It would take over half a day to get to Mount Gu. Su Yunkai went to the stables and borrowed two horses; one for Bai Shui and the other for himself.
Seeing that Su Yunkai hadn’t prepared one for her, Ming Yue asked, “What about mine?”
Su Yunkai said, “It’s a long way to Mount Gu. I want to get there as soon as possible, but your injury is not well. I’m afraid the wound will tear again if you ride a horse for half a day. I’ve entrusted you to the care of Li Kang. There are many women in his family who can take care of you and Madam Li is very kind. You will be safe with him for the time being. I will be back soon.”
Ming Yue used the back of her hand to touch the wound gingerly. Even a gentle press caused her eyes to water, so Ming Yue dropped the pretense of being strong and said, “But Shui Shui’s wounds haven’t healed either.”
Bai Shui was silent for a moment. “No matter how painful it is, I have to go. You understand, right?”
Ming Yue was silent. Indeed, no amount of physical pain could compare to heartache. If Ming Yue convinced Bai Shui to stay, Bai Shui would wallow in her thoughts as she waited for news. In that case, her wounds would take even longer to heal. “Shu Shui, be careful. Brother Su, take good care of Shui Shui.”
Su Yunkai nodded.
Soon, Li Kang arrived. He looked like he was in a hurry. The yamen hadn’t retired for the day yet, so he was still in his uniform. The moment he saw Su Yunkai, Li Kang burst out, “Old friend, if my superiors discover that I slipped out early, they’ll reduce my salary.”
“If that happens, I’ll pay you. I’ll even take you out for a drink.”
Li Kang grinned. “That’s what I like to hear.” He was still glad that he had gotten Su Yunkai’s help for the pond corpse case. Even if Su Yunkai claimed to have solved it through luck, someone else in his position might have not noticed anything at all.
Su Yunkai said, “I have something to do, so I’m leaving for a while. Take care of her for me. At the earliest, I’ll be back in one day. At the latest, I’ll be back in two.”
Noticing that Su Yunkai was bringing Constable Bai with him instead of Ming Yue, Li Kang could tell that a case had come up. Li Kang smiled, “Are you going out to investigate a case? Could it be…related to that cave skeleton?”
Su Yunkai simply said, “Just help me take care of her when I’m gone.”
The more Su Yunkai tried to conceal what he was up to, the more it became clear that a case had occurred. Thinking about the time they had bumped into each other at the morgue, Li Kang was fairly certain they were investigating the cave skeleton. Li Kang wanted to continue asking about it, but Su Yunkai was already mounting the horse. He wasn’t looking at Li Kang anymore. Instead, he leaned over to say to Ming Yue, “I’m leaving. I’ll be back soon.”
Ming Yue nodded and watched as they rode away. Li Kang thought for a moment, then asked, “Miss Ming, what are they going to investigate?”
Ming Yue paused, her eyes twinkling. “Lord Li is right. This is indeed related to the skeleton we found in the cave.”
“Then why didn’t he just say so?”
“Because in the morgue that day, Lord Li drove us away. Of course, we do dare not say it. Even now, I do not dare to tell you straight. Otherwise, Lord Su will get mad at me.”
Li Kang heard the displeasure in her voice. “I think the two of you also noticed that the corpse was dressed in government uniform. Although he wasn’t an official, we have records of him in the Ministry of Personnel It would be fine if this were another case, but the Ministry of Justice does not permit interference from outsiders in cases involving our own officers. Brother Su will forgive me, then, for my earlier behavior.”
“Of course. This is why Lord Su went to investigate personally. Moreover, Lord Su has always dealt with criminal cases. As the person who discovered the case in the first place, he naturally is itching to solve it. Lord Li can’t blame him for that, right?”
Li Kang said with a smile, “I know. You’re trying to get the words out of my mouth. It’s just that this case is abnormal. You are the girl he likes and he should listen to what you say. Please help me persuade him against continuing to investigate in the name of us being longtime colleagues. This case cannot be touched. Otherwise, he may face death.”
Ming Yue paused. “What do you mean, my lord?”
Li Kang was silent for a moment. “Your house is one of the five houses burned down in the south of the city today, right?”
Ming Yue was surprised, “You know?”
Li Kang chuckled. “Although the capital is big, we are also right under the feet of the emperor. The ministry was originally already investigating the case. You just happened to be the first people to discover it. We would’ve heard about even the slightest disturbance. Are you really telling me that you have no idea why the houses happened to burn at such a time?”
Ming Yue understood. This was why Su Yunkai was rushing over to the summer resort. This was why Su Yunkai had left her under the care of Li Kang instead of letting her stay at an inn. “Since Lord Li also knows that we are right at the emperor’s feet, how can the emperor permit others to act so presumptuously?”
“Alas, you are naïve. You are as ungrateful as Su Yunkai, as well as straightforward and stubborn. Since I considered all of this, why would I have run over to come and get you? For some cases, the more you investigate, the more interference there will be. But there is a common saying that if you want to take something, you must first deal with it. If you want the other party to let down their guard, you must first let the other party feel that you are not a threat.”
Ming Yue finally understood. “To put it frankly, this is the art of politicians?”
Li Kang sighed. “Why do you think that the people of the Su family have been fiercely loyal officials throughout the generations without ever reaching the first rank? As an official, you must learn to be roundabout, or else you will make too many enemies.”
Ming Yue raised her eyes and looked at him. “I still prefer Brother Su’s temperament.”
Li Kang laughed. “Indeed. I admire it as well. I, however, do not dare act in such a way.”
