Chapter 1010 Taihe Academy
The candlelight flickered, Su Yan searched around along the trace, and saw two round holes on the back of the trace.
There are sawdust next to the round hole, and judging from the color, they must have appeared in recent days.
The round holes are close to the edge of the beam, and the distance between the two round holes is only one foot.
On the front side of the beam, Su Yan saw some wear marks, as if it had been rubbed by... a thin wire.
Su Yan's heart moved, and he immediately looked at the back of the beam, and sure enough, there was a round hole at the bottom.
Looking at the traces of friction, they extend along the beam, and there is an extra round hole at every turning point.
The traces extend to...
Su Yan looked at the horizontal window above the sill window, thoughtfully.
The constable guarding below had no idea what was going on. He just saw Su Yan moving around, and his heart trembled with every movement.
——Oh, ancestor, you are stepping on the place where the corpse is placed!
——The corpse is looking at you!
——The ghost will come back!
A gust of evil wind blew in, the candle in Su Yan's hand went out, and the whole room fell into deathly silence.
Constable: “…”
His voice was trembling. "Are you coming down?"
Su Yan was not affected at all. He calmly climbed down, relit the candle, dragged the square table to another position, and continued to climb up.
The constable was completely convinced by her.
Soon, another constable in charge of guarding came in and said, "Why don't you stay at the door and run here... Hey, Xiao Su, why did you climb so high?!"
The young detective was so excited that he almost cried, "Brother! You are finally back, brother! This girl is not a human being!!"
Su Yan checked almost all the beams in the entire wing room before the inspection was complete.
The two detectives looked at her eagerly, "Why is Qiaochu here?"
"I've seen some things, but I still don't know why the murderer did this," Su Yan said, "Let's ask about the situation tomorrow."
The two looked at each other, and no one dared to say anything.
After saying goodbye to the two constables, Su Yan took another walk around the building and courtyard to confirm his thoughts.
There was some progress in the case, and Su Yan felt a lot more relieved.
Seeing that it was still early, Su Yan thought about meeting a few more "suspects".
Among the six people without alibis, Su Yan was most curious about Cheng Wenshan.
Yin Yuan is Cheng Wenshan's right-hand man, and Cheng Wenshan can be said to trust him unconditionally. Will Cheng Wenshan really trust someone whose background he cannot figure out?
Captain Zhao said that Cheng Wenshan also didn't know Yin Yuan's origins, but Su Yan didn't quite believe it.
Cheng Wenshan lives in a separate courtyard. He likes quietness. To find him, one has to pass by the lotus pond. This place is remote and few people come here on weekdays. Now that a murder has happened, no one dares to walk around freely.
The bright moonlight, as white as jade, leisurely passes through the clouds, making the night seem not as dark as usual.
The water in the pond is rippling, and the lotus flowers have not yet bloomed, but the large expanse of green has a unique flavor.
The pond was surrounded by a circle of stone railings, each of which was engraved with fine patterns. Su Yan stood for a moment holding the railing, feeling deeply moved that there was such a peaceful place in this chaotic world.
This was true before the murder.
Su Yan admired the scenery for a while, memorized the routes to the academy, and then walked towards the courtyard where Cheng Wenshan lived.
Cheng Wenshan's courtyard has a main hall and two east and west side rooms. The courtyard is spacious and grand.
Seeing that the candle in the wing room was still lit, Su Yan knocked on the gate of the courtyard first, then stepped over the threshold and walked in.
After entering the yard, Su Yan felt that the sound of wind and cicadas stopped instantly, leaving a lonely atmosphere.
Her heartbeat gradually quickened, and she vaguely felt that something seemed to have happened.
Su Yan looked around and didn't see anyone.
She walked along the west wing towards the main hall, trying to make every step as quiet as possible and even curling up as much as possible.
After walking a few steps, Su Yan heard a "crunch", as if someone was stepping on a branch and breaking it.
Su Yan didn't hear any footsteps. If she heard correctly, there might be other people in the yard who were trying to keep their voices down like her.
The other party might have discovered her.
Su Yan stepped back.
She had only taken two steps back when she bumped into something. There should be no obstacles behind Su Yan where he was standing.
Su Yan's body remained frozen and he did not move. He reached back gently and grabbed the other hand.
His hand was very cold, but Su Yan could feel that it was a man's hand.
The familiar smell came slowly with the breeze, just like a winter snowstorm in the mountains. Su Yan was lonely and shrouded in coldness in an instant.
