Matters could not withstand careful recollection, as there were not many related things to associate with. She quickly thought of the scene from last night where she had almost been knocked over. She vaguely remembered the other person supporting her. Apart from this, she had not had any physical contact with anyone else.
However, had the other person supported her chest?
In that situation, she truly had not paid attention to this. It was an instantaneous event, and she had not thought about the differences between men and women at all.
Let alone her, even the person who left this handprint had not thought in that direction, nor had they realised which part of someone they had supported. When a person has no such thoughts, even gold placed before their eyes is just a lump of iron.
Yet, looking at the palm print on her chest at this moment, the things Qin Fujun had not cared about before suddenly became vivid. She suddenly felt it particularly clearly, vividly recalling the moment the other person had supported her, especially the sensation of the moment they had grabbed her chest. At this time, she seemed to still be able to feel the warmth from the other person’s palm.
Having never experienced matters between men and women, her cheeks flushed red in an instant, burning hot. She secretly bit her lip and gritted her teeth.
She still remembered the moment their eyes had met. She did not know what the other person had thought after grabbing her there, and how the other person had viewed her seemingly nonchalant appearance at the time.
Thinking of this, her face was filled with unbearable embarrassment and shame. She even felt a desire to find a tree and dash her head against it to death.
She could be certain that the muddy handprint on her chest was left by that Kunling Mountain disciple, because she clearly remembered that the other person also had mud on their face. She did not know which fellow disciple it was.
Mud? She suddenly paused. The image of that face covered in mud flashing through her mind suddenly woke her from her shame and anger.
That muddy face made her instantly associate it with something.
Suddenly bumping into her, jumping down the cliff together with Di Ling, Di Ling dying, yet that person disappearing. Was this not worthy of suspicion? The mud covered the face, making it impossible to see the true appearance.
With so much mud on the face, could it have been done unintentionally?
She suddenly realised with horror that the appearance of that muddy face might not be so simple, and Di Ling’s death might not be as her master and the others thought.
She abruptly raised her head and looked up the mountain and down the mountain, then flashed away towards the foot of the mountain. She caught up with the people carrying the body on the steps, gave them a few instructions to go ahead and handle the arrangements, and then she urgently rushed back to her own residence.
After changing her clothes, she hurriedly returned to the Meteor Hall. She saw her master talking with her eldest senior brother, Gan Ju. Disregarding the interruption, she stepped forward and reported directly, “Master, the murderer might not be a highly skilled expert.”
Upon hearing these words, both Wan Liqiu and Gan Ju were stunned.
Wan Liqiu naturally asked, “Why do you say this?”
Qin Fujun said, “Yesterday, a disciple of our sect with a face full of mud appeared in the pursuing crowd and abruptly bumped into me. At the time, no one thought much of it, but now, there are many suspicious points. First, everyone was walking and stopping, following orders. Suddenly stopping and being unable to brake, thus bumping into someone, is already very suspicious. Second, this was very likely his scheme. He used this to apologise to me, shouting that he wanted to atone for his crimes with merit, and took the opportunity to get close to Di Ling. Finally, he and Di Ling jumped down the cliff together. As a result, Di Ling met with disaster, yet he disappeared. Is this not suspicious? At the time, no one thought in this direction. No one expected the thief to dare to brazenly mix in among us. Everyone mistakenly thought he was one of our own. Thinking about it now, this thief is not just bold, he is utterly rampant.”
When she said this, the palm print on her chest flashed through her mind again, and she could not help but bite her lip, suspecting that the thief had very likely molested her on purpose.
Wan Liqiu asked in doubt, “Do you mean that the murderer mixed in among you and took the opportunity to kill Di Ling when jumping down the cliff?”
Qin Fujun nodded. “Yes. Therefore, this disciple suspects that it was not some highly skilled expert who killed Di Ling at all. I suspect the other party did not have the ability to directly kill Di Ling, which is why they disguised themselves and mixed in among us to wait for an opportunity to commit the crime. Master, judging from the timing of the incident, the sect leader’s suspicion might be correct. The murderer might truly be a participant in the Chaoyang Conference. This disciple suggests verifying all participants. Anyone who was not at their residence that night is suspicious.”
Hearing this, Wan Liqiu frowned, his dissatisfaction evident.
Gan Ju, standing nearby, said, “Junior sister, you suspect the other party did not have the ability to directly kill Di Ling, yet you suspect this incapable person dared to mix into the encirclement force to kill Di Ling. Do you not feel your guess appears contradictory?”
Qin Fujun was stunned by these words, then immediately argued, “Senior brother, precisely because they lacked the ability to kill directly, they had to mix in among us to take the opportunity to get close to Di Ling. I suspect Di Ling was not killed by an expert, but was ambushed to death.”
Gan Ju said calmly, “As you say it, this murderer truly has great courage, but this is only your guess.”
Qin Fujun became a bit anxious. “Senior brother, this is not just a guess. Before that person and Di Ling jumped down the cliff, they made a gesture to the people behind to stop. At the time, it truly misled us into stopping, which is why we did not see who the murderer was. Furthermore, Di Ling’s body was shattered into three pieces, scattered at a considerable distance, indicating that Di Ling was very likely killed in midair. The person who jumped down with him is highly suspicious. Moreover, why did that disciple smear mud on their face? Why did they disappear without a trace afterwards, and where did they go?”
Gan Ju sighed. “Let me explain to you where the person went. At that time, after he and Di Ling jumped down the cliff, Di Ling was killed by an expert, and he was also taken away and held hostage by the expert.”
