There were dozens of big families in the city,
All of them matched what Li Xiao said!
The next day, three more corpses were found,
They were the captain of the guards in Liu Tianping's mansion, the steward of the inner courtyard, and the steward of Liu Tianping's manor outside the capital.
All of them turned into dried corpses.
Some people said that they had seen a man wearing a mask. He was very tall, but they were not sure if he was Liu Rui.
They only knew that he was very agile and strong.
Wang Yi brought over a hundred people from the nine gates,
The entire city searched for him, but there was no result.
New corpses continued to appear, but the real murderer, Liu Rui, seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth.
The Emperor also asked about the progress of the case in the imperial court..
But there was no breakthrough in the case.
Chen Jue had countless things in his heart every day,
He was afraid that in a few more days..,
His hair would turn white.
....
On this day..,
A group of carriages gathered at the gate of the capital,
They said that they were returning to the city,
With a cart of spices.
After this group of people entered the city and took a few detours..,
They went straight to Liu Tianping's mansion in the west of the city.
The side door was knocked open,
The person who knocked on the door raised the brim of his hat, and the manservant exclaimed, "Master Chi, you –"
The second half of the sentence was swallowed back into his stomach by Liu Tianping's personal guard, Liu Chi, with a wave of his hand.
The manservant hurriedly opened the door,
A group of people wearing straw hats entered the mansion.
On this day, Liu Tianping traveled day and night,
He finally rushed home.
Only then did he sit down in the study,
But he learned that the few capable people around him..,
Were all gone..,
....
Liu Tianping returned to the city,
He thought that no one knew.
But those who wanted to know still knew.
Li Ru sat on a bench under the shade of the academy and watched Li Zhao play on the swing. His face darkened, and he was also guessing what had happened these days.
Li Zhao had the ability to move through space and go wherever he wanted.
It was as if he had the ability to reach the heavens. It was easy for him to know, see, and take away anything he wanted.
Therefore, he knew that Liu Tianping had returned.
He also knew that Liu Rui was missing.
This capable chess piece had gone out of control almost at the very beginning.
For him, it was much easier to control a smart person than a stupid person.
Li Ru also felt that Liu Rui was not the only one who had lost control. There were too many variables in the current development of this matter. Even he was at a loss as to what to do next.
When Li Zhao saw that his older brother was thinking about something, his expression became gloomy and cold.
He sat on the swing. Although he was used to his brother's expression, he was still a little scared.
When Li Ru came back to his senses, he saw Ah Zhao's expression. He quickly smiled and waved at Li Zhao.
Li Zhao sat down on the bench beside Li Ru. Li Ru reached out and patted Li Zhao's head.
"Have you been happy recently?" Li Ru asked softly.
Li Zhao nodded.
After a moment of silence, Li Zhao asked, "Brother, Xiaoxiao said that we don't look like each other at all. Why are you my brother?"
"Not all brothers look alike." It took Li Ru a moment to realize that the 'Xiaoxiao' Ah Zhao was talking about was the little … girl beside Chen Jue.
"But if you're my brother, why did you only find me last year?
Why did you lose me? "Li Zhao tilted his head. He was a little troubled and sad.
If he had always been by his brother's side, his brother would have given him the ability to go wherever he wanted. He … he wouldn't have been bullied.
Li Ru rubbed his head. "I'm sorry I only found you now. I was looking for your other family members and you. I was really too slow. Does Ah Zhao blame me?"
Li Zhao shook his head. "Brother brought me out. I'm very happy now."
Li Ru let out a long sigh of relief. He patted Li Zhao's head twice before letting out another long sigh. It was as though something was pressing down on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.
If it had been nineteen years ago …
Li Ru pursed his lips. His expression became even sharper.
Li Zhao suddenly thought of something and said happily, "Brother, that Xiaoxiao is really pretty too.
She has a hat that can cover her face.
Brother, can you make me one too? Then no one will notice me. "
Li Ru turned his head and nodded gently at him. "Okay."
His voice was soft and revealed a hint of bitterness that he hadn't been able to suppress in time.
"She's really pretty. Xiaoxiao is really pretty," Li Zhao exclaimed again.
Li Ru smiled and said, "Ah Zhao's father is pretty too. His mother is pretty too. His sister is pretty too. Everyone in the family is pretty too …"
Li Zhao looked at Li Ru and thought for a moment. He tilted his head and said, "Brother is pretty too."
"Haha, you're not even close!" Li Ru laughed heartily and couldn't help but shake his head.
In this academy, there was the fragrance of pine and cypress. There were childish words and clear laughter.
There was also the smell of blood that was buried under the fragrance of books, trees, and flowers. It permeated people's hearts and would never dissipate.
… … …
Wang Yi was still searching the city, but Chen Jue already knew the results.
Liu Rui was probably no longer in the city. Perhaps he had already …
None of the people who had died recently were women. None of them were good-looking.
Chen Jue had always been confident in his judgment. Perhaps he was blind, but he knew his own abilities.
A group of white horses galloped through the streets. Two porters carried a small sedan chair and chased after them from a distance.
After turning into a long alley, they arrived at a small courtyard. The people on the horses dismounted. None of them spoke, nor did they make any unnecessary movements.
They were well-trained and orderly.
The small sedan chair was directly carried into the courtyard.
