Chapter 129: Heavenly Detective's Blessing

"Bloody last words?" Zu'an's brow furrowed.

Beside him, County Lieutenant Pang Chun said, "Before he died, Yang Wei wrote the character 'Zu'. Given the conflict you had with him at the academy two days ago, and the fact that there are no other people with the surname Zu in the entire Brightmoon City, we believe the message he left refers to you."

Chu Zhongtian was growing restless, but Zu'an remained calm. He knew that the more critical the moment, the more he needed to stay composed. He had often scoffed at characters in TV dramas who, when facing similar situations, would simply shout useless phrases like "I'm innocent."

He thought for a moment and said, "Murder requires a motive. I had no reason to kill Yang Wei."

"How can you say that? You and my husband had a dispute at the academy; hundreds of people there can testify to it. Afterwards, you harbored resentment and then came here to murder him! How can there be such a malicious person in this world?" Yang Wei's wife shrieked, pointing at Zu'an with a twisted face.

Zu'an replied, "Yes, I did have a conflict with Yang Wei at the academy, but it was merely a dispute over mathematics. I won the bet and was even appointed the new math teacher by Headmaster Jiang. As for Yang Wei, not only was he publicly disgraced, but he was also dismissed from his teaching position. I emerged completely victorious from the whole affair. Why would I need to target a loser again?"

"If anything, Yang Wei would have more reason to hate me. It would make more sense for him to want to kill me."

Xie Yi and Pang Chun exchanged glances and nodded subtly. Indeed, the motive didn't hold up.

Chu Zhongtian looked at Zu'an with some surprise. Previously, he had only thought of the man as someone prone to speaking nonsense and acting unpredictably. He hadn't been particularly impressed by Zu'an's dazzling performance on the arena stage, as a mere third-rank cultivator was common in the Chu family. However, this man's ability to analyze problems with such clarity made him see Zu'an in a new light, realizing that he and his wife's previous impression of him might have been quite skewed.

At this moment, Mei Chaofeng, who had been observing from the side, spoke up: "That's not necessarily true. Everyone witnessed Zu'an's vengeful nature on the arena stage yesterday. Yuan Wenji merely offended him slightly and had his arm severed and cultivation crippled. Given the previous conflict between Zu'an and Master Yang, retaliation afterwards would be entirely in character for him."

Under these circumstances, Shi Kun found it inconvenient to intervene personally, so it was only natural for Mei Chaofeng to lead the charge.

Hearing his words, Yang Wei's wife immediately found theoretical support and began wailing loudly: "Yes, that's exactly it! Please, masters, do me justice! My husband died such a miserable death!"

Xie Yi and Pang Chun frowned. The current situation was becoming tricky.

Then Sang Hong spoke: "Zu'an, how do you explain the bloody character Master Yang left before he died?"

Zu'an replied, "How can you be sure that character was left by Master Yang himself? Imagine, if I were the murderer, would I allow the victim to write his own name?"

Sang Hong smiled faintly and said no more. It would be beneath his status to personally engage in such a debate. He had already highlighted the crucial factor, and Xie Yi and the others would handle the rest.

As expected, Pang Chun said, "When the bloody character was discovered, Master Yang had covered it with his hand, so it's perfectly normal that the killer wouldn't have seen it."

Zu'an let out a laugh. "Tell me, what kind of murderer would be so careless? It's one thing to deliberately leave the victim half a breath to write, but to not even notice what he wrote?"

The onlookers at the entrance began to whisper and discuss, finding some logic in both possibilities.

"Silence!" Xie Yi slammed the gavel. "What you say, Zu'an, is not without reason. However, all clues currently point to you as the prime suspect. If no other evidence is found, it will be very difficult for you to clear your name."

At this point, Chu Zhongtian spoke: "May I ask when Master Yang died?"

Pang Chun replied, "To answer Duke Brightmoon, according to the coroner's examination, he likely died between midnight and 2 AM last night."

