Chapter 79
"You are the murderer!"
The voices of Lin Youxia and Qin Wulai rang out at the same time, and both of them were stunned for a moment.
Before Qin Wulai could protest his innocence, Lin Youxia also showed the evidence he collected from Qin Wulai's room.
A blood-stained broadsword, a neatly packed bundle ready to be picked up and run away at any time, and several silver bills of huge value stuffed in the bundle.
No matter how you look at it, it seems like they are robbing and killing people, and are about to run away.
[Oh, Lao Qin, you are wrong.]
[Looking at your thick eyebrows and big eyes, could it be that you are the one crying thief?]
"My intuition tells me that things aren't that simple. Everyone, please be patient and wait for further evidence."
Qin Dongxiao and Lin Yi glared at each other, then went upstairs together in a heroic and confident manner, ready to hand over the evidence to Constable Huan.
At the stairs, the two met Huan Daodao.
Huan Daodao came out of the boss's son's room and prepared to go to the fourth floor to search.
No other evidence was found in the boss's son's room, but there was one thing that caught Huan Xu's attention: the bed was tidy and spotless.
In other words, Mr. Chu, who had been in the room the whole time, was not lying on the bed to rest. The bookshelf and desk were clean and tidy, without a trace of ink.
What did the scholar do in the room? Just sit there?
Huan Xu: "It's a good opportunity for us to go upstairs and take a look."
Everyone wanted to investigate the situation on the fourth floor together, but their steps were blocked outside the attic.
The door to the attic was actually a metal door made of special material, and was locked with a chain and an exquisite lock made of the same metal.
It cannot be broken by force.
Huan Xu: "If we want to get in, we must get the key."
Will the key be in the innkeeper's room?
Several people went downstairs together. Huan Xu didn't find the key just now, so he decided to go to the boss and the boss's son's room again. As the owner of the inn, if the key really existed, it should be with these two people.
Lin Yi stroked his chin and analyzed, "Don't you think it's a little strange? Logically, the attic shouldn't be built more securely than the boss's room. And this is no longer secure, it's extremely well-guarded. I have a feeling there must be some shocking secrets inside."
Qin Dongxiao slightly retorted, "There are many people who covet the boss's wine. Just a verbal warning will definitely attract disobedient people. Now that it has been decorated like this, it can prevent some people with bad intentions."
This analysis does make some sense.
"We still have to find the key no matter what. I think there might be some unexpected clues on the fourth floor." Lin Yi said with narrowed eyes, and Qin Dongxiao did not continue to refute this time.
On the other side, Chu Shusheng also found a small medicine box in Wu Wu's room.
Carefully opening it, rows of bottles came into view.
Chu Fan picked them up one by one and looked at them.
There are anthelmintics, antidiarrheals, hemostatics, hangover remedies, etc.
This makes sense. After all, these medicines are always available when you are traveling.
It wasn't until he took out another medicine bottle from the medicine box that Chu Fan's eyes narrowed suddenly. He saw three words on the bottle: Paraquat - highly toxic.
The next few bottles were all filled with poison.
Arsenic, Hedinghong...
[Ah, this, this, Sister Wu is quite capable.]
[So our goddess got the role of a femme fatale this time.]
[Look how scared our little Chu is.]
After investigating the first floor, Wu Wunu and Bai Lu Ren also went upstairs. They acted separately and Bai Yi went to Qin Wulai's room at the stairs to investigate.
[It seems that Brother Bai is more suspicious of Lao Qin.]
[Don't tell me, don't tell me, Lao Qin doesn't look like a good guy this time. And with his makeup, I'd be suspicious of him too.]
Wu Qianying blinked at the camera, then turned her back to Bai Yi and whispered, "Let's go check out Brother Bai's room."
In Bai Yi's room, Wu Qianying also found a notebook, which also recorded various place names. However, unlike Lin Youxia's map with a more clear purpose, it can be seen from Bai Yi's small notebook that he has been to many places, but there is no pattern.
Soon, the audience and Wu Wu also learned the reason why the Hundred Travelers traveled all over the country.
There was a stack of papers on Bailu Ren's desk, and the content drawn on each piece of paper was exactly the same.
They are all missing person notices.
"It turns out that in order to find a lost child, Bailuren has traveled all over the country and experienced many hardships over the years."
Wu Wu gently put down the missing person notice and sighed.
[Wow, I feel bad for Brother Bai, even though I know this is just a storyline in a variety show.]
