Chapter 25 Holmes's feud with Xie Qianli across two lifetimes resurfaces...
Even though Tian Tong reiterated his business, Ying Xi did not let it go.
The pressure from the host forced Sweet Tong to comply.
Then, a miraculous aerial view of Shanglin Garden appeared before Ying Xi, the image constantly stretching, enlarging, and then enlarging again.
The scene freezes on Yingzhou Island, where people are bustling about, reflecting the present moment.
Sweet Tong's instinctive reaction was to switch the scene to the beautiful scenery of Yingzhou Island and present it to Ying Xi for her to enjoy.
Just as the camera was about to move, Ying Xi interrupted it: "Don't move yet."
Sweet Tong stopped moving.
The scene that appeared was of a eunuch's corpse by the water, half of his body covered with a white cloth.
This is a close-up, from a different angle. Cheng Shun is facing upwards, his face is bluish and bloodless, making him look particularly eerie.
The system interface trembled slightly due to the fear of sweetness.
Sweetheart: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, is there anything else you would like to see?"
Ying Xi remained silent.
He had a vague idea that the murderer might have left clues, but he couldn't say exactly where.
This land by the water has only a few flowers occasionally, mostly just soil.
So Ying Xi had nowhere else to look, and could only glance once more at the soil surrounding Cheng Shun.
Looking at the interface again: Cheng Shun's expression was pained, and he was looking up.
There were damp marks around Cheng Shun's body, and the soil was a darker shade of brown than when it was dry. This was because Cheng Shun had just been pulled from the water and his body was still wet.
"..." Ying Xi's eyelids twitched!
He thought he was seeing things, so he blinked hard and stared at the screen again.
To outsiders, the emperor was silent, exuding an invisible sense of oppression. The courtiers silently held their breath, neither daring to disturb the emperor nor fearing to incur trouble; no one moved.
Ying Xi didn't care about them.
He was completely absorbed, trying to capture a fleeting thought.
He stared intently at the interface again, and as if talking to himself, he said to Tian Tong, "Zoom in—zoom in even closer—"
"Zoom in here again."
"A little to the right."
"A little closer to the water."
The romance system goes to great lengths to showcase the details of the NPCs.
The interface can be as high-definition as you want it to be, and the effect is no less than setting up countless high-magnification magnifying glasses above Yingzhou Island.
At this point, magnified many times from a level perspective, it was discovered that the soil in the area where the bodies were dumped on the water's edge of Yingzhou Island had subtle differences in color.
The areas soaked in water, following the color of the body, are dark brown.
The area that had just caught Ying Xi's attention, though only a few patches in a small area, was quite difficult to discern in color; it was reddish-brown.
—This is not a water stain.
Ying Xi guessed that it was blood.
It is the blood that mixes with the soil, giving the soil a deep reddish-brown color that distinguishes it from other places.
Yingxi asked Tiantong, "Did you see that patch of blood?"
Sweet Tong certainly didn't want to see it. Why should it pay attention to the creepy bloodstains when it could appreciate romance and beautiful scenery?
Sweet Tong: "N-nothing..."
“Then look carefully. Remember it,” Yingxi said.
When Ying Xi speaks in a commanding tone, few can resist.
Therefore, even if Tian Tong didn't want to watch, she had no choice but to watch, and she obediently marked the area that Ying Xi had indicated with a red circle.
Ying Xi stared at the first mark by the water and asked, "If I take this bloodstain as an example, can you find more similar bloodstains?"
Ying Xi didn't understand that the system assistant was essentially a set of calculation codes.
He simply found the sweet soup amazing, hence the tentative question.
Unexpectedly, it gave Sweet Commander a precise command: to search for the dark reddish-brown bloodstains within its field of vision. Then, in an instant, many large and small red circles appeared before Ying Xi's eyes, which were a series of marks.
—All the large red circles, along the flower basket collection points on Yingzhou Island, start from the crime scene and end at the water's edge.
—There are also some very small red circles with similar trajectories to the former.
These marks were reflected in Ying Xi's deep gray pupils.
The numerous markers perfectly correspond to the process by which Cheng Shun's body was dumped!
Ying Xi stared intently at the marks, her gaze unwavering.
It's like admiring the diagrams drawn by the murderer with his footprints.
Then, after observing for a long time, he slightly grinned.
The young emperor uttered a confident yet mocking whisper: "I understand."
"Your Majesty...what do you know?"
At this moment, Sweetie was completely unaware of the effects of its actions. It asked blankly, "Your Majesty, are these circles useful?"