Qin Fujun frowned. “Senior brother, that is your guess.”
Gan Ju raised his hand and covered his forehead, looking as if he could do nothing with her, and spoke kindly, “After I took over the search matters and asked everyone about the search situation, I immediately became suspicious of the person you mentioned. The first thing I did was to confirm who he was and where he was. The person has been found. He is a disciple from Huangfengping, named Cai Bianshan. He has already been silenced by the murderer, his neck having been snapped.”
Qin Fujun widened her eyes. “Dead? That is to say, he himself did not admit to being the person who jumped down with Di Ling, so you…”
Gan Ju raised his hand to interrupt her. “After your attendants saw the body, they said it should be him, as there was mud on his face. The location of his death is still quite a distance from the cliff where the incident occurred. You would not think that the murderer, in order to deliberately create a false trail, would specifically grab someone and run so far away to kill them, would you?”
Qin Fujun said, “Yes, senior brother, do you not find it strange? Why would the murderer grab someone and run so far away to kill them?”
Gan Ju said, “Gathering information, capturing a live person for questioning, and then killing them to silence them, this is what conforms to common sense.” Speaking of this, he also found it strange. “Junior sister, the people around you have all said that person is Cai Bianshan. Why do you continue to express doubt?”
Qin Fujun hesitated. “How could a previously obscure disciple rush to the front during the search, right up to me?”
Gan Ju sighed, seemingly giving up on arguing with her, and asked in return, “Junior sister, according to your statement, if we verify all personnel attending the Chaoyang Conference, do you know what that implies?”
Qin Fujun was choked speechless. She was also considering the commotion that would be caused, as well as the manpower that would be mobilised for the investigation. The key, perhaps, was the impact it would create. Thinking about it made her somewhat uneasy, but she was still unwilling to yield. “There are still suspicious points. Can we just let it go like this? Did Di Ling and Ye Ling’er die in vain just like that?”
Wan Liqiu, who had been listening to their argument, spoke up. “Enough. The sect leader has already given a final conclusion on how to handle this matter. Deal with the aftermath.”
Gan Ju bowed slightly. “Yes.”
Qin Fujun also slowly lowered her head.
Wan Liqiu asked again, “Have you finished handling the burial matters for Di Ling and Ye Ling’er so quickly?”
Qin Fujun could only cup her hands and take her leave first.
However, after leaving the Meteor Hall, she muttered to herself, “The sect leader also said that secret investigations can continue…”
Being able to say this meant she had not given up on the matter. As for the reason why she would not give up, she was too ashamed to speak of it and could not voice it. Added to the fact that Di Ling had died right under her nose, in short, if she could not resolve the remaining suspicious points, she would not feel at ease and would hold a grudge.
Of course, the proper matters that needed to be handled had to be dealt with first. She first spent half the day burying the bodies of Di Ling and Ye Ling’er. Afterwards, she asked someone to find out where Cai Bianshan’s body was, and then went directly to Huangfengping.
By the time she found Cai Bianshan’s body, others had already cleansed him and changed him into clean clothes. There was another body nearby.
Standing in front of the body, Qin Fujun immediately felt something was wrong. She did not know if it was her own prejudice, but did the guy with the face covered in mud from last night have the same face shape as the person lying before her? Was the build similar? The night was a very good cover, and she could no longer figure it out clearly now.
However, she had looked that person directly in the eyes. Because she was curious about why there was so much mud on the other person’s face, she had paid extra attention to their eyes. She vaguely remembered the look in those eyes when they met hers. Cai Bianshan was already dead, so this point could no longer be verified.
She stared at Cai Bianshan’s lips, vaguely feeling that the person from last night seemed to have a small moustache on their lips. Although covered in mud, it seemed to be there, because at the time she felt there was particularly a lot of mud on their lips, so she had looked a bit longer, hence having a slight impression. However, she could not remember clearly, not knowing if she had remembered it wrong.
The key point was that there was no moustache on Cai Bianshan’s lips.
So she asked, “Did he have a moustache when he was alive?”
“A moustache?” The accompanying disciple nearby paused, not knowing what she meant. After seeing her gesture, he understood and replied respectfully, “Senior brother Cai seemed to have had one in the past.”
“That is to say, not recently?”
“No, he did not.”
Qin Fujun’s gaze fell on Cai Bianshan’s face, and she asked again, “When he was brought over, was there still mud on his face?”
The disciple nearby replied, “Yes, we helped wash it clean.”
Qin Fujun glanced at Cai Bianshan’s hands and asked again, “Are the hands clean?”
The disciple nearby said, “They were also dirty, with mud on them.”
Qin Fujun frowned slightly. This seemed to match up again. Could it be that she had truly suspected the wrong person? She was still unwilling to give up. “Find some ink paste and paper.”
“Yes.” The obedient disciple went to get them.
Not long after, he brought the items.
Qin Fujun did it herself, applying the ink paste to Cai Bianshan’s already stiff right hand, and then pressed a handprint onto the white paper.
The disciple nearby did not know what she was doing, and only had the qualification to obey orders by her side.
After getting the handprint, Qin Fujun offered brief thanks and left, heading straight to her residence. She found the clothes she had changed out of and began to compare the handprint on the paper with the muddy handprint on the clothes.
The result of the comparison was a waste of effort. The handprint on the paper and the muddy handprint were completely two different concepts, with no regular comparability. Even if she dared to take it out, it could not serve as evidence.
Slumping in her chair before the desk, she gradually lost her temper and had no choice but to let the matter rest.