【Thanks to the current public security, these crimes have nowhere to hide. 】
As a mother, if my child was stolen, I would go crazy.
[I remembered the wanted poster in Xiaolin's house, also for stealing children. Could the innkeeper be the one who stole Brother Bai's child?]
[But rumors say the innkeeper is a gentle, polite, and kind person. Is he really a person? Oh my god, I'm really curious.]
Wu Qianying also found a knife in the closet in Bai Yi's room.
Is it another knife, or a bloody knife?
Wu Wu carefully put down her long sword and said to the camera, "Look what I found? Brother Bai is not an ordinary person either."
Just then, background music sounded, reminding everyone that they only had half an hour left to search for evidence.
The six people met briefly at the second-floor stairs.
According to the program schedule, the six people here have ten minutes to meet and briefly exchange information so that they can conduct more effective and targeted evidence search in the last thirty minutes.
After the meeting, Huan Xu and his companions who had been searching upstairs were ready to go downstairs, and Bai Yi and his companions were also ready to go upstairs to continue searching.
Everyone also quickly shared several important clues they had obtained.
"So what we're looking for now is the key to the fourth-floor attic, as well as any other clues we overlooked."
Huan Xu and his companions who came to the first floor were also surprised by the many injuries on the innkeeper's body.
"What's strange is that despite all these knife wounds, the boss doesn't feel any pain or cry out?"
It was poisoning and blunt force trauma to the head.
"Is there a possibility that he was poisoned or knocked unconscious, so he didn't make any sound?"
And just ten minutes before the search was about to end, Bai Yi's calm voice came from the second floor: "We found the key."
[Haha, at the critical moment, you still have to rely on me, Brother Bai].
【Be as meticulous as a hair.】
[It's you again, Old Qin, with your shifty eyes.]
[Lao Qin's suspicion is rising.]
Everyone gathered again at the door of Qin Wulai's room on the second floor.
"Brother, where did you find the key?"
Bai Yi pointed to the chamber pot in the corner. There were still some water stains on the key, and it was obvious where he found it.
Although they were all props and the sticky liquid could not be real, the audience still seemed to smell the scent on the keys through the screen.
[You've found a good hiding place, Lao Qin.]
[Are you hiding here to avoid being discovered? Confess the truth now!]
The others also looked at Qin Dongxiao: "Tell me, why is the key here with you? And why did you hide it?"
Qin Dongxiao coughed lightly and whispered, "I picked it up."
"If you have the guts, say it again louder."
Qin Dongxiao: "I really picked it up."
Everyone quickly returned to the fourth floor. Qin Wulai pointed in the direction of the metal door and said, "I found it inside. I locked the door myself. As you can see, after locking the door, I threw the key into the chamber pot. I really didn't want anyone to find it."
"What's inside the door?" Wu Wu asked curiously.
There was no immediate answer. After a moment of silence, Qin Dongxiao slowly spoke: "The key is here. Open it and take a look, and you will know."
As Huan Xu inserted the key into the lock, there was a click, the lock opened and the chain fell off, and everyone pushed open the metal door together. In addition to the pungent smell of alcohol, there was also a strong smell of blood mixed in it that rushed into the nose.
Some wine jars were scattered on the ground, which were obvious signs of a quarrel and fight, and the wine was dripping onto the floor.
A pool of red blood was in the center.
"The lobby might not be the first crime scene. This is it."
Several people looked at each other, and then the question became, did the murderer kill the person here and then move the person to the hall?
Several people entered the attic together.
In addition to the wine jar that fell to the ground, everyone continued to move forward and found a secret room that had been opened.
A secret room within a secret room.
Enter through the narrow doorway.
Smoke billowed behind the door.
In the smell of the incense that was completely different from the wine and blood, everyone saw clearly the layout on the wall.
This is a hidden mourning hall.
There are not just one or two spirit tablets enshrined on the altar, but rows and rows of spirit tablets, some with names and some without.
Qin Dongxiao read out the name engraved on a small ranking list near him.
"Ning Hexuan." His surname was Ning, and he remembered the young master who was stolen from Prince Ning's Mansion.
Lin Yi picked up a waist badge placed in front of an anonymous tablet. It was a fine jade pendant with the word "Lin" engraved in the center, and an embroidered sachet was placed next to it.
Lin Yi clenched his fists, and it was obvious that he was trying to control his anger.
