Although Su Yunkai had never personally seen the victim, he could tell what sort of torture she must have gone through based on Li Kang’s description of her remains. Su Yunkai couldn’t suppress his anger as he asked, “That girl, was her name Xiu Xiu?”
Bai Shui, who was still surprised at his knowledge of this, answered, “I believe so. Her full name was Su Xiu.”
As Bai Shui spoke, Su Yunkai’s face became a mask of fury. His lips curved into a brittle smile as his heart went cold.
After Li Kang had spoken to him on Qixi, Su Yunkai had thought very carefully about the case. Who would buy such a large house anonymously and then allow it to change hands at a low price? Whoever had purchased such a huge abode in the center of the capital was definitely a powerful person. Shen Wei definitely had the capacity to do so.
The murderer had already delivered bodies right at Shen Wei’s door, but Shen Wei was still covering up his own deeds and putting himself in more danger. That left only one possibility. If the truth came out, Shen Wei would also suffer disastrous results. Therefore, Shen Wei chose to hide everything, since he still had a chance to escape. However, if Shen Wei revealed what he had done, he would surely suffer a terrible fate.
“If the murderer came to take revenge for Su Xiu, they are certainly not a person Shen Wei has hired for a long time. Or else, why would they enter the Shen residence after July. If we check his list of servants, we can greatly narrow the scope of people.” Just as Su Yunkai began to head back to investigate, the bushes to the side made a sudden rustling sound.
Bai Shui shouted, “Who is it?”
She picked up her sword and ran toward the noise. Qin Fang followed. Although Bai Shui was very fast, she couldn’t quite keep up with the half-person-tall haystack that was furiously rolling away like the waves.
In the blink of an eye, they disappeared into the mountain. When Su Yunkai couldn’t see them anymore, he said, “Neither of us have any martial arts skills. Let’s go back to the villa first. It’s too dangerous here.”
Ming Yue lifted the hem of her robes so that she could walk faster. She was still thinking about the matter of Su Xiu. Who knew how hopeless Su Xiu must have felt when she suffered at such cruel hands? Ming Yue sighed softly. “I can understand why the murderer wanted to take revenge this way.”
Su Yunkai also understood, but he did not agree with the method. “If everyone resolved their problems with revenge instead of law, then our Great Song would fall into chaos.”
“But the law may not bring all criminals to justice.”
Su Yunkai also understood this. “That is true. The law can be exploited. There are many loopholes. However, without the law, anyone can make decisions and the world would be plunged into pure chaos. Law brings order. Although the law is not perfect by any means, it provides structure for our lives and maintains the stability of the country.”
Ming Yue was silent for a moment. Then, she asked, “Could there ever be a way to improve a law so that it grants proper justice to everyone?”
It seemed like a fantasy. There was a place in Su Yunkai’s heart that wanted to believe that someone out of the abundant masses would think of something. Still, even Su Yunkai doubted such perfection could exist. “Perhaps…”
Ming Yue took a breath and said, “After we catch the murderer, we must also catch and persecute the people that harmed Su Xiu.”
Su Yun said in a steady voice, “We will. Even though I am in the Ministry of Rites now, I have many connections in the Ministry of Justice. Li Kang also wants to solve this case. As long as he has the heart, he will not let Su Xiu die in vain.”
They walked as they talked. As they ascended the stone steps of the mountain road, they heard the sound of light, slow steps on grass.
Suddenly, Ming Yue returned to her senses and noticed the strange sound. Her arms went cold and she felt goosebumps rising on her skin. She could not help rubbing them and moved a little closer to Su Yunkai. “It seems that someone is watching us.”
It was still day. If it were night, it would have been blood-curdling.
Su Yunkai looked over in the direction of the noise, but he didn’t see anything. Bai Shui was clearly already chasing after something. Was it a person who was following them, or was it some beast?
“Who’s there?”
With that question, the movement suddenly stilled. Su Yunkai bent down to pick up a stone on the ground and threw it over. It fell with a thud. A sparrow, which had one bound wing, fluttered up and down frantically in the thorny bushes. Su Yunkai frowned and straightened up. He heard a scream and quickly turned around. Ming Yue was backing up so swiftly that she nearly entered the forest.
At her waist was someone’s arm. That someone had ivy hanging from their shoulders. As they were hiding behind Ming Yue, it was difficult for Su Yunkai to distinguish their body shape, much less their identity.
Su Yunkai was shocked and furious. “Let her go.”
Ming Yue was also astonished. She gave a backhand slap, but that person covered her mouth and dragged her backwards. When Su Yunkai entered the forest in pursuit, the person disappeared, leaving Ming Yue on the ground.
