Night fell, and everyone in the stockade gathered together. Zhou Hao, acting as the host, sat in the middle of the crowd, with Yezi beside him. Standing before him and glaring at each other were Xu Shan and Ma Hongyun.
Zhou Hao glanced at the two of them and asked, "Has the evidence come back?"
Ma Hongyun said with a dark expression, "My people returned, but they found no evidence."
"Hmph, I told you that you were framing me." Xu Shan snorted coldly.
He looked remarkably confident!
Zhou Hao looked at him first, then turned his gaze to Ma Hongyun and asked, "Did something happen?"
Ma Hongyun gritted his teeth and nodded. "My people came back, but Heizi's mother was never kidnapped. No one even went near her during that time."
Xu Shan smiled secretly, though the hint of amusement quickly vanished. He curled his lip and said, "Looks to me like someone wants to pin the blame on me."
"Don't get too smug. You definitely killed Big Brother," Ma Hongyun said resolutely.
Xu Shan shrugged and spread his hands. "Then bring out the evidence. Otherwise, you're the one framing me—a thief crying thief."
"You..." Ma Hongyun pointed at Xu Shan's nose, just about to unleash a torrent of curses.
At that moment, Zhou Hao spoke up. "Enough. No evidence is no evidence. As long as we deal with the murderer, that's all that matters."
Xu Shan's mind went blank for a moment. He stared at Zhou Hao in terror and asked warily, "What are you trying to do?"
Zhou Hao shook his head and sighed. "Originally, I had no wish to interfere in your affairs, nor was it convenient for an outsider like me to do so. But Yezi and I get along well. Since he asked me to help him find the murderer, then I'll help him out. Consider it an explanation for Yezi."
As he spoke, he placed a hand on Yezi's head and gave it a rub, thoroughly mussing up Yezi's hair.
"What are you trying to do?" Xu Shan asked again.
A vague sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
Zhou Hao continued as if nothing had happened. "Murder generally requires a motive. So, what was your motive for killing Shi Po?"
He turned his gaze toward Ma Hongyun. "You go first. What motive did he have for killing Shi Po? Say anything you can think of. I'll make my own judgment."
As he spoke, he pointed at Xu Shan.
Ma Hongyun froze for a moment, then came back to his senses and immediately pointed at Xu Shan. "He and Big Brother went to the Tomb of Opportunities before. They must have found something valuable inside. He must have wanted whatever Big Brother obtained from the Tomb of Opportunities.
"Besides, the day before Big Brother died, he drank with Big Brother. He could easily have poisoned him."
Zhou Hao nodded slightly, then abruptly asked, "What kind of place is the Tomb of Opportunities?"
"Huh?" Ma Hongyun was slightly stunned. Was there really someone on Sky Dome Continent who did not know about the Tomb of Opportunities? Especially an expert like Zhou Hao—that was rather strange.
But he had no time to dwell on it and explained, "The Tomb of Opportunities can be considered a type of secret realm. But it is no ordinary secret realm.
"The Tomb of Opportunities is called that for two reasons. First, the time and location of its opening are both random. Encountering one depends entirely on luck—that is the 'opportunity.'
"The second reason is that the Tomb of Opportunities contains countless treasures. Treasures of every grade, from the lowest to the highest, have appeared there. It is a place that even powerful experts dream of, which also embodies the words 'opportunity.'
"After so many years of records, the continent has divided Tombs of Opportunities into nine levels, each corresponding to one of the nine realms.
"As for why they are divided that way, it is because there are restrictions on entering them. A Level One Tomb of Opportunities can only be entered by those in the Mortal Embryo Realm. A Level Two Tomb of Opportunities can only be entered by those in the Mystic Embryo Realm, and so on.
"Big Brother and Xu Shan entered a Level Three Tomb of Opportunities, which happened to match their Mystic Body Realm cultivation."
In his final words, Ma Hongyun could not help revealing a trace of envy.
That was understandable. In a place where one could obtain opportunities, who would not want to go?
After hearing the explanation, Zhou Hao became rather interested in the so-called Tomb of Opportunities. He asked curiously, "Can you obtain higher-grade treasures from a Level One Tomb of Opportunities?"
Ma Hongyun did not understand why he was asking, but he still answered, "You can. It is said that someone in the Mortal Embryo Realm obtained a cultivation technique from a Level One Tomb of Opportunities and then soared straight into the heavens. Conversely, even a Level Nine Tomb of Opportunities can produce some trash. It is just that the odds are far, far, far lower than in a Level One Tomb of Opportunities..."
Hearing that, Zhou Hao became even more interested in the Tombs of Opportunities.
Ma Hongyun could see Zhou Hao's interest, so he added, "Unfortunately, you can only take one treasure each time you enter a Tomb of Opportunities. As for whether it is good or bad, that truly depends on opportunity."
Zhou Hao nodded lightly, deciding to learn more about it later. This was not the right occasion to ask about such things.
He nodded slightly and returned to the main subject. "The motive is reasonable."
The moment Xu Shan heard those four words, he immediately objected. "Although Big Brother and I were not blood brothers, we were closer than blood brothers. How could I covet his treasures? What utter nonsense."
Zhou Hao raised his head and glanced at him, pressing a hand downward. "Calm down. This is only a motive. I never said it was definitely you. Why are you so anxious?"
Although he was already ninety percent certain that Xu Shan was the problem, since he was going to give an explanation, he had to have solid proof.
Ma Hongyun chimed in, "Exactly. Why are you so anxious? Could it be that you have a guilty conscience?"
"Heh~ Who the thief is remains to be seen," Xu Shan said in a strange, mocking tone.
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Zhou Hao immediately knocked on the table beside him.
Ma Hongyun and Xu Shan fell silent at once.
Once the scene quieted down, Zhou Hao slowly said, "Xu Shan, tell me what motive Ma Hongyun had!"
Xu Shan had long prepared his speech and answered smoothly at once. "Ma Hongyun once openly declared that he wanted to sit in the stockade chief's position. Everyone knows that. He also often disagreed with Big Brother. If he did not kill him, then who did?"
"So you have completely given up trying to frame Tiger Fiend Stockade, have you? Now you're pouring all the dirty water onto me." Ma Hongyun gritted his teeth.
Xu Shan paused, momentarily at a loss for words, then said, "I... I also suspect Tiger Fiend Stockade, but right now, I suspect you even more."
Only then did he realize that he had previously been so certain that Tiger Fiend Stockade was responsible, yet now he had suddenly turned his spearhead toward Ma Hongyun. The change really was a little too abrupt.
But it was not a big problem. As long as he clung to Ma Hongyun and refused to let go, that would be enough.
"You two do not need to argue anymore. I already know the motives. Both of your motives for murder are reasonable. Now tell me what you were doing during the time Shi Po died. Do you have alibis?"
After speaking, Zhou Hao quietly asked Yezi, "Do you have sunflower seeds or some other snack? Go bring some over."
Yezi nodded, then went to get some sunflower seeds.
Zhou Hao had never expected that one day he would get to play detective. Naturally, he wanted to enjoy it. In television dramas, movies, and anime, those detectives were genuinely cool, and all of them carried themselves with flair.
He felt that sitting here as a detective and listening dryly did not quite suit his detective aura. Cracking the case while eating sunflower seeds would better highlight his personality.
Heh heh, let the great detective Zhou Hao solve this case! Just thinking about it made him feel a little chuunibyou.
Before you continue