Huan Xu came to a seat, put his hands together and bowed, then picked up a silver bell bracelet next to the seat.
Huan Xu turned his head and looked at Wu Wu, the girl standing beside him: "It's convenient for me to take a look at your left hand."
The dancers' movements are always accompanied by the sound of bells.
As the wide sleeves were slowly pulled open, everyone saw a bell ornament on the dancer's left hand.
The small bell above should be a pair with the one hanging in front of the row, and the patterns and specifications are exactly the same.
Qin Dongxiao pointed at the queue and then at Wu Wu: "You, you, you."
Huan Xu's eyes swept across everyone's faces one by one. As the background sound reminded him again, the time was up and the clue collection time was over.
Huan Xu said softly, "Let's go to the hall and talk."
Two rounds of evidence collection have been completed.
The exchange of evidence begins.
Everyone gathered again in the lobby of Hongchen Inn.
Six people sat around the table. As the prompt sounded, it was time for concentrated reasoning.
The content of this session mainly involves information exchange, evidence sharing, and mutual questioning and answering. This session also follows the principle that only murderers can lie.
Of course, deliberately concealing some key information does not fall into the category of lying.
As the detective of this round, Huan Daodao was the first to come out and share the evidence he found.
Even in the variety show, Qin Dongxiao and Wu Qianying did not forget their identities as Director Huan's lackeys. Whenever Huan Xu produced new evidence, they both cooperated and exclaimed: "Wow, Director Huan is amazing. Director Huan actually found so much evidence..."
[Hahaha, Lao Qin and Sister Wu, that's enough.]
[Outside of the house, our Lao Qin is a brave man, and our Sister Wu is a goddess-level queen, but in front of Director Huan, these two are more like lackeys than the other.]
【You know, a dog that licks you will end up with nothing. 】
After Huan Xu finished sharing the clues he had gathered, Wu Qianying asked, "Detective, do you have any suspects?"
Huan Xu shook his head: "Let's take a look at the clues everyone has collected. The evidence is incomplete, so I can't draw any conclusions."
Qin Dongxiao quacked and the seals applauded: "Director Huan is right."
Everyone looked at Qin Dongxiao with admiration on their faces. He could even handle this. 6.
Huan Xu also deliberately looked at Qin Dongxiao and followed up on his words, asking, "Oh? What am I saying right?"
【Hahaha Lao Qin, this is a good question.】
Qin Dongxiao's reaction was quick. He chuckled, winked at the camera, and said, "I believe that through the previous evidence search, everyone knows that everyone here has a story."
Qin Dongxiao deliberately emphasized the pronunciation of the word "story".
It is indeed as he said. In fact, many viewers are now confused. They always feel that every person is not simple, they all look like the murderer, and they all have motives for committing the crime.
Qin Dongxiao continued with a smile, "Just like Constable Huan said, we can't generalize. We need to find all the evidence so that we can unravel the mystery, avoid any ambiguities, and ultimately identify the true murderer."
Nodding heavily, Qin Dongxiao concluded in a deep voice: "We cannot let any bad guy go, and we cannot wrongly accuse any good person. That's right, the good person is me."
【Old Qin said this very well. 】
Seeing Lao Qin's righteous expression, even his centipede-like eyebrows and the black mole at the corner of his lip became more refined and handsome.
[We'll remember what you said, kid. It's best if you're not the murderer.]
[The key point is, Brother Qin, you don’t look like a good person either…]
Huan Xu looked at the remaining five people and said, "I have shared all my clues. Now, everyone can share your clues and doubts in order."
In order from right to left, those surrounding the round table are Lin Youxia, Wu Wunu, Bai Lu Ren, Chu Shusheng and Qin Wulai.
Lin Youxia stood in Huan Xu's previous position, took out the evidence one by one, and reviewed the clues he had collected to the audience and other people at the scene.
As the evidence unfolded, the other people looked at Qin Dongxiao intentionally or unintentionally.
Qin Dongxiao raised his hands in surrender.
"Although I drink and fight and have no skills, I am still a good boy."
Lin Yi suddenly snorted and continued, "That's not necessarily true."
From the hidden meaning in Lin Yi's words, it seemed that there was something that no one knew. Lin Yi did not keep anyone in suspense and shared his exclusive information.
"Since you already knew that I was carrying a wanted poster for the innkeeper, but there were actually two wanted posters, and the other one only had a name but no portrait."
