Chapter 352 - 350: The False Alibi (Second Update)

Chapter 352: Chapter 350: The False Alibi (Second Update)

At this point, even Mr. Yao sensed something was amiss.

Normally, when someone is openly suspected as a criminal, they would be somewhat flustered. But Master Xuan Yin was excessively calm, as if subtly challenging them!

Such a vicious criminal was something he was encountering for the first time!

Xu Jing looked at Master Xuan Yin and said with a half-hearted smile, "Of course, I must trouble you to call those two junior nuns over."

Soon, the two young nuns arrived in front of Xu Jing and the others, and one of the nuns was the same one who had initially spoken with Xu Jing!

Upon seeing Xu Jing, she widened her eyes slightly in apparent surprise. Xu Jing gave her a glance and said indifferently, "Mr. Yao and I are here to investigate the murderer of Sister-in-law Wu and Jiang San. Earlier, I concealed my identity to look around, and it is quite clear that the murderer is within your Jingyuan Temple. We called you over to ask a few questions; who among you is Jinglian?"

Upon hearing that Sister-in-law Wu and Jiang San were dead, the two young nuns looked incredulous. When Xu Jing asked the last question, the round-faced, seemingly naive nun timidly said, "I... I am Jinglian..."

She looked even younger than Miao Lian, probably about twelve or thirteen.

Xu Jing softened his tone as much as possible and said, "I will just ask you a few questions, don’t be afraid. On December 20th, Master Xuan Yin said she was meditating on scriptures in her room all night. You were guarding the door then, correct?"

Jinglian immediately nodded, "Yes, I was guarding Master at that time."

"Around 1:00 AM, did you personally see your master?"

Jinglian was slightly taken aback, then realized something, and said nervously, "Are you suspecting my master as the murderer? Impossible, she would never do such a thing! Besides, although she stayed in the room all night, she had a lamp lit, and her silhouette was always cast on the sliding door. She sat there until dawn—I watched her with my own eyes!"

The sliding door she mentioned was probably made of wooden slats and paper, a common style in Great Chu. Such doors are thin and translucent, so at night, when a lamp is lit inside, a person’s silhouette would be clearly cast on the paper door.

Mr. Yao hurriedly asked, "Are you sure you were fully conscious the whole time? Or that the silhouette was indeed of your master?"

Jinglian’s face turned slightly red, "Of course, I was responsible for guarding her that day! How could I be lazy? Moreover, how could I mistake my master’s silhouette!"

Xu Jing said calmly, "I believe you weren’t lazy, but did you stay at the door all night without leaving?"

Jinglian was momentarily stunned, then said, "I left twice to go to the bathroom, but each time was no more than a quarter of an hour!"

Xu Jing immediately asked, "When did you go to the bathroom?"

"Around 3:00 PM and 9:00 PM..."

Xu Jing was momentarily puzzled, "Isn’t 3:00 PM in the afternoon? Did Master Xuan Yin start meditating on the scriptures that early?"

Jinglian nodded, "That day, Master finished her tasks early and had no other arrangements in the afternoon, so she decided to spend more time meditating on the scriptures she had long received but had not had the chance to study properly due to her busy schedule, which greatly delayed the translation process."

"But at 3:00 PM, she shouldn’t have had dinner yet?"

"Master specifically said not to have dinner that day; she rarely cares about food indulgences, which is quite common..."

"So you went to the bathroom shortly after your master began meditating on the scriptures?"

"Yes, I have a habit of going to the bathroom at the start of my guard duty..."

"And when do you finish your guard duty?"

"When the candle in Master’s room goes out, it means she’s resting. Master had instructed that when that happens, we can go back to rest without asking her."

Xu Jing furrowed her brow.

Indicating that they never actually saw Master Xuan Yin in person or heard her speak that night.

Xu Jing asked again, "The night you were on guard, when did the candle in your master’s room go out?"

"That day, Master rested relatively early, around 1:00 AM, and the candle went out."

