Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 309 He Knows That Secret

Zhou Zhao frowned; she felt that there were still quite a few doubts surrounding this case.

"Apart from the coffin nails, Princess Changyang and her brother were both fatally wounded by the same weapon, and there is no mention of two murderers in the records of the Court of Justice."

Therefore, the prevailing theory at the time was that the murderer killed Princess Changyang, then found you and your brother in the underground vault, killed your brother, and then kidnapped you.

According to Li Huaishan's confession, Zhou Yan was not killed by him.

Then there are two murderers, and all previous guesses have to be overturned and started over.

Zhou Zhao pondered Su Changying's words. His memory of the Changyang case had not yet returned, and what he was saying now was his deduction after putting himself in Su Changying's shoes.

“You’re right. My brother is a very calm person, while you were at the height of your career at the time, and on the surface you could be considered the number one martial artist in Chang’an. You two shouldn’t have been afraid of any murderer at all, and should have been eager to solve the case.”

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his eyes gradually cleared.

"So it was indeed very possible that you made that decision at the time: you rushed out to catch the murderer, while your brother came out of the underground to see if he could save Princess Changyang. After all, you were underground at the time and had no way of knowing whether the princess was already dead."

Both Su Changying and Zhou Yan are skilled in martial arts, and if they witnessed a murder, they would definitely not stand idly by.

Therefore, the two of them must have been in the basement of the library at that time, unable to see the situation above.

"Then the problem arises: my brother died next to the bookshelf in the basement, and the food box was overturned next to him."

He didn't go upstairs at all, neither to confirm whether Princess Changyang was dead nor to report the case as you said.

This is not reasonable.

If you rushed out and lured Li Huaishan away, then your brother should have been standing at the entrance to the underground parking garage at that time.

That way, he can rush out immediately after you distract Li Huaishan.

So why did he go back to where he kept the food box?

Su Changying placed the steaming hot fish soup in front of Zhou Zhao, and after thinking about Zhou Zhao's words, he replied.

"As soon as I left, Zhou Yan encountered the murderer."

The murderer blocked the entrance, leaving him no choice but to return to the basement where he was killed.

Or perhaps he actually came up here, and while he was looking at Princess Changyang's body, he was taken hostage and forced back into the underground vault..."

Zhou Zhao nodded. "The murderer should have been hiding near the small building. He went in immediately after you and Li Huaishan left the library."

I'm more inclined to believe the second explanation, because under normal circumstances, when you jumped out to distract Li Huaishan, my brother should have been standing right behind you. After you fought with Li Huaishan, he immediately ran out to check on Princess Changyang's condition.

At this moment, he was facing away from the main entrance of the library.

The murderer walked up behind him, held the weapon to his neck, and dragged him down into the underground parking garage.

He must have been much faster to get out of the basement than the killer could have seen you leave and then sneaked back in. Therefore, he must have come out first, then been forced back into the basement. So why?

This time, Zhou Zhao did not wait for Su Changying's answer.

Why did the murderer kill my brother? And why didn't he kill him on the first floor, but instead went back to the basement?
I initially thought you were silenced because you saw the murderer's face. Later, after my assassination attempt, I wondered if the murderer only killed my brother and not you because he might have discovered a spy from the previous dynasty at the Court of Justice, thus sabotaging their grand plan. Just like how Li Huaishan repeatedly tried to kill me.

But now it seems that none of that was right.

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his mind raced.

"The second murderer should have already discovered that something had happened at Shanming Villa. Why did he still get involved? If he came for the secrets that Princess Changyang possessed, Princess Changyang would have already been killed by Li Huaishan, wouldn't she?"
With no one left to interrogate, and with you and your brother present, he knows we're waiting at the door and could burst in at any moment. Why would he bother showing himself?
If the elder brother was examining Princess Changyang's body at the time, and he had his back to the door, he wouldn't have seen the murderer's face. What reason would the murderer have to kill him?

If Zhou Yan didn't see the murderer, he should just be an innocent passerby. If the murderer came for Princess Changyang, why would he specifically kill him?

"Even if my brother happened to run into the second murderer coming in, why didn't he immediately kill him on the first floor, but instead took my brother hostage and went back to the basement?"

Unless he's looking for a secret—or more precisely, something he knows is in the basement, but doesn't know exactly which one—he shouldn't need to show himself; he could simply sneak in at night to steal it.

He didn't know, but Changyang did..."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, she paused, then met Su Changying's eyes, and the two said in unison, "Brother (Zhou Yan) knows too."

Zhou Zhao became excited when his guess was confirmed.

Seeing this, Su Changying placed the soup spoon in Zhou Zhao's hand, "Zhao Zhao, drink the soup first. You haven't had dinner yet. You can't take your medicine if you don't eat your fill."

Zhou Zhao pursed her lips, took a spoonful of fish soup, and although the soup was incredibly delicious, her mind was completely on the table.

My mind was like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins; there was no way to stop it.

"If that's the case, then it explains why the second murderer insisted on getting involved and stirring up trouble when he knew something had already happened and the authorities would soon seal off Shanming Villa. He wanted to fish in troubled waters, not only to take away the secret, but also to pin my brother's death on the murderer of Princess Changyang."

He was very successful; until Li Huaishan spoke up, the Court of Justice had never considered the existence of a second murderer.

If my brother knew the secret, he could get the item and leave immediately if he was willing to speak.

But my brother didn't speak, and we waited for a long time without seeing him return. Seeing the thunder and lightning, we went back to welcome you and my brother.

I remember it clearly. Fan Lishen was quite a distance away when he started calling out to you. He's always been like that, with a very loud voice. When the murderer realized we were coming, and my brother wouldn't reveal a single word, he had no choice but to kill you to silence you and then leave.

Su Changying listened attentively and nodded. "Very reasonable."

He thought for a moment and then asked, "So, what exactly is that secret, and why does Zhou Yan know it? He has a lot of dealings with Princess Changyang?"

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment and shook his head. "There isn't much contact on the surface. However, Princess Changyang is Ahuang's aunt, and we are also acquainted with Li Shen... If we follow this line of thought, we might find more clues."

Seeing that Zhou Zhao had stopped eating, Su Changying called out helplessly, "Zhao Zhao, drinking soup doesn't conflict with thinking about the case."

Zhou Zhao was reminded again, and she stuck out her tongue sheepishly. She picked up the bowl of fish soup and gulped down several mouthfuls.

Seeing this, Su Changying brought her a small dish of appetizers.

“Zhaozhao, if your brother knew that secret, with his intelligence and composure, he couldn’t have left you no clues. Even under those circumstances, he must have left a last message.”

Zhou Zhao's gaze fell on the blank bamboo slip, and she thought that it was very likely that this was Zhou Yan's last message to her.