Chapter 54

"Leaf knows this!"

"You know!?" Ye Yu's response made Liu Qianyu pause, her eyebrows slightly furrowed as she stared at him. She found that the Ye Yu before her was becoming increasingly hard to fathom.

Ye Yu picked up the fragrant tea from the table, took a sip, and then said with interest, "The multiple incidents of attacks have not resulted in any fatalities, which is enough to show that the culprit has no intention to harm! Furthermore, although I don't know much about investigation and autopsy, I can still discern the fatal abdominal wounds on the victims!"

"Oh, what can you discern?"

"From the position of the wounds on the victim's abdomen, it appears that the culprit used his right hand to stab the victim with a sharp weapon, causing the fatal injury!"

As Ye Yu spoke, he pointed at Liu Qianyu and continued, "From the way you pour tea and your habitual way of catching coins, you use your left hand! This shows that you are a left-handed person, so you are unlikely to be the one who caused the victim's death!"

Liu Qianyu couldn't help but glance at her left hand, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. She then said, "It seems I underestimated you. Do you not want to know who the murderer is...?"

"I don't want to know. I am not a bailiff, so why should I meddle in such matters? Sometimes, the more you know, the greater the danger you face!"

"Since you have this awareness, why do you keep asking about the black-clothed man?"

Ye Yu waved his hand and said solemnly, "I don't want to know who the black-clothed man is, but I want to know why he helped me!"

This doubt had been lingering in his mind. He wanted to know the reason the black-clothed man helped him, as he didn't believe in help without a reason.

More importantly, how did the black-clothed man discover the conspiracy between Lu Kun and Pan Chengfeng?

"Agree to one condition, and you will get your answer!" Liu Qianyu sat back at the table, her expression slightly relaxed.

She had been worried that Ye Yu would not believe her and mistakenly think she was the culprit, so she had already prepared to explain.

Now, it seemed her worries were unfounded. This made her realize for the first time that talking to a smart person was much easier.

"Oh? You have the same temperament as the black-clothed man... Tell me more!" Liu Qianyu's way of speaking reminded Ye Yu of the black-clothed man at Yuepo Pavilion.

The black-clothed man at the time also spoke in a similar manner.

Liu Qianyu pointed at Ye Yu's left arm and said seriously, "Lift up your left arm, I want to see if there is a birthmark!"

"Haha, you really have the same temperament. The questions you ask are the same!" Ye Yu was initially taken aback, then he smiled awkwardly, "But he wasn't as direct and thorough as you. The dead man at the land temple had a birthmark on his arm. Since you've already found the person you were looking for, why go through the trouble again?"

Liu Qianyu was not moved by Ye Yu's words but said solemnly, "So, you don't want to know why the black-clothed man helped you?"

"Fine!" Ye Yu shook his head helplessly, then rolled up his left sleeve, stopping when it reached his armpit. He then looked at Liu Qianyu, "There, you can see everything!"

Liu Qianyu turned her face, blushing slightly as she looked at Ye Yu's arm. Apart from a few scars, there was nothing else. This result made Liu Qianyu quite disappointed, so she turned away with a hum.

"You've seen what you needed to see, and what you shouldn't have seen. Shouldn't you take responsibility?" Ye Yu slowly let his sleeve fall and teased her.

"Take... responsibility? What kind of responsibility?"

Ye Yu looked at the blushing Liu Qianyu and smiled, "Of course, it's about the previous agreement. What else did you think?"

"You!..."

Liu Qianyu was so teased that she was momentarily speechless. After a moment, she said angrily, "The black-clothed man is me!"

"It's you?"

Ye Yu was surprised to hear this but then shook his head, "The black-clothed man, though slim and similar in size to you, had a different voice..."

"Is it this voice?"

Before Ye Yu could finish, he saw Liu Qianyu looking at him with a mocking expression. The voice she produced was the same as the black-clothed man's, neither coarse nor fine, but just right.

"You..." Ye Yu was shocked by the voice Liu Qianyu produced. He never expected a woman to produce such a male voice, which was truly unexpected.

But after a moment of thought, he felt relieved and smiled awkwardly, "No wonder you were so confident!"

Ye Yu had always felt that after he exposed Liu Qianyu, she showed surprise but not panic or threats, which seemed unusual.

Now, this situation made him feel more at ease. Regardless of his intention not to report Liu Qianyu, even if he had, the favor she had done him in secret would prevent him from being ungrateful.

Now, Ye Yu finally understood why the murderer had torn the left sleeve. To check for a birthmark on the left arm, one had to expose the arm.

Since the attacker was a woman, to avoid the awkwardness of undressing the victim, the most direct method was to tear the left sleeve.

Ye Yu had mistakenly thought the attacker was a man and even suspected he had a preference for men. Now, thinking about it, he found it somewhat amusing.

"How about it, are you surprised?" Liu Qianyu saw Ye Yu's flustered look and felt a strange sense of relief.

