Chapter 378 – The Case of the Missing Head (Part 2)
With Ba Hu as witness, no one could deny the truth. He felt as if his heart had been dug out, thrown on the ground and trampled on. So he had been sick all these years!
Ji Yunshu then said, “A year ago, on Jiu’er’s wedding night, you had a relapse. You stormed into the newlywed’s room, killed Jiu’er and left. When you recovered from your fit, you returned to the room and thought you saw Zhao Huai killing Jiu’er with his sword. You carried Jiu’er’s body out and buried it at the foot of the hill. This was when your alternate personality appeared. He unearthed Jiu’er’s grave, decapitated her, then threw the remains into that urn.”
The accusation was straightforward. Zhao Qing stared into blank space, he clenched his fist and laughed bitterly. He retorted, “I didn’t kill her. How is that possible? You’re lying.”
“I don’t have to lie. To be honest, I initially had doubts whether you were responsible for Jiu’er’s death. But after connecting the dots, I had to suspect you.” As she talked, she calmly took out the handkerchief that was carrying the blue powder and laid it on her palm. “I found this at the corner of the urn lid. The only thing I knew was this was a type of medication called the Tranquil Powder. However, I had no knowledge of its use. I didn’t know who left it there either.”
At this point, she brought out the medicine bottle given to her by Zhao Qing. “It wasn’t until I noticed the same substance on this bottle lid. That was when I was certain that the blue powder on the urn lid was left by you. This was sufficient to prove that you did go near that urn at some point. But that urn of wine was brewed by your family, it was normal to go near to the urn. However, I realised something when I saw the hyoid bone of the skeleton. From the looks of the cut on the hyoid bone, it was cut opened by a sharp dagger. And that dagger that decapitated the body, is probably the one dangling from your waist right now.”
Zhao Qing looked at the dagger hanging from his waist. The late master left had this for Zhao Huai, and Zhao Huai regifted it to him years ago. At this moment, he was on the verge of falling apart.
Ji Yunshu continued, “Initially, I wanted to match the dagger with the cut on the hyoid bone. I didn’t expect that the skeleton would be destroyed. Naturally, all the proof was gone. Despite that, you gave me yet another new clue. That stain on the corner of your shirt.” All eyes shifted towards Zhao Qing’s sleeve. On it was a light yellow stain.
“What’s stuck on your sleeve is sulphur powder. You can see a layer of tiny crystals on top, from the sulphur powder on the taels. This proves that you went to the foot of the mountain and opened up the trunks of taels. If I am not mistaken, you killed those people who were sent to get the taels, but right now, you have no knowledge of that incident. Putting all this information together, I am positive that you have Dissociative Personality Disorder. The person Zhao Huai was trying to defend all this while was none other than you. Moreover, Zhao Huai was not the only person who tried to protect you. It was the same for Jiu’er. The injury on Jiu’er’s shoulder seems to be the result of someone pushing her, and that person was definitely you. She did not want anyone else to know about this, hence she hid her pain, resulting in a lingering injury. All of this happened because of you.”
She spoke succinctly. Zhao Qing was shocked and at a complete loss. He could not remember anything Ji Yunshu had just said, no matter how hard he racked his brains. “It wasn’t me.”
“Of course it wasn’t you, it was your alternate personality hidden in your brain,” a loud voice spoke.
The voice stopped abruptly. Zhao Qing dropped his nervous expression and started laughing. He lifted his head suddenly. His eyes were filled with a sinister, maniacal light and his face was painted with a smile that seemed both smug and menacing “No wonder Teacher Ji is so well-known in the capital. You actually got it right.”
Ji Yunshu knew that this is the alternate personality of Zhao Qing. He had finally showed up.
Zhao Qing tried to challenge her. “ So why did I kill Jiu’er?”
“I don’t know.”
Silence.
Abruptly, Zhao Qing laughed. “Let me tell you, it was because she deserved it.” He was full of resent.
With a ferocious expression on his face, he stalked towards Ji Yunshu. “In the beginning, Jiu’er liked me. I was the one who was supposed to marry her. But what happened to her? She listened to her parents and married Zhao Huai instead. That night, I asked her to leave this place with me and guess what she said? She said she would rather die than to follow me. Since that was what she wanted, I fulfilled her wish and killed her to bring her with me. However, she also said that if she were to die, she would to die in Gaoshan Village. I granted her that wish as well. Thus, I decapitated her and discarded her inside the urn. In that case, she would stay in Gaoshan village forever. You guys would drink the wine that was soaking her body. That’s how she would stay with you all forever, in your hearts. What say you? Doesn’t a woman like this deserve to die? Obviously she liked me. Why wouldn’t she leave with me? Why?” He growled.
Shi Ziran sensed the killing intent and hid Ji Yunshu behind him. “Be careful, Princess Consort!”
What Princess Consort! Since there were more important things to attend to at the moment, Ji Yunshu let it go.
“Then why did you kill the people who were sent by Zhao Huai?”
“They deserved to die too. You all deserve to die.” He gestured at everyone there, then gazed at Zhao Huai. Tilting his head, he sneered provocatively. “Jiu’er died because of you. If she didn’t insist on marrying you, I wouldn’t have killed her. The real murderer is you. Thus, I will bury myself with her body, and I will let all of you accompany her too. I knew that killing those people out there would trigger all of you, that you would then fight against each other. By then, Zhao Huai, you will either kill these people then be killed by government officials, or you will be killed by them.” He laughed hysterically.
Zhao Huai looked at his brother as if he was a complete stranger. “Do you want me dead so badly?”
“Yes, only when you are dead, would the Gaoshan Village truly belong to me.”
“I can give it to you if you want it.”
“I don’t want you to give it to me. I want to take it for myself. Ever since we were young, dad would give you everything. I only got what you didn’t want.” He unsheathed the dagger on his waist and stabbed it on the table. “It was the same even for this dagger. You gave it to me. Everything I got was from you. I don’t care about all these. I have the ability to take what I want.” As he finished speaking, he pulled out the dagger from the table and ruthlessly stabbed towards Zhao Huai.
This personality of Zhao Qing despised Zhao Huai! At this moment, Zhao Huai did not dodge. He stood still and willingly waited for Zhao Qing to kill him.
When the tip of the dagger nearly reached Zhao Huai’s heart, Dong! A pebble hit the back of Zhao Qing’s neck and precisely hit the meridian point. Zhao Qing fainted instantly.
“Zhao Qing.” Zhao Huai rushed forward and carried Zhao Qing.
The next moment… “This is the Illness of Scattered Spirit. It’s caused by the compression of the meridian channels.” The voice from the door spread across the whole room.
The source of the voice was none other than Mo Ruo. In one hand he held a wine bottle; in the other, a pebble that was yet to be shot. As he swaggered in, the fragrance of wine permeated the air.