[Beloved, look at me one last time.]
[The six sects’ scores are as follows:
Qingshui Sect: 7 points
Shanhai Sect: 4 points
Baihua Sect: 4 points
Wanseng Gate: 3 points
Mingzhong Gate: 1 point
Qidan Sect: 1 point]
Each sect shown in the projection has made progress.
Right after Lin Shuang’s group, Wanseng Gate became the second to claim the Immortal-Seeking List.
Baihua Sect was the first to befriend the seamstress in the shop and learned the clue about the missing Hui Niang. They found out that a month before her wedding date, she was still filled with joy and anticipation for her marriage day, personally going to the shop to choose the style of her bridal headdress.
Deeply in love with the young master of the Wang family, Hui Niang would mention her future husband, Wang Jian, in nearly every sentence.
“Ai, who could have known she would disappear so suddenly before her happy day could arrive?”
“Most likely some villain coveted her beauty.”
[Baihua Sect was the first to learn of Hui Niang’s exceptional beauty, earning 2 points.
Baihua Sect was the first to learn of Hui Niang’s deep affection for Wang Jian, earning another 2 points.]
The six sects are spread across different caves in this trial, each achieving varying levels of progress.
[Who could have imagined that Qingshui Sect would take the lead, especially with Lin Shuang, who should have had the least experience in the Puppet Trial…]
[An experienced person tells you, what’s so surprising? Whoever finds the criminal first in this round will definitely gain an overwhelming score advantage, quickly pulling ahead of the other five sects.]
[Yes, Qingshui Sect is only slightly ahead, and they haven’t even seen a shadow of the criminal yet! Why the rush!]
Disciples watching the projection leave comments one after another.
The senior sister from Baihua Sect, who is explaining the competition, also exudes confidence.
“As far as I know, every textual clue within the Nine Thousand Layers is useful.”
“Just now, when Lin Shuang’s group ostentatiously placed the Immortal-Seeking List in a visible spot on their person, Yuan He from the Nine Thousand Layers reminded us that this might be a double-edged sword.”
“If they subsequently perform averagely, it might provoke the Wang family’s displeasure.”
“Then, their advantage could instantly turn into a disadvantage, and they might even face punishment from the Wang family, resulting in point deductions at this level. Senior Brother Xu Xiang, what do you think?”
Xu Xiang, the senior brother in charge of internal affairs at Qingshui Sect, never participates in competitions or the Zhenchuan Nine Thousand trials.
He belongs to the logistical support team that helps disciples with their trials.
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiang nodded.
“Every word and action of a cultivator can have an impact on the world.”
“One should always speak and act cautiously.”
[Hmph, he doesn’t even seem to support his own sect members.]
[He only speaks the truth, as expected of Xu Xiang from Qingshui Sect.]
In the projection, the much-doubted Lin Shuang’s group actually meets face-to-face with the grieving victim who posted the Immortal-Seeking List—Wang Jian.
Wang Jian is dressed in a seemingly simple light blue robe, his hair tied up with a plain jade hairpin that shows signs of wear.
His facial features exude a scholarly air, and his eyes are filled with uncontrollable sorrow.
He appears to be no older than thirty.
But his temples and both sides of his forehead are already streaked with white hair.
After losing his beloved, his once jet-black hair turned white overnight.
Upon seeing Lin Shuang’s group appear, his previously desperate and grief-stricken expression finally softens, and a glimmer of hope emerges in his bloodshot eyes.
“Three of you…”
His voice is hoarse, as if it doesn’t belong to this world.
Meng Zi, leaning on his sword, gets straight to the point, “Don’t worry, leave it to us. How did she disappear?”
Lin Shuang shifts her gaze from Wang Jian’s tragic appearance and scans the newlyweds’ room, still decorated with red ribbons and double-happiness characters.
The bridal bed is covered with a pair of embroidered bedclothes, prepared but never used.
The dressing table and the woman’s embroidery stand are all complete.
