### Translation
"If he knew that in the end he would still find it hard to avoid death, the situation would surely change immediately."
"Don't waste your breath with nonsense on me."
"Do you want proof?"
"Not wrong."
"Alright then!" Thiat-yan continued, speaking word by word.
"I will show proof of my words so you can all see it for yourselves! Tu Siauya, please take a look at Bu Tiat-cui's wrists." Tu Liong followed the order obediently.
He found marks from rope bindings on Bu Tiat-cui's hands.
"Cu Taiya! Did you ever tie up Bu Tiat-cui's wrists?"
"Yes."
"Please turn over Bu Tiat-cui's corpse." At this moment, Bu Tiat-cui's corpse was lying face up.
Cu Siau-thian's knife was still lodged firmly in his heart.
With difficulty, Tu Liong pulled the knife from Bu Tiat-cui's heart.
Fresh blood immediately spurted out.
After that, he turned the body so that now the face was facing the floor.
"Tu Siauya! Try looking closely.
Is there an iron needle stuck in the body?"
Hearing the words 'silver needle,' Tu Liong was suddenly startled.
In recent years, Cu Siau-thian....
it turns out that indeed, there was an iron needle sticking out of the back of the body.
The needle was already bent because of the weight of the body when it fell face up earlier.
"Tu Siauya! Now you should understand! First, Cu Taiya threatened to kill by stabbing the iron needle into Bu Tiat-cui's vital acupoint. How could he not follow what was ordered of him?"
Now everything became clear, all the long conversations he heard outside were fake dialogues conducted only to change Tu Liong and Wie Kie-hong's perspective of him.
Cu Siau-thian said nothing.
Tu Liong and Wie Kie-hong only stared at Cu Siau-thian without words.
"Kie-hong, Tu Liong, do you believe his words?" Cu Siau-thian asked, still sounding very calm.
"We are waiting for your explanation."
"I admit I threatened Bu Tiat-cui with an iron needle, but all those words were spoken by Bu Tiat-cui himself. I didn't fabricate it, I didn't force him to say all that. His answer flowed smoothly like water. If I had indeed instructed him to speak like that, how could he say everything so smoothly?"
"Cu Taiya!" Tu Liong tried to reconcile everyone, "perhaps your actions have aroused Thiat-yan's suspicion. Why don't you try to explain everything in more detail?"
"At that time, Leng Souw-hiang had great power in Pakhia city. Anyone would listen to his words. But he was afraid that the widespread scandal would cause misunderstandings within the government circles, so he told me to go out on his behalf. Earlier, I did trap you in a house. The old man who released you was actually my subordinate. The 'sleeping goddess herb' was also given by me. I admit I made this plan because I wanted you to hear the real explanation from Bu Tiat-cui's mouth. Because if you heard this explanation from my mouth, you certainly wouldn't believe it."
"Continue your words," Thiat-yan ordered.
"At that time after Leng Souw-hiang promised that if he succeeded in harming Tiat Liong-san, he would give each person a considerable sum of money. But after that, he even said that the blood-red gem had been given to the king. And he did not end up paying that large sum of money. That's why in our hearts, there was a grudge."
"When the Ceng dynasty fell, a new government was established. Leng Souw-hiang also lost all his influence. But you all still maintained good relations with him. Why did you do this?" Thiat-yan kept pressing.
"Because the Ceng dynasty was said to rise again. If indeed the dynasty returns to glory, Leng Souwhiang will have great power, who dares to oppose him?"
"So, does this mean you did not take part in this matter at all?"
"No! I must also bear responsibility."
"What responsibility?" Thiat-yan kept pressing.
"I should have explained all the events to these two young men. I should have helped them make a good conclusion so they could walk on the right path. But I did not dare to say all the actual events. Because at that time Leng Taiya was not yet dead, I was afraid of him."
"Perhaps because Leng Taiya is already dead, you are throwing all the blame on him."
"No! It's not like that."
"Cu Taiya! You have made a big mistake."
"A big mistake?"
"Bu Tiat-cui was the figure who held the key to solving this mystery. You should have let him live; you shouldn't have killed him."
"The SUCI situation was very urgent. I couldn't weigh too much."
"What do you mean by the situation being urgent?"
"Didn't you see the sword held by Bu Tiat-cui?"
"I saw it."
"He suddenly turned around and tried to kill me. What should I do?"
