Chapter 146: Flower of Hatred

"Give me back my daughter!"

Fang Yuankang suddenly rushed in, glaring furiously at Baili Moran, who merely cast a cold, indifferent glance at him without a word.

"A healer cannot heal themselves. This old man couldn't even save his own daughter, yet I still dared to speak of saving lives and curing the sick. It is utterly laughable." Fang Yuankang sighed, his face a mask of profound grief.

"Lord Fang, please compose yourself. Was Fang Tingyu an old acquaintance of Huang Jingxian?" Ji Changge asked, turning toward Fang Yuankang.

Fang Yuankang pondered for a moment and said, "Our Fang family and the Huang family have been close for generations. My daughter and Jingxian were always good friends. Later, after Lord Huang was imprisoned, the two gradually grew apart. I am to blame for this; at the time, fearing gossip, I forbade my daughter from maintaining too close a contact with Jingxian."

Ji Changge turned his gaze back to Baili Moran. "Tell us how you carried out the murders. How did you kill the Abbess, Mingqing, and the others?"

"I lied to the Abbess, telling her that my father was coming to the Daoist temple to take me back. To show gratitude for her care over the years, I wanted to fund the renovation of the Lingyun Hall for the temple. Upon hearing this, the Abbess was overjoyed and invited me into her room for a detailed discussion. She never harbored the slightest suspicion toward the habitually obedient young nun 'Xiao Wu'. Once inside, I used a paralyzing drug to render her unconscious, and then I severed the tendons in her hands and feet. Who would have known that at that exact moment, that little wretch Mingxi would come knocking on the door? I hid by the entrance, and the moment she stepped inside and saw the Abbess, she tried to scream for help. So, I struck her with a knife and bound her as well."

The scenario matched the one they had reconstructed of the crime scene, except that the original deduction had pointed toward a short, stout female perpetrator, whereas Xiao Wu was not fat at all, Wen Jing thought to herself.

"I slashed the Abbess's carotid artery, and the blood spurted out like a waterfall. I had wrapped my entire body in cloth to keep the wretch's filthy blood from splashing onto me. Then, I sliced off their eyelids and tongues so they would be forced to watch each other bleed to death. That moment was truly exhilarating. There happened to be plenty of fine wine hidden in the Abbess's room; to celebrate the occasion, I drank half a jug and then leaped out the window. On my way back, I actually ran into that madwoman Mingzhi, but she didn't see who I was," Baili Moran said, her face glowing with triumph. As she recounted the scene, her eyes took on a somewhat intoxicated sheen.

Using cloth to shield herself—she hadn't thought of that detail. Yet that single oversight had led their initial deduction about a stout perpetrator to err by a hair, resulting in a miss by a thousand miles. And this concerned a matter of life and death.

"What about Mingqing?"

At the mention of Mingqing, Baili Moran's eyes grew even colder, and she practically gritted her teeth as she spoke. "That thieving nun Mingqing was a butcher with countless wronged souls on her hands. A-Xian died because of her. Heh, so she had to die too. I drugged her and dragged her to the back mountain. I wanted her to atone to A-Xian in person. The old hag never expected she would face such a day, and that her executioner would be 'Xiao Wu', whom she had constantly oppressed. She was so scared she peed her pants—the stench was utterly revolting, tsk tsk. I cut off her eyelids and tongue too. You must be wondering why I mutilated her mouth, right?"

Seeing the smile on Baili Moran's face, Wen Jing said coldly, "Go on."

"Because she loved nothing more than to beat and scold people simultaneously. What was she crying for? Smile for me! Since she loved to smile so much, I made sure she smiled to her heart's content!"

When she finished speaking, Baili Moran suddenly burst into laughter as well, as if recalling something immensely amusing, laughing uncontrollably.

The sharp, piercing laughter caused everyone's eardrums to ring, yet no one stepped forward to stop her. If not for this woman, driven nearly to madness, who knows how many more people would have perished in this den of demons? She was like a red lotus blooming in the depths of hell, using a demonic fire to incinerate everything within the underworld, including herself.

Only blood could wash away all sins.

"What about Qingliu? Was Qingliu killed by you?" Wen Jing looked at Baili Moran and asked. Her usually placid eyes revealed a hint of anxiety; she both wished to find the killer for Qingliu's sake and yet hoped against hope that Qingliu's death had not been the work of Baili Moran.

Baili Moran cast a skeptical look at Wen Jing. "Who is Qingliu? That ugly little maid who follows behind you? Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her in a long time. Is she dead?"

"Yes. Before Mingqing died, she was murdered and hanged from a tree."

"I didn't kill her. Since I've already confessed to murdering so many others, if I had done it, I certainly wouldn't deny it. Besides, I do not kill the innocent," Baili Moran replied without the slightest hesitation, her expression completely frank.

Baili Moran's words made Wen Jing's heart sink to the bottom once more. Just who had killed Qingliu?

Ji Changge glanced at Wen Jing, paused for a moment, and turned back to Baili Moran to ask, "That caravan of merchants—were they also killed by you?"

"Yes. Originally, I intended to frame Ruan Qinglian, but that doesn't mean those people were good. Every time they came here, several nuns would disappear from the temple. Those nuns must have been sold beyond the frontier to please the barbarians in exchange for goods. They deserved to die too," Baili Moran said indifferently.

"Didn't the families of those missing nuns ever grow suspicious? If they came looking for them, wouldn't that expose the flaw?" Wen Jing asked. This was a question she had harbored all along; could it be that things never once went awry?