“Hui Niang suddenly disappeared the day before our wedding.”
“All the other seamstresses in the same workshop as her, including her maid Xiaofeng, said they saw her the day before. But when they woke up the next morning, she was gone without a trace, as if she had vanished into thin air.”
As Wang Jian speaks, he absentmindedly collapses onto a nearby dressing stool, as if all his spirit has been drained.
“I originally thought she had an urgent matter and just forgot to leave me a message.”
“But today marks the thirteenth day since Hui Niang disappeared, and there’s still no news…”
Meng Zi shakes his head in sympathy.
“What kind of cultivation method are you practicing?”
Lin Shuang suddenly asks.
[??]
[Wow, I was almost moved to tears. But she’s asking about the ‘bereaved’ husband’s cultivation method?]
“Lin Shuang from Qingshui Sect has such a cold heart. Could it be that she cultivates the Ice Soul Technique?”
“Strange, shouldn’t the suspicion be about whether the missing Hui Niang possessed something valuable? Why ask about Wang Jian’s cultivation method?”
Disciples from various sects begin commenting.
Only the disciples from Qingshui Sect show no interest in discussing it.
They are already used to it.
“What’s so strange about asking about a puppet’s cultivation method?”
“Exactly, making a big deal out of nothing. Maybe she’ll teach Wang Jian some investigation techniques next, letting him find the thief himself, retrieve his bride, and complete the mission on his own.”
[???]
Is there something wrong with Qingshui Sect?
That’s what disciples from other sects think as they watch.
The next moment, the projection indeed echoes with Wang Jian’s voice, filled with disbelief and shock.
He looks at Lin Shuang with a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and slight accusation.
“Senior cultivator, why are you asking about my cultivation method? Hui Niang’s life and death are still unknown. Shouldn’t you be investigating this matter sooner?”
He has now addressed Lin Shuang as “Senior cultivator.”
[Reverence level is about to drop.]
[Even if they complete the trial, their evaluation won’t be very high. Don’t forget that in the Puppet Trial, one must gain the puppet’s approval.]
[After all, they’re new recruits to the inner sect.]
Lin Shuang slightly nods as she meets Wang Jian’s hurt and sorrowful gaze.
Yes.
This is a sensible puppet.
Her first concern is the most important and urgent matter—finding Hui Niang as soon as possible.
She asked an irrelevant question, so Wang Jian is very upset.
Lin Shuang fully understands Wang Jian’s accusation and anger.
“Apologies, I was just curious, no, I mean, it’s a routine inquiry regarding all close contacts of the missing person.”
“What? Are you suspecting me?”
Wang Jian’s expression changes.
Meng Zi, sword in hand, immediately becomes alert toward Wang Jian.
Lin Shuang purses her lips.
Back in the Lijia Village of Zhenchuan, there was a hint: in the Puppet Trial, rushing to complete the puppet’s task without distinguishing right from wrong might lead you completely astray.
In real life, there are cases where the husband is the culprit in a wife’s disappearance.
The person reporting the crime might also be the criminal.
If Wang Jian’s suspicion cannot be ruled out, all clues obtained from him afterward might be false, leading to a fruitless investigation from the very beginning.
A waste of time.
“In the past ten years, I’ve listened to the news of the cultivation world daily. Among murder cases, more than 30% involve familiar perpetrators.”
Huangpu Yuan’s dark pupils constrict momentarily.
The sorrowful tears lingering at the corners of Wang Jian’s eyes silently slide down his astonished face.
[This…]
[Is this true? Has anyone from Shanhai Sect who passed this trial said anything?]
[False. There’s another thief.]
[…]
[What? She sounded so convincing, I almost thought Wang Jian was the bad guy.]
“Lin Shuang from Qingshui Sect, don’t make things up. Those who kill their spouses deserve heaven’s wrath. I almost got angry just now, my Dao heart was shaken!”
