"System notification: solve the case within five days, or you will be made the scapegoat."
Done!
Clearly, Lin Ke had chosen option two.
This time, choosing everything wasn't an option. The two choices contradicted each other, so there was no way to take both!
And so he had thrown himself into the whirlpool.
Without even a way out.
To hell with the saying that a gentleman never stood beneath a tottering wall.
If he couldn't find the killer, even Qi Tianxia probably couldn't save him!
Fortunately, his choice wasn't all bad. There was even an extra reward: he had earned the appreciation of some higher-order existence.
While Lin Ke was thinking, Li Hanlin took a step back, and a constable immediately brought another chair and set it behind him. The whole process flowed like clouds and running water.
Li Hanlin sat down and raised his chin slightly. "Lin Ke, was it? You may begin!"
One look at Li Hanlin's posture, and how could Lin Ke fail to understand what he wanted?
To watch the show!
He already had a "backup candidate" for the killer, so what did he have to worry about?
Whether they caught the killer or a "scapegoat," he could report the job done!
Was he worried the tea wasn't fragrant enough, or the milk wasn't rich enough?
Perhaps he was only watching because he didn't want the trouble of chasing Lin Ke down if he ran. Otherwise, he probably would have packed up and gone home long ago.
"Yes." Lin Ke's heart was heavy, but he still struggled to keep his expression calm.
His composure in the face of such turbulence drew admiring remarks from everyone around him.
"Young Master Lin is so composed!"
"Unruffled by stormy waters, already showing exceptional promise. He's bound to achieve great things!"
"Xiaolin really is quite something!"
The spectators were full of praise for Lin Ke's bearing.
After looking around, Lin Ke immediately cupped his hands and bowed to Li Hanlin. "To catch the killer, I will need your help, sir!"
Li Hanlin smiled and nodded. "Granted."
With that answer, Lin Ke addressed the people around him. "Everyone, sorry for the trouble, but please take a look and see whether any of you have seen these two people before!"
Nobody moved!
Rather than getting angry or losing his temper, Lin Ke simply bowed to them. "Allow me to thank all you brothers and sisters in advance. If I find the killer, I will certainly visit each of you to thank you for your cooperation."
Then he fell silent.
Seeing how everyone was behaving, Lin Ke shook his head slightly and continued:
"If you refuse to move or come forward to give evidence, then all of you are suspects. I will ask the officer to have everyone arrested and subjected to harsh interrogation."
The faces of the people standing at the entrance immediately darkened.
"What a rotten sack of skin this fellow is!"
"Impatient in a crisis, with a sunken brow. He's bound to become a menace!"
"This fellow Lin is going too far!"
The crowd immediately changed its tune, whispering curses at Lin Ke.
Fortunately, a man dressed in coarse hemp clothes looked around, saw that nobody was moving, and strode forward. "I'll take a look first!"
After making a circuit, he shook his head. "Never seen either of them!"
"All right." Lin Ke nodded and smiled. "You may leave."
Wang Lin came forward second. She nodded at Lin Ke, her encouraging gaze seeming to say, You're doing wonderfully.
She soon reached the second man, and a rare trace of surprise appeared in her eyes. "I've seen this young gentleman. He admired my paintings at my Painting Studio."
Lin Ke's eyes brightened. He nodded at Wang Lin and asked, "Master, did he do anything unusual?"
"Anything unusual? Does being quick count?" Wang Lin smacked her lips. Seeing Lin Ke's expression freeze, she shook her head. "No."
Wang Lin turned to leave, but Lin Ke stopped her. "Master, I'll need your help again in a moment. Please don't leave yet."
Wang Lin nodded. At a time like this, she didn't ask any further questions and simply stood behind Lin Ke.
Another man stepped forward.
He was an ordinary resident of the street beside Chaoyang Street. After looking over the bodies, he shook his head too. "I've never seen them either!"
The matchmaker came next. She also stopped beside the young gentleman. "This gentleman spent the whole morning watching dancing at our Song-Listening Entertainment House..."
"The Entertainment House?" Lin Ke's eyes brightened. He nodded. "Matchmaker, find somewhere to sit nearby and wait a moment."
"Next..."
And so Lin Ke checked with them one by one, watching their expressions as he did so and carefully judging whether anyone was lying.
At the same time, he was testing some suspicions of his own.
"...Next!" He felt he might not be far from the truth.
Several more unfamiliar faces came forward to look, and all said they had never seen either man.
Lin Ke asked everyone not to leave yet, since there were two more people they would need to identify shortly. Then he told Wang Lin, "Master, I remember the faces of the other two. I'll describe them to you. Draw them, and then we'll let everyone identify them."
