Chapter Sixteen: After the Rain, Clear Skies! Setting Out for Chang’an!

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"Heh, your eloquence is as brilliant as your poetry, but what I require is evidence. No matter how much you say, it’s useless without it." Li Zihao spoke coolly, as if nothing concerned him.

"I can’t tell if your composure is genuine or if you’ve gone completely mad. Actually, I’m quite curious about the one behind you. I’d really like to know what kind of person could force a coward like Dai Chunlin to turn himself in, and drive you to become his zealous disciple—estranged from all kin, neither man nor ghost. But that’s a question for another time. I don’t expect you to confess, so there’s no point in offering you the chance to surrender. Didn’t you want evidence? I’ll give you evidence!"

Li Zihao seemed not to hear Li Yi’s words at all, his expression indifferent and blank.

Li Yi glanced at Li Zihao and continued, "Actually, Dai Chunlin’s appearance is itself a flaw, because he showed up on the only route between the men’s quarters of the Prefect’s mansion and the main gate."

"Isn’t that perfectly normal? My brother’s study is in the men’s quarters. If Dai Chunlin went to fetch clothes, of course he’d pass that way," Li Zihao replied flatly.

"But as I mentioned earlier, Dai Chunlin couldn’t possibly have entered the Prefect’s mansion through the heavily guarded main gate. He could only have come from within, which means he had an accomplice inside the men’s quarters. And this accomplice had to be someone who could command Dai Chunlin. Tell me, besides you, who else was in the men’s quarters?"

"Heh, that’s just your deduction. Even if you’re right, doesn’t that mean Dai Chunlin could have been the killer? After all, you said yourself he was in the mansion the night my brother died. It makes perfect sense he killed him and hid afterward."

"Your theory is riddled with holes, but it matches your intelligence. I have no interest in debating further. The second piece of evidence is on your person."

"Oh? On me? Let’s hear it."

"Dare you show us your arms?"

At those words, Li Zihao’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. "I didn’t expect you to have such a fetish. Since you want to see, I’ll oblige!" With that, Li Zihao rolled up both sleeves, exposing his arms. Each arm bore three long scratches, as if clawed by an animal.

"Damn! Still trying to disgust me even now? Explain these wounds!"

"A cat scratched me."

"Really? That’s the best excuse you can come up with? You, of all people, would let a cat near you? How did you perfect your shamelessness to this degree?" Li Yi shot back before continuing, "During my autopsy that day, I was careful to note a crucial detail: the victim’s fingernails contained traces of flesh and blood. I suspected the victim scratched the murderer while struggling. Under the circumstances, the most likely place for such scratches was the arm. I kept quiet about this because I feared the killer, once alerted, would burn or sever both hands to destroy the evidence. I see now I underestimated your shamelessness!"

"Those are cat scratches. Does any random person with scratches on their arms become a suspect? This doesn’t hold up!"

"You really are something else! Honestly, I’ve never admired anyone for their shamelessness until now. You’re the first!"

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"Thanks for the compliment! If you have no other evidence, I’d like to go back to sleep."

"Must I really bring out that token?" Li Yi said, walking toward Li Zihao, who stood on the left.

At the mention of the token, Li Zihao’s face changed, but he quickly regained his usual calm, as if resigned to everything. "Sigh! So you found it after all. Three years of planning ruined in a single moment. Li Yi, you are indeed clever—the smartest I’ve met, save for one. But don’t get complacent. He won’t let you go. The outcome is far from settled!" With these words, Li Zihao produced a dagger from somewhere and pressed it to his throat. Li Yi, seeing he intended to kill himself, made no move to stop him—knowing this madman would reveal nothing.

Yet, unexpectedly, Li Zihao suddenly hurled the dagger at Li Junqian. Li Yi reacted instinctively, tossing his sword to intercept it. But it didn’t end there. Li Zihao drew a sword with lightning speed and killed the stupefied Dai Chunlin in a flash, then spun to attack the unarmed Li Yi.

It all happened in a split second. Only one thought crossed Li Yi’s mind: "Damn! I’ve been tricked! He knows martial arts!" He dodged instinctively, spun around, and in the next moment, time seemed to freeze—Li Yi stood with his back to Li Zihao, and Li Zihao’s sword appeared to have pierced Li Yi under the arm.

"Brother Yi!" Li Xueyan’s mind went blank, then she cried out and rushed over in a frenzy.

"Big brother!" "Wenyong!" "Brother Li!" Jiang Lichen, Li Zihan, and Li Zixuan all followed, running to his side.

But before the four reached him, Li Yi exhaled loudly and said, "Why are you shouting? I’m not dead yet! Damn, left-handed for the win! That was close! Luckily I was prepared!"

Hearing him speak, the four froze mid-stride, their expressions instantly turning from panic to blank astonishment as they stared at Li Yi.

Li Yi stretched out his right arm, revealing Li Zihao’s sword. He then turned, released his grip, and Li Zihao collapsed with unwilling eyes. It turned out Li Yi, anticipating trouble, had cut the pants leg on his right side. When Li Zihao attacked, Li Yi spun around, drew the Cold Edge Dagger, and, with his back to Li Zihao, stabbed him squarely in the abdomen. The dagger’s lethal design ended Li Zihao’s wretched life then and there.