“This suspicion itself isn’t wrong. But Wang Jian is innocent. Baihua Sect has already obtained a scoring clue, right? They were deeply in love. This scoring clue itself rules out Wang Jian’s suspicion.”
[So that’s how it is. All scoring clues are useful.]
[That scared me. The idea of familiar perpetrators is really unsettling. Wait, why would she keep track of murder cases in the cultivation news… She’s even scarier!]
In the projection, Lin Shuang maintains her suspicion.
Huangpu Yuan stares at Wang Jian, his dark pupils cold and flickering with ominous light.
Clearly, he believes her words.
[The suspicion is wrong. Stop wasting time and ask for other clues quickly.]
White-feathered disciples with fish-scale patterns on their foreheads on the observation stand all look grave.
Back then, their master always suspected that the previous Demon King’s closest friend—a great cultivator at the Ascension Stage—was the one who blackened the Demon King and hunted him down.
Lin Shuang’s sudden suspicion of Wang Jian coincidentally aligns with their master’s long-held thoughts.
White Yu closes his eyes, unable to bear watching any further.
This question is a torment for their master.
Not all close ones will betray.
Not all partners by your side are unworthy of trust.
For so many years, their master has always walked alone, and even they don’t know his true thoughts.
His suspicion has never changed.
“Ah, what should we do next? Suspecting Wang Jian is the wrong direction, and it has already caused his dissatisfaction with them.”
Brother Fishscale is worried.
White Yu doesn’t know. His gaze falls on Lin Shuang in the projection, and he feels lost.
So, you’re also this suspicious and have never trusted those around you?
White Yu feels lost.
But Lin Shuang in the projection resolves the issue faster than they expect.
“Wang Jian Senior Cultivator, I hope you can understand.”
Lin Shuang speaks calmly.
“We cannot recreate the scene at that time. We can only obtain clues about Hui Niang’s disappearance from one-sided accounts.”
“One word’s difference can lead us astray by a thousand miles.”
“If someone lies, we will waste a lot of investigation time, which is not good for Hui Niang.”
She is not suspicious.
But she reasonably suspects, then verifies, rules out the suspicion, and proceeds to collect the next clue.
“All reasonable suspicions are for the purpose of finding Hui Niang’s whereabouts as soon as possible.”
As she spoke, the Fire Eye Technique from the 1198th layer had already been activated. Her vision, already at the pinnacle of Condensed Essence, was intently focused on the fluctuations of Wang Jian’s spiritual energy.
Her eyes are lie detectors.
She sees that Wang Jian’s spiritual energy quickly calms down from the initial shock and slight anger.
There is no sign of hostility or embarrassment toward them.
Lin Shuang slightly relaxes.
Huangpu Yuan lowers his eyelids.
“I see.”
Wang Jian’s expression is still somewhat displeased, but it’s just the normal displeasure of being suspected. He no longer dwells on her rudeness or the previous anger of thinking she was neglecting the search for Hui Niang.
“I am a painter. Our Wang family cultivates mostly the ink painting techniques of mountains and rivers. I inherited the family business and am the same.”
Wang Jian speaks.
Lin Shuang’s group is slightly stunned.
The Mountains and Rivers Screen.
They encountered it in the Zhenchuan Ten Thousand Volumes Bookstore.
No wonder, in this trial, the Wang family posted the Immortal-Seeking List and issued the mission.
It turns out that the Wang family is a cultivator family specialized in ink painting techniques.
Lin Shuang’s expression is subtle.
Although each layer of this trial has a ridiculous name, the story behind each trial and the logic of the puppet’s behavior are all reasonable.
“Our Wang family has many painters, which is no secret. Most people in the East City know that the specialty of the East City is calligraphy and painting.”
Wang Jian smiles bitterly and picks up a eyebrow pencil that hasn’t been used by its owner yet from the dressing table.
“Among those calligraphy and painting shops, eight out of ten are our Wang family’s businesses.”
Meng Zi shows an expression of ‘so the shop information was useful after all.’
