Chapter 163 Standing on the Opposite Side of Public Opinion

Seeing her stunned, Li Jin was in a good mood and laughed out loud.

He seemed to be doing it on purpose, saying nothing more and just fanning himself.

"It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the small round altar halfway up the mountain. Regardless of how many murderers there are, this mansion is located on the edge of the bustling city. The fact that four victims were transported without being discovered by anyone is worth investigating."

Li Jin frowned and waved his hand as he looked at the shattered plates scattered all over the ground, and at the flies buzzing around, the delicacies strewn everywhere.

Apart from the eerie bloodstains, not a single trace was left; it was handled perfectly.

"This paint job is quite skillful." Behind him, Jin Shu squatted on the ground, looking at the room full of red.

Seeing Li Jin turn around, she pointed to the area by the door and said, "Over there by the door, near the door panel, it does look like it was spilled, but here..." She turned back and pointed to the ground in front of her, "This was painted on."

Her words piqued Li Jin's curiosity, so he took two steps forward and looked at the spot she was pointing to.

"Although it was done very meticulously, the edges still show traces of a brush." ​​Jin Shu pointed to the boundary of the bright red paint, where there were several fine brush marks.

Is this the kind of murderer who carries a brush with him when committing a crime?

Li Jin was stunned for a moment, and before he could speak, he heard a scream of surprise from behind him.

With a loud clang, both of them turned around to look.

Under the moon gate of the courtyard stood a girl who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old. She looked at the scene inside the house with fear, and the basket in her hand fell to the ground.

"What, what is this?" The girl turned pale and turned to run away.

But as she turned around, she almost bumped into the black plaque of the Six Doors that Zhou Zheng was holding in his hand.

Already terrified, seeing Zhou Zheng's cold, stern face made them so frightened that they gasped for breath, tears welled up in their eyes, and they looked like they were about to cry.

Showing mercy to women has never been Zhou Zheng's style. With a dark face, he said coldly, "The Six Doors are handling cases. Miss, please wait."

His appearance frightened the girl in front of him so much that she immediately knelt on the ground.

Li Jin hadn't expected that the half-open door would lead a young girl inside. To prevent any unforeseen complications, he had Zhou Zheng close the courtyard door from the inside.

In the entire front yard, the only place to put your feet was a stone table lying on the ground, and a stone bench next to it.

Zhou Zheng and Jin Shu righted the table, while Li Jin sat to the side, glancing at the bamboo basket the little girl was carrying. "Don't be afraid," he said. "You didn't come here just to watch the fun, did you?"

The courtyard was huge, and the doors of the house were wide open. Apart from relatives and friends, who would dare to enter this grand mansion without regard for others?

"No, it's not..." She pursed her lips, and a little color returned to her cheeks.

As dawn broke and the autumn air was crisp and clear, the four people stood silently, gazing at each other in the messy courtyard, lost in thought.

Li Jin was in no hurry, holding a folding fan in his hand, waving it gently.

Based on his years of experience in handling cases, he had almost no doubt that the young girl's presence here at this moment was a crucial clue.

There are no such things as coincidences in the world, and Li Jin has completely crossed that word out of his dictionary.

The longer it went on, the lower the little girl's head drooped. Her brows were furrowed, and she bit her lip while carrying the basket, as if she had something difficult to say.

The more conflicted she became, the more Li Jin felt that something serious was going on behind the scenes.

After a quarter of an hour of silent stalemate, the girl bit her lip and knelt down on the ground: "Sir! Please, sir, show mercy and spare my life. I have an elderly mother and two younger brothers at home. Please, sir, let me go!"

Li Jin slowly stopped waving the fan in her hand, her eyes narrowing slightly.

He didn't expect that the girl in front of him would ponder for a quarter of an hour and then not say a word about why she came here.

"I am asking you here to give you a way out." After a long while, Li Jin lowered his eyes and smiled faintly, "If you don't want to talk about it, then we can only go to the yamen to discuss it in detail."

Upon hearing that she was to go to the yamen (government office), the girl in front of him turned pale. She looked at Li Jin, her eyes filled with tears. Her lips trembled slightly, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

Seeing that she was showing signs of softening, Li Jin lowered his eyes and his tone became much gentler: "Is it because you can't say, young lady?"

He asked tentatively.

Upon hearing this, the girl seemed to see a ray of light, a glimmer of hope flashing in her eyes, and she quickly nodded: "Exactly."

It must be said that this reason was unexpected by Li Jin.

He quickly closed his fan and said in a negotiating tone, "How about this, I'll say something, and if it's yes, you nod. If it's no, you shake your head, okay?"

The girl paused for a moment, looking slightly puzzled.

"In this way, it won't count as opening your mouth, and you won't have to bear any burden. Everything is the result of the Six Doors' reasoning, how about it?"

These two sentences made the girl in front of him waver. After thinking for a moment, she nodded and agreed.

The fact that the problem was solved so easily surprised Li Jin.

He looked around and asked, "You came here looking for something valuable?"

The girl nodded.

Li Jin was startled.

If an ordinary citizen knew that they could freely come and go here to find valuables, then the government would most likely be the last to receive news of Xuan Yutang's death.

That shouldn't be the case; it's very strange.

He glanced at the little girl's face, then raised his hand to rub his temples: "Did someone tell you beforehand that you could come looking for something without worry?"

Upon hearing this, the young girl in front of him looked panicked and clenched her fists. Before she could make a move, Li Jin already understood her answer.

He glanced at her, his gaze cold, and added, "And you, you came back greedily, exceeding the time limit, didn't you?"

The tense atmosphere in the air was brought to its peak by Li Jin's pointed question.

Jin Shu, standing behind him, looked at his half-profile and pondered the nuances of his choice of words.

It really did draw a precise line between two possible scenarios surrounding the case.

Was the murderer simply venting hatred, or did he harbor a heroic spirit of robbing the rich to help the poor?

Are they facing just one murderer, or are they facing half the people of Shengzhou City?

He presented these two issues as a problem to the little girl.

Clearly, her answer was something Li Jin hadn't expected.

Seeing her nod, both Li Jin and Jin Shu were even more surprised by the full picture of the case.

A murderer who was well-liked in Shengzhou City.

After a long silence, Li Jin waved his fan in his hand, and after about an incense stick's time, he waved his hand.

He really let the girl go: "Don't come back again." After saying that, he didn't say anything more.

Looking at the searching gaze of the white feathers on the eaves and at the timid back of the little girl, Li Jin finally shook his head.

"Don't investigate, let her go."

He knew that on the road to apprehending the suspect, what he was facing now might not just be the layers of mystery surrounding the case itself.

It is highly likely that the Six Doors is not in a position that enjoys popular support.

It is very likely that they have stood on the opposite side of public opinion.