Chapter 286: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth

Mu Yuanzhi: "……It's not just seeming, you were knocked out by General Qi……"

Gu Rongjin ground his teeth: "That guy!"

"Let's not talk about that, Gu Rongjin. How do you feel? Anywhere uncomfortable?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.

Although she would check his pulse every few days even at midnight, she still wasn't entirely reassured and wanted to hear it from him herself.

Gu Rongjin lowered his head, glanced at himself, and shook his head: "No, I'm fine, just my head feels a bit heavy; I expect it'll pass soon."

"Your condition is like a hangover," Mu Yuanzhi said. "After drinking the death-vine water, do you remember any sensations? Did you see or hear anything?"

Gu Rongjin tried to recall, but his mind remained a blank; he dazedly shook his head: "I don't remember anything at all, not a trace."

"You don't remember what you did either?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.

"What did I do?" Gu Rongjin, still with an empty mind, said: "I hope I didn't do anything outrageous."

"No……"

"You pushed your wife!" Qi Shihuai said as he pushed the door open and entered.

Mu Yuanzhi glared at Qi Shihuai: "General Qi, couldn't you show some manners? Entering without knocking?"

"Sister-in-law, you're so fierce! Do you really not want your husband to know he's abusing you?" Qi Shihuai jeered.

Gu Rongjin's pupils constricted sharply; he nervously reached for Mu Yuanzhi: "Did I hit you?"

Good heavens! No way! Let him die!

Gu Rongjin felt like the sky was collapsing!

"Don't listen to his nonsense; you just pushed me once when you were dazed, and it's nothing."

"No, that's not it—you also laid hands on the Princess. If I hadn't blocked you, do you think the Princess would have been unharmed?" Qi Shihuai, loving the drama, continued to provoke.

Mu Yuanzhi gave Qi Shihuai a fierce glare: "Shut up!"

"Little Yuanzhi……" Gu Rongjin felt regret so deep his intestines turned green; he shouldn't have drunk that, it was his mistake, never imagining how dangerous losing control could be.

"I'm fine, don't blame yourself." Mu Yuanzhi stroked his cheek to comfort him.

"But I don't want to forgive myself!" Gu Rongjin felt terrible inside.

How could he have no consciousness at all? How could he lay hands on her?!

"That was because I wanted to ambush you and seal your acupoints—it's my fault." Mu Yuanzhi continued to soothe him.

Gu Rongjin swept Mu Yuanzhi into an embrace, burying his face in her neck: "Sorry, Little Yuanzhi! Sorry!"

"It's not your fault, be good." Mu Yuanzhi coaxed him.

"My dear wife, I love you to death."

Qi Shihuai: ……

He silently withdrew from this speechless place.

At noon, Mu Yuanzhi suddenly made a new discovery; she couldn't wait to tell Gu Rongjin: "Gu Rongjin, I've found a pattern!"

"What pattern?" Gu Rongjin was dazed by this out-of-the-blue remark.

Mu Yuanzhi handed him the paper she'd been using to analyze the case: "Look, aside from the three guards who died on our side, the eight characters of the ten earlier victims clearly correspond to Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth—the first five and the last five follow this order!"

"Moreover, when you combine time and place, it's also Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth!"

"There's actually such a pattern?!" Gu Rongjin exclaimed delightedly: "Little Yuanzhi, you're so clever!"

Mu Yuanzhi: "I had Pei Di fetch the map of Jingcheng, studied it carefully, and tonight during the Shen hour, both locations belong to Metal!"

"The Shen hour?" Gu Rongjin glanced at the moonlight, "There's still one more two-hour period—where are the respective places?"

Mu Yuanzhi: "Specifically, the Drum Tower and the Imperial Garden!"

"The Imperial Garden impossible?" Gu Rongjin first ruled it out: "The killer has always avoided any ties to the government; there's no way he'd be bold enough to storm straight into the Imperial Palace Garden—what would he gain? And how could he get in? Unless he really is the Nine Thousand Years Old—even if he were, it wouldn't be this stupid; he's not out of his mind."

Mu Yuanzhi thought Gu Rongjin's analysis made perfect sense; she felt the same way.

"So only the Drum Tower remains."

"I'm going to meet him right now!"

Mu Yuanzhi nodded and said: "If we can rescue the person, that would be best."

"Do your best." Gu Rongjin patted Mu Yuanzhi.

"Should we call for help?" Mu Yuanzhi worried.

What if the killer really is the Nine Thousand Years Old?

His martial arts are comparable to Gu Rongjin's.

"No need—having an extra person would just distract me later."

Mu Yuanzhi thought that made sense, so she had to give up.

Gu Rongjin arrived at the Drum Tower; there was still plenty of time, the two guards on duty were on the tower, so he hid in the shadows to observe.

As the Shen hour approached, the street was deserted; with the serial murder case still unsolved and today overcast, it was pitch dark even before dusk, so nobody dared go out, right?

Gu Rongjin did not let down his guard, constantly watching the surroundings.

Perhaps out of boredom, the on‑duty soldiers were yawning, but Gu Rongjin was even more focused than before, because only a quarter‑hour remained until the Shen hour.

The killer had already appeared quickly!

Still no second person appeared on the street; Gu Rongjin suspected the killer's target might be one of the two guards on the Drum Tower.

But those are government personnel too—is the killer now targeting government officials?

Time ticked by; the clepsydra below the Drum Tower showed that the Shen hour was imminent!

Gu Rongjin still hadn't seen a shadow.

Why hasn't he come yet?

Gu Rongjin couldn't help but wonder.

Could it be that their deduction was wrong?

Isn't it according to metal, wood, water, earth?

It can't be that their deduced location is wrong—it's not the drum tower but the imperial garden, right?

Just as he was thinking, suddenly someone on the drum tower shouted: "Who goes there?!"

Gu Rongjin looked up through the clouds and mist—could it be that someone had appeared whom even he couldn't hear?!

As a result—meow!

A black wild cat leapt onto that soldier's shoulder, and the man and the cat immediately started to tussle!

…

It was already past the shen hour, but still nothing had occurred.

Gu Rongjin decided to go to the imperial garden to have a look!

The drum tower is some distance from the palace; by the time Gu Rongjin reached the palace gates, it was already a quarter past.

How was he supposed to get in?

Although he could slip in silently, if he caused a commotion while catching the murderer it would be hard to explain; just as he was hesitating, he saw the Nine Thousand Years approach.

"Why have you come here at this hour, Young Master Jin?" the Nine Thousand Years asked curiously.

There's a smell of blood!

The smell of human blood!

Gu Rongjin narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the Nine Thousand Years without a trace.

Could this guy really be the murderer? daring enough to commit murder in the imperial garden?!

But only a quarter of an hour has passed since the shen hour; if he had killed someone in the imperial garden at the zi hour, could he have dealt with it and come here in such a short time?

No matter how you look at it, it seems unlikely.