When he arrived back home, his mother was asleep on her usual rocking chair. Carefully, Hongxin closed the door and went to pick up his mother to her room. But Zhueze has woken up right after Hongxin took another step closer.
Zhueze quickly asked his son, "How is aunt Nan Yu?"
The boy hanged his coat and replied, "When I was at the front of her house, Auntie Nan Yu already lighten up the fireplace. It seems she have arrived safely. Ma don't have to worry."
The old woman let out a relieved sigh before she patted his son's head softly, "Thank you, Hongxin. Now go to sleep, we need to wake up early tomorrow."
"En."
After seeing his mother went into her own room, he moved to the woven mat on the living room and lay down on his back, his long hair loosen free. He purposely didn't close the window just so he could easily glanced upwards to look at the sky.
It used to be a mere hobby of his until he learned properly how to look for constellations by one of the elders, so that he could determined when to sow or harvest. Or when the winter is coming.
He heard about a thing called calendar that was widely used in the central town, sadly enough, no one would be willing to help such a secluded and hidden village. That's why they're left behind regarding any newest thing in the kingdom.
He whispered to himself, "For some reason, today I don't feel sleepy at all..."
As if there was something pulling him to stay awake. Maybe because he couldn't stop thinking about his peers' fates. It's been months and not a single letters from them. Are they safe?
Despite them not being close to most of them, except for Yuri, he couldn't help but to be worried. Amidst his humming, he silently prayed that they would achieve whatever they are chasing for and quickly come back to their parents.
Slowly, the knot in his mind slowly loosened and Hongxin finally asleep.
-
It's been a long time since Zhuezu woke up first before Hongxin. It's a bit early but at least she thought she could make breakfast for today. Knowing that full winter is coming soon, she acknowledged that they have a lot to prepare before it came. As soon as she finished making vegetable porridge, she called for her son.
"Hongxin, its time to wake up,"
Thankfully he was a light sleeper so with only a few calls he was already awake. Hongxin pushed back few of his hair and he could smell the fragrance of the soup,
"Wah! Ma, you already make today's breakfast?"
"Yes, now go and eat first before its cold. We got a lot to do today."
He swiftly got up and head straight to the kitchen and have their breakfast together and had a small talk for tonight's dinner. Hongxin always loved Zhuezu's cooking, no matter what she made. Right after that, both of them prepared themselves and head out into the forest.
"We're going to cover up the holes at the roof first. Let's go and chop some woods."
Before Hongxin could nod in agreement, a group of elders rushed towards their house.
Suddenly, the sound of the village's bell rang throughout the whole place, a signal for them to gather at the hall quick.
Both of them startled, and quickly moved towards the hall and met another group of villagers heading the same way. They were talking among them and didn't even notice Zhuezu and Hongxin.
Curious, Hongxin asked, "What happened?"
The group turned their heads towards him, eyes widen.
"Ah- Um, m-m-morning, b-both of y-you..! um- we.."
The man was so nervous he failed to finish his own sentence.
Gu Jiang who was walking with them quickly stepped forward and said, "I heard from my husband that someone was murdered." Her face darken as she said that.
Both Hongxin and his mother were shocked, Zhueze quickly clasped her mouth with her hands, still in disbelief.
"W-We need to hurry up to the hall.. What if the killer is here..?" The stuttering man just now spoke, his face paled.
Unfortunately for that man, Gu Jiang harbours a power as a relative of the village's committee, and the group didn't move without her. Instead, the woman looked at Hongxin with conflicted eyes, her face suddenly turned hostile towards him.
Hongxin flinched at the sight of it and staggered back. "Auntie..?"
"You..." She breathed in. "You went out around Nan Yu's house last night, ha?"
Both Hongxin and Zhuezu quickly got what she was implying just now.
"What..?" Zhueze's face was distorted in disbelief. The image of Nan Yu flooded her mind, along with her son who probably doesn't even know that his mother has gone.
"What do you mean..?" Hongxin asked, his voice trembled a bit for seeking the meaning of the woman's question.
One of them started to sob uncontrollably when Gu Jiang mentioned her. The sobbing woman quickly said, "I- I was planning to invite Nan Yu to eat together at my house as usual but... but when I went inside…"
The woman's face turned white and sobbed even harder. Her husband quickly consoled her and continued her story, "I was accompanying her to Nan Yu's house at that time. We woke up together and cook breakfast together. After that, she asked me to walk her to her house and I decided to wait outside. It was then she saw Nan Yu's body…"
His voice trailed off as he spaced out.
