Nightwatcher

Chapter 197: Solving the Mystery

# 197. Solving the Mystery

“Then let’s analyse from the beginning. If you were Zhou Min, how would you handle this matter?” Xu Qi’an looked around at everyone and asked.

“Use the Nightwatcher’s code?”

“Didn’t we just say that the code’s confidentiality level isn’t high enough?”

“If it were me, I would hide it where no one could find it.”

“Nonsense, if no one could find it, what’s the point of hiding the evidence?”

At this point, everyone felt stupefied, and the scene fell into a brief silence.

Xu Qi’an snapped his fingers and looked at the Bronze Gong who had unintentionally revealed the clue. “That’s right, Zhou Min’s purpose in hiding the evidence is for it to be found, to be found by us. Following this line of thought, keep thinking.”

Inspector Zhang clapped his hands, repeatedly praising and somewhat excitedly said:

“That’s the logic. Zhou Min wouldn’t hide the evidence where no one could find it. Therefore, the item with the clue wouldn’t be valuable but very conspicuous.”

Suddenly, everyone’s thinking opened up, feeling like they had touched the door to a new world. They excitedly started brainstorming.

A few minutes later, the Nightwatchers looked at each other in confusion. “But we’ve checked all these items. There’s no code and nothing that fits with the jade pendant.”

The door to the new world suddenly closed again, and they began to doubt everything. So, everyone turned their eyes to Xu Qi’an.

*…There are too few clues to start with. However, investigating a case is about finding clues. A good criminal investigator is good at probing from various angles, looking for clues in the details.*

*And rookies are like children, full of questions…* Xu Qi’an ignored the looks from everyone and immersed himself in his own world.

“Any ideas…” A Silver Gong couldn’t help but ask, but before he could finish, Jiang Lyuzhong stopped him.

“Don’t disturb him,” Jiang Lyuzhong said sternly.

Inspector Zhang also gestured for everyone to remain calm. He had placed all his hopes on Xu Qi’an. This young Bronze Gong had proven his worth and ability with his “military successes.”

Inspector Zhang couldn’t help but wonder if Duke Wei had foreseen the changes in Yunzhou when he sent Xu Qi’an here.

*Because he foresaw the difficulty of this case… so he sent Xu Qi’an, this genius detective, to assist me… Duke Wei is indeed far-sighted and strategic.*

*Accordingly, Duke Wei, with his divine foresight, sending Xu Qi’an here, means he must be able to solve the case.* Inspector Zhang felt a surge of excitement and a sense of relief, no longer feeling so anxious.

He was originally a Censor, and solving cases was really difficult for him. Fortunately, there was Xu Ningyan….

Xu Qi’an, unaware of Inspector Zhang’s rich inner drama, immersed himself in his own reasoning:

*Are there really clues among these belongings? If I were Zhou Min, I would find a way to leave clues for the Nightwatchers… but I wouldn’t necessarily leave them among the belongings because that’s too easy to destroy; a single fire could turn them to ashes… but it’s not an option to leave no clues, so the safest method is to operate on two lines, not putting all the eggs in one basket.*

*Right!*

*Two lines of operation. Yang Yingying is Zhou Min’s other basket.*

*Yang Yingying is an unexpected gain, not a clue Zhou Min left for the Nightwatchers. Since no clues were found among Zhou Min’s belongings, why not try to break through from Yang Yingying?*

Thinking of this, Xu Qi’an felt a sudden sense of clarity and enlightenment.

The Silver Gongs at the Refining Spirit stage keenly noticed Xu Qi’an's shift in mood. They too perked up, ready to ask questions, but then saw his eyes darken again as he fell back into deep thought.

Famed detective Xu Ningyan's reasoning had hit another bottleneck—the clues surrounding Yang Yingying were too few.

*It’s still the same issue, too few clues. With only half a jade pendant, the most we can guess is that it’s some sort of token…. Let’s re-examine our thoughts, eliminate Zhou Min's other line, and focus on Yang Yingying’s basket….*

*Suppose Yang Yingying reached Qingzhou, found Ziyang Jushi, and presented the jade pendant, explaining the situation….* Xu Qi’an simulated the process in his mind:

*What would Ziyang Jushi do then? He would face the same dilemma I’m facing now: a lack of clues.*

*In a state of confusion and lacking clues, the first step would be to find more information. How to get information? Of course, by questioning the person who brought the jade pendant…. Yes, yes! That’s it, by questioning the person who brought the jade pendant.*

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it!” Xu Qi’an shouted.

“What have you thought of?” Everyone asked almost in unison.

“No rush,” Xu Qi’an instructed, “Summon Yang Yingying, I have something to ask her.”

“Quick, go, go!” Inspector Zhang urged.

A Bronze Gong immediately went upstairs and brought down the plump young woman who had been staying in her room since finishing her meal.

Yang Yingying, still in the coarse cloth dress she wore when they first met, curtsied gracefully, “My lord, for what reason do you summon this humble woman?”

Xu Qi’an asked, “When Zhou Min handed you the jade pendant that night, did he say anything else?”

