Chapter 33 The Murderer (2)

"I can now conclude—" Song Qianzhao's voice was solemn and firm, "The murderer must be someone familiar to He Heng's family! Only someone familiar could take advantage of their unpreparedness and poison them silently."

As he spoke, Song Qianzhao's gaze swept towards Wang Dashan.

Wang Dashan felt his heart tremble suddenly.

"Then, the murderer secretly hid arsenic in the home of He Ming and his wife, intending to frame them! So..." Song Qianzhao raised his voice, "The person who took the lead in searching for the poison must be the real murderer without a doubt!"

“Oh my God!”

The moment these words were spoken, the entire room erupted in an uproar. Dozens of eyes were instantly fixed on Wang Dashan.

"No...it's not..." Liu Dashan was incoherent, his clothes soaked with sweat, "It really wasn't me..."

"You're such a jerk, Liu Dashan!" He Qingyang was furious, pointing at him and shouting, "I'll leave aside the fact that you poisoned Aunt He Ye, but you even spared your own wife and your own flesh and blood! For the sake of a mere fortune, you've lost all conscience and are worse than an animal!"

"It's unfair!" Liu Dashan fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "I swear to God, it really wasn't me..."

"What are you waiting for!" He Qingyang ordered, "Catch him!"

Several strong men immediately let go of He Ming and his wife and quickly pressed Liu Dashan to the ground.

Liu Dashan pressed his cheek against the cold ground and let out a heart-wrenching wail.

"It's unfair! You can't wrongly accuse a good person like this!"

"You still haven't admitted it," Song Qianzhao pointed to the woodshed next to him and said, "Lock him in first - I'll interrogate him myself later."

He Qingyanglian hurriedly called over a few strong men, and they dragged Wang Dashan into the woodshed.

"Thanks to the hero's insight," He Qingyang immediately thanked Song Qianzhao, "otherwise we would have almost wrongly accused a good person."

"Village head," Song Qianzhao paused slightly, speaking in a slow tone, "Although there is little hope, I still hope you can send someone to Liu Dashan's house for a thorough search. I'm worried..."

"What's wrong?" He Qingyang's eyelids twitched, and the corners of his mouth tightened. "Won't this make him confess?"

Song Qianzhao lowered his voice and said, "Now that there are no witnesses or physical evidence, how can he confess?"

"Torture!" He Qingyang gritted his teeth and said, "See how hard his mouth is!"

"Four lives, this is a capital crime punishable by death by a thousand cuts." Song Qianzhao shook his head. "If you just use torture, he would rather be beaten to death than confess. I know the rules of the government investigation best. If they can't find evidence, they can only release the person. Then all of you who participated in the arrest will be prosecuted."

"This..." He Qingyang's eyebrows turned upside down. "Then what should I do?"

"We're still lacking crucial evidence," Song Qianzhao sighed softly, his tone somewhat helpless. "As long as we can find even the slightest clue, the government will be able to convict him."

“Ah, this…”

"Forget it, let's try our luck." Song Qianzhao pointed to the woodshed, "I'll go interrogate him, and you take people to Wang Dashan's house and search it thoroughly."

"Okay, okay...Thank you, four heroes."

He Qingyang gave the two strong men some instructions and quickly left the yard with the two young men.

As soon as He Qingyang turned around and left, He Ming and his wife fell to their knees and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Thank you so much for saving my life!"

Song Qianzhao quickly helped the two of them up and comforted them gently. While supporting He Ming's wife, she suddenly lowered her voice and whispered in her ear: "Tell me, where does Wang Dashan live? Speak quietly, don't let anyone hear."

"Ah!" He Ming's wife was startled, then understood and said in a barely audible voice, "At the west end of the village, next to the grave, that dilapidated house leaning against the big willow tree..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Song Qianzhao had already let go of his hand and continued to comfort him in a gentle voice with a normal expression.

Half an incense stick later, next to the cemetery at the west end of the village.

