Chapter 1522: Acting like others seems real; acting like oneself seems fake

The reason Sun Daoning agreed to Chen Guanlou's audacious operation of the prison and was willing to cooperate—having the Ministry of Justice come forward to interrogate Wang Qiren, while turning a blind eye to Chen Guanlou manufacturing a fake death to release Wang Qiren—was that he was counting on Chen Guanlou to pry open Qiu Gui's mouth.

Chen Guanlou had given him a promise: in ten days or half a month at most, he would be able to ask for the truth.

Sun Daoning was half-believing and half-doubting. "The Six Shanmen haven't found anything yet, and I've looked into the disappearance case from back then in detail; the situation doesn't match. Are you sure you can ask for the truth within ten days or half a month?"

"I am sure! I can sign a military order!"

"It's not some crooked path, is it?"

"I will definitely use some methods. You only want the result; why care if it's a crooked path or not?"

This made sense.

And so, Sun Daoning nodded and agreed.

Now that Wang Shijun had returned home, he urged Chen Guanlou to fulfill his promise quickly.

Chen Guanlou put aside all other matters, went down to the Jia-type prison, saw Qiu Gui, and without a word, just looked him up and down.

At first, Qiu Gui was able to hold his composure.

Seeing Chen Guanlou remain silent for so long, he became a bit panicked.

"Has the verdict come down?"

He rushed to the prison door, grabbing the bars, looking anxious and fearful. He seemed to be hoping for the verdict to come down, yet terrified of it.

Chen Guanlou shook his head, still not speaking, just staring at the wound on his leg for a few moments.

"What exactly happened? Prison Warden Chen, are you sure you're going to remain silent?"

"Are you anxious? Why are you anxious?" Chen Guanlou looked at him with a half-smile, his expression playful, as if he were toying with a monkey.

Qiu Gui was naturally anxious. "Did you go to question Chu Shi? What did she say?"

"You are very afraid of what she might say." Chen Guanlou nodded knowingly. "She did indeed say a lot. Qiu Gui, you're quite impressive, lying without blinking. A half-baked person dares to call himself a gambler; where did you get your confidence?"

Qiu Gui clearly let out a sigh of relief. "I made it up; I am indeed half-baked, but that doesn't hinder me from being a gambler."

Chen Guanlou was pondering the other party's expression, from tension to relaxation. Clearly, over these years, he must have revealed flaws. That's why he was nervous.

However, as for Chu Shi, perhaps she didn't realize his flaws, perhaps she didn't tell the truth, or perhaps she concealed something...

Regardless of the situation, it made Qiu Gui relax, looking as if he were certain the secret would not be leaked.

"What kind of secret is more serious than killing the entire Dou family? Just killing a government official's young master certainly isn't enough! Qiu Gui, could it be that you killed a member of the imperial family?"

In an instant, Qiu Gui's eyes changed drastically. Although he masked it well and didn't reveal any panic on his face, it couldn't escape Chen Guanlou's eyes.

He could see in the dark, let alone such an obvious change in expression; naturally, he wouldn't miss it.

He suddenly realized, "So you did kill a member of the imperial family!"

"Stop trying to frame me." Qiu Gui gritted his teeth and scolded angrily.

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow and laughed, looking as if he were watching a good show. "Qiu Gui, do you think you are particularly good at hiding and acting? You played Dou Anzhi very well, indeed—making the fake seem real; it's hard for anyone to distinguish.

But when you go back to being Qiu Gui, didn't you notice that you are very hollow, and you have nowhere to hide? The change in identity brings with it the loss of that composure you had while pretending to be Dou Anzhi. After all these years, you've actually learned to switch identities flexibly; you are truly a failure."

"Nonsense! Don't try to trick me."

Chen Guanlou asked with a smile, "Are you very afraid right now? I am getting closer and closer to the truth!"

"Nonsense!" Qiu Gui denied it flatly, looking very angry, but his tightly clenched fists betrayed his inner panic. Clearly, he lacked confidence.

Sure enough, he wasn't very accustomed to the identity of Qiu Gui, losing his composure in every move.

Haha...

Acting like others so convincingly, yet acting like himself, he had flaws everywhere.

Truly interesting!

"Dou Anzhi left the capital to return home for mourning. Before that, you shouldn't have had the thought of replacing him. Right!"

Qiu Gui pursed his lips, not saying a word.

Chen Guanlou observed the other party's reaction while continuing to speak: "Taking it a step further, you had the idea of replacing him on the way. What kind of opportunity was it, or did someone point it out to you, giving you the idea to take a risk, kill, and replace him? Am I wrong?"

Qiu Gui still didn't speak.

But his tightly clenched fists had bulging veins, becoming increasingly ferocious.

It seemed as if he would explode on the spot the next moment.

The more he was like this, the more Chen Guanlou was certain that his guess was close to the truth. He was getting closer and closer to the truth. He only needed a turning point, a flash of inspiration, and he would find the last, most crucial piece of the puzzle.

"You went gambling; that should be true. Losing money might also be true. Robbery and murder might even be true. But it shouldn't have been active robbery and murder, right?"

"Don't say any more! I've already explained everything that needed to be explained." Qiu Gui suddenly flew into a rage; his heart was incomparably panicked, yet he had to try hard to manage his expression.

He was afraid of revealing clues, afraid of being seen through, so he decisively turned around and lay on the bed board. Covering his face! Cutting off all prying eyes.

Chen Guanlou smiled knowingly.

This reaction was correct!

It proved that what he guessed was part of the truth, or perhaps even the truth itself.

"Someone paid you to rob and kill? No! You were just ordinary servants, not thugs from a gang; why would someone pay you to kill? The logic doesn't hold."

Qiu Gui lay motionless on the bed board, but his breathing was slightly rapid.

Chen Guanlou heard it; he heard the other party's breathing.

He laughed silently.

Breathing reveals inner thoughts more easily than eyes.

Qiu Gui might not have had contact with high-rank martial artists and didn't know that ordinary people in front of a Ninth Rank martial artist were equivalent to running naked, with nowhere to hide.

"Thinking it over, the problem still lies with you. What is special about you that is worth others' attention? The only point worth noting is that you look like Dou Anzhi; you even imitated him and acted as his double. And you haven't been exposed! This is the most special point about you. It's also because of this that you were targeted; did I guess right? It was also at this time that you were pointed out, or forced, or fought a desperate battle, or took the initiative... regardless of the reason, in short, you had the idea of killing to replace him, right!"

Qiu Gui turned over, facing the wall, with his back to Chen Guanlou.

Chen Guanlou didn't mind at all.

Because the other party's breathing and heartbeat were as loud as a drum in his ears.

The heartbeat was very fast, fast to the point of being abnormal.

The breathing was rapid, heavy, and suppressed.

Panic, tension, unease, fear, anger...

Emotions were revealed clearly.

Unexpectedly, his casual guess had hit the mark again.

"It seems I'm getting closer and closer to the truth."

Still missing the most crucial puzzle piece, still missing the last bit. Who was killed, and why was it necessary to kill? What is the inevitable connection between looking like Dou Anzhi and killing?

As long as these questions can be solved, the complete puzzle will be there! ===== CHAPTER 1523 =====