Ink Burns

Chapter 79: Farewell to the Old Friends

Little Jasmine was stunned for a moment, then quickly shook her head: "Master, it's not easy for everyone, Manager Liu, no, I didn't do anything evil."

If they did something evil, Manager Liu could easily bully them, but he never did that. He never even touched her hand secretly. At most, he would take a little of her monthly salary.

Shan Yue nodded and lowered his voice: "Then let's be gentler."

Little Jasmine squatted beside the bed, trembling as she put on underwear for Liu Hezhou.

"Where are the pen, ink, paper and inkstone?" Shanyue asked.

Little Jasmine pointed to the treasure box in the southeast corner, behind which was the green gauze cabinet.

Shanyue walked around quickly. Behind the green gauze cabinet was a large wooden desk, on which were scattered a pile of books and used rice paper. Shanyue pulled out a book. Liu Hezhou made sporadic annotations and interpretations on the blank spaces of the book. Shanyue read ten lines at a glance. Not daring to wait, he immediately cut off a palm-sized piece of blank rice paper.

“Cluck, cluck—”

There seemed to be a slight sound on the roof beam.

Shanyue looked up warily, and then there was a slight scratching sound of sharp claws grinding on wood chips.

It's a rat.

Shanyue lowered his head again, the ink still warming in the inkstone. He selected a thin-tipped wolf-hair brush that was closest to the felt, quickly wrote two lines of words, folded it and placed it in the center of the desk, then walked back to the hooded room.

Little Moli has put on the inner garment for Liu Hezhou.

The old man with long beard and white hair, as if still alive, leaned his head against the bedpost, eyes open, watching how the two little girls dealt with the aftermath.

"Is there a long white cloth?" Shanyue asked softly.

Little Jasmine thought for a moment, then trotted to the back room, and soon pulled out a well-preserved, long, thin, bright red wedding ribbon: "Old, old man, and the late wife had a very, very good relationship. The wedding ribbon from the wedding is still preserved."

After a pause, he said, "Red, red, is that okay?"

Shanyue looked at the red in Xiaomoli's hand with absurdity and sarcasm, and nodded slowly after a moment.

What happens next requires full cooperation.

Little Jasmine knelt on the Eight Immortals bed and straightened Liu Hezhou's head. Shanyue wrapped the long wedding ribbon into two circles and wrapped it around Liu Hezhou's neck.

In order to avoid making any noise, Xiao Moli lifted Liu Hezhou's feet, Shanyue lifted his head, and they tiptoed to the bottom of the roof beam.

Shanyue jumped up and threw the red silk.

But it doesn't work.

The roof beams are too high.

At least four or five meters, and without a ladder, it would be almost impossible to swing onto the beam.

Little Jasmine choked up: "What, what should I do?"

Shanyue looked around. There were two chairs and a round table as wide as an arm's length in the hall. If they overlapped and stepped on each other, it shouldn't be a problem.

Shan Yue rolled up his sleeves and began to move the chairs. A wave of regret surged in his heart: If I had known this would happen, I would have brought Er Niang with me. Friends who often kill people must know how to fake a suicide scene.
Little Jasmine turned her gaze toward the bright window in horror.

Shanyue followed her gaze.

At some point, the figure of Manager Liu who was standing by disappeared.

Little Jasmine was shaking uncontrollably: "..only, only when someone comes, will Manager Liu leave the corridor."

Here comes someone.

There is also a Western-made velvet kingfisher floor-standing clock in the room.

"Cuckoo, coo, coo--" The small house on the clock opened, and a vivid kingfisher appeared, telling the time.

Shanyue suppressed his subconscious reaction of shivering, and immediately changed his mind, looking up to find a fulcrum lower than the roof beam.

Above the bright window, two silhouettes appear from far to near, one on the left and one on the right, one in front and one behind, in order of seniority.

It's Liuhuan.

One could even hear faint voices coming from the outer corridor.

"No one. Xiao Moli is out. Only the master is here."

The silhouette stopped at the door.

“Knock knock knock—” three times, followed by Liu Huan’s loud voice: “Dad! Your son has something important to tell you!”

Steward Liu bowed and made a "be patient" gesture to Liu Huan, pointing to his clothes, meaning that he should wait for Lord Liu to get dressed.

Liu Huan pursed her lips, frowned, and turned away. Shan Yue in the room took a deep breath, and finally saw a triangular rake nail under the wooden beam not far away. Just as she was about to step over, her eyes suddenly went dark: a black shadow jumped down from a height and landed accurately in front of her!
Little Jasmine was shaking all over.

Shanyue immediately turned around and picked up the gourd on the table!

