Chapter 124: Dual Personality

At dawn, the first rays of morning sunlight gently filtered through the window, refracting into a soft play of light and shadow across the room.

Awakened by the crisp chirping of birds, Wen Jing slowly opened her eyes. Her eyelids felt incredibly heavy and her head throbbed with a dull ache. The garment that had been draped over her shoulders at some point had slipped to the floor.

"Qingliu!"

Wen Jing’s heart skipped a beat. She turned toward the bed, but the quilt was folded neatly in place; there was no sign of Qingliu.

Looking at the papers scattered across the floor, she couldn't remember how she had fallen asleep—perhaps she had simply been too exhausted. But why would Qingliu be up so early?

Wen Jing pushed the door open and called out a few times, but the quiet mountain stream returned only echoes.

A sense of foreboding gripped her. She hurried back inside and reached under the bed. Her heart sank into an icy abyss—the box that held the sword was gone.

Rushing back outside, Wen Jing felt a mixture of anxiety and anger. She was anxious because Qingliu had not yet been purged of the poison; if it took effect, she might die somewhere unknown. She was angry because Qingliu had acted on her own accord, taking the sword without a word. She must have peeked inside the box.

Could it be that Lian Cheng had gone back on his word and kidnapped Qingliu again? The thought flashed through her mind, but she dismissed it immediately. Qingliu was already poisoned; he had no need to take such a risk. Furthermore, he wouldn't have taken the sword; he didn't seem like the type to change his mind so easily.

Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced her forehead. Wen Jing clutched her head and crouched down, overcome by a wave of dizziness.

"Seven-Niang, what is wrong? You were walking in such a hurry," Ji Changge said, startled as Wen Jing collided with him without looking up. His chin throbbed from the impact.

"It is nothing," Wen Jing said, standing up and masking her expression to keep Ji Changge from noticing anything amiss.

"Why were you in such a rush? Where are you going?" Ji Changge asked, puzzled.

Wen Jing paused. "I am just going up the mountain to gather some herbs."

Ji Changge narrowed his eyes. "And what of Mistress Qingliu?"

"She left ahead of me; I am going to find her," Wen Jing replied coolly.

Ji Changge had no reason to doubt her. "I have just finished reviewing all the testimonies. There is one that is quite interesting; I believe you would be interested in seeing this person."

Wen Jing looked up at him, her tone icy. "Investigating cases is the business of your Ministry of Justice. I am an outsider now and it is not appropriate for me to interfere. My apologies, Magistrate Ji, I have matters to attend to. Excuse me."

With that, she brushed past him and departed. She sighed inwardly. Her priority was finding Qingliu; she could not spare the energy for anything else. As for Lian Cheng coming to see her, she certainly could not tell Ji Changge—Lian Cheng was a ruthless man, and if he knew she had spoken...

Seemingly caught off guard by her abrupt refusal, Ji Changge stood stunned. As he watched her disappear into the mountain forest, a bitter smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. The ancients were right: villains and women are the most difficult to deal with.

Ding Wu, who had followed behind, looked at the sour expression on Ji Changge’s face and recalled the similarly grim look on Wen Jing’s. His curiosity burned—just yesterday, the two had been sharing a meal and discussing matters civilly. How had they become so hostile overnight?

"Magistrate, I have brought the Daoist nun known as ** to Lingyun Hall, waiting for your interrogation," Ding Wu reported.

"Very well," Ji Changge replied, and he and Ding Wu returned to Lingyun Hall.

Wen Jing stopped in her tracks. In this vast forest, even if she found Qingliu, she feared she might only find a corpse. If she were Qingliu, she wouldn't enter this forest. Once the poison took hold, the agony would be unbearable. Where would she go?

If she were resigned to death, she wouldn't wait for the poison to take effect. Was there a place to commit suicide nearby?

The cliff!

Wen Jing ran toward the edge of the cliff. She remembered passing by one when she had lost her way before. Qingliu must be there!

***

Ji Changge looked at the woman before him, whose appearance was elegant and whose expression was serene. "Are you the Daoist nun **?"

"Not at all. I am not Daoist **, I am Baili Moran," the nun said with a bow.

Ji Changge and Ding Wu stared in astonishment at the nun, whose words and behavior were deeply unsettling.

"Is Baili Moran the name you held before you took your vows?" Ji Changge asked tentatively.

"No. I am I, and ** is **. We are two different people," Baili Moran said calmly, dropping another bombshell that left Ji Changge speechless.

"Do you know the consequences of deceiving an official?" Ji Changge stared coldly at her. Were all the nuns here insane?

