Chapter Thirteen: Wild Tales to Lure the Snake from Its Den

After Li Yi finished speaking, he walked straight to Li Zihao’s body and said, “Go prepare some clean white cloth and a pair of scissors!”

“I’ll go right away!” Li Zihan replied promptly and turned to leave.

Not long after, Li Zihan returned with a bundle of white cloth. Li Yi took the scissors and cut the cloth into strips, then asked Li Xueyan to help wrap them around his hands.

“Nephew, what is the meaning of this?” Dai Chunlin clearly had already adopted the role of a student—if he didn’t understand, he would ask.

“Yes. First, it’s out of respect for the deceased. Second, hands could contaminate the body and affect the investigation. Third, for hygiene. Uncle, please help record my words; I’ll dictate and you write!” Since Dai Chunlin didn’t mind, Li Yi made no effort to be polite.

“Rest assured, nephew, speak as you like—I can keep up!”

After making his preparations, Li Yi began to examine the body: “Observation: The deceased is a male in his early twenties, of medium build and somewhat thin.

“Observation: Both eyes are closed, lips are dark blue, mouth is shut, jaw clenched, tongue pressed against the teeth and not protruding, face showing a purplish-red hue, with foam at the corners of the mouth and on the chest. Observation: Both hands loosely clenched... hm?” Li Yi found traces of flesh and blood under the dead man’s fingernails, clearly left in his final moments. From this, he could initially deduce that Li Zimo was murdered. But Li Yi kept this thought to himself and continued, “Both feet point downward. Observation: There are ligature marks crossing behind the ears on the neck. Hm? The deceased’s clothing is loose, and the heels of the shoes are damaged!”

After stating a series of observations, Li Yi furrowed his brow and paced the room, looking carefully in all directions.

While Li Yi was engrossed in his investigation, Li Junqian became increasingly uneasy. After a while, seeing Li Yi still silent, he couldn’t help but ask, “Nephew, if the ligature marks cross behind the ears, could it really be that Mo’er took his own life?”

Li Yi didn’t answer immediately. After observing a bit longer and pondering, he first asked Li Junqian, “Uncle, is this study exclusively used by Brother Zimo?”

Although Li Junqian didn’t know Li Yi’s intent, he replied truthfully, “Yes, this study belonged solely to Mo’er!”

“And did Brother Zimo keep this room very clean, rarely allowing anyone to touch anything?”

“More than rarely—he didn’t let anyone touch anything at all. To tell you the truth, nephew, Mo’er suffered from a compulsion for cleanliness, so both he and his living quarters were always spotless!”

“Oh? Brother Zimo had a compulsion for cleanliness? That’s exactly it. Uncle, at this moment, I can confirm with certainty: Brother Zimo was murdered!”

“Really?” This was both the result Li Junqian most hoped for and the one he dreaded; having his son murdered in his own residence was an unbearable humiliation.

“How can that be? Nephew, didn’t you say that ligature marks crossing behind the ears meant suicide?” Dai Chunlin was also unsettled.

“I said ligature marks crossing the back of the neck must indicate homicide, but I never said marks behind the ears always mean suicide!”

“But that can’t be—the symptoms on the face are completely different between asphyxiation by homicide and suicide by hanging!”

“What if someone first strangled the victim from below until he was half dead, then staged it as a suicide by hanging?”

“That… you make sense, but this is only speculation. Do you have any other evidence, nephew?”

“There’s actually plenty of evidence. The most obvious is Brother Zimo’s obsession with cleanliness!”

“How is that evidence?”

“Everyone, look at this room. To an ordinary person, it would seem tidy, but to someone with Zimo’s condition, it’s messy and dirty. Uncle, am I right?”

Li Junqian glanced around and immediately nodded, “Yes, it’s messier than before—seems like someone’s been rifling through it!”

“That shows someone searched this room before or after the victim died, likely looking for something. That could be the key to this case. Next, look at the deceased’s clothing. Zimo is rather thin, yet the clothes he’s wearing are a bit large. For someone obsessed with cleanliness, why would he wear ill-fitting clothes? Clearly, the murderer changed his clothes—to hide something. Most likely, these are the clothes the killer was wearing at the time. If the murder was premeditated, there’d be no need for such trouble; so it must have been a spur-of-the-moment crime. That means the killer was someone familiar to the victim.”

“What? Are you sure? So it was one of Mo’er’s friends... What a shame the clothes are new—otherwise, we could have identified the killer!”

“There’s more!”

“What else?” Dai Shunde, by now, was thoroughly impressed by this fifteen-year-old youth. If the age gap weren’t so vast, he’d have considered apprenticing himself!

“Also, the heels of the deceased’s shoes are badly worn. This is the biggest flaw, and the greatest suspicion in the case—it’s also why I determined the manner of death.”