The door was locked. The person in the sedan chair lifted the curtain, revealing a small, fair hand.
Li Xiao jumped down from the sedan chair and glanced at the courtyard. She saw Chen Jue waving at her from the front. She hurriedly took small steps and ran towards him.
Zhang Tang followed at the side and muttered, "It's a pity that civil officials don't have horses. That horse just now was really handsome …"
"Shh!" Dali Monastery's guard Wang Chao shook his head at Zhang Tang.
Zhang Tang sighed and didn't say anything else.
The courtyard was just a small courtyard. When they entered the main hall, there was already a fat man sitting inside. He was waiting anxiously and looked like he couldn't sit still.
When he saw Chen Jue enter, he stood up immediately. His knees were weak, and he hesitated whether or not he should kneel down and kowtow.
Chen Jue saw him and waved his hand. He didn't like excessive etiquette from others, mainly because he didn't want to waste time at such a crucial time.
That person hurriedly stood up straight and wiped his hands on his clothes cautiously. His face was covered in oil and sweat, making him look particularly bright.
He looked greasy and shiny.
"Sit." Zhang Tang pulled a chair and sat down. He spoke to the fat man.
The fat man looked at the main seat he was sitting on before and quickly pulled a chair and sat to the side.
Chen Jue sat on the other main seat at the table and raised his head to look at Li Xiao.
Li Xiao obediently sat where the fat man was sitting before.
A few guards with knives on their waists were in the courtyard with their backs to them.
The fat man looked at the guards and the knives on their waists from time to time, as if everything would make him feel more at ease.
"Liu Gen?" Zhang Tang raised his head and asked.
Liu Gen nodded and stuttered, "Lord Liu's second steward."
"You're the most senior after Liu Tongren?" Zhang Tang asked.
"Ah, yes, Sir.
I'm in charge of all the shops in the capital except for Liu Tongren.
There are a few shops in Baoxian, and they're also under my … little steward. "
Liu Gen was a little incoherent. The sweat on his forehead was like rain, and he had to wipe it off every few seconds.
He held a small handkerchief in his hand, and it was soon soaked.
With so many people dead, Chen Jue had already figured out the murderer's routine.
Or rather, the murderer didn't hide his routine. The order of killing was too obvious. The people around Liu Tianping were killed one by one according to their importance.
Chen Jue sent people to intercept the first two people, but they didn't even see the murderer.
Zhao Hu, on the other hand, saw the process of a person dying and turning into a mummy with his own eyes. He was so scared that his face turned pale for several hours. It wasn't the kind of wretched and terrifying death that Mr. Li Li Ru said that the murderer sucked the water out of the victim's body during sex.
Zhao Hu watched as the person he wanted to protect stood in front of him. The blood in his body suddenly seeped out of his skin and floated into the air. Then, it exploded and evaporated into a thick and suffocating smell of blood in the room.
That person struggled in pain and contorted. In a few seconds, he turned into a mummy and fell to the ground.
There was no way to stop it, and no one knew how to stop it.
Helplessness, helplessness, and despair made people's fear reach an uncontrollable level.
Chen Jue determined that the murderer was no longer Liu Rui because of this important information.
"Li Xiao, give him a divination." Chen Jue pointed at the table and said.
Li Xiao nodded obediently. When she nodded, the blue veil on her hat swayed slightly.
She took out three copper coins, shook them, and threw them on the table.
The copper coins spun and fell on the table.
Fatty Liu Gen wiped his sweat again. His face was sometimes pale and sometimes red. He hadn't slept well these days.
Every day, he was worried that he would die miserably like his colleagues.
These days, he was so scared that if the dog next door looked at him, he would break out in a cold sweat.
When Chen Jue found him, he immediately agreed to Chen Jue's words.
Although he was suspected of being used as bait, it was better than waiting to die every day.
The glimmer of hope that Jue Chen had given him was his only hope of survival now.
Li Xiao stared at the copper coins for a while, then looked up and said to Liu Gen, "Let me see your palm."
Liu Gen hurriedly nodded and stretched out his trembling hand. It was white and fat.
Li Xiao looked, then stretched out a finger and carefully pressed on his lifeline.
A series of images immediately appeared in front of her eyes. She pursed her lips and stared at Liu Gen's hand, but there were other scenes in her mind.
Withdrawing her hand, Li Xiao nodded.
She stood up and looked at the courtyard. The shadows on the ground and the time indicated the location of the courtyard and the direction of the gate.
She stood there gracefully, with her slender waist and slender neck. The little girl seemed to be growing every day.
She didn't know when it started, but her chest and the back of her butt gradually began to rise and fall.
The girl's transformation seemed to be unknowingly mocking time. It was like the spring grass was growing, and it seemed to be visible to the naked eye.
She didn't know that when she was looking around, Chen Jue, the great and upright Lord, was also looking at her.
These days, he was not only thinking about the case, but also about the little girl in front of him.
It was an urgent matter that couldn't be left to think about in the future.
Li Xiao stepped out of the house and stood on the steps. She looked at the courtyard next door, then looked at the sun in the sky. She stood by the door and turned to Chen Jue. "Lord, the murderer will be here in about two hours."
Fatty Liu Gen, who was sitting by the door, heard this and stood up in fright. His fat body swayed, and his face was as pale as paper.