Ye Yu did not deny it but, after a moment of thought, looked at Liu Qianyu and asked seriously, "Why did you help me?"

Liu Qianyu's previous satisfaction turned to calmness. She crossed her hands and said, "That night, Lu Zheng stayed at Meiqin's place. I overheard some unfavorable information about you from Lu Zheng, so I secretly followed him and discovered the conspiracy between Pan Chengfeng and Lu Kun. As for the source of the defense map of Yushan, you don't need to know..."

"Why did you help me?" Although he learned the general details from Liu Qianyu, the original question had not been directly answered.

"Because... because I don't want you to die..." Liu Qianyu lightly bit her lip, hesitantly revealing the reason.

Oh!

Ye Yu had thought there was some hidden agenda, which was why he kept pressing for an answer. But after hearing Liu Qianyu's response, he felt somewhat uncomfortable.

At this moment, the room fell into a brief silence. Neither of them knew what to say, and only the flickering light in the lampshade broke the silence.

"Um, well, it's late, and I should go back! Rest assured, the favor you did me is deeply appreciated. Even if the dead man is related to you, I will pretend not to see it. You can be at ease!"

The silence made Ye Yu feel suffocated, so he decided to leave.

Liu Qianyu softly hummed but did not try to retain him. Just as he was about to leave, she gently reminded him, "Be careful of Yang Zheng. Although you are not the person I'm looking for, this matter is not over, and the aftermath might affect you..."

What? Yang Zheng? Ye Yu was stunned. Could this be related to the new county magistrate, Yang Zheng? What does she mean by 'not over'? What are you all up to?

Thinking about this, Ye Yu turned around with a serious expression, "Can you tell me the reason?"

"You didn't want to know more, right? As you said, the less you know, the better!" Liu Qianyu said calmly.

"But you just said the aftermath would affect me. How can I not ask for the reason? Since you are looking for someone with a birthmark on their left arm, why is it not over now that you've found them?"

"Sorry, I can't tell you. This matter is no longer related to you, and I was just giving you a friendly warning."

"What do you mean it's not related to me? I..."

Ye Yu thought this was a matter of life and death, but before he could ask more, Liu Qianyu turned away, and he left reluctantly.

On his way back, Ye Yu repeatedly pondered the entire conversation, but he found no clues.

However, he needed to reconsider one point: when he threatened to report Liu Qianyu to the authorities, this threat did not seem to be the main reason for her cooperation.

Thinking about Liu Qianyu's final warning, Ye Yu shifted his focus to Yang Zheng.

Is the new county magistrate really involved, or is Liu Qianyu trying to divert attention? Although solving cases was not his specialty or his concern, if the murder at the land temple was not committed by Liu Qianyu, then who was it?

At this moment, Ye Yu felt he had moved from one mystery to another. His thoughts were tangled, and he could only put these doubts aside for the time being, disappearing into the night under the moonlight.

Liu Qianyu stood quietly by the window, gazing at the bright moon, lost in thought. In her left hand, she tightly clutched the copper coin Ye Yu had thrown to her.

At this moment, the door creaked open, and Mei, pale-faced, walked in quietly.

"Is he the person we're looking for?" Mei's eyebrows furrowed, and she sat down weakly, her usual charm and flirtatiousness replaced by a sickly appearance.

"No!"

"Hmm!" Disappointment showed on Mei's pale face, and she complained, "I told you he wasn't, but you didn't believe me. Now you're finally convinced, right?"

Liu Qianyu shook her head and muttered, "But in terms of appearance, he fits the characteristics given by the master quite well!"

"Hmph! Appearance is the least reliable. How can you say the characteristics provided by the master are accurate when the master has never met the person?" Mei huffed, clearly rejecting Liu Qianyu's words.

"You have a point..." Liu Qianyu agreed with Mei and then turned to her, concerned, "How is your injury?"

"Don't worry, I won't die! I will take my revenge sooner or later! Hmph!"

Mei angrily slapped the table, and the movement might have aggravated her wound, causing her to break out in a sweat, though she didn't make a sound.

Liu Qianyu, sitting beside her, scolded, "You're so badly injured, yet you're still being stubborn. You hid outside for so long; aren't you worried about your wound getting worse?"

"What... what do you mean hiding outside... I don't know what you're talking about..." Mei's eyes darted around, and her speech was hesitant, finally turning her face away to avoid Liu Qianyu's gaze.

Liu Qianyu, seeing this, smiled, "He's not my match, but there was also the Tongcheng Snake outside. He was clearly prepared, so why worry? Besides, if I wanted to kill him, why would I have helped him in the first place?"

Seeing her thoughts exposed, Mei no longer hid her feelings and said directly, "I admit I like him and don't want him to be in danger..."

Note: "断袖之癖" (duanxu zhi pi) is equivalent to "龙阳之好" (longyang zhi hao), meaning homosexuality in ancient times.