Сhарtеr 198: Тhe Midnight Вridе, Раrt 4
Рan Chi let оut а light, disdainful chuсkle. “Don’t fоrgеt, I’m аlsо а mаster detеctive. I’m not one of уоur subordinаtes—whу shоuld I rерort еvеrуthing tо уou?”
“Yоu!” Shen Du grew angrу, сlenсhing his fist and glaring fierсely аt him.
How imрrеssivе—tо рlау dirty behind his bасk. It seеmеd thе methоds he’d usеd tо deal with him wеrеn’t harsh еnough.
Seeing Shеn Du’s anger, a lооk оf delight finаlly apреаred оn Раn Сhi’s fасe.
Whаt skill wаs therе in bullying him? Тhe reаl skill laу in оutmаneuvеring him right in frоnt оf Zhu Yаn.
As the atmоsphere threatеned to turn tensе again, Zhu Yаn’s eуе twitchеd.
What was wrong with these two? They always seemed to enjoy picking fights.
To defuse the awkwardness, Zhu Yan glanced at the clothes the two men were wearing and quickly said, “Enough, enough. You two should go change first. I’ll wait for you in the side room of the main hall.”
Both nodded simultaneously, and Zhu Yan turned to leave.
Pan Chi, strutting like a proud rooster, brushed past Shen Du with his back ramrod straight, as if flaunting how he had outmaneuvered him in front of Zhu Yan.
Shen Du clenched his fist tightly. He would settle this score sooner or later.
Zhu Yan arrived in the main hall, where Mo Qianzhi was still interrogating Xu Jize.
Xu Jize appeared righteous and unyielding. If not for the sack Pan Chi had provided, Zhu Yan might have truly believed he was innocent.
What surprised Zhu Yan even more was how astonishingly fast Pan Chi changed his clothes.
She had only been standing there for a moment when Pan Chi appeared beside her. Glancing toward the main hall, he asked, “How far along is the interrogation?”
Zhu Yan shook her head slightly. “I missed some of it earlier, so I can’t tell now.”
Xu Jize knelt in the main hall, clasping his hands in a gesture of righteousness as he addressed Mo Qianzhi. “Sir, it is improper to arrest me without evidence. Moreover, I risked my life to save Miss Du. Now that she has been found and has suffered no harm beyond a sprained ankle, shouldn’t you, sir, adopt a different tone when questioning me?”
Mo Qianzhi was momentarily taken aback by Xu Jize’s words, but Zhu Yan, who had been listening nearby, snorted coldly.
“This man really knows how to flatter himself. Not only does he try to absolve himself of all blame before evidence is presented, but he also wants Lord Mo to treat him with special regard. I’ve truly never seen someone so brazen.”
Beside her, Pan Chi chuckled softly with interest. “A tree without bark is doomed to die, but a person without shame is invincible. Lord Zhu, some people won’t shed tears until they see their own coffin. Wait until I present the evidence—let’s see what he has to say then.”
Without waiting for Zhu Yan’s reaction, Pan Chi tossed the sack in front of Xu Jize.
“Xu Jize, does this look familiar to you?”
Pan Chi’s sudden appearance surprised everyone present. Mo Qianzhi remained silent, quietly observing the scene.
Upon seeing the sack, Xu Jize’s expression visibly shifted. His eyes blinked repeatedly before he spoke with righteous indignation. “Isn’t this just a sack? Of course I recognize it.”
A faint smile curled at the corner of Pan Chi’s lips. “Naturally, I know it’s a sack. But when I bring it before you in the dead of night, aren’t you the least bit surprised?”
“Of course I’m surprised,” Xu Jize replied, blinking again and wrinkling his nose slightly."But this thing has nothing to do with me. It must belong to the murderer, and it was that dead man who harmed Miss Du. I didn’t kill anyone either—I don’t know how that person died. I was just there to rescue someone. You shouldn’t wrong an innocent person."
"Then why don’t you tell us in detail what you saw?" Pan Chi stood up, stroking his chin with a meaningful look as he stared at Xu Jize.
"I..."
Xu Jize blinked rapidly again.
"At the time, I had just used the outhouse. When I came out, I saw a thief abducting Miss Du. It happened so suddenly I didn’t have time to alert anyone else. Worried about Miss Du’s safety, I went after them alone and chased them outside. Later..."
Xu Jize’s eyes kept darting back and forth, and Zhu Yan immediately noticed something amiss.
Pan Chi also knew he was lying and had no interest in listening to these falsehoods. He cut him off, "What you’re saying has no evidence. How can anyone believe it?"
"Every word I’ve said is true. Please investigate thoroughly, my lords," Xu Jize quickly added.
"Hmph..." Pan Chi snorted coldly, his face full of disbelief. "Without evidence, not only do we not believe you, even a three-year-old child on the street wouldn’t buy it. In my opinion, that dead man was your accomplice. You two abducted Miss Du together, but later, due to some disagreement, you killed your own partner. To cover it up, you pretended to be the good guy, shifting all the blame away. Isn’t that right?"
"My lord, I’ve been wronged."
Xu Jize’s gaze was unusually firm. Seeing Pan Chi pressing him with questions, he quickly turned his pleading eyes toward Mo Qianzhi.
"I really didn’t kill anyone, and I don’t even know that dead man. Why would I kill him?"
Nearby, Zhu Yan furrowed her brows. When Xu Jize lied, he clearly blinked repeatedly and had a habit of wrinkling his nose. But just now, when he said he hadn’t killed anyone, his expression was exceptionally firm, indicating he wasn’t lying.
Pan Chi also glanced at Zhu Yan not far away. Their thoughts aligned. Even if he wasn’t the murderer, without anyone to vouch for his innocence, he couldn’t shake off suspicion.
Pan Chi continued questioning, "If you weren’t familiar with the deceased, how did you witness his murder?"
"I didn’t see how the deceased was killed. By the time I arrived, he was already dead. I don’t know who killed him, and I didn’t see how the murderer did it," Xu Jize explained.
"You said you saw someone abduct Miss Du. Did that person have any distinguishing features?"
"The lighting wasn’t very bright, so I didn’t see clearly. But judging by the deceased’s height and demeanor, he was the one who abducted Miss Du."
"Just based on height and demeanor? Didn’t you notice any other features?" Pan Chi pressed further.
Xu Jize shook his head repeatedly. "It happened too suddenly. I didn’t pay close attention and didn’t notice any other features."
Hearing this, Pan Chi made up his mind.
It seemed this man really wasn’t the murderer. The deceased was missing an eye—if Xu Jize had truly been his accomplice, he shouldn’t have been unaware of that detail.Seeing that Pan Chi had no further questions, Xu Ji became even more brazen in insisting he was innocent. He even clasped his hands and addressed Mo Qianzhi with righteous indignation, saying, "Your Honor, I truly have been wronged. Now that the matter has been cleared up, you should reward me, for I am the hero who saved Miss Du."
Upon hearing this, Pan Chi and Zhu Yan nearly dropped their jaws in disbelief.
How could there be such a shameless person in the world? Even if he wasn't the murderer, he was still deeply involved in this matter. Moreover, with the case not yet fully resolved, he was already demanding rewards—truly taking shamelessness to a profound and bone-deep level.
Mo Qianzhi said nothing more, his expression dark as he stared at the man before him.
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