Chapter 56: Death by Lightning
February 15th afternoon
The analysis of the case was still going on. Xu Chong looked at a loss. Shen Kuo mentioned him, but he didn't have a bug made from a quiver, so he didn't hear clearly what the three thieves said.
"But...but...but..." The old man was so confused that he seemed to have a lot of questions in his mind, but he couldn't think of any of them. "But why was the Saint Lady killed by thunder?" He wanted to know why such a difficult enemy would be so stupid as to let a thunder kill him.
"Because, that night she wanted to take advantage of the thunder to control the puppet to echo the prophecy..." When he said this, it suddenly touched upon a thing in Shen Kuo's heart, making him suddenly feel terrified and his face turned pale.
"They should have been on the ground when they died. How could they control puppets flying in the sky?" Bao Zheng asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"Okay, okay, okay!" He said okay three times in a row and wiped the sweat from his head with his hand. He still looked a little dazed and it took him a long time to recover.
"Sir, there should have been a very large object in the sky that day. This object should have been hidden in the clouds, and no one could see it."
"What kind of thing?"
"A thing that harnesses the wind, so big that it takes four people to harness it on the ground."
"Is it a kite?" Lao Bao looked at him blankly.
"My lord, I can't think of a better word than kite, but it must be very big, so big that it requires more than four people to control it. I guess it's very difficult to control even if these people have to wrap their hands around the silk thread, so they need to wrap it around their waists and use their entire weight to stabilize it."
"It's operated by four people, but there are five dead bodies here? Could one of them be a passerby?"
"According to my guess, there were four people holding the kite on the four sides, keeping it at the top of the Baifan Building, and the remaining person, most likely this Saint Lady, was controlling the puppets, just like on the stage of a puppet show."
"Cunzhong, the more I listen, the more confused I get. I've seen puppet shows in puppet sheds before. The puppeteer must be on top of the puppet in order to control the puppet's every move with the strings."
"Because it uses a pulley," he walked to the well in the yard and turned the windlass on it. "It's something like this, but much smaller. Maybe it's as big as the reel on a fishing rod."
Lao Bao frowned and thought for a long time: "You and Xu Chong went out of the west gate just to find this huge kite?"
"That's right. I guess it was struck by lightning, so it must have caught fire and was damaged. It couldn't ride the wind, so it should have slowly fallen down along the wind direction. However, we didn't find it, but only a demon flag. This flag also appeared in Baifan Tower that day. So it should have been blown to the woods west of the city by the wind. According to the hunter in Zhongmu, he saw a corner of it on fire falling from the clouds, which confirmed my thoughts. As for the bigger kite, since it was in the clouds, it was naturally higher, and it might have fallen farther, most likely into the Yellow River."
"Oh..." Lao Bao stroked his beard and roughly understood some of it. "But the most important thing is, why is the Saint Lady there? Why is the Saint Lady dead? Why? Children all know that flying kites in rainy days is prone to lightning. How could she not know?"
"There is only one explanation. Someone in Maitreya wanted her dead and wanted to replace her. So they set up a scam to bring disaster upon her."
"Is it Yu Laosi?"
"Only her, and perhaps the hexagram master named Zhuge Zhisui who is allied with him."
"How did you determine that?"
"Because those puppets will self-destruct. They will catch fire when struck by lightning. We have not been able to find more puppet remains because they all caught fire on their own and burned the evidence. The fat An Lushan was left behind, probably because of an accident. I once shook the puppet upside down and heard a sound of water inside, but it couldn't be poured out. I'm afraid it was oil. Oil is also called fierce fire oil, which is very flammable and can burn evidence. This is why there were several fires on the roof of Baifan Building that night. The fire should be caused by the puppets that fell from the sky and burned themselves on the upper floor."
"It seems reasonable that the creature would be destroyed by lightning, but how can we infer that someone wants to kill the Saint Lady and take her place?" This time it was Wen Yanbo who asked.
"Because everything we saw was a play performed during thunder and lightning. So the days around the Waking of Insects were chosen, which shows that they were aimed at the spring thunder. It's so dangerous, but the Saint Lady was allowed to control these puppets, just to let her die."
"Is the Saint so confused? Doesn't she realize that flying kites on a rainy day would risk attracting lightning?" Wen Yanbo shook his head.
"The Saint Lady must have understood, but someone deceived her. This charlatan who swindles people knows best that strange celestial phenomena are a good opportunity to perform miracles. Maybe someone lied to her and said that thunderstorms are a good time to demonstrate the Five Thunder Method. For the Saint Lady, it's actually killing two birds with one stone. Not only can she deceive us, but she can also show her supernatural power in front of her subordinates. And that person guaranteed that he has a way to make the Saint Lady safe from thunder and lightning. As the descendant of Yu Hao, the master of woodworking, Yu Silang's guarantee is naturally useful."
