Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 189 The Traitor Slew Him Away
Dai Changming is dead.

Looking at the hanging corpse, countless possibilities instantly flashed through Zhou Zhao's mind.

With a flick of her wrist, the coffin nail flew toward Dai Changming's head, and with a whoosh, the belt holding him snapped... Then, with a loud thud, Dai Changming crashed heavily to the ground.

At the same time, Su Changying picked up the key from the ground, quickly opened the cell door, and rushed to Dai Changming.

He crouched down, reached out to check Dai Changming's breath, then turned and shook his head at Zhou Zhao.

"He has already stopped breathing."

Su Changying spoke with a hint of regret in her voice.

“Dai Changming is a ruthless killer, a heinous criminal. Such a person should be tortured alive and whipped after death. But now he has been silenced.”

Zhou Zhao and Su Changying exchanged a glance, both filled with suspicion and uncertainty. They had previously investigated Zhang Ran, who had just died of illness; now that they suspected Dai Changming, Dai Changming immediately died.

Someone was watching them and was trying to silence them.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment and squatted down next to Su Changying. "The deceased's lips were purple and his eyeballs were bulging, indicating that he died of suffocation. There was only one ligature mark on his neck, and there were no signs of struggle or dragging in the cell, nor any signs of defensive injuries. The preliminary judgment is that he hanged himself."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, she walked over to the overturned table next to the corpse and turned it right side up.

“There were obvious shoe prints on the table, and footprints were also found on the edge of the table. Dai Changming must have been standing on the table with his head hanging on his belt, and then kicked the table over.”

Su Changying, who was standing to the side, listened and gave a soft "hmm".

"The people in that cell should be able to see what's going on here."

Zhou Zhao followed Su Changying's gaze and saw two familiar faces, an old man and a young boy, sitting in the cell diagonally in front of her. They were the same two people she had seen when she was imprisoned in the Tingwei Temple prison, who had asked her for advice on how to survive.

Zhou Zhao dusted off his robes and walked towards the two men without saying a word.

The old man was idly weaving a mat out of straw from the prison, while the young man lay in front of an oil lamp, his face flushed, engrossed in reading a scroll of bamboo slips.

Seeing Zhou Zhao approach, the old man raised his head and looked at Zhou Zhao with a very complicated expression. "I didn't expect that you, who were in prison just like us before, have now transformed into Lord Zhou of the Court of Justice."

"Since you arrived, all the old guys in this cell have been beheaded prematurely. There's no way around it; you've arrested too many people, and someone has to make room."

As the old man spoke, he kicked the young man who was looking at the bamboo slips, "Look, we're all sharing a room now. Lord Zhou is here to question us. Stop looking at your tattered book."

The young man didn't even lift his eyelids. He said slowly, "I'm going to be castrated soon anyway, so before I become neither human nor ghost, I'd like to read some books that I won't be able to read in the future... Lord Zhou wants to know how that old geezer died, right?"
"Look, he hanged himself. As soon as the jailer left, he started loosening his belt. I thought he was going to castrate himself, but it turned out he hanged himself..."

Seeing that he was becoming increasingly incoherent, the old man looked apologetically at Zhou Zhaotong and Su Changying, "Young Master Zhou, he's been imprisoned for a long time, and he's become somewhat abnormal. I saw it clearly; the newcomer did indeed hang himself in his cell."

This prison has all sorts of people, but this is the first time I've ever seen someone hang themselves without saying a word. By the time I came to my senses, the person was already gone.

Zhou Zhao did not overlook the indifference in the old man's eyes. She had seen it all before and understood that these people in prison were all minding their own business and not caring about the troubles of others. Even if they realized something was wrong, they were too lazy to call the jailers to avoid getting into trouble.

"Those who come to this prison and seek death either want to die or deserve to die. Whether they live or die, they'll be dragged away to be beheaded anyway. What's the point of saving them? They'll just save the executioner a lot of trouble."

The young man spoke lazily, looking at the contents of the bamboo slip, and then chuckled strangely with a flushed face.

Zhou Zhao was speechless. He glanced at the bamboo slip and only caught a glimpse of the words "romance." He couldn't help but roll his eyes at the young man before turning to the old man. "When the Northern Army brought him in, did anyone say anything to him?"

The old man pondered for a moment, then said, "Four men dressed in Northern Army robes escorted him here. I used to work in officialdom, and I only recognize Han Ze, the youngest son of that official in charge of the Imperial Household Department. He was cursing the whole way, and he looked very angry."

Without saying anything special, he simply kicked the newcomer into the cell and then left with the rest of the men.

Zhou Zhao and Su Changying exchanged a glance but said nothing.

She nodded to the old man and walked over to the jailer who was standing there dumbfounded.

"Dai Changming is dead. Go and invite Liu Huang to perform an autopsy, and report this matter to Li Youdao and Li Tingshi. Who decided to choose this prison for Dai Changming?"

"It was chosen by Lord Han Ze."

The jailer snapped out of his daze and, wanting to ask more questions, looked toward where Zhou Zhao and Su Changying had been, only to find the place empty; the two living people had vanished almost instantly.

Zhou Zhao and Su Changying sped out of the prison; her feet moved quickly, and her mind worked even faster.

If no one killed Dai Changming, then he undoubtedly committed suicide by hanging.

But why would he suddenly hang himself? A ruthless killer like him, who skinned people alive and hid their skin in a ball, is usually without remorse and would never admit his mistakes. Such a person would only be killed, so why would he hang himself?
When Dai Changming was being interrogated, he was full of energy and showed no signs of wanting to commit suicide. Why did he hang himself without stopping as soon as he entered the prison?
During the time she and Su Changying were away, someone told him to die.

That person is in the Court of Justice.

He could be anyone in the interrogation room today, or even Han Ze, who escorted him here. Not all cells have desks, but Han Ze specifically chose the one with one, giving Dai Changming the opportunity to hang himself.

As Zhou Zhao was thinking, he heard a commotion coming from under the big tree in front of him.

Han Ze stood in the middle of several Northern Army soldiers, gesturing wildly. "Brothers, we've got a deal, right? Tonight, help me beat up that Dai Changming in prison. We'll beat him three times a day, making him wish he were dead! That guy was born without an anus, his belly is full of stench."

"The Imperial Household Department was humiliated by the Court of Justice today, and now this villain has appeared. My father, with his incompetence in supervision and lax management, can't escape blame. It's truly a bolt from the blue! I'm so angry! If you're a true brother, join me in taking him down!"

As Han Ze was speaking, he saw his brothers, who were still surrounding him, suddenly change their expressions and scatter in all directions.

He was about to continue cursing when he saw Zhou Zhao and Su Changying approaching him.

Han Ze felt a chill run down his spine and stammered, "Sister Zhao, Brother Changying... what's wrong?"

Seeing that Zhou Zhao's expression was off, Han Ze couldn't help but take a step back and bump into the big tree. He raised his hand and slapped himself hard, his voice trembling with tears, "Sister Zhao, don't stay silent, I'm scared if you don't say anything."

(End of this chapter)