History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 441 Liu Huo Confess
Lu Mu seemed lost in thought, his face shifting rapidly between anger, confusion, and hatred, accompanied by a series of roars and enigmatic words.

"Did I fall for it?"

"No, I killed someone. Murder is a capital offense, and the authorities will not spare me!"

"How could the government seek justice for the poor? I can't believe it, I can't be fooled. That person was right. Under the emperor's nose, it's like being under a candle—it can't see anything, it's the darkest place, the darkest place..."

Upon receiving Wei Yao's signal, Kou Meng stepped forward and dislocated Lu Mu's jaw to prevent him from biting his tongue while he was half-mad.

The pain brought Lumu back to his senses. He tried to put his jaw back in place, but the jailer restrained him and tied his hands behind his back.

Wei Yao stepped forward and stepped on one of Liu Huo's fingers. She didn't know martial arts, but she had the strength to break a finger.

"Ah, ah—" Liu Huo screamed and struggled, but another jailer pressed him down. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't pull his fingers out of Wei Yao's boot.

Wei Yao: "The questions I'm going to ask Lu Mu next are also questions for you. If you don't want all ten of your fingers to be crippled, tell me what you know, and don't wait for me to interrogate you a second time."

Liu Huo's skill is illusion; if his hand is crippled, his illusion will be ruined.

Wei Yao: "Next to the 'Crane Cry Pavilion' in the West Market, there's a 'Liu's' spice shop. Lu Mu, do you often go to this spice shop, or do you frequently pass by it? Is your reason for going to the spice shop to see Wu Lin? If you've been there, nod; if not, shake your head. Lu Mu, think it over. Today, I'm interrogating you because it's your only chance to seek justice for your wife and daughter, and even to find them. You don't have to believe me, but I hope you can try to believe me."

Lu Mu couldn't stop his tears from flowing. Could he trust the government just one more time? He shook his head, but stopped just as he turned to the right. He looked up at Wei Yao again. He wanted to say that even if he was going to die, he desperately wanted to know the whereabouts of his wife and daughter before he died. If they were really dead, could the female official... could she bury him with them?
Lumu nodded.

Gu Kai and all the prison guards, suppressing their excitement, were filled with admiration for Wei Shaoqing! This stubborn criminal had finally confessed.

Wei Yao shifted her boot slightly, stepping on the second finger that had crushed Liu Huo.

Liu Huo cried out in pain, "Ah—don't step on me, don't step on me! I'll talk, I'll talk! I also know that Lu Mu often pretends to pass by Liu's Spice Shop. I also know that Lu Mu doesn't go to buy spices. He's instructed by someone with very strong martial arts skills to kill Wu Lin if he doesn't appear on time or appears more often than usual, especially if he loiters outside the spice shop. Also, the person who instructed me to do things and the person who instructed Lu Mu to do things are the same person. He's really strong in martial arts. He threatened me to call him 'Tian Biao.' I don't know his real name."

Lu Mu was stunned after hearing this. Yes, the man who guaranteed him that he could take revenge on that rich family in the future was someone he could call "Tian Biao" (Heavenly Dipper).

Lu Mu wasn't stupid. He didn't know Liu Huo, and since the other party knew so much about what "Tian Biao" had instructed him to do, then while he was monitoring Wu Lin, he must have been monitored by Liu Huo himself. If he disobeyed "Tian Biao," his fate would be the same as Wu Lin's! If he died, what was the point of talking about revenge?
"Wow, ah, ah..." Lu Mu was furious and kicked Liu Huo hard.

The jailer pulled the two of them apart, and Lu Mu quickly raised his chin toward Wei Yao. Seeing that Wei Yao had given her permission, Kou Meng stepped forward and put the other man's jawbone back in place.

This time, Lu Mu didn't even wait for Wei Yao to ask, and told her everything he knew: "Yes, the person who instructed me to monitor Wu Lin said his name was Tian Biao! I lost my family, and Tian Biao said that when he becomes a high-ranking official, he will send me to a wealthy family's house to slaughter all the animals in that family, by any means necessary! Tian Biao said that he is currently being suppressed by other corrupt officials and has no chance to become a high-ranking official. Only if I help him can he help me as soon as possible."