To have a grown man reacted like that, the poor old woman's end must be a tragic one.
And Hongxin hate to admit that.
Her body was in such a condition, no witnesses dared to tell it. They all kept quiet and mourned over her pass.
"I've seen the body before coming fetching other villagers to the hall," Gu Jiang said, her voice sharp as a broken glass. "It was impossible to say it was a work of wild animals. The wound is extremely intricate, as if it was a human doing those thing."
It was clear as a day. She meant it was a work of another person, a murder!
"I saw your son, Hongxin last night!" another elderly woman hastily started. "I was checking out my garden before I went inside and saw Hongxin walking back from Nan Yu's house!"
Zhueze quickly got what they were onto and calmly replied, "No, my son has nothing to do with this. I was the one who instructed him to accompany her after she visited me last night. She rejected my offer and so I had to send my son off secretly."
Hongxin nodded at his mother's words yet he swore deeply in his heart. He remembered the weird incident of how Aunt Nan Yu can be at her home fast. Too fast. He was sure there was something going on...
But no one would believed him. Is what his heart says.
Poor young Hongxin, his mind went haywire as a tension building up in his head. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to subside the aching pain and nervousness.
"But your son doesn't have any proof that he didn't do anything... in fact, he was the last one seen around Nan's house!" Gu Jiang retorted.
"And what's your proof that he did it? You said you saw my son walking away from the house right? Do you see any blood on his hands? Do you see him wielding any weapon on his hands?" Zhueze's eyes turned red, whether both anger or sadness, Hongxin didn't know.
Hongxin held his mother's robe tightly, his lips curled inwards trying to suppress his conflicted emotions. He's afraid if he speak now, his voice would trembled too much, nothing is comprehensible.
The husband of the witness sheepishly said, "What Zhueze said is right. We shouldn't really point fingers at each other now…"
Gu Jiang threw a dirty look at the woman's husband for not supporting her. The situation turned quiet and heavy.
"Last night… I only followed her until I could see the smoke and lights from her house and I didn't even stepped into Aunt Nan Yu's house. I thought auntie was preparing to settle down so I didn't bother any further and assumed auntie is fine." Hongxin slowly, yet steadily enunciated each words carefully.
At this point, no one dared to say anything and most of them looked back at Gu Jiang, seeking a response from her.
Suddenly, the faint sound of metal colliding with each others caught their attention.
A man leaning on one of the trees crossed his hands on his chest and let out a soft sigh. His golden locks made him stands out more that the rest of the greens behind him. He turned his head, displaying a pair of shining golden eyes.
"I had a hunch saying that murder was not committed by a... mere human."
The villagers, especially Gu Jiang dropped their mouths open in shock. The words they heard quickly snapped them back into reality.
"WHO ARE YOU?!"
That man, Kaine, laughed and replied, "I'm Kaine, just a traveller from the West. I camped for a while nearby this area. Didn't notice there was a village here."
Hongxin and his mother both were in shocked too. It was logical for the village to go unnoticed giving how secluded they were, but knowing the fact there are people travelling deep in the South Forest made him suspicious.
He crossed his arms on his chest, "Come on now, I can prove my innocence if you want." The tone of his voice was playful yet the look on his eyes says otherwise. Hongxin just observed the situation in front of him quietly.
"In fact, would a killer assist other in solving the case?"
The husband of the witness quickly said, "T-Then prove your innocence if you say so!"
After seeing enough of the unsatisfied looks from the others, he summoned a small cube on his hands and said with a blank face, "Now, ask me anything and if I lie, this stone will emit a blinding red light."
One of the men were shocked seeing the stone and exclaimed, "That stone..! Isn't that the famous lie detector artifact? It must be!"
"Indeed it is. Now, any questions before I keep this back?"
Seeing the opportunity, Gu Jiang hastily asked, "Are you really a traveller?"
"That is true." The stone stayed emitting white light.
"Do you have any relation with the murder?"
There was a pause before Kaine smiled. "Indeed, I am."
The light suddenly turned into an illuminating red light that caught all of them by surprise. None of them managed to close their eyes and had their eyes directly look when the red light shines. Thankfully, Hongxin accidentally closed his eyes due to a sudden blow of winds on his face and avoided the same fate like others.
