Xu Yunfeng lightly stroked the upturned mustache at his lips with a trace of smugness.
"It is very simple. Shen Liu must die."
Shen Liu?
Zeng Anmin remained silent and continued watching Xu Yunfeng.
"As a martial artist who had entered the ranks, a perfectly healthy living man coughed blood from illness and passed away within mere days. Is that not rather suspicious?"
"If Shen Liu's death was tampered with, who would be the prime suspect?" Xu Yunfeng wore a leisurely expression as he slowly looked toward Shen Jun.
"Surely it would be Shen Jun, who wished to take over the merchant fleet as soon as possible!"
"Utter nonsense!!"
Shen Jun's face instantly flushed red at Xu Yunfeng's words.
He wished he could rush forward at once and bite this wretched Xuanjing Division superior to death.
"My uncle treated me as his own son. How could I possibly commit such a beastly act?! Never mind taking over the fleet—even if emptying the family fortune could bring my uncle back, if I hesitated for even a moment, then I would not be fit to call myself human!!"
Clearly, such slander had touched his bottom line.
It left him speaking without regard for the occasion.
"How dare you! Defying your superior—do you want to die?!!!"
One of the Red-robed Guards' faces turned icy as he immediately drew the saber at his waist.
The Xuanjing Division did not care whose wealthy young master you were.
Zeng Anmin smiled faintly and looked at Xu Yunfeng.
"Right Clerk, your words have instead enlightened me."
"Oh?"
Xu Yunfeng slightly raised his brows, an approving smile appearing on his face.
"Does my worthy brother also agree with my deduction?"
At those words, everyone's expressions changed slightly.
Shen Jun's body trembled, and he stared at Zeng Anmin in disbelief.
Those close to Shen Jun also wore desolate expressions.
Of course, a small group instinctively clenched their fists, their faces turning tense and excited...
"No. Your words have instead made me even more certain that Shen Jun is not a suspect."
"Shen Liu had no descendants, while Shen Jun is the Shen Family's only remaining legitimate heir. He merely needed to live out his days as a wealthy young master and smoothly take over the fleet after Shen Liu passed away."
"Why would he go out of his way to do more? He has money, not a sickness in his head."
"And more importantly..." Zeng Anmin slowly looked toward Shen Jun.
Hm?
Xu Yunfeng's hand, which had been stroking his mustache, paused. He looked at Zeng Anmin in startled confusion.
Zeng Anmin curled his lips slightly. He slowly walked before Shen Jun and asked softly.
"You have never practiced martial arts?"
Shen Jun looked somewhat bewildered and nodded instinctively.
"No. I was frail from childhood. Forcing myself to practice martial arts would shorten my life."
"Are you sure?!"
A sharp glint flashed through Zeng Anmin's eyes.
"I am sure." Shen Jun understood even less what Zeng Anmin meant.
Quite a few servants around them also testified for Shen Jun. "Young Master truly has never practiced martial arts."
"Yes, we all know that."
"I have watched Young Master grow up since he was little."
"..."
Hearing this, Zeng Anmin nodded with a smile. Looking at Zhenzhu beside Shen Jun, he softly said.
"To strangle a woman in her early thirties to death without alerting anyone."
"Could an ordinary man do it?"
His voice was soft, yet everyone present heard every word distinctly!
That single sentence straightened out every line of thought.
"This..."
"These two could hear Shen Jun scolding Madam Liu Shen. If Shen Jun had strangled Madam Liu Shen to death, the commotion would certainly have been far greater than a few shouted reprimands..."
Solemnity filled Zeng Anmin's face as his voice slowly reached everyone's ears.
"Never mind him—even a strong, sturdy man could never accomplish it."
"Therefore, the murderer must at the very least be a martial artist who has entered the ranks!"
Zeng Anmin's gaze swept across them one by one.
The impact of those phoenix eyes was simply too great. Many lowered their heads, not daring to look up.
"So your guess is that one of the fleet guards did it?"
The Shen Family relied on its fleet for its livelihood and controlled transportation. Naturally, its household needed guards.
A cold smile flickered across Xu Yunfeng's face.
"Never mind whether those guards had a motive. If a guard had done it, these two servants could not possibly have survived until now."
