[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner":3,"chapter-i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-45":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I'm Not Crazy—This Is the Emperor's Banner",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2291385,4480,"Chapter 45: Clues","i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-45",45,"\u003Cp>Not every police academy graduate can do quick sketching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Xia Baokun directly called and summoned a police officer skilled in quick sketching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, based on Jiang Xiyue’s description, he quickly drew the portrait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is she shaped like this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The officer responsible for the sketch handed the completed drawing to Jiang Xiyue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But on the sketchpad was a girl with a ponytail, delicate features, a timid gaze, slightly furrowed brows, and even the unconscious habit of pressing her lower lip tightly—every detail rendered as if the artist had seen her with his own eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, that’s her! You drew her exactly as I saw her,” Jiang Xiyue said, astonished and delighted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then a hand reached out from the side and snatched the sketchpad away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Xiyue turned her head and saw it was Xia Baokun, carefully examining the sketchpad in his hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chief Guan also leaned in curiously; upon seeing Yin Xingyue’s face, he remarked with a sigh, “She looks so young—I wonder if our police records can find anything on her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Baokun glanced at Chief Guan; his words clearly favored Jiang Xiyue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then send someone to check if such a girl really exists.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Baokun handed the sketchpad to Chief Guan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, even without Chief Guan’s plea, Xia Baokun had already ruled out Jiang Xiyue as a suspect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because just now he called the forensic doctor and confirmed the victim’s time of death; during that period, Jiang Xiyue was on duty outside, her movements captured by body cameras and traffic surveillance—she was clearly visible on multiple feeds, so she couldn’t have been the killer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then this made even less sense—was there a problem with the surveillance?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet just now, while Jiang Xiyue described the sketch, they had already checked the footage and found no anomalies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Xia Baokun leaned toward the idea that Jiang Xiyue knew the killer and was colluding with him—but what purpose would that serve?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, he had already quietly dismissed this possibility too—not because he trusted Jiang Xiyue, but because she was Jiang Haitao’s daughter; Jiang Haitao’s daughter wouldn’t break the law.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that’s not it, then the only explanation left is that Jiang Xiyue imagined it all, and discovering the body was pure coincidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such cases do happen in reality—when too many coincidences pile up, they seem unbelievable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Baokun’s head throbbed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Xueming didn’t make Xia Baokun wait long—he walked over excitedly with some documents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There really is such a person?” Xia Baokun asked in surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, take a look,” Guan Xuemei handed the documents to Xia Baokun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Baokun took them, glanced through, and his expression turned startled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dead?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, she jumped to her death a month ago.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Xueming pulled out his phone and pulled up the news report covering the incident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Xueming’s words jolted Xia Baokun—because the serial killings also seemed to have started a month ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could this be a revenge killing triggered by Yin Xingyue’s death?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Xia Baokun quickly flipped through the documents and found another police report form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Xingyue’s mother reported two days ago that Yin Xingyue’s stepfather had gone missing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon closer inspection, Yin Xingyue’s social circle was simple—only her mother and a grandmother living in the countryside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this was revenge, her grandmother was too old to have done this; if it was her mother, then she must have had an accomplice…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But why revenge? Was it because of something between the children…?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The case was slowly becoming clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jiang Xiyue insists it was this girl who reported the crime—but the girl’s been dead for over a month. Did her ghost come to report it?” Guan Xueming sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was now leaning toward the idea that Jiang Xiyue had mental issues; if not, then she was lying—but why lie? What was she hiding?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Xia Baokun suddenly turned to Guan Xueming, his face filled with doubt and alarm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day at work, Yin Xingyue suddenly ran over to Shen Siyuan with a strange expression and said: “The police arrested my mother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why arrest her? What did she do?” Shen Siyuan asked curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Xingyue shook her head. “I don’t know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Shen Siyuan could say more, she added: “I don’t care about her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Never preach goodness to someone you’ve never suffered with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, Shen Siyuan knew Yin Xingyue’s history—her mother’s role in it was deeply problematic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he naturally wouldn’t say hollow, moralistic words accusing her of filial impiety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead he asked: “What about your uncle? Did you find him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Shen Siyuan frowned—could her stepfather’s disappearance and her mother’s arrest mean her mother killed him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But why? Was it because of a guilty conscience?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Siyuan couldn’t untangle the twists and turns of this mess, so he stopped thinking about it—these matters were for the police to handle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The police were indeed troubled—Xia Baokun felt his head might explode.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a day and night of work, they had pieced together quite a bit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, the revenge killing theory tied to Yin Xingyue’s suicide was ruled out—two of the three victims’ children attended different schools and had no contact with her; the third victim had no children at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Xiyue’s suspicion was also fully eliminated—though both her name and Yin Xingyue’s contained the character “yue,” they had no connection whatsoever; it was likely just coincidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Xiyue’s mother’s suspicion was ruled out too, but from her testimony, the police obtained a crucial clue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is, all the victims, as well as Yin Xingyue’s mother Yang Xuejiao and stepfather Fang Yunlou, had once attended the same school—they were all former students of the Cotton Mill Zidi  School.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cotton mill had long shut down, and the Zidi  school no longer existed, making the investigation harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Baokun guessed Fang Yunlou was probably dead too, waiting for the killer to notify them to collect the body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It infuriated him—what did they think the police were? This was a direct provocation against the Haibin police system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, Jiang Xiyue’s case remained unresolved—though cleared of suspicion, she insisted she had seen the dead Yin Xingyue, and he couldn’t ignore it, because she was Jiang Haitao’s daughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he came here—to an old residential house, where flowers and plants bloomed wildly in the courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Baokun finished his last cigarette, crushed it under his foot, then stepped forward and knocked on the gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is anyone home?” Xia Baokun’s tone carried a hint of respect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gate opened quickly, revealing an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old girl, her face delicate, her hair adorned with numerous silver hairpins—distinctive Li ethnic style.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who are you looking for?” the girl asked, blocking the doorway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is Niangmu home?” Xia Baokun asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl turned and called inside: “Aba, someone’s here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who is it?” came an elderly voice from within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s me, Xia Baokun,” Xia Baokun called out loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, there was a brief silence—then the voice recognized him and said: “Aimei, let him in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl opened the gate and led Xia Baokun into the courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The courtyard was filled with blooming flowers and plants, vibrant and beautiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Walking along a narrow path to the main hall, they found at its center an idol of “Pao Longkou”—the Li term; in Han Chinese, it’s called “Great Strength God,” the ancestral deity of the Li people, equivalent to Pangu in Han tradition, holding the highest status among the Li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>ps: This novel’s setting is “I Alone Possess the Law”—there are cultivators, but none have succeeded; only minor inherited bloodline abilities remain, so rest assured, no cultivation drama here.\u003C\u002Fp>",1262,"2026-06-20T03:53:08.657Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3877bb8eb7f99ef51765982f0fa74ac93ad09c9cedeadbaf60f1567a9f15a61a","i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-46","i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-44",623,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-cover.jpg"]