All of them turned quiet and stared suspiciously towards the man. As the red light slowly dims, Kaine asked, "There was a murder, right? Don't all of you have to gather all the one left and discuss it together instead of ganging up on someone? The real perpetrator is probably out there lurking around and here you are, what a bunch of fools."
All of them didn't say anything so Hongxin quickly chirped in, "What he said is... partly true. It's wrong for you to just pinpoint to anyone you think suitable when there's no enough evidence and discussion. We even interrogated a traveller without discussing this with chief."
Hongxin doesn't want to said 'we' but technically he was there and didn't stop them, so it's probably the best to just say 'we'.
"That's it, lets gather at the center. Leader is probably waiting for us…" one of the women said before hurriedly walk away. Seeing the group slowly to disperse, Gu Jiang felt restless and quickly dragged her husband, leaving the three behind.
Even though the crowds had dispersed, the blond looked at the fading crowd with sharp eyes as if judging them silently. He turned his head, golden eyes met luminous black.
"So, Hongxin, right?" Kaine asked, one of his hands rested on the his side as he keeps the cube away.
He nodded, "Yes, and you're..."
"You can call me Kaine," Another smile appeared on his face, promptly keeping back the cube into his pocket before continuing, "You should just defend yourself quickly there. It is as clear as day that auntie wanted to blacken your name for some reason," The tone was like a parent scolding their child.
Hongxin never thought he'd get scolded by someone he just met.
"I…" Hongxin's voice trailed off. What that man said was true, he could sense the ill intent from Gu Jiang but didn't know what to do. He has never been accused before, let alone fighting with someone else. So his words are jumbling inside his head, it was hard for him to create a sentence when his mind was flooded.
"It's my fault that I didn't teach how to defend himself." Zhueze said, her face gloomy. Too much had happened when its still early in the morning, and she took a few seconds to composed herself.
Kaine examined their faces for a while before saying, "It's alright, its normal for humans to pin point others when a trouble came, don't think too much about their reckless behaviour just now. After all, the truth will come sooner."
Both Hongxin and Zhueze just smiled and said nothing. It was too shocking for them to forget it. Instead of staying with the same topic, Zhueze asked the blond man,
"This is my first time meeting such a young traveller like you. Are you travelling alone?" Just by her tone Hongxin could guess she was forcing herself to be friendly.
Kaine put on a smile wider than before, " Yes, I'm travelling alone, its easy if you know how to survive outside."
"I see," Zhueze replied coldly.
Hongxin just nodded his head in awe. Travelling do sounds fun but he prefers staying in a place
he's familiar, for now, probably.
Zhueze has been really quiet for awhile, her eyes quietly scanning Kaine in which he responded with a stronger gaze.
Both of them looked at each other as if they were in a staring contest before Hongxin quietly whispered to his mother, sensing something was off.
"Ma, are you alright?"
Zhueze smiled although her forehead seemed to sweat a bit.
Hongxin stared at her with thoughtful eyes, no response at all as if he was expecting more elaboration.
Quickly, she continued, "Let's go, they are probably waiting for us at the hall." The boy's face drop after he heard this.
Both of the young man quickly followed behind Zhueze in unison, Hongxin slowly inching closer to the taller man secretly. In a low voice, Hongxin asked the blond man,
"You're joining the meeting too?"
"Hm, maybe I can help with anything. I have a lot of artifacts with me after all."
"Kaine, before this you said something about this murder was caused by something not human, why do you say that?"
"Have you heard about 'wandering fiends'?"
Hongxin nodded.
"Demons,"
"Correct," Kaine nodded and continued, "Last night, I sensed a strong presence of them here and decided to stay around for awhile. Even a faint sign of them is bad enough, and this area is filled with it since yesterday night."
Hongxin's curiosity peaked and he inched closer, trying to know more about it. But Zhueze noticed it and shot a look at his son while shaking her head, signalling him to stop talking with the stranger. She tried to be discreet but Hongxin could sensed that Kaine noticed it anyways.
Well, there was an attempt.
"..I'll tell you once we settled this at the hall."
Kaine smiled and purposely walked slower, making the gap between them become bigger again.
Hongxin's mouth gaped when he heard that cliffhanger but he just nodded when he saw Zhueze throwing looks at him again for a second.
"You'd better."
After all, he couldn't shake the feeling that Kaine must know something about this murder.
Before he walked away from the man, he took a glance back and noted about the faint scent of camellias from the traveller. No wonder since their village's border is surrounded with lots of wild Camellias.
Kaine just gave him a smile when their eyes met.