[Starting from the shops can also lead to the Wang family. So that’s how it is.]
[Baihua Sect searched various shops but didn’t notice this?]
Lin Shuang frowns, “Are there many cultivators in this city?”
Wang Jian shakes his head, “The calligraphy and painting shops display only ordinary human artworks, nothing special. Only familiar and noble guests of the Wang family are invited into the inner chambers of the shops to see the magical ink paintings made by our family.”
[That explains it.]
His answer seems slightly off-topic.
Lin Shuang sighs. It seems there’s no puppet assistant in this layer.
She glances around the bridal chamber and quickly spots the vividly embroidered mountains and rivers on the folding screen inside. The grandeur of the craftsmanship is unlike anything an ordinary woman could create.
“Could these be embroidered based on your landscape paintings?”
“Yes, these are Hui Niang’s embroidery works.”
Wang Jian finally shows a trace of nostalgic smile.
“Hui Niang and I fell in love through calligraphy and painting. She was a talented woman. After we met, she often copied my ink paintings and embroidered them into finished products.”
“I didn’t know until we became engaged for life, and then she gave them to me.”
They shared both romantic feelings and mutual appreciation.
Deeply in love.
Lin Shuang nods sympathetically and finally stops using the Fire Eye Technique from layer 1198, wiping away the tears that have swollen and reddened her eyes from overuse.
Wang Jian’s spiritual energy fluctuation matches his emotions.
He shows no hostility or defense toward her previous suspicion.
He didn’t lie. The sincere emotions he felt during his recollection cannot be faked.
“Apologies, I was a bit impolite to suspect you earlier.”
Lin Shuang wipes away her tears and immediately apologizes to this deeply loving man whose fiancée has disappeared.
Wang Jian is taken aback. Looking at her tear-streaked red eyes, he suddenly begins to cry as well.
“Senior Cultivator Lin, why are you crying… because of Hui Niang?”
Tears keep sliding down Lin Shuang’s eyes.
It’s because of the Fire Eye Technique.
The side effect of this technique is sore and burning eyes.
But in an instant, Wang Jian covers his face with both hands and begins to weep bitterly.
Lin Shuang: “…Ah.”
[Wang Jian didn’t expect an outsider to also cry for Hui Niang.]
[Just now, you were still suspecting him and seemed indifferent to Hui Niang’s disappearance. Now you’re crying so sadly.
It turns out you’re not a heartless cultivator.
Your empathetic sorrow comforts Wang Jian and makes him feel he misunderstood you.
He feels deep pain and guilt.
Ah.
All those people who have been comforting him since Hui Niang’s disappearance, promising to help him find her and urging him to stay strong… how could they possibly understand the daily torment in his heart?
Thousands of words couldn’t make Wang Jian miss Hui Niang as much as your tears do at this moment.]
[Qingshui Sect’s Lin Shuang gains Wang Jian’s remorse.]
Meng Zi: “…”
Huangpu Yuan: “…”
He slowly relaxes his fingers clasped in his sleeves.
His dark pupils gradually expand in the sunset.
Wang Jian did not kill his wife.
[Qingshui Sect’s Lin Shuang and her group become Wang Jian’s honored guests.]
[?!]
[…??]
[Wait, just because she cried?]
[Wang Jian changed his view and felt remorse toward her, thinking he had wrongly suspected a noble-hearted person.]
[No matter how many times, I still can’t understand these puppets’ Dao hearts!]
[From winter to spring, from warm spring to summer, the melting of winter snow leaves a more profound impression.]
[Does that mean I get to insult you first and then praise you???]
[You’re asking for a beating!]
The words began to quarrel.
The factions argued fiercely, turning into an all-out brawl.
Only the disciples of Qing Shui Sect watching the battle remained calm.
[Qing Shui Sect gains Wang Jian’s guilt, no additional points awarded.]
[Oh, then it’s fine.]
[Good. You may have feelings for him, but emotions are useless for cultivation! Exactly right.]