"And that person's name happens to be Qin Wulai."
I got this badge from the funeral hall on the fourth floor. Yes, it was the badge that my master received a wanted warrant for that year to arrest a group of human traffickers who trafficked children and women.
The main culprit Chu Baixiong is the owner of Hongchen Inn.
When the group was arrested, only two people escaped, namely the main culprit Qin Baixiong and his accomplice, Qin Wulai.
Lin Yi raised his hand and pointed in the direction of Qin Wulai: "You kidnapped children and women, robbed caravans, and killed more than one person. Your hands are stained with blood. Even my master was killed by you. I have been chasing you all this way just to find you and avenge my master."
"I didn't expect that I would finally find Chu Baixiong. Before I could even find you, you walked right into his trap and joined the same nest of snakes and rats as Chu Baixiong."
Lin Yi continued to explain: "The key to the fourth floor is on Qin Wulai, and there is a bloody knife in his room."
"It's obvious that Qin Wulai went up to the fourth floor and took the money."
"So..." Lin Yi slammed his hands on the table, his eyes stern: "I suspect that these two vicious people bit each other and ended up killing each other. Qin Wulai killed Chu Baixiong and was about to run away with the money, so he is the biggest suspect.
【The logic is smooth and there is nothing wrong with it.】
[So Lao Qin is really the murderer? ]
[But why did the boss's body appear on the first floor again? ]
Qin Dongxiao spoke up to defend himself at the right time:
"Okay, I admit that I did a lot of bad things back then, and I've suffered a lot of retribution over the years. I've been hiding from people and living a miserable life."
"After much trouble, I finally found out that our boss actually opened a paradise in this desert."
"I thought about joining him and following him to wash my hands of evil and turn over a new leaf."
"Who knew that not only did he not welcome me, but he also wanted to kick me out and even threatened to kill me if I didn't leave tomorrow."
"I know in my heart that he's a worse villain than me. If I can't afford to offend him, why can't I avoid him? I'm just depressed. Why can he live better than me? I drank some wine. People often say that alcohol makes cowards brave. I went to the bathroom under the influence of alcohol, and the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I thought about going upstairs to have a good talk with him."
Qin Dongxiao paused for a moment and sighed, "But I didn't expect that when I got upstairs, I would see the boss lying in the attic, with a lot of blood on his head."
"My thought at the time was that this was retribution, that he deserved it, and I didn't think much of it. Seeing that he wasn't doing well, I looked around on the fourth floor and found the money he had absconded with under the rankings. It's a pity that out of all the silver bills, these are all that's left."
"When I was walking past him with the banknotes, I found the key to the fourth floor dropped on the ground."
After another pause, Qin Dongxiao continued, "My thought at the time was that if he wasn't dead and knew I'd run away with the money, he'd chase me thousands of miles away. So I decided to go all out and lock him up."
"After a night of continuous bleeding, I'm almost dead. As soon as the daybreak comes and the wind and sand stop, I'll leave. From now on, I'll be free in this world, change my name, and start a new life."
Detective Huan Daodao confirmed, "Wait, are you saying that the person you saw was the boss lying in the attic, and he didn't have any knife wounds?"
Qin Dongxiao nodded. "Yes, he only had a head injury at the time. He was lying in the attic. He wasn't dead yet. I'm sure his chest was still moving, even though it was very weak at that time."
"After that, I returned to my room. As for what happened afterwards, who patched up the knife wounds on his body, and how he was moved from the attic to the hall, I don't know anything about that."
"And I don't admit Ranger Lin's accusation. Although my sword is stained with blood, if you look closely you will see that the blood is old. I almost died of thirst on the way here. I killed a camel and relied on its blood to get here."
After Lin Yi, Wu Qianying took the stage. Before she could share her evidence, Huan Xu suddenly whispered, "Can you explain? Is that bracelet in the attic yours?"
Wu Qianying's eyes changed slightly, and she nodded gently: "Yes."
As she spoke, she slowly pulled off the veil from her face.
There is a long scar on her pretty face.
【Ah, my goddess' face. 】
Then Wu Qianying rolled up her sleeves and showed them to the others and the audience. They were covered with complicated old wounds.
When Wu Qianying spoke, the strong foreign accent disappeared from her voice. Instead, she spoke fluent Mandarin, which made everyone stunned.
She only said, "I was born in the Western Regions. Although my family is not rich, it is well-off, and my parents love me very much."
