AWB Chapter 97 The Hidden Murderer
Chapter 97 The Hidden Murderer
"The vents are meant to ventilate the sealed room, so why are they blocked? Who did this?"
"Do you think it's possible that someone found out Jin Mantang was keeping Dong Ling here, and then brought her food for the past fifteen days? After Jin Mantang was killed, they sealed the ventilation shaft with mud, causing Dong Ling to suffocate?"
"And the purpose of this carbon was to hasten Dong Ling's death."
If the venue weren't unsuitable, Wu You would have applauded Li Lianhua for her thought process.
"I agree."
Wu You joined the group chat. He couldn't help it; running around with them was just too boring. Although he was a bit introverted, he wasn't as quiet as A Fei.
"You agree? Do you know who did it?"
"A person who can freely enter and leave Jin Mantang's courtyard, and who is familiar with the layout of the courtyard and knows the location of the ventilation shafts, must be in Yuanbao Manor. Can you guess who it is?"
"who is it?"
"Guards?"
"wrong."
"Servants?"
"wrong."
"Miss Zhiyu?"
"It wasn't me, I don't know."
Zhiyu quickly waved her hand.
"Can't you just say it directly? Why do you have to keep guessing?"
Fang Duobing was somewhat speechless.
"The murderer is naturally the one who screamed the loudest at the scene."
"The loudest howl?"
"Butler Kim".
Fang Duobing and Su Xiaoyong spoke in unison.
"Yes."
"Butler Kim does indeed have a chance."
"Since Butler Jin went to kill people and steal the treasure, where did the head of Bolan go? And why did he want to steal the head of Bolan?"
"We'll know once we find the head of the Bolan man."
"You only say half a sentence. Li Lianhua, where are we supposed to find the head of the Bolan people?"
"Butler Jin committed murder and theft, and he has never left Yuanbao Manor. Presumably, the head of Bolan has not left Yuanbao Manor either. Since it's not in Jin Mantang's room, it must be in Butler Jin's room."
"Let's go check on Butler Kim's room."
Fang, who was ill, strode forward.
"It's already past midnight, should we rest first and investigate tomorrow?"
Didn't the ancients all advocate working at sunrise and resting at sunset? It's already this late, how come Fang Duobing still has so much energy?
"Clues don't come every day. We need to act when the time is right. If we don't get to the bottom of this today, I won't be able to sleep tonight. Maybe Bo Lan will have already moved the body by tomorrow. Let's go today."
Fang Duobing strode away, and the others were clearly also in high spirits, showing no signs of sleepiness. Wu You had no choice but to accompany them.
You know staying up late is bad for your health, so you're planning to stay up all night, right?
It was nearly midnight, and the moonlight was hidden by dark clouds, making the entire mountain villa pitch black and quiet.
Although Li Lianhua and his group all possessed some martial arts skills, their group of six or seven people still caused quite a stir.
In the pitch-black manor, candlelight flickered in the courtyard of Butler Jin.
Across the courtyard, the crowd could vaguely see two figures moving around in Butler Jin's room.
"Butler Kim, Butler Kim."
Fang Duobing pounded on the courtyard gate urgently.
A knocking sound came from outside the courtyard, the candle inside the house suddenly went out, and some faint sounds came out of the courtyard, along with the sound of a stool falling to the ground.
"Who is it? I'm already asleep. We can talk about it tomorrow."
Butler Kim's voice came from inside the house.
This situation, where they were trying to cover up their misdeeds, was so obvious that it made everyone who came with them suspicious.
"Butler Kim, are you alright, judging from that sound?"
"It's nothing, it's just a teacup that fell on the ground."
"We are very worried about Butler Kim's safety. We need to check on him before we feel at ease. Butler Kim, let's come in."
Fang Duobing ignored what Butler Jin said and led his men directly into the courtyard.
"Everyone, can't we talk about this tomorrow? It's already very late."
"No, we won't be able to sleep tonight until this is cleared up. That's why we came here. Butler Jin, please open the door quickly."
"Please wait a moment while I put on some clothes."
The people outside insisted, so Butler Jin had no choice but to agree. He quickly hid what he needed to hide, lit a candle, and then opened the door.
"Let's talk here, it's getting late."
After the butler came out, he closed the door behind him.
Li Lianhua sensed that the other person's presence was fading away and that they were about to leave the courtyard, so she gave Di Feisheng a wink.
Di Feisheng understood, took a few steps back, and followed the others in another direction outside the courtyard.
"It's still a bit chilly in the courtyard at night, let's go inside and talk."
Fang Duobing really wanted to know who was in the room just now.
"Summer is almost here, it's not cool anymore, let's talk in the yard, and go back to rest sooner."