Baili Moran glanced at Wen Jing, a trace of mockery crossing her features. "You underestimate the Abbess. If she weren't certain of success, she would never have acted. Even if a few sharp-eyed family members of the victims discovered anomalies, they were forced to swallow their bitter pills because the Abbess held dirt on them. And if they truly cherished their kin, why would they send them to such a desolate and bitter place in the first place?"

Having said this, Baili Moran cast a sidelong glance at Fang Yuankang. The old man's face flushed slightly, and he defended himself, "That was because you fell ill, and so..."

"Wasn't it because of Madam Fang?" Baili Moran interrupted him with a cold laugh.

Fang Yuankang's expression froze, and he fell silent, his eyes growing even more complex—whether filled with guilt or remorse was hard to tell.

"You entered the temple the year before last. Why did you endure until now before making your move?" Ji Changge asked.

Baili Moran glanced at him and drawled, "Because previously, I couldn't fully control this body. If I had suddenly transformed into Xiao Wu at a critical juncture, not only would I have failed to kill my enemies, but I would have thrown away my own life. I never do anything without certainty. When it comes to murder, you only get one chance—especially with someone like Abbess Feng; she would never grant me a second."

The matter was essentially clear, but how should the judgment be pronounced? Was the culprit Xiao Wu or Baili Moran?

Yet Baili Moran was merely a non-existent entity, while Xiao Wu had no awareness of what she had done. Wen Jing looked at Ji Changge, whose brow was similarly furrowed.

"We will return to the capital and hold a joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices before rendering a verdict. Take her away for now," Ji Changge instructed Ding Wu.

The killer had been found, but no one's expression was lighthearted. Not all criminals were heinous monsters, nor were all victims worthy of sympathy. If anything, everyone secretly wished that Xiao Wu could be acquitted, knowing full well how slim that possibility was.

"Lord Ji, I beg you to save my daughter's life! It is all my fault for failing to watch over her properly. If anyone is to be punished, judge me guilty instead!" Fang Yuankang suddenly dropped to his knees before Ji Changge, tears streaming down his aged face.

Ji Changge hurried to help him up. "Lord Fang, please rise. The outcome is not yet decided; do not lose your composure prematurely. There may still be room for turnaround."

A flicker of hope crossed Fang Yuankang's eyes. He could tell that Ji Changge was inclined to favor Xiao Wu's side. However, the impending joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices would inevitably alert the Emperor himself, making the final outcome exceedingly difficult to predict. With a heavy sigh, he resolved that as long as there was even a shred of hope, he could not give up.

...

"Tomorrow we can finally head back! If we don't leave soon, a gust of wind is going to blow me right off my feet," Dongsheng muttered, poking at the greens and tofu on the dining table with his chopsticks.

Seeing that Ji Changge and Wen Jing remained silent, Dongsheng continued, "Look at my complexion—is it the exact same color as these vegetables?"

Ji Changge glanced at him. "I, for one, am not particularly eager to return."

Hearing Ji Changge's non-sequitur reply, Dongsheng was momentarily startled before understanding his meaning. Returning to the capital meant stepping back into the days of covert struggles and political schemings. Although life in this Daoist temple had been austere, by comparison, it offered far more freedom.

"Qianniang, pack your things and return to the capital with us. Since you were never formally initiated into the temple, you only need to bring your household registration record back," Ji Changge told Wen Jing.

"Very well," Wen Jing replied. Qingliu's cause of death remained unraveled, but remaining here served no further purpose. Ruan Qinglian, Xuanyu, and the others were all to be escorted to the Dali Temple to await the joint trial.

Besides, she wondered if Jiuniang's marriage had been finalized yet. She still owed her a lavish wedding gift, after all.

...

The next day dawned clear and bright.

All the Daoist nuns of Huaqing Temple gathered in the courtyard, silently watching Xiao Wu, who wore handcuffs and foot shackles. Some of them quietly wiped away tears.

Ruan Qinglian and Xuanyu were locked inside a carriage in the rear.

"Mingxin, Mingyuan, the temple will be temporarily managed by the two of you. I hope you will oversee things properly and await further decisions after the verdict," Ji Changge said to the two nuns.

Mingxin and Mingyuan prostrated themselves on the ground. "Yes, My Lord."

"Set off!"

At Ding Wu's shouted command, the driver cracked his whip, and the carriage procession set off in the direction of the capital.

"Does current law contain any provisions for pardoning or mitigating the criminal responsibility of mentally ill offenders?" Wen Jing asked Ji Changge.

"It does, but there are no strict guidelines; judgments are made on a case-by-case basis at the magistrate's discretion. Some are sentenced to execution in the autumn," Ji Changge replied.

Noticing Ji Changge's hesitation, Wen Jing understood his concern. Ancient laws were not as comprehensive as modern ones, and law enforcement was invariably colored by feudal interests and personal emotions.

"Furthermore, the determination of mental illness is extremely vague. Who knows how Fang Tingyu's condition will be judged?" Ji Changge said, his brow slightly furrowed.

He feared that by then, the focus of attention would shift entirely away from the case itself, leading authorities to simply lock her away as a demon. That was his greatest worry, alongside Ruan Qinglian and the implicated officials. Gazing at the city gates looming ahead, Ji Changge took a deep breath, steeling himself for the impending tempest.

Fortunately, there was still someone accompanying him. Looking at the serene countenance of Wen Jing beside him, Ji Changge suddenly felt a measure of calm settle over his heart. For reasons unknown, as long as Qianniang was by his side, he felt certain that any storm could be weathered.