“It will be very useful,” Ying Xi thought.
Without the help of the romance system, he wouldn't have been able to quickly pinpoint the bloodstains on the island, let alone connect the dots.
When the bloodstains completely connected to form the killer's movement trajectory, the killer's fatal clues were finally revealed.
The clue is—
The large red circle represents Cheng Shun's blood, which came from a ruptured blood vessel.
Those small red circles, which are almost side by side but spaced apart, can only be explained as... the blood of assassins!
Ying Xi ordered, "Quickly check everyone present for any marks on their lower left abdomen where they have been stabbed by scissors. The assassin is injured."
"Flower shears?" The captain of the guard was taken aback. "Injured? Lower left abdomen?"
They could understand every word he said, but they had no idea how the emperor had made that judgment.
The head guard was still contemplating life.
Yu Jing, unusually anxious, was prompted by the emperor and hurriedly shouted, "Flower shears! Flower shears! Nobody found any flower shears in the water just now!!!"
Chief Steward Yu's eyes were bloodshot and filled with veins.
Cheng Shun had consulted me beforehand about preparing the sachets. The eunuch who picked flowers carried a basket on his back and had a pair of scissors tied to his waist, which were used to cut the flower branches.
The scissors they brought were too big; they were sharp instruments, but the dinosaur-faced man was displeased.
So the scissors I brought were all very small, they were tiny scissors!
Now that pair of scissors is neither on Cheng Shun nor in the water, if we take the existence of the flower shears into account...
That flower shears are very likely—
Yu Jing said, "After Cheng Shun was slashed, he retaliated by taking out a small pair of scissors from his waist and stabbing the assassin! The scissors pierced the assassin's body!"
After Yu Jing finished speaking, the guards finally understood.
The guards understood the intricacies of the situation and nodded in agreement to carry out the task.
They were all mobilized at the same time, and in addition to the guards protecting the emperor, even more people were transferred from Yingzhou Island.
The two short words, "flower shears" and "injury," suddenly cleared the fog and brought sunshine to the entire Yingzhou Island, which had previously been shrouded in mystery.
The courtiers who accompanied the emperor to the island stood silently, exchanging glances. They felt that the emperor's deduction was unexpected, yet also quite reasonable.
But why didn't they think of flower shears back then?
Of course, the ministers could not have known that Ying Xi first saw the distribution of bloodstains and then deduced that the assassin had been killed.
But the order doesn't matter; the result is what matters.
Now, with Yingzhou Island at its core, the court officials look up at Ying Xi, their eyes gleaming with light.
The courtiers' goodwill towards him increased to varying degrees.
Although Ying Xi was completely unaware, Tian Tong was constantly giving her positive feedback:
"Your Majesty, you have a little puppy-like admirer now."
"Woo woo woo, two!"
"We've got a little wolfhound now. These kinds of people bare their teeth at everyone else, but when they see you, they wag their tails like crazy!"
"Your Majesty, I also sensed the mature, steady, and reliable qualities of the older man, like a bear."
"Ahhh, there's more—"
In his mind, Tian Tong's voice kept rising, saying things he couldn't understand at all.
Ying Xi's mind first swirled with images of several kinds of dogs, then a bear, before returning to reality and meeting Su Xueyi's gaze beside her.
Su Xueyi blinked, her deep, watery eyes fixed on Ying Xi, two whirlpools seemingly drawing one in. Su Xueyi's gaze was fervent and bright.
Su Xueyi approached, about to say something more to Ying Xi.
Ying Xi straightened up and instinctively turned her face away.
Although he didn't know that such a reaction would only arouse Su Xueyi's stronger interest.
Guards outside Yingzhou Island shouted, "We've found bloodstains—the assassin is here!"
The guards' voices echoed from afar, reaching as far as Yingzhou Island.
Ying Xi followed the direction of the sound, walking faster and becoming slightly out of breath.
The ministers, guards, and attendants also followed the sound to Yingzhou Island, heading deeper into the Shanglin Garden.
When running, some people are fast, and some are slow.
The military officers were clearly faster, with Su Xueyi not far behind, and Xie Qianli and Lian Qing leading the way, leaving the others far behind.
The group walked through the garden back to the building complex, traversing a long stretch of white marble road. The snow-white surface made the bloodstains left by the assassin stand out starkly.
The blood droplets, which used to be spaced several tens of feet apart, became more than ten feet, then five or six feet apart.
The blood spots are getting denser; the assassin is getting closer!
