[To Become a River of Stars] Dong Xiange - Chapter 69

After a long moment, Li Xuanci looked up, a flicker of interest in his eyes, like a beast catching the scent of blood, baring its fangs.

“Interesting,” he said with a smile.

Light shimmered, coldness gathered at the tip of his sword, pointing directly at the two kneeling on the ground.

“I underestimated you.” Li Xuanci’s voice carried a sinister tone, even a hint of pleasure. “Truly, the biting dog doesn’t bark.”

He Chong and Jin Zhan looked at this sudden turn of events, somewhat at a loss. He Chong, still holding the broken bones, also turned his gaze to the pair.

The young monk’s previously bowed spine unconsciously straightened a little, his shadow completely enveloping Lumiang. Her face was unclear, only a strand of dark hair falling over his shoulder, trembling faintly.

“We don’t understand what the benefactor means,” the monk spoke up first.

“Don’t understand? If you don’t understand, why say ‘we’?” Delight flashed in Li Xuanci’s eyes, as if watching prey fall into a trap lined with sharp bamboo.

“The extra bones in the cauldron belong to your sister-in-law, don’t they? It seems this isn’t a tale of a kind sister-in-law selling noodles to support her husband’s sister, but a rare case of a younger sister killing her sister-in-law.”

After Li Xuanci said this, he watched despair appear in the monk’s eyes, who still tried to defend her, “Her sister-in-law raised Lumiang for many years, as close as mother and daughter. How could Lumiang kill her! Sister-in-law was killed by that libertine Wang Qiao! It’s precisely because of this that I disregarded everything to hide Lumiang, otherwise she would also suffer disaster.”

Jin Zhan’s frown deepened as he listened, then he finally had an epiphany. “I remember now! The intelligence we gathered earlier mentioned this. Noodle prices in Xiluo County recently soared sharply, causing conflicts among merchants. It seems a life was lost.”

After discovering the woman’s suspicious traces at the inn that day, Li Xuanci had ordered the shadow guards to collect unusual incidents from various places. Jin Zhan handled the official reports from prefectures and counties, while the covert intelligence went directly to Li Xuanci. Therefore, it was only now that Jin Zhan realized these were the same event.

The intelligence Li Xuanci received from the shadow guards was much more extensive. Moreover, having noticed that the events the woman was involved in always started with good and ended with evil, he paid extra attention to such reports.

“There indeed was a libertine Wang Qiao who coveted you. Your sister-in-law probably was genuinely close to you, but she raised an ungrateful wolf that bit the hand that fed her.”

“According to your story, if Wang Qiao killed her, how did you obtain the body, and why didn’t you report it to the authorities?” Li Xuanci didn’t allow further argument, throwing out questions sharp as blades, nailing the two to the ground.

“Even if you were so afraid you only dared to hide, would you burn your own sister-in-law’s body?” He dismantled their story completely in a few sentences.

“Clearly, you killed her, then burned the body and hid the evidence. This way, your sister-in-law’s fate is unknown, her body unfound, and suspicion naturally shifts to Wang Qiao, who desired both the person and the money.”

“Now that the body is found, and Wang Qiao is still alive and kicking, probably unaware of how your sister-in-law died, once he’s arrested and confronted, everything will be clear.”

The young monk, Huixin, bit his lower lip until it showed pale tooth marks, his eyes still floating with resentful unwillingness. Clearly, he wouldn’t confess easily. Stiffening his neck, he was about to speak when his sleeve was gently tugged. Looking back, he met Lumiang’s tear-filled eyes, shimmering like stars.

“Brother Huixin, don’t say anymore. It was all for me. It’s all my fault, not yours.”

Then, Lumiang kowtowed sorrowfully, her forehead touching the ground, and confessed, “I alone am responsible for all this. Whether you take me to the authorities or execute me on the spot, I have no complaints. I only beg you to spare Brother Huixin. He only took me in out of past affection.”

She lay prostrate on the ground, only her slender neck visible above her collar, delicate and thin, appearing so fragile it evoked a pitiable beauty.

The restraint and detachment of a monk finally shattered completely on Huixin’s face, leaving only the suffering of worldly entanglements. He reached out, grabbed Lumiang, and pulled her protectively into his embrace.

“It was me! I did everything!” His voice held pain as he roared his confession, “That sister-in-law of hers was always sweet on the outside, bitter inside. Since childhood, Lumiang suffered countless torments in private. It pains me just to hear about it. Now, with Wang Qiao added, wanting to humiliate Lumiang, her suffering—how could any of you understand!”

The pain in Monk Huixin’s eyes threatened to overflow as he unconsciously clutched his chest.

“Since I was young, I hoped that when I grew up, I could leave the monastic life, marry her, create a safe harbour for her, and protect her. But now, with wolves in front and tigers behind, I could only remove all obstacles.”

“As long as she is safe, no matter how deep the sin, I will repay it through eternity in the endless hells!”

By the end, his eyes were full of madness, saturated with bloodshot intensity, like a malevolent ghost. The dull grey monk’s robes he wore became an irony.

