Chapter 54

In the Heavenly Cell Number One of the South Zhenning Office, Wan Tong, who had been struck with sealing needles and wore chains, leaned against the wall.

Having commanded the North Zhenning Office for so long, Wan Tong naturally knew what he would face next.

If his old cases were dug up, hoping to survive would be nearly impossible; the only chance was that the emperor, recalling all he had done for him, would issue an edict to let the matter drop.

But now that he was imprisoned, no one would dare bring up doubts about the case and reopen it before the emperor.

If he were sentenced to death, he would surely spill everything about the Zhenning Office and everything that should and shouldn't be said!

He had to find a way to let word get out.

As he was pondering, Yang Hanlu led his subordinates into the prison.

"Sir Wan, although we haven't formally interrogated you yet, we still need to first understand the general situation of the case; please tell the truth."

Wan Tong looked at Yang Hanlu, recalling their conversation that day inside the room.

If there were still anyone in the Zhenning Office who would pursue the truth regardless of consequences, it would likely be this very Yang Hanlu of the South Zhenning Office before him.

Thinking about it, it was rather ironic—he had once told her not to worry about the truth, yet now he was demanding she uncover it.

Upon thinking of this, Wan Tong rose and said:

"Fine, but I want to speak with Chief Yang alone."

Several subordinates looked at Yang Hanlu; seeing him nod, they all withdrew from the prison together and closed the outer door.

Yang Hanlu was relatively courteous toward this former Zhenning Envoy of the North Zhenning Office; he opened the cell door, walked to the table, poured a bowl of water, and said:

"Now it's just the two of us; Sir Wan, can you give a full account?"

Wan Tong also gave him face, sitting at the table, taking a sip of water, and exhaling before saying:

"What does Chief Yang want to know?"

"First, regarding the silver convoy robbery case eight years ago, was it as Qin Gui's letter said—that you, Sir Wan, were the mastermind, leading Qin Gui and Fang Tao to band together with mountain bandits to intercept the silver convoy and frame Qiu Feng?"

Wan Tong said in a deep voice:

"I did indeed participate in that case, but the mastermind should have been Qin Gui; he proposed the whole plan, and I was merely dragged into it by them."

Now that Qin Gui is dead, Wan Tong naturally tries to pour all the blame onto him.

"Back then you were the Deputy Zhenning Envoy, dragged in by two chiefs, Sir Wan—don't treat me like a three-year-old."

Having interrogated many people, Wan Tong was experienced in lying; he shifted the topic with righteous words:

"Believe it or not, the Zhenning Office has plenty of dirty money; I can't arrest everyone and punish them severely, after all we still need them to do the work, so naturally there is some cover‑up."

Yang Hanlu frowned and said:

"I still hope Sir Wan will speak truthfully; if we find testimonies from the coroner and Fang Tao, your excuses will be meaningless. Then we move to the next question: Did you kill these four to silence them and frame Qiu Feng's descendants because they threatened you or were about to report you?"

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Wan Tong slammed the table and rose, saying:

"I didn't kill those four!"

Hearing this, Yang Hanlu was also somewhat surprised:

"What?!"

Wan Tong explained:

"I admit I participated in that case back then, but I wouldn't resort to such a clumsy method to kill those four to silence them; this is definitely someone framing me!"

"But Sir Wan, you clearly intended to kill Fang Tao to silence him yesterday—we all saw that!"

"I admit I had murderous intent toward Fang Tao, because if he woke up he would reveal what happened back then; killing him would also let me shift blame onto the killer, but the one who actually carried out the killings of those four was definitely not me!"

"I also went to the North Zhenning Office to inquire; over these past few days they haven't seen you, and no one can or will provide an alibi for you—no matter how you look at it, you are the murderer."

Wan Tong strained, gripping the edge of the table, lifted his head, and said:

"Chief Yang, once the silver convoy robbery case is judged, I am almost certainly doomed to die; do I really need to waste time here arguing over a few lives? I'm telling you this because I believe you, Chief Yang, are the one who is loyal to the truth.

I don't expect you to save me, but even if my death sentence cannot be changed, I must still catch the person who brought me to this point! Please help me, Chief Yang—let me die with a clear understanding, and still capture the true culprit!"

Seeing Yang Hanlu's expression waver, Wan Tong disregarded his status, turned, and knelt to kowtow, saying:

"Chief Yang!"

"Please rise, Sir Wan; no matter for whom, I will naturally uncover the truth—this is my duty."

"Thank you, Chief Yang; I have a private stash outside my residence. If you uncover the truth and rescue me, I guarantee to give it all to you!"

Yang Hanlu didn't care about those things, helped Wan Tong up, and asked:

"Since Sir Wan says the killer is someone else, as the party involved, please analyze who the killer might be."