A person was leaning against the corner of the wall of Shanglin Garden.
The wall was too high, and he couldn't climb out because of his injuries. Overwhelmed by fear and exhaustion, he had to rest for a while, one leg tucked in and the other extended in front of him. A sharp dagger, suspected to be the murder weapon, lay to one side, its blood still wet.
"Don't let him get away!"
"He's here! Grab him!"
"Be careful, he might have hidden weapons. Approach him slowly!"
"..."
The sounds of swords clashing, footsteps, the mingled breaths of people running, and shouts—all these sounds intertwined into a web.
The assassin lowered his head and closed his eyes, sweat beading on his forehead, a bead of sweat rolling down his rugged face. His lips were dry, and his abdomen was wounded, still gushing blood. He listened intently to what might be the last sound of his life.
The assassin waited until everyone was in front of him before managing to force a slight smile.
The assassin was none other than Feng Ze, a deputy general under Xie Qianli of the Dragon Martial Army!
***
"Are you fucking insane?! Are you insane?!"
Fengze collapsed against the wall.
Lian Qing rushed over to grab Feng Ze's collar. After listening to General Xie's analysis on Yingzhou Island that the murderer was left-handed, Lian Qing had a premonition and felt like he had lost his mind.
And sure enough, it was him.
Lian Qing roared incomprehension:
"The old Duke gave an order before his death: spare no effort to serve His Majesty."
"The old Duke's body is barely cold, the Dragon Martial Army has just been established, and the army is in dire need of manpower. What rumors have you been listening to? Why the hell are you taking this narrow path?!"
Feng Ze's eyes and brows remained closed, but his brow trembled violently.
Lian Qing still had to scold him.
The guards had already surrounded Xie Qianli and Lian Qing.
The head guard drew his sword and pressed it against Xie Qianli's left shoulder, the blade digging into Xie Qianli's neck skin and instantly leaving a bloody gash.
Unlike the previous probing and waiting for the emperor's orders, this time, the chief guard's blade was imbued with murderous intent, his expression cold: "Feng Ze attempted to assassinate the emperor, and the Duke of Yingguo is to blame. Under my blade, His Majesty has released the Duke of Yingguo three times."
"His Majesty trusts you so much, his favor is as vast as the sea, unprecedented in the world. Is this how the Duke of Ying repays His Majesty?"
The influence brought about by those several increases in charm value first affected the people around Ying Xi.
Now, Ying Xi, the head of the guards, whether or not he has been inspired to have such thoughts, is at least fiercely loyal to Ying Xi.
The emperor was nearly assassinated by a crossbow right under their noses...
The guards were filled with lingering fear!
In an instant, more swords and blades were thrust at Xie Qianli, and the guards surrounded him in a flash.
Those sharp weapons, whether for venting anger or for opportunism, stabbed Xie Qianli, blood spurting out, instantly staining his clothes with varying shades of blood. Xie Qianli stood tall but numb, suddenly transformed into a mottled deer in the Shanglin Garden.
Ying Xi arrived last, her heart clenching tightly!
"Thanks……"
He was suddenly struck by Xie Qianli's blood-soaked body. Ying Xi froze on the spot.
Seeing Feng Ze leaning against the corner of the wall, and guessing the whole story, an ordinary person would naturally think that Xie Qianli had ordered his subordinates to murder the emperor.
Ying Xi was suddenly filled with intense disappointment and anger.
But he couldn't decide whether to stop them or kill them.
His grudges with Xie Qianli from two lifetimes overlapped once again.
The scene conveyed endless contradictions to Ying Xi. A layer of mist quickly rose before her eyes, but through that damp mist, the gaze she glared at Xie Qianli was like two burning flames.
Xie Qianli's lower lip trembled slightly.
His expression, which was usually as cold as an iceberg, melted for a moment.
He was covered in blood, yet he raised his hand towards Ying Xi. His fingers were bent.
When all the guards focused their attention on Xie Qianli and ignored the real assassin Feng Ze in the corner, Feng Ze secretly took a deep breath.
Feng Ze gathered his strength, pressed down hard with the curled-up leg, and his whole body sprang up quickly.
He still had a sharp object in his hand, the very same pair of flower shears.
Feng Ze lunged at the emperor.
"Your Majesty, be careful!"
At the same time, Xie Qianli shoved aside the head guard, the speed and force of which were hard to describe, and the head guard was sent flying several feet away.
Xie Qianli completely blocked Ying Xi before Feng Ze could succeed.
The sharp shears pierced deeply into his tiger's mouth.
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