I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"The candle burned for nearly half an hour, which means that the victim and the perpetrator were in the same room for a long time."

"Only someone with a very close relationship would receive such hospitality from a victim to be invited into their home late at night and to spend such a long time in the same room with them."

The Edo period was not like the modern era.

This era, still in ancient times, was not as modern or open as it is now.

A widow who has just lost her husband is willing to invite someone into her house late at night and spend such a long time alone with him... Just as Qing Deng just said, only people who are very close to each other can receive such warm hospitality.

“But this raises a new question,” Qingdeng continued his report. “If the victim and the perpetrator were truly very close… then why would she go to such lengths to bring out candles to entertain them?”

"If it is someone you are very close to, or someone who often visits your home, you will generally be more relaxed and won't make such a big fuss. You will just bring out the lamp oil as usual."

"Traces remain on the victim's mouth, indicating that the perpetrator forcefully pressed down on the victim's mouth to silence her."

"Based on the size of the pressure marks and the strength with which the perpetrator was able to hold the victim's mouth down with one hand and use the knife in the other, it can be determined that the perpetrator is male."

"The man was so close to the victim that he was invited into her home at night and spent a long time alone with her in a room, but the victim was not casual with him and very formally brought out candles to greet him."

"This shows that the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator must have been anything but ordinary."

"Although the relationship is close, there is still a certain distance between them."

"The two might be childhood sweethearts, or they might have had some special relationship in the past."

"Given this special relationship, it's more likely to be a crime of passion than a revenge killing."

"So, with this in mind, I went to inquire with the victim's neighbors and relatives and successfully identified the most suspicious suspect, namely, Xun Sanlang."

"After rushing to Xun Sanlang's address, we were very fortunate to catch him just before he was about to escape and successfully brought him to justice."

silence……

After Qing Deng finished his report, the office fell into a deathly silence.

Usui, Arima, and the others, their faces filled with astonishment and a variety of other emotions, looked at each other in bewilderment...

******

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As the author mentioned in a previous article, Granny Ping's case is based on a real-life story.

The author essentially copied Qing Deng's report entirely from the police's reasoning in the original case. So don't argue with me that Qing Deng's reasoning is unreasonable. In the original case, the police reasoned as follows: because the victim and the perpetrator spent an extended period of time together in a room late at night, they must have known each other. Compared to a revenge killing, it was more likely a crime of passion, which immediately narrowed down the search area.

The author has posted the real-life case that inspired the Ping Po Po murder case in the "Author's Note" below; those who are interested can take a look.

The author has noticed that some readers have already identified which case this case is based on.

The case of Granny Ping is based on a murder case that occurred in Shengzhou in 2017.

You can search for "Grandma Zhang from Shengzhou" to learn more.

The circumstances of this case are more serious than those of Granny Ping's case.

The perpetrator had been in love with the victim since he was young. Even after being rejected, he continued to harass her. He continued to harass her even after she got married, and only stopped after she gave him a beating.

The perpetrator waited for nearly 70 years, until both he and the victim were in their 90s, before the victim's husband finally passed away.

After waiting for more than 70 years, the perpetrator, feeling that he finally had another chance, went to see the victim one night. The victim, unaware of the perpetrator's intentions, thought it was an old friend visiting and invited him into the house. After chatting for a while, the perpetrator confessed his feelings again, but was rejected once more. Enraged, he cruelly murdered the poor old woman.

At first, the police mistakenly thought it was a revenge killing. After investigating for a long time, they still couldn't find out the truth. So they had to ask the detective known as "Zhou Gong" (Master Zhou) to help with the case.

When Zhou Xianren arrived, the first thing he did was check the electricity meter.

Based on the electricity usage in the victim's home, he deduced that there was a large amount of electricity used on the night of the murder. He then boldly deduced that the victim and the perpetrator knew each other and had been chatting together in the house for a long time that night, which explained the high electricity usage. He concluded that it was more like a crime of passion than a revenge killing, which quickly narrowed down the search area and led to the arrest of the perpetrator.

Chapter 38 Finding Shura!

After a long while, Usui's deep voice finally broke the silence:

"Tachibana-kun, I'm really... impressed with you."

A smile of admiration and satisfaction appeared on Bo Jing's lips.

"I never imagined... that someone as useless as you would have such a brilliant performance one day..."

"I dare not accept such praise," Qing Deng quickly replied. "I was just lucky."

Qing Deng's statement was not one of modesty.

He genuinely believed that he was lucky to have solved the case in such a short time.

If that Xun Saburo had been more astute and destroyed the candle before escaping Granny Ping's house, or if Qing Deng and the others had arrived a step later, allowing Xun Saburo to escape successfully, then today's case could not have ended so perfectly.