Wang Lin nodded and went back to fetch paper and brushes.
Once she had left, Lin Ke smiled at the few people by the door who hadn't looked yet. "Come on, you're the only ones left! Let's continue!"
A father and son stepped forward. Lin Ke had seen them before.
They were the father-and-son storytellers from the neighboring Tea Shop, though he had only encountered the younger man.
The old man's legs were bad, and the young man was supporting his father, so they seemed to move particularly slowly.
Seeing this, Lin Ke hurried forward to support the old man on the other side and approached the bodies with them.
After making a circuit, they stopped beside the young gentleman's body. Surprise showed in the young Tea Shop worker's eyes.
He told Lin Ke, "I've seen this young gentleman. He listened to storytelling at our tavern all afternoon today."
Listening to storytelling!
Another clue!
Pleasantly surprised, Lin Ke nodded. "Let's get your father seated first, then you can tell me everything."
The young Tea Shop worker nodded. Once they had helped the old man sit down, he continued, "This gentleman came to our Tea Shop just after noon.
"His face was flushed when he arrived, and he seemed very excited. Then he ordered some fruit and snacks and sat there all afternoon!"
A flushed face. Excitement.
Another detail!
"All right." Lin Ke nodded. "Would you and your father mind waiting a little? Or you could take him home to rest first, then come back. I may need to trouble you again later."
The young Tea Shop worker considered it and was about to nod when the old man seated nearby spoke in a hoarse voice. "Don't worry about this old man. Get on with your work!"
The young storyteller from the Tea Shop beside him smiled helplessly.
Hearing the old man's words, Lin Ke gave him a warm smile too. "Thank you."
Then he returned to the young gentleman's body and had those outside who hadn't looked yet continue.
The remaining people took their turns, but none said they had met or seen either of the two men!
After watching everyone's expressions as they looked at the bodies, Lin Ke found nothing unusual.
It seemed the route was the Song-Listening Entertainment House, the painting studio, the teahouse, and finally the tavern!
Just as everyone finished looking, Wang Lin came in carrying an easel, paper, and brushes.
Lin Ke went forward to help set up the easel, then straightened and said, "Please wait a little, everyone. Once my master and I have drawn the portraits and you've identified them, you can leave!"
Although many were reluctant, two constables suddenly appeared at the entrance. They didn't stop anyone, merely stood by the door, but that extinguished everyone's discontent.
Seeing this, Lin Ke quietly said a few words beside Wang Lin.
Then he closed his eyes!
The full-body appearances of the two men rose directly in his mind, and he began speaking rapidly. "Approximately seven chi two in height, weighing about two hundred and ten jin, body width approximately..."
A composite portrait?
As Lin Ke described him, the missing fat man's entire body appeared on the paper. Next came his face.
He was "drawing a person" through spoken descriptions!
Everyone listened as Lin Ke described eyebrows, forehead, and lips, while Wang Lin drew what he described.
Time passed, and even after a quarter of an hour, Lin Ke still hadn't stopped speaking.
Many onlookers grew curious and came over one after another to watch.
Before long, people crowded around them.
Throughout the process, everyone simply watched with wide eyes, saying nothing for fear of disturbing the scene.
"...A mole at the corner of his forehead, unusually large hands." Only after a long while did Lin Ke slowly let out a breath and open his eyes to look at Wang Lin, who had already set down her brush. "Master."
"Very good." Wang Lin looked at Lin Ke with some surprise, then pointed in front of her. "Have a look and see whether there's anything else to add!"
As she spoke, Wang Lin pointed at the drawing.
Lin Ke's eyes immediately lit up when he saw it. "What a wonderful drawing!"
It was practically identical to a high-resolution photograph.
As he examined the photograph, Lin Ke called softly, "Shopkeeper Tong, Slashing Hall, come take a look. Is there anything to add?"
Only when he looked up did he discover that people were already packed behind him, with Shopkeeper Tong and Bai Zhantang among them.
At Lin Ke's call, the two quickly came forward.
After both had stared at the drawing for a long time, Bai Zhantang was the first to raise his head, his expression solemn. "This... should... probably... possibly... definitely... be all right?"
Bai Zhantang glanced at the shopkeeper, who nodded too.
And so Lin Ke sank into thought:
"Yes, there's definitely nothing wrong with it."
But...
The fact that nothing was wrong was the biggest problem of all!
This fat man clearly had hands, so why had that Xiong ended up without paws?!
Before you continue