Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 517: Culprit
“Don’t touch anything at the scene!” Song Tian barked, stopping everyone from acting carelessly. If the scene was disturbed, finding the killer would become nearly impossible.
Tao Yaoye and Lan Ting carefully examined the study’s layout. It was plainly furnished—two bookshelves, two paintings hung on the wall, and a few yellow talismans to ward off evil. Aside from that, there was only a desk, wooden chairs, a tea table, and a vase on top—nothing out of the ordinary for a study.
The door was tightly shut. According to the steward, the windows had been securely locked from the inside, making it impossible to open them from the outside.
“This is...” The window was tattered, but Tao Yaoye noticed a small hole punctured in one corner.
The steward explained, “Before breaking the window, I poked a hole to check if something had really happened to the patriarch.”
“It was definitely you, Big Brother! You killed Father!” The second son, Song Qing, roared in fury as he seized Song Tian by the collar, his bloodshot eyes like a crazed dog.
Song Tian scowled. He shoved his second younger brother away and angrily rebuked, “What nonsense are you spouting?”
“I’m not spouting nonsense! Don’t think I don’t know—ever since you took over Father's business, it’s been nothing but losses. Not long ago, you made a failed investment and lost a huge sum. You didn’t dare tell Father because you were scared he’d fly into a rage and strip you of managing the family’s business!
“Well, now that you’ve killed Father, you’re the primary successor. The family business is all yours!”
Song Tian exploded in anger. “Rubbish! If we’re talking about motive, yours is far worse! You failed the county-level imperial examinations multiple times. Father was so furious that he broke your leg, even swearing you’d never receive a single bit of the inheritance unless you earned a title! Once, I heard from your drinking buddies that you vowed to kill him!”
“You bribed my friends!”
“Your friends were the ones who sold you out for money.”
Song Lian’er trembled as she pointed at Squire Song’s corpse. “Stop arguing! Look, Father’s eyes are still open. He died with unresolved grievances!”
Sure enough, Squire Song’s head was tilted, his lifeless eyes fixed on the tea table.
The youngest son, Song Qi, followed the gaze and spotted a blue-and-white porcelain vase on the table.
“Blue-and-white porcelain vase...blue-and-white...blue and ‘Qing’... Second Brother Song Qing![1] This is the clue Father left before dying! Second Brother, you killed him!”
Song Qing snapped, “Ridiculous! You’re accusing me over something so baseless? Father’s right hand is extended with one finger—clearly pointing to Big Brother!
“Moreover, if we’re listing motives, everyone here has one!
“Third Brother, you resented Father for cutting off your allowance, which caused you to lose face in front of your worthless friends. Killing Father and inheriting a portion of the family fortune would naturally solve your money problems!
“And Little Sister, Father demanded you cut ties with that Zhou boy, but you refused to comply, continuing to keep in touch with him in secret. With Father dead, no one will stop you from marrying him!”
Song Qing laid bare each sibling’s little secrets—all had a motive for murder.
Tao Yaoye interjected sharply, “When was the last time each of you saw Squire Song?”
Song Qing replied, “I saw Father in the courtyard when I was doing my morning reading. After that, I returned to my room to study. That was five hours ago.”
The third son, Song Qi, stammered, “Two hours ago, I came to the study to take some money. As I left, I ran into Father entering, and he scolded me.”
Song Lian’er answered, “One hour ago, I brought a bowl of tea to Father in the study.”
The steward echoed, “I happened to be outside the door when the young miss brought the tea. I never saw the patriarch again after that.”
Lan Ting nodded. “In that case, Squire Song died less than one hour ago. What were all of you doing an hour ago? Can anyone vouch for you?”
The eldest son, Song Tian, spoke first. “I was at the shop reviewing account books. The clerks can all prove it.”
The second son, Song Qing, said, “I was studying. No one saw me, but I have a habit of reading aloud. The maidservants passing by would probably have heard me.”
