Flipping through the innkeeper's register, Wei Shuxuan noticed that the guests in the rooms on either side of the one where the murder had occurred hadn't checked out yet. However, the innkeeper seemed to have moved them to different rooms. "Innkeeper, I'd like to talk to the guests who were staying in the rooms on either side of that one on the day of the murder."
"Sure, please follow me."
The guests in the room on the left were a pair of brothers.
Wei Shuxuan quickly sized up the two brothers. They were tall, with dark skin and dressed in tight-fitting outfits. It seemed they were martial artists.
"Hello, I'm Wei Luo. I'm here on a mission to investigate a murder case. Don't worry. I just have a few questions and I'll be gone soon."
The two brothers glanced at each other and nodded.
"I'd like to ask what you were doing on the night of the incident?"
Wei Shuxuan had brought over her modern habits and was taking notes on the two brothers.
"On that night, my brother and I had just checked in. After traveling for several days, we were exhausted. So we didn't go anywhere. After dinner, we just rested in our room."
Wei Shuxuan thought for a moment. "What did you have for dinner that night?"
"Of course, we drank and ate meat! That's what we people in the jianghu do!" Another man replied eagerly.
"Drinking. I also like to have a few sips. I wonder how much you two drank?" Wei Shuxuan smiled and chatted with them amiably.
"We drank about seven large jars."
"Did you hear any strange noises when you were resting at night?"
"No!" The two brothers answered in unison.
As far as Wei Shuxuan knew, one jar of wine here was at least equivalent to two liters in modern times. These two men were really good drinkers, and it was all white liquor.
"You're really good drinkers," Wei Shuxuan wrote down the last sentence and then stood up. "Thank you for your cooperation. I'll be leaving now."
"Okay, Brother Wei. Come and have a few drinks with us when you're free!"
The two brothers seemed quite enthusiastic, but Wei Shuxuan still declined politely.
".....Sure."
Those who drank so much would surely be fast asleep. How could they hear anything?
After coming out of the room, Wei Shuxuan walked towards the other room.
The guests in the room on the right at that time were a family of three, a couple and their child.
When Wei Shuxuan walked in, she only saw a woman in a blue dress sitting on a chair, seemingly teaching her child to read and write.
"Hello, I'm from the government. I'm here to take your statements."
The woman in the blue dress was a bit nervous when she first saw Wei Shuxuan, but she relaxed when she heard that Wei Shuxuan was from the government.
"Please sit down, Officer."
I don't have the surname 'Officer'! Wei Shuxuan rolled her eyes inwardly at this address.
"On the night when the murder occurred, where were you and what were you doing?" Wei Shuxuan habitually took out her notebook.
"On that night, my husband and I took our child out to stroll around the night market and bought some fruit wine."
"Fruit wine?" Wei Shuxuan noticed something amiss and looked up at the woman in the blue dress.
"Yes, it's the very famous bayberry wine in Liuyun Town. My husband and I both drank some before going to sleep."
I wonder how strong the aftertaste of this bayberry wine is. I'll buy some later and try it. Wei Shuxuan was making notes while thinking.
"May I ask if you heard any strange noises at night?"
The woman in the blue dress thought for a moment and looked at Wei Shuxuan apologetically. "......I'm sorry, I didn't hear any sound."
Just then, the child beside the woman interjected, "No, I heard a sound in the middle of the night."
Wei Shuxuan held the notebook with the very important statement from the child just recorded. She walked down the stairs, carefully recalling the child's words.
On that night, the couple had both drunk some bayberry wine. As far as Wei Shuxuan knew, fruit wine usually had a strong aftertaste. So it was normal that they didn't hear any sound.
However, the child was young. It was normal that he wasn't allowed to drink. And they had just been out for a stroll in the night market. It was also normal that the child was full of playfulness and didn't want to sleep when they got back.
Moreover, the child told her that in the middle of the night, he heard the sound of something falling from the window sill.
In that case, she should go and check the snow where the body was found again.
Wei Shuxuan came to the snow where the body was found. There was much less snow on the ground, and she couldn't find anything at all. But she still carefully observed the surrounding environment.
She remembered seeing a blood - stained stone here before. She squatted down and rummaged through the piled - up stones with a branch.
Sure enough, the stone was still there.
Picking up the stone, Wei Shuxuan found that there wasn't much blood on it. She rummaged through the other stones, and some of them were also stained with blood. Based on her years of experience, she thought the blood seemed to have been splashed from above.
She looked up at the closed window. Her mind was working fast as she was simulating a reasonable course of the crime.
The head and limbs should have been thrown down from the window sill.
Wei Shuxuan thought the murderer was really cruel. Not only did he poison the three victims, but he also dismembered them. How much hatred could there be to do such a thing?
Hey, wait a minute... Hatred? A glimmer of insight flashed through her mind.
So, this was very likely a case of revenge killing.
Xin Zizhao returned to the inn where he was staying. After a good sleep, he felt less fatigued. He looked around, and that person hadn't come back yet.
He got up, tidied his clothes, picked up his sword and left.
His intuition told him that that guy must be there.
After sorting out the clues she had obtained, just as Wei Shuxuan was about to enter Laifu Restaurant, she saw Xin Zizhao in white walking towards her.
Xin Zizhao casually glanced at the stones scattered on the ground and asked indifferently, "Any findings?"
"Why are you here?" Wei Shuxuan looked at Xin Zizhao curiously. "Didn't you say you were going to rest?"
Xin Zizhao ignored her, walked straight past her, squatted down to check the stones on the ground, and then looked up at the closed window above.
"What do you think?" Wei Shuxuan looked at Xin Zizhao's expression and felt that he should have noticed something.
"The same as you," Xin Zizhao stood up and walked to Wei Shuxuan's side. "What's your idea?"
"I think it should be a revenge killing case."
Xin Zizhao raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything.
"I still need to find one more person now."