Shen Liang and others' work efficiency was pretty good. In the evening, they found out the relevant information - the shop owner's name was Qi Xuanwen, and he was currently living in an inn in the east of the city.
Sun Tu didn't delay after receiving the report, and immediately took a few people to find him. As expected, he found Qi Xuanwen who was already drunk in the inn. Seeing these official officers who suddenly came to the door, Boss Qi suddenly became nervous, and his drunkenness quickly turned into cold sweat and ran out: "You, an official, came to see me and I don't know why?"
Sun Tu waved his hand to let others guard the door, while he sat in front of him. After looking him up and down, he asked: "Boss Qi, do you still remember me? You and I met once this morning. "
"You are..." After Qi Xuanwen carefully identified it, he suddenly said: "It turns out that the official was the person who went to Maojia Lane to investigate the case in the morning. Thank you for the official's previous comfort..."
Sun Tu waved his hand, not wanting to talk too much nonsense with him, and went straight to the point: "It seems that you have suffered a lot this time, Boss Qi."
When mentioning this matter, Qi Xuanwen's face became even more gloomy. He lowered his head and said, "I don't know what I know. This time, I owe a large sum of money to buy a large amount of Shu brocade from Shu. In addition, I bought a large amount of Shu brocade by chance before." I bought a white tiger skin. I wanted to make a lot of money, but it turned out..." After talking about it, his eyes were filled with sadness and he almost cried again.
Sun Tu nodded: "Then do you think this is a natural disaster or a man-made disaster? Have you offended anyone during this time?"
"What did the official mean by this?" Although he was in a depressed mood, Qi Xuanwen's mind was still clear, and he immediately noticed something behind his words: "Could it be that the shop below was deliberately burned down?"
"There is no conclusion yet on this, but there is a certain suspicion." Sun Tu glanced at him: "That's why I want to ask Boss Qi, has he offended anyone in his daily life?"
Qi Xuanwen was silent for a moment and then said: "Businessmen like us always pay attention to being friendly and making money, and we never dare to offend others casually. Even among peers, competition is inevitable, but there will be no deep hatred. , let alone such arson matters that involve human lives..." After a pause, he thought of something else: "But if I really want to say it, there is something really wrong."
"What is it?"
"Just a few days ago, someone took a fancy to the tiger skin in my store and wanted to buy it at a big price. But I had already negotiated a business deal with other customers two days ago. We, the merchants, have integrity first, even if The other party later offered a higher price, and I refused to sell the tiger skin to him. At that time, the guest seemed quite annoyed, and his companion even threatened to make me regret it... But I thought that just for this little thing, they couldn't accept it. As for committing such an arson." Qi Wenxuan said with some uncertainty: "And the fire also caused the death of two clerks in my store, which was not just a loss of property."
"Huh? You said that the clerk in your store also died due to the fire?" Sun Tu's expression changed and he asked anxiously.
"No... that's right. I rushed to Changxingfang after the incident and learned from the street official that the two clerks in my shop were unable to escape. In the end, their bodies were also found lying in the rubble. "Qi Xuanwen looked even more sad as he spoke.
Sun Tuze raised his eyebrows. There was indeed something fishy about this matter. It was already certain that someone set a fire outside the silk and satin shop at the same time. Because according to what the Street Department said after the disaster, many residents of Maojia Lane escaped after the fire, so the number of dead was only more than thirty. Otherwise, there would have been more than a hundred residents in one alley alone.
But under such circumstances, how could the shopkeeper outside the alley be burned to death? Unless they have been plotted by someone, or they have been controlled or poisoned by someone before the fire broke out!
Sun Tu made such an inference based on common sense. Because once a fire breaks out nearby, there will definitely be a huge commotion. How can the clerk who is guarding the store be taken advantage of and not even interfere when someone sets fire outside? You know, they stay in the store just in case.
After thinking about this, Sun Tu became more and more convinced of his previous judgment. Now he had only one way to prove his idea: "Where are the bodies of your two guys now?"