There was more than one person hiding in the yard.
Su Yan closed her eyes, but before she could react, she felt a sharp pain in her neck. Before she lost consciousness, she vaguely saw a familiar mask.
Before fainting, Su Yan cursed in his heart - falling down after being hit on the neck, this is unscientific!
It was already noon when Su Yan woke up.
She covered her neck in pain, looked around, and realized that she was still in the academy.
Chu Feng stood guard in front of the bed.
As soon as Su Yan moved, Chu Feng woke up. He was still wearing yesterday's clothes, probably because he had been guarding all night.
Seeing Su Yan wake up, Chu Feng's eyes were full of surprise, "You finally woke up, how do you feel? You lie down first, I'll go call the doctor."
Chu Feng did not wait for Su Yan to answer, and hurried out. Halfway through, he remembered something and touched his head awkwardly, saying, "Don't get me wrong, there are no women in the academy. I stayed here with Captain Zhao last night. We were witnesses to each other, and we definitely did not do anything else."
Chu Feng cares about his reputation, but Su Yan doesn't care so much.
People are hurt, and if you still care about the differences between men and women, you are a fool.
Su Yan said: "It's okay, I know you are a gentleman, but last night..."
"Two men in black broke into the academy last night," Chu Feng said with a little nervousness. "Luckily, Captain Zhao saw that you hadn't returned yet and went to look for you. He heard from the constable that you went to Master Cheng's courtyard, and he happened to see you being knocked down. The two men saw someone coming and were willing to let you go."
Su Yan frowned and recalled what happened last night.
Someone had indeed attacked him, and before she fainted, she vaguely saw that the person was wearing a mask.
Masks…wonton stand.
Those people actually came for Taihe Academy?
Su Yan raised his head and asked, "How is Hall Master Cheng?"
"He is fine. You found the thief before he could commit the crime." Chu Feng said, "But Captain Zhao failed to catch up with the two men. They were not from the academy. I'm afraid Mr. Yin was not killed by the academy's people."
After Chu Feng mentioned this, Su Yan suddenly became clear-headed.
After a while, upon hearing that Su Yan was awake, Captain Zhao also rushed over. After the doctor felt Su Yan's pulse, he said, "Su girl, we are searching for those two people now. Leave the things here to me, and you can rest and recover."
Su Yan was slightly stunned, "You're not going to care about the murder case?"
"Of course I have to take care of it," Captain Zhao said seriously, "County Magistrate Qin has handed this case over to me. I must catch the murderer within three days. Those two are very good at martial arts. We were unable to catch them last night, but they can't leave the city now, so they must still be in Anping Town!"
Su Yan: “…”
This joke is too old-fashioned within three days.
When Captain Zhao saw that Su Yan didn't say anything, he was about to tell her to have a good rest, but then he heard Su Yan, who was in a daze, seem to make some sounds.
"How should I tell Brother Zhao that there is something wrong with his idea?"
"Brother Zhao might not understand if I put it bluntly..."
"But Brother Zhao is pretty smart, right? He should understand what I mean?"
Captain Zhao: “…”
Of course he's smart! He's already met the murderer!
Captain Zhao coughed lightly and said, "Girl, do you have any other ideas?"
Seeing Captain Zhao's considerate "active inquiry", Su Yan breathed a sigh of relief and immediately said, "Those two may not be the real murderers."
Captain Zhao was slightly startled. "What did you say?"
"Their behavior is like... assassins?" Su Yan said, "Do you remember that Yu Jianyuan once said that Mr. Yin mentioned that someone from the capital wanted to kill him?"
Captain Zhao was confused and asked, "But he didn't just make it up to clear himself of suspicion? He lied."
Su Yan said: "Think carefully, what did those two people do after they arrived at the academy last night?"
"What else can I do? I sneaked into Master Cheng's yard and tried to murder him, but I ran into you."
"Mr. Yin's death has been delayed for two days, and the murderer has come up with many tricks. If those two people have nothing to do with the academy and have great kung fu skills, why don't they just kill Mr. Yin and Master Cheng directly, but go to so much trouble to let others see Mr. Yin's head?"
Captain Zhao couldn't answer.
Chu Feng listened to Su Yan's words, thought carefully for a moment, and then said: "You said the murderer used many tricks, what do you mean?"
Su Yan sat up from the couch and said, "Come with me."
