Chapter 49 Mr. Humor
Byrne actually reacted when the other party pulled out the gun.
He forced himself to suppress his instinct and didn't dodge.
Sheriff Renzo of Finn City is the backbone of the Lion Family and a transformed middle-level knight transcendent. The possibility of him defeating the opponent at close range is basically zero.
Byrne made a judgment in an instant that if he dodged casually, it might provoke the opponent's next attack, so not resisting was the correct choice.
Sheriff Renzo was slightly stunned. The young man in front of him was calmer and more composed than he had imagined. He was not panicking or shouting as he had expected.
"I'm not a murderer."
Sheriff Renzo was actually not sure whether Byrne from the Fisher family was the murderer.
He was just threatening the other party first, and as long as he waited until Byrne was at a loss, he could easily ask a lot of questions.
But Sheriff Renzo now felt uncertain again as he looked into the young man's calm eyes.
"First, tell me why you are here."
Byrne looked around and could not sense the murderer nearby, so he explained very calmly:
"The housekeeper can testify for me that I just went upstairs a minute ago and you arrived right after that. I also made an appointment with Mr. Jin beforehand and I didn't just barge in."
He paused, shook his head and said:
"If I really wanted to kill him, it would be ridiculous to leave so many traces. Anyone would be able to track me down immediately."
"Moreover, Mr. Jin and I are close business partners. Our business has always been doing well, and there is no conflict. I have no motive at all."
After saying this, Byrne stared into the other person's eyes and slowly smiled:
"Put the gun down, Mr. Sheriff Renzo."
Sheriff Renzo calmly put down his gun. Even if the murderer was really Byrne, he was fully confident in how to deal with it. It didn't matter whether he used a gun or not.
"Thanks."
Byrne hid his dissatisfaction, walked forward as calmly as possible, slowly turned around and quickly observed everything in the room.
"Deep memory" plays a role.
When staring at the blood next to the bullet hole, he still felt dizzy because he was born with a fear of blood, but he would not fall down easily.
He knew very well that he was no longer the boy who could rely on his father, and that adults did not have the right to "fall down" at will.
With his poor fighting ability, little life experience, and psychological defects, he is inferior to his father Lucius in every aspect.
He is well aware of these things.
So whenever Byrne was alone in bed with no one around, he would often recall the blood in his deep memory, and think of the death and despair represented by the disgusting smell.
By enduring pain again and again, Byrne gradually tries to overcome the most fatal flaw in his heart.
It seemed to be effective at the moment. He took a deep breath, cleared the dizziness in his mind, and thoroughly wrote down everything he observed.
The broken mirror on the ground was most likely the source of the "crackling" sound. There was still gunpowder smoke coming from the muzzle of the alchemical flintlock, which obviously had just been used for a short time. Then there was the bottle of wine on the desk and the two glasses of red wine, but I didn't know who the second glass of red wine was poured for.
Byrne felt that the wine was not poured for him, because Mr. Jin knew that he hardly drank, so it was impossible for a sophisticated person to forget this matter.
Sheriff Renzo squatted beside Mr. Jin's fat and huge body. He looked serious but did not touch it casually. He said to the butler and Byrne without turning his head:
"Mr. Byrne, you must stay here. Butler Boltz, go find my brother and call Viscount Bester. Don't tell anyone else yet, and don't let anyone in the villa come to the study. Do you understand?"
"Okay! Gentlemen, of course I understand. I'll go find the Viscount right away!"
The butler nodded repeatedly and was about to leave when the sheriff suddenly turned around and stared at him coldly.
"No matter what the reason, if you leak what happened here first, I will regard you as an accomplice of the murderer."
The butler was so frightened that his face turned pale and he trotted away in panic.
Byrne could see that Sheriff Renzo Leon, the third son of the Lion family, was extremely proficient in the trick of "intimidation".
Only Byrne and Sheriff Renzo were left in the room. Because of the awkwardness just now, they did not speak for a long time.