Under the moonlight, a dark shadow passed over the grave like a ghost and headed straight for the dilapidated house next to the crooked willow tree.

The man was in a hurry and ran extremely fast.

Moreover, he was obviously a martial artist. His steps were light and silent. When he was near the courtyard wall, he suddenly accelerated, pointed his toes, and supported himself on the wall with his arms. Then he landed in the courtyard as lightly as a kite turning over.

The yard was overgrown with weeds. The man's eyes were like lightning, and he quickly scanned the area before finally locking onto a broken water jar. Without a word, he lifted the jar off the ground with his right hand. Just as he was about to put something into the bottom of the jar with his left hand,

Suddenly, a sharp gust of wind passed by my ears!

“Whoosh!”

His whole body stiffened, his blood circulation was blocked, and half of his body was instantly paralyzed.

"ah?!"

He looked down in horror and found himself kneeling on one knee. His right hand had lost all its strength and the water tank slammed back to the ground with a thud.

“Pah pah pah…”

Crisp applause came from the corner of the yard.

Song Qianzhao walked out with a smile on his lips.

"See? This is called—catching the person red-handed!"

Before he finished speaking, a stick flashed and Ruyue appeared beside him.

The two of them looked closely and found that the person who was pinched with blood was He Qingyang!

It turns out that the true art of acupuncture doesn't involve the body becoming rigid and unable to move, as depicted in operas. Although He Qingyang's meridians were sealed by Ruyue, he could still move with some effort, though his limbs were numb and his steps were unsteady.

He frantically held onto the water tank, trying to steady himself, but his unconscious left hand couldn't shake off the object in its hand.

This funny and embarrassed look just became the ironclad evidence of his crime!

“You…you…”

He Qingyang's eyes widened and his face turned pale in an instant.

"You guys are ganging up on me!"

"How can we deal with an old fox like you," Song Qianzhao said with a smile, "without using some tactics?"

He Qingyang's pupils suddenly shrank.

"Impossible!" His voice suddenly rose, and the veins on his neck bulged. "How could you suspect me?"

Song Qianzhao put his hands behind his back, his eyes as sharp as knives.

"Nothing is impossible. From the first moment I saw you, I began to doubt you."

Song Qianzhao's eyes were calm. "Before I saw you, I had already carefully inspected the crime scene. First, there were skin flakes embedded in the nails of the deceased, and there were also signs of struggle on the ground - this shows that they had fought with the murderer when the poison took effect."

He Qingyang's forehead began to sweat.

"Secondly, the deceased were bleeding from all seven orifices. During the struggle, it was impossible for the murderer not to have blood and dirt on his hands."

"The most striking thing was the Mapo Tofu—the tofu was shattered beyond recognition, and there was very little broth left on the plate. My guess is that someone accidentally knocked it over while serving it, and in their haste to pick it up, the broth spilled all over their clothes."

He Qingyang's body visibly stiffened.

"It's the dead of night, and everyone is disheveled, but you're the only one dressed neatly, even your hair is combed meticulously."

"Ah! This..."

He Qingyang glanced down at the clothes on his body and immediately looked regretful.

"It's the dead of night now. Most people who are suddenly awakened would be disheveled and have their hair in a mess. But you are dressed so neatly, even your hair is neatly combed - how can this not arouse suspicion?"

Her gaze turned and fell on He Qingyang's hands.

"Let me see—is this the very garment you were wearing when you committed the crime?"

He Qingyang's arms trembled slightly, but he couldn't move due to the restraints of his Xue Dao. He forced himself to remain calm and raised his second question.

"How can you convict me based solely on my clothes? What about Liu Dashan? Why did you exclude him?"

"Wang Dashan is definitely not the murderer. Wang Dashan is frail and can barely walk. How could he have poisoned someone all by himself? Besides, the entire He family is hostile to him. How could he have had the chance to do it?"

