Shuijingfang was brightly lit.
The government was there, the Wulin Alliance was there too, and many sects were blocked in the courtyard because they couldn't get into the front hall, forming a huge black mass.
The coroner had not yet had time to perform a detailed autopsy. Based on years of experience, he made a preliminary judgment that among the three dead, Zhao Honghu and Ge Changye had purple and black spots all over their bodies, and they must have been poisoned before they died, but Cui Wei did not have such symptoms. Everyone had hemp rope marks on their necks, their eyes were wide open, their tongues were sticking out, and they looked hideous and terrifying.
When Li Sui and Zhu Yanyin arrived at Shuijingfang, the sects to which the three men belonged were crowded at the gate, shouting indignantly, demanding justice for their tragically killed disciples. Their voices were louder than ever, but the bodies had just been discovered and everything was still a tangled mess. Even if justice was rushed at full speed for 800 miles at night, it would probably not arrive within three to five days.
The county magistrate of Wanjing City is named Ma Bao. He is not greedy or not, but his character is clear as a mirror. He would secretly seek conveniences for himself. He is just an ordinary minor official who lives a mediocre life. It's okay when nothing big happens in the city, but once a murder happens, he immediately gets a splitting headache. His first reaction is not to solve the case, but why am I so unlucky, so unlucky, so unlucky.
In addition to the sect to which the deceased belonged, there were two other groups of people at the scene, and their moods were subtly different from those of the others.
One is Liujiazhuang. Liu Xiyang’s body has not been found yet, which means he is very likely not dead. This should be a good thing, but the other three people are all dead. It is hard to say whether the only missing one is the victim or the murderer.
The second one is the Canglang Gang.
The Tan family father and son usually had little presence, and this time was no different. Even though they had been standing at the scene for most of the day, no one realized that Tan Shuqiu was involved in this matter. It was only later that the Liu family's gang suddenly realized and shouted, "No, Young Master Tan, didn't you also go to visit Master Zen?"
Cold water poured into boiling oil and the whole place exploded.
Tan Shuqiu's reaction was also interesting. After hearing this, his face turned pale and his knees weakened. He actually sat down on the ground in panic in front of everyone, unable to utter a word for a long time, which perfectly demonstrated the feeling of "I killed someone and I feel really guilty. Now that I have been discovered, I must die." If Gang Leader Tan had not known his son's cowardice, he might have believed the evil of this evil son.
Wan Zhuyun asked: "Young Master Tan, what exactly is going on?"
Tan Shuqiu's face was pale: "I, I, I, I really didn't kill anyone!"
"Then why are there five people traveling together, but now three of them are dead and one is missing, and you are the only one who came back safe and sound?"
Tan Shuqiu's lips trembled: "Because... Anyway, I didn't kill anyone! I was trapped in a maze, I don't know anything!"
This time even Gang Leader Tan was confused, not understanding what this "locked in a maze" meant. Didn't they say that the four people secretly went to visit prostitutes and drink? I was quite happy after hearing this, thinking that although my son was cowardly, at least he was not fooling around. Of course, I still have to be polite, and I certainly can't directly tell the four sects that your disciples went to drink and prostitute, and only my son has good character, so I just made up an excuse at the time, saying that because of something in the sect, I called him back early.
Isn’t this the cause and effect of the whole incident? How could there be other hidden secrets
Tan Shuqiu continued to look guilty like a murderer, and Tan Shan was also confused by his son's incoherent words. The father and son stood in the bright hall, staring at each other. If I am not suspicious, who should be suspicious
Not to mention the Tan family's desire to "make friends with the famous and climb up the ladder", which was seen by the whole world. After finally having a chance to travel with the children of the noble families, they called their son back halfway. How could they understand this? If it wasn't for the purpose of killing people, wouldn't it be unreasonable
Wan Zhuyun's voice sank: "Boss Tan, I'm afraid you need to explain today's events to everyone."
"This..." Tan Shan wanted to tell him about the four people visiting prostitutes and drinking, but it was obviously inconsistent with the "maze" that suddenly appeared, and it would easily offend other sects. He absolutely did not believe that his son would kill someone, so he continued to ask: "What happened during the trip when you five were traveling together? Tell us everything so that we can judge the truth and find the murderer as soon as possible."
Tan Shuqiu swallowed hard, and with the help of the servant, he climbed up and sat on the chair.
At this point, with three lives lost, he dared not hide anything anymore and honestly confessed that he was abandoned in the maze and almost starved to death.
After hearing the whole story, Tan Shan was filled with anger, anxiety and fear. On the other side, people from other unrelated sects were also muttering that if this was true, then those four people were too evil. Although Tan Shuqiu was usually not likable, they were all righteous people in the martial arts world, so they wouldn't really kill anyone, right
Tan Shuqiu said with a sad face: "I... they also took my silver bag and said they were going to Linzhou to drink wine."
The other sects: Tsk tsk tsk tsk.
"Nonsense! Senior Brother Cui is a man of such high character, why would he want to kill you for no reason?"
"Alliance leader, what Tan Shuqiu said is so confusing that it cannot be trusted!"
"We in Zishan don't have any money, so why would we cheat you out of the Canglang Gang's money?"
Tan Shuqiu was scolded and interrogated so much that he lost his mind and felt like fainting as soon as he closed his eyes.
"Leader!" The people from Liujiazhuang also wanted to distance themselves from the matter first, so they said, "If Young Master Tan can't provide evidence, we still have to follow the rules. We should first detain the person and then investigate the truth carefully."
Wan Zhuyun nodded and was about to order someone to take Tan Shuqiu away when there was a small commotion outside the courtyard.
