Chapter 10 - Questions

The wine certainly wasn't very good. It wasn't a good kind, and of course it wasn't the Red Lady. It was just something that one could buy from the market. Although Ma Rulong didn't mind, Xiaowan actually apologetically explained, "Fengcheng rarely drinks here. He doesn't invite friends here either. I just bought this jug of wine a moment ago."

The wine was what she'd just bought, and the food was what she'd just cooked. This was because there was no servant in this place.

"Fengcheng likes it quiet. He doesn't want servants. So I do everything myself around here." Her voice was filled with feminine tenderness. Her whole life revolved around Qiu Fengcheng. She would do whatever Qiu Fengcheng wanted.

Love was enough for them. Why would they need other people? Why would they need to drink good wine? Ma Rulong suddenly envied them. He couldn't help asking himself, if he had a women just like this girl Xiaowan -- who thought of nothing but him and always catered to his every need -- would he be willing to give up everything and come to live a simple life like this?

He suddenly thought of Dawan. If he married her, would she treat him like this?

Ma Rulong didn't go on investigating. This question was not only bizarre, it was simply comical.

He certainly couldn't marry a woman like Dawan, not even if there was a knife against his neck. Although Dawan today wasn't so ugly and evil like before, she was still far from attractive and loveable. How could the irresistible white horse prince marry such a girl? Ma Rulong lifted his cup and downed the wine in one gulp, deciding that from now on he would forget about her.

It seemed like Qiu Fengcheng had been drinking quite a bit. And since today he wanted to drink, Xiaowan was of course drinking with him. The two of them appeared to be a little tipsy, and they were getting more and more affectionate, looking like they'd already forgotten that Ma Rulong was right there in front of them. Ma Rulong already started to feel unwanted, and so he was looking for an opportunity to bid farewell.

He'd earlier prepared to ask Qiu Fengcheng many questions but right now he didn't want to anymore. This was because he'd already completely trusted Qiu Fengcheng. Just when he was about to stand up, Qiu Fengcheng proposed a toast.

He pulled Xiaowan's hand and said with a smile, "You have to drink three cups in his honor, three big cups."

Giggling, Xiaowan shook her head, "I'll only drink a cup."

"You've got to drink three cups."

"If I drink three, I'll sure die drinking."

"If you don't drink, I'll strangle you to death."

Xiaowan smiled charmingly, her eyes filled with love. She said, "I'd rather you strangle me to death."

"Really?"

"Of course, really."

"Good." Qiu Fengcheng smiled, kneading her neck with his hand.

He gently said, "Then I'll really strangle you to death."

Ma Rulong really didn't want to listen any more, nor did he want to continue watching. He should leave immediately but he didn't. Because as soon as he got up, he suddenly saw something that he couldn't have imagined, not even his dream. He saw Xiaowan's beautiful eyes bulge like those of dead fish, her complexion turning blue and her body becoming stiff. This time she was really dead. Qiu Fengcheng actually strangled her to death.

Ma Rulong was shocked, looking as if his neck was also strangled by an invisible hand. His breath suddenly stopped. His body turned stiff. Even his hands and feet became ice-cold. Xiaowan's body dropped to the floor, and Qiu Fengcheng watched her fall without any change in his expression.

Surprisingly, there was a smile on his face.

"Sweet lies are bad. I never tell lies."

With a smile he said, "I said I'd strangle her to death, and that was what I did. So later on whatever I say, you will have to believe me."

Ma Rulong couldn't find a single thing to say. He only wanted to throw up, getting rid of everything he'd just eaten and drunk. But he couldn't even do that.

Qiu Fengcheng laughed merrily, "Why don't you ask me why I wanted to strangle her?"

He didn't wait for Ma Rulong to ask. Instead, he started talking, "Actually, I planned to kill her on the day we met. I bought her freedom and this house so it would look absurd for me to kill her. I picked this girl because not only was she very beautiful, she was also foolish. Such a woman was just perfect for my plan."

His plan? What plan?

Although Ma Rulong certainly wasn't stupid, he actually couldn't figure this out.

To his surprise Qiu Fengcheng explained, "I had to let everybody know that I'd already decided to die with my woman and that we already pledged eternal love to each other and not even death could separate us. Everybody would believe that I didn't want to be Madame Jasper's son-in-law."

With a sigh he said, "I actually wanted it very badly."

But his opponents were too powerful, and he himself hadn't been selected yet.

He continued, "And I had to get rid of the three of you first."

Really, eliminating the three people wouldn't be easy.

"It was fortunate that I knew all of you were drunkards, and I just happened to know that Young Du was ordering food and wine from the Jufeng restaurant."

So he bribed a worker at the Jufeng restaurant to poison the wine and then ordered the Divine Death to silence people from the restaurant.

"But I didn't anticipate that you wouldn't drink."

He continued, "Luckily, my plan was thorough. I had people staying behind."

Those people were Jin Zhenlin and Peng Tianba. Jin Zhenlin had earlier been subdued by him, and Peng Tianba had been his accomplice from the beginning. The jade pendant over his heart was also part of the plan. After that, all witnesses had to be eliminated.

"Feng Chaofan and the merciless monk actually didn't know the story. I deliberately had Peng Tianba ask them to come to the Jufeng restaurant to drink and lead them to the Winter Plum Valley to prove that I was absolutely innocent and that you were the culprit."

He chuckled, "But you can't blame me. You can only blame your own bad luck that you didn't drink the wine and just die. If you had died, you wouldn't have run into all this trouble."

Right now, he had no more opponents. If Xiaowan didn't die, he wouldn't have a way to explain himself, nor could he drop her to become Madame Jasper's lucky son-in-law. So Xiaowan had to die.

Qiu Fengcheng looked at Ma Rulong. He said, "And now, whether you live or die is no longer relevant. Everybody knows that you are the murderer. Your being alive actually is to my advantage."

"What advantage?" Ma Rulong finally found words. "How is my being alive good for you?"

Qiu Fengcheng sighed and suddenly said, "Haven't you figured out by now that I'm the head of the Divine Death?"

Everything became clear, and Ma Rulong froze stiff. He'd thought that he'd never understand what was going on. He couldn't have expected that the real culprit would be telling him all this.

He couldn't help but ask, "Why are you telling me your secrets?"

With a smile Qiu Fengcheng said, "That's because .. .."

He didn't finish the sentence. His face suddenly changed, looking just like Du Qinglian's frightened face before his death. His pale face suddenly turned dark. He struggled to get up but he kicked the table instead. And when that table toppled over, so did he.