"He was making a scene yesterday, how could he suddenly be dead today!"
"That's right. I heard that the commotion lasted until midnight yesterday before the magistrate finally released him, and he's already meeting his maker?"
"It's normal for someone to die these days, but I've never seen anyone be eaten like this before. I'm a grown man, and I was so scared I almost knelt down!"
"Who did this?"
When this question was asked, all eyes turned to Huo Mingchen, since in everyone's eyes this mysterious, rough-looking man was a guy who ate human flesh and drank human blood.
Moreover, he now has a legitimate reason. It can only be said that Old Man Chu should never have provoked Cheng Shanshan.
Cheng Shanshan could also see what these people were thinking. She wanted to step forward to explain for Huo Mingchen, but he grabbed her arm and said, "What these people say is not important. You don't need to waste your breath on them."
"But you clearly didn't do this." Cheng Shanshan also saw Old Man Chu's corpse. A perfectly healthy person had been forcibly dismembered into several pieces, and the constables searched for a long time but still couldn't find all the body parts.
Huo Mingchen smiled faintly: "You trust me that much?"
"If you don't believe me, who do you believe?" Cheng Shanshan silently rolled her eyes at Huo Mingchen: "Putting aside the fact that you would never stoop to killing someone from behind, just look at the cut surface of that wound. It's obvious that the other person was too weak and went to great lengths to cut it open with a blunt instrument."
Huo Mingchen also noticed this: "Yes, the wound is strange. I've been thinking it must have been caused by a blunt instrument, but I still can't figure it out."
Cheng Shanshan thought about it for a moment.
Before she could speak, Bai Jingquan's voice came from outside: "Miss Cheng, Brother Huo, may I come in?"
"Please come in."
Cheng Shanshan immediately got up to greet her.
Unexpectedly, it wasn't just Bai Jingquan who came; he was accompanied by several yamen runners: "I'm sorry, but someone has pointed out Brother Huo's fault, so I had to come over."
Huo Mingchen also knew that he was the prime suspect: "Your Excellency, there's no need for this. Just do what needs to be done."
"Alright then."
Bai Jingquan first tried diplomacy, then resorted to force.
After winning a shout, Cheng Shanshan immediately had two people flanking Huo Mingchen. Huo Mingchen didn't resist at all, but silently turned to look at Cheng Shanshan and said, "Don't worry, it's alright." Then he left with them.
It's impossible to feel at ease.
After all, the current situation is unfavorable to Huo Mingchen.
She was just puzzled as to who had accused Huo Mingchen.
Filled with questions, she followed silently behind, and soon arrived at Bai Jingquan's camp, which he had arranged into a simple government office.
He sat upright at the table, his usual refined demeanor gone, replaced by an air of authority: "Huo Mingchen, someone has accused you of cruelly murdering Old Man Chu. Do you plead guilty?"
"I haven't done it."
Huo Mingchen answered with unwavering composure and humility.
Bai Jingquan slapped the simple gavel in his hand: "Bring the witnesses to the court."
Soon someone was brought up, and Cheng Shanshan's eyes widened when she saw who it was: "Cheng Wan'er, what are you doing here?"
"Cousin, I..."
Cheng Wan'er knelt down and kowtowed while crying.
She looked just like a pitiful little white lotus.
At this moment, Bai Jingquan asked, "Cheng Wan'er, you told me that you saw Huo Mingchen kill someone with your own eyes. Is that true?"
"..."
They were all lined up neatly.
Everyone looked over.
Huo Mingchen's expression didn't change much; he merely narrowed his eyes slightly, yet a chilling aura emanated from them: "You saw me kill someone?"
These words made Cheng Wan'er tremble uncontrollably, and she instinctively ran behind Cheng Shanshan, saying, "Cousin, save me, I don't want to die."
Looking at her, Cheng Shanshan had no idea what she was up to: "Cheng Wan'er, you will be held responsible for giving false testimony!"
"I didn't lie!"
Cheng Wan'er shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
Then she collapsed to the ground, hugging her knees and burying her face in her hands, sobbing: "Yesterday I wanted to go out to find something to eat, and I actually saw him kill someone with my own eyes! It was so scary... so scary!"
"What are you afraid of?" Cheng Xiulan, who had been watching from outside, rushed out at the right moment. Unlike Cheng Wan'er, she was not timid. Instead, her every move was filled with fierce anger: "What you should be afraid of is some wicked person. Now that the county magistrate is here, he can protect you."
Cheng Wan'er still refused to look up, sobbing softly, "I used to like...like Brother Huo, but I never thought he would... Waaaaah!!!"
Upon seeing this, before Bai Jingquan could even speak, the people outside had already made their judgment, all looking at Huo Mingchen and cursing through gritted teeth: "You look so respectable, but I never expected you to do something so beastly!"
At this point, these people immediately turned their anger towards Cheng Shanshan: "You're a femme fatale! A wicked woman!"
Huo Mingchen didn't react at all when he heard these people talking, but he was dissatisfied when it came to Cheng Shanshan, and he coldly glanced at everyone.
That murderous aura sent chills down everyone's spine!
Of course, because of his appearance, they were even more certain that Huo Mingchen was a murderer.
Bai Jingquan slammed the gavel down: "Alright, Cheng Wan'er, get up and tell us right now what you saw last night."
"……I."
Cheng Wan'er glanced at Huo Mingchen.
His expression was like that of a frightened little white rabbit.
Bai Jingquan frowned: "With me here, you should tell the truth."
"Last night at midnight, I heard Huo Mingchen arguing with Old Man Chu over my cousin. Old Man Chu had a foul mouth, and who knew... he angered Huo Mingchen. She grabbed a piece of iron and attacked Old Man Chu!" Cheng Wan'er trembled, her whole body filled with fear. "That scene was really terrifying. I was scared out of my wits."
Bai Jingquan frowned: "Do you have any evidence?"
"have!"
Cheng Wan'er replied immediately.
Bai Jingquan asked, "What evidence?"
“I saw Huo Mingchen bring the murder weapon back to the camp yesterday. It was covered in blood. You should be able to find it if you go there now.”
Bai Jingquan immediately ordered, "Go find them."
"yes."
Wang Chao and Zhao Mo went immediately.
When Cheng Shanshan arrived here, she sensed that something was wrong. Sure enough, she saw a glint of shrewdness flash in Cheng Wan'er's eyes.
Sure enough, the two of them returned with the bloodstained piece of iron shortly afterward.
Zhao Mo handed it to Bai Jingquan: "Sir, this has been placed under the bed. Please take a look."
Bai Jingquan's face turned extremely ugly when he saw the item!
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