Theft and a Frame-Up

"Stand up."

The young deacon's voice was curt.

Lu Yuan rose. Wang Shuo stood up after him, his legs trembling slightly and his fingers clutching the hem of his robe in a death grip.

The deacons' office was small. Light spilled from the Soul Power lamp overhead, casting shadows across the older deacon's face. He sat behind the desk, his fingers absently rubbing its edge. The other two deacons blocked the door.

The air smelled of old paper.

The young deacon began searching Lu Yuan. He patted down every inch, from his shoulders to his waist, his cuffs, the front of his robe, and his trouser legs. Another deacon searched Wang Shuo.

They found nothing.

The young deacon's expression soured. He stepped back and looked at the older deacon.

The older deacon rose, picked up an oil-paper packet from the desk, and unfolded it.

Inside were several dark brown fragments with irregular edges, as though torn from wrapping. A faintly shimmering powder clung to their surfaces, giving off the palest green glow under the lamp.

"We found these under your bedding." He looked at Lu Yuan. "Your bed, Lu Yuan."

Wang Shuo sucked in a breath.

Lu Yuan stared at the fragments for a few seconds, then looked up.

"They're not mine."

His tone was steady.

The young deacon sneered. "Every thief says that."

"Fluorescent powder." Ignoring him, Lu Yuan turned to the older deacon. "It was among the stolen materials. Extracted from luminous moss, it has low Soul Power affinity and clings tightly. It's hard to wash off fabric, glows in the dark, and keeps glowing for days."

He paused.

"Deacon, was the powder glowing or dark when it was found?"

The older deacon's gaze shifted slightly.

"Dark. It only fluoresces when activated with Soul Power."

"And the fragments themselves-are they the thickened moistureproof paper used in the warehouse?"

"...Yes."

Lu Yuan nodded.

"That's strange," he said. "If I'd stolen the material, wrapped it in this paper, and torn off fragments that picked up the powder when I opened it, then the powder should have been activated by Soul Power long ago. It should have been glowing at least a little when you found it. But it wasn't."

He looked at the young deacon.

"Unless the fragments were torn off before the powder was activated and deliberately placed under my bed. Whoever put them there was careful and didn't infuse them with Soul Power."

The young deacon froze.

The older deacon tapped his fingers on the desk, the rhythm slowing.

"That's just speculation," the young deacon said through gritted teeth.

"It can be verified." Lu Yuan turned to the older deacon. "Deacon, what kind of container was the stolen fluorescent powder in?"

"...A glass bottle. A cork in the mouth, wrapped in oil paper."

"How big was the bottle?"

"As tall as a hand, with a wide belly and a narrow mouth."

Lu Yuan nodded.

"The powder is easily stirred up when the bottle is opened. It would get on the hands, cuffs, even the tops of the shoes-if the person was crouching while handling it." His gaze swept over the deacons' shoes. "I request an inspection of all the clothes Wang Shuo and I have worn from yesterday through today. Outer robes, underclothes, socks, and shoes."

Wang Shuo's head shot up.

The young deacon's expression changed. "What are you getting at?"

"To rule us out as suspects." Lu Yuan shook his head. "If we stole it, there would definitely be traces on our clothes. Just find a dark room and activate it with Soul Power."

He looked at the older deacon, his tone still calm.

"While you're at it, check the clothes and shoes of the students who first accused us and insisted on searching our beds. They were so certain, I imagine they'd be willing to prove their innocence too."

The room fell silent for a few seconds.

The older deacon stared at Lu Yuan, the scrutiny in his eyes turning into something else. He stayed silent so long that Wang Shuo began sweating again.

Footsteps came from outside the door.

Light, but steady. They stopped at the door, and someone knocked.

The young deacon frowned and pulled the door open. Shen Moxin stood outside, her gray robe plain, her long hair pinned up without a strand out of place, and crystal glasses perched on her nose. She held a leather notebook in her arms.

"Assistant Instructor Shen?"

"I heard there was a theft at the warehouse, and that work-study students were being questioned." Shen Moxin entered and gave the older deacon a slight nod. "As their guarantor, I've come to find out what happened."

Her gaze fell on the fragments on the desk, then moved to Lu Yuan's face.

"I heard some of the conversation outside the door just now." She paused. "The verification method Lu Yuan proposed is logical. The fluorescent powder's properties are exactly as he described. Checking for residue on their clothes is the most direct approach."

The young deacon grew agitated. "Assistant Instructor Shen, that's against the rules! Since when can a suspect demand an investigation into his accusers?"

