"Then, not much later, Xia Lie, the Young Master, arrived at the Taoist temple with his Martial Cultivator Guard."
He glanced at Lin Yue, whose face was expressionless, before continuing, "At that time, as Xia Lie, the Young Master, was passing by the entrance of the temple, I don't know what happened, but he suddenly knocked over Lin Yue's food box, and even started to fight with that woman. Later on, he even had the Guard restrain Lin Yue and stabbed the woman with a sword."
Lieutenant Chu slightly furrowed his brows and gave Lin Yue a look, only to find the young man's face full of icy anger, the fury simply unstoppable.
"Afterwards..."
That slightly plump man recalled, "After Xia Lie, the Young Master, had stabbed the woman, he suddenly started to laugh out loud. He said he wanted to sever Lin Yue's tendons in his hands and feet, to cripple him, but for some reason, he just gave up and left."
"What?" Lieutenant Chu frowned, "He just gave up? What do you mean?"
The slightly plump man hesitated for a moment before saying, "I didn't see clearly what happened. At that moment, the Martial Cultivator Guard suddenly released Lin Yue and in the blink of an eye returned to Xia Lie, the Young Master's side. It seemed he whispered something and then directly led Xia Lie away."
Lieutenant Chu frowned and remained silent.
"My lord."
At this moment, a young master with an upright posture, dressed in a dark-colored brocade robe, suddenly came forward.
He bowed with hands clasped and said, "I was closer at the time and saw things more clearly. I also have some speculation about the situation."
It was none other than the Third Young Master from the governor's mansion, Xu Mingli.
"Oh, the son of Qingdu's Prefectural Governor?" Lieutenant Chu glanced at him and said indifferently, "Let's hear it."
Xu Mingli immediately spoke, "At that time, I saw that after the Martial Cultivator Guard released Brother Lin Yue, he seemed very alert, observing the surroundings as if facing a great enemy. Then he led Xia Lie away, as if he sensed some danger."
"Sensed danger?"
Lieutenant Chu narrowed his eyes slightly.
He knew the Martial Cultivator Guard was a trusted subordinate of the commanding officer, assigned to follow Xia Lie, naturally with the primary task of ensuring Xia Lie's safety.
After becoming a martial artist, one's perception of murderous intent and crises becomes extremely acute.
Could it be that he sensed some danger at that time, which is why he chose to release Lin Yue and prioritize Xia Lie's safety?
But what exactly was the danger?
Lieutenant Chu's gaze suddenly turned to Lin Yue, examining him carefully, yet he detected nothing out of the ordinary.
He could easily sense the young man's breathing, heartbeat, and aura; he was nothing more than a Mortal who had not even practiced martial arts.
The danger did not stem from this young man.
Then where did it come from?
Could it be that there was another expert present at the time, and the Guard had sensed it... Lieutenant Chu's mind flashed this thought before he looked towards Lin Yue again.
"Lin Yue, right?"
Lieutenant Chu stared at Lin Yue and said solemnly, "You know best what happened at the time. Why did Xia Lie, the Young Master, attack you?"
Lin Yue took a deep breath before slowly responding, "Why? I want to know too. I was merely eating a meal with her, not provoking anyone. That lunatic looked at us and suddenly charged over like a madman, even wanting to draw his sword to kill her, saying that I didn't need to thank him... Can you tell me, my lord, why this happened?"
His tone was very calm, and his voice was not loud.
But everyone could hear the indignation and anger hidden in his heart and feel the unextinguished fire within him.
"No need to thank him?"
Lieutenant Chu upon hearing this, suddenly remembered the first time he saw Xia Lie.
After the commander had people capture everyone who had humiliated Xia Lie, the Young Master, Xia Lie walked up to one of the maid-like girls, tearfully and loudly demanding if she regretted her actions.
Then, Xia Lie shakily picked up a knife and killed a wealthy young master next to the woman, splattering blood over Xia Lie's face. The woman hugged Xia Lie's legs, crying and begging for mercy. Xia Lie did not kill her but simply threw the knife away and staggered off.
Lieutenant Chu suddenly had a flash of understanding.
He looked at Lin Yue, sighed inwardly, and fell silent for a long while before finally speaking, "Perhaps you are innocent, but I am merely following orders. Please think carefully about why that Guard abruptly released you?"
"I don't know."
