Chapter 92: The True Culprit Caught (1)

Gu Yun smiled slightly and replied calmly: "Just keep watching and you'll know." It seemed Qing had successfully performed counter-hypnosis.

"You." The man stared into Zhuo Qing's deep eyes, feeling a wave of dizziness, only to suddenly discover that the heart he was holding had vanished into thin air, and the blood all over his hands was gone. On the plain white bedsheet, there was nothing, and Zhuo Qing's sharp eyes were staring at him coldly.

"This is impossible!" The man glared at Zhuo Qing, the expression on his face shifting from arrogant and evil to surprised and uneasy.

Zhuo Qing slowly sat up straight, her red lips parted slightly, and she said coldly: "In this world, you are not the only one who knows hypnosis!" She admitted that at the very first moment, she had almost been lost in his eyes. If she hadn't been prepared, she might have been successfully hypnotized by him.

A flash of violence crossed the man's eyes. Zhuo Qing was startled, her body falling backward rapidly, her hands subconsciously blocking her chest. The knife in the man's hand grazed the back of her hand. The man's figure moved, and Lou Xiyan's anxious voice sounded at the same time: "Mo Bai, Ao Tian, catch him!"

Mo Bai leaped down from the rafters, attacking the man's back. The man nimbly turned around and kicked out, the blade in his hand still stubbornly stabbing toward Zhuo Qing, who had retreated to the deepest part of the bed curtains. Just as the blade was about to pierce Zhuo Qing's chest, a large palm suddenly reached out from behind the bed curtains, intercepted the man's wrist, and used internal energy to deflect the man's attack. Zhuo Qing only felt a tightness on her shoulder, and a great force threw her off the bed. The force was so great that she almost hit the screen, but fortunately, Lou Xiyan and Gu Yun caught her body in time, so she didn't get hurt.

With the two great masters Mo Bai and Ao Tian surrounding and attacking him, the man was clearly flustered, but within ten moves, he actually showed no signs of defeat. Gu Yun glanced out the window, her eyes flickering, and she shouted: "Mo Bai, Ao Tian, don't let him escape this room!"

Just as her voice fell, the man immediately retreated toward the window. With a flash, he was already outside, and Mo Bai and Ao Tian also rushed out after him.

Gu Yun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Lou Xiyan and Zhuo Qing, who knew no martial arts, were still in this room. If the fight continued and the man grabbed either of them as a hostage, it would be a disaster. Now that he was outside, he would definitely be unable to fly away.

Sure enough, as the man exited the courtyard, he was met by Ye Mei's flaming long whip. Around the small courtyard, the ambushed archers all revealed themselves, aiming their fully drawn bows at the gray-silver figure in the courtyard.

Gu Yun looked back at Lou Xiyan, who was holding Zhuo Qing tightly. With him taking care of Qing, she should be fine, so Gu Yun also went out into the courtyard.

Looking Zhuo Qing up and down, Lou Xiyan asked anxiously: "Where are you hurt?" When he saw the sharp knife swinging toward her, he had almost forgotten to breathe, fearing that in the blink of an eye, he would lose her!

Last time by the lotus pond, she had fainted, and she had only heard Lou Xiwu's vivid description. Today, she finally saw Lou Xiyan's pale face. But her heart ached; she liked his faint smile and the way he was in control of everything!

Zhuo Qing shook her head forcefully and said in a trembling voice: "I'm fine."

"Let me see." Grabbing Zhuo Qing's hand, there was a three-inch-long bloody gash on the back of her left hand. Fortunately, the wound was not deep, only oozing beads of blood, and not much blood had flowed.

Lou Xiyan finally felt a little relieved. He tore off a piece of cloth from his sleeve and gently bandaged it for her. Zhuo Qing dared not move, only saying over and over: "Xiyan, I'm really fine, just a small wound, really."

Looking at her with both heartache and helplessness, Lou Xiyan sighed secretly. Only after falling in love with her did he realize that his heart was not as strong as he had originally thought!

Holding her tightly in his arms, her warm body temperature and long, steady breathing showed that she was truly fine. Only at this moment did Lou Xiyan's heart return to its original place.

Zhuo Qing saw that his complexion had improved, so she whispered: "Shall we go out and see?"

Lou Xiyan nodded helplessly, holding her uninjured hand, and walked to the door, not allowing her to get close.

Mo Bai, Ye Mei, and Ao Tian surrounded him, and the man had no chance to escape again. Under the flanking attacks of Mo Bai and Ao Tian, Ye Mei was able to trap the man with her long whip and tie him up. Other officials also took the opportunity to step forward, using the hemp ropes and iron shackles prepared in advance to bind the man tightly.

Cheng Hang saw the man's face clearly and immediately cursed with disdain: "Su Mufeng, I didn't expect you to really be the murderer, and you even let your aunt take the blame for you! You are simply worse than a beast!" This morning he was still pretending to be ignorant. This hypocritical man simply deserved to die!

The man, still struggling, stiffened all over. His violent eyes stared straight at Cheng Hang, and he roared: "What happened to Xin Yi?"

These eyes were sinister and ruthless, not at all like the usual Su Mufeng. Cheng Hang's heart couldn't help but panic, and he cursed: "Still pretending! Men, take him back!"