"They... are still being guarded by the Street Department. They are only waiting for the matter to be found out before they can be returned to me. Poor my nephew, he was only eighteen years old and lost his life because of this." Qi Xuanwen began to cry sadly again. , gave Sun Tu a headache, and he could only comfort him for a while before saying goodbye and leaving.
By the time they left the inn, it was completely dark. Sun Tu had not rested for two days and one night, but he had no intention of going home. Instead, he said to Shen Liang and the others: "Would you like to come with me again?" Street Department, can you find out the last clue?"
Shen Liang and others naturally knew about his situation, and they couldn't help but look at the young Dutou with some admiration, and then said: "I am willing to go with Dutou to find out the truth of the matter as soon as possible."
"Okay." Sun Tu nodded, and then he excused himself to go to an uninhabited corner, entered the inner circle of the Ring, took a pair of masks and rubber gloves from the infirmary, and then took them straight to the street. Si Yamen.
At this time, the street office was still brightly lit, and many officials could be seen busy inside. It had only been a day since the incident occurred. As the direct takeover of the arson case, the people here naturally had too many errands to do.
After Sun Tu and the others revealed their identities, they were welcomed in and saw Zhong Yu who was already looking exhausted in a pavilion in the second hall. Like Sun Tu, Zhong Sizheng had not rested all day and night, and his spirit was already a little weak.
But after seeing Sun Tu, he still forced himself to cheer up and asked with a smile: "Do you have anything to discuss with Sun Tu here?"
"I have met Zhong Sizheng. The official is here for an important matter, which is related to the truth of the fire." Sun Tu did not mean to hide it, and immediately replied: "But before that, the official hopes that Let’s take a look at two of the corpses first, and hope Sizheng can give permission.”
"Oh? Do you know how to do autopsies?" Zhong Yu asked in surprise, then nodded and said: "In that case, I will go with you." This matter has a lot to do with him, so he naturally wants to do it. See clearly from the side.
Sun Tu did not refuse and gave the name of Qi Xuanwen's silk shop and asked him to take him to examine the two corpses found there. At that moment, under the leadership of two officers, several people came to a remote hall of the Yamen, where the thirty-four corpses of the disaster were placed.
Because it was full of corpses, it always gave people a gloomy feeling. Even if several candles were lit, it still made people feel uneasy. Several of the Street Department's servants were even staggering and did not dare to enter.
Zhong Yu was naturally a little unhappy about this, and he snorted lowly before asking them to follow him and illuminate it. Sun Tu, on the other hand, didn't have too many worries. He held up a candlestick and walked into the slightly dark hall.
"Sun... Sun Dutou, the corpses of the Qijia Silk Shop are placed on the second and third door panels on the left..." A guard pointed to the corpse in the corner with his teeth chattering.
Sun Tu nodded, stepped over several corpses, and then came to one of the targets. He squatted down and put the candle in front of the corpse to take a look. This made Shen Liang, who was following him, shudder, because the corpse was so terrifying. It had been completely scorched black by the fire, and the face was even more twisted and deformed. It looked more like an evil ghost than the legendary evil ghost. . Moreover, the body exuded a disgusting burnt smell that made people not want to get too close.
Shen Liang thought he was bold enough, but he was still worried about being around so many corpses. In comparison, Sun Dutou was much more courageous than himself, which made him respect Sun Tu even more.
Sun Tu, on the other hand, frowned when he smelled the smell of burnt flesh. Then he put the mask he had prepared early on his face directly on his face, put on his gloves at the same time, and then reached out to fumble around the body. First, pinch the cheeks of the corpse, then open it and look at the mouth, nostrils, etc.
Because as far as he knew, there was a clear difference between whether a person was burned to death or burned after death. He could tell the difference by looking at whether there was soot in his mouth and nose. After just a few glances, Sun Tu frowned. There was actually a lot of soot powder in the mouth and nose of the corpse - could it be said that they were really burned to death