There were two known ways to get to the villa: crossing the suspension bridge or going through the narrow tunnel.
As Su Yunkai climbed with Bai Shui, he understood why barely anyone knew of this road. It was because there was no road at all. The only traces of trampling were the ones left by Bai Shui the last time they were here. Even the animals rarely took this “road.”
Bai Shui had hurt her arm, but she was determined, so she moved swiftly. Following behind her, Su Yunkai felt surprise and respect, but also worry. The longer the delay in solving this case, the more pressure Bai Shui would feel. If she continued bearing such a heavy burden, she might even drive herself insane.
“Constable Bai.”
Bai Shui clung to the branches at either side of the mountain road and turned back. “What is it, my lord?”
“How far are we from the tunnel?”
“We’re close. We just need to climb for about another quarter of an hour.” As Bai Shui spoke, her expression grew frustrated. “If I weren’t injured, I could’ve climbed faster.”
Su Yunkai said, “Slow down. Your arm injury is not light.”
“I’m fine. As long as I can catch the killer…” Bai Shui didn’t want to exchange any more useless words, so she turned back around and continued to climb.
Su Yunkai followed and said, “How did you climb up here the first time? It must’ve been so dark. It’s so dangerous here.”
“On the day of the Qixi Festival, I promised to release lanterns with Qin Fang. Something came up in the yamen, so I missed the appointment. Later, he said that he wanted to take me to the summer resort to see the shadow play, but I was unable to leave with him at the moment, so I promised that I would come join him later.”
“So you’re willing to go the distance for him, even if it’s filled with obstacles?”
“I am.”
“Now, he’s waiting for you to come back to see him, even if it is very difficult.”
Bai Shui, who is concentrating on climbing up, suddenly understood why he had mentioned this matter. As she climbed bare-handedly, she felt her heartstrings shaking.
For her brother’s sake, she had reached the point of neglecting her own safety. After all, now that her only kin was gone, she was responsible for finding the truth. But now, as she pursued the truth relentlessly, she had forgotten that there was someone waiting for her, as eager and concerned as she had once been, waiting for her brother to return home.
Qin Fang…
Bai Shui tilted her head in response. “I understand, my lord. I will live well, go find Qin Fang, and face the Duke of Yan with him.”
Seeing that his point had gone across, Su Yunkai felt relieved. “Until that day, I will do my part as well.”
Bai Shui thanked him. After ten yards, they finally stopped. At present, Bai Shui’s hands were covered with a greenish sap because she had been gripping the vines so firmly. She didn’t care. She bent forward and pushed away the dense vines, which were hanging like curtains. She walked for about half a yard, then stopped.
Su Yunkai asked from behind her, “We’re there?”
“We are…” Bai Shui was a little dazed. She stepped to the side to let him see: “…It’s blocked.”
Su Yunkai was stunned as he looked before him. On the narrow cliff, there was a huge rock embedded in the mountain. The secret passage was blocked by the large boulder. There was no trace of dragging on the ground, but it was impossible to insert such a large stone on such a steep incline. Therefore, the stone must have been pushed in from the opposite side.
Bai Shui tried to push it, but it didn’t budge. She was so angry that she began to cut at the stone. Sparks flew and the sword finally made a slice, but the boulder remained motionless.
Su Yunkai pulled Bai Shui back. “The stone was placed here from the opposite side. Since the perpetrator expected for us to take this passageway, they must’ve blocked it thoroughly. It’s no use.”
Every entrance had been a path to avenge her brother. Now that both had been blocked at the same time, Bai Shui was at a loss. “My lord…how did they know about this entrance? I thought very few people knew.”
Su Yunkai’s gaze turned cold. Thinking of everything, Su Yunkai had finally connected all the dots to a single person.
Bai Shui continued to hack for a long time until her hands became weak. She looked up at the cliff and reached out to probe the rock. “If there was a rope hanging from above, I could swing over.”
Su Yunkai raised his head. Looking up, he saw branches as thick as a wrist. When the wind blew, the branches shuddered and leaves floated down. Su Yunkai scolded Bai Shui lightly. “Don’t do such a dangerous thing. Do you remember what you promised me earlier? Let’s head back. I already have an idea.”