Not caring about the danger, he rushed forward and took her in his arms. Then, he grabbed a stone on the ground and looked around vigilantly. By the time he noticed the ivy strung around the tree, it was too already late. The ivy was tightly wound like the strings of a guzheng. It broke apart and slipped rapidly. The two of them were lifted into the air by the hidden net under them.
Su Yunkai cast around for any trace of the person but only saw a tall figure disappearing in the distance. Su Yunkai loosened his hold on Ming Yue and looked down at her. “Are you injured anywhere?”
“I don’t know…” Ming Yue was frightened, her heartbeat pounding. She didn’t even register the pain. She wanted to move her legs, but the space in the net was not large and she wasn’t able to move at all. Just the slight movement would cause the net to swing vigorously back and forth. She looked up and down and noticed that they were hovering at least three yards from the ground. If they fell down, they would definitely break some bones.
She did not dare move, but the net was so small. They were almost completely cradled in each other’s arms. They could hear each other’s breathing and heartbeat clearly. She decided to look down in order to avoid the embarrassment of meeting Su Yunkai’s eyes.
Su Yunkai was also aware of this problem. Even if he had had a dagger in this situation, he couldn’t have used it easily. Ming Yue’s head was right under his chin. The net tightly bound the two tightly together and every movement seemed amplified.
He calmed himself and tried to think of something to say. “I think Bai Shui was chasing an animal that the person used to lead her away from us. Bai Shui and Qin Fang will probably encounter the same trap unless Bai Shui realizes she’s been tricked. In that case, she will quickly come back and save us. All of this effort will have been in vain.”
Ming Yue asked, “Why did he have to work so hard to prevent us from going back to the villa?”
“It’s probably because we found something that the other party thought could be used to identify them once we returned. In order not to preserve his plan, he trapped us.”
“Well, we haven’t found any solid evidence, and even if it was because we talked about Su Xiu, it’s only been half an hour since then. Surely this trap couldn’t have been made so quickly?”
Her words reminded Su Yunkai. Indeed, if that was the case, why did the murderer trap them? What was the purpose?
As soon as his mind returned to the case, a faint fragrance entered his nostrils and easily interrupted his thoughts. Ming Yue still moved from time to time, making him restless. “Ming Yue…”
Ming Yue looked up. “Huh?”
“Don’t move.”
“I seem to have hurt my leg. I think I got scraped when I was being dragged.”
Su Yunkai leaned over to look. Sure enough, the bottom of her robes had ripped and her white trousers were stained with blood. He wanted to tear the trousers to serve as a cloth, but he found that there was no cloth to use, so he tore his own clothes to tie up her wound. “Where else are you hurt?”
Ming Yue touched her back. It was clearly wounded, but… Ming Yue shook her head. “Nowhere else.”
After binding her wound, Su Yunkai noticed that her white calf was propped up on his knee. He coughed lightly, covered it with his sleeve, and said, “After such a scare, the people in the villa probably won’t come out for a long while. We need to keep our energy up. if we hear any sounds nearby, let’s call for help.”
Ming Yue wanted to withdraw her leg, but Su Yunkai said, “If you pull back, your wound will get distorted.”
She obediently stopped moving.
“If you begin to feel numb anywhere, move a little. If you stay in a position that applies pressures on your veins for an extended period of time, you might sustain permanent harm.”
“Mhm.” The area was too narrow. Even if they wanted to move, they would have limited space. The two of them stayed quiet for a while. Noticing she was touching her back from time to time, Su Yunkai asked, “Did you get mosquito bites?”
Ming Yue nodded, but when she drew her hand back, she noticed that her fingers were stained with blood. She wanted to hide it, but it was too late. Su Yunkai held onto her hand, the color of his face changing. No longer caring about propriety, he touched her back. When he raised his hand, he saw that his palm was also covered in blood.
“You were wounded so badly. Why didn’t you tell me?” Su Yunkai couldn’t help but scold her lightly. Still, he understood why she hid it. This was very awkward.
The blood flow was heavy. Even after bleeding for so long, the wound showed no signs of coagulating, which meant that the injury was very heavy.
Ming Yue looked down. She did not speak. Su Yunkai was quiet for a moment before he said, “I’ll tend to your wounds.”
Ming Yue suddenly looked up at him. “You can’t look there.”
Su Yunkai instantly felt his throat go dry. He looked at her and said, “On the day of the Qixi Festival, I had something to say to you. After getting interrupted time and time again, I didn’t want to be hasty. I kept waiting because I wanted to find the right time, since I am always busy. I found that the longer I waited, the more difficult it was to sleep and eat. I’m afraid that by the time I find a good time, someone else will be quicker than me.”
Ming Yue, who had intuited this long before, looked at him quietly, waiting for him to continue. Even though she had expected it, her heart still fluttered like the leaves blown by the wind.
“I want you to stay in Kaifeng, right and proper.”
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A Hint of Spring 
Thank you for the update.
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