Byrne was not a man who would get angry, so he took the initiative to talk to Sheriff Renzo:
"I think the person who killed Mr. Jin must be an acquaintance, because there were two glasses of red wine on the desk, and I am not a drinker, so the second glass of red wine would not have been poured for me by Mr. Jin."
Renzo glanced at the young man, nodded calmly and said, "That makes sense."
The atmosphere eased a little, and the two didn't say anything more. They waited until the sky gradually darkened, and finally heard footsteps going up to the second floor.
The door of the study was opened from the outside and three people came in soon.
They were Mr. Jin's butler, Viscount Best, and a middle-aged woman whom Byrne didn't know at all.
Viscount Best was a little short, of medium build, with gray hair neatly combed, wearing a black tuxedo and a black hat.
His eyes, which were always narrowed, revealed a cunning and sharp look like a fox hunting.
People call him "the fox leading a group of lions". Viscount Best has always impressed people with his cunning and scheming image.
"Renzo, Byrne, here I come, ah."
Best sighed and squatted beside Mr. Jin, stretched out his hand to close his eyes, then looked up at the middle-aged woman who followed him.
"This is Ms. Lingfeng, an independent extraordinary person whom I have known for many years. She is a necromancy-type spellcaster who has reached the second level. She can help us find the truth."
Byrne looked at the so-called "Ms. Lingfeng" and knew that she was using a fake name.
"Hello, Ms. Lingfeng, I am Bayne Fisher."
"Hello."
She responded coldly, with a look of social aloofness in her eyes.
Independent extraordinary people refer to those extraordinary people who do not belong to any organization or force and have no family affiliation.
They act even more unscrupulously, and are often only a thin line away from illegal supernatural beings and cultists.
"Ms. Lingfeng" was wearing a dark purple robe. Her hair was still thick and black, but there were a few white hairs occasionally. Her ears were hung with moon-shaped earrings that kept shining.
Her face has a unique charm that comes from the passage of time, and her skin is slightly loose but still smooth and delicate.
Prophecy spellcasters are relatively rare, and using necromancy spells to investigate someone's cause of death is very common. However, all major churches believe that it is a very bad thing to defile a corpse at will.
There is almost no research on soul power in the world of Krad, but the necromancy-type spellcasting talent still exists, which is the most difficult type of cultivation inheritance to find among the eight types.
Ms. Lingfeng did not say anything, but silently closed her eyes and used her mind to mobilize the magical power in the air around her.
A faint green light gradually emerged from the corpse.
Viscount Best quickly stood up and came to his brother, Sheriff Renzo, and said slowly:
"So what happened, Renzo? Well, did my good brother-in-law eat too much and finally couldn't stand his fat body anymore, so he shot himself? Bang! Just like that!"
Sheriff Renzo looked at his smiling brother, Viscount Best, in an unreasonable manner, and said with dissatisfaction:
"How can you still joke in your current situation? Are you completely crazy?"
Deep down, Byrne also felt that Viscount Best was a person who was "too humorous and lacked dignity" both in public and in private. Even the people of the Eagle Family contemptuously called him "the clown viscount who raises lions in the circus."
If the enemies of the Lion Family were not always killed in the stinking ditch, or if some people occasionally suddenly cried and apologized publicly to Viscount Best, everyone would probably really regard this fifty-year-old master of Fein City as a so-called "clown".
“Ouch!”
Suddenly, a deep green light appeared in Mr. Jin's eyes and mouth. His heavy body gradually floated up from the ground, making strange noises.
The corpse yelled hoarsely, "Help! Help! Byrne, help me!"
The voice was so cold and terrifying that Byrne could even feel the thoughts of the deceased eroding his spirit, and he felt an extremely strong discomfort deep in his heart.
After the corpse finished speaking, Viscount Best and Sheriff Renzo both looked at the horrified Byrne.
Viscount Best shrugged and said with a smile: "Byrne, what you just said is good news. At least half of your suspicion has been removed."
"If he yells, 'Ahhhh, Byrne, give me back my money,' that would be terrible, because Mr. King's money is my money!"