The yamen runners swarmed up and dragged the man away. Zhuo Qing called out: "Wait, I have something to ask him."

Cheng Hang looked back and saw the cloth bandage on her hand, thinking she was seriously injured, and advised: "Madam, you should go and bandage your wound. Whatever you want to ask, you can ask freely when you get to the prefecture office."

He turned to the yamen runners and shouted: "Take him back." This time, the true culprit had finally been caught, right? Lord Dan wouldn't have to go to prison anymore.

Watching the group of people walk away in a hurry, Zhuo Qing lowered her head and sighed: "I'm afraid I won't be able to ask him anything by then."

She said it very softly, and Lou Xiyan didn't hear it clearly, asking: "What did you say?"

Shaking her head lightly, Zhuo Qing sighed: "Nothing." She hoped that what she predicted would not come true.

Unfortunately, Heaven did not follow human wishes, and the thing Zhuo Qing worried about still happened.

As soon as dawn broke, Zhuo Qing, accompanied by Lou Xiyan, arrived at the Ministry of Justice. Just as they entered the study, they heard Cheng Hang's voice shouting loudly: "I'm so angry! Su Mufeng actually played the fool when he returned to the office, acting as if he didn't know what had happened. He was caught red-handed, and he still wants to deny it. How unreasonable!"

Zhuo Qing sighed low; the thing she was worried about had happened.

The two entered the room, and Dan Yulan saw them first, nodding slightly: "Prime Minister Lou, Madam."

Although she had already guessed what had happened, Zhuo Qing still asked: "What's wrong?"

Cheng Hang hummed angrily: "Su Mufeng is actually playing dumb, saying he doesn't know what happened last night."

Gu Yun was clearly there long ago, half-leaning against the door, and said in a deep voice: "He is very different from last night." His entire state was completely different. Except for the clothes, he was simply two different people. Qing might know where the problem lay!

Exchanging a look with Gu Yun, Zhuo Qing said helplessly: "I want to see him."

Under Zhuo Qing's insistence, only she and Gu Yun came to the prison. Entering the cell, she finally understood why Lou Xiyan and Dan Yulan would agree to let the two women come alone to see such a dangerous prisoner!

In the spacious cell, there was only one very, very small window, but fortunately, the sunlight outside was bright, so the cell was quite bright. In the deepest part of the cell, a gray-clothed man sat cross-legged. On his hands were locked two chains almost as thick as a woman's wrist. One end of the chain was tied to his hands, and the other was deeply embedded in the wall. His feet were the same.

If it were an ordinary person, with such heavy chains on their hands and feet, let alone moving, even moving their hands and feet would be difficult.

The length of the iron chains was limited. Even if he could really stand up to attack someone, he couldn't walk to even half of the cell. Being bound like this, no one could do anything!

Zhuo Qing stared intently at the man not far away. He sat cross-legged just like that, just as she had seen him the first time in Lou Xiwu's courtyard. Yes, although the environment was completely different from then—no beautiful flowers or green grass, no elegant zither music—the same ethereal and indifferent aura still flowed from him. This man was exactly the Su Mufeng they were familiar with.

Su Mufeng also seemed to have discovered their arrival, slowly opening his eyes to look at them, smiling slightly and nodding, as if he were not a prisoner but still receiving them at home. How many people could achieve such contentment and steady self-control?

Gu Yun sighed low and glanced at Zhuo Qing. Such a Su Mufeng, how could one connect him with the madman from last night?

Zhuo Qing stepped forward and smiled: "Young Master Su."

Su Mufeng still returned the smile with that indifference and said bluntly: "Ask whatever you want to ask."

Zhuo Qing stopped exchanging pleasantries and asked: "Do you know what happened last night?"

Slowly shaking his head, Su Mufeng replied frankly: "They said I attacked you last night and that I am the heart-stealing madman." He said it very calmly. This calmness was very surprising. If you didn't know what happened at all, but were suddenly called a murderer, even the calmest and most indifferent person should protest, right!

Zhuo Qing remained calm and continued to ask: "What do you think yourself?"

"Perhaps so. I have no impression of what happened last night. But it is an indisputable fact that when I woke up, I was in the Ministry of Justice prison." Over the years, he often didn't remember what he had done. When he woke up, he was either in some strange place or had unexplained wounds on his body. He also felt that he had a problem, but he didn't know that he was actually the murderous madman.

Suddenly thinking of something, Su Mufeng looked at Gu Yun with some anxiety, and his face finally had an expression other than calmness: "Since you have determined that I am the murderer, can you release Xin Yi?"

"No." Gu Yun replied firmly.

"Why?" Since the murderer was already him, Xin Yi was innocent!

Gu Yun sighed low and said truthfully: "She knew long ago who the murderer was, but insisted on taking the blame. She has already committed the crime of harboring a criminal."

"Harboring a criminal?" Su Mufeng pondered for a while, leaning against the stone wall, and whispered softly: "Okay, at least she doesn't have to die."

The overly relaxed expression on his face made Zhuo Qing feel a trace of unease, and she said anxiously: "Do you have nothing else to say?" Dual personality was not his fault alone. Was he really not planning to fight for himself?

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 93 =====