But as soon as those words floated past, another line appeared—Chuan Shan Jiangu’s prompt.
[Wang Jian’s guilt may prove useful in Trial Jiangu.
It’s both a good and a bad thing.
Therefore, no additional points are awarded.]
[Uh.]
[Hmm, it’s like the reverence level.]
Lin Shuang was somewhat surprised, still wiping tears from the corner of her eyes.
But soon, she caught sight of a desk placed behind a screen from the corner of her eye.
On it lay a vivid ink painting of two tigers fighting.
One male tiger, majestic and dominant, had the defeated tiger pinned to the ground with its paw, roaring toward the sky.
The painting exuded immense momentum, as if the tiger might leap out of the paper.
“Oh, this is a pattern Hui Niang asked me to paint for her before.”
Wang Jian explained, following her gaze.
Lin Shuang nodded.
Before she teleported into the Wang household, she had seen embroidery shops along the way.
Inside were women’s items, but also many embroidered screens for living rooms and patterns on men’s robes—images like lions and tigers, bamboo, landscapes, and more.
“When she feels her own designs lack strength, I help her.”
Wang Jian said with some sweetness, though his expression was tinged with sadness.
Now that he had completed the patterns, Hui Niang was gone.
“Oh, right,”
Wang Jian, wearing a look of guilt, pulled out a stack of handwritten letters with a faint pine scent from his sleeve and handed them to Lin Shuang.
“These are all the letters Hui Niang wrote to me in the past.”
“I don’t know if they’re useful, but I’ve been reading them in my free time these days.”
“I’ve always hoped there might be a message she left for me…”
[Qing Shui Sect obtains Hui Niang’s handwritten clue, 2 points awarded!]
[Uh, what about the other sects?]
[Could this be triggered by ‘Wang Jian’s guilt’?]
[…What are the Bai Hua Sect and Shan Hai Sect doing?]
The disciples watching the scene were speechless.
Looking closely, they saw that the three members of Shan Hai Sect where Xiao Qi was located were comforting ‘Wang Jian’ and asking about clues regarding Hui Niang.
The Bai Hua Sect was doing the same.
But the Wang Jian on their side started recounting from the very first day he met Hui Niang.
“That night, I was just stepping out of the calligraphy and painting shop, and saw moonlight spilling into the cracks between the blue bricks, shimmering like water…”
“There was no one on the street. I only heard footsteps.”
“That was Hui Niang. You don’t know how beautiful she was. The moment I turned around, I was instantly captivated…”
The Wang Jian of that time was entranced.
The Wang Jian of now, was entranced again.
Whenever the disciples of Bai Hua Sect and Shan Hai Sect asked about Hui Niang, his eyes would turn dreamy.
His tired and sleep-deprived consciousness was muddled, as if he were drunk, and Wang Jian began recounting his touching love story.
The disciples of Bai Hua Sect, who always loved writing stories and enjoyed listening to them the most,
listened as Wang Jian spoke, and Bian Bo even frantically took notes with his ink brush.
As for Xiao Qi of Shan Hai Sect, she frowned in front of their ‘Wang Jian’, attempting to interrupt, but was stopped by her senior brother.
“Wait. Usually, what the puppet says is useful. The information about Hui Niang should be hidden in this story.”
Xiao Qi was full of doubt, but she directly interrupted Wang Jian and asked, “Fellow Daoist Wang, what has Hui Niang done recently, who has she met, what has been abnormal…”
But soon, all of Wang Jian’s answers were brief, and then he returned to his original narrative order.
“Recent abnormalities,” Wang Jian said with a mix of pain and sweetness, “she was about to marry me, and she always liked to talk about the days we first met.”
“On that day when she first saw me, I was holding the painting I had just finished. She stole several glances at me.”
“The next day, I went looking for her and asked for her name…”
“On the third day…”
Xiao Qi’s eyes spiraled.
The disciples of Bai Hua Sect listened with great interest.