The Viscount was still very humorous. Sheriff Renzo frowned and became more and more disgusted with his brother. Only Byrne couldn't laugh at all.
Ms. Lingfeng took a deep breath and manipulated the undead magic that was wandering around. Those mysterious powers that could awaken the dead caused Mr. Jin's corpse to speak.
She asked calmly, "Who killed you?"
“Yes, yes… ah…”
The dark green energy on the corpse was rolling and boiling. It seemed to be filled with extreme hatred and fear. The hoarse voice made Byrne feel weird from the bottom of his heart. It was the first time he saw a dead person speak.
"It's not a person, it's me!"
Mr. Jin's answer stunned and confused everyone present.
It’s not a person, it’s me?
Byrne fell into deep thought. What on earth did the corpse's answer mean? He felt that the two words were not connected. The corpse's answer must have a hidden meaning.
The dark green energy gradually dissipated, the corpse fell to the ground and everything returned to normal. The depressing atmosphere in the air finally disappeared, and everyone felt a lot more relaxed in an instant.
Viscount Best snorted and sneered:
"It seems that my huge brother-in-law has completely returned to the arms of the Lord of Redemption. So, what do you think about his statement that the so-called murderer is 'not a human, but me', Ms. Lingfeng?"
Sheriff Renzo couldn't help but roll his eyes, not seeing the point of his brother laughing at the dead man.
This was not the first time that Ms. Lingfeng had used the "dead inquiry technique" to manipulate corpses to speak. She was well-informed and nodded as she explained:
"The meaning of the two words is to understand that the one who first killed him was not a human, but a sub-human, an alien, or a mysterious creature or even a mysterious existence."
Byrne and the other two nodded in agreement. They had just thought of this.
Ms. Lingfeng paused for a moment and continued, "As for the 'it was me' that was mentioned later, I feel a little confused. If it was said that he was manipulated into committing suicide, perhaps there is such a possibility in the answer."
Byrne pondered over the mysterious knowledge he had read in some books, and suddenly said:
"I think there is another possibility, that the inhuman murderer actually took on the appearance of Mr. Kim, so he was extremely confused in the moment before his death."
He remembered that there were indeed some mysterious creatures and entities that would transform into the appearance of their targets and then start killing.
Best nodded, looked at Byrne for the first time, and said with a smile:
"I see. That's a very reasonable conclusion. I've heard from the housekeeper that you were the first person to discover the body. Why don't you tell me more about the situation and your 'date for two' with Jin."
Byrne recounted everything he saw from his perspective from beginning to end. His logic and articulation were extremely clear, and his response was calm.
Viscount Best smiled with appreciation.
"I've heard Jin talk about you before. You are indeed an outstanding person."
After he finished speaking, he walked over and patted Byrne on the shoulder, then said from a close distance:
"I have an innate ability, which is to see a person's true character in a short period of time, and you are a person who values friendship and loyalty."
"I believe Jin's death has nothing to do with you. It's none of your business for now, Byrne. But you must be careful with your family when you return."
Byrne's heart sank. He took a deep breath and asked respectfully, "My Lord Viscount, what is going on?"
Best continued, "Of course I have experienced such things in my decades of career. They are assassinations against enemy forces. Someone is targeting us."
"The assassination attempt against us may not just happen once, but form a terrible vortex, constantly dragging those on the verge of drowning into it, and in the end, only a large number of corpses will be left."
He leaned over and whispered calmly in Byrne's ear:
"Kim is undoubtedly my cash cow, and the Fisher family is my 'cash branch'. Anyway, be careful. I don't want to see my business partners die one by one."
It turned out to be an assassination attempt against the Lion Family!
Byrne just felt extremely nervous. To some extent, he felt that those invisible enemies hiding in the dark were even more dangerous and terrifying than the attack of the Rheans a few years ago.
"Okay, I understand. Thank you for your reminder, Lord Viscount."
Viscount Best's expression suddenly became serious and he held Byrne's hand tightly for a few seconds.
"Don't tell anyone about this, Byrne. You are a person with great potential. Take care."
(End of this chapter)
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