126: That kid just loves killing people for fun!

Li Xunhuan stood inside Xingyun Manor, outside Lin Shiyin's door, momentarily unsure of what to do.

He raised his hand to knock, but the door opened silently before he could.

Lin Shiyin stood inside, dressed in plain white, her face thin and pale, with faint dark circles under her eyes that made her face appear even more fragile.

When she saw him, a flicker of extremely subtle emotion crossed her eyes, like a ripple in still water, then quickly returned to stillness, leaving only a profound weariness and detachment.

"You've come," her voice was dry, without much inflection.

Li Xunhuan's throat tightened, a thousand words choked in his chest, finally condensing into a low whisper: "...Shiyin."

He followed her into the house. The furnishings were much sparser; after they left, the servants had taken a portion of the original items, and the authorities, investigating the Plum Blossom Bandit's stolen goods, had plundered it again.

Now, the items in the room were only what Tie Chuanjia and Hunchback Sun had recently acquired.

Li Xunhuan looked at her slender back, so frail it seemed a gust of wind could topple her, and his heart ached. The words about the investigation, about the suspicious points, were almost impossible to utter.

But he had to ask.

He took a deep breath, his voice low:

"Shiyin, I've come to ask... did Big Brother ever mention his business dealings before his death?

Or... were there any unusual financial inflows?"

Lin Shiyin slowly turned around, and for the first time, clear emotion appeared in her eyes—a look of incredulous shock, which then transformed into deep disappointment.

"You... instead of finding Lu Jiuyuan, instead of avenging Xiaoyun, you... come to me to inquire about his accounts?"

Her voice trembled, "Li Xunhuan, he was your Big Brother. The deceased are to be respected. In your heart, what kind of person was he?

A despicable wretch whose financial dealings are to be suspected even after his death?"

"That's not what I meant!"

Li Xunhuan said urgently, his heart twisting as if by a knife. "It's just that there are many suspicious points, and rumors are rampant outside. I need to know more about the past to uncover the truth and clear Big Brother's name!"

"Clear his name?"

Lin Shiyin's eyes welled with tears, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. "He's already dead. What good is a clear name then?

Can it bring peace to the living? Or allow the dead to rest in peace?

Li Xunhuan, if you still have an ounce of old affection, if you still recognize him as your Big Brother, what you should do now is find Lu Jiuyuan and kill him!"

Her emotions flared, her slender fingers tightly clutching her sleeve: "And not be here, interrogating his widow about how much ill-gotten wealth he had in his lifetime!"

"Shiyin, calm down."

Li Xunhuan looked at her like this, feeling as if every breath was a stab of pain. "It is precisely because I must uncover the truth that I am forced to do this. Big Brother had a lifetime of good reputation, a chivalrous heart, always eager to help others, his name known throughout the land.

I cannot let him die and still bear the stigma of the Plum Blossom Bandit, becoming a rat that everyone hunts down.

Shiyin, avenging Big Brother is not difficult, but Big Brother's reputation must not be tarnished."

Lin Shiyin shook her head abruptly, tears finally falling: "No! Nothing! Xiaoyun never discussed these outside matters with me!

He only told me to stay home and raise Xiaoyun... He didn't say, and I never asked..."

She choked, looking at Li Xunhuan with eyes full of disappointment and despondency:

"All I know is that what he gave our mother and son was shelter from the wind and rain, a stable home, and a life free from worry about food and clothing.

Li Xunhuan, at this moment, by investigating these things, are you trying to avenge him, or... or do you, deep down, not trust him either?"

Li Xunhuan opened his mouth, but found that any explanation was pale and powerless before Shiyin at this moment.

She had lost her husband, witnessed her son and husband being killed. She only wanted revenge, a swift and satisfying revenge.

As for whether Long Xiaoyun was the Plum Blossom Bandit, he was already dead, and she didn't care!

She was just a grief-stricken wife.

Li Xunhuan looked at her tear-filled eyes, at the undisguised disappointment in her gaze towards him, and all words were stuck in his throat.