Seeing Li Yi unharmed, Li Xueyan burst into tears of relief and flung herself into his arms. "Heehee! Stupid Brother Yi, you nearly scared me to death!"

"Are you crying or laughing? Hey, snot! Don’t wipe it on me! I’m a neat freak! Ouch! Don’t pinch me! Jiang Lichen, put my dagger down, that’s mine! Hey, don’t run! Zixuan, help me get it back! Wait, what am I thinking—Zixuan’s the last person I should send! Ouch! Zihan, check if my sword is damaged, my heart can’t take it! Hey, silly girl, if you don’t let go, you’ll ruin what little I have left!"

"No! I won’t! I’ll hold you for a lifetime! Hmph! You’re not getting away!"

"Hey, your family’s a big boss. Are you sure I can handle him?"

"If you can’t, I’ll elope with you!"

"You really are bold! Damn, I’ll risk it! I handled Dai Chunlin, what’s a prince to me?"

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"Exactly! Hm? What do you mean by that? Did you just insult the prince?"

"Did I? You misheard! I was praising him! Ouch! Stop pinching—it hurts!"

...

After a storm of crying, shouting, and chaos, the Prefect’s mansion finally quieted. But the matter was far from over.

Li Junqian held a grand joint funeral for Li Zimo and Li Zihao, publicly declaring that Li Zimo had been killed by an enemy who had since been brought to justice, and that Li Zihao died apprehending the murderer. The same was said of Dai Chunlin—he died in the line of duty. For a noble family, the truth was less important than a plausible explanation, both for family honor and because of the affair’s gravity and scope. The truth would not be made public.

Li Junqian, having lost two sons in a single day, fell gravely ill for days. Especially after Li Zihao’s dagger, meant for him, pierced his heart figuratively. He was rumored to be planning to resign as Prefect of Luozhou and pass the title to Li Zihan, returning home to live out his days in peace.

Dai Shunde, too, was exhausted by the loss of his son. Yet there was consolation in the fact that Dai Chunlin was not the final culprit, so he could give Li Junqian an explanation. Besides, Dai Chunlin was the son of a concubine, whom Dai Shunde had always neglected—a direct cause of Dai Chunlin’s downfall. Actions and consequences, as the saying goes. In any case, Dai Shunde pulled through and was now handling Luozhou’s affairs in Li Junqian’s place.

Li Zihan, for his part, found good fortune amidst tragedy. The title of Duke of the Prefecture, which would never have been his, fell into his lap as the sole remaining son. But for a true gentleman like Li Zihan, the title meant little; instead, he found himself busier than ever, barely touching the ground with his feet, with none of his former carefree days remaining.

Two others profited as well. Jiang Lichen, for one—Li Zixuan, after her emotional ordeal, finally understood her heart and pledged herself to Jiang Lichen. Against all odds, they even gained Li Junqian’s approval. Whether Li Junqian saw promise in Jiang Lichen, or simply no longer cared for worldly matters—thanks in part to Li Yi’s rising star—was unclear, but it hardly mattered. The two had decided to accompany Li Yi to Chang’an, and Jiang Lichen was in such high spirits that he seemed to float when he walked.

The other beneficiary was Li Yi. In order to deflect attention from the scandal of three deaths in a day at the Prefect’s mansion, the family shamelessly made Li Yi the hero. They announced to the public that the swift resolution of the case was due entirely to Li Yi’s unrivaled skills in autopsy, his sharp mind, profound knowledge, and even his martial prowess. It was said that without Li Yi, more lives would have been lost. Coupled with his fame at the Lantern Festival poetry gathering, Li Yi’s reputation soared overnight. He even earned the nickname "Jade Qilin." As a result, he was besieged daily by adoring young women, and pinched daily by Li Xueyan.

In short, the whole affair in Luozhou thus came to an end. As for the organization behind Li Zihao, the token Li Yi found in the book, the mysterious handkerchief and letters, and everything else—all was written up by Li Junqian and entrusted to Li Yi to deliver to the Tang Emperor in Chang’an. After all, this matter was now beyond the reach of a mere prefect. Oh, and one minor detail: the toll-collecting incident when Li Yi first entered the city had been traced back to Li Zihao. Since the toll only lasted two days and caused no serious trouble, it was quietly dropped. The gatekeeper, Diao Shoucai, however, was not so lucky—his fate was, in a word, miserable.

On the seventeenth day of the first month, a bright and sunny morning, Li Xueyan abandoned steward Uncle Ming and the guards, setting out for Chang’an with Li Yi, Jiang Lichen, and Li Zixuan. Li Yi rode Juechen, with Li Xueyan in his arms. Jiang Lichen rode the black horse, said to be a descendant of the famous Wu Zhi and named "Shadowless" by Li Yi, carrying Li Zixuan. The four, bathed in morning light, set off toward the capital and a new journey.