“There must be something wrong with that villa. Don’t you want to go there and take a look?” Bai Shui continued to try and persuade him. “If the perpetrator so urgently burned it down and blocked all the roads, there must be something wrong there. Perhaps, if we go now, we can still find some clues.”
Su Yunkai shook his head. His expression was serious. “Are you not listening to my orders? Let us head down the mountain at once.”
Bai Shui’s eyes, which had once been full of expectations, dimmed. “I can pass unscathed.”
“Bai Shui!”
Su Yunkai saw her retreat towards the other side. He reached forward to grab her, but her qinggong was excellent. He wasn’t able to catch her. Instead, he saw charging at him. He was confused, pausing. Then, he felt his clothes loosen and realized that she had taken his belt, which she was going to use as a rope. He was startled and cried out; rocks rolled under his feet as he lurched at her.
By the time he had stabilized himself, she had already tied the belt around herself. She threw it with stunning accuracy onto the tree branch and leaped.
“Bai Shui!”
Su Yunkai watched helplessly as she jumped. The branch almost cracked as she did so. His heart nearly stopped. When she let go, her figure fell instantly and disappeared behind the rock. Su Yunkai’s face turned white.
“My lord, I made it over.”
Su Yunkai, who was shocked and breathless, took a breath. He wanted to scold her but couldn’t find it in himself to do so. “You must be careful. After I go down the mountain, I will find people to fix the bridge. Don’t use the same method to come back to the other side.”
“I understand. You should go down the mountain quickly. Be careful.”
Su Yunkai said to the mossy boulder, “You too. Be careful.”
Su Yunkai headed down the mountain and found the people who had repaired the bridge the first time. As they had already rebuilt it once, they were familiar with the process and their pace would be faster. He glanced back at the mountain and saw that the villa was filled with smoke. If he had known that Bai Shui would act so impulsively, he would have come alone. He had underestimated Baishui’s determination.
*
Meanwhile, in Kaifeng, Ming Yue had already been at the Li residence for half a day.
When Madam Li heard that Ming Yue was a friend of Su Yunkai’s, she was very polite to Ming Yue and invited her to chat in the pavilion. She spoke gently, entirely unlike the person Ming Yue had heard about in her discussion with Li Kang. Ming Yue said, “Before entering through the door, Lord Li asked me to make sure to be explicit about the fact that I am Lord Su’s friend. He said that otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to justify why he was bringing a girl home.”
Madam Li couldn’t help but laugh when she heard this. “He talks as though I am completely unreasonable.”
“Lord Li is a good man. Madam as well.”
“No matter how good people are, they cannot compare with the Su family.” Madam Li said, “They were loyal officials for generations. Each generation has had its ups and downs, never staying in the capital for long, but the Sus were never afraid of power, not even imperial power. Even executioners have said that if they really tried to cut the necks of members of the Su family, it would be more difficult than cutting through steel.”
Ming Yue reached out and touched her own neck. Although the words were an exaggeration, they demonstrated that the Su family was courageous, fearing neither the heavens nor the earth.
She missed her lover and her friends greatly, yet she was doing nothing to help them. Was she capable of nothing except conducting autopsies?
Autopsies… Ming Yue started carefully thinking about Bai Ying’s bones. She had observed them thoroughly after they had been moved from the cave to the morgue.
Poison, a desperate escape, hiding in a caves—were these things clues?
Right, clues. Since he expected that he would die, he surely left clues behind intentionally. Why not leave a letter to tell other people what had happened?
Was it that he wasn’t able to leave a letter, or that he couldn’t leave a letter?
Wracking her brains, Ming Yue’s thoughts eventually fell upon that piece of silver. When Bai Ying had died, he had gripped that silver tael so tight.
The salary of a constable in Kaifeng was only a few tens of taels of silver a year. He only had a few taels of silver in his purse, but he had held ten taels of silver in his hand. She wanted to have a good look at that ingot, but now, it was in Su Yunkai’s hands and she didn’t know when he would return.
She was so absorbed in these thoughts that she didn’t even notice when a servant approached. It wasn’t until the servant had said Su Yunkai’s name that she returned to the present. “What?”
The servant said, “Su Yunkai, Lord Su, is outside the door. He is very anxious to see master.”
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A Hint of Spring 
Thank you for the update.
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