Chapter 214 - 27 – Did You Betray Me?
"Let's go take a look," Ryou said.
"Mm." Keqing nodded.
Ryou took Keqing by the hand and walked over to Hu Tao. "What are you doing in Qingce Village?"
"I'm here for work," Hu Tao said.
"Work?" Ryou asked.
"Eh? Xingqiu and Chongyun didn't tell you? An old man in Qingce Village passed away. I sent someone over the day before yesterday, but he was still fine back then. Then something happened yesterday. Too bad I only got the news at night, so here I am first thing in the morning with Meng."
Hu Tao briefly explained the situation, then asked, "What about you? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to visit an elder," Ryou said.
"Oh," Hu Tao said.
"Ryou, Keqing, get them settled first, then come find me at the reservoir up top," Ryou's father said.
"Got it," Ryou answered.
After Ryou's father walked away, Ryou turned to Xingqiu. "Come with me later. Chongyun, didn't you want to investigate Qingce Village? Perfect. You can take Dunyarzad and Dehya around for a look."
"All right," Chongyun said.
"Then that's settled."
Ryou was about to head uphill with Keqing when Hu Tao grabbed him.
Ryou had no choice but to pull her aside. "I still have some lobster, but not much. Next time, have someone buy more, and I'll cook it for you. How's that?"
"Deal," Hu Tao said.
Ryou pinched her cheek. "You're tiny, so how do you eat so much? Aren't you scared you'll turn into a ball?"
"What's there to be scared of?" Hu Tao said. "This director has plenty to do every day. Carrying coffins, digging graves, cremations—which one of those doesn't take strength? A little food is nothing."
Ryou felt a chill run through him. "Okay, stop. Just listening to you is creeping me out."
Keqing saw Ryou whispering with Hu Tao and even handing her something.
She was confused.
Ryou and Hu Tao never seemed that close before, so why did they suddenly look like they got along much better?
Still, Keqing could tell Hu Tao was different from Shenhe, Tabibito, and Ningguang. She did not seem to have that kind of interest in Ryou.
When Ryou came back, Keqing asked, "What did you say to Hu Tao?"
"She asked me for some food," Ryou said. "I still have quite a bit, so I'll make some for you later too."
"Oh." Keqing looked at him. "Then what's going on with you and Hu Tao? Why does it feel like you two are closer than before?"
"Closer? Hell no." Ryou shook his head at once. "I don't want to see her. That girl says things that creep me out."
"Hu Tao has always been like that," Keqing explained. "If she makes you uncomfortable, just keep your distance."
Ryou said nothing. He leaned in and stared at her.
"What are you doing?" Keqing asked.
"Are you jealous?" Ryou asked.
Keqing rolled her eyes at him. "What, you think I don't know? Tabibito, Shenhe, and Ningguang all have feelings for you. But Hu Tao doesn't."
Then she stared at him, her gaze slowly moving downward. "But if you ever betray me, do you believe I'll…"
"I won't," Ryou said quickly. "Keqing, I married you properly and brought you home with full ceremony. How could I betray you?"
Ryou hugged her. "If I ever did something like that, my father would beat me to death."
"Hmph. You'd deserve it," Keqing said, rolling her eyes.
"Still laughing at me, are you?"
"Just wait until tonight. I'll show you how I'm going to bully you," Ryou said fiercely.
"Ryou, no." Keqing hugged his arm and rubbed against him.
"Hmph, scared now?" Ryou pinched her cheek. "Don't do it again."
Soon, Ryou saw his father and Xingqiu speaking with a middle-aged man.
"Father," Ryou called.
"You're here. Call him Uncle He," Ryou's father said.
"Uncle He," Ryou said.
"Uncle He," Keqing said.
"Not bad. What a fine young couple." Uncle He smiled at Ryou and Keqing. "Come with me. The old man went out fishing and should be back soon. Have some tea at my place first."
They followed Uncle He to his house.
Before going inside, Ryou noticed that the house nearby had white mourning cloths hanging outside. Clearly, the family involved in the incident lived close by.
Keqing tugged lightly on Ryou and glanced in that direction.
Ryou looked downhill, then shook his head at her.
Once they entered the house, Ryou took out a gift box. "Uncle He, this is a small gift from Keqing and me. There's a pound of adeptal tea inside, along with some fruit."
"Adeptal tea?" Uncle He was surprised.
"Old He, didn't I send you some of this tea before?" Ryou's father said. "You were so excited back then. You kept saying it really was adeptal tea."
"So it's that tea?" Uncle He's eyes lit up. "This is far too generous."
