Chapter 129: Heavenly Detective Blessings

"A message in blood?" Zu An frowned.

County Lieutenant Pang Chun, standing nearby, said, "The deceased, Yang Wei, wrote the character 'Zu' before he died. Given your conflict with him at the academy two days ago, and the fact that there are no other people named Zu in Moonlit City, we believe the message he left refers to you."

Chu Zhongtian was growing restless, but Zu An remained calm. He knew that this was precisely the time not to panic. He often scoffed at the useless cries of "I'm innocent!" from people in TV dramas who found themselves in similar situations.

He thought for a moment and then said, "Murder requires a motive. I had no motive to kill Yang Wei."

"What do you mean, no motive?" Yang Wei's wife shrieked, her face contorted in fury as she pointed at Zu An. "You had a dispute with my husband at the academy; hundreds of people there can testify to it. Afterward, you held a grudge and came here to murder him! How can such a wicked person exist in this world?"

Zu An replied, "Yes, I did have a conflict with Yang Wei at the academy, but it was merely a dispute over arithmetic. I won the wager and was even appointed as the new mathematics teacher by Principal Jiang. Yang Wei, on the other hand, was humiliated in public and expelled from his teaching position. I emerged completely victorious from the entire process. What reason would I have to go after a loser?"

"If anything, Yang Wei would have had more reason to hate me. It would make more sense for him to want to kill me."

Xie Yi and Pang Chun exchanged glances and nodded subtly. Indeed, the motive didn't seem to add up.

Chu Zhongtian looked at Zu An with some surprise. He had always thought the man spoke nonsense and acted unpredictably. He hadn't been particularly impressed by Zu An's brilliant performance in the arena, considering he was only a third-rank cultivator, and there were plenty of those in the Chu Manor. However, to see Zu An analyze problems with such clarity and logic made him re-evaluate his opinion, realizing that his and his wife's previous impressions of him might have been significantly flawed.

At this moment, Mei Chaofeng, who had been observing from the sidelines, spoke up: "That's not necessarily true. Everyone witnessed Zu An's vengeful nature in the arena yesterday. Yuan Wenji merely offended him slightly and had his hand chopped off and his primal meridian destroyed. Given the severe conflict he had with Sir Yang earlier, it's entirely in line with his character to seek revenge afterward."

In this situation, it was inconvenient for Shi Kun to step forward himself, so Mei Chaofeng naturally took the lead.

Hearing his words, Yang Wei's wife immediately found support for her claims and began wailing loudly. "Yes, that's exactly it! Please, sirs, deliver justice for me! My husband died such a miserable death!"

Xie Yi and Pang Chun frowned. The situation was indeed becoming complicated.

At this point, Sang Hong spoke, "Zu An, how do you explain the message written in blood that Sir Yang left before his death?"

Zu An replied, "How can you be certain that character was written by Sir Yang himself? Imagine, if I were the murderer, would I allow the victim to leave behind their name?"

Sang Hong offered a faint smile and said no more. It would be beneath his status to engage in a direct debate. He had already pointed out the crucial factor; Xie Yi and the others would handle the rest.

As expected, Pang Chun said, "When the blood character was discovered, Sir Yang had his hand covering it. It's perfectly normal for the murderer not to have seen it."

Zu An let out a laugh. "Which murderer would be so careless? To intentionally leave the victim just enough breath to write a message, and then fail to notice what was written?"

The spectators at the entrance began whispering and discussing, finding both possibilities somewhat plausible.

"Silence!" Xie Yi struck his gavel. "Zu An, what you say is not without reason. However, all current clues point to you as the primary suspect. If no other evidence is found, it will be very difficult for you to clear your name."

At this moment, Chu Zhongtian spoke up: "May I ask when Sir Yang died?"

Pang Chun replied, "To Your Grace, according to the coroner's examination, he died sometime between midnight and 3 AM last night."

Chu Zhongtian smiled faintly. "Then it couldn't have been Ah Zu. He was resting at my manor all last night. Furthermore, due to some past incidents, I've had several guards protecting him, so it's impossible for him to have gone out to commit murder."

"I see." Xie Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Such evidence made the case much clearer. Just as he was about to make a pronouncement, Shi Kun's voice rang out:

"If I'm not mistaken, testimony from relatives can only be considered for reference, not as conclusive evidence, right?"

They had naturally anticipated this issue when setting up this trap.

Xie Yi frowned. There was indeed such a regulation, specifically to prevent relatives from colluding to cover up crimes.

Chu Zhongtian looked at Shi Kun and said in a deep voice, "Are you implying that I am deliberately lying?"

Shi Kun smiled faintly. "I'm not questioning Your Grace's integrity. It's just that Chu Manor is so vast and houses so many people. No matter how powerful Your Grace's cultivation, it's impossible to know the comings and goings of every individual. Furthermore, considering Zu An's cultivation, which allowed him to decisively defeat a fifth-rank master in the arena yesterday, and his uncanny movement technique, it wouldn't be difficult for him to evade the manor guards and sneak out to commit murder."

Chu Zhongtian was speechless.

The opponent's argument was logical and reasonable, leaving him at a loss for how to respond. All eyes in the room turned to Zu An, filled with suspicion.

Zu An turned to look at him. "Young Master Shi, you clearly came prepared. It seems this whole affair was orchestrated by you?"

Shi Kun smiled faintly. "I am merely a concerned citizen, speaking a few words of justice for the deceased. That shouldn't be considered excessive, should it?"

At this point, County Lieutenant Pang Chun spoke: "Zu An, do you have anything further to say?"

