Chapter 174: Silver-Haired Culprit (2)

People in terror had great strength. The girl waved her hands and pushed Yu Handan, who was beside her, fiercely. Yu Handan let out a low cry, and just as she was about to fall to the ground, Gu Yun hurried up to catch her.

Gu Yun let go without looking at her, but squatted in front of the little girl, calmly meeting the girl's fearful eyes, and said calmly, "Don't be afraid, no one can hurt you anymore. Tell me, who wants to kill you?"

Gu Yun's clear, cold, and firm voice and stable, powerful aura seemed to make the girl calm down slightly, but her eyes were still full of panic. "Silver hair!" The girl screamed, as if only crying and shouting could reduce her fear at this moment. Her trembling voice constantly repeated one sentence, "A silver-haired man forced our Miss into the alley!"

Silver hair? Gu Yun's heart sank. A silver-haired man... fleeing in a panic... Ao Tian...

No, it couldn't be him! But why was it such a coincidence...

And she, she never believed in coincidences!

The government Yamen Runners took the corpse and the witnesses back to the Ministry of Justice. Gu Yun returned to the palace gate, and Su Ling and the others happened to be coming out. Seeing Lou Xiyan beside Zhuo Qing, Gu Yun asked, "Is everything okay now?"

Nodding lightly, Zhuo Qing smiled and replied, "It has already been proven that those documents about colluding with the mountain stronghold are unreliable. Now the Western Empress Dowager herself is in danger and can no longer stir up trouble."

Looking at their hands that were always clasped together, Gu Yun sighed softly, "It's good that you're out!"

Remembering the corpse that had just been transported away, Gu Yun asked, "A murder case just happened, the victim is female, and the state of the body is very tragic."

Zhuo Qing didn't even think and immediately said, "Take me to see."

The two hurried toward the Ministry of Justice. Su Ling and Lou Xiyan looked at each other, shook their heads, and smiled bitterly, and could only follow silently.

Ministry of Justice morgue.

"The deceased is female, height five chi one cun, age between sixteen and twenty. There are obvious bruised finger marks on the neck, black in color. The cause of death was the throat bone being crushed by powerful finger strength." A female corpse was placed on a wooden board. Zhuo Qing examined the corpse skillfully and calmly. Lv Jin stood silently to the side, listening carefully, holding paper and pen, recording every word she said.

Around the wooden board, a group of people gathered. Dan Yulan and Cheng Hang stood behind Zhuo Qing, while Gu Yun had her hands crossed over her chest, her head slightly lowered, her ears listening to Zhuo Qing's autopsy explanation, while her eyes were fixed on a point on the ground, not knowing what she was thinking.

Su Ling and Lou Xiyan didn't seem to have much interest in the autopsy and stood in the corner furthest away.

Zhuo Qing gave Lv Jin a look, and Lv Jin immediately understood and gently bent the woman's legs slightly. After checking, Zhuo Qing said coldly, "The other fatal injury is in the lower body. The massive bleeding is because the lower body was pierced by a sharp object. According to the condition of the wound, the murder weapon should be something like a dagger, about four cun long, double-edged. There is no residual male body fluid in the deceased's body; she should not have been sexually assaulted before death. There are no obvious external injuries elsewhere."

Gu Yun's silent eyes narrowed slightly, and no change could be seen in her expression. Zhuo Qing gently took off her gloves and walked straight to Gu Yun, saying, "That's the general situation. I'll give you the autopsy report after Lv Jin organizes it."

Gu Yun nodded lightly, looking thoughtful. Zhuo Qing didn't bother her; Yun was just like this, she would be very focused whenever she encountered a case.

Lv Jin picked up the white silk to cover the corpse, and Dan Yulan said, "Let's talk outside."

The group arrived at the Tixing Mansion study. Lv Jin sighed softly, "I asked the deceased's maid, Xiao Yu. She is probably overly frightened; no matter how I ask, she only remembers a silver-haired man forcing them into the dark alley and committing the crime against the deceased. As for the murder method, the time of the crime, and the appearance of the murderer, she remembers nothing at all." After seeing the corpse, Lv Jin had been feeling very uncomfortable; the murderer's methods were truly too vicious!