“The heels? Of course! Normally, only the soles would wear down from walking, not the heels, and certainly not to such an extent! Especially for someone like Zimo with his obsession. But what does this have to do with the cause of death?”

“It’s simple. Since it’s murder, and the ligature marks cross behind the ears, there’s only one way this could have happened: the victim was first knocked unconscious or drugged, then the murderer sat in front of his head, looped a rope around his neck, and braced his feet against the victim’s shoulders, strangling him. As the victim suffocated, he would awaken and, struggling for breath, kick out wildly. Since he was lying on the ground, his heels would get badly scuffed. That also explains why the killer changed his clothes. After strangling the victim to near death, the murderer hung him from a beam to stage a suicide. That, in summary, is how Brother Zimo died!”

“Flawless reasoning! A genius indeed!” Dai Shunde was at a loss for words.

Everyone else in the room was stunned by Li Yi’s brilliant deduction. Though there had been skilled investigators before, few could infer so much in so short a time, and from such minute clues—his reasoning was impeccable.

“Nephew, can you identify the killer?” After a moment, Li Junqian could no longer contain himself.

“Yes. The situation was likely that the murderer demanded something from the victim, was refused, and killed him in anger, then searched the room for it. There are several questions now: One, what was the murderer looking for? Two, did he find it? Three, since the doors and windows were locked from the inside, how did the murderer escape? Four, and most importantly: where are the clothes the victim wore before death? If we can find those, I can use the arts of Maoshan to identify the killer. So, two things must be done: Uncle, please send men to search the entire Prefect’s Residence for the victim’s clothing, and I, along with Xueyan, Lichen, Zihan, and Zixuan, will continue searching this room for clues!”

“Very well, nephew—do as you see fit! The rest of you, why are you still standing around? Go!” With that, Li Junqian led his people out to search for the clothing.

Soon, only Li Yi’s group of five and Dai Shunde remained; everyone else, including Li Zihao, had left.

“Uncle, is there something more?” Li Yi asked, seeing Dai Chunlin linger.

“Yes. Ahem, well, I can’t really help look for the clothes, so I thought I’d stay and see if you needed my help here!” Dai Chunlin was a little embarrassed; the age gap was considerable, after all.

“Actually, Uncle, I do need you. I’m glad you stayed!” Li Yi knew Dai Chunlin wanted to learn investigative methods from him, but did not say so. He had nothing to hide; if possible, Li Yi would gladly teach these techniques to the world.

Dai Chunlin smiled gratefully, understanding without words.

“Wow, Brother Yi, you’re amazing! Not only are you skilled in both literature and martial arts, you can also solve cases—and you’re a doctor too! Is there anything you can’t do?” Li Xueyan’s admiration overflowed, which greatly satisfied Li Yi’s vanity.

“Of course! I know half of what happens in Heaven, and eighty percent of what happens on Earth—from astronomy and geography to the most trivial affairs. So, don’t fall for me—I’m just a legend!”

“Pfft! Bragging again, Brother Yi!”

“Nephew, you can compose poetry too?” Dai Shunde interjected.

Hearing this, Li Yi’s mind turned. He decided to explain last night’s events to Dai Shunde in detail—except for the matter of the five hundred taels of gold, which he kept as a trump card. Judging by Dai Shunde’s behavior today, he likely knew nothing about the gold; better to keep it that way.

“What? That unfilial son brought shame upon the family’s name! Such misfortune! Thank you, nephew, for showing mercy; I am deeply grateful!” Dai Shunde’s words carried both anger at his son’s disgraceful behavior and a plea for leniency. After all, Dai Chunlin was looking to Li Yi for guidance now.

“Don’t worry, Uncle. I revealed this to you today because I admire your character. Consider yesterday’s matter settled, but I hope it never happens again.” Li Yi truly respected the old man; to be a prefect, in his fifties, and willing to humbly learn from a fifteen-year-old without envy or pride was no small feat.

“Good! You are generous, nephew, and I owe you a debt. If that wretch tries to harm you again, I’ll tie him up and bring him to you myself!”

“Since Uncle says so, I’m at ease. Let’s get back to the investigation.”

“Oh, right! Nephew, aren’t you worried that searching so openly will alert the murderer and give him time to destroy the evidence?”

“That’s exactly what I want—to flush out the snake. If the snake doesn’t leave its hole, how can we catch it?” Li Yi smiled slyly, then whispered a few instructions to Jiang Lichen, who nodded and left.

“Where is he going?” Li Zixuan asked, unable to contain himself. Perhaps Li Zimo’s death had hit him hard, or maybe Jiang Lichen’s steadfast support had moved him; in any case, the bond between Zixuan and Jiang Lichen had deepened.

“He’s gone to catch the snake. Don’t worry—apart from me, no one can harm him!” Li Yi couldn’t help but boast, even now.