"What method can ensure that one is completely safe from lightning?"
"This student couldn't guess. However, even if there was lightning, it wouldn't have burned all five of them beyond recognition. The coroner said that over the years, 50 to 60 percent of those struck by lightning survived, and those who died didn't catch fire, and most of them were intact. So the thin ropes they tied around their waists must have a name. That's the real life-threatening thing. Most likely it was soaked in some kind of flammable grease. Once caught fire, they couldn't get rid of it, so they burned to death."
"Ropes soaked in grease? Are these the two bundles of ropes that Yu Laosi tried so hard to take away when we searched his manor outside the city that day?" Bao Zheng said in surprise.
"Yes. This is exactly what I have guessed. That's why Yu Lao Si was determined to take the two bundles of ropes away that day. As for how he deceived the Saint Lady and told her that using such ropes would not be fatal even if it attracted lightning, I can't guess. I can ask him in detail when the criminal is brought to justice in the future."
Bao Zheng and Wen Yanbo looked at each other for a long time, evaluating Shen Kuo's analysis, and nodded one after another after a while. Although this deduction was strange and still needed to be scrutinized, it was logically reasonable. At least it could explain why the death was strange, why the Saint Lady was among the corpses, and why she became the target. As for the part that still needed to be scrutinized, Yu Jing's reason for killing the Saint Lady was too weak. If it was just for power and profit, why did he do it at the most critical moment of the whole plan?
"But there is no solid evidence, and we haven't found the giant kite you mentioned."
"As long as we find the enemy's nest, we will definitely be able to find the blueprints, which can also be used as evidence." Shen Kuo suddenly remembered that Xu Chong had followed a Maitreya believer yesterday, "Xu Jieji, have you tracked the enemy's nest?"
"Ah... Yesterday I was afraid of being discovered by that person, so I followed him from a distance . I didn't see his face clearly, but I remember that he was riding a horse with five colors. He didn't go anywhere else, but went straight back to Tokyo. I followed him all the way to the north of the city. That is near Yulin Lane where I first discovered the hat monster. There is a mule and horse market under the pagoda there, with many horses of the same color. He shook it off and it ran away."
"Could it be that their nest is still in the city?" Wen Yanbo said.
"Sir, I dare not say that he is in the city. Maybe he has escaped through the city." Xu Chong bowed quickly. He was always very reserved when he saw Wen Yanbo. This showed the humility of the Song Dynasty's military men to the civil officials.
"What a shame, what a shame. Xu Jie was too reckless. He missed the best chance to find the nest." Wen Yanbo said.
"Prime Minister, there is no need to be discouraged. If Cun Zhong's speculation is reliable, the puppet's disturbance in Tokyo is just a trick to deceive people. There is no magical or spooky thing. This case will be solved soon." Bao Zheng showed some optimism.
"That's the best. Recently, people in the city are in a panic. Reports from various places have reported that there are signs of rebellion everywhere using the hat monster. People in Qi, Yun, Di, Bo and other states have used the last line of the nursery rhyme prophecy, 'The Song Dynasty will end', to start a rebellion. Many people responded, and the force was as large as a thousand. The local military forces in the local governments were unable to control them. The worst case, for example, in Jingdong Road, the closest to the capital, there were bandits who seized the Puzhou government office, and the judge Jing Yuan was captured and killed; farther away, Dai Xiaoba in Qianzhou rebelled and killed the Qianhua County Magistrate... The trend of chaos in the world has begun to emerge. If this case is delayed any longer, I'm afraid it will cause a big disaster."
"Yes, it is indeed worrying. The people's hearts have been shaken, and the fate of the country hangs on a thread."
"But there is some good news in the Jinzouyuan report, for example, the Liao State's market is still as it is, calm and peaceful, with no signs of anything unusual. However, when I defeated Beizhou Wang Ze, the Liao State did not stir either, yet they kept sending spies to investigate. It shows that even though the troops have not moved, the evil intentions are stirring."
"It is true that Yu Jing found gold bars from Liao. If there is no internal turmoil in the Song Dynasty, foreign enemies will not dare to attack. If there is chaos, it is hard to say. Now there are only the last two sentences of the prophecy, and we really can't let it come true." Bao Zheng sighed. He knew that although there were two sentences, there was only one sentence left: "If the king is restored, he will shine in the sky" which can be verified. The last sentence is actually just a summary of the previous nine sentences, and it is also the final result that the thieves want: "The Song Dynasty will end." If this sentence is verified, the world will be turned upside down.
"Yes, yes, no more."
The two were just thinking about what else to ask when a eunuch came in hurriedly. It turned out that he was sent by Shi Quanbin. The emperor found that half of the ministers had asked for leave in the morning and had fled to the city to avoid disaster. He was angry and afraid, and scolded Shi Quanbin for his incompetence. So Shi Quanbin hurriedly asked them to meet the emperor and was eager to pass on the blame.