He suddenly felt incredibly tired.

Continuing the investigation might prove Long Xiaoyun was the Plum Blossom Bandit, or it might prove he wasn't.

But whether he was or wasn't, as long as he investigated, it would first completely break Shiyin's heart. Because all she wanted was revenge, and nothing more!

Li Xunhuan could avenge Long Xiaoyun, but he could not kill a chivalrous person.

If Long Xiaoyun truly was the Plum Blossom Bandit, then his death was well-deserved, and Lu Jiuyuan was acting on behalf of the Dao, a chivalrous act. Li Xunhuan had no reason to draw his blade against Lu Jiuyuan.

The dilemma, like two dull knives, repeatedly cut at his internal organs.

"Even if you don't avenge your Big Brother, do you not avenge Xiaoyun? He was just a nine-year-old child, what wrong did he commit? Yet he was cruelly murdered."

Lin Shiyin's face was covered in tears, and she said in agony: "Xiaoyun, he was just a child!"

With a bang, the door closed, and Lin Shiyin leaned against it, sobbing uncontrollably.

Li Xunhuan stood in the cold, desolate courtyard, unsure how to offer comfort.

Lin Shiyin's last question about Long Xiaoyun had indeed moved him.

Yes, what crime had that child committed? Even if Big Brother truly was the Plum Blossom Bandit, what sin did the innocent child have?

But why did Lu Jiuyuan not spare even a nine-year-old child?

Thinking of this, Li Xunhuan's heart gradually hardened.

He took a deep breath, and the confusion and pain in his eyes were gradually replaced by a resolute determination.

Regardless of whether Long Xiaoyun was the Plum Blossom Bandit, killing an innocent child was excessive.

He must seek justice for this wrong.

Hunchback Sun was hunched over, coming to check. He wanted to ask about the Treasury of Lianhua, intending to ask Lin Shiyin if she had given the Treasury of Lianhua to Li Xunhuan. But in the current situation, it was truly difficult to bring it up.

He saw Li Xunhuan standing pale-faced in the cold courtyard, his figure as lonely as a withered leaf in the autumn wind.

"Detective Li," Hunchback Sun shook his head and said, "Why all this suffering? The dead cannot be brought back to life; you must take care of your own body."

Li Xunhuan slowly turned his head, his gaze sorrowful, his voice so low it was almost inaudible: "Second Brother Sun, you say... what wrong could a nine-year-old child have committed? Worthy of... worthy of being..."

His words caught in his throat, unable to continue.

Upon hearing this, Hunchback Sun was silent for a moment. He rubbed his face with his rough palm, then sighed, a sigh filled with complex meaning.

"Detective Li," he looked up, his gaze somewhat shifting, as if making a decision, "There are some things I don't know if I should say or not...!"

Li Xunhuan's gaze suddenly focused on his face: "What is it? Second Brother Sun, please speak freely. You have guarded Li Garden for fourteen years, your kindness and loyalty are profound. Is there anything you cannot say?"

Hunchback Sun hesitated again, then led Li Xunhuan away from the small courtyard.

"Detective Li, you haven't been in Baoding Prefecture for a long time, so you might not know some things.

Master Long the Fourth and Madam Long are not the kind of people who would discipline their child. Long Xiaoyun, though exquisitely carved and beautiful, was not innocent and harmless."

"Master Long the Fourth had friends from all walks of life, and people often stayed at Xingyun Manor.

Master Long the Fourth and his wife didn't teach their child, so these people, to repay kindness, would teach him various things.

Slowly, they led him astray."

Li Xunhuan frowned slightly: "What do you mean by that?"

"Long Xiaoyun, though only nine years old, was extremely proficient in mechanisms and hidden weapons. He was honey-mouthed and dagger-hearted, stopping at nothing, and had killed far more than ten people. He enjoyed killing for pleasure!"

"Enjoyed killing for pleasure!" A chill ran from his tailbone straight to his brain, and Li Xunhuan felt a shiver go through his entire body.