Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 451 - 402: Sword Dance

Chapter 451: Chapter 402: Sword Dance
Su Xinghuo said, "Receptionist, can you describe the scene when you opened the door this morning?"
"After I used the key to open the door, I heard a thumping, vibrating sound from behind it. It was then I realized that the action of opening the door had torn a talisman affixed to the upper edge of the door frame."
"How long did the noise last? Was it very loud?"
"For about four or five breaths’ time. It wasn’t particularly noisy, but loud enough to wake someone sleeping. It could also be heard from the end of the corridor."
"Okay."
Su Xinghuo nodded. "Yuan Jia mentioned to me that the talismans he stuck on the door frame were all low-grade. They were made of thin, fragile paper, and the adhesive on the back was very strong. Once someone opened the door, the talisman would inevitably be triggered. Before leaving the room himself, he would affix one, using the force of closing the door to make it stick properly. He would also stick one before going to sleep at night."
"That means it wasn’t someone who stole the key, opened the door despite the noise from the talisman, and killed the awakened Heir Prince."
Sikong Qiu, a Guest from the Prince Mansion, nodded thoughtfully. "How did the murderer do it, then?"
"There’s more than one suspicious point in the room. Please look here."
Su Xinghuo approached the left side of the large bed. "Due to the storm last night and the rocking of the ship, Yuan Jia used four straps—hanging on either side of the bed—to help himself fall asleep. He tied the straps crisscross over the bed to secure himself, preventing him from swaying back and forth and falling off while he slept. This design is common in upper-deck cabins. Additionally, there’s a large, not-yet-fully-evaporated water stain on the floor to the left of the bed. Blood is mingled with the water. Judging from the dry marks at the edge of the stain, it has been in the room for quite some time."
"Might it have been from ice used for cooling?" Wu Yunjun, a merchant from the Zhou Kingdom, asked. "The windows in the Heir Prince’s room cannot be opened, and it can get stuffy at night, so perhaps he put a block of ice on the floor."
"That’s unlikely."
Li Ang shook his head. "The Cooling Wind Charm on the wall is still active, keeping the room temperature around seventeen to eighteen degrees since yesterday. That’s cool enough. There’s no need for an ice block. Besides, if one were to use an ice block, the normal procedure would be to place it in a porcelain basin with a towel underneath. This prevents condensation on the basin’s surface from wetting the wooden floor and causing mold."
"The pitcher is on a table far from the bed, and there is no cup on the nightstand. It’s unlikely that Yuan Jia spilled it himself."
Su Xinghuo shook his head, then pointed to the clock on the wall. "This is a tall-case clock with a damaged dial, stopped at 1 a.m. There are no traces of it being adjusted—set faster or slower—inside. The glass cover has numerous bloodstains on it. We cannot find anything at the scene that could have been used to smash the clock."
"Could it be a secret mechanism?" Singer Shi Yajing said. "I’ve heard that some clocks, at the set alarm time, release a wooden cuckoo. Perhaps the murderer modified the clock, setting up a mechanism inside so that at 1 a.m. it would release something like an ice knife to kill the Heir Prince, who was secured to the bed by the straps."
"We’ve already checked that; there are no mechanisms."
Su Xinghuo shook his head. "And if there really were a forcefully launching automated mechanism inside the clock, the glass fragments should have scattered outside. Instead, many fragments have fallen inside the clock. This indicates that the clock’s glass cover was destroyed from the outside."
"Could it be the Heir Prince knew he was about to be murdered, so he smashed the clock before his death to alert us to the time of the assassination?" Talisman Master Dai Xu murmured.
"Uh... what is that?" Feilian noticed some brownish spots on the ceiling and squinted, asking.
"Those are the nuts for securing the beds." The receptionist explained, "When a ship sails on the sea, encountering storms is common. To prevent beds from sliding and injuring passengers, we use bolts and nuts that go through the wooden planks to fix the beds in place. Lighter tables and chairs are secured with nails. All your rooms have this design."
There were a total of eight bolts, corresponding to the four bed legs of the room upstairs. The captain brought a chair, placed it on the bed, and stepped on it to test the bolts. They were all very firm, with no signs of loosening.
Li Ang thought for a moment and asked, "The room upstairs is Number Three, right?"
The captain nodded. "Yes. The cabins upstairs are arranged from Number One to Number Six. Due to the curvature of the ship’s deck, there are no rooms beyond Number Six. The deck is on the next level up."
"Can we take a look at Room Three?" Li Ang asked. "Perhaps the resident upstairs heard something last night?"
This request was not unreasonable, so the captain led everyone to the upper level and knocked on the wooden door of Room Three.
"Who is it?"
A tall, middle-aged man with his arm in a sling came out, looking a bit surprised. "Captain? What brings you here?"
"This is the ship’s Sword Dancer, Chen Qiwei," the captain introduced. "You should have met him."
Chen Qiwei trained at the largest Sword Dance Society in the Zhou Kingdom. Although not a Body Refining Martial Artist, his sword dance was as swift and fluid as a dragon—far more graceful than the Body Refinement students from the Academic Palace.
Unfortunately, a few days ago, a noble youth from the Jing Country wanted to show off in front of a girl he admired. Relying on his influence, he insisted on challenging Chen Qiwei. They competed using only their swordsmanship, not Body Refining Sword Qi. Chen Qiwei, far superior in sword skills, had to hold back due to the youth’s influence, deliberately making himself appear to be narrowly defeated, and lost the match. In the end, the youth even smashed his wrist with a sword hilt, making him unable to perform for half a month.
The captain asked, "May we come in to have a look?"
"Of course." Chen Qiwei nodded and opened the door for everyone to enter the room.
The walls of the room were covered with various types of swords: Eight-sided Han Swords, Fish Intestine Short Swords, waist-wrapped soft swords, and needle-like thin swords. Passengers could request Chen Qiwei to perform a sword dance with any of these.
"How’s your wrist?" The captain scanned the swords on the walls and casually asked. He then walked straight to the window, opened it by the handle, and peered out, looking up and down.
"It’s alright. The Doctor said it should recover in another half month." Chen Qiwei paused, then gave a bitter smile. "I just can’t do any strenuous exercise, so I’ve been consoling myself with some of the island’s delicacies."
"Like those mussels, right?" The captain nodded knowingly. Banqi Island, located in the Endless Sea, is surrounded by many sea creatures that, while not demon beasts, are unusual. For instance, there is a carnivorous mussel with incredibly strong muscles, capable of shattering the shells of other mussels by vibrating its own shell at high frequencies. A palm-sized specimen can even pulverize steel. The island residents liked to make sashimi from it.
Li Ang was considering whether to introduce this species for use in mining vibrating screens or ultrasonic cleaning devices for glasses.
Su Xinghuo asked Chen Qiwei, "Master Chen, what time did you go to sleep last night? Did you hear any strange noises? For instance, someone descending from the deck using ropes, or sounds of fighting, screaming, or a clock smashing from the room downstairs?"
"Sorry, I was asleep by 8 p.m. and don’t know what happened." Chen Qiwei shook his head. "As for any noises, since I was asleep, I’m not sure if there were any. Are you investigating the death of the Heir of Zhou Kingdom? I heard about it. You might want to ask the island residents. Last night was the Bonfire Festival, and many who stayed on the island were drinking and keeping vigil. The SS Sea Charm now uses talisman lamps, so it’s also bright at night. The island residents might have seen if anyone climbed down from the deck using ropes or threw a weapon into the sea."