Lv Jin glanced at Zhuo Qing, who had a normal expression beside Lou Xiyan, and couldn't help but sigh secretly. This woman was truly amazing. She was so calm and composed when looking at the heart-lost female corpse last time; how did she do it? Of course, if Lv Jin knew how many dismembered corpses Zhuo Qing had examined, he would probably be relieved...

Cheng Hang slapped the desk hard and couldn't help but roar in a low voice, "Silver hair again! Is there no end to it!"

Again? Gu Yun asked, "Have many cases of silver-haired men committing crimes happened recently?"

"Mm." Cheng Hang replied somewhat irritably, "Including this one, it's already the fifth. In just over half a month, this person has committed crimes crazily. I think it's aimed at the celebration! The heart-lost case was just solved, and now another one comes!"

Five cases in half a month? It was indeed a tricky case. Lou Xiyan's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly. He glanced at Su Ling, who had been silent, and Gu Yun, who had a thoughtful look, and suddenly said, "Magistrate Dan, many envoys and nobles from the six kingdoms have already entered Qiongyue and will arrive in the capital in a few days. If such a culprit is not brought to justice as soon as possible, the harm will be endless. If he acts against the envoys and nobles coming to the capital to pay tribute, Qiongyue will lose all face. The Emperor has already handed over the security of the capital to the Su Family Army. If Magistrate Dan has any needs, why not ask General Su and Qing Mo for help."

Dan Yulan bowed slightly and replied, "The Prime Minister can rest assured, the subordinate will definitely do his best to bring the culprit to justice."

Gu Yun looked up at Lou Xiyan's face, which was always gentle but seemed forever unfathomable, and vaguely felt that he had the intention of watching a play. She whispered to Zhuo Qing, "Lou Xiyan has just been released, he must be tired. You go back and rest first, leave this to us."

Xiyan's health was indeed not very good. Zhuo Qing nodded and replied, "Fine, notify me if you need me."

"Mm."

Lou Xiyan nodded to everyone with a smile and left, holding his beautiful wife.

After Lou Xiyan left, Su Ling didn't say a word and sat there coldly, his figure looking somewhat abrupt. Gu Yun kindly said to him, "If you have something to do, you can go get busy. If Magistrate Dan has any needs, I will discuss it with Su Ren."

Su Ling replied coldly, "I have nothing to do." She wanted him to leave that much!

Gu Yun smiled. Weren't these things usually handled by Su Ren? Her kindness was treated as a donkey's liver and lungs. Who did she provoke tonight? First it was Ao Tian, now it was Su Ling!

Ignoring Su Ling's dark expression, Gu Yun looked at Cheng Hang and asked, "Are the five cases that happened before all the same type of cases?"

"No." Cheng Hang shook his head and replied, "In the first three cases, the culprit raped three women, one of whom committed suicide. In the fourth case, the murderer took away a baby who had just turned a month old; the child's whereabouts are unknown, and life or death is unknown. This murderer is probably a madman, specializing in rape and abduction."

Dan Yulan's brows furrowed tightly, and he sighed in a low voice, "The culprit didn't directly kill the victims in the first four cases. His modus operandi is so cruel this time; if he is not caught, I fear he will become even worse next time."

First rape, then abduction of an infant. Gu Yun pondered. This murderer's crimes seemed to have no pattern or specificity. After a long time, Gu Yun asked, "Are you sure it's the same person? Besides the silver hair, is there any other evidence?"

Cheng Hang replied frustratedly, "No. The culprit is very fast every time he commits a crime and leaves no traces, making it impossible to start. He commits crimes at night, and the victims can only see a head of silver hair." It was precisely because there were no clues at all, and the victims were either high-ranking officials or just ordinary scholarly families, with no connections or commonalities, that they had no way to start!

"Actually..." Lv Jin hesitated for a while before laughing lowly, "The feature of silver hair is so obvious. There shouldn't be many silver-haired men in the whole of Qiongyue, and those with high martial arts are even fewer. For so many years, I have only seen Ao Tian as silver-haired."