The third son, Song Qi, elaborated, “I was drinking and watching dances at the brothel with friends—the Wang Family’s second son, the Kong Family’s eldest son, and people from the Sun Family were with me. But I drank too much and passed out. When I woke up, I was already at home. I have no idea who sent me back.”
Tears welled in Song Lian’er’s eyes. “After delivering the tea to Father, I stayed in my room until Big Brother came looking for me.”
“Can anyone testify for you?”
Her voice dwindled. “No.”
Tao Yaoye keenly sensed something amiss. “Wait, you said you delivered tea to Squire Song. Where’s the teacup?”
There was only a blue-and-white porcelain vase on the tea table—no tea set at all. She couldn’t have waited for Squire Song to finish the tea and take the teacup away.
Song Lian’er faltered, unable to utter a single word.
“Little Sister, say something!” The third son, Song Qi, urged, sweat beading on his brow.
Finally, Song Lian’er steeled her resolve. “The steward said there’s no rift between father and daughter that can’t be reconciled. He encouraged me to speak to Father about Young Master Zhou. I brought tea for Father to ask for his approval of my relationship with Young Master Zhou, but he lost his temper immediately and threw the cup to the floor. The steward cleaned it up. After that, I went back to my room and cried the whole time.”
Song Tian frowned at the steward with a trace of reproach. “If that’s the case, why didn’t you mention this, Steward? Moreover, you should’ve known that based on Father’s attitude, he would never have consented to Little Sister’s matter!”
The steward met Song Tian’s gaze briefly, then flinched away.
“Look into my eyes! Speak, what exactly are you plotting?!” Song Tian demanded loudly.
Seeing everyone’s hostile gazes on him, the steward sighed, knowing there was no escaping this. “Truth is, the young miss’s beloved is my illegitimate son, so I had hoped to bring them together and make their relationship work, but I didn’t expect the patriarch to oppose it so vehemently.”
Song Lian’er stared at the steward blankly, caught off guard by the relationship between the steward and Young Master Zhou. So all this time, his words of encouragement weren’t about supporting me to pursue my love and happiness? Her gaze grew vacant; something inside her heart seemed to have shattered.
Tao Yaoye murmured, “That is to say, it’s most likely that Song Lian’er and the steward worked together. The steward probably shot a poisoned ice needle through the window and killed Squire Song. Then, under the pretense of inspection, he pierced the paper window to cover up the needle hole.”
Lan Ting shook her head and offered her insight. “If that was true, how could the steward guarantee that the Eldest Young Master would send him to find Squire Song? Keep in mind, the steward didn’t know we were coming.
“In my opinion, it could have been the second son, Song Qing. He claimed he was studying in his room, but he could easily fake an alibi by purchasing a recording orb from the merchant guilds that continuously plays his voice!”
The two debated softly, though it led nowhere. Finally, both turned to Lu Yang.
“Senior Brother Lu, who do you think is the culprit?”
Lu Yang didn’t answer. Walking over silently, he crouched beside Squire Song and took out a Soul-Restoration Pill. He had bought it from the Great Mission Hall out of concern for potential mishaps during his journey to Wilderness Province, but he never got to use it.
As the pill dissolved in Squire Song’s mouth, he gradually stirred awake, though his expression was dazed.
Lu Yang explained, “Squire Song isn’t dead; his soul was extracted. I used the Soul-Restoration Pill to pull his soul back.”
As someone who had his body frequently taken over, Lu Yang was far more experienced than his two junior sisters in matters of souls.
“Squire Song, the three of us are from immortal sects. Who extracted your soul?”
Though disoriented, Squire Song’s gaze grew firm at Lu Yang’s words. “It was the painting.”
Lu Yang turned to the others. “See? We’ve found our culprit.”
The Song siblings, “...”
The steward, “...”
1. The name of this porcelain style contains the character ‘Qing,’ same as the one in Song Qing’s name. ☜