This heart-wrenching scene didn’t move Li Xuanci in the slightest. His eyes assessed the doomed lovers, his mockery growing stronger.

He looked at Huixin and let out a contemptuous “Tsk.”

“Sometimes I wonder, what goes on inside the minds of the world’s fools?” Li Xuanci looked down at them with disdain. “But seeing a pure fool like you just makes me lose all interest.”

He then turned his gaze to Lumiang, who was still prostrate. “Three birds with one stone—such skill. Why hide behind a puppet?” Mockery lurked in Li Xuanci’s eyes as he provoked her.

Hearing this, Lumiang finally straightened her back, her face eerily calm. Her dewy eyes looked sorrowfully at Li Xuanci as she asked, “You’re certain it was me?”

Those captivating eyes, misty and vague, held a pitiable fragility, wrapping around Li Xuanci like fine silk.

Before he could respond, a pair of plump, fair little hands emerged from the tightly wrapped cloak, winding around Li Xuanci’s shoulders and neck. Ten small fingers intertwined tightly at the nape of his neck, almost forming a knot.

Li Xuanci looked down and saw Shiliu’s soft, chubby face, her brows tightly furrowed and her lips pressed into a thin line.

Feeling his gaze, Shiliu finally shifted her solemn stare back to Li Xuanci’s face. She stealthily leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Brother, don’t look at the monster. The monster will eat you.”

Li Xuanci raised an eyebrow, observing this somewhat novel side of Shiliu. His gaze deepened as he smoothly sheathed the sword he had never relaxed with his left hand, freeing his hand to give her a light flick on the forehead.

“Worry about yourself, silly.”

Shiliu covered her forehead, looking at Li Xuanci with a mix of anger and helplessness, not understanding why she was suddenly being punished. But Li Xuanci ignored her and turned his attention back to the pair.

Interrupted like this, Lumiang no longer stared at him with the same infatuation as before. Yet Li Xuanci’s gaze was like a sharp blade inserted between bones, mercilessly dissecting.

“Wang Qiao’s desire for you didn’t start just yesterday or the day before. If your sister-in-law was truly ‘sweet on the outside, bitter on the inside’ toward you, she could have simply married you off for money. After all, your elder brother has been dead for two years.”

“Your sister-in-law had to grind flour every day, yet your hands don’t have a single callus. And that overpowering hair rinse of yours is quite a luxury for an ordinary family. If your sister-in-law truly abused you, would she have allowed you to maintain such delicate skin and dress so flamboyantly to seduce a monk?”

His words were extremely blunt and bare, almost grinding a young woman’s dignity underfoot.

“Now that she’s dead, of course, you, the one who can still speak, can paint any picture you want. I can’t be bothered to discern the truth. Let’s judge by actions, not intentions. No one knows how your sister-in-law truly felt toward you, but the fact that she pawned her own deceased daughter’s silver locket to fund your coming-of-age ceremony is undeniable.”

Monk Huixin’s eyes widened, his gaze shifting uncertainly between Li Xuanci and Lumiang, clearly unaware of this.

This, of course, came from the shadow guards’ secret reports. Anything involving money had been thoroughly investigated, and Li Xuanci was well aware of the secrets.

Lumiang’s back remained straight, but her eyes lowered, avoiding everyone’s gaze.

“You have some cunning and nerve. Your sister-in-law got an opportunity, and you laid out this plan to kill three birds with one stone.”

“You coaxed this monk into helping you kill your sister-in-law, destroy the body and evidence, and frame Wang Qiao. Simultaneously, using the excuse of hiding, you guided the monk to kill his own master to provide you a hiding place.”

“These two corpses each served a purpose. Your sister-in-law’s death was to frame Wang Qiao, and the old monk’s death was probably preparation for dealing with Huixin later.”

“This way, the sister-in-law you disliked is dead, Wang Qiao who desired you is under suspicion, and Huixin, who helped you with the dirty work, has such a huge handle held over him that he can be sacrificed as a scapegoat anytime. Only you remain the pure, pitiable victim.”

“Your earlier voluntary confession was just a strategic retreat to force this fool to step forward and take the blame, wasn’t it?”

“Pity.” A strong sinister aura surged in Li Xuanci’s eyes. “Normally, such trivial messes aren’t worth a second glance from me. But circumstances are special now. Tough luck for you.”

This “tough luck” was, of course, brought by Shiliu, the unlucky one, forcing Li Xuanci to pay attention to these miscellaneous matters.

Just as tension reached its peak, bang, bang, bang—the bronze knocker outside the gate sounded again, emitting loud echoes.

The rain was still heavy; it was strange someone else would come.

The next moment, the clearly closed gate creaked open. In the misty rain, a woman holding a paper umbrella walked gracefully forward, almost merging with the rain curtain connecting heaven and earth.

For the first time since entering the temple today, a murderous intent arose in Li Xuanci’s eyes. Dark, thick clouds seemed to churn within them. A smile touched his lips, but it only made him appear more formidable.

“Walking right into the trap. Excellent.”