Liu Qingfengâs face suddenly turned as black as thunder. The more he emphasized the army provision would not self-ignite, the more Murong Xue insisted it did. It was obvious that this detestable girl was deliberately striking up a discordant tune.
âSince Miss Murong clings to the opinion that the army provisions could self-ignite, could you please show me how it worked?â Liu Qingfeng glanced at her with contempt.
Murong Xue chuckled, regardless of his sneer. âOf course!â She snatched some provision with her soft hand and sprayed it on Liu Qingfengâs shoulder abruptly.
With a thundering âboomâ, the provision caught fire instantly. Numerous flames leaped violently on Liu Qingfengâs shoulder.
Greatly stunned, he hastened to flap his shoulder to extinguish the fire, but to his surprise, it turned increasingly fierce, even spreading to his sleeve in a very short time.
âHelp!â Liu Qingfeng let out a scream.
âComing, sir!â Following his order, the guards rushed forward to launch heavy punches at Liu Qingfengâs shoulder. With the dull thumps resounding in the air, sharp pain spread to his shoulder and arm.
Liu Qingfeng gritted his teeth in pain, trying his best to keep silent in fear of embarrassing himself. His eyes were wide open, his face crimson with blue veins revealed on his forehead, which showed the excruciating pain he was enduringâŠ
Murong Xue slightly curved up her lips. Though not intending to put her finger in another pie, she had to lend a hand this time, merely because it was about the army provisions to Nanjiang. As the saying goes, during the battle, the food and fodder should go ahead of the troops and horses. Murong Ye on the battlefield was in great need for the provision. If she couldnât figure out the reason for the self-ignition, besides staying hungry at the front, Murong Ye would highly likely be beheaded for losing the battleâŠ
As stubborn as Officer Liu was, he insisted that the provision would not self-ignite no matter what Murong Xue said. So, this was the only way to unravel the truthâŠ
With the fire on Liu Qingfengâs shoulder and arm extinguished, his stately uniform was dotted with several holes, his official cap tilted to one side.
With the smell of scorching lingering around his nose, he gave Murong a piercing stare, his face livid with anger. âWhat happened on earth? Why did the provision combust spontaneously?â
âThere was phosphorus hidden inside,â Murong Xue said emphatically, her gaze filled with sullenness.
Phosphorus? What was that? Everyone present stared at each other in confusion.
âThe phosphorus is very easy to self-ignite. As long as it gets to the flare point by being exposed to the sun, it will self-ignite immediatelyâŠâ Murong Xue explained in a gentle voice.
Seemingly enlightened, officer Yuan said in a hurry, âThe provision caught fire at noon, the hottest time during the dayâŠâ
Liu Qingfeng fixed his indifferent gaze on Murong Xue. âYou mean there was phosphorus hidden inside?â
âExactly!â Murong Xue nodded. âSince itâs summer now, the phosphorus hidden in the provision is very easy to get to the flare point, thus igniting the dry provisionâŠâ
She set the provision mixed with the phosphorus on Liu Qingfengâs shoulder just because he was standing in the sunshine at that timeâŠ
âWhy would such a thing exist in the army provisions?â Liu Qingfeng knitted his eyebrows.
âYou should ask those with the chance to approach it!â Murong Xue said in a low voice with a meaningful stare.
Liu Qingfeng shot a piercing stare at Officer Yuan before asking coldly, âWhat else do you want to explain?â
âI know nothing about it, including the phosphorus mentioned by Miss Murong âŠâ Officer Yuan tried to justify himself hurriedly.
Liu Qingfeng snorted. âStop quibbling! You were responsible for escorting army provision, which caught fire seven or eight days after leaving the capital. You should be held accountableâŠâ
âI promise I knew nothing about the phosphorusâŠâ Officer Yuan retorted at once with a frown. âItâs I who was responsible for escorting the provision. Putting the phosphorus inside would be no different from digging my own graveâŠâ
âEven if it were not you, it must have been somebody else in your armyâŠâ Liu Qingfeng snorted with contempt.
âIs there a spy in my troops?â Officer Yuanâs eyes were gleaming with hatred.
âPerhaps notâŠâ Murong Xue seized handfuls of provision and examined carefully. âGiven the same degree to which it was burned, the culprit must have sprayed the phosphorus evenly. If it was done by someone in the army, the top layer would have been destroyed completely with the lowest layer intact, because he merely had time to spray it on the top hastily.â
âSo, youâre saying thatâŠ? Officer Liu squinted.
âThe provision was mixed with the phosphorus before bagging. Officer Liu should interrogate the barn keepers. In that way, perhaps you can catch the real culpritâŠâ Murong Xue murmured, her gaze as cold as ice.
Officer Liu squinted, his eyes gleaming with wisdom. If it were one of the barn keepers, the situation would be a little complicatedâŠ
âTake the barn keepers here as soon as possible. All the citizens should witness the interrogation outside the hall. If suspects appear, bring them to me at once!â
âYes, sir!â The guards took his order and hurried out.
Before long, the director, the deputy, and the keepers were brought to the hall, standing in two rows.
The guards came up before reporting with great respect, âOfficer, all the people related to the barn have been brought here.â
Responding emotionlessly, Liu Qingfeng caught a glimpse of one of the keepers with his sharp eyes before turning to the director. âWas it them who bagged the provision sent to Nanjiang?â
âYes, sir,â The director answered calmly.
Liu Qingfeng nodded before running his eyes over the keepers for a good while with no idea of who the suspect was. He wondered whether Murong Xue could sense something questionable.
Looking askance at Murong Xue, he saw her walk among them slowly and finally stop next to someone.
He was a plain-looking guy with his hands dangling beside his body.
Murong Xue forced a smile gracefully. âIt was you who put the phosphorus in the provision.â
âI donât understand what you are talking about!â He turned to Murong Xue in confusion.
Murong Xue seized his wrist suddenly and showed his hand to the public. âThe inflammable phosphorus left a very slight smell on you and dyed your palm dark red.â\n