"I was so stupid!" Lu Mu cried, tears and snot streaming down his face, each tear filled with regret and hatred!
"I was so stupid. I actually believed his lies and was used by him to kill someone. I should have gone to the authorities to appeal for justice. I should have kept appealing for justice! I killed someone and ruined my own chance to seek justice."

The third finger of Wei Yao stepping on the willow fire.

Liu Huo had almost fainted from the pain, but the pain instantly brought her back to her senses. She thrashed about on the ground, shouting, "Why are you stepping on me again? No, no, no, don't step on me! I'll talk, I'll talk... Lady, you know how to play chess, right? Oh dear, I dare not say anything more. Lu Mu is just a pawn. Tian Biao is using him so that he can kill Wu Lin one day. Even if Lu Mu isn't suspected by the authorities after killing Wu Lin, Tian Biao might not spare his life. He might find someone with the same build as Lu Mu, disfigure them, and live in their place."

"I'll kill you! You and Tianbiao are in cahoots! You're all beasts, using me! I'll kill you!" Lu Mu roared, his eyes blazing with fury, as he lunged at Liu Huo, the chains clanging loudly as he struggled.

Wei Yao didn't let the jailer stop him, letting Lu Mu shout and curse until he cried until he was hoarse and calmed down a bit. Then she asked Liu Huo, "So Lu Mu doesn't know much about Tian Shao? He doesn't know much about Wu Lin either? He only knows how to kill, but he doesn't know why he killed?"

Lu Mu was about to cry himself unconscious, pounding his head and blaming himself: "I'm so stupid, so stupid."

Liu Huo quickly replied, "That's how it is. Actually, I don't know much either. Tian Biao threatened my family, and I didn't dare disobey him. He made me monitor Lu Mu, which is how I learned a little more."

Wei Yao: "Sun Tu, the urn maker in Wenyi Lane in the north of the city, was also someone Tianbiao ordered you to monitor?"

"Ah?" Liu Huo's eyes widened, and without hesitation, he admitted, "Yes. Tian Shao originally wanted me to secretly learn how to make urns, and wanted me to disfigure myself and live in place of Sun Tu. I didn't want to suffer the pain of disfigurement, so I showed Tian Shao the power of illusion, and that's why he didn't force me. A few days ago, it was this young man who took the prison officer to Wenyi Village. I discovered that a prison officer was following me, so I used illusion to pretend to fall into the water and escape."

Among the prison guards present were those who had gone to Wenyi Village with Gu Kai that day. When they heard that Liu Huo had not jumped into the river at all, but had used illusion magic to pretend to jump into the river, they all showed expressions of horror!

Wei Yao hovered the sole of her boot over the other person's fourth finger and asked, "How do you perform this kind of escape illusion?"

Fearing being trampled on again, Liu Huo confessed honestly: "There was a large urn buried where I jumped in. The lid was the color of mud. I had planted water plants on the lid beforehand. I crawled into the urn, put a grass stick in my mouth that I could breathe through, and successfully fooled the prison officer who was retrieving me. After the prison officer left, I released a few fake big fish to float far away on the water to distract the onlookers. Then I left that riverbank and went to hide in the market in the west of the city."

Seeing that some prison guards still didn't understand, Wei Yao explained to them: "Before the convict He Erhun took up his post in the Prince of Guangping's mansion, the official position was held by Wu Bo'an. Wu Bo'an died in front of the Floating Bridge Fish Shop, not because he was trampled to death by a mad bull, but because Wu Lin, a servant who made fish sauce, took advantage of the mad bull's rampage to kill him. When Wu Lin saw that the government had begun to investigate the fish shop, he became frightened and ran to find someone who could save him. Someone must have told him that the person who could save him was near the spice shop."

The jailer said, "I understand. So Wu Lin was loitering outside the spice shop when Lu Mu discovered him, killed him, and hid his body in the coffin shop. Thus, Wu Bo'an's death became a cold case! Therefore, Wu Bo'an's case can be combined with the murder cases of Xue Laizi, Liu Caidao, and Liu Shun into one major case!"