Chapter 271: The Case Of The Historical Relics (1/2)

Two hours later, I returned to my room only to be greeted by an antsy Dali and teary-eyed Bingxin who had been too afraid to sleep. As soon as I entered the room, Dali pounced on me, choking back a sob, ”Dude, you’ve been gone for so long! I heard some noises outside but wasn’t sure what was happening so I didn't dare to sleep either. You scared me half to death!”

”It's okay, let's go to sleep now,” I said.

”Sleep?” the two blurted in unison.

”We need to recharge for tomorrow,” I explained. “Don't worry, there won’t be any problems tonight. If you’re so worried, then the three of us can take turns keeping watch.”

In that manner, the three of us rested till dawn when an ear-piercing shriek woke us up from our slumber. ”Chief... I mean, abbot, something has happened!”

The voice belonged to Scarface. ”Let’s go and have a look,” I suggested.

We tidied ourselves and quickly left the room. Havoc rained on the courtyard outside; the door to the abbot's meditation room had fallen open, the floor bloodied by a body with its face disfigured from being smashed in. It was Zhu Xiaohao as indicated by the clothes on the body and the makeshift frame tied to his leg. A thick branch covered with bits of flesh and solidified blood–the murder weapon–lay beside the body. Tongue-tied from the shock, Dali clutched my shirt, fingers shaking.

”Oh my God!” He stammered, “Z-zhu Xiaohao has been killed!”

Bingxin covered her mouth in disbelief, tears swirling in her eyes.

The abbot was livid, his jaw clenched so hard the veins popped on his face as if it took everything for him to keep his anger in check. Scarface walked over and whispered a few words into the abbot's ear.

”Fuck!” cursed the abbot. “Those two bastards!”

Feigning ignorance, I demanded, ”Abbot, what the hell is going on?! Why is our friend dead?”

Flustered, the abbot took forever to organize his speech. ”I don't know what happened either,” he replied. “It must have been Jingde and Jingci. Scum! Back when I took them in, I was suspicious of their origins. It’s an oversight on my part. I hold myself responsible for this.”

Dali and Bingxin were still immersed in great shock. In truth, Zhu Xiaohao was still alive and this scene was a special display Song Xingchen and I had prepared for the other monks.

The body actually belonged to Glass Eye who was about the same height and size as Zhu Xiaohao. The slight difference in height was masked by lifting Zhu Xiaohao’s trousers so it remained difficult to detect when the body lay on the ground. Bashing in his head was easy, but the hair was difficult to fake. I had Zhu Xiaohao cut off some of his and carefully glued it onto Glass Eye’s bald head with some tung oil I found in the yard. The entire process had taken me quite some time.

As for the real Zhu Xiaohao, he was probably already a distance away. I had instructed Song Xingchen to escort him down the mountain to the police station. When he left, he was wearing an oversized monk robe with parts of his hair shaved off–an altogether comical sight. At the time, he was completely scared silly and obeyed me without a single word of objection.

And to tie up the final loose end, I told Song Xingchen to find a ravine and dispose of Skinny’s body.

When these fugitives woke up in the morning and found Zhu Xiaohao dead beside the courtyard covered in pits, what would their conclusion be? It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that the other two discovered the treasure during their routine digs and absconded, leaving behind a dead Zhu Xiaohao who had accidentally witnessed the incident.

To cement their suspicions, I deliberately created a rectangular outline in one of the pits using a flat wooden board to give the impression of a chest buried in the ground!

The reason why I kept the truth from Dali and Bingxin was to invoke genuine shock. I feared the abbot and Scarface could sniff out the deception in our expressions had the three of us appeared too composed.

”How could our friend just die like that?!” I yelled, putting up an angry front. “What sort of temple is this? We have to leave now! There’s no way I’m sticking around!”

”You can’t go!” roared the abbot.

The abbot was seized by a sudden fit of panic though he quickly regained composure. ”Please remain calm and wait until I investigate the truth. I only have one request—don’t call the police!”

Despite the polite tone, his demeanor was overbearing.

”Why shouldn’t we call the police?” I argued. “Are we supposed to let our friend die for nothing?”