My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband-Chapter 13 - Day of Wearing a Disguise

The moon rose above the willow branches, and people met… in the kitchen.

Yu Luocha wore a stern expression as he prepared to light the fire and brew medicine in the pot. Before the fire was lit, the kitchen was pitch black – so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Yu Luocha didn’t bother hiding his gloomy expression.

It wasn’t just because of the disastrous dinner with Yan Hongyin, but also due to the lingering smell of blood in his nostrils.

–No sooner had the news about Fengsheng Pawnshop spread than people came probing. Such a quick response made Yu Luocha suspect that the news hadn’t even left Jiangnan, and that a sect elder was already in Jiangnan, intercepting the information to strike first.

Yan Hongyin, who was bent over selecting firewood across from the stove, also wore an unpleasant expression.

Three parts were due to today’s dinner fiasco, while seven parts were because of what still hung at the gate.

–She had just obtained the sarira from Chu Liuxiang when someone came to warn her. The timing was too perfect, making her wonder if one of her identities had been leaked and how much others knew, or rather…what kind of case was actually involved with the sarira?

“I…”

“I…”

They both spoke at the same time.

Yan Hongyin paused, then said, “You go first?”

Yu Luocha tucked the fire fold from the stove into his sleeve and said softly, “There’s no fire fold here. I’ll go back to the room to look for one, and get some water for brewing medicine while I’m at it.”

Yan Hongyin’s small courtyard wasn’t particularly large – just one simply furnished room – but it wasn’t small either. The herb garden and pond took up considerable space. The layout was simple, but the bamboo grove and trees provided thick coverage.

The well was behind the house past the bamboo grove. The kitchen was on the right side of the room. Yan Hongyin probably didn’t cook here often, so while the space was small, it was sufficient for brewing medicine. The kitchen’s design was quite clever – the wall facing the courtyard was solid brick, with the only window facing the pitch-black bamboo grove behind.

The moment Yu Luocha entered, he felt that if someone were to attempt assassination, this kitchen would be an excellent defensive position with strategic advantages.

Yan Hongyin naturally had no idea what her delicate and sensitive husband was thinking. She was wondering how to avoid Ah Yu, who surely couldn’t sleep at this hour, to get to the front courtyard.

The corpse hanging outside definitely needed to be dealt with before dawn. Whether it was human or animal, seeing something so bloody would likely frighten her gentle and kind-hearted husband.

The intruder had already left, so the courtyard was safe now.

With this in mind, Yan Hongyin said, “I’ll go look for the fire fold. It’s dark, and I’m more familiar with the room.”

“Alright.”

Yu Luocha only wanted to send Yan Hongyin away so he could investigate the fence area – what she did didn’t matter to him.

After all, if Yan Hongyin discovered the corpse at dawn, it would be easy for his cover to be blown during the investigation.

This was clearly the work of someone from the martial arts world. Yan Hongyin was just a doctor – one who kept her distance from martial artists – and wouldn’t normally attract such trouble.

The couple stood across the stove, one standing and one crouching, each planning their next move.

“It’s too dark. I’ll go find the fire fold and candles now,” Yan Hongyin stood and walked toward the door.

Yu Luocha listened to the footsteps fade away, then tossed the fire fold hidden in his sleeve into the straw pile and kicked it around a bit. He grabbed a gourd ladle nearby and headed toward the well in the back courtyard.

Once Yu Luocha’s figure was hidden by the bamboo grove, Yan Hongyin emerged from the shadows under the corner eaves where she had been treading lightly. She used her qi to lighten her body, stepping off the wall like a leaf carried by the wind, landing silently and gracefully by the fence outside the courtyard gate.

In the thin moonlight, Yan Hongyin saw that hanging on the fence was a skinned, headless male corpse, appearing to be only eleven or twelve years old based on its size.

Rather than immediately taking down the body, Yan Hongyin examined it for clues with an almost coldly calm demeanor.

The neck wasn’t cut cleanly, but there weren’t multiple chop marks either.

It would take great strength to cut off a head, suggesting the killer knew martial arts but not external styles. They might even be short in stature or…

Yan Hongyin’s eyes narrowed.

A woman.

Hanging a corpse on the fence was full of warning and provocation, but choosing a defenseless youth suggested either something suspicious about the victim’s identity or, more likely, the killer’s limited abilities.

Yan Hongyin’s hand slid to the corpse’s swollen abdomen and pressed gently. Some liquid seeped from the artificially sutured wound.

The body couldn’t be disposed of rashly – it needed to be examined by a coroner.

Yan Hongyin carefully dragged the corpse to the edge of the bamboo grove and covered it with thick fallen leaves, quickly wiped clean the blood from the fence, then returned to the house to search for flint just as she had come.

Just as Yan Hongyin closed the door, almost simultaneously, Yu Luocha, who had somehow circled around the back of the fence, walked to the courtyard gate. Following the lingering smell of blood, Yu Luocha stood before the wiped bamboo, ran his long jade-white hand over it, and brought it to his nose – the familiar rusty smell.

It was human blood.

In the moonlight, the curly-haired man’s lips curved up as he walked in a certain direction.

Human blood has a unique salty smell – anyone who has tasted it would never confuse it with animal blood.

Yu Luocha crouched in the bamboo grove and brushed aside the leaves covering the corpse. Looking at the brutally killed flesh that left no trace of identity, Yu Luocha tilted his head.

Skinning was an inefficient and thankless task, and with both skinning and beheading… what was the killer trying to hide?

