Bone Painting Coroner

Ji Yunshu was certain she had caught Jing Rong’s love bug; she used to shudder at hearing these words, but now, she couldn’t help but want to hear them again and again. Mmhmm, I must have fallen ill, one hundred percent!

Jing Rong was beyond pleased at her reaction. He continued triumphantly, “Little fairy, whether or not you come tonight, this Prince’s doors will always be open for you.”

Ji Yunshu was at a loss for words. Fine, you ruined this romantic atmosphere yourself! She shoved him away forcefully, squirming her way out of his arms. She kept a meter’s distance between the two of them as she began to smooth out her garments. “Let’s get back to the point, what did you want to tell me?”

“Guess!”

“I’m not guessing. If you’re not telling me, then forget it.”

Jing Rong pulled her as she turned to leave. “Fine, I won’t tease you anymore. I’ll tell you what I know.” He finished sternly, “Did you realise that of those Liu Sect leaders, six have appeared as of today.”

Six? Ji Yunshu thoroughly racked her brain. That’s not true! If she included Li Yuan, that would still make only five! She clarified, “Are you implying that Miss Yu’in was in disguise? In other words, she’s actually a man and also one of the seven Liu Sect brothers?”

Jing Rong flicked her forehead with his finger. “What are you going on about? You’re always at the top of your game when investigating a case, but why are you being such a fool now? Should this Prince cut your little head open to see if it’s filled with rocks?”

Ji Yunshu rubbed her sore forehead and rolled her eyes at him. “Then, who’s number six?”

Jing Rong remarked, “Yun Tongyang!”

“Yun Tongyang?” What? “Yun Tongyang of the Longyang Escort Agency?”

“Absolutely right.”

Ji Yunshu burst out into laughter; this was simply absurd! It was even more entertaining than reading about top stars’ gossip! “I can’t believe it – we’ve really seen it all. How could everything just fall into place like this?” She continued, “How did you find out?”

Jing Rong replied, “This Prince figured it out when my men went to Li Estate to search for that ink – they said they witnessed Yun Tongyang paying Li Mingzhou a visit, even calling him ‘fifth brother’. The two of them then entered a room, but my men couldn’t tell what they were discussing.”

“This whole thing’s just getting more and more interesting. Didn’t Li Mingzhou say that the seven of them brothers went their own separate ways because of some argument back then? If they swore to never cross paths again, how could they all appear together, at the same time, in Yuzhou City after twenty long years? It seems like their so-called oath wasn’t quite clear-cut!”

“Could these three murders really be connected to those seven brothers?” Jing Rong had his own suspicions.

Ji Yunshu was hesitant to make a hasty conclusion. “We have discovered many pieces of evidence to date, but none of them make sense at all. It’s the first time I’ve met a case this obvious yet confusing; it’s hard to say if it really is a difficult case, but it definitely is a strange one.”

“It’s not strange, the culprit’s just too clever!” Jing Rong was trying to comfort her. Ji Yunshu glanced at him and smiled.

Shi Ziran appeared after a few minutes, reporting that Master Wei had already woken up, but was refusing all his medicine, food, and even water. He only sat on his bed, staring emptily into space – he seemed even more foolish than before! This thoroughly frightened Ji Yunshu and she hurried over without another word.

Inside Wei Yi’s room.

Mo Ruo stood at his bedside with a bowl of rice in his hands. “Little Wei, oh my Little Wei, we’re not indestructible – everyone has to eat to survive. Look at yourself, you’re already this skinny; if you continue to refuse your food, you’ll eventually starve to death! When that happens, nobody has the means to give you a grand burial; we’ll just find a straw mat to wrap you in and throw you into the public graveyard. There, wild dogs and coyotes will come and nibble away at your corpse until only bones are left.” What harsh words! I’ve heard some people inept at consoling others, but never someone this horrible!

Wei Yi was not even listening. His clear, large eyes had lost their focus as he stared blankly at the blanket in his hands, tightening his grip on it weakly.

Mo Ruo sighed. He had nothing left to offer, “Fine, you’re my ancestor, this Mo Ruo’s superior. I’ve never, ever begged anyone to eat. Seeing that we’ve spent the last few months together, just have your rice for my sake, can’t you?” Mo Ruo spoke pleadingly, gently, as he pushed that bowl into Wei Yi’s hands.

But, Wei Yi rose his hand and swept that bowl of rice to the floor with a bang! The bowl was completely smashed, and several pieces of his favourite twice-cooked pork came rolling out as well.

Mo Ruo stepped backwards. He was not angry, but rather looked at the spilled dishes with regret. He scratched the back of his neck as he stared haplessly at Wei Yi. “You rascal. How dare you waste food like that. Don’t you know the painstaking hardship behind a harvest?” Expectedly, there was no reply.

Ji Yunshu took all of these in from where she stood outside, only to be held back by Jing Rong as she was about to step inside. “Let me go.”

“You? What will you say?” Ji Yunshu was frustrated.

Jing Rong gestured towards Wei Yi inside. “There’ll always be a way. Don’t worry.” He stepped in without looking back.

Ji Yunshu could only stare inside from the doorway, praying silently that Jing Rong would not resort to violence. Shi Ziran began to chuckle wickedly at the thought of Wei Yi’s impending doom. He narrowed his eyes as he remarked sarcastically, “Teacher Ji, how about you guess what His Highness will use this time? A pillow? His sword?”

Huh? What do you mean? She tilted her head at him puzzledly.

Shi Ziran shrugged his shoulders, “If it were His Highness of the past, he would use either a pillow to suffocate Master Wei, or kill him with a swing of his sword and finish him once and for all. A love rival can’t be left alive after all.”

You devil! “Do you have too much spare time on your hands?” Ji Yunshu questioned coldly.

“A little.”

“Then go chant with the monks.”

“What chanting? I’ve already spent half a year training in a temple, I don’t want to chant no more.” He scoffed, then asked again, “But, why did Teacher Ji ask me to chant?”

“So that you stop humming!”

When a monk chants, stop humming! ¹ Shi Ziran was still quite aware what this sentence implied. His face turned black and he slinked away to a corner.

Inside.

Jing Rong sent Mo Ruo a discrete signal, implying that he would take care of everything. Mo Ruo dusted his hands and stepped aside; he was glad to rid himself of this hot potato. He picked up a jar of wine and sat himself comfortably on the pear blossom chair as its fragrance began to permeate the room. Jing Rong sat down beside Wei Yi and called out for him, “Wei Yi.”

“…”

“This Prince doesn’t know how to console others; if you’re listening, then pay attention – this Prince will only say this once.”

“…”

“Yushu has always treated you as family, her only family in this entire world. If you want to know how much she cares for you, then this Prince can assure you that she would even give up her own life for you.”

Ugh! Wei Yi’s empty gaze began to re-focus as he looked at Jing Rong wordlessly.

Jing Rong’s cold facade began to soften as he continued, “Wei Yi, Yunshu will never leave you. She’ll take of you forever, but you can’t use this against her. You need to understand, the love between family members is not the same as romantic love; she’ll never be your wife, not now, not ever. Can you comprehend this?” He was firm, charismatic, but above all, sympathetic.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.