Chapter 26. Is He the Killer?

Just then, an old - sounding voice came from a room: "Yaxuan, which guest is it? Such a loud shout, and coming back so late." The voice seemed to carry the marks of time, slowly reverberating in the air.

As soon as the words were spoken, an old man walked out slowly and came into the Green Garden. His hair was as white as the first snow in winter, and there was a wisp of white beard under his chin, like a soft cloud. There was also an old - fashioned pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose, and the eyes behind the lenses had an indescribable depth. He was thin and tall, like an old tree that had withstood the wind and rain but still stood upright. It was Li Ruize who had been to the He family that day.

Zhao Yuxuan's heart tightened suddenly, as if it was tightly grasped by an invisible big hand. He involuntarily clenched his teeth secretly, his teeth firmly pressed against his lower lip, as if this could suppress the surging emotions in his heart.

At this time, Li Ruize also saw Zhao Yuxuan, who looked rather disheveled. But obviously, he couldn't immediately recognize who the person in front of him was. He walked slowly to Zhao Yuxuan. With doubt in his eyes, he examined him carefully for a long time before he said slowly, "Young man, who are you...?"

Lin Yaxuan quickly interrupted and said, "Grandpa, he said that a few months ago you went to his home to buy something, but he didn't sell it to you. Is that so?"

Surprise immediately showed on Li Ruize's face. His eyes widened slightly, and his mouth opened a little unconsciously as he said, "You are... you are..."

Zhao Yuxuan took a deep breath, as if gathering all his courage in his heart, and then said resolutely, "Yes, I'm Zhao Yuxuan, Sun Qiming's son. Mr. Li, you haven't forgotten so soon, have you?" As he said this, his eyes stared closely at Li Ruize, his gaze like two sharp swords, not missing any slight expression on his face, as if he wanted to find the slightest clue to the hidden truth from those wrinkles. Zhao Yuxuan's heart was like a rough sea at this moment, full of contradictions and struggles. On the one hand, he felt that he might finally be about to touch the truth. The truth was like a glimmer of dawn in the darkness, faintly visible in the distance. On the other hand, he was afraid that this was just an illusory dream. Once he woke up, his parents' grievances would still be deeply buried in the darkness and could not be redressed.

Li Ruize's eyes became even more astonished, full of doubt and surprise as he said, "Sun Qiming's son, why are you here?"

Zhao Yuxuan took another deep breath, as if taking in all his anger and determination. He said resolutely, "Because I want to avenge." These words were spoken quickly and forcefully, like a bolt of lightning cutting through the night sky. And before that, he had quietly and slowly put down the backpack behind him. When the last word "vengeance" was uttered from his mouth, he was like a suddenly awakened cheetah. He pulled out a dagger at lightning speed, suddenly stood behind Li Ruize, and accurately pointed the cold - glinting tip of the dagger at the artery on the side of his neck. This series of actions were done in one smooth motion without the slightest hesitation, like a cheetah that had been lurking for a long time finally launched a fatal blow.

This sudden change caught everyone off guard. Both Lin Yaxuan and Li Ruize had never expected it. Lin Yaxuan immediately let out a terrified scream, and her voice trembled in the air: "Brother Yuxuan, what are you doing? Put the knife down quickly."

Zhao Yuxuan didn't pay any attention to her at all. At this moment, there was only one thought in his mind, that was to find out the truth. But he knew that Lin Yaxuan was good at martial arts, so he shouted loudly, "Lin Yaxuan, step back five steps immediately, or I'll be rude to your grandfather." After saying that, he pushed the dagger forward a little more, and the cold tip of the dagger had already gently touched Li Ruize's skin, like a cold snake climbing onto warm skin. He was also highly vigilant at this moment. After all, Lin Yaxuan seemed to have learned some fighting skills, and this Li Ruize probably knew some as well. He must not give him any chance to fight back.

Lin Yaxuan immediately turned pale, her face as white as a sheet of paper. She quickly screamed in terror, "Don't hurt my grandfather. I'll step back." As she said this, she hurriedly stepped back several steps in a flustered manner. Then, biting her teeth, with anger and disappointment in her eyes, she said, "Zhao, so you are really a bad person. I... I was deceived by you. What on earth do you want to do?"

Li Ruize, however, looked very calm. There was not the slightest hint of panic on his face, like a bottomless lake. He said calmly, "Young man, you suspect that I'm related to your parents' death, right? In fact, not long ago, an officer named Zhao Junfeng has already come to investigate. Didn't he tell you the situation?"