Yu Luocha reached out to grasp the corpse’s wrist bone, as if discovering something, completely unbothered by the pungent bloody smell. His hands became stained with dark red blood as he felt around, looking terrifying.

Moments later, Yu Luocha withdrew his hands and grimly covered the corpse with leaves again, then quietly returned to the well surrounded by bamboo the way he came.

As the cold well water washed away the filthy blood from his hands, Yu Luocha’s gaze was cold, clouded with dark thoughts.

This beheaded and skinned person was a front hall clerk from Hefang Shop.

The Luocha Sect’s spies typically practiced external martial arts. To avoid looking too strong and muscular, many would use bone-contracting techniques to forcibly alter their build during training, making them better suited for infiltration. Their bone joints were different from normal people.

An external martial artist, a Luocha Sect disciple sent to Jiangnan, killed in this way, with the body thrown outside the walls where he was recuperating…

Who had guessed his identity and found his location?

....

When Yu Luocha entered the kitchen carrying a ladle of well water, Yan Hongyin had already lit the fire in the stove.

The firelight illuminated Yan Hongyin’s face, the golden-red warmth making Yu Luocha pause at the door.

“You’re back?” Yan Hongyin looked up and saw Yu Luocha at the door. “Was it very dark by the well?”

“Yes, there wasn’t much light,” Yu Luocha walked over slowly and poured the water from the ladle into the medicine pot.

Knowing her own destructive power at brewing medicine, and since both their stomachs had finally settled, Yan Hongyin simply sat hugging her knees watching the beautiful man brew medicine.

The night wind blew through the window into the room. Yan Hongyin’s nose twitched as she caught a familiar, faint salty smell.

The smell of human blood.

Yan Hongyin instinctively looked down at her hands, but the smell came from…

She stood and walked toward Yu Luocha. In the firelight, she saw large wet patches on both his sleeves.

“What happened?” She grabbed Yu Luocha’s hand that was fanning the fire, her fingertips feeling his damp sleeve. “The well water is cold – wearing wet clothes outside will make you sick.”

The sleeves were wet with water, but the salty smell grew stronger the closer she got to Ah Yu.

Yan Hongyin had just found a corpse in the courtyard and was particularly sensitive to this smell.

“Ah Yu, why do you smell of blood?” Yan Hongyin was now so close their knees almost touched.

Yu Luocha’s lips held a helpless smile as he said softly, “I didn’t want to worry you.”

He held out his hands – both palms had what looked like cuts across them, with flesh split open and bleeding.

The wounds weren’t deep, but being fresh, the bleeding hadn’t completely stopped.

“There’s a sharp-edged stone by the well. Hongyin, you must be careful when getting water next time,” said Yu Luocha, who had deliberately cut his own palms. His caring words provided a perfect explanation for any traces that might be found by the well. “I washed the wounds with well water, it’s nothing serious.”

Yan Hongyin held Yu Luocha’s hands with furrowed brows. “No, even shallow wounds will leave scars. Let me apply medicine when we get back.”

“Alright, thank you Hongyin.” Yu Luocha nodded compliantly, then suddenly frowned and withdrew his hands to clutch his stomach, looking pained.

Yan Hongyin knew the reason and silently lowered her head.

How could she have known that following the recipe and adding just a bit of medicinal herbs for health would turn out like this?

After the medicine was brewed and they each drank their portion.

Yan Hongyin finished bandaging Yu Luocha’s hands and said apologetically, “Today is your first day taking medicine, I should stay by your side, but there should be developments regarding the recent Merchant Guild incident, so I still need to go there today.”

Yan Hongyin’s departure suited Yu Luocha’s purposes, so he said, “Go ahead with your business, Hongyin. I’ll stay here – what could happen?”

Thinking of last night’s corpse, Yan Hongyin said, “You should still go to Yan Hong Hall. It’s too remote here, and the maids can’t look after you.”

“Alright,” Yu Luocha nodded good-naturedly.

Perfect timing to collect the clothes hidden in the pear tree in Yan Hong Hall’s back courtyard.

.....

After Yan Hongyin left, Yu Luocha returned to where he had examined the corpse last night, only to find the area had been cleaned and the corpse had vanished.

Yu Luocha stood there for a long while, then took out the medicine pills Yan Hongyin had made this morning and raised his hand to cough lightly.

Whether or not his whereabouts were exposed, he had to stay here during these seven days of taking medicine— and ensure Yan Hongyin’s safety.

***

Jinyiwei stronghold – Morgue.

“How is it?”

“Reporting to Daren, these were found in the corpse’s abdomen.”

Ji Qing, who had received orders this morning to move the corpse for the coroner’s examination, stepped forward to present what was on the tray to Yan Hongyin.

On the tray was a piece of fabric torn from clothing and a pile of stones of various sizes.

Yan Hongyin picked up the fabric – it wasn’t any precious silk or satin. On the contrary, it was very common cotton cloth that many commoners would wear.

Suddenly, Yan Hongyin’s gaze fixed on the fabric. She held it up to the light and tilted it again.

Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.

A faint blue showed through the fabric.

Ji Qing: “The coroner also found that the cause of death wasn’t beheading, but poison.”

Death by poison, followed by beheading and skinning, with items hidden in the abdomen… things were getting more interesting.

Yan Hongyin asked, “Can the poison be identified?”

“Yes,” Ji Qing said decisively.

Yan Hongyin’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Generally, poisons were rarely identified so quickly, unless the killer used a poison with very distinctive symptoms.

“Tianyi Divine Water.”