Chu Zhongtian smiled faintly. "Then it couldn't have been Ah Zu. He was resting at my residence all last night. Furthermore, because of some past incidents, I've had several guards protecting him, so it would have been impossible for him to go out and commit murder."

"I see," Xie Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Such evidence made things much better. Just as he was about to deliver his judgment, Shi Kun's voice rang out:

"If I'm not mistaken, testimony from family members can only be considered as reference, not conclusive evidence, right?"

They had, of course, considered this very issue when setting up this scheme.

Xie Yi frowned. There was indeed such a regulation, designed to prevent relatives from colluding to conceal information or protect each other.

Chu Zhongtian looked at Shi Kun and said in a deep voice, "Are you implying that I'm deliberately lying?"

Shi Kun smiled faintly. "I'm not questioning Duke Brightmoon's integrity. However, the Chu manor is vast, and there are many people living here. No matter how powerful Duke Brightmoon's cultivation, it's impossible for him to know the comings and goings of every single person. Furthermore, considering Zu'an's cultivation, which allowed him to defeat a fifth-rank master on the arena yesterday, and his uncanny movement technique, it wouldn't be difficult for him to elude the manor guards and sneak out to commit murder."

Chu Zhongtian was speechless.

His opponent's argument was logical and reasonable, and Chu Zhongtian didn't know how to refute it. Everyone present looked at Zu'an with suspicion.

Zu'an turned to him and said, "Young Master Shi clearly came prepared. It seems this whole affair was orchestrated by you?"

Shi Kun smiled faintly. "I'm merely a concerned citizen, speaking a few words of fairness for the deceased. That shouldn't be too much to ask, should it?"

Then County Lieutenant Pang Chun spoke up: "Zu'an, do you have anything else to say?"

Zu'an fell into thought. After a moment, he said, "I'd like to see the crime scene." He thought, *Having watched so many crime dramas in my previous life—may Bao Qingtian, Di Renjie, Sherlock Holmes, and Conan bless me—I hope those plots weren't just made-up nonsense, or else I might be in trouble today.*

Xie Yi said, "There's no need to go to the actual scene." He waved his hand, gesturing to a subordinate. Soon, someone produced a mirror-like object. After activating it with primal energy, the mirror projected images into the air.

It was the scene of Yang Wei's body!

Zu'an looked at the mirror, thinking it must be one of those legendary 'audio-visual stones' or similar devices, capable of recording and saving images like a camera. He had to admit, the Rune Masters of this world were truly impressive.

After carefully examining the crime scene, a faint smile suddenly appeared on Zu'an's face. "Now the truth is clear," he said.

"What do you mean?" Xie Yi was taken aback. Even Shi Kun frowned. Had there been an oversight somewhere?

Zu'an pointed at the bloody character on the screen and said, "The character was written with the right hand. But as far as I know, Master Yang was actually left-handed. Clearly, the murderer didn't know this and made a mistake."

"Left-handed?" Pang Chun was surprised. "I've worked with Master Yang for years; why didn't I know this?"

Zu'an explained, "During the math lessons at the academy, Yang Wei initially wrote on the blackboard with his right hand. However, when he got excited during our challenge, he started writing with his left. It's clear his left hand was his dominant one. Many people probably didn't know this, which is why the killer left a loophole."

"When a person tries to leave a message in their final moments, they would instinctively use their dominant hand. Yet, Master Yang in this image used his right hand. This clearly indicates that the killer used his finger to write with blood after he died."

Xie Yi frowned and asked Yang Wei's widow, "Was Master Yang left-handed?"

The woman's face was somewhat bewildered, but she still nodded. "Yang Wei was indeed left-handed. However, he was afraid of being ridiculed, so he usually used his right hand. He would only occasionally and unconsciously use his left."

This revelation caused a commotion in the hall. Shi Kun's expression also changed slightly; he had no idea such a blunder would occur. Mei Chaofeng's face immediately paled, and he quickly said, "It's also possible that Zu'an knew this and deliberately did the opposite. We thought he was on the second level, but he's actually on the fifth level, mocking us!"