"The rules exist to uncover the truth." Shen Moxin looked at him, her gaze calm behind her lenses. "If the results can rule out the suspects and also clear the accusers, preventing groundless suspicion, what objection is there?"

She turned to the older deacon.

"Deacon, I think it's worth a try."

The older deacon fell silent.

He looked at Shen Moxin, then at Lu Yuan, and finally back at the fragments. After a long while, he let out a long breath.

"Go and fetch Zhang Hao, Li Wei, and Zhao Kun," he told the young deacon. "Notify the sundries department to prepare a dark room."

The young deacon opened his mouth, swallowed his words, and turned to stride out.

Wang Shuo's legs went weak. He braced himself against the wall, gasping for breath.

Lu Yuan stood with his back straight.

Shen Moxin walked over to him and asked quietly, "Are you confident?"

"Once fluorescent powder gets on something, it's not that easy to clean off," Lu Yuan said. "Especially from the cracks in shoe soles."

Shen Moxin's eyes flickered behind her lenses, and she nodded lightly.

The dark room was next door. It had no windows, and once the door was shut, they couldn't see their hands in front of their faces. The sundries department brought in two Soul Power lamps and set them to their lowest brightness, barely enough to make out people's silhouettes.

Zhang Hao, Li Wei, and Zhao Kun still looked impatient when they were brought in. Zhang Hao was the tall student who had extorted Wang Shuo last time, and Li Wei and Zhao Kun were his followers. All three wore the dark blue robes of full students, with silver thread embroidered on the cuffs.

"What's going on?" Zhang Hao shouted. "It's the middle of the night. Wasn't the evidence conclusive?"

The young deacon kept a stern face. "Cut the nonsense. Take off your outer robes and shoes and put them on that table."

The three froze.

Li Wei was the first to react. "Take-take off our shoes? Why should we?"

"To check for fluorescent powder residue." The older deacon entered, his voice grave. "Lu Yuan suggested that whoever stole it must have come into contact with the powder, leaving traces on their clothes, shoes, and socks. It can be made visible by activating it with Soul Power in a dark room. You accused him, so to be fair, you will be examined as well."

Zhang Hao's expression changed.

"You'd believe what a thief says?" He thrust out his neck. "Who knows if he's trying to frame us?"

"All the more reason to get to the bottom of it," Shen Moxin said calmly. "If there's none on you, you'll naturally be cleared of suspicion. If there is..."

She left the sentence unfinished.

Zhang Hao's eyes flickered as he glanced at Li Wei and Zhao Kun. Zhao Kun instinctively drew his feet back.

The older deacon saw it, and his face darkened.

"Take them off," he ordered.

The three students dawdled over the buttons on their robes. Lu Yuan and Wang Shuo had already taken off their outer robes and shoes and placed them on another table. Wang Shuo's clothes were old but clean, with several patches. Lu Yuan's robe had been washed until it faded, and its cuffs were frayed.

The Soul Power lamps were turned up a little.

The older deacon conducted the examination himself. He first picked up Lu Yuan's robe and infused it with a thread of Soul Power. A faint light appeared on its surface-the normal reaction of the Soul Power fibers in the fabric itself. He carefully checked the cuffs, front, and hem.

There was no unusual fluorescence.

Wang Shuo's robe was the same.

Next came the shoes. The soles of Lu Yuan's shoes were thin, worn almost flat, with nothing but dried mud in the cracks. Wang Shuo's shoes were a little better, and they showed no reaction either.

The older deacon straightened and looked at Zhang Hao and the other two.

It was their turn.

Zhang Hao's outer robe was examined first. Soul Power flowed into it, and a faint light rippled across its surface. The older deacon's fingers brushed inch by inch over the cuffs, elbows, and chest...

Suddenly, they stopped on the inside of the left cuff, near the wrist.

A small patch of pale green specks glowed there. They were extremely faint, but in the dark room, with Soul Power activating them, they were glaringly clear.

Zhang Hao's face went white in an instant.

"No, impossible!" he blurted out. "I washed my hands! I know I washed them!"

Only after the words were out did he realize he'd let something slip. He clapped a hand over his mouth.

Dead silence filled the dark room.

The older deacon slowly straightened, his eyes utterly cold as he looked at Zhang Hao. He put down the robe and picked up Zhang Hao's shoes.

They were a pair of fine hard-soled ankle boots, with mud on the uppers and tiny stones embedded in the tread. The older deacon infused them with Soul Power and held the soles up beside a Soul Power lamp.

In the lamplight, a few specks of green powder in the crevice of one heel stubbornly gave off a faint but unmistakable fluorescent glow.

Like a few mocking eyes.

Everyone's gaze snapped to Zhang Hao's face as it turned deathly pale.