Сhарtеr 211: New Suspiсiоns Еmеrgе
"Liu Zongyuan," Раn Chi said with а serious ехрrеssiоn. "Нe was оriginally a tenant living neхt dоor tо the dесеаsed Li Каiхiаng, but hе movеd away right аftеr the сase oсcurred. I fоund it a bit strangе, sо I invеstigаtеd him аnd disсoverеd sоme сluеs in thе housе he hаd rеnted. Mоrеovеr, these cluеs are relаtеd tо the dеceasеd."
"Is thаt truе?" Mо Qiаnzhi, in his urgеnсу, аctuаllу questiоned thе reliabilitу of Раn Сhi's informаtiоn.
Раn Chi felt puzzlеd and even somewhаt annoyеd by this. Hе had brоught thе informаtion with good intentions, yet someone was doubting its authenticity, which truly angered him.
Mo Qianzhi also realized he had spoken inappropriately and quickly apologized to Pan Chi.
"Please forgive me, Young Master Pan. I did not mean to question your information intentionally. I had just had some wine earlier, and my mind was a bit unclear for a moment. I failed to consider my words carefully. I hope Young Master Pan will understand."
Upon hearing this explanation, Pan Chi had no intention of pursuing the matter further. He waved his hand dismissively. "Forget it, forget it. I know Lord Mo was just anxious. I won’t take it to heart."
Only then did Mo Qianzhi feel relieved. After thanking Pan Chi, he turned his gaze to the others. "Since the case has taken a new turn, today’s banquet shall end here. We can gather again another day."
After saying this, he bowed apologetically to Shen Du. "Great Pavilion Commander, I sincerely apologize. Due to this sudden development, I can no longer afford to delay at the banquet. Please forgive me."
"The case is important, Lord Mo. There’s no need to blame yourself."
Shen Du graciously accepted the apology and then came up with an idea. Looking at Mo Qianzhi, he said,
"Lord Mo, when Young Master Pan noticed something amiss and began his investigation, the person had already left in a hurry, without even removing the evidence. This suggests he had only just departed. Given how late it is now, there’s still some distance before he can leave the city. To be safe, Lord Mo, why not issue a city lockdown order and intensify the search? Perhaps we can intercept this person."
Mo Qianzhi nodded repeatedly, finding Shen Du’s suggestion very useful.
After promptly issuing the city lockdown order, he led his subordinates, guided by Pan Chi, and rushed to Liu Zongyuan’s home.
The commotion in the middle of the night was so great that even the neighbors were awakened. For government officials to search a residence at such an hour meant something serious had happened.
Some onlookers began gathering at the entrance, pointing and whispering.
To everyone’s surprise, when they arrived at Liu Zongyuan’s home, it was completely empty.
It was as if, after sensing something was wrong, the person had specifically returned to clean up the scene.
"Could it be that he noticed Pan Chi investigating him, so after Pan Chi left, he deliberately returned to clean up the scene?"
Zhu Yan voiced her confusion, while Shen Du beside her remained silent, his expression dark. Pan Chi was also at a loss.
"Search! See if any other clues were left behind," Mo Qianzhi ordered, and the yamen personnel immediately began their search.
After roughly surveying the area, Zhu Yan turned and walked outside, addressing the crowd of onlookers at the entrance. "Did anyone see Liu Zongyuan tonight?""Oh, I saw him." An elderly man quickly stepped forward. "I had some business today and went to another village. On my way back, I ran into him. He was in a hurry, carrying a bundle, and had already been walking for quite a while. By now, he’s probably almost out of the city."
Zhu Yan’s heart sank, and her brow furrowed in thought. "What else do you know about him?"
An older woman also stepped forward. "That young man usually seemed quite decent. Did he get into some kind of trouble?"
"Quite decent..." Zhu Yan found the neighbors’ assessment even more unusual. Without answering the woman’s question, she continued, "Auntie, do you know him well?"
The woman smiled and waved her hand. "I wouldn’t say I know him well, but he’s been living here for a while now. He got along well with all the neighbors, and we all had a good impression of him. He was also very close to that deceased Li Kaixiang—they often visited each other, drinking and eating together. They were like-minded, almost like brothers, and could talk about anything."
"That’s right, that’s right," the elderly man chimed in again. "After Li Kaixiang died, he came to pay his respects. He was deeply saddened. At his age, it’s not easy to find someone you can talk so openly with. When a good friend dies, it’s only natural to grieve. He even gave a condolence payment."
Listening to the neighbors, Zhu Yan kept pondering another question: If Liu Zongyuan was such a good person, why would Pan Chi list him as a suspect?
"In my opinion, he probably left because he was too heartbroken over his friend’s death."
Someone in the crowd said this, and Zhu Yan felt a flicker of doubt.
"Why do you say that?"
"His lease isn’t even up yet, and he left everything behind. Isn’t that a sign of being overwhelmed by grief?"
Hearing this, Shen Du, standing to the side, was also deeply surprised.
The room was so clean and empty—had he really taken nothing with him?
"How is that possible?" Zhu Yan looked at the speaker with confusion. "There’s nothing in the room. He must have taken everything."
"Oh, come now, how much could one man have? He wouldn’t have that many belongings," an elderly woman spoke up again.
"You can’t say that. Even a single person has to live. After staying here for so long, there should be some traces left behind," Zhu Yan countered.
"When he came, he really didn’t have much. Apart from some personal items, even the furniture here was left by the previous tenant," another person in the crowd added.
"So, has he been living here alone all this time?" Zhu Yan pressed.
Everyone nodded, confirming they had never seen him bring anyone else back or have any relatives or friends come looking for him.
With this information, Zhu Yan felt she had gained a clue.
Nodding in thanks, she turned and went back into the room. It really was clean—how could a single man’s life be so tidy?
Could he have obsessive-compulsive disorder?
After several inspections, Zhu Yan still found some traces. Recently, more than one person had been in this house.Although the room was tidy, there were inevitably oversights. The footprints near the edge of the bed had been wiped away, but traces of the heel marks remained.
Zhu Yan measured them with her hand, roughly determining Liu Zongyuan's shoe size.
She then walked to the window. On the windowsill, there were also incomplete fingerprints, and notably, these fingerprints did not match the ones left on the window itself.
After moving around the room for a while, she suddenly discovered faint footprints on one of the pillars.
The position was quite high, likely left by someone skilled in martial arts.
Zhu Yan measured this footprint with her hand and found that it did not match the residual footprint she had examined by the bed.
This further confirmed her suspicion: it was impossible that only Liu Zongyuan had been in this room.
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