Zu'an shook his head. "Who would believe that? Why would I go to such trouble, deliberately leaving my own surname at the scene and bringing all suspicion upon myself? Am I insane?"

Xie Yi nodded. "Indeed. The accusation that Zu'an murdered Yang Wei is unfounded. There is another killer. Lieutenant Pang, you will need to put more effort into investigating the true culprit behind Master Yang's death."

Pang Chun bowed. "It is my duty, my duty."

Soon, Yang Wei's family members were escorted out. At this point, Zu'an looked at Shi Kun and said, "Many people at the academy saw that Yang Wei was left-handed during our challenge, so they wouldn't have made such a mistake. If I recall correctly, Young Master Shi arrived the day after our challenge, so you would have just missed that scene. Did you not know that Master Yang was actually left-handed?"

Shi Kun's expression changed several times. "Zu, you're slandering me! How could I be the murderer of Master Yang?"

Zu'an chuckled. "I never said you were the murderer. Why are you acting so guilty?"

Shi Kun was speechless.

Anger value from Shi Kun +523!

*That bastard! One moment of carelessness and I've fallen into his trap again.*

Seeing everyone discreetly pointing and whispering about Shi Kun, Mei Chaofeng naturally stepped forward to relieve his master's worries. He immediately said, "Even if you didn't kill Master Yang, you're still responsible for the deaths of Plum Blossom Twelve and Plum Blossom Thirteen!"

Zu'an spread his hands. "What's the use of saying all this? Where's the evidence?"

Mei Chaofeng bowed to Xie Yi and the others, then said, "A month ago, someone personally witnessed you leaving the city with Plum Blossom Twelve. Yet afterwards, only you returned. Investigations revealed that Plum Blossom Twelve died in Jackal Valley. Furthermore, according to a witness, on that very day, you acquired a dozen 'dog treasures' and handed them over to Divine Doctor Ji. It can be inferred that Plum Blossom Twelve must have fought a bitter battle to finally obtain these dog treasures, only for you to seize the opportunity to murder him and steal them."

Zu'an rolled his eyes, too lazy to bother with him. "You just said it's an inference. Where's the evidence? The evidence?"

"Those 'dog treasures' are the evidence, and we have eyewitnesses. This is the most logical explanation," Mei Chaofeng stated gravely.

Zu'an shrugged. "Considering the combat prowess I displayed on the arena yesterday, I could have simply killed the Fierce Jackals directly to get the 'dog treasures.' Why would I need to murder someone and steal them? Besides, I also have a witness: Ji Xiaoxi, Divine Doctor Ji's daughter, was with me when we hunted the Fierce Jackals. She can testify on my behalf."

"Then how do you explain that you both went out, but only you returned afterwards?" Mei Chaofeng was exasperated. The other murder cases were fabricated by them, so they had put a lot of effort into preparing the evidence. For this particular case, however, they were so certain Zu'an was the killer that they didn't pay as much attention to the details. Who would have thought that speaking the truth would make no one believe him?

The feeling of knowing he was the killer yet being powerless to do anything about it was incredibly frustrating.

Anger value from Mei Chaofeng +497!

"He encountered someone named Tan Wei on the road and went to pursue him. Then we parted ways. What's the problem?" Zu'an smiled with extreme innocence.

Chu Zhongtian also spoke: "As far as I know, Tan Wei is a traitor from the Plum Blossom Gang. It's perfectly normal for Plum Blossom Twelve to go after him and separate from Ah Zu."

Pang Chun nodded to Xie Yi, clearly also aware of the matter. Xie Yi then slammed the gavel. "Alright, there isn't enough evidence in this case to prove Zu'an is the killer. Next!"

Mei Chaofeng gritted his teeth and glared at Zu'an. "You might be able to talk your way out of the others with your silver tongue, but let's see how you explain the death of Plum Blossom Thirteen!"