Lv Jin's words, which sounded both true and false, made Gu Yun frown. Su Ling's cold eyes flashed, but he didn't say anything, while Cheng Hang seemed a bit excited. He slapped his thigh and said, "Right! There is less than half a month left before the celebration starts, and time is tight. Bring them all back for questioning, maybe there will be a harvest!"

"No." Gu Yun said coldly, "Silver hair is the murderer's most obvious feature, but it doesn't mean all silver-haired people are murderers. You can at most invite them back to assist in the investigation, you cannot arrest people because of this!" As a police officer, Gu Yun had her own investigation methods and criminal investigation procedures. She opposed Cheng Hang's approach.

Last time Ao Tian took Gu Yun away, Su Ling had been unhappy. This time, Gu Yun's righteous words sounded to Su Ling like she was eager to defend Ao Tian. Holding his breath, Su Ling snorted coldly and said, "If he didn't kill anyone, why fear questioning? Who are you trying to absolve?"

Gu Yun, who had been unwilling to pay attention to him, slowly turned back, looked directly into Su Ling's dark, cold eyes, and said in a deep voice, "I am not trying to absolve anyone. Before the case is investigated clearly, I always hold a skeptical attitude. Anyone could be the murderer, Ao Tian is no exception. But when I judge a case, I only believe in evidence."

When I judge a case, I only believe in evidence. The calm voice was not necessarily impassioned, but it was enough for everyone to hear clearly, and it also startled the men present.

Su Ling looked at her cold and somewhat displeased face, that firm brilliance, making him feel she was very charming... Masking his flustered gaze, Su Ling felt he had really gone crazy these days. Sometimes she was simply refuting him, defying him, and even mocking him, so why did he always see the brilliance that made his heart tremble on that face that had already been disfigured?

Su Ling suddenly remained silent, and Gu Yun also had a cold expression. The atmosphere in the study was a bit strange. Cheng Hang coughed lightly and continued the topic just now, saying, "For someone like Ao Tian, whose whereabouts are unpredictable, it's impossible to find him without issuing a national arrest warrant."

Cheng Hang was actually speaking based on the facts, but Gu Yun was even more displeased and looked directly at Dan Yulan, asking, "Magistrate Dan, can your Ministry of Justice issue an arrest warrant for someone who has no solid evidence and is just a suspect?" If this was also within the scope of Qiongyue's law, she thought she could stop interfering in this matter. This place was simply not suitable for her to stay.

Under Gu Yun's sharp gaze, Dan Yulan laughed and replied truthfully, "No." He understood that Cheng Hang said this because he was afraid the Emperor would issue an imperial decree like last time, putting him in prison if he couldn't catch the culprit, which was why he was so anxious.

Facing the woman before him who was firm and persistent about legal principles, Dan Yulan suddenly felt a bit of admiration. Gu Yun breathed a sigh of relief secretly. It seemed she had to spend some time studying Qiongyue's laws and judicial procedures!

Cheng Hang had been in the Ministry of Justice for so long, so he naturally knew the rules. He had just been speaking in a panic. Cheng Hang patted his head irritably, still unwillingly whispering, "Then what should we do if we can't find anyone now?"

The study fell into a moment of silence. Gu Yun pondered for a while and said, "I know where he is."

Su Ling's hawk-like eyes sank. No one could find him, yet she could! She really knew a lot about Ao Tian's affairs!

Hearing her say she knew Ao Tian's whereabouts, Cheng Hang urged, "Where?"

Gu Yun shook her head and refused firmly, "Sorry, I can't tell you. I will go find him tomorrow and try to persuade him to come to the Yamen." Ao Tian had his reasons for not telling others his residence. Without his consent, she had no right to disclose it.

"No need for so much trouble." A cold and indifferent male voice rang out outside the door.

Several people looked up in surprise. A dark figure appeared silently before the heavily guarded Tixing Mansion study, standing quietly in the night, as if he had been standing in that place for a long time. Under the clear moonlight, that dazzling white silver hair was so piercing.

A strange look flashed in Su Ling's dark eyes. His gaze swept over Gu Yun looking at Ao Tian, and he clenched his fists unconsciously.

"Ao Tian!" Cheng Hang whispered, how did he deliver himself to the door?

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 175 =====