Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 263 You Didn't Kill Zhou Zhao
"Young master, someone asked me to give this to you."

Su Changying stopped and looked down. A child of about seven or eight years old was looking up at him. His hands were damp, and he was holding a strip of white cloth. The words written on the cloth were blurred by the rain and would become illegible in a little while.

The child was dressed in a drab gray linen outfit, wearing a straw hat and straw sandals. The cold rain had turned his feet red with cold, but he seemed oblivious to it.

Rain fell on the child's tattered straw hat, leaking through the holes, wetting the stray hairs on his forehead, and then streaming down his cheeks.

He has a pair of clear eyes, with black and white clearly visible.

He used his merits to exchange for many good doctors, all for the sake of curing the young master's eyes.

He hoped that Gongziyu could see this world; in his dreams, he should have such a pair of child's eyes.

Su Changying took the strip of cloth and held it in her hand. Then she took out a silver peanut from her sleeve and placed it in the child's wet hand.

The boy's eyes lit up, and he bowed excitedly to Su Changying, "Thank you, young master."

After he finished speaking, he ran away in a flash.

Su Changying unfolded the strip of cloth, looked at it, and then put it in his pocket. He took a few light steps, changed direction, and walked deeper into the alley.

The sky over Chang'an seemed to have a hole torn in it, and the rain started to fall heavily again.

Su Changying stopped in front of one of the houses, reached out, and easily pushed open the door.

The courtyard is very small, with only three main rooms and three side rooms.

In the center of the courtyard stood a cracked millstone, its wooden handle lying on the ground, and mushrooms sprouting from a rotten corner.

There were two people breathing inside the room.

Su Changying placed one hand on his longsword and gently pushed open the door to the main room with the other. The moment he opened the door, a familiar sound of a flute suddenly rang out from inside the room. The sound was deep and sobbing, so captivating that it made one feel dizzy and sleepy.

As Su Changying listened, she became extremely vigilant.

His adoptive father had once played the flute in front of him, and every time he heard it, he would feel a sense of emptiness in his heart before going out, as if all his doubts had disappeared.

He knew that his godfather was controlling them.

Control them to eliminate their doubts, control them to forget their hatred, control them to serve him like dogs.

Su Changying cupped his hands in greeting, "Godfather."

The sound of the flute did not stop, nor did Su Changying get up. He listened quietly, his peripheral vision falling on Yin Huan, who was standing diagonally by the window.

He smelled a faint scent of blood; Silver Ring was injured.

He and Yin Huan both received orders to kill Zhou Zhao, but neither of them carried out the order. Only Chen Jiyuan, this guy who appeared out of nowhere, actually injured Zhou Zhao.

It seems that Silver Ring has already been punished before him.

Su Changying thought to herself, silently reciting Zhou Zhao's name in her heart.

Whenever he heard his adoptive father's flute playing, he would constantly remind himself that there was someone important to him that he could not forget. But that person was so vague that he could only remember a small red dot on her arm.

That red dot, at one time, was like a star in a dark sky, his only hope in despair.

At that time, he was thinking that he would rescue his younger brother, kill his adoptive father, and then find the most important person in his life.

Now, he has found Zhou Zhao. He no longer needs to save his fake brother; the only option left is to kill his adoptive father. Before, with that last bit of hope, no one could sever his rebellious spirit or quell his doubts.

Now that he has Zhou Zhao, her eyebrows and eyes, her every smile and frown, even the confident look she has when solving cases, are all etched in his mind.

He will never forget a single detail.

Even if we assume he forgot,

Su Changying felt that he would fall in love with Zhou Zhao without hesitation in their next encounter.

As Su Changying was thinking, the sound of the flute abruptly stopped, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became sticky.

Su Changying sniffed lightly, but did not smell the ink fragrance he had smelled before on his godfather. He was still wearing a mask, his whole figure hidden in the dark shadows. Standing here, he could only be seen as a silhouette.

"Not only did you not lay a hand on Zhou Zhao, you even saved her. How come you've been pretending to be Su Changying for so long that you actually think you are him?"

You may be soft-hearted, but Zhou Zhao is not. Once she discovers your true identity, she will kill you without hesitation, just as she killed Chen Jiyuan.

Su Changying was not surprised.

Here, failure to complete a mission inevitably leads to punishment. He had been severely injured many times before, and it wasn't that he hadn't thought about fighting back. However, when he was being punished, a knife was held to the little blind man's neck, and he was afraid to move rashly.

"Father, I know I was wrong and am willing to accept punishment for failing to complete the mission."

The subordinate dared not defend himself, but at that time he discovered that the island's owner was the power of that prince in the palace. Zhou Zhao held that list in his hand, a list with clear portraits. Moreover, because the people on the island used Gu worms, after the destruction of Tianying City, only that Prince Chu could use the worms to find people.

At that time, his subordinates weighed the pros and cons and took it upon themselves to spare Zhou Zhao's life, using her to control the King of Chu.

Firstly, it would stir up trouble in the court and provoke a struggle for the throne; secondly, the subordinates believed that this was a golden opportunity for them to be promoted further and to completely control the Northern Army.

If Zhou Zhao doesn't die, his subordinates can use their brother-in-law status to dispel the suspicions of the Prince of Dai and the Southern Army commander, and then, at a crucial moment..."

The godfather remained silent, while the stench of blood emanating from Yin Huan grew even stronger.

Blood dripped from his fingertips and fell to the ground.

Su Changying continued as if she hadn't noticed, "Now I have regained the title of Marquis of Xiaolu and have begun to gather my old troops. Pei Jiusi has joined the Northern Army and trusts me completely. Soon I will have an additional personal guard."

"Father, His Majesty won't allow me to command two armies for too long. I fear that if this continues, I'll be transferred."

As he spoke, he added, "Although we handed over the tribute from the Lost City this time, we also obtained a sum of hidden wealth from the island and from the Lost City Lord's mansion. I have already had it secretly hidden away, in case my godfather needs it from time to time."

The godfather remained silent. Suddenly, he flicked his wrist, and a wolf-hair brush flew directly toward Su Changying's face.

Su Changying didn't move at all, still in the gesture of cupping his hands. The wolf hair brush grazed the strands of hair near his ear, cutting Su Changying's hair like a sharp blade. The wolf hair brush went straight past him and nailed to the door of the main room behind him. With a thud, half of it was directly nailed into the door panel.

Su Changying knew that this was his punishment.

He is now the Marquis of Lu and the person in charge of the curfew in the Northern Army. His adoptive father would never want him to die at this time, nor would he easily injure him.

He stood up straight and looked into the shadows.

The godfather stood in the shadows, the light and shadows of which were exactly the same as those of the dark figure in Chen Jiyuan's will. He couldn't see clearly whether the hairpin on his head was a jade hairpin.

"Father, I dare to say that this period of time is the best opportunity for us."

Furthermore, I have another important matter to report: Bai Shisan Niang left behind evidence proving that Yin Fang was the murderer, and Zhou Zhao will relentlessly pursue her.