"...Tachibana-kun, I have a question for you."

A lazy voice suddenly rang out at this moment.

That's the voice from Dongcheng.

While scratching his large belly, Dongcheng asked Qingdeng with a meaningful smile:

"When you deduced who the culprit was, why didn't you tell Nishino, who was in charge of the case, immediately?"

“Nishino is, after all, Tongxin, who is in charge of this case.”

"You went to arrest the criminal alone without informing him... Can I interpret this as you deliberately trying to steal the credit?"

Dongcheng, in the most languid tone, posed the most pointed question.

Upon hearing Dongcheng's question, Qingdeng couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

This question is a huge trap; if you don't answer it well, you'll fall into it.

Fortunately, Qing Deng had already figured out how to answer such questions.

"It was only after leaving the crime scene that I realized the victim and the perpetrator must have had a very special relationship."

"My initial intention was also to notify Nishino-kun as soon as possible."

"You can tell Nishino-kun all my reasoning and persuade him to come with me to arrest the culprit. It will take some time."

“The perpetrator could escape at any time, and we must act quickly to capture him. If he escapes from Edo, it will be like finding a needle in a haystack to catch him later.”

"Time was of the essence, so I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure and go alone to arrest the criminal without informing Mr. Nishino."

"In fact, my judgment was correct—when I arrived at the perpetrator's house, the perpetrator had already packed his bags and was preparing to flee Edo."

"If I had arrived even a fraction of a second later, the culprit would have escaped."

As soon as Qing Deng finished speaking, Bo Jing and the others couldn't help but reveal strange smiles.

At this moment, who among the people in this room wasn't a seasoned veteran who had been navigating the treacherous waters of officialdom for many years?

These seasoned veterans certainly wouldn't completely believe Qing Deng's explanation.

But neither Usui nor the others said much about this issue.

Everyone's long been used to the phenomenon of people vying for credit. The leaders are tacitly aware of this, and as long as it doesn't go too far, they'll turn a blind eye.

Especially for Bo Jing, it didn't matter who solved the case or whether he took credit, as long as the case could be solved.

Moreover, Qing Deng's explanation just now was logically sound and difficult to find any flaws.

He didn't inform Nishino, who was in charge of the case, in order to prevent the perpetrator from escaping. In this way, his actions were not considered as stealing credit, but rather as providing help and support to the case.

As long as Qing Deng insists that his explanation was true, it will indeed be difficult to accuse him of maliciously stealing credit.

"...That's incredible."

Dongcheng narrowed his eyes slightly. His gaze towards Qingdeng became intriguing.

"Tachibana-kun, your previous performances have never been particularly outstanding."

"But today, you suddenly seem like a different person, like a seasoned case-solving expert with considerable skill and experience."

"I'm quite curious, how did you do that?"

As soon as Dongcheng finished speaking, Usui, Arima, and the others quickly turned their attention back to Qing Deng.

Dongcheng's question brought out the question that they all shared.

How did that idiot Deng suddenly become so powerful?

A faint smile appeared on Qingdeng's face.

He had already prepared a plausible excuse to gloss over the issue.

After clearing his throat once more, Qingdeng adopted a passionate tone and loudly recited the answer he had prepared beforehand:

"This is all thanks to Lord Usui, Lord Arima, Mr. Inoya, and Mr. Ushiyama!"

“Since I joined the ‘Three Times’, Lord Arima, Mr. Inoya and Mr. Ushiyama have been patiently and meticulously teaching me, and selflessly imparting to me various case-handling skills and investigation methods.”

"But I was too naive and ignorant before."

"I don't understand what joining the 'Three Rounds' really means."

"He only cared about getting his salary and never paid attention to the 'three rounds' of work. He just drifted through life carelessly and in a daze."

"But it wasn't until recently, after witnessing firsthand the chaos created by the thugs led by the 'radical anti-foreign faction,' that I finally realized the truth!"

"I have come to realize just how heavy the responsibilities I bear as a 'third-time' official."

Realizing the weight of his responsibilities, he decided to put away all his laxity!

"And what Lord Usui said at the meeting this morning further enlightened me."

"My personal honor and disgrace are closely related to the fate of the Northern Barbarians."

"It would be a small matter if I were kicked out three times in the 'senior assessment' a month and a half later because of my poor performance."

"If the Northern Barbarians are also implicated and humiliated, then the matter will be of great importance."

"Even if it's just for the sake of the Northern Garrison, I'm determined not to continue living such a muddled life as before!"

"It is precisely because of your unwavering determination that I have been able to capture that vicious thief today!"

Qingdeng's strong and clear voice clearly reached the ears of everyone in the room.

"'Thanks to Lord Usui,' huh..." Usui repeated Qing Deng's words in a half-joking tone.