Ruyue couldn't help but ask, "What if someone conspired with him?"

"Impossible." Song Qianzhao shook his head. "Even if he really killed someone, the villagers, led by the head of the village, would never allow a powerless person like him to inherit the family property."

"The village head only needs to say that he had been expelled from the family long ago, and he can legitimately deprive him of his inheritance rights."

She glanced at He Qingyang and said, "Unless he colluded with the village head and divided the spoils afterwards. But..." Song Qianzhao smiled, "My previous test has proved that this is not the case."

Ruyue suddenly realized that Song Qianzhao had deliberately accused Wang Dashan of killing for the family property, and He Qingyang immediately agreed that Wang Dashan still had the right of inheritance. It was this sentence that exposed his flaw.

"This is my plan." Song Qianzhao looked at He Qingyang. "You originally wanted to frame He Chao and his wife, but when that didn't work, you changed your story and said it was Wang Dashan. Little did you know, this was exactly what I set up."

"You are the head of the village. If something happens to the He family, the family property will naturally be yours to manage. You want to swallow up the money. This is your real purpose."

He Qingyang's face turned pale.

"That wasn't my original plan..."

In the courtyard, the village head He Qingyang loosened his grip and a blood-stained gown fell to the ground.

At this time, in addition to Song Qianzhao and Ruyue, Fan Zhiyu, Suifeng and others also arrived one after another, along with the important suspect Wang Dashan and villagers from the same village.

When his crime was exposed, He Qingyang knew that it was useless to argue, so he had to tell the truth.

"Who would have thought Wang Dashan would actually go to He Heng's house and steal so late at night!" He Qingyang said with a bitter face, "I had originally planned to wait until dawn to investigate, then I would lead a village-wide search and slowly draw suspicion towards He Chao and his wife. From the beginning, I had no intention of framing Wang Dashan."

"As you said, even if He Heng's family dies out, Wang Dashan won't get a single cent of the family fortune as long as I'm here."

"But I never expected that after Wang Dashan stumbled upon the murder, he would publicly propose searching He Chao's house first! Naturally, I took advantage of the situation, arrested He Chao and his wife, and used the arsenic I had prepared in advance to force them to confess..."

"You beast!"

Wang Dashan's eyes were bloodshot.

"My mother-in-law treated you well, yet you did such a heartless thing!"

"You guessed right," He Qingyang ignored Wang Dashan's roar and continued, "I prepared the poison in advance, and on the pretext of visiting He Heng's home, I poisoned the four of them by force. Afterwards, I saw that the dishes were not finished, so I went to the kitchen myself and cooked the leftovers."

Everyone felt a chill down their spine when they heard this. It was hard to imagine that He Qingyang could still calmly light a fire and cook after killing someone.

"Finally, I cleaned up the scene and dealt with the bloodstains until late at night."

"As you can see," he said, looking at the bloody clothes, "getting the clothes dirty was part of my plan. I deliberately changed into new clothes to commit the crime, and then I wanted to frame He Chao's family. I wanted to burn the bloody clothes, but unexpectedly, Wang Dashan came to visit..."

"It's all my fault for being greedy," He Qingyang said regretfully, "I actually wanted to come to Wang Dashan's house again to frame him. I'm about the same size as Wang Dashan. If I find the blood-stained shirt here, I can not only exonerate myself, but also get rid of someone who wants to share the family fortune."

"Madman!" Wang Dashan was furious. "You killed my whole family, I want you to pay with your life!" As he said this, he was about to pounce on him, but was stopped by everyone.

"This is unforgivable!" Although the villagers tried to stop Wang Dashan, they were still furious. "He's worse than an animal!"

Seeing that it was getting late, Song Qianzhao said to everyone, "Everyone go back and rest first. We will deal with this man."

As the crowd gradually dispersed, Song Qianzhao suddenly looked straight at He Qingyang with a sharp gaze.

