Chapter 066: A Deliberate Alibi Thank you, Qian oO★, for your support and the gift of a jade pendant.

I was stunned for a moment and immediately asked why. Suspicion had already begun to stir in my heart—it had been less than twelve hours since I’d asked Chen Fan to look into Xuan Yi’s whereabouts, and I was astonished that the police could have obtained information so quickly. After all, finding someone is never easy; the only reason Wang Yazhuo had managed to get a lead on Xuan Yi was because Xuan Yi had wandered outside the courtyard himself.

Faced with my doubts, Chen Fan admitted he didn’t know either. His methods for tracking people were quite old-fashioned; since the scene of the crime was an allegedly haunted house on the outskirts, he had the police search the nearby residential areas for clues about Xuan Yi. Unexpectedly, this approach actually yielded results.

There were not many residents near the house, but that didn’t mean there was no one at all. Within a kilometer of the house, there were two villages, and the police found a lead in one of them. As Wang Yazhuo had surmised, that very day some villagers saw Xuan Yi and the missing Taoist heading toward the haunted house.

However, midway there, Xuan Yi split off from the Taoist. The two seemed to have taken a detour, meaning they walked a different route from us. The place where they parted ways was right at the village entrance, and at that time, in the evening, there were quite a few villagers returning from their fields.

According to the villagers, Xuan Yi called out to them. He wasn’t dressed in Taoist robes, but the other man was. Xuan Yi spoke fluent Taoist lingo, and the villagers speculated that he was a wandering Taoist living among ordinary people. He asked the villagers if he could stay for a few days, offering to read fortunes and interpret omens in exchange.

The villagers were simple and kind-hearted, and soon one of them agreed. They thought Xuan Yi would stay with the Taoist, but instead, Xuan Yi bid him farewell with a bow. The villagers said the Taoist then headed toward the haunted house.

Some kind villagers called out to warn him that the place ahead was unclean, but the Taoist merely waved his hand and continued on his way. Still uneasy, the villagers asked Xuan Yi to try to persuade him, but Xuan Yi only smiled and replied, “How could a person of the Dao fear ghosts?” Seeing his confident demeanor, the villagers gave up.

After that, Xuan Yi moved into a villager’s home. It was rare for the village to host a Taoist, and everyone was curious. That very evening, many villagers came to Xuan Yi to have their fortunes read. He was enthusiastic, reading their palms one by one, and reportedly didn’t finish until late into the night.

Afterward, Xuan Yi rested at the villager’s home. The villagers were poor; the family that hosted Xuan Yi lived in a small brick house with no partitions except for the kitchen. The family consisted of two brothers, both huddled together in the small house, and Xuan Yi squeezed in with them.

The police questioned the two brothers, who said they were light sleepers and were certain Xuan Yi had not left during the night. Moreover, they mentioned that when they got up to use the toilet at night, they saw Xuan Yi meditating. It was only later they learned that Xuan Yi always slept in a meditative posture.

Xuan Yi stayed in the village for several days, and during the day, villagers constantly visited him for palm readings. Perhaps as a gesture of gratitude for their hospitality, Xuan Yi even performed a ritual for the village that lasted two days. In other words, from the moment he moved in, there was always someone who could vouch for Xuan Yi’s whereabouts at any given time.

Xuan Yi had an alibi; he couldn’t have been the murderer who killed the Taoist.

The police were still cautious, and investigated the two brothers thoroughly, ultimately ruling out the likelihood that they were lying. I asked Chen Fan where Xuan Yi was now. Chen Fan shook his head and replied that Xuan Yi had left the village yesterday, bidding farewell to the villagers, and no one knew where he went after that.

Xuan Yi probably hadn’t gone far—after all, the night before, the little ghost had only run off after seeing Xuan Yi’s trace. This time, Chen Fan wasn’t slow; he’d already increased police presence around the haunted house, searching for any sign of Xuan Yi. But I knew the police couldn’t devote all their energy to finding him, especially now that they’d largely ruled him out as a suspect.

I already had a plan. Xuan Yi still needed to be found, and since the police’s resources were limited, I’d continue to rely on Luo Feng and Wang Yazhuo’s people. Chen Fan called my name several times before I snapped out of my thoughts. He asked what I was thinking. I smiled and asked him in return, “Don’t you think Xuan Yi’s alibi is a bit too convenient?”

Chen Fan paused. “You mean, Xuan Yi’s alibi was fabricated?”

I shook my head. “If the villagers are in the clear, then Xuan Yi really isn’t the killer—at least, not the main one.”

If the villagers are trustworthy, they wouldn’t lie. During the day, so many people saw Xuan Yi, and according to the police investigation, someone visited him at every hour, or he was performing a ritual in the village. The village was a kilometer from the old house—given the time needed to go there and back, plus commit a murder, even if Xuan Yi claimed he was going to the toilet, it wouldn’t be enough time.

At night, the two brothers got up to use the toilet and saw Xuan Yi meditating, which meant he didn’t have a long enough window to commit the crime. Besides, since they all squeezed into the same room, if Xuan Yi had left, someone would have noticed. Chen Fan agreed, “That’s right. Our team found that Xuan Yi slept in the innermost spot—he’d have to step over the brothers to get out, and the door is an old wooden one. It creaks loudly when opened.”

Though I hadn’t investigated in person, the police findings made it clear: Xuan Yi had no opportunity to commit the crime, and his alibi was solid. The real question was why Xuan Yi went to that village at all. He had come all the way from the port to the capital, but he didn’t seem to have suffered any hardship, so he must have had plenty of money.

The incense offerings at the Three Pine Temple were generous. Traveling so far, Xuan Yi would have brought enough cash to stay at an inn. If he was worried about the police, he had nothing to fear—they had no evidence against him. If he was concerned about me or Luo Feng, he could have chosen a more discreet inn in the city. There was no reason for him to squeeze into a room with villagers.

Everyone at the Three Pine Temple knew Xuan Yi preferred solitude; in fact, most followers of the Dao do. Not only that, but Xuan Yi had no ties to these villagers, yet devoted all his time to them—reading fortunes, conducting rituals—it all seemed a little too generous. He was a Taoist, but at the temple, he kept a low profile, teaching only the Dao and nothing more. People only rumored that he didn’t age, that his cultivation was high, but no one had ever seen him demonstrate it.

That’s precisely why I felt Xuan Yi’s alibi was too well-constructed—so meticulous that there was a witness for every time slot over those days. Chen Fan finally grasped my point, his mouth agape in surprise. “So you mean, Xuan Yi isn’t the killer, but he might have known the Taoist would die and arranged his alibi in advance to avoid police suspicion?”

I nodded. “Exactly. That’s why there’s something off about him. We still don’t know why he met with the Taoist, so we must find him.”

Chen Fan considered this and asked uncertainly, “Do you think Xuan Yi might have been an accomplice, or at least indirectly involved?”

I shook my head. “It’s unlikely. If Xuan Yi were an accomplice, he wouldn’t have wandered outside the courtyard and drawn Wang Yazhuo’s people’s attention. In fact, I’m beginning to suspect he did it on purpose, so everyone would know he and the Taoist went to the haunted house together.”

Chen Fan asked me who Wang Yazhuo was. Only then did I realize he’d never met her and didn’t know Wang Jianming either. Luo Feng was more conspicuous—many people knew his identity, but there was no evidence against him, nor had he been caught doing anything illegal, so nothing could be done.

As for Wang Jianming, he was the deeply hidden type; someone at Chen Fan’s level of the police force would know little about him.

I changed the subject. “Think of a way—I need to meet with the actress Z…”