The arriving disciples of Wan Seng Sect continuously tapped their wooden fish.
Practicing the silent meditation, they couldn’t interrupt Wang Jian either.
[…]
[This version of Wang Jian just has this habit.
When you ask about Hui Niang, he will tell the story step by step from the most vivid first encounter. If you interrupt him in the middle, he will soon feel uncomfortable and must return to his original order to organize his thoughts.]
[Yes, it’s not that he can’t be made to speed up… for instance, Qing Shui Sect’s Lin Shuang, she asked something that touched his sensitive spot, and he told her.]
[But if you ask general questions like what was abnormal, how Hui Niang usually was, or who she knew, he would start telling the story from the beginning.
Because he doesn’t know what information is useful for finding Hui Niang.
He wants to find her so desperately that he fears missing any detail that might affect your search.
So he tells everything he knows.]
[Ah, how pitiful. Bai Hua Sect also has a similar challenge. The disciples’ questions must be highly specific.]
[So what did Lin Shuang ask besides crying?]
“She asked very pointed questions.”
Finally, the senior sister of Bai Hua Sect, who was explaining the competition, appeared.
She answered the questions of the watching disciples who were confused.
“As soon as she entered the room, she asked Wang Jian about his cultivation method, which led to the revelation that he was skilled in calligraphy and painting.”
“Thus, connecting to the embroidered screen in the room, she deduced that Hui Niang used his paintings for embroidery…”
By this point, the disciples who hadn’t experienced this trial also understood.
Because it involved Hui Niang’s work, Wang Jian immediately thought of Hui Niang’s handwritten letters and brought them out.
If she hadn’t initially touched on the fact that Wang Jian was a painter, it would have been impossible to interrupt his long recollection.
At this moment, the projected image of Lin Shuang had already begun flipping through the thick stack of handwritten letters.
Each page of the letters exuded a faint scent of pine branches.
The handwriting was elegant, and most pages had hand-drawn floral embroidery patterns attached.
–June 4th, today I passed by the calligraphy and painting shop and thought of Wang Lang… [Chrysanthemum embroidery pattern]
–July 3rd… Wang Lang, seeing tonight’s moonlight, I remember you once said that whenever the moon is bright and the clouds are sparse, you think of me, leaning on the railing drawing my portrait. Is it so tonight? [Osmanthus embroidery pattern]
–October… Wang Lang is like the bright moon, full of talent. Auntie Zhang from next door said how can a mere embroideress like me match you? Sigh. [Dendrobium orchid embroidery pattern]
–December… I heard from Xiaofeng that Qiuyu Pavilion received a fresh batch of fish… [Azalea embroidery pattern]
–March 7th… Another full moon night, March flowers, blooming on every branch [Nelumbo nucifera embroidery pattern]
–April 13th… Would you come to the embroidery workshop to pick me up tomorrow? [Winter jasmine embroidery pattern]
After finishing reading, Lin Shuang handed them to Huangpu Yuan and Meng Zi to look through.
In the projections, other sects, including Xiao Qi and others, listened to Wang Jian’s story and gradually sorted out the clues.
“You just mentioned Auntie Zhang who lived next to Hui Niang, and her personal maid Xiaofeng. Can we meet them?”
Several versions of Wang Jian in the trials nodded simultaneously.
[It seems Qing Shui Sect got the letters, but it’s nothing special.]
[Exactly. Whether it’s the handwritten letters or Wang Jian’s verbal account, both contain information about places Hui Niang frequented and the people she interacted with regularly.]
[Yes, it’s fair. Everyone can find clues.]
The projections analyzed this way, and everyone felt relieved.
But the next moment, Lin Shuang in the sixth projection spoke up.
“Did Hui Niang’s handwriting end with the letter from April?”
–April 13th… Would you come to the embroidery workshop to pick me up tomorrow? [Winter jasmine embroidery pattern]
“Did you go to the embroidery workshop to pick her up that day?”
Wang Jian paused, his sorrowful expression faltered as he shook his head and then nodded.
