Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 69 The Changyang Old Case
Come back home.

Su Changying felt a surge of heat in her heart.

Just then, Chen Yan's voice came from the doorway again, "Hall Master, Hall Master Tianxuan has arrived."

Zhou Zhao made a hand gesture to Su Changying, used his lightness skill to leave the house, then lightly leaped over the wall and left, using the reeds as a springboard.

Su Changying watched her retreating figure, her expression growing increasingly profound.

He looked toward the doorway, then resumed his previous indifferent demeanor. "Come in."

……

Zhou Zhao nimbly moved and returned to the tunnel. She leaned against the stone wall of the side chamber, tears streaming down her face.

Just by looking at the wounds all over her body, she could almost see what kind of situation Su Changying had been in all these years.

The person who kidnapped him was definitely not Zhang Ran. Zhang Ran was His Majesty's sworn brother. Before His Majesty raised his army, he was just an unknown soldier with no impressive martial arts skills. Otherwise, he would have helped His Majesty conquer cities and territories long ago and become a war god. How could he not even be able to complete a mission in Tianying City?
Su Changying didn't elaborate earlier, but he shook his head, which proved his speculation.

But if it wasn't Zhang Ran, then was it the person who taught him how to kill and how to disguise that erased his memory?

Unfortunately, the time and place were wrong, and she didn't have time to ask about many details.

In the case of Shanming Changyang, Princess Changyang was nailed to a shelf in the library with a coffin.

Her eyes were wide open, and blood was flowing all over the ground.

That's why Zhou Zhao changed his usual weapon to coffin nails.

At that time, she, along with Su Changying, her elder brother Zhou Yan, her betrothed sister-in-law Chu You, Fan Lishen, the son of Princess Changyang, and Liu Huang, the Prince of Chu, ran wild in Chang'an and were known by storytellers as the Six Princes of Chang'an.

Princess Changyang built the Shanming Villa on the site of the old Fan family residence, and in that villa built a library, which is said to have collected all the rare books in the world.

The villa is newly built and has not yet opened to the public.

Fan Lishen invited a few of them to secretly go to the library to read. She remembered it very clearly; that day was June 15th.

As they emerged from the car, it was just dusk when the sky suddenly turned stormy with lightning and thunder. Just as she was about to get into the car, she suddenly remembered that Fan Lishen had left the food box in the library's basement. The food box contained desserts, including her favorite chestnut cake.

The library was filled with bamboo slips, which were extremely vulnerable to insects and ants, so they discussed going to retrieve them.

Since the rain had already started falling, Zhou Yan and Su Changying told them to wait in the carriage.

The two of them turned back to retrieve it, but little did they know that this trip would be their last.

Zhou Zhao still remembers that day: the sky was dark and gloomy, as if it was about to collapse. The wind made her robes flutter, and large raindrops fell in a pattering sound, hitting the carriage roof like popping beans.

Suddenly, a huge booming sound was heard, and a bolt of purple lightning struck down.

It struck the old locust tree directly, splitting it in half.

They were all startled by the situation. "Ah Zhao, why haven't your brothers, Tong Changying and you, returned yet?"

Chu You's words rang in Zhou Zhao's ears, and she felt her eyelids twitching. The four of them rushed into the mansion and headed towards the library. The small building was pitch black, and a flash of lightning illuminated half the sky, allowing them to see the situation inside.

Princess Changyang's eyes were wide open, and black coffin nails pierced through her forehead, pinning her firmly to the bookshelf!
The door to the basement was open. Zhou Zhao, smelling the strong stench of blood, rushed over. Zhou Yan was trapped under a bookshelf, already lifeless.

His hand rested on a bamboo scroll, and blood was flowing from the bloody hole in his neck.

Su Changying, on the other hand, disappeared without a trace.

From that day on, Chang'an was without the Six Sons. The six of them either died or scattered, like the end of a song. And today she found Su Changying, but her brother Zhou Yan would never return.

Zhou Zhao wiped her eyes as she thought about it. She squatted down and pondered seriously.

Why did the murderer kidnap Su Changying but not kill him, going through all this trouble?

Is it for Qin Tianying's "Six Paths Heavenly Book"? Or is there a larger conspiracy at play?

Zhou Zhao took a deep breath. Su Changying still remembered her; sooner or later he would remember everything.

As long as Su Changying is alive, the truth about the Shanming Changyang case will come to light sooner or later.

The most important thing now is how to break the deadlock on July 15th.

Otherwise, Su Changying would have been found, but she would have died.

To find out the truth, she could only wait in the underworld for people to burn paper money for her—it was pure torture!
Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, stood up, composed herself, and knew she couldn't rush things. She walked lightly back the way she came and soon returned to the Xuanwu Hall.

At the front of the mourning hall, Han Dashan was still crying his heart out.

Zhou Zhao felt that with his abilities, he was truly wasting his talents in Tianying City. He should form a team in Chang'an to play the role of a "filial son and virtuous grandson" for others. Perhaps in less than two years, he would become extremely wealthy.

How can someone howl so loudly!
Zhou Zhao rubbed his ears speechlessly, looked at Liu Huang who was sleeping against the corner of the wall, and called softly, "Ah Huang."

Liu Huang adjusted his bamboo hat, stood up, and took out a small paper packet from his pocket. "The antidote!"

Zhou Zhao gave Liu Huang a big compliment, "Ah Huang is truly amazing!"

After thinking about it, she decided not to tell Liu Huang that she had found Su Changying.

Liu Huang lowered his head somewhat embarrassed. "That Thousand Faces, he has ill intentions."

They were just strangers who met by chance, yet he always tried to get close to Ah Zhao. He was clearly the kind of lecherous man often seen in cases like this!
Zhou Zhao chuckled, "Hmm! Let's find a chance to put a sack over his head and beat him up."

Liu Huang's eyes lit up, and he nodded seriously.

……

Knowing the date of death made the days pass exceptionally quickly.

Before we knew it, it was already 11:45 PM.

In the dark grove outside Xuanwu Gate, Yan Junyu put her hands behind her head and looked around with some dissatisfaction. "The time has come, why haven't the people from the Inner Seven Halls arrived yet? Grandma... no, Sister Zhao! If the two of us go into the city, won't those two old guys cause trouble?"

The people in the other two halls looked over with displeasure upon hearing this.

Yan Junyu childishly grinned at them, showing off his little tiger teeth, and kicked a large rock at his feet listlessly.

The stone rolled away with a clatter, all the way to the edge of the woods.

Zhou Zhao selected some skilled individuals from each of the four halls tonight, saying they would be tasked with an inner hall mission. They waited for a long time, but no one came.

The rumbling stone suddenly stopped moving. Zhou Zhao and Yan Junyu turned their heads at the same time and saw Su Changying and Tian Tianxuan walking in front, followed by a group of people. Each of them looked very arrogant, with their chins raised as if they didn't want to talk to anyone.

There were also five people dressed in white, with several cloth bags hanging from their waists. The bags would wriggle from time to time, so they were probably from the Tianji Hall.

"Which of you is Zhou Zhao! What has happened to our hall master? If you dare to lie, you'll lose your head!"

Zhou Zhao didn't move, and Yan Junyu immediately shouted, "What's with the barking of a dog in the middle of the night! And it's that wretched little dog with a long face!"