However, after listening to Shen Kuo's analysis, Lao Bao finally felt somewhat confident, so the two of them calmly entered the palace.
Before leaving, the eunuch who came to report the news had another thing to do, that is, the palace would hold a ritual to exorcise evil spirits tomorrow. Although traditionally, only great Nuo masters from the south would be invited to perform Nuo rituals, but now is different from the past. The emperor also wanted to invite great monks and Taoists from the capital to come to the palace to chant sutras. Shi Yaban said that it would be better to let Shen Kuo go to the palace together to see the scene after the hat monster was found to have entered the palace on the eighth day of the first lunar month. Since Bao Longtu said that Shen Kuo was careful and sharp, it would be better to go quietly and maybe he could see some clues. Shen Kuo heard it and felt warm in his heart. It can be seen that Bao mentioned himself a lot to Shi Quanbin.
Bao Zheng then remembered something and reminded Shen Kuo to ask Monk Huailiang to see if he was willing to go with him. Shen Kuo agreed.
After seeing off the two adults, Shen Kuo went upstairs with a worried look on his face, and Xu Chong followed closely. He had already seen that Shen Kuo seemed to have solved the case, but when he talked about the key point just now, his face did not relax but became even gloomier, which must have triggered something on his mind.
Shen Kuo stood in the room, with his hands behind his back, looking at the painting on the wall. This painting, which Xiao Ping identified as a fake that was probably bought from Shopkeeper Pei, had a corner burned off. As Xiao Ping joked that day, it was too vulgar. It could be called "The Bathing Picture of the Goddess of Luo River". The goddess in the painting was plump and graceful, looking around with amorous eyes, half exposing her waist, and bathing in the river in a coquettish manner.
"She does know how to paint, but it's too gaudy."
Shen Kuo sighed.
"She?" Xu Chong asked.
"It was Xiao Ping. She told me that day that this painting must have been bought from Mr. Pei."
"Oh." Xu Chong pretended to look at you for a while, "I saw your face suddenly changed when you were explaining the case just now. Did you seem to be worried?"
"Yes, I suddenly thought of something."
"What is it?"
"Originally, when Xiao Ping and Jin Er came the night before, the puppet suddenly revived. Although it was a big shock to me, it also benefited me."
“And profit?”
"It clears Xiao Ping of suspicion."
"That monk Huailiang said that the nursery rhyme the puppet was reciting in the air was actually spoken by Xiaoping using some ventriloquist ability?"
"Yes. I checked the confessions recorded by the Imperial City Recorder. There were quite a few people who saw the puppet . There were at least a thousand people. They recorded the confessions of 360 people, most of whom were guests on the second and third floors of the Baifan Building. The couple who owned this courtyard were also in the Baifan Building at the time. They were also very scared and moved out in a hurry the next day. I also read their testimonies."
"So what?"
"However, the only people who heard the nursery rhyme were you and me, the members of the Mystery Club who were on the fourth floor at the time. So I did have some suspicions that Xiao Ping was indeed related to the case."
"But in the end, when the puppet was screaming on the second floor, she was in your arms, so it couldn't be her?" Xu Chong naturally deduced to this level based on Shen Kuo's logic.
"Yes, I thought so at the time, so I was relieved after being frightened. However, now that I think about it, if those puppets were not ghosts but just puppets, then she could not be the one who pretended to be a puppet and spoke that night."
"I am confused now that you put it that way. The puppet also said a lot of things when it was making trouble on the second floor. The voice was exactly the same as the voice on the Baifan floor the night before. She is in your arms now, which means it can't be her. Why do you think she is still a suspect?"
"I just suddenly realized that she was not on the second floor. This only proves that the voice was not hers, but it does not necessarily clear her of suspicion."
Xu Chong nodded vaguely, then shook his head, obviously not understanding very well.
"If you have ever seen a ventriloquist performer in a tile house, you will know that it is difficult for us to imitate another person's voice, but it is not difficult for some people."
"So you still doubt her? She saved you last night."
"Yeah, let me think about it...why don't I go ask Master Huailiang?"
"I advise you not to go. I think the monk is a little crazy and has some unfounded prejudice against Xiao Ping. He always wants to draw suspicion to Xiao Ping."
"I noticed that, but there's nothing wrong with what you said, right?"
Xu Chong remained silent. To him, it was not a good thing for Shen Kuo to get stuck in this dead end. If Xiao Ping was suspected, then Jin Er would not be able to escape the connection either. After all, they stayed together all day, so they were more or less accomplices. Of course, he really couldn't understand Shen Kuo's theory just now. It seemed that although Xiao Ping had a sufficient reason not to be there, it was not a necessary condition to clear her suspicion. It sounded a bit confusing. How could it make sense?