She took them to Yin Yuan's room.
"I carefully checked this place last night and it confirmed my previous guess. The murderer must be someone from within the academy, and it is very likely that he is among those who do not have alibis."
Captain Zhao looked around and didn't notice any changes in the room.
Su Yan didn't beat around the bush and pointed at the beam and said, "Brother Zhao, you'll know if you go up and take a look."
"The night before, the murderer cut off the victim's head and deliberately placed it on the square table, making sure that the students passing by could see the head through the window. After Di Jun found the head, everyone panicked and wanted to go to Mr. Yin's room to find out what was going on. But unfortunately, the nearest door was locked, and if they were in the two gentlemen's rooms, the students would not have one. If they wanted to come to Mr. Yin's room, they could only take a long detour."
Captain Zhao had already climbed onto the table, but after hearing what Su Yan said, he still didn't understand, "So what?"
"At this time, almost all the students are gathered together and can testify for each other. If they arrive and find that the head is gone, what does this mean?"
After reading these two sentences together, Captain Zhao understood what Su Yan meant. "You mean, the disappearance of the head proves that the murderer is still near Mr. Yin's room, and the students gathered together can't be the murderer? Is this the murderer's alibi for himself?"
Su Yan nodded, "I'm afraid that's the case. If that's the case, the murderer is most likely among Di Jun, Xu Yang, and Wen Xufeng."
Chu Feng was a teacher in the academy and knew those three people best. After hearing Su Yan's words, his first reaction was that it was unlikely.
"I know all three of them. They are of excellent character. How could they kill someone? Moreover, they were outside the door and were with other people. How could they take the head?"
Without waiting for Su Yan to answer, Captain Zhao exclaimed, "What is this?!"
He found the traces that Su Yan saw.
Su Yan said, "That's it. The murderer only put the head, which is very light. He fixed the head on the line, inserted wooden strips into the small holes in the beams, and then used the wooden strips to control the direction of the line. He pulled the line out from the horizontal window and followed this method all the way to the locked door. I went to see it on purpose. The window at the edge of the corridor was already broken, and the wall was incomplete, with traces of friction on it."
"The murderer only needs to pull the string to raise the head. When the head reaches the beam, it will be caught by the wooden strips that have been inserted in advance. The murderer then temporarily fixes the string. When everyone enters the wing room, the head is already on the beam. The width of the beam is enough to block it. At this time, no one knows that Mr. Yin's body has been cut up, and they will not look for someone on the beam. When everyone leaves to look for Mr. Yin, the murderer can retract the string and the head."
Captain Zhao jumped down from the table. "If there really are the traces you described, then the murderer can be confirmed to be one of those three people!"
Hearing this, Su Yan hesitated again, "If this method is used, the murderer doesn't have to hide the body for two days. I still can't figure it out..."
"If you can't figure it out, think about it slowly," Captain Zhao said, "I'm going to arrest those three people and interrogate them! Wait, what about the man in black last night?"
Su Yan said, "I'm afraid what Yu Jianyuan said is true. Mr. Yin provoked the people from the capital, and those two wanted to attack Master Cheng...Brother Zhao, Mr. Yin has a close relationship with Master Cheng, but Master Cheng said he knows nothing about Mr. Yin. I always find it hard to believe. Master Cheng may be hiding something from us."
"Impossible," Chu Feng frowned and interrupted Su Yan, "The hall master is kind-hearted and has been very kind to us. If he hadn't kept me here, I would have lost the will to live. He is definitely not a bad person."
Chu Feng failed the imperial examinations several times and felt disheartened, thinking that he would never be able to realize his ambitions. He even thought about ending his life by drowning in the river outside Anping Town.
It was Cheng Wenshan who appeared and not only rescued him from the river, but also allowed him to teach in the academy and told him that there was new hope for the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Cheng Wenshan was already old. In order to save Chu Feng, he took a cold bath. After returning to the academy, he fell seriously ill and it took him two months to recover.
Over the years, Chu Feng has always served him as if he were his own father.
Su Yan and Chu Feng have not known each other for long, but every time Chu Feng mentioned Cheng Wenshan, his words were full of respect. She knew how important Cheng Wenshan was in Chu Feng's heart.
"Hiding something doesn't mean he's a bad person," Su Yan advised. "When people get along with each other, sometimes they hide things, maybe out of good intentions. Right now, it's more important to catch the murderer."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