"According to that old man, you've suddenly become wealthy recently, and you've been appointed village head at such a young age. You must have made the acquaintance of a noble person."

She took a step forward, her voice suddenly turning cold.

"Tell me, who is this noble person who is helping you behind the scenes? The He family massacre and even the disappearance of their daughter-in-law—are they all related to this noble person?"

He Qingyang's whole body trembled violently, and his face turned pale instantly.

"I...I don't know what you're talking about!"

Song Qianzhao snatched Ruyue's stick and struck He Qingyang's leg hard. There was a crisp "crack" sound, followed by a shrill scream.

Looking at He Qingyang, who was curled up on the ground in pain, Song Qianzhao pretended to hit him on the leg again and said coldly, "This blow will surely reveal a pile of bones!"

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you!" He Qingyang grimaced in pain, his face pale. Clearly unable to withstand the intimidation, he immediately confessed everything. "At first, I didn't know the identity of the person who ordered this, but later I overheard his conversation with his servants. It turned out to be Lu Zhong, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Even he... was just following orders."

"The mastermind behind this, seemingly coveting my cousin's wife's beauty, sent someone to forcibly abduct her. My cousin's wife and my cousin have always been in love, and I believe she would rather endure torture than give in, always insisting that her heart was only with my cousin. The mastermind behind this, humiliated and enraged, decided to... and murder my cousin's entire family..."

Song Qianzhao looked surprised.

"It turned out to be Lu Zhong, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who was working for someone else? But since he holds such an official position, why didn't he just send someone to kill us directly, but instead went through so much trouble to use you?"

He Qingyang broke out in a cold sweat.

"Although he's an official, if he simply kills and dumps the bodies, the sudden disappearance of the five members of the He family would alarm the neighbors and attract an official investigation. The current Fengtian Prefecture prefect is an upright official who isn't afraid of the powerful. If he investigates the case carefully, there's no guarantee they won't trace it back to him... Given his cautious nature, he'd rather take a detour and frame someone else to close the case, only then can he rest easy."

He swallowed hard, "He promised me wealth and glory, as long as... as long as I could find a legitimate reason to get rid of my cousin's family..."

"Where is the He family's daughter-in-law?"

Song Qianzhao asked.

"At...household 7, 3rd block, South Lane, Yongning Street..." He Qingyang collapsed to the ground, his voice trembling. "I...I've confessed everything. Can you spare my life?"

"Yongning Street?"

Song Qianzhao frowned slightly.

As far as she knew, Yongning Street, while not as prosperous as Jingming Street, was still a place of wealth. While the residents around here weren't officials, most were well-off. So why did the person behind the scenes choose to hide someone in such a conspicuous place?

Thinking of this, a cold light flashed in Song Qianzhao's eyes, but his face remained expressionless.

"If what you say is true, I will be lenient with you."

"Did Lu Zhong send anyone to monitor here?"

Song Qianzhao asked again.

He Qingyang shook his head.

"He never sent anyone to spy on me. In this case of the family annihilation, we share the same fate. He was the instigator, and I was the executor. If I make a public announcement, neither of us can escape. Only if I do this perfectly can I successfully seize the He family's property and completely clear myself of suspicion of murder. That's why he trusts me so much."

After asking clearly, Song Qianzhao handed the money bag to Suifeng and immediately ordered: "This matter must not alert the snake, and we must not let Lu Zhong realize that we have found him. Suifeng, you take this money and bribe a few prestigious villagers in the village to shut them up."

Then he glanced at He Qingyang who was limp on the ground.

"Find a few more villagers to watch over him."

Then he turned to Ruyue and Fan Zhiyu and said in a deep voice, "It's getting late. Let's find a nearby inn to rest. We will set off for Beijing at dawn tomorrow and head straight for Yongning Street."

The night was as dark as ink. The three of them mounted their horses swiftly. With the crack of whips, the horses galloped away, disappearing at the end of the official road in an instant.