Xu Jing exchanged a meaningful glance with Mr. Yao and then turned to Miao Lian, "I heard that on the night of December 27th, Master Xuan Yin was also meditating on scriptures all night, and you were on guard. How was the situation that night?"

Miao Lian, more composed than Jinglian, said, "My situation was quite similar to Jinglian’s; Master’s silhouette was cast on the sliding door all night. Around midnight, Master even came out to ask me to brew some tea..."

Xu Jing raised an eyebrow, "After that, did your master come out again or instruct you to do anything?"

Miao Lian shook her head, "No."

After pausing for a moment, she added uneasily, "Master is a highly achieved monk, unlike us. When she meditates, she can sit still for an entire day without moving. Once she focuses on something, she forgets everything around her. It would be unusual for her to come out or give instructions frequently."

It seemed like she was trying hard to make Xu Jing and the others believe that sitting still and silent for an entire night was normal for her master.

In normal times, it might indeed be normal for Master Xuan Yin to do so.

But not on those two nights.

Xu Jing’s gaze deepened slightly, "I understand. Did you leave your master’s door that night like Jinglian did?"

Miao Lian bit her lip and, after a while, said, "I did leave..."

"When?"

"I only left once, around 3:00 AM, to go to the bathroom..."

Xu Jing looked at her thoughtfully, "Do you often go to the bathroom while on guard for your master?"

Miao Lian’s face flushed a bit, "People have natural needs; it’s perfectly normal, isn’t it? Unlike Master, we haven’t spent years cultivating the ability to sit in meditation for a whole day with ease."

"When you were on guard that day, when did the candle in your master’s room go out?"

"Around 5:00 AM."

Xu Jing nodded, gave a faint smile, and said, "I’ve finished my questions; you can leave now."

They were seated at a stone table in the backyard of Jingyuan Temple. After the two young nuns left, Mr. Yao immediately said, "Miss Xu, in this situation, it wouldn’t be too difficult for Master Xuan Yin to fake an alibi. All she would have to do is place a pre-prepared dummy about her size at the desk while those two young nuns left, and then sneak away herself.

As for the candle in the room, some larger candles can burn for a long time, five or six hours being no problem. As long as Master Xuan Yin ensured the candle would cover the time she needed to commit the crime when she left, it would be fine."

In some places, during weddings, there is even a tradition of burning dragon and phoenix candles all night long.

Xu Jing glanced at him and said, "That’s right, Master Xuan Yin often lets her disciples guard the door, knowing their habits of visiting the bathroom. She also knew the patterns of when they would go.

Sister-in-law Wu fell from the roof around 1:00 AM, but nowadays, the city gates close around 5:00 PM, so Master Xuan Yin intentionally entered the room early that day to study scriptures and called Jinglian to guard the door, knowing she would usually visit the bathroom early in guard duty.

This way, Master Xuan Yin could leave Jingyuan Temple by 3:00 PM. Although there’s some distance to Western Capital, an hour would be enough to reach the city before the gates close."

Xu Jing paused and said solemnly, "And since Jiang San left the Jiang Family that day, she likely left the city. The murderer brought her back to the city and killed her at Little East River after the city gates opened. So, Master Xuan Yin just needed to leave Jingyuan Temple before the gates opened, find Jiang San, and commit her crime!"

That’s why she didn’t need her disciples on guard to go to the bathroom at any specific time; knowing they would visit at some point was enough!

No wonder Master Xuan Yin didn’t even bother to pretend after seeing Mr. Yao.

Because she was well aware that once they had traced everything here, they would eventually discover that she was the prime suspect for murder!

Mr. Yao immediately slapped the table and said, "In that case, we need to find the dummy Master Xuan Yin used as a substitute, which would essentially prove she is the murderer!"

Even if that doesn’t directly prove her guilt, it would strongly indicate her significant involvement in the crime!

Xu Jing, however, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly exhaled, "I fear it might not be that simple."