His words were contradictory, but they made perfect sense.
Ming Yue realized that Li Kang was not a bad man. At first, she had thought that he was too tactful and therefore difficult to judge. She had thought that these traits would not be preferable when establishing a deep friendship. Now that she thought about it, Su Yunkai must have already evaluated Li Kang’s character before entrusting Ming Yue to him.
Li Kang led Ming Yue to his home. On the way, Li Kang reminded Ming Yue that she had to to report her identity when they got there. Li Kang placed particular emphasis on telling Ming Yue that she should clearly and loudly state that she was Su Yunkai’s friend when introducing herself.
Curiously, Ming Yue asked, “Why?”
Li Kang replied, “I’m afraid that the tiger at home will tear you apart.”
Ming Yue grinned. “Tear me apart or tear you apart?”
Li Kang laughed. They were walking past a busy area. Large crowds of people were walking about. Finally, Li Kang said, “The deceased is called Bai Ying. While living, he was a yamen constable. The Ministry of Personnel had been planning to promote him to the Ministry of Justice that spring.”
Li Kang’s voice was very low and the words came without warning. In the noisy and boisterous crowd, Ming Yue nearly didn’t hear him. “Then do you know which case he was looking into before he died?”
“He’s a constable. Any case he investigates would be under the orders of his superiors. After I discovered his identity, I had people ask around, but the superiors also said that they didn’t know. I think that he might have committed an offense against someone.”
Ming Yue couldn’t help but say, “I don’t even understand criminal cases, but I feel like this explanation is false. My lord, how can you even persuade yourself to believe it?”
Li Kang coughed softly. He could not hold a straight face. “I don’t actually believe it…”
Ming Yue said, “What I know is that when Brother Bai’s case was transferred to the Ministry of Justice, they hastily closed the case.”
“I wasn’t in office at the time, so I didn’t know about it.” Then, Li Kang suddenly realized something. He stared at her and said, “You know Bai Ying.”
This was a statement rather than a question. Ming Yue realized that her method of address had revealed that she was acquainted with Bai Ying, so she didn’t deny it. “Mhm.”
“Don’t let anyone know.”
Ming Yue guessed that Li Kang was still unaware of Bai Shui’s identity. He might have even thought that the fire broke out in her house and then spread to Bai Shui’s.
Although this was a misunderstanding, Ming Yue did not clarify anything. It was best if nobody knew Bai Shui’s identity. She hoped that Su Yunkai and Shui Shui would return from the villa as soon as possible, hopefully with the truth.
*
The hooves of the galloping horses galloping raised dust in their wakes. The noises were even and loud. Finally, Mount Gu was within sight.
Bai Shui suddenly called out, “My lord.” She tugged on her reins, bringing her horse to a halt. Her gaze was angry as she watched the top of the mountain.
Su Yunkai hurriedly stopped and followed her line of sight. He saw thick smoke rolling: clouds and clouds of black smoke billowed into the skies, coloring the mountain sky gray, as though a rainstorm was coming.
After two successive fires, even Bai Shui knew that this was not a coincidence. Judging by the fire, it looked as though the perpetrator might be heading down the mountain right now. Even if the person was not Bai Ying’s murderer, catching this person would bring them one step closer to finding the whereabouts of the murderer.
After thinking it through, Bai Shui furiously whipped her horse into motion without even waiting for Su Yunkai to speak. The horse neighed and sprinted forward. Su Yunkai, who had been about to talk, found that the horse beside him was flying forward. Su Yunkai yelled, “Bai Shui!”
“The perpetrator is up there!” Bai Shui’s anger took over her mind and she didn’t wait for him at all.
Su Yunkai could only follow. He already had a bad premonition. The location of the fire was the villa. The perpetrator had likely already guessed that they would come, so after they had crossed the bridge, they probably would stop taking the larger mountain roads.
That meant that there was no point in Bai Shui taking this route to block the path of the perpetrator. Instead, since the perpetrator cared about the mountain villa, it was imperative to hurry over and see if any clues remained at the villa.
Yet, by now, the bridge might already be destroyed.
Su Yunkai chased after Bai Shui. Now and then, he glanced at the mountain. Gradually, his thoughts became more and more clear.
The perpetrator was one step ahead of them every time. That meant the perpetrator resided in the capital as well. In fact, the perpetrator was probably even close to them. That was the only way they could’ve simultaneously sent people to burn both Bai Shui’s home and the mountain villa. In addition, they were likely wealthy as well as powerful. Otherwise, they couldn’t have afforded to pay people to willingly commit these crimes.
Su Yunkai finally caught up to Bai Shui, but he saw her standing in front of the bridge, motionless, her fist clenched.
The bridge was indeed destroyed, and by a sharp knife slashed from where Bai Shui stood.
Su Yunkai suddenly paused. He stepped forward and pulled Bai Shui back from the edge of the cliff. “The mountain is so big. Since the perpetrator expected us to come, they wouldn’t have taken the main path. It’s clear that the perpetrator doesn’t want us to go to the mountain villa, so we should go there instead.”
Bai Shui was a little dazed. “But…once the fire stops, the mountain villa might have already burned to ashes. What clues would remain?”
“Even if the clues are mostly gone, we cannot afford to let anything go.”
Bai Shui suddenly returned to her senses. “There’s another way to get up the mountain, my lord.”
Su Yunkai remembered the path that the old woodcutter had pointed out. Only people with small stature could pass through and only a few people knew about this channel.
.
A Hint of Spring 
Thank you for the update.
LikeLiked by 1 person