Ryou smiled at him. "Uncle He, what's going on down there? I saw mourning cloths outside. Did something happen to that family?"
"Yes." Uncle He's expression turned serious. "It's a strange matter. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't talk about it, but we're practically family, so it won't hurt to tell you."
"Uncle He, what exactly happened?" Xingqiu asked.
"It happened the day before yesterday," Uncle He said. "Elder Wang from the family down there suddenly bit his son for some reason, then died soon after."
Ryou and Keqing exchanged a look.
That matched exactly what Chongyun had said earlier.
Ryou asked, "Why would Elder Wang suddenly bite someone?"
"I don't know," Uncle He said, shaking his head.
"That Elder Wang must have been important, right?" Xingqiu asked.
"He was one of the elders of the Wang family. The Wang family produced two members of the Liyue Qixing before, and Elder Wang was one of them."
Uncle He took a sip of tea. "The whole thing is strange. He died in less than a day, and now everyone in Qingce Village is saying something evil must be causing trouble. As for what actually happened, no one knows. I sent people to look into it, and they reported that Elder Wang had been perfectly normal. He lived his life as usual and showed no signs of anything being wrong. Then, for some reason, he suddenly bit someone."
"Now the Wang family has invited Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to handle the matter, so we may get an answer soon," Uncle He said. "I also heard his son has been acting strange lately. The rumors are getting worse and worse."
"Could it be poison?" Keqing asked.
"We thought of that too, but I asked Baizhu to examine him," Uncle He said. "He said there was nothing wrong with Elder Wang's body, so poisoning is almost impossible."
"That really is strange," Xingqiu said.
Ryou did not say much. Seeing his father start chatting with Uncle He, he used the chance to take Keqing into the courtyard.
"Cousin, did anything about what we just heard sound off to you?"
"What?" Ryou looked at him.
"I mean about the case," Xingqiu said.
Ryou shook his head. "No. Even if we want to investigate, it'll take time."
Ryou took out a watermelon and cut it open. "Don't think too much for now. Here, have some watermelon. It'll help with the thirst."
"It's so sweet!" Xingqiu said.
"That's how it should be. Eat more if you like it," Ryou said with a smile.
"May this adeptus havea piece of that watermelon?"
Someone had arrived outside.
"An adeptus?" Keqing asked.
Ryou shook his head.
Soon, a middle-aged man walked in.
Ryou looked at him. "And you are?"
"I am Moon Carver."
Moon Carver glanced at them. "I did not expect to run into you here in Qingce Village. I came to ask for a piece of watermelon to quench my thirst."
"Please, help yourself," Ryou said.
Xingqiu looked at Moon Carver. "Moon Carver, did you come to Qingce Village to deal with demons?"
"Deal with demons?" Moon Carver looked puzzled. "There are no demons in Qingce Village. What makes you say that?"
Moon Carver turned to Ryou. "I came to Qingce Village only to visit an old friend."
"No demons?" Xingqiu was surprised.
"Judging from your face, did something happen here?" Moon Carver asked. "Tell me. Perhaps I can help."
Xingqiu explained everything to Moon Carver, then asked, "Moon Carver, don't you think it's strange? An old man in his eighties suddenly bit his own son for no reason, then died the next day."
"It is strange," Moon Carver said. "But strange things happen all over the world. He may have died at his son's hand, or there may be some other cause. In any case, I have not encountered any demons here."
"If it wasn't demons, then someone did it," Ryou said.
"Someone did it?" Xingqiu looked at Ryou. "Cousin, you mean someone wanted to kill Elder Wang?"
"Very likely." Ryou nodded.
"Elder Wang may no longer involve himself in Liyue's affairs, but people would still come to him for help," Keqing said. "Maybe someone wanted him dead because of a conflict of interest."
Keqing had handled plenty of cases while managing the Ministry of Civil Affairs, so this kind of situation did not shock her much.
Some people would do anything for profit. Even killing their own father was not impossible.
Once Moon Carver said the matter had nothing to do with demons, Keqing naturally started thinking in that direction.
Ryou said, "Killing your own father is unforgivable. And more importantly, Elder Wang being alive should be far more useful to his son. This won't be easy to investigate, and I can already tell it's complicated."
"Then… should we look into it?" Xingqiu asked.
"If we have time, sure," Ryou said.
"Then I'll meet up with Chongyun later, and we can investigate together," Xingqiu said.
"Fine." Ryou nodded.
"Ryou," Moon Carver said.
"There is something I wish to discuss with you."
He looked at Ryou. "Could the two of you give us a moment?"
[End of chapter]
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