Yang Yingying shook her head, “Besides what this humble woman has already mentioned, Sir Zhou did not give any extra instructions. Otherwise, I would not have forgotten.”

She alternated between calling Zhou Min her husband and Sir Zhou, reflecting her deep-seated insecurity. In her heart, she believed Zhou Min was her husband, but without the title, she felt unworthy, leading to her inconsistent addresses.

Xu Qi’an rubbed his teacup. There must be other instructions; otherwise, even Ziyang Jushi, no matter how wise, would be helpless. Zhou Min, being an experienced covert agent, was certainly intelligent… *hmm, perhaps Yang Yingying simply didn't notice.*

“Recite everything Zhou Min said to you that night.”

“This…” Yang Yingying hesitated, “How can I remember everything…”

“You don’t need to recall every word, just give a general idea.” Xu Qi’an reassured her, though inwardly he felt a slight worry. Yang Yingying’s lack of memory might be because their conversation that night was just mundane, everyday talk.

Just like walking down a street and seeing a myriad of faces, you wouldn’t remember their appearances or even the color of their clothes after turning away.

The more ordinary the conversation, the less likely it would be remembered.

“That night, when Sir Zhou came to see this humble woman, it was like usual. He brought some cosmetics and small gifts, and a pot of wine, a few pounds of pork head meat…

“While drinking, he complained about matters in the officialdom and the bandit problem in Yunzhou…

“But since this humble woman is just a woman, I don’t enjoy listening to these things, so Sir Zhou didn’t say much. Then we played some character riddles…

“After dinner, while I was serving him, he mentioned that matter and handed me the half jade pendant.”

Xu Qi’an had her elucidate on the “officialdom” and “bandit problems,” but it turned out those were just Zhou Min’s complaints.

“What about the character riddles? What were they?”

Yang Yingying thought for a moment, before softly saying: “Ten mouths feed one heart”

Xu Qi’an had just thought of it when Inspector Zhang snatched the initiative: “Thought!”[^1]

“Yes,” Yang Yingying continued: “In a thousand, lose one, in a hundred, lose one.”

Inspector Zhang immediately replied: “Baron.”[^2]

Yang Yingying nodded: “One mouth finishes an entire ox’s tail.”

Inspector Zhang: “Report.”[^3]

“Inspector sir, well done, well done!” The Nightwatchers and Huben guards cast over admiring gazes.

He wasn’t quite sure why, but Inspector Zhang felt a sense of relief and exhilaration. That feeling of being constantly useless finally being dispelled — *This official is also a dragon amongst men, how can one let Xu Ningyan alone take the spotlight* — suddenly arose.

For a scholar, character riddles were one of the most common tricks of the trade.

Xu Qi’an wasn’t happy with Inspector Zhang constantly butting in, interrupting his thought process, so he tapped on the table, saying solemnly:

“Inspector General sir, I also have a character riddle, that has been troubling me for a long time.”

Inspector Zhang nodded slightly, letting him speak.

Xu Qi’an said: “Miss Wen gets married”

First, Inspector Zhang’s brows furrowed, and then furrowed deeper, before his face became stiff, and finally his whole expression turned blank, as he stood there in a daze.

Xu Qi’an nodded in satisfaction, before looking back towards Yang Yingying, indicating that she continue.

“The last two were: ‘White jade without blemish’, and ‘sun and moon together in the sky’. The former is ‘Imperial’, the latter is ‘Bright’.”[^4]

Xu Qi’an ordered his colleagues to get some paper for him, and he wrote down: Thought, Baron, Report, Imperial, Bright.

Five great letters.

Jiang Lyuzhong looked them up and down several times: “What could these five characters mean?”

These five words couldn’t be connected up in any way that made sense; they were all independent. What did Zhou Min want to say, or was he really just playing character riddles for fun?

Xu Qi’an turned to look at Inspector Zhang, but the inspector was still lost in his own world…

*Oh well, these five words don’t make another character riddle, so the Inspector General won’t be of much use. I guess we’ll let him fight with Miss Wen then…*

Soon after, Xu Qi’an became lost in his own world too: *Suppose if this was the clue Zhou Min wanted to reveal to Ziyang Jushi, then it wouldn’t be too obscure or abstruse, rather it should be something easily found by anyone coming to Yunzhou the first time round.*

*What thing can one still easily find on a first visit? To put it another way, what thing does anyone first coming to Yunzhou need…*

*I’ve got it!*

Xu Qi’an let out a long breath: “I’ve solved the mystery.”

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[^1]: Ten 十 mouths 口 (makes 田) feed one heart 心 = 思 (thought)

[^2]: A thousand 千 lose one 一 (makes 亻), a hundred 百 lose one 一 (makes 白) = 伯 (baron, uncle)

[^3]: One mouth 口 finishes an entire ox’s 牛 tail (the bottom part of 牛) = 告 (report, tell)

[^4]: White 白 jade 玉 without blemish (without the dot) = 皇 (imperial, royal). Sun 日 and moon 月 together in the sky = 明 (bright, clear)

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