I searched him when I entered Liu's house, but unfortunately the butterfly bone knife was given to the second lady to take back!

Shan Yue did not hesitate at all. He picked up the flower gourd and smashed it down on the man in black's head. When it was about to hit the man in black's head, he controlled it in the air with one hand. The gilded green-glazed flower gourd fell to the ground with a sound. When it was about to make a loud shattering sound, the man in black turned around and reached out to catch the flower gourd steadily in his palm.

The man in black raised his eyebrows and looked up. He had a black cloth covering his eyes, revealing a pair of pale but ruthless and sharp eyes.

Like, like a wolf.

Shan Yue pursed his lips, narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked at the person who came with scrutiny.

The three people were speechless.

The man in black glanced out the window, quickly picked up one end of the red ribbon on the ground, used the power of the table to leap onto the beam, grabbed one end of the red ribbon, suddenly bent over and exerted force, and Liu Hezhou's body was quickly hung in the air.

The man in black lowered his head to tie the knot, turned around and flew down, clamped Liu Hezhou's stretched ankle with one hand, and pried it apart with the other hand. He glanced out the window, overturned several stools and tables, turned around and pushed Xiao Moli towards the west gate, and said in a very low voice: "Go back to where you should go."

He turned around, reached over Shanyue's shoulder, covered Shanyue's mouth and nose with one hand, quickly pulled him back, and hid in the half-open wardrobe.

Just as the cabinet door was closing, the door to the back room was suddenly pushed open at the right moment.

"Dad! I know you're in there!"

Liu Huan finally couldn't hold back and pushed the door open!

In the cramped closet, the man in black was breathing right above Shanyue's head, and his cold and cool hand was tightly covering her mouth.

Liu Huan looked straight ahead, and the first thing she saw was her father shaking on his drooping toes. After a moment's reaction, she finally remembered to scream: "Ah - Ah - Ah -"

Manager Liu heard the scream and rushed in, looking from the toes upwards, and finally saw his master's drooping head and the coffin-like face with his eyes open in death!

"The master committed suicide! The master committed suicide!"

Manager Liu howled subconsciously.

After shouting a few words, he realized that he shouldn't stand up at this time. Manager Liu immediately looked at Liu Huan anxiously: "Master, Master, Master!"

"He committed suicide!" Liu Huan leaned against the wooden wall and helped Manager Liu complete the following sentence: "If this isn't suicide, then what is it?!"

Liu Huan's mind had never worked so fast in her life. She immediately turned and entered the green gauze cabinet. She saw the folded rice paper on the wooden desk. She stumbled over to open it. After reading it, she cried and laughed, and put her hands on the paper in front of her chest: "Dad! Dad! You supported me this time!"

There were eight big words written on the paper: "Investigating the past, all for my own good"!
When a person dies, all debts are cleared!
Liu Hezhou's death meant that no matter the trouble he had just caused in "Qingfeng" or the Duzhou dike breach case that was being thoroughly investigated by the Censorate, he would be solely responsible for it! He would no longer hold others responsible!
Manager Liu also rushed over, saw what was written on the paper, thought for a while, frowned, and stammered: "No, it's impossible. Master, the master never said that he would settle the account with his death."

Besides, hasn’t the old man been pushed out to take the blame?

Liu Huan's eyes immediately widened: "What's impossible! The clan is more important than anything else. It's a heroic act to sacrifice one's life for the heir of the Liu family!"

Manager Liu immediately lowered his head and said nothing: He understood, and as a son, he had already decided what to do.

Does the truth matter?
unimportant.

How to resolve the matter is what is important.

When the two men shouted, many people came in and out.

The wardrobe door quietly placed in the northeast corner is made of elm partitions.

The wood is solid and warm, like a silent bystander in this farce.

The dim light of the oil lamp shone into the wardrobe through the narrow gap.

Amid the interweaving of darkness and light, Shan Yue stretched her neck calmly: the man in black covered her mouth and nose with great force, making it impossible for her to breathe smoothly.

The man in black reacted and loosened his grip.

A sharp breath like that of pine trees in the snow forcefully and quickly invaded Shan Yue's nostrils.

The two men were too close, and Shanyue's back was pressed tightly against the black-clothed man's chest.

It's a man.

And he is a martial artist.

Shan Yue lowered her eyelids and watched the dim light shining on the back of her hand covering her face.

The hand was slender and strong, with bulging veins, and thick calluses on the palm and the thenar eminence.

Shan Yue tilted her head slightly, staring coldly into the eyes of the man in black: "I have seen you before, you are the painter from that day."

(End of this chapter)