Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 187 Zhou Zhao's Test
As Wu Qingshan spoke, his lips trembled slightly, and his face was full of regret.

"The incident involving the Junior Chamberlain happened suddenly back then. I thought I had finally met my mentor, but I never expected that it would lead to my father's death."

Seeing her son filled with remorse and tears streaming down his face, Ju Niang grabbed Wu Qingshan's hand and said painfully, "It's not you, it's my greed that led me to fall into the villain's trap. It's also my fault for being useless, for being so submissive..."

Ju Niang's words caught in her throat; she couldn't utter them no matter what she tried.

She was used to being submissive and accepting of whatever came her way. When she was young, her father told her that people like them were like eggs, and she should never try to hit a rock. When faced with danger, avoiding it was the best course of action; if there was no way to avoid it, then it was simply fate.

Her father and fellow apprentices never returned, and she took the money meant to save her life but did not dig any deeper.

When Wu Heng disappeared, she suspected that it was most likely Dai Changming's doing, but she didn't dare to report it to the authorities. Even after hearing the news of his death, she deceived herself and didn't dare to ask who killed him. She only dared to ask one dry question: How did he die?

Even when Zhou Zhao asked her why Shenxiao disbanded, she didn't dare to say that name.

She was afraid. It didn't matter if she shattered like an egg against a rock, but she was afraid of being bitten instead of killed. She was afraid that Zhou Zhao wouldn't be able to find Dai Changming, and that even if Dai Changming died, there would still be other members of the Dai family. Wu Heng was already dead, and she wasn't afraid of death, but what about Qingshan?

“Our lives are only worth half a tael of gold, but they have mountains and seas of half a tael of gold.”

As Ju Niang pondered, she murmured to herself.

Zhou Zhao was taken aback and looked at Ju Niang, her gaze exceptionally firm.

"Everyone in this world has 206 bones in their body. They are born crying, and after they die, it's all for naught."

Zhou Zhao didn't say anything more. There are indeed 206 bones in the world, but some are soft, some are hard, and some people are rebellious.

As she thought about it, she looked towards Wu Jiandao and Madam Wang, who were standing in the corner.

Lady Wang was dressed in a brocade robe, adorned with hair ornaments and a waist belt. Her face was powdered, making her appear a shade paler than those around her, and her lipstick was a blatantly red. Even upon hearing the news of Wu Heng's death, she kept her chin raised, her eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

On the contrary, Wu Jiandao looked shocked, making her seem somewhat inferior in comparison.

Seeing Zhou Zhao looking at her, Madam Wang's eyes flickered. "Young Master Zhou, are you looking at me because you want me to say a few words?"

As she spoke, she straightened up and gave Ju Niang a disgusted look. "That's right, I do despise Wu Heng and Jiang Ju. One of them plays football all day and does nothing productive, while the other deals with dead people every day and is unlucky. Yet these two people are still in love and laughing together like idiots."

"If she doesn't come dancing in front of me, I won't bother with her. Jiang Ju was willing to humble herself for her son's future, so what's wrong with me, Wang Xiang, snatching my son's future from someone I despise? Besides that, I know nothing else."

As she spoke, Madam Wang rolled her eyes at Dai Changming with disgust.

"The opportunity to enter the Imperial Academy was indeed given by Dai Changming. For this, I gave him the Six Harmonies Ball that Wu Heng had, as well as two jade ruyi scepters that I had given as part of my dowry. However, that opportunity was just an opportunity. My son entered the Imperial Academy by taking the grand examination, which was a fair and square process."

As Madam Wang spoke, she thought of how Dai Changming later used that ball to contain Wu Heng's body, and for a moment she felt both ironic and wistful.

After she finished speaking, she crossed her arms and said no more.

Zhou Zhao did not doubt what she said. When Wu Jiandao discovered the human skin mask in the ball, he said to Wu Qingshan, "It really was your mother who harmed your father."

The mother and son had always believed that Wu Heng was killed by Jiang Ju. Dai Changming was right there, so it was practically a face-to-face confrontation. If Madam Wang was lying, she would be exposed immediately.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then looked at Chen Tao, signaling him to continue.

Chen Tao steadied himself and continued, "After I sent Wu Heng away, I was filled with anxiety, fearing that Dai Changming would find out. But what I feared most was exactly what happened. Not long after, Dai Changming indeed captured Wu Heng."

With all of Dai Changming's men present, I was truly powerless to help Wu Heng this time. Soon, in front of all of us, Dai Changming killed Wu Heng. Wu Heng resisted fiercely, gripping Dai Changming's hand until it bled profusely.

Dai Changming was furious at the time, saying that without him there would be no Shenxiao, and even less would there be no Wu Heng; he wanted to cut off his head and use it as a football.

As Chen Tao spoke, he could hardly bear to recall the scene.

"Dai Changming soon brought back six balls and told me to skin Wu Heng and then put him into the goal..."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhao looked at Manager She of Duobao Pavilion. Manager She was a kind-looking, plump old man. Seeing Zhou Zhao looking at him, he cupped his hands in greeting. "Young Master Zhou, Dai Changming did indeed ask Duobao Pavilion for those six balls. He originally had one ball, which belonged to Wu Heng."

The other five balls are in the hands of other members of Shenxiao. Four of them were bought back by us. The third one, the owner refused to sell, so we sent it to a skilled individual after issuing a formal invitation.

What does it mean when a master takes it and it's delivered to them?
Seeing the calm and composed demeanor of Manager She, Zhou Zhao couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement, thinking to himself, "What a shameless old man."

To describe stealing in such a refined and elegant way.

Dai Changming, who had been silent until now, looked angrily at Manager She upon hearing this, "So, these six balls in my house were stolen by your Duobao Pavilion and sold to Ji Yun!"

Shopkeeper She shook his head calmly, "Lord Dai, that's not how it works. How could our Duobao Pavilion steal? We simply posted a notice in the martial arts world and bought it from the person who answered it. The Ji family spent a fortune, and our Duobao Pavilion was merely fulfilling a small wish of our patron."

Dai Changming's eyes were practically spitting fire. If it weren't for Duobaoge's shamelessness in stealing his six balls...

If it weren't for that idiot Ji Yun kicking such an expensive ball...

If it weren't for Zhou Zhao...

Zhou Zhao looked at his incompetent and raving appearance and sneered, "Chen Tao, continue."

Hearing Dai Changming's roar, Chen Tao shrank back. "I hope someone recognizes Wu Heng, so Junior Sister won't wait forever for the results. If possible, it would be best if someone could use this to discover that Dai Changming is the murderer, so we can get out..."

To my surprise, I actually dreamt about it.

The people from the Court of Justice listened with great emotion.

This is why Wu Heng's corpse in that ball had obvious characteristics, just as Zhou Zhao said, it was deliberately done by the skinner.

After Chen Tao finished speaking, the room fell silent.

Zhou Zhao walked up to Dai Changming, squatted down, and stared coldly at him. "Did anyone else in the Dai family participate in everything you did? Where did all the private coins you minted over the years go?"

As Zhou Zhao spoke, a coffin nail suddenly slid out of her sleeve. With a flash of cold light in her hand, she thrust the coffin nail directly towards Dai Changming's neck.