Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 397 Reunion with Commander Huo

Why did Commander Huo make Jiang Yan dance in a cage?

When did you arrange for Jiang Yan to dance in the cage? We acted so suddenly; he was chased and fled in panic…”

Zhou Zhao paused as he spoke.

"No, it's true that he fled in panic, but his escape to the great tomb was something he had planned long ago. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been dozens of men in black waiting for him in the tomb."

At this point, Zhou Zhao exchanged a glance with Su Changying.

"Changying, take a look at Jiang Yan's face. Is it a disguise?"

Su Changying nodded and walked to the coffin. He bent down and carefully examined the corpse's face, then reached out and gently peeled back her ear.

"It wasn't a disguise technique; she really did look like Princess Changyang."

The world is full of wonders; if someone were to deliberately search, it wouldn't be impossible to find someone who looks so similar.

Zhou Zhao nodded thoughtfully, "Let's go to the prison and continue interrogating Grand Commandant Huo."

The two left the courtyard where the body was kept, after talking.

Seeing this, Ah Huang picked up a straw hat from the side, put it on his head, and followed. Fan Lishen, seeing this, awkwardly lifted her skirt and followed behind.

The prison was bitterly cold; the moment you entered, you felt a chill and got goosebumps.

Zhou Zhao's appearance caused a stir.

The Huo family members on both sides of the cell stood up excitedly, grabbed the prison door frame angrily, and stretched out their hands fiercely.

"Zhou Zhao, you will die a horrible death! You have ruined my entire Huo family! Why don't you just die!"
We did not intend to rebel; we were framed by Su Changying, and he forced us into it!
Even if we become ghosts, we will haunt you and make you suffer a terrible death for all eternity.

Zhou Zhao walked in the middle, his steps never faltering.

"Yes, I forced Grand Commandant Huo to kill my brother with a sword in hand, forced him to raise a private army to rebel, and forced him to have your entire family executed. Becoming a ghost is no fun, but can you come back to life? If you can, please keep me haunted."

As she spoke, she turned to look at the Huo family members who were standing there with their mouths open, not knowing what to say, and said earnestly.

"Who can? Hands up! Are you still you? If you can't, forget it. I wouldn't even bother drawing my sword if a demon stood in front of me."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, she walked deeper into the prison. Even after she reached the place where Grand Commandant Huo and his son, along with Huo Ting, were imprisoned, the furious Huo family members were still in shock.

In just one day, the once imposing Commandant Huo has become a frail old man.

Because Ah Huang had bumped into him all the way, his face was covered in bruises, making him look quite terrifying.

When Huo Taiwei saw Zhou Zhao's boots stop in front of the cage, his eyes twitched.

Huo Du, who was standing next to him, immediately shouted angrily, "What are you doing here? Are you here to show off your power?"

He still clearly remembers how Zhou Zhao nailed him to the wall with coffin nails, making him look like a pitiful worm entangled in a spider web, unable to even struggle.

What still terrifies him is that those coffin nails nearly turned him into a eunuch.

Even though he wasn't pricked, he felt a sharp pain, as if a thousand or ten thousand needles were constantly pricking him.

Zhou Zhao ignored him. "Why did you go to all this trouble to lock Jiang Yan in a cage and make her dance?"

Commander Huo shook his head at Huo Du, but his son was already engrossed in his own roaring.

He sighed helplessly and looked at Huo Ting, who was sitting in the corner with his head in his hands.

Huo Ting hurried over and helped Grand Commandant Huo up from the ground.

“If you preserve a bloodline for my Huo family, I will tell you the answer to this question. My grandson is still an innocent child who doesn’t understand human affairs.” Zhou Zhao shook his head at Grand Commandant Huo. “Treason is a crime beyond my jurisdiction. If you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? You personally sent them to the executioner’s block.”

Grand Commandant Huo pondered for a moment, “Then protect Huo Ting. He is not my son, and he is nothing more than a good-for-nothing who indulges in debauchery. He will not affect the overall situation.”

Huo Ting, the good-for-nothing, looked up in surprise when he heard his name called. He looked at Zhou Zhao, his lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

When one person attains the Tao, the chicken and the dog ascend to heaven.

During the reign of Grand Commandant Huo, his entire clan enjoyed many benefits.

Now that things have failed, even if his entire family is executed, there's nothing to complain about.

He is not afraid of death.

Huo Ting thought silently, his eyes somewhat vacant. But now that he was in the underworld, there was no one left to drink with Chen Yin.

Zhou Zhao looked thoughtfully into Grand Commandant Huo's eyes, tapped her finger on the prison gate, and then said, "I see."

Commander Huo's eyes flickered slightly. "What? So that's how it is?"

In that instant, in Zhou Zhao's mind, the figures of Jiang Yan and Zhang Ruoqing almost overlapped.

She looked at Commander Huo with some disgust, "Jiang Yan is someone's dirty secret."

Commander Huo's expression suddenly changed. He tried to control himself, but Zhou Zhao saw the change in that instant.

She chuckled, "Looks like I guessed right."

The dark corners were full of rotten fish and shrimp that couldn't stand the light. Although they looked like people on the outside, they were already rotten and oozing pus inside.

Such a person doesn't deserve to live in this world.

Commander Huo pursed his lips, finally unable to hide his astonishment.

Could Zhou Zhao possibly guess his plans based on just a corpse and a few words?
This is impossible.

Zhou Zhao ignored Grand Commandant Huo's thoughts and continued speaking.

"When Jiang Yan was dancing in the cage, she didn't react at all to the thorns piercing her feet. She clearly knew that we were government officials, but she didn't call for help at all."

This shows what?
She was confined in a cage, dancing on thorns as if no one else was around—something she was used to.

She believed that the Court of Judicial Review could not provide her with protection, and that the people who harmed her were quite powerful.

Zhou Zhao's mind raced. "When I entered through the passage and saw Jiang Yan, I was ambushed by a lone man in black. Isn't that strange? There were so many men in black in the fake imperial tomb that there wasn't enough room for them all, but in the Huo family's tomb, there was a single man in black all alone."

At the time, I was in a hurry to find you and Changying, and I didn't think about it carefully. Now that I think about it, isn't that strange?

Jiang Yan remained unmoved for another reason: the person who controlled her and then killed her was hiding in the shadows, watching her.

She was used to being disciplined, so she had no desire to resist.
The man in black who jumped out to assassinate me was there to distract me. If he hadn't made a scene, I might have been able to detect the killer's breathing from the shadows.

As Zhou Zhao was speaking, he suddenly remembered that Fan Lishen was still following behind him.

She paused for a moment, then continued, "The only special thing about Jiang Yan is that she looks like Princess Changyang."

She was carefully selected from all over the place... The autopsy results can prove this.

It's inevitable to have bumps and bruises in life, but to have a flawless body requires someone to deliberately nurture it.

Jiang Yan had to die because that person didn't dare let what happened to her reach the highest levels of government and be made public.

(End of this chapter)