The Secret Chamber

"Eh?" Liang Yue was startled by her words.

Are you people from the Ministry of Justice always this careless when handling cases?

Seeing Ling Yuanbao's excited look as though she had found the real culprit, he hurriedly explained, "I did indeed bring my younger brother to meet Lord Zhen earlier. But he was reasonable and did not hold my brother's conflict with his son against us. After exchanging a few words, he let us leave. It was merely a dispute between juniors—why would we strike so ruthlessly against Lord Zhen?"

"No one knows what happened in this study. But if you were the last people to leave it, and no one entered afterward, then your suspicion is unquestionably the greatest." Ling Yuanbao rested her chin on her hand and pondered seriously. "As long as the Zhen family is not lying, there is almost no other possibility."

"Wait..." Liang Yue raised a hand to stop her train of thought.

If he had not been one of those involved, then from the standpoint of deduction, he might well have reached the same conclusion.

Zhen Xiaohao, kneeling in the courtyard, had acted as a watchman, ensuring that no one had entered or exited through the main gate after they left. The study windows were tightly shut and bolted, with no sign of having been forced open, meaning no martial artist had broken in through them. And the Five Spirit Hounds had detected no scent, meaning no demons, evil spirits, or Qi Refiners had used supernatural arts.

With every possibility eliminated, the remaining answer seemed to be the only one—the two brothers who had left last were the murderers!

But he was one of those involved.

He knew for certain that when the two of them had left, Zhen Changzhi had still been alive and well!

"Captain Ling, may I inspect the scene?" Liang Yue took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "I understand your suspicions, but my brother and I truly had no motive to murder Lord Zhen. Let me examine the scene. Perhaps I can find clues sufficient to prove our innocence."

"What do you mean?" Ling Yuanbao looked at him with ill intent. "Are you questioning the capabilities of our Ministry of Justice?"

"Yes." Liang Yue nodded.

The situation looked dire. If he did not fight for an opportunity now, the brothers might be taken away for questioning. The dead man was a sixth-rank official; this was a major matter that would reach the Emperor's ears. If the Emperor put pressure on the Ministry of Justice, and they could not find the true culprit, who knew what methods they might use...

So while he still had the chance, he wanted to investigate the case himself and see whether he could uncover any useful clues.

"Eh?" Ling Yuanbao's eyes widened. She had not expected him to admit it so frankly, openly displaying his contempt for her. For a moment, she was left choking on her anger.

Aren't you being a little too forthright about this?

"Hahaha, we Imperial Capital Guard naturally hold the Ministry of Justice in the utmost respect. But since Captain Ling intends to take away my brothers, you must at least convince us beyond doubt." With a hearty laugh, a broad, solid figure flashed in through the door.

At the crucial moment, Hu Tiehan, the junior officer from the Fukang Ward station, had finally arrived.

"Brother Hu..." Liang Yue looked over.

Though he often said Hu Tiehan was petty and narrow-minded, when facing outsiders, the man was fiercely protective of his own and would not readily abandon his subordinate brothers. His timely arrival gave Liang Yue a little more confidence.

"Eh." Hu Tiehan waved a hand, signaling that he need not panic, then continued, "Liang Yue is the most promising young subordinate guard at our station. Not long ago, he captured a Nine Yang spy. A talent who has rendered such great merit cannot simply be seized and taken away at your whim. We Imperial Capital Guard must be allowed to investigate as well."

"He captured a Nine Yang spy?" Ling Yuanbao looked at Liang Yue again, somewhat surprised.

The words "Nine Yang spy" carried extraordinary weight in the present Yin Dynasty. Anyone who could achieve such a merit would naturally be viewed in a different light.

"If Captain Ling does not believe it, you may inquire at the Evil Extermination Bureau," Hu Tiehan said.

"Fine." Ling Yuanbao spun aside and cleared the way, pointing inward. "Then I will permit you to go in and observe. But you are not to damage any evidence. Otherwise, this captain will take you down at once!"

Liang Yue nodded lightly, then stepped solemnly into the study.

This was the second time he had entered this room. When he had come earlier, he could never have imagined that he would be drawn into such a matter.

His gaze began to drift around the study, examining every object.

There was nothing much to see in the outer room. The furnishings were unchanged, as was that wall. It looked no different from when he had arrived.