“I was in retreat painting at that time. A large painting isn’t something that can be finished in a day or two.”
“I came out of my study maybe three days later, already past the date.”
“But that night when I came out of my study, I went to see her. It was only two days before our wedding, and people say that the newlyweds shouldn’t meet three days before the wedding…”
Wang Jian lowered his head.
“If I had resisted the urge to go see her that day, it would have been better,” he said with indescribable regret on his face.
“Was that the last time you saw her? Did she say anything to you?” Meng Zi, who had lost patience after looking at the letters for a while, asked.
Wang Jian shook his head with a bitter smile. “No, she must have been busy with embroidery that day. When I arrived, she was already asleep. I couldn’t bear to wake her, and I was also afraid of bad omens, thinking that we would be married in just two days, so I only took a distant look at her from the window of the embroidery workshop.”
“After leaving a message with her maid Xiaofeng, I left.”
“You took a distant look. How far away were you?” Lin Shuang asked.
Wang Jian was startled. “What do you mean, Daoist Lin?”
“Although Hui Niang and I were already betrothed, I have always been respectful of propriety. I couldn’t look at her closely while she was sleeping,” he said, blushing a little.
“In other words, you didn’t see a conscious Hui Niang.”
Lin Shuang nodded and pointed at the letter in Meng Zi’s hand.
“That supports my theory. This April letter might not be Hui Niang’s genuine handwriting.”
Wang Jian was shocked. “Wh-what?”
[???]
[Ah?]
A painter’s spiritual sense is more powerful than that of an ordinary cultivator. It would be very difficult to forge a letter and deceive a painter cultivator.
The more intimate the person, the easier it is to fail when forging their handwriting.
“Why do you say that, Daoist Lin? What proof do you have? The handwriting in April is the same as in the previous months,” Wang Jian didn’t believe her.
Lin Shuang’s expression was strange.
The handwriting?
“As long as one’s cultivation is strong enough, an illusion technique can deceive anyone’s eyes and spiritual sense.”
[Reasonable. All the Jiangu Trials are full of such things…]
[It’s too easy for a powerful cultivator to deceive a lower-level one.]
[Then how did she know April’s letter was fake?]
“But illusion techniques can only deceive the external, not the internal.”
Lin Shuang sighed.
“Hui Niang’s habits are something that can’t be faked.”
Wang Jian was astonished.
Meng Zi and Huangpu Yuan stopped flipping through the letters and looked at her in confusion.
But Lin Shuang looked a bit embarrassed.
How was she supposed to explain this?
While reading Hui Niang’s handwritten letters just now, she thought of her own shameful diaries from usual times.
Especially the nonsense she wrote during her youthful days.
In her diary, she often indulged herself, writing about how delightful it was to admire handsome men.
She talked to her dantian, and had ‘long-distance’ conversations with her headmistress grandmother…
She should have been immersed in the tragic atmosphere of this murder mystery game instead of thinking about her embarrassing diary.
Therefore, she forced herself to return to the plot of the game.
But her 108 threads of spiritual sense instinctively analyzed why she had associated this with the diary.
June 4th…
July 3rd…
October 12th…
The time records in Hui Niang’s letters matched the format of her diary.
Also, the floral embroidery patterns she drew at the end of each letter were similar to the markings of sunny or rainy days in her diary.
Thirdly, the tone of Hui Niang’s letters.
“If the moon is bright and the clouds are sparse, I will surely think of me… Is it so tonight?”
“Wang Lang is like the bright moon, full of talent. Auntie Zhang from next door says how can a mere embroideress like me match you? Sigh.”
“Grandma, things are indeed developing in a strange direction, like my dantian not wanting to go to work every day…”
“Grandma, if it were you, what would you do?”
Lin Shuang sighed.
It was too similar.
So much so that she couldn’t help but get distracted while reading the letters, thinking about the shame of her diary being exposed.