Zhao Yuxuan's eyes showed firmness and distrust as he said, "I don't believe his investigation. That night you came to buy jade. My father didn't sell it to you, but a few days later, something happened to them. If it wasn't you, who else could it be? By the way, you said that there were historical records of that ancient jade at home, and you also said that the deaths of Emperor Wuzong of Tang and Emperor Yongzheng were also related to this piece of ancient jade. Show it to me. If you can't, it will prove that all your words are lies. You just wanted my father to sell the jade to you. When your scheme failed, you thought of a way to harm my parents and steal that piece of ancient jade."

Li Ruize nodded slightly. The movement was very slight, like a leaf gently falling. He said, "All right, it's easy. Young man, follow me."

As he said this, he moved slowly towards the outer room, his steps steady and slow. Zhao Yuxuan followed him closely, his eyes fixed on his back, and the dagger in his hand did not dare to leave at all, like a loyal guard guarding his territory. And Lin Yaxuan also quickly followed behind, holding a silver knife tightly in her hand. The knife trembled slightly in her hand, as if it also felt the tense atmosphere.

As soon as they entered the small hall, a middle - aged woman in her forties hurried out. Her skin was as white and smooth as mutton - fat jade, very beautiful, and her eyes and brows had a unique charm. She was wearing Miao ethnic clothing, and the exquisite embroidery on the clothing was like blooming flowers, gorgeous and dazzling. When she saw the situation in front of her, her face also changed instantly, and her eyes were full of worry as she said, "Ruize, what happened?" This Miao beauty spoke fluent Chinese, her voice clear and melodious.

Li Ruize didn't show any sign of nervousness at all. He just said calmly, "Yuexuan, don't worry. This young man is the son of the He family who had an accident, as I told you. He came here just to verify whether I was lying or not. Now I'll take him to the Ink - Fragrance Pavilion."

Li Ruize was about sixty or seventy years old. When Zhao Yuxuan saw this middle - aged woman, at first he thought she was his daughter or daughter - in - law, and was full of doubts. But after hearing their conversation, he was greatly shocked. It seemed that this woman was actually Li Ruize's wife and Lin Yaxuan's grandmother. This was really incredible. But soon he thought that this might be Li Ruize's second wife after his first wife passed away, and he felt a little relieved.

At this time, Lin Yaxuan was already standing with her grandmother named Li Yuexuan. She lowered her head, with guilt in her eyes, and said, "Grandma, it's all my fault. I brought this bad guy home."

Li Yuexuan didn't look at her. Her eyes stared straight at Zhao Yuxuan, with a cold glint in her eyes, like two cold blades. She said harshly, "Boy, you'd better be careful with your dagger. Don't hurt Ruize a little bit, or you'll taste the feeling of being worse than death."

When Zhao Yuxuan saw her eyes, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat, like a frightened deer suddenly hearing the hunter's footsteps in the forest. The fierceness in her eyes was something he had never seen in his life, which made an inexplicable fear well up in his heart.

Li Ruize led Zhao Yuxuan through the small hall. The decoration in the small hall was simple and primitive. There were several old paintings and calligraphy works hanging on the walls. They went up to the second floor through a passageway. The wooden boards of the stairs made a slight "creak" sound, as if telling the story of the years. Soon, they came to a room outside which a large copper lock was hung. The copper lock was a little rusty, like a sleeping giant beast for many years.

At Li Ruize's signal, Zhao Yuxuan nervously found the key from him. The key trembled slightly in his hand. He carefully opened the copper lock. With a "click", the sound of the copper lock opening was especially loud in the silent corridor. Then he slowly pushed the door open. The room was filled with a smell of old paper and ink. Li Ruize pressed a switch at the entrance, and the lights in the room suddenly lit up. The light was a little yellowish, like the afterglow of the setting sun.

It turned out that this was a very large Ink - Fragrance Pavilion. There were bookcases on all four walls. The bookcases looked old, and the wood grains on them were like the wrinkles of time. The bookcases were full of books. Most of the books were very old, with yellowish pages and frayed corners, as if telling their long history. In one section, there were some bamboo slips piled up. Those bamboo slips exuded an ancient atmosphere, and it seemed that there were many ancient books in them. At one end of the room, there was a large desk. The wood grains on the desk were clearly visible, and there was also a laptop on it. The modern technological product contrasted with the surrounding ancient books and bamboo slips, making it seem a little out of place, like a dislocation through time.

At this time, Lin Yaxuan and her grandmother named Li Yuexuan had arrived outside the Ink - Fragrance Pavilion. Li Ruize raised his hand to stop them from coming in, and then led Zhao Yuxuan to a row of bookcases on the right. He pointed to a yellowish - colored book among them with his finger and said, "Young man, take this book out. Be careful not to damage it."