Under the watch of several Ministry of Justice constables, he lifted the beaded curtain again and saw Zhen Changzhi's corpse and the crime scene.

The corpse's eyes bulged, blood vessels had burst, and terror filled his gaze. There were soft, sunken purple marks around his neck. Clearly, hanging had not been the true cause of death.

The rope over the beam was a strip of red silk threaded with gold. It looked like a luxurious fabric, and its quality was indeed excellent.

A book lay on the desk. When he had come earlier, Zhen Changzhi had been reading a letter, then had covered it with this book, as though it were something highly secret.

Liang Yue stepped forward and saw the title written on the book: "Records of Tongtian Tower Construction." He wanted to move the book aside and see what lay beneath, but the moment he stretched out his hand, he heard a thud.

Ling Yuanbao swept her palm sideways. Her sheathed blade spun through the air before knocking against the desk. "Do not touch anything."

"I won't." Liang Yue smiled. "Then please move this book for me, Captain Ling."

Ling Yuanbao stepped forward and removed the book, only to find nothing beneath it.

The letter was gone.

Liang Yue stored away this point of doubt, but it was not the urgent issue right now. The urgent question was who had killed Zhen Changzhi.

If nothing was wrong with the current situation, then after they had left, this study had become a sealed chamber. To unravel it, the simplest approach was to start with the chamber's surroundings.

Unless Zhen Xiaohao had lied...

That was unlikely. This concerned his most important person, his father. Even if he bore a grudge against Liang Peng, he would not forcibly frame him—unless he himself was the murderer.

He had been beaten today, then returned home only to be punished by kneeling. In such a harsh family atmosphere, an act of thunderous filial rebellion was not impossible.

But...

Liang Yue glanced at Zhen Xiaohao, whose face had turned bluish-purple from excessive grief and who looked ready to faint at any moment. Liang Yue shook his head. Setting aside whether the boy had the nerve, he could not even defeat Liang Peng. He absolutely lacked the ability to murder his father.

To shatter someone's throat bone with a single finger without harming the flesh required extraordinarily fine control over inner force. Even Liang Yue, a first-realm martial artist, could not accomplish it easily.

The murderer's cultivation was most likely higher than his own.

If there was no problem at the main gate, then the problem lay with the windows?

The window bolts were intact and firmly in place, without the slightest damage. The Zhen family had been the first to enter, so they could not have secretly rehooked the bolts afterward.

Liang Yue lowered himself and inspected every tiny detail of the window lattice. After making a careful circuit, he lowered his head again to inspect the footprints on the floor. Unfortunately, too many people had entered and exited by now, ruining all traces in the dust.

"Haah..."

Liang Yue sighed. He truly could not demand too much from people of this era, even if they were professionals from the Ministry of Justice.

As though led by an invisible thread, he remained bent over, staring at the floor. He lifted the beaded curtain and returned to the outer room, then finally straightened up and looked toward the ceiling.

Then...

Liang Yue suddenly smiled in realization.

Seeing him frown one moment and smile the next, Ling Yuanbao thought fear had rattled his mind. She softly said in a gentler tone, "If you truly cannot find any clues, then come back with us and submit to questioning. There is no need to waste time here. Believe me—if you are truly innocent, the Ministry of Justice will never wrongly convict you."

"There is no need." Liang Yue waved a hand, staring intently overhead. "I already know how the murderer committed the crime."

"Oh?" Everyone present immediately turned their eyes toward him.

"Huh?" Ling Yuanbao blinked blankly.

You just wandered around like this and that, and now you know something?

"After the two of us left, Zhen Xiaohao indeed did not see anyone entering or leaving through the main gate. That should be correct..." he muttered. "All the windows in the room were tightly shut. None had been forcibly opened, and no demons or Qi Refiners were involved... This study was a completely sealed chamber."

"What happened here was a sealed-chamber murder."

Liang Yue turned to face everyone, his voice ringing clear as he raised a hand and pointed. "There is only one truth! The one who let the murderer in was him!"

Work started again, and I began suffering from insomnia. I have not slept well these past two days; the day before yesterday, I did not fall asleep until after five in the morning. But to keep the updates steady and avoid burning through my saved chapters so early, I still forced myself to write two chapters while dizzy and muddleheaded.

I will keep going and work hard until I move myself to tears!

(Brothers moved to tears can cast a vote. I beg you on my knees.)