Lin Yue said quietly, "All I know is that anyone with even a shred of conscience wouldn't commit such wrongful acts, so..."
He left his last sentence unsaid.
—So, the Guard died.
Hearing this, Lieutenant Chu was slightly startled, a thought beginning to take shape in his mind.
Although he didn't fully understand the confidant of the commanding officer, since the person was from the military, there should be at least a trace of conscience.
Perhaps, there was another possibility—
The guard was merely following orders to protect Xia Lie, and perhaps upon seeing Lin Yue and the young woman's innocence, couldn't bear to continue acting as a tiger's accomplice and thus pretended to be facing a formidable enemy, allowing Lin Yue to escape?
Vice Commander Chu thought this and suddenly felt a bit enlightened.
However, he still didn't quite understand, how did the guard and Xia Lie disappear afterward?
No matter what, he needed to report the entire matter to the commanding officer, allowing the commanding officer to make a judgment.
After all, whether it was him as the vice commander or any other centurion, no one knew the origins of this Xia Lie; the commanding officer also merely called him the son of an old acquaintance.
But it was clear to everyone that even with his own flesh and blood, the commanding officer would not be so indulgent nor allow his confidant to always guard him so closely.
"Lin Yue."
Vice Commander Chu collected his thoughts, looked at Lin Yue, and asked, "What is your relationship with that woman?"
Lin Yue was silent for a moment, then softly said, "She used to be my neighbor, now... she is my unwed wife."
"Unwed wife?"
Vice Commander Chu furrowed his brow, not quite sure what to say, but knowing what he shouldn't say, and continued to ask, "What is her name? And where is she now?"
Lin Yue slightly bowed and replied, "Thanks to Xia Lie's blessing, my wife Su Ziqiu has not recovered from serious injuries and is unconscious all day, currently lying at my home. Do you wish for me to bring her for questioning?"
Vice Commander Chu looked at him and said, "No need."
He paused for a moment, then said, "I know you hold grievances, but as long as you can help us find Xia Lie, the commanding officer will not make things difficult for you and will even reward you. Then you can find a way to heal your wife."
Lin Yue said nothing, but a trace of imperceptible chill flashed in his eyes.
...
Shortly thereafter, this interrogation bound to yield no results had ended, and Vice Commander Chu left.
The Chief of the Taoist temple entrusted some useless pleasantries to the people before letting the many secular disciples leave.
After leaving, Lin Yue did not head straight home but instead deliberately took a detour to buy some herbs.
When he arrived home and unlocked the copper lock hanging on the door, he noticed that the dry grass he had intentionally placed in the door crack before leaving had disappeared.
—Someone had been here.
Yet Lin Yue acted as if he hadn't seen anything, opened the lock as usual, and pushed the door to enter.
The house was still filled with the strong scent of herbal medicine.
The young woman was still unconscious on the bed.
Lin Yue also noticed that the corner of the blanket he had purposely folded before leaving was now unfolded.
—Someone had lifted the blanket to check her wounds.
Lin Yue sat down next to the bed with a calm expression, casually lifted the blanket, and glanced at the wound on her chest wrapped in gauze, faintly smelling an unfamiliar hint of medicinal fragrance.
Peeking under the gauze, he discovered a very faint layer of medicinal powder on the wound he had cut, which had previously been inflamed and suppurated.
It seemed that not long ago, someone had come to apply medicine to her.
Suddenly, Lin Yue remembered Vice Commander Chu's final question and somewhat understood who the person that had applied the medicine was.
From the time Vice Commander Chu left the Taoist temple to Lin Yue's return home, there was plenty of time, at least half an hour.
For a martial cultivator who has embraced martial arts as his path, such a distance would probably take less than the time it takes to brew half a cup of tea, completely feasible to arrive ahead of him and verify if his words were true or false.
As for the simple door lock, it couldn't even prevent a slightly skilled thief, let alone pose a challenge to a martial cultivator with energy refined as silk.
It was probably Vice Commander Chu or someone he sent who specially came to check and conveniently helped with the medication.
And this was precisely the situation Lin Yue wanted to see.
Thus, before leaving, he had purposely used the medicine again to ensure she fell into a deep coma to avoid waking up midway and revealing any flaws.
"This time, everyone will believe you are Su Ziqiu."
Lin Yue looked mockingly at the young woman on the bed, the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.