"Looking at my face, you should know that my mother is a very beautiful dancer, and my father is also handsome."
"I was very cute when I was little, but it was because of my appearance that I was targeted by these bad guys."
"They took me away from my parents and delivered me to the devil."
"They forced me to learn those vile things. If I didn't obey, they would whip me with a whip dipped in salt water. My body is covered with scars like that. After all, they thought that just having this face was enough for me."
"They're going to sell my face for a fortune."
"Just the day before I was asked to receive customers, I destroyed this face with my own hands. Their expressions at that time were really nice." When she said this, Wu Qianying raised the corners of her lips in a sarcastic arc.
"Without my face, I'm useless. I can still recall the fists and footprints that landed on my body, and the sound of bones breaking."
The girl's voice was filled with heart-wrenching pain and hatred. Just thinking about it, you could tell how much hardship she had gone through. No, perhaps only she knew that behind this understatement were countless days and nights of torment and struggle.
"Fortunately, the underworld didn't take me in. I crawled out of the mass grave bit by bit, and I vowed to avenge myself."
Wu Qianying finally smiled sadly: "This is my story."
【Wow, hug me, I feel so bad for you.】
[Qianqian, don't cry. These scumbags deserve to die.]
The evidence Wu Qianying produced was the bloody knife found in Bai Yi's room.
Qin Dongxiao was right. The blood on the knife in his room had indeed dried up, and it didn't look like a murder weapon. However, the knife in Bai Yi's room was different. The blood stains were still fresh.
This should be the knife that killed the deceased.
The murder weapon was found in Bai Yi's room, and Bai Lu Ren's suspicion began to increase. Facing everyone's scrutiny, Bai Lu Ren shook his head and said, "I don't know."
"I don't know what that means?"
Pursing his lips, Bai Yi shook his head again: "I have never seen this knife before, and I don't know why it appeared in my room."
"Ah, how could I not know this? What do you mean?"
[It's not impossible. Don't forget that the murderer had three minutes to fake the scene before the game started. If the murderer had placed the knife in Brother Bai's room at that time, then Brother Bai might not have known about it.]
[Oh, I almost forgot. Thanks for the reminder. So the murderer wanted to frame me, Brother Bai. How insidious.]
After Bai Yi came to power, there was nothing to hide.
He is also a victim, just as previously speculated, a father who has traveled thousands of miles to find his son and has never given up.
"So, Brother Bai, what the Hundred Travelers wanted to discuss privately with the boss was the whereabouts of your child?"
Bai Yi nodded solemnly: "As long as he tells me where the child is, I can even give up revenge on him. I just want to find my child and bring him home."
Lin Yi was curious: "Did the boss tell you in the end?"
After a long silence, Bai Yi nodded.
Qin Dongxiao asked cautiously: "Still alive?"
Bai Yi: "Yes, he is still alive."
"Once we recognize each other, I will take him home."
Bai Yi sat down in his chair, and Huan Xu once again acted as the host: "Next person, please."
【Lao Qin, it’s your turn, Lao Qin. 】
【Wait, is there something missing? 】
【1234 is really missing one person. 】
[Is it okay to be without one person? Ask Fanfan about his sense of existence.]
[The non-existent phantom sixth person, has suddenly become a weird painting style, right? ]
It was not until Chu Fan stood on the stage that everyone suddenly realized: We almost forgot about you, little brother!
Huan Xu flipped through the notebook where he had written down the timeline: "Did you meet your father tonight?"
"Ranger Lin also said that he originally wanted to search your room and the boss's room, but when he heard the noises in your room and saw that you seemed to be trying to come out, he gave up and prepared to return to his room and wait until it was dark before taking action."
"After Ranger Lin returned to his room, Qin Wulai woke up in the middle of the night. Before he went out to relieve himself, he heard faint sounds of conversation and quarreling coming from the stairs above. When he returned, he heard hurried footsteps on the first floor, but no one had come down from the second floor."
"When he reached the fourth floor, the innkeeper had already collapsed in a pool of wine and blood."
Chu Shusheng lowered his head and looked at his crossed hands, and whispered, "I did it."
"Did you do it? You, you killed your father." Wu Qianying raised her hand and gently covered her mouth.
"No, it wasn't me. I didn't kill him."
【It was a busy night, and no one was idle. 】
After anxiously explaining himself, Chu Shusheng finally raised his head and slowly recounted what happened that night...
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