Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 234 A sudden inspiration
Monk Guangwen remained calm, his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, as if nothing had happened.

Wang Heng took out the note from Guang Heng's sleeve, spread it in front of Guang Wen's eyes, and said, "Master Guang Wen, didn't you follow the abbot here just for this evidence?"

Guangwen looked incredulous, then calmed down and said, "Since you found out, it's nothing. I wrote the note. I asked Junior Brother Guangheng to go to the bamboo forest in the back mountain at 1pm. But Guangheng's death has nothing to do with me. I was just afraid that the note would still be on Guangheng and cause misunderstanding, so I followed him to take a look."

Wang Heng asked, "What do you want to talk to Guang Heng about?"

"Guangheng is a pedantic fellow. Master suddenly went into seclusion. It is said that when Master comes out of seclusion, he will appoint the abbot. I asked him if he had received any information. It is fine for Guangheng to be the abbot. I am just upset that Guangliang, who is uneducated and unskilled, is the abbot. But Guangheng shook his head and said he didn't know anything. It is ridiculous that he said that it would be better to let others be the abbot and let them do the hard work while we become learned monks. I talked to him for a few words, but we didn't agree, so we went our separate ways."

"Where did you go after you came out of the bamboo forest?"

"I naturally returned to the Sutra Library in the temple and have never left the temple since then."

"About what time did you return to the Sutra Library? Is there anyone who can witness it?"

"It was probably around 2:00 p.m., witness?" Guangwen patted his head and said, "Oh, right, Wuming, Wuming came to get the scriptures at that time."

Wu Ming said, "I went to the Sutra Library yesterday afternoon, but I didn't pay attention to the time. If I were to say it was 15:25, it should be about the same."

Guangwen’s suspicion can be roughly ruled out.

Guangheng was a young monk in his thirties, of medium height. Guangwen was tall and thin, not very strong. He had to kill Guangheng in the bamboo forest, clean up the crime scene, dump the body at the waterfall viewing pavilion, and then return to the Sutra Pavilion of Jubao Temple within half an hour. He could not do it in terms of time.
Xiaocai interrupted and asked, "Who are the senior brothers of the Guang generation in your temple?"

"There are only three people in total, the monk, Guangheng, and Guangliang." Guangwen said.

Xiaocai glanced at Wang Heng, thinking that the suspicion had returned to Guangliang.

"Did anyone notice Guangliang yesterday? Where was he yesterday afternoon?"

Wufa's lips moved as if he was struggling internally. After a long while, he said, "Yesterday afternoon, I saw Brother Guangliang hurriedly heading to the back mountain with a cloth bag in his hand. It was about 3 p.m. at that time."

Wu Ding argued, "Not necessarily. I only saw Brother Guangliang walking towards the back of the mountain. In summer, the trees are lush and green. How could you tell whether Brother Guangliang went into the mountain? Maybe he stopped somewhere. From a distance, you couldn't see him."

Wang Heng bowed to Zhang Xiru and said, "Brother Xiru, can you invite Master Guangliang to Luohan Hall? Let's ask him in person."

Zhang Xiru nodded in agreement, turned around and gave instructions to Wuming. Soon, Wuming came in with Monk Guangliang.

Before the person arrived, the monk Guangliang's voice was heard: "Uncle Master, why did you call me here?"

Guangliang walked up to Zhang Xiru and bowed respectfully.

Seeing that he was very respectful, Zhang Xiru said gently, "I asked Qilang and Xiaocai to solve the Guangheng murder case. They have a few questions for you. You'd better answer them truthfully."

Guangliang turned to the two of them with a sincere look on his face and said, "Please feel free to ask me, my dear donors. I will tell you everything I know."

Wang Heng got straight to the point and asked, "Master Guangliang, where were you when you applied for the card yesterday afternoon? Is there anyone who could be a witness?"

Guangliang thought for a moment and said, "I made an appointment with Qian, the shopkeeper of the firewood and rice shop, to meet yesterday afternoon. The location was Qian's shop outside the temple."