Butler Kim insisted on staying in the courtyard.
"Since you're already here, you should at least have a glass of water."
Li Lianhua stood silently in the direction where Butler Jin entered the room, while Fang Duobing and Su Xiaoyong pushed the door open and entered directly behind her.
"Sigh, I'm telling you guys..."
Jin Changbao was furious but helpless when he saw these people enter his room directly, so he could only follow them in.
"Butler Jin, you said you weren't injured, but smell this room, there's a strong stench of blood. Where are you hurt? There are so many renowned doctors here, they won't let anything happen to you."
Wu You wasn't trying to say it, but anyone with a good nose could smell the blood here.
Jin Changbao's eyes darted away: "No, it's nothing, just a minor scratch. I can't trouble you all, my doctors. I'll be fine tomorrow."
"Since there is an injury, it should be treated. How can we avoid seeking medical help and wait until tomorrow?"
Fang Duobing chimed in.
"No need for that, Steward Jin, please expose the wound. Did Brother Li bring any medicine?"
Su Xiaoyong stepped forward, looking as if she was about to bandage Butler Jin's wounds.
"I do have some ointment for scrapes with me."
Li Lianhua reached into her wide sleeve, felt around, and pulled out a small medicine bottle.
No, I didn't.
Jin Changbao panicked and backed away, clutching his arm.
“It seems the injury is on his arm. Here, Li Lianhua, apply it to him.”
Jin Changbao retreated repeatedly, his back pressed against the cabinet, while Fang Duobing and the others slowly approached.
Jin Changbao was like a lamb that had fallen into a pack of wolves, seemingly about to be torn apart by them.
"Boom."
The door was kicked open from the outside.
A person dressed in a black veiled hat was thrown in.
Immediately afterwards, Di Feisheng walked in.
"I'm afraid the smell of blood isn't his, but this person's."
Jin Changbao was somewhat agitated and pointed at the person on the ground, saying, "What did you say?"
"Ah Fei, you're here! Who's this?"
"See for yourself."
Fang Duobing stepped forward and lifted the veil from the person on the ground.
"The Divine Physician Gongyang, how could it be you?"
Jin Changbao walked up to Gongyang Wumen and grabbed his collar: "So the blood you gave me wasn't Zhiyu's, it was your own. No wonder it didn't work. You're the one who ruined me, it's you."
"What happened? Can someone explain?"
Even though it was late at night, Zongzheng Mingzhu didn't sleep and led his men to come here.
"It was him, it was all his idea."
Jin Changbao pointed at Gongyang Wumen and said.
Tell me in detail.
“I have suffered from tree-man syndrome since I was a child, but it has only become apparent in the last two years. I have been hiding in Yuanbao Manor for many years. I know Jin Mantang’s temperament. In order to avoid being discovered by him, I cut off the tree-man skin that had grown out.”
“I have been searching for a way to cure Tree Man Syndrome. Not long ago, I unexpectedly discovered that Jin Mantang had locked Dong Ling in a secret room.”
"Later, Gongyang Wumen came to me and gave me an idea so that he could enter Yuanbao Manor legitimately. I agreed because he said he would cure my tree-man syndrome."
"Although I know that tree-man syndrome is not easy to cure, Gongyang Wumen has been famous for a long time, and he may have some unorthodox methods."
"Today, Gongyang Wumen told me that the way to alleviate the tree-man syndrome was the head of the Bolan man and the blood of Zhiyu, and that he would get it for me. But I didn't expect that he brought his own blood instead, which is why I didn't get better."
"It's all fake, it's all fake. I let the wolf into the house, I'm the one who harmed the master."
"Don't wrong me, I didn't do anything."
Gongyang Wumen denied everything; without evidence, no one can accuse him.
"You still deny it? The knife wound on your hand is proof. Could it be that someone in this manor attacked you?"
Su Xiaoyong pressed on relentlessly.
"Can't I just accidentally scratch it? There's no excuse."
"Alright, we'll just assume that you, someone who deals with medicinal herbs all day, suddenly got interested in playing with a knife, and accidentally cut yourself, bleeding quite a bit. You can't deny that now, can you?"
Li Lianhua rummaged through Jin Changbao's cabinet and found many prescriptions, the earliest of which dated back two years.
“I just took a look, and the handwriting on these prescriptions is the same as the threatening letter, but it's different from the handwriting on the letter that appeared about two weeks ago. What's even more different is that there's an additional blood-activating herb in these prescriptions.”
Li Lianhua shook the prescription in her hand.
"Yes, ever since I developed Tree Man Syndrome, I've kept each prescription to compare the differences and wonder if the ingredients might change someday and that would cure me."