Zeng Anmin's gaze was incomparably calm.
"Moreover, if the murderer wished to enter the Spirit Hall before two servants without anyone noticing, it would be impossible unless a Middle Three Ranks martial artist personally acted."
"But the wife of a mere merchant household could not possibly be entangled with a Middle Three Ranks martial artist."
Zeng Anmin slowly turned his head and set his gaze upon the main hall, as though an animation had appeared in his eyes.
It was precisely the animation of the Spirit Hall murder case from that day.
"Strictly speaking, this case was a locked-room murder."
"A locked-room crime, and the murderer was a martial artist."
"There also had to be a motive for murder..."
"Only one person met all these conditions."
Zeng Anmin slowly looked toward the crowd.
At this point in the case, the riddle was suddenly solved!!
"Who?!"
Xu Yunfeng asked instinctively.
Everyone looked tensely at Zeng Anmin.
"Shen Liu, inside the coffin."
Zeng Anmin slowly spoke a name that sent goosebumps rising all over everyone's bodies.
In an instant, the entire courtyard became so quiet that a needle dropping could be heard.
Once every impossibility had been eliminated.
The one remaining answer, no matter how unbelievable, was the truth.
After reviewing the case files that day, Zeng Anmin had carefully considered every detail within them.
In truth, before coming to Shen Manor, Zeng Anmin had never once turned his attention to the other victim.
It was not until Xu Yunfeng spoke those words that he was given a new line of thought.
How could he fail to see that Xu Yunfeng seemed to be helping him solve the case, while in truth directing every spearhead toward Shen Jun?
Xu Yunfeng's words had been watertight.
Yet Zeng Anmin could still sense that he wished to guide his thoughts, to make him conclusively pin the charge of murdering his aunt on Shen Jun and bring him to justice.
Then what was his purpose in doing so?
Zeng Anmin slowly lowered his gaze toward Shen Manor's main hall.
For now, he did not know.
But he faintly had a feeling that Xu Yunfeng's actions were connected to Prince Jiang's Estate.
"This... is this not far too bizarre? I saw my uncle's body with my own eyes."
Shen Jun's face was filled with incomparable absurdity.
He felt as though he were listening to the Heavenly Script.
"Once Martial Artists enter the ranks, they naturally possess certain wondrous abilities."
Zeng Anmin lifted his eyelids slightly. "Feigning death is not difficult."
"This..."
Shen Jun was already struck dumb.
This deduction was too bold... He simply could not accept it.
"Before the Spirit Hall, your aunt seduced you. She must have said some things too vile to hear, correct?"
Zeng Anmin looked at Shen Jun calmly.
Shen Jun nodded with an ugly expression.
Zeng Anmin remained unruffled, his voice still steady.
"That was Shen Liu's motive for murder."
"As for why he feigned death..."
Zeng Anmin discreetly glanced at Xu Yunfeng and sighed softly.
"He likely offended someone he should not have offended and feared implicating his family."
"Ha ha ha ha!! Absurd!!"
Xu Yunfeng suddenly burst into laughter. He even felt that Zeng Anmin had gone mad, and his laughter rang out loudly.
"In this official's view, Left Historian Zeng might as well resign from the Xuanjing Division and become a storyteller at a teahouse! Such gripping tales would surely earn him pots full and bowls overflowing!!"
Who could fail to hear the open mockery and hidden sarcasm in his words?
Zeng Anmin merely gave a cold laugh.
"We need only go to the grave and open the coffin for examination. Would whether I speak truth or falsehood not be revealed at once?!"
"Preposterous!!!"
Xu Yunfeng abruptly stopped laughing, lifted his chin, and looked coldly at Zeng Anmin as his twin mustaches trembled.
"The dead are gone. Shen Liu has been buried for many days. Left Clerk Zeng should leave this case to this official. Though this official is no godlike solver of cases, I am still more reliable than Left Clerk Zeng's utter nonsense!!"
Zeng Anmin gave a cold laugh.
"It is merely opening the coffin to examine the corpse. What is Right Clerk Xu worried about?"
Those ambiguous words made Xu Yunfeng's expression change.
Before you continue