"Do those four women know each other?" Xu Zun asked again.
"Two of them belong to the same flower house, so they know each other naturally," Ju Ran replied, "but the other two come from different flower houses and have no contact with each other."
"Then..." Xu Zun asked again, "Were there any other Hualou girls who went to Huguo Temple to offer incense?"
"Yes, of course," Ju Ran replied without hesitation, "Huguo Temple was very popular in those days. It was mainly for career and fame. It was very popular among businessmen and students."
"..." Xu Zun was speechless, wondering whether those Hualou sisters were seeking career or fame?
"In other words," Zhao Yu analyzed, "not all prostitutes are targets for murder?"
"Yes, I have thought about this question too," Ju Ran said, "I also specifically asked Monk Lian Kong, what do these four women have in common that led him to kill them?
"But Lian Kong only said six words: It is difficult for mortals to understand!"
After hearing these six words, Xu Zun and Zhao Yu looked at each other.
"Of course I didn't believe it, so I checked these four women carefully," Ju Ran continued. "They have a lot in common. For example, they are all slender and light-bodied young women. They all fell into poverty because they were born in poverty.
Into the dust and so on...
"But these... tsk tsk..."
"These are the common characteristics of Hualou women," Xu Zun nodded. "Compared with other women, they are not special."
"Yes!" Ju Ran nodded and admitted, "But...if we hadn't caught Lian Kong at that time, God knows how many more people he would have killed?"
"Huh? When you said that, I thought of a question," Zhao Yu asked. "If you really arrested the wrong person, why did the case of the female corpse in monk's clothing be stopped after Lian Kong was arrested?"
"Yes!" Ju Ran said with a bitter look on his face, "Because of this, I have no doubts about this case for the past ten years!
"But if it's not the real culprit, how could the methods and details of the crime be exactly the same? Is it difficult...could it be..."
As he spoke, Ju Ran looked around as if he was frightened, as if there really was something evil in this dilapidated temple.
"You and Sheriff Taimin can rest assured. Based on what you said, even if the wrong person was arrested back then, it would be excusable.
"Because, if there is another real culprit, there is no doubt that it was Lian Kong who took the blame voluntarily, and it was not the result of you beating him up."
"No, absolutely not!" Ju Ran promised, "I can swear to God, we didn't even use a whip or a stick on Lian Kong. He confessed as soon as he was caught."
"Sir," Zhao Yu asked Xu Zun, "do you think the wrong person has been arrested?"
"It's hard to say. In my opinion, there are only two possibilities for this matter," Xu Zun stretched out a finger and said, "One is that the real murderer is someone else. For some reason, this person disappeared. Ten years later
Commit crime again.
"Back then, it was Lian Kong who took the blame for him, so he wanted to come back by paying homage to Lian Kong, and then start a new killing spree in Shangyuan City.
"The other way is that you didn't arrest the wrong person," Xu Zun said to Ju Ran, "the real murderer is Monk Lian Kong, but he had an accomplice or apprentice back then, and he taught this man Monk Yi Killer
method of killing.
"The person who is committing the crime now is this accomplice or apprentice!
"And the third kind..."
Unexpectedly, before Zhao Yu and Zhao Yu could taste it carefully, Xu Zun actually raised a third finger.
"Wait a minute," Zhao Yu interrupted, "didn't you just say there are only two possibilities?"
"Oh, I just thought of it, let's add another one!" Xu Zun said seriously, "It is also possible that Lian Kong took the opportunity to translate Buddhist scriptures and wrote down his killing experience in the Buddhist scriptures.
"Later, this killing experience was seen by someone, and that person became obsessed and became a new generation of monk-robed killers!"
"this……"
This time it was Zhao Yu and Ju Ran's turn to look at each other with surprise in their eyes.
"As for the fourth kind," Xu Zun stretched out his fourth finger and said mysteriously, "it sounds a bit mysterious, but it is not impossible."
"There's...there's a fourth kind?" Zhao Yu asked, "What is it?"
"That is..." Xu Zun said, "The real Lian Kong did not die back then!"
"Ah!?" Hearing this, Ju Ran almost knelt on the ground.
"This..." Zhao Yu also looked around timidly and said, "Master Xu, I think we should leave here quickly. I feel a little evil..."
The cold wind blew, and the atmosphere in the ruins became increasingly weird.
At this moment, the workers had already carried the body intact onto the stretcher and covered it with a white cloth.
"Let's go, let's go!" Seeing this, Zhao Yu almost pulled Xu Zun and Ju Ran out of the temple.
"Impossible!" However, Ju Ran murmured as if he was possessed, "It was definitely confirmed at that time! How could it be false?
"Huh? No, I was delayed for some reason and didn't see his execution with my own eyes. Could it be that I was replaced by someone?
"No," he pinched his chin again to deny, "If he were still alive, he would be an old man in his 60s now, how could he still be able to commit crimes?
"Listen to me, that monk became ill due to overwork from translating Buddhist scriptures. He trembled when holding a pen, let alone a knife. It's impossible, absolutely impossible..."
"Okay, okay," Zhao Yu took Ju Ran's arm and pulled him out, "Stop talking, if you say anything more, we will get nervous..."
When the three of them followed the corpse carrier out of the temple, Xu Zun discovered that Master Li Yan was still waiting outside the door!
After delaying for so long, I actually forgot about the governor.
Seeing Xu Zun coming out, Li Yan and Tai Min hurriedly came forward and asked, "How are you, Jiying?"
"Well..."
Xu Zun saw that Tai Min's face was like wax paper, and his eyes were evasive when he looked at him. He was obviously still deeply worried about the case of the corpse of the woman in monk's clothes.
"Is it really a murder?" Li Yan's worries were obviously different from Tai Min's, "I just thought about it and I think what you said makes sense. If it's really a murder and it's related to the daughter of the Hou family, then that's a big deal.
There will be big trouble!”
"It is indeed a murder!" Xu Zun nodded with a heavy expression.
"Ah?" Li Yan was dumbfounded.
"However, it is not yet certain whether it is related to Miss Lu's disappearance?" Xu Zun euphemistically said an official statement, "Further investigation is needed."
"Alas!" Li Yan sighed heavily, "What happened to our Tangzhou? We just settled the iron coffin, and so many difficult cases cropped up.
"Jiying, this time, I have to leave everything to you! This female corpse is fine, but the Marquis's daughter must be found!
"Otherwise, none of us can afford it if the Holy Spirit blames us!"
Tsk tsk...
Xu Zun smacked his lips secretly, feeling as if he had been tricked. He had just been promoted to Tangzhou to punish him, would he be blamed and punished by the Holy Emperor?
You're not here to take the blame?
"Sir," Xu Zunzhong said firmly, "even if the two cases are not related, both cases must be investigated clearly. No matter who the murdered girl is, she still needs someone to help her seek justice..."
