might not kill me, but I'll kill him!"

Sheng Yi followed along, completely convinced: "Sister, I told you long ago, you're got the makings of a heroine. You're right, with that cripple not home, even if we're the boss, we have to step up and take charge. We can't just let others manipulate us from the shadows."

Saiwei felt that Shengyi's speech was particularly tactless, so he simply waved his hand, signaling him to shut up.

The two hurried to the garden riverbank, where they saw a group of strong young servants surrounding the area. Among them was a stretcher covered with a white sheet, which undulated slightly beneath. Old Chen, the gardener, was an elderly man. Seeing Saiwei and Shengyi arrive, he bowed deeply to them with a pained expression and called out in a low voice, "Second Miss, Third Young Master."

Saiwei pointed to the stretcher and asked seriously, "Is it... Eighth Concubine?"

Old Chen replied, "The Second Miss and the Third Young Master also know? The Fifth Young Master personally confirmed that she is indeed the Eighth Concubine."

Eighth Concubine was a flamboyant character, always dressed in flashy and unconventional attire; even headless, she retained her distinctive features. Saiwei, adopting the air of a steward, walked to the stretcher, squatted down, and without waiting for anyone to speak, directly lifted the white sheet to peek inside. After a quick glance, she frowned, stood up, and took a step back: "Where's Junjie?"

Old Chen replied from the side, "Fifth Young Master has gone back."

Saiwei wanted to ask if Junjie had cried, but before she could, she held back, feeling it would be inappropriate to ask. Just then, the Ma family's butler came running in, panting, wanting to send someone to make a long-distance call to the eldest young master. Saiwei immediately said, "Why call him? If it's a funeral, of course he needs to preside; but Eighth Concubine's death was mysterious, how can we just bury her like that? She was a mother, not an ordinary concubine. I don't think calling the police is a good idea either, after all, Eighth Concubine's death was strange, and if word gets out, it will be bad for our Ma family; let's find a way to preserve her body and wait for Father to return before making a decision!"

The butler had always known that the second wife's children were troublesome, and he admitted that the eighth concubine's death was indeed too suspicious. Logically, as the eldest son, he shouldn't have failed to inform the eldest son; however, the eldest son and the master were mortal enemies. Having the eldest son preside over the second concubine's funeral might be acceptable, since her death and funeral were both aboveboard. But the eighth concubine was different; her death was far from peaceful!

Saiwei refused to allow the Eighth Concubine to be buried. Whoever wanted to bury the Eighth Concubine would have to explain themselves to Master Ma later. Everyone was a servant; who dared to take on such an unclear responsibility? So, after some arrangements, the Eighth Concubine was taken to the hospital and cryopreserved.

What purpose would protecting the Eighth Concubine's body serve? Saiwei didn't know. But she reasoned that since the murderer had burned her mother's body last time, it was clear the corpse wouldn't benefit the murderer, making them determined to eliminate it. The murderer wanted to destroy the body, so she deliberately protected it. If the murderer had even killed her own mother, wouldn't she dare to voice a dissenting opinion?

Saiwei and Shengyi lingered in the garden for quite some time, and only when they were satisfied that they had the situation under control did they head back home. Unexpectedly, as soon as they entered the courtyard, a maid informed them that the Fifth Young Master had arrived.

Ma Junjie has always been aloof and young, and he couldn't get along with his older siblings, so he usually kept to himself. But things were different today. Saiwei walked quickly to the upper room and saw Ma Junjie sitting upright in a sofa chair, his eyes red and swollen, clearly having just finished crying.

Seeing his appearance, Saiwei couldn't help but think of her own mother. She sat down on the sofa in front of him and sighed, "Junjie, your second sister won't offer empty words of comfort. We've both lost our mother, and Father is a man of great importance; he won't be able to provide us with the meticulous care we need. From now on, we'll have to rely entirely on ourselves to take care of ourselves. But the more grief we feel, the more we must pull ourselves together. Otherwise, our mother in heaven, thinking of us, won't find peace."

Ma Junjie glanced at her, then asked in a hoarse voice, "Second sister, tell me, how did my mother die?"

When Saiwei heard him use the word "death" so brazenly, and the language was anything but gentle, it sounded rather harsh: "I don't know."

Ma Junjie opened his mouth as if to speak, then suddenly stood up straight: "There's a ghost in the house, everyone be careful!"

Then he walked around the small tea table in front of him and left. Saiwei turned back to watch his retreating figure, thinking to himself, "Such a pretentious little thing, so unlikable!"

Saiwei knew the culprit was lurking in the shadows, so she wanted to stir up trouble in the house. If anyone was going to suffer, they would all suffer together; no one could escape. Deep in thought, she returned to her room, where she saw Wuxin in the small room outside the bedroom.

Wuxin was dressed smartly, but his posture was anything but graceful; he was squatting on the ground, tidying up his tattered travel bag. He carefully wrapped an iron needle in a piece of white paper, clearly intending to collect it. Saiwei, standing awkwardly in front of him, also squatted down. Wuxin looked up at her and asked softly, "Are you alright?"

Saiwei shook his head and replied, "It's nothing."

Then she lowered her eyes and suddenly noticed a corner of a photograph peeking out from a hidden pocket in the canvas bag. Instinctively, she reached out and quickly pulled out the photo to examine it closely—and after seeing it, she immediately blushed!

The photo was of Wuxin and a woman, their shoulders touching and heads close together, smiling sweetly. Saiwei knew perfectly well that there had been no confession or promise between her and Wuxin, and that they were not related at all; but a surge of jealousy welled up in her heart, and she was about to explode with rage.

Enraged as she was, the anger remained inside, not yet showing on her face. Handing the photo to Wuxin, she asked, "Haven't you always been a monk? Why are you taking pictures with young women?"

He glanced at the photo indifferently, seemingly taken aback by her question, and hesitated to answer. Saiwei sneered inwardly, deliberately pressing further: "The person in the photo, is that you?"

Wu Xin nodded slowly, his voice hesitant and drawn out: "He is...my...father!"

Savi was taken aback: "Huh?"

Then she looked down at the photo again and her mind immediately cleared – the photo was so old that it had yellowed and the edges were worn rough. To see its historical significance, it must have been at least twenty years old.

A smile involuntarily crept onto her lips as she took the photo back, examining it closely with great interest: "Ha! You and your father look so alike, practically the same person! The lady next to you must be your mother, right?"

Wuxin continued wrapping the iron needle in newspaper, nodding as he said, "Mm."

Savi, who had just been extremely indignant, was now extremely happy, holding the photo and looking at it endlessly: "Wuxin, your mother was very beautiful when she was young, but you don't look like her at all!"

Without thinking, he lowered his head and put the wrapped iron needle into the canvas bag: "Hmm."

Savi smiled as he looked at the photo. The woman in the picture was wearing an old-fashioned dress with large lace trim, lacking style and elegance, relying solely on her face for her beauty. Her face was a plump apple-shaped face, and she was smiling happily, an expression rarely seen in old photos. In Savi's memory, his parents' youth was so distant. In the old photos kept at home, the people all had the same wooden and stiff expressions, probably because taking photos was rare back then, and they were too nervous.

The old photo wasn't very clear. Saiwei glanced at it, then at Wuxin, and was overjoyed. It turned out to be just a false alarm; she had truly been terrified.

(End of this chapter)