“A person’s behavioral habits are hard to change. The tone and style of the words they write usually remain fixed within a certain period of time.”
Lin Shuang looked at Wang Jian.
“The tone of Hui Niang’s previous letters didn’t contain any lines that required you to respond or act based on the letter. More often, they were confessional and informative, without actual questions or answers.”
This might be a little lovers’ quirk.
Lin Shuang didn’t quite understand.
“Only in April did the tone change.”
[Would you come to pick me up tomorrow?—This is a real question and answer, requiring Wang Jian to take action the next day based on the letter.]
[Indeed, now that you mention it, only this letter is like that.]
“Of course, this change in tone might just be my overthinking.”
Lin Shuang asked Meng Zi for the letters.
She pulled out a few and placed them together for comparison.
She pointed at the embroidered floral patterns drawn by hand.
June [Chrysanthemum embroidery pattern]
July [Osmanthus embroidery pattern]
…
March [Nelumbo nucifera embroidery pattern]
April [Winter jasmine embroidery pattern]
“What’s the problem with that?”
Wang Jian frowned.
“This should be Hui Niang’s casual sketches. There’s no fixed pattern, and they don’t even match the normal blooming seasons.”
“Hmm.”
Lin Shuang nodded.
“They don’t match the blooming seasons, but precisely because of that mismatch, there’s the biggest problem.”
[?]
[?]
[This question should be answered by the Bai Hua Sect!]
Lin Shuang looked at the fighting tigers painting in Wang Jian’s study behind him.
“Hui Niang felt her embroidery patterns were insufficient and would come to you for help. This shows she had the habit of preparing designs in advance for the embroidery workshop.”
Wang Jian’s body trembled.
Lin Shuang pointed at the letters.
“Autumn chrysanthemums in June’s letter, winter osmanthus in July’s letter… they seem random, but combined with Hui Niang’s habit, it’s easy to understand.”
“She often prepared embroidery patterns for future seasons. The embroidery work in the workshop should be at least one or two months ahead.”
“So the flowers Hui Niang drew on her letters were all one or two seasons ahead.”
“Except for April’s.”
April’s letter, the winter jasmine embroidery pattern.
Lin Shuang didn’t say it out loud, but seeing Wang Jian’s anxious reaction as he stood up, she nodded. “It seems you’ve noticed too?”
Winter jasmine, when blooming early, flowers at the end of winter in February. By April, when Hui Niang wrote the letter, it had long passed early spring.
Hui Niang, who prepared embroidery patterns in advance, would never have drawn the pattern of winter jasmine in April.
Meng Zi cried out in shock, “So this letter is forged. Hui Niang disappeared before April 13th? The person Wang Jian saw through the window that day wasn’t really her?”
Wang Jian staggered backward, nearly knocking over the screen behind him.
He was grabbed by Meng Zi before he could fall over.
This realization obviously devastated Wang Jian.
Lin Shuang placed the letter on the table, “Who delivered the April letter? Does the gatekeeper still remember?”
“It was Xiaofeng, the little breeze beside Huiniang!”
Wang Jian held onto Meng Zi’s hand, speaking incoherently,
“Every time I paint, I stay locked inside my study.”
“If Huiniang wants to find me, she always sends Xiaofeng to deliver a message to the gatekeeper.”
“It was her! It was her who did this!”
“No, I must go find her right now!”
Lin Shuang nodded and stood up immediately, “Let’s go. I hope Xiaofeng is still around.”
Halfway there, she suddenly stopped, “By the way, among us three, who’s good at soul perception or techniques like that?”
“Oh right! Almost forgot—the trial round is about soul perception!”
Meng Zi slapped his head, “This Xiaofeng will definitely lie!”
[Qingshui Sect’s Meng Zi trio, first to discover Xiaofeng’s lie, 2 points awarded.]
[?]
[???]
[…Ah? I didn’t even see a single hair of Xiaofeng…]
[…Yuanhe Jiusheng, if you’re broken, just say something!]
[…]
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