Chapter 20 - Surfacing
Leaving the Xiang Hua House, the sky had completely darkened.
The moon, frozen in the night sky, was like a round mirror polished from ice, clear and spotless.
Compared to the boisterous atmosphere inside the Xiang Hua House, it was much quieter outside. Apart from pedestrians hurrying past, only a few street vendors were still hawking their wares.
Occasionally, they could see armed and vigilant yamen runners patrolling the streets.
"Where do you think Mei Xing Er might be?"
Leng Xinnan asked softly, looking at the indistinct outlines of the houses.
"The Demonic Creature didn't take anyone with it when it escaped. Could there be another Demonic Creature?"
Li Nan Ke shook his head.
"No, there's only Old Qin. But what I find strange now is why the Demonic Creature entered Mei Xing Er's room first."
"It wanted to take revenge on the Lin family."
"Then why did it enter Mei Xing Er's room first, and why did it make such a mess of the room?"
He repeated his question, emphasizing the key point.
Leng Xinnan was stumped.
To be honest, she felt a bit defeated.
In the past, when she handled cases, she would also encounter difficulties, but in the end, she could always solve them with her own abilities.
But ever since she invited Li Nan Ke to assist with the investigation, she suddenly felt like there was a huge disparity in their intelligence. It was difficult to keep up with his train of thought.
Just when she thought she understood one thing, he would bring up another.
After a whole day of running around, although they had figured out the origin of the Demonic Creature and identified the culprit behind Wan Ying Ying and Lin Jiao Yue being given 'Red Rain,' her mind was still a mess.
"Then why do you think it happened?"
Leng Xinnan had no choice but to ask for his insight.
Li Nan Ke looked at her beautiful face and said with a smile.
"It's simple. With such a clear purpose, it's obvious that he was targeting Mei Xing Er."
"Why?"
The woman was still confused.
This time, Li Nan Ke didn't give a direct answer, but just made a random guess.
"Perhaps Mei Xing Er did something to wrong him. Or maybe..."
Seeing that the man hesitated, Leng Xinnan felt an urge to hit him.
Li Nan Ke brushed off some dust that had somehow gotten onto his shoulder and said,
"Lord Leng, it's too late now. Let's go to the Wen family tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow morning?"
Leng Xinnan's beautiful eyes widened slightly, filled with confusion.
They had already identified the culprit.
"There are still some questions I don't understand. It won't be too late to go tomorrow."
Li Nan Ke said helplessly, rubbing his stomach.
"Besides, I'm really starving."
Reminded by him, Leng Xinnan realized that they had been running around all day without eating.
Even she had only managed to eat two steamed buns in the morning.
The woman was a bit embarrassed and offered, "Let's find a restaurant. I'll treat you."
The man declined.
"No need, my wife is waiting for me to have dinner."
"It's so late, are you sure?"
Leng Xinnan didn't think Luo Qian Qiu would still be waiting, although she might have saved him some food.
Li Nan Ke said with certainty, "Definitely waiting."
Leng Xinnan didn't insist further.
"Alright, then I'll walk you back."
When the two arrived home and saw the still-warm food on the table and the woman quietly waiting with a medical book in her hand, Leng Xinnan was completely shocked.
She was shocked not only by Luo Qian Qiu's 'virtuousness' but also by the tacit understanding between the couple.
At the same time, an indescribable feeling stirred in her heart. It was sour, astringent, and sweet... making her envious of this kind of married life.
"Didn't I tell you? If I didn't come back by afternoon, you shouldn't wait for me. You should eat first."
Li Nan Ke said, sitting down at the table.
Luo Qian Qiu pursed her delicate lips and smiled gently.
"I wasn't hungry, so I waited for you, husband."
She then took out a new set of bowls and chopsticks and said to Leng Xinnan.
“Lord Leng, please join us."
"No, I—"
Leng Xinnan instinctively wanted to refuse, but seeing that Luo Qian Qiu had already served her rice, and tempted by the alluring aroma of the food, she decided to accept the offer.
It turned out that her decision to join them was worth it.
The moment the food entered her mouth, she truly experienced what delicious food was.
Especially the lotus seed tofu she was tasting now.
It was slightly bitter and warm at first, but then an invisible force seemed to penetrate her mind, making her feel comfortable and unable to stop eating.
Even the famous chefs in the capital couldn't compare.
She finally understood why Li Nan Ke had married this ordinary-looking woman.
Setting aside her medical skills and personality, just her top-notch cooking skills were enough to capture most men's stomachs and hearts.