"Cu Taiya! Was it Bu Tiat-cui who attacked you first?"
"Yes."
"He first wanted to kill you, then you tried to defend yourself and killed him. This proves that your martial arts and knife skills are better than his. If you did not intend to kill him, you did not need to stab the knife into his body. Moreover, his vital acupoint was already pinned with an iron needle. Cu Taiya! Isn't this a big mistake?"
"Sigh...! this is just a coincidence... Thiat-yan....this is truly a misunderstanding..."
"Cu Taiya, I don't want to hear your lies anymore. I now want to ask about an object. About that blood-red diamond..."
"This....how could I know where that diamond is?" Thiat-yan said coldly, "Cu Taiya, my patience has limits. I hope you can think carefully..."
Wie Kie-hong pulled Tu Liong's hand so they both went to the central room.
Wie Kie-hong looked very emotional when saying these words.
"Tu toako! Look... how could this happen?"
Tu Liong seemed lost in thought. He said, "Kie-hong, Thiat-yan's argument is not unreasonable. Cu Taiya has used an iron needle to pierce his acupoint and then forced him to say all those things. After that, he killed Bu Tiat-cui to silence him. This is a plausible possibility."
"Tu toako! Earlier, Cu Taiya asked so many questions, yet there was one question he didn't ask..."
"What question?"
"A few days earlier, in Bu Tiat-cui's room, there was also a corpse of a man. He also died because of the same iron needle. Did Cu Taiya know about this, why didn't he ask about it?"
"Kie-hong, from this, do you conclude that Cu Taiya is lying?"
"Mm.."
"Wie Kie-hong! if you don't understand Cu Taiya yet in this way."
"What do you mean by your words?"
"Cu Taiya is a famous old warrior in the martial world. Moreover, he is clever at making strategies. If he indeed wanted to create an alibi, he certainly wouldn't make mistakes.... I feel that he deliberately left many mistakes like this."
"Oh...?"
"The idea of injuring Tiat Liong-san was also his. This I am sure of. But he still hasn't achieved the result he wanted."
"Oh...?" once again Wie Kie-hong was surprised.
"It can also be said that to obtain that blood-red diamond, he already killed Tiat Liong-san. But until now, he hasn't obtained his blood-red diamond."
"Tu toako! Are you just guessing this?"
"Listen to all my words first.... Tiat Liong-san was also a warrior in the martial world. The first time he came to the city to assess the diamond he failed to do so. The second time he came to the city, he should have been wary of spies watching him, the blood-red diamond was unlikely stored in a leather suitcase. Moreover, it was stored in the confiscated warehouse. That is a public place; anyone can take it at any time."
"Mm.."
"Wie Kie-hong, did you pay attention to the surroundings?"
Suddenly Wie Kie-hong was startled, but he saw nothing. Therefore, he asked, "What is it about this place?"
"Gang San-poa has become a mass grave."
"Oh?" Wie Kie-hong shuddered.
"I suspect, Cu Taiya has prepared a trap for us here. Killing Bu Tiat-cui was just the beginning."
"According to Tu Toako, who currently holds that blood-red diamond?"
"It seems this is the last issue of the mystery we are solving."
"Tu toako... this is not just ordinary guessing. This is a matter of life and death. What do you think we should do now?"
"Look for an opportunity to act."
"Tu toako! This sentence is very unclear."
"You must train your ability to make guesses. Everyone surely has a chance to succeed, and can also lose... well, we better go back inside now."
Then these two people returned to the side room. It turned out that Cu Siau-thian and Thiat-yan were still maintaining their respective defenses.
###
Glossary
- **Thiat-yan**: A character in the story, possibly a martial artist or detective trying to unravel the mystery.
- **Tu Siauya**: A character tasked with examining Bu Tiat-cui’s body.
- **Bu Tiat-cui**: A deceased character central to the mystery.
- **Cu Taiya**: A character who seems to be involved in the conspiracy or murder.
- **Wie Kie-hong**: A character who is part of the investigation.
- **Leng Souw-hiang**: A powerful figure in the city who seems to have had influence over the events.
- **Tiat Liong-san**: Another martial artist or character involved in the events leading to the current mystery.
- **Gang San-poa**: A location described as a mass grave.
- **Ceng Dynasty**: A fictional or historical dynasty referenced in the story.
- **Blood-red diamond**: A valuable object central to the conflict in the story.