The originally crowded courtyard seemed to be split in the middle by a sharp knife, and a path was neatly cleared. Li Sui and Zhu Yanyin walked into the front hall, and the first thing he saw was Tan Shuqiu curled up in a chair - as expected.
Wan Zhuyun was a little surprised. After all, he knew very well how difficult it was to invite the great god Li Sui. Not to mention that four people died in the Wulin Alliance, even if forty or four hundred people died, it would not alarm the Wanren Palace. The other sects obviously shared the same idea as Alliance Leader Wan. It was much more reasonable to say that Palace Leader Li was dissatisfied with his sleep being disturbed, so he came to Shuijingfang to kill people, rather than saying that he was interested in the case.
Tan Shuqiu said weakly again: "I am really trapped in a maze."
"Yes." Zhu Yanyin nodded, "I can testify that you are really trapped in a maze."
There was an uproar at the scene. Tan Shuqiu felt relieved and thought that he might not have to blame Tan E anymore, so he immediately started crying.
Zhu Yanyin told the whole story of how he accidentally entered the maze and how he happened to rescue Tan Shuqiu. At this time, the yamen runner also brought a tray, saying that he found another bundle of cloth in the well, with a wave pattern and the word "Tan" embroidered on it, so he wanted to verify it with the sects present to see if he could find the murderer.
Tan Shuqiu choked up and said, "It was my bag, which contained silver. They cheated me out of it. Wuwuwuwuwuwuwu."
"… "
Tan Shan never dreamed that Zhu Mansion and Wanren Palace would actually come out to testify. He was immersed in the shock and ecstasy of an old father who thought, "My son can actually be so promising." It took him a long time to remember to say, "Master Wan, since—"
"I know." Wan Zhuyun signaled him not to say more. "Since Master Zhu has come forward to testify, Young Master Tan should not be the murderer. The most urgent thing is to find Liu Xiyang first."
Everyone had no objection, and no one dared to raise any objection.
Shuijingfang was still the old Shuijingfang, and the air was filled with the aroma of wine, but no one was in the mood to go out and have fun. Everyone went back to their residences to rest, and the sects that lost their disciples just accepted their bad luck and sent people to tear up white cloth to build a mourning hall. Tan Shuqiu looked at Zhu Yanyin eagerly, and didn't dare to speak for a long time - mainly because Palace Master Li was standing next to him, and he felt that he would die immediately if he opened his mouth.
Zhu Yanyin asked: "Why didn't you tell me that I was the one who saved you?"
Tan Shuqiu's face turned pale again: "How dare I do that!"
Zhu Yanyin: “…”
Tan Shuqiu stammered, "Then this matter has nothing to do with me from now on, right?"
"Of course it has something to do with you." Zhu Yanyin said, "Since you were five people setting out together, you have to recall carefully what happened on the way, no matter how trivial it is, and explain it clearly to Alliance Leader Wan, so that the case can be solved as soon as possible."
Tan Shuqiu hummed: "It's nothing, it's just that they have been bullying me all the way. It's so embarrassing to talk about it."
When Tan Shan heard this, he felt like he was about to go crazy again. He was angry at those four people for being so arrogant and domineering, and he was also angry at why his son was so timid and timid and even knew how to be embarrassed.
Li Sui was in no mood to listen to Tan Shuqiu's sobs and complaints. He glanced outside the door and saw that the servants of the Zhu Mansion had caught up with him, so he turned and walked towards the backyard.
"Palace Master Li." Zhu Yanyin decisively abandoned Tan Shuqiu and trotted behind Li Sui, "Where are you going?"
"The coroner's room."
Zhu Yanyin stopped immediately. Really? Sorry to bother you!
Li Sui turned around and looked at him: "Why, you want to go too?"
Zhu Yanyin shook her head rapidly, and two snow-white hairbands flew with her. Who wants to go to see a corpse in the middle of the night? I’m afraid of ghosts, so I won’t look.
Li Sui looked at him for a while, then suddenly curled his lips and said viciously, "There's an old man behind you."
Zhu Yanyin: “!”
Palace Master Li jumped on his horse and rode away in a leisurely and unrestrained manner.
Zhu Yanyin stood still stiffly: "Uncle Zhang!"
Zhu Zhang said enthusiastically: "Hey, sir, are you going back?"
The sound was so close to his ear that Zhu Yanyin's heart skipped a beat: "Ah!"
Anyway, ever since he met Palace Master Li, he has been making “ah” sounds all the time, and his life is filled with all kinds of strange shocks.
Zhu Yanyin's lips trembled: "When did you stand behind me?"
Zhu Zhang was puzzled. Just now, didn’t Palace Master Li say that there was an old man behind the young master? It was me.
Zhu Yanyin: “…”
Zhu Zhang called for a carriage and brought his son back to the inn.
Jiang Shenglin was busy preparing medicine that night and had to keep an eye on the fire, so even though he knew something was wrong outside, he had no time to pay attention. It was not until the next morning that he went to find Li Sui, yawning: "You yesterday—"
He stopped talking halfway, looking puzzledly at the big, shiny sword covered with red tassels on the table. It looked familiar, often used by street performers, often together with the gong and the "rich come to show their support with money, the poor come to show their support with their presence".
Li Sui asked: "What are you looking at?"
Jiang Shenglin was puzzled: "Why did you bring this thing back?"
Li Sui leaned back in his chair: "Guess."
Jiang Shenglin thought for a moment and replied, "You are not going to kill Chi Tian anymore. You are going to change your career and perform sword swallowing on the street."