Jin Changbao said excitedly.
"Half a month ago was when Jin Mantang closed Dongling, and that was also the time when you, Gongyang Wumen, came to town to wait. And the Jishetang where Jin Changbao got medicine for Jin Mantang is the clinic you, Gongyang Wumen, visited."
"Nonsense, that's not true, don't talk nonsense."
"Have you already planned to kill Butler Jin and then steal Bolan's head without anyone noticing?"
"You actually want to kill me and steal the head of the Bolan people?" Jin Changbao looked at Gongyang Wumen in disbelief.
"With the evidence before us, you have no choice. Butler Jin, bring out the head of Bolan."
"Yes, yes, I'll go get it right away."
Jin Changbao took a bunch of keys off his body, walked to the cabinet, opened the wardrobe, took out the clothes and put them on the bed. Then everyone saw a copper lock hanging on the back of the clothes.
Jin Changbao used the key to unlock the door, and with a gentle push, a hidden door, taller than a person, appeared, inside which was a box containing the head of the Bolan man.
Jin Changbao took out the box. It wasn't locked, probably because he had been in a hurry and hadn't had time to lock it. He opened the box, revealing the blue human head inside.
All eyes were focused on the head of the man named Bo Lan, which was covered in bloodstains, likely the blood Jin Changbao had used to collect Gong Yang Wumen's blood.
"This is the head of the Bolan people."
The crowd's eyes burned with desire, their breathing quickened; this was the legendary Blue Head. If no one else were here, they would have already seized the treasure and left.
Unexpectedly, Li Lianhua and the others found a small white object inside the box. Could this be Luo Motian Ice?
Di Feisheng wanted to step forward, but was stopped by Li Lianhua with a look; now was not the time.
Furthermore, Li Lianhua noticed that although Zongzheng Mingzhu was looking at the Bolan human head, his attention was more focused on the Luo Mo Bing Pian (a type of succulent). The moment he opened the box, his eyes first scanned the inside.
Upon seeing the Luo Motian ice shards, there was a moment of surprise on his face before his expression shifted to things like the Bo Lan human head.
Is Zong Zhengmingzhu a member of Jiao Liqiao or Shan Gudao?
"Now that we have both witnesses and physical evidence, the cases of Gongyang Wumen and Jin Changbao will be handled by our Inspection Department. Bo Lan's head will also be brought back to the Inspection Department."
Zongzheng Mingzhu had been here for a long time, just for this moment, and reached out to take away the head of the Bolan man.
"Lord Zongzheng, have you forgotten the regulations established between the Imperial Court and the Baichuan Academy?"
Li Lianhua reminded her from the side.
"You dare. This is a matter of the martial world, and it should be handled by our Baichuan Academy. It is not up to your Inspectorate to overstep its bounds."
Fang Duobing quickly stepped forward and placed one hand on Bo Lan's head.
"Do you think I dare? So what if it's Baichuan Academy? These rules should have been changed long ago. Today, I'm really taking Bo Lan's head with me."
Zongzheng Mingzhu spoke arrogantly.
"You guys, go."
"Yes."
The members of the Censorate who had come with Zongzheng Mingzhu wanted to step forward, but Fang Duobing blocked them with his Erya sword.
"You are openly defying His Majesty's orders. Are you preparing for a rebellion? I suppose you were forced into this by Zongzheng Mingzhu. I won't make things difficult for you. You may leave now."
The inspectors exchanged glances, hesitant and unwilling to proceed.
"I am the Commander of the Inspection Department. Are you going to disobey my orders?"
Zongzheng Mingzhu stood by and angrily rebuked.
With no other option, the inspectors had to raise their swords and advance.
“I, Guan Hemeng, cannot stand idly by and watch someone openly provoke a conflict between the martial arts world and the imperial court.”
Su Xiaoyong stood firmly behind Fang Duobing.
“This matter is also related to me, Jian Lingxiao.”
Jian Lingxiao, who was standing next to him, also came over.
Li Lianhua, Wu You, and Di Feisheng remained silent, but all stood behind Fang Duobing.
Looking at the united people opposite him, Zongzheng Mingzhu knew that he could not take Bolan's head away now and had to think of another way.
"You just wait."
After leaving a message, Zongzheng Mingzhu left with his men.
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Lotus Tower Small Theater
Flying Flute: Wu You, we've got this Luo Motian Ice. Where's the next one?
Wu You: Have you already got it? I haven't seen it.
Di Feisheng: Isn't it right in front of me? Li Lianhua didn't let me take it. Do you think I'd let him get away with it right in front of me?
Wu You: We'll talk after I get my hands on it.