Wan Tong took a deep breath, rose, looked out the window, and began to analyze:

"I've also been thinking about this; it's very likely that Qiu Feng's descendants are taking revenge,

The killer is definitely an expert; otherwise he couldn't have learned the Thousand‑Blade Cross Slash, nor would he have left no extra traces at the scenes where the coroner, Qin Gui, and Fang Tao were killed.

The killer is very likely someone from within the Zhenning Office, or at least someone who knows it extremely well, or has a mole inside; he knows every step of your moves and is always one step ahead.

Of course, I'm not talking about Lao Yan; I know he isn't that kind of person, and he wouldn't have that kind of killing method.

The killer is definitely a very cautious person; he left no trace of himself at any crime scene, and he must have prepared for this for a long time—their four, including my schedule, household situation, and where key evidence is buried, were all meticulously designed by him.

One can imagine that, having made this case so flawless, even his identity hasn't aroused anyone's suspicion! This person is easy to overlook and appears blameless, yet in fact he has calculated everything."

Yang Hanlu helplessly scratched his head and said:

"In other words, there are no direct clues; these are just Sir Wan's analysis. If that's the case, we'll probably never catch the real killer you speak of, because such a person doesn't exist—everything still points to you."

Wan Tong gritted his teeth and said:

"I've said it before—I'm not the one! I didn't kill those four!"

Yang Hanlu also lost a bit of patience, raising his voice slightly and shouting:

"Then tell me who the killer could be! Besides you, who else has the ability and motive to kill those four? Besides you, who else could enter the archives and destroy the materials from back then? Besides you, who could sneak into Qin Gui's house at midnight, be discovered by him, yet still remain silent and completely unprepared?"

Wan Tong shouted angrily:

"I don't know! If the killer were really me, then after I killed those two coroners, Qin Gui would certainly have been on guard against me! Who knows why that damned Qin Gui had no defenses against that damn killer!"

A murder case just happened! And it's also about the silver carriage robbery case from years ago! How could he be completely unprepared for the murderer who came to the manor in the middle of the night? What an idiot......

Midway through his scolding, Wan Tong suddenly froze.

It felt as if something had suddenly struck him, and he recalled something that had long been overlooked but was vitally important.

Wan Tong's brows knit tightly, his gaze a little unfocused; after swallowing, he turned his head back in disbelief.

Yet he saw Yang Hanlu, who had just been pouring water for him, now standing outside the prison gate, tilting her head and giving him a cold smile.

Qin Gui is an idiot, and so am I.

When a murder case occurs, who could be safer and more trustworthy than the investigators? Who could know the next move earlier than the investigators?

Wan Tong's face showed utter disbelief, his voice trembling:

"It's you! But why?! You—"

He hadn't finished speaking when Wan Tong spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

It was that bowl of water just now!

Watching Wan Tong kneel on the ground, coughing up blood, Yang Hanlu crouched down and said coldly:

"Lord Wan, how does it feel to be betrayed, deceived, and killed by the very person you regarded as your savior? Isn't it deeply regrettable, painful, and full of hatred—just like my father back then."

Yang Hanlu spoke while her fingers nearly crushed the steel bar on the prison door.

Still unable to believe it, yet having understood everything, Wan Tong struggled to say:

"Uh... you... you... you're a descendant of Qiu Feng?! But poisoning me... you... you won't escape either!"

Yang Hanlu let out a cold laugh and pulled out a packet of medicine from her bosom.

"You overestimate yourself. This packet of medicine was ordered by the superiors to be given to you; I merely swapped it for a version that acts more painfully."

"What?!"

"Don't you get it? You know so many dirty secrets—how could they let you live until the Three Offices Joint Trial? So my plan to kill you was actually over the moment you were brought here; I'm just here to watch the process."

"You!"

Watching Wan Tong lie on the ground, barely able to speak from pain, blood still trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Yang Hanlu stared into Wan Tong's eyes and, word by word, said "comfort":

"Rest assured, I have privately gathered over the years the evidence for the other five cases involving you all—more than enough to leave your five corpses in the wilderness, despised by all."

"I suppose having a few wrongful charges on your heads doesn't matter, right? As you once said, 'Among the countless bones in the wilderness, few are without injustice.'"

Whether from anger, rage, or sheer pain, Wan Tong's visage turned ferocious as he shouted and spat another mouthful of blood, then finally fell still.

Seeing Wan Tong finally breathe his last, Yang Hanlu's weakened hands clung to the prison gate as she stood stunned for a long while.

Pat— pat—

In the end, two clear tears still slid from Yang Hanlu's eyes and fell to the ground.