Baili Moran was not in the slightest bit perturbed by his reaction. She smiled faintly. "Magistrate, you may check the household records to see if there is such a person as Baili Moran. The Baili clan of Lanling moved to the capital in the thirtieth year of Taihe. In the thirty-fifth year, their entire family was wiped out in a massacre, and I was the only one to survive."

Ji Changge recalled a tragedy from several years ago. The family name Baili was indeed uncommon. He remembered that the only survivor was a man who had been away at the time, also named Baili Moran. But that had clearly been a man, and the person before him was undeniably a nun.

"Are you a man or a woman?"

"This body belongs to **, but I am the one residing within it now. I rarely emerge, so for most of the time, you see the nun '**'," Baili Moran explained.

She spoke with such conviction and precision. Furthermore, Wen Jing had previously mentioned that she herself was a soul inhabiting another's body. Realizing that the body of ** held two souls simultaneously—while the original Wen Seven-Niang had completely vanished—Ji Changge began to wonder if what she said wasn't so absurd after all. Perhaps she truly was Baili Moran. He recalled that after Baili Moran had finished the funeral rites, he had vanished from everyone's sight. Perhaps the trauma had been too great; his soul remained in the world while the body of ** lived on.

"How long have you been living inside the body of **?" Ji Changge asked.

Baili Moran thought for a moment. "I am not sure. Most of the time, I have no consciousness and do not know what day it is."

Ji Changge picked up the paper from the table and placed it before her. "Did you write this?"

Baili Moran nodded. "When you asked for testimonies yesterday, I happened to be awake, so I wrote down my observations."

"You told us to be wary of Daoist Mingqing. You claim she is the murderer?" Ji Changge probed.

"Yes. Mingqing is a very vicious person. She has likely committed many murders. The death of the Abbess may well have been her doing. Also, everyone here is insane, except for me," Baili Moran said.

*Everyone is insane...* Ji Changge thought to himself, *as if you aren't one of them...*

"How do you know she is so vicious?" Ji Changge continued.

Suddenly, Baili Moran’s body swayed twice. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around in bewilderment. "How did I get here?"

Ji Changge and Ding Wu exchanged a glance. What was happening now?

"Who are you?" Ji Changge asked, perplexed.

"I am **, greetings, Magistrates," ** said with a shy, timid air.

Back to ** again... Watching the shy nun who was so different from the previous one, Ji Changge felt his head throbbing. This temple was truly filled with lunatics.

"Daoist **, do you really not remember how you came to be here?" Ji Changge stared intently at her. If this were an act, it was a masterful one; there was not a trace of pretense.

** shook her head, looking as if she were on the verge of tears. "I truly do not remember. Am I ill? This happens to me often; I never know what I have done."

"Was this written by you?" Ji Changge held up the paper for her to see.

"Not me. My handwriting is not nearly this good. I cannot even recognize all the characters on it," ** replied.

Ji Changge produced a blank sheet of paper. "Write a few characters for me."

People could feign behavior, but handwriting was harder to disguise. No matter how one tried, certain details remained consistent.

** nervously picked up the brush and tremblingly wrote a few characters.

Ji Changge took the paper. She had written the characters for "**," but even the character for "wisdom" was misspelled. The handwriting was completely different from the one on the previous paper. The result was shocking. Was there truly a man named Baili Moran inside her? If ** was now in control, where was Baili Moran?

Before he could finish his questioning, Baili Moran had been replaced. How was he to find her again?

"Do you... know of a person named Baili Moran?" Ji Changge tried asking.

** looked blank, as if she had never heard the name. She shook her head. "I have never heard of such a person. Why do you ask, Magistrate?"

"Just a casual question. What kind of person do you think Daoist Mingqing is?"

** lowered her head, twisting the corners of her robes. "Daoist Mingqing treats us very well. She takes great care of us."

Seeing ** in her timid, submissive state, Ji Changge understood enough. It seemed Mingqing was indeed suspicious. Since she wouldn't speak, he would have to look to the other nuns.

"You may go," Ji Changge said with a wave of his hand.

** scurried away with small, hurried steps, not forgetting to look back at Ji Changge, still seemingly confused as to how she had ended up there.

"Magistrate, the people in this temple... they all reek of something evil," Ding Wu said, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"Investigate Mingqing in secret. Find out where she was and what she was doing the night the Abbess died. Also, have men watch **. If there is any abnormal behavior, report it immediately," Ji Changge commanded. Although it remained a question whether Baili Moran truly existed, she was far sharper than **. If he could speak with her again, he might uncover more details.