Zu An fell silent in thought, then after a moment, he said, "I'd like to see the crime scene." He thought to himself, *I've watched so many crime dramas in my previous life—Bao Qingtian, Di Renjie, Sherlock Holmes, Conan—may all your great divine powers bless me. I hope those plots weren't just made-up nonsense, or I might be in serious trouble today.*

Xie Yi said, "You don't need to go to the scene for that." He waved his hand, signaling to a subordinate, who quickly produced a mirror-like object. After activating it with primal energy, the mirror projected images into the air.

It was a scene showing Yang Wei's body!

Zu An looked at the mirror, thinking, *This must be something like the legendary sound-and-vision stone, capable of recording and preserving images like a camera. One must admit, the Rune Masters of this world are truly formidable.*

After carefully examining the crime scene, a faint smile suddenly appeared on Zu An's face. "Now the truth is clear."

"What do you mean?" Xie Yi was taken aback, and even Shi Kun frowned. Had there been a blunder somewhere?

Zu An pointed to the blood-stained character in the image and said, "The character was written with the right hand. However, to my knowledge, Sir Yang was actually left-handed. Clearly, the murderer didn't know this and made a mistake."

"Left-handed?" Pang Chun was surprised. "I've worked with Sir Yang for years; why didn't I know that?"

Zu An explained, "Earlier, during a mathematics class at the academy, Yang Wei initially wrote on the blackboard with his right hand. But later, when he got agitated during our competition, he started writing with his left hand. Clearly, his left hand was his dominant one. Many people probably didn't know this, which is why the murderer left a flaw in their plan."

"When a person wants to leave a message in their final moments, they instinctively use their dominant hand. Yet, in this image, Sir Yang's right hand was used. It's clear that the murderer used his finger, dipped in blood, to write the message after he had already died."

Xie Yi frowned and asked Yang Wei's widow, "Was Sir Yang left-handed?"

The woman's expression was somewhat bewildered, but she still nodded. "Yang Wei was indeed left-handed, but he was afraid of being mocked, so he mostly used his right hand. Only occasionally, subconsciously, would he use his left."

This revelation caused an uproar in the room. Shi Kun's expression also changed slightly; he had no idea such a blunder would occur.

Mei Chaofeng's face instantly paled. He hastily said, "It's also possible Zu An knew this and deliberately did the opposite. We might think he's on the second level, but he's actually on the fifth, laughing at us."

Zu An shook his head. "Who would believe that? Am I sick to go through all this trouble, even deliberately leaving my own surname at the scene? To put all the suspicion on myself?"

Xie Yi nodded. "Indeed. The accusation that Zu An murdered Yang Wei is unfounded. There is another culprit. Sir Pang, you will need to put more effort into investigating the true murderer in Sir Yang's case."

Pang Chun bowed. "It is my duty, my duty."

Soon, someone led Yang Wei's family members away. Zu An then looked at Shi Kun. "Regarding Yang Wei's competition with me, many people at the academy should have witnessed him being left-handed, so they wouldn't make such a mistake. If I remember correctly, Young Master Shi arrived the day after our competition, thus missing that particular scene. Perhaps you weren't aware that Sir Yang was actually left-handed?"

Shi Kun's expression flickered several times. "Zu! You're slandering me! How could I be the murderer of Sir Yang?"

Zu An laughed heartily. "I didn't say you were the murderer. Why are you acting so guilty?"

Shi Kun was left speechless. He thought, *That scoundrel, I fell right into his trap again when I wasn't careful.*

Seeing everyone subtly pointing and whispering about Shi Kun, Mei Chaofeng naturally felt compelled to alleviate his master's worries. He immediately said, "Even if you didn't kill Sir Yang, you're still responsible for the deaths of Plum Blossom Twelve and Plum Blossom Thirteen!"

Zu An spread his hands. "What's the point of saying all this? Where's the evidence?"

Mei Chaofeng bowed to Xie Yi and the others, then said, "A month ago, someone witnessed you leaving the city with Plum Blossom Twelve. However, only you returned afterward. Investigations revealed that Plum Blossom Twelve died in Jackal Wolf Valley. Furthermore, witnesses reported that on that same day, you brought more than ten bezoars to Physician Ji. We can infer that Plum Blossom Twelve must have fought hard to obtain those bezoars, only for you to take the opportunity to murder him and steal them."

Zu An rolled his eyes, too lazy to bother with him. "You just said it's an inference. Evidence? Where's the evidence?"

"Those bezoars are the evidence, along with the eyewitnesses. This is the most logical explanation," Mei Chaofeng said gravely.

Zu An shrugged. "Given the combat power I displayed in the arena yesterday, I could simply kill fierce jackals directly to obtain bezoars. Why would I need to murder someone and steal them? Besides, I have a witness. Physician Ji's daughter, Ji Xiaoxi, and I hunted fierce jackals together at the time. She can testify for me."

"Then how do you explain going out together and only you returning afterward?" Mei Chaofeng felt frustrated. They had fabricated the evidence for the other murder cases, so they had been meticulous. For this case, however, they were certain Zu An was the killer, so they hadn't paid as much attention to the details. He hadn't expected that no one would believe him when he spoke the truth!

The feeling of knowing someone was the culprit yet being powerless to prove it was incredibly stifling.

"He met someone named Tan Wei on the road and went to pursue him. Then we parted ways. What's the problem?" Zu An smiled with extreme innocence.

Chu Zhongtian also spoke. "To my knowledge, Tan Wei is a traitor to the Plum Blossom Gang. It's perfectly normal for Plum Blossom Twelve to pursue him and separate from Ah Zu."

Pang Chun nodded to Xie Yi, clearly also aware of the matter. Xie Yi then struck his gavel. "Alright, there isn't enough evidence in this case to prove Zu An is the murderer. Next case."

Mei Chaofeng gritted his teeth, glaring at Zu An. "You can use your glib tongue to escape the other charges, but I'd like to see how you explain the death of Plum Blossom Thirteen!"