Wang Heng asked, "Where is the shop opened by Qian?" Guangliang smiled and said, "It's near Jubaotai, which is quite convenient."

"The store owned by Qian is located in Jubaotai. Master Guangliang should have come down the mountain from the front. How come someone saw you walking towards the back mountain around 3 pm this afternoon?"

Guangliang's face changed slightly, and he knelt down before Zhang Xiru, sobbing, "Uncle Master, I have nothing to do with Guangheng's murder. I went to the back mountain to wait for someone. Please ask Uncle Master to send the rest away. I will report everything to you and the two donors."

Zhang Xiru winked at Wuming and the others, and they all left. Guangwen sneered, turned around and left.

Wang Heng said: "Master Guangliang, please feel free to speak. We are only investigating the case and will not care about the side issues."

Guangliang looked ashamed, hesitant, and slowly said: "Yesterday afternoon, I went to the back mountain to wait for a relative of the shopkeeper Qian, Mr. Qian, who lives in the village at the foot of the back mountain. The vegetarian food in our temple is very poor. I saw that my master only took a few bites at each meal. I guessed that the vegetarian food was not to his taste, so I asked Mr. Qian to kill an old hen and bring it to him, and stewed some vegetable soup for my master to nourish him."

Zhang Xiru recalled the vegetarian meal last night, which was indeed much more delicious than usual. Unexpectedly, there was an old hen stewed in the vegetable soup. He scolded, "How could you do this?"

Guangliang pointed to the sky and swore, "I have been a monk since I was young and have never broken the precepts of eating meat. My uncle is a layman, so eating a chicken is not too much."

Wang Heng tried to smooth things over and asked, "Master Guangliang, where did you go after you got the chicken?"

Guangliang said quickly, "I took the chicken and immediately returned to the temple, and gave it to the cook to cook. I helped the cook and the cook was a witness. It was not until I heard that a murder occurred at the waterfall viewing pavilion in the back mountain that I went to the back mountain with everyone else. Everything I said was true, without a single lie."

Wang Heng said: "Brother Xiru, Master Guangliang doesn't seem to be a suspect, let him leave first."

Zhang Xiru waved to Guangliang, and Guangliang felt as if he had been pardoned. He wiped the sweat off his face and walked out.

Wang Heng said, "The pilgrim who first discovered the murder scene yesterday is staying at the Vimalakirti Courtyard. I will go with Xiaocai to ask him about his situation and then report back to Brother Xiru."

Zhang Xiru said, "Alright, I'll go back to Foguang Pavilion to rest first. When you have found out, come find me there."

Wang Heng and Xiaocai walked all the way to the gate of Jubao Temple. Xiaocai's eyebrows were knitted together. "One dot and one horizontal line, which character is it? Guangwen and Guangliang both have witnesses to prove their alibis, and there are only three monks of the Guang generation, who is it?"

Wang Heng sighed and said, "If the murderer is not from the temple, then there are infinite possibilities for that one dot and one stroke."

After leaving the mountain gate and passing by the release pond, it was very quiet. I walked into the courtyard and found a young monk to ask the pilgrim which room he lived in. However, the pilgrim was frightened and did not want to stay in the temple. He went down the mountain when it was light.

With so many setbacks, the two had no choice but to enter the gate of Jubao Temple again with their heads down, and headed east all the way to Foguang Pavilion.

Climbing up the stairs, the ancient, tall three-story wooden structure of Foguang Pavilion appeared in front of the two.

Going up to the top floor, there are two pavilion doors. Mr. Zhang lives in the east pavilion. Now the door is closed, maybe he is resting.

The West Pavilion was the office of the deceased Guangheng. The door of the pavilion was half open. Wang Heng pushed open the wooden door and walked in.

The Foguang Pavilion has always been famous for its picturesque scenery, and it really lives up to its reputation. The west pavilion has windows on three sides. Looking out, you can see the misty mountains in the distance, the swaying green poles in the near distance, the emerald peaks in the distance, and the shades of ancient trees everywhere.

Wang Heng stared at the south window for a long time, and suddenly an idea came to him. He sighed and said, "I have some vague ideas about Guangheng's death."