"Lord Leng, I hope my husband hasn't caused you any trouble," Luo Qian Qiu asked softly.
Leng Xinnan, immersed in the delicious food, swallowed and replied,
"Not at all, your husband is very capable."
"That's good to hear."
Luo Qian Qiu gave a gentle smile and put a piece of food in Leng Xinnan's bowl.
“My husband can be a bit casual at times. If he makes any mistakes in the future, I hope Lord Leng will be more forgiving."
"Yes, I will."
The woman's virtuousness made Leng Xinnan even more envious of Li Nan Ke for marrying such a good wife.
But then, she realized the underlying meaning in her words.
Was she hoping that Li Nan Ke would continue working with her?
Leng Xinnan glanced at Li Nan Ke, but he just kept his head down and ate, showing no reaction.
The woman felt conflicted.
In this short day, she had also witnessed Li Nan Ke's excellence and felt a desire to cherish his talent.
However, if he joined the dangerous Night Patrol, she couldn't guarantee his safety. If something were to happen to him, this loving couple would be separated forever.
Leng Xinnan couldn't figure out Luo Qian Qiu's intentions and chose to remain silent.
The oil lamp on the table illuminated the three figures.
Compared to the usual coldness between the couple, Leng Xinnan's presence, although somewhat out of place, also added a bit of liveliness.
But a third wheel was still a third wheel, and she had to be aware of her position. After dinner, Leng Xinnan consciously bid farewell to the couple.
Before leaving, Luo Qian Qiu gave her a package of medicinal herbs.
She had obviously noticed Leng Xinnan's internal injuries and specifically instructed her to come back for a massage the next day to alleviate the symptoms.
"How is the case going?"
Luo Qian Qiu asked casually while clearing the dishes from the table.
"It's going alright," Li Nan Ke nodded and took out two petals from his pocket, handing them to the woman.
"Wife, do you recognize these flower petals?"
He had found these two petals under Mei Xing Er's wardrobe.
At that time, he compared them with all the flowers grown in the house, but couldn't find any that matched.
"These are the petals of the Drunken Immortal Peach, also known as the white datura flower."
Luo Qian Qiu said, recognizing them at a glance.
"They have anesthetic and antiasthmatic effects and are mostly used in crudely made knockout drugs."
Knockout... drugs?
Li Nan Ke was startled.
Luo Qian Qiu took the petals from him, examined them, and said,
"They also have traces of rhododendron molle pollen and Chinese redbud. Drunken Immortal Peach and rhododendron molle are often used to make potent alcohol drugs. When added to wine in appropriate amounts, they can make someone drunk with just one cup. But both of these are also poisonous, so Chinese redbud is added to suppress the toxicity."
His wife's detailed explanation finally cleared up one of Li Nan Ke's doubts.
His deductions became clearer.
Why were these herbs in Mei Xing Er's room?
What was she using them for?
While Luo Qian Qiu was washing dishes in the kitchen, Li Nan Ke habitually held Sister Goose and sat on Grandpa Turtle's back, enjoying the cool breeze and pondering the case.
He carefully sorted through the clues related to Mei Xing Er.
On the evening of the fourth of eighth, Mei Xing Er had an argument with her injured daughter. At that time, the maid Xiang Er heard Lin Jiao Yue angrily shout, "It's either him(her) or me."
During the third watch of the night, He Qing Yu died at home.
On the fifth of eighth, Mei Xing Er packed up some of her old clothes and burned them all.
"Why did she burn her clothes?"
Li Nan Ke wondered, gently stroking Sister Goose's tail feathers, a strange glint in his eyes, as if asking the goose.
"Was it really because a rat got into her wardrobe?"
Sister Goose, of course, couldn't answer.
And she was also quite angry at the man's daily impropriety towards her.
It felt unclean.
Ashamed to face Old Yellow.
"Besides rats, what else would make her burn her clothes? And judging from the number of clothes in the wardrobe and Xiang Er's statement, it doesn't seem like she only burned them once."
"Or maybe she only burned one particular piece and deliberately added other clothes to avoid being discovered?"
"The question is, what was wrong with the piece of clothing she wanted to burn?"
"Was it stained with something that couldn't be washed off?"
Li Nan Ke questioned himself repeatedly.
As he pondered these points, an answer, previously shrouded in layers of fog, suddenly appeared in his mind.
Li Nan Ke abruptly sat up straight and slowly uttered two words:
"Lime powder!"