Lord of the Desert

Chapter 277
It was past midnight and everyone had dispersed early.

Hong Fan sat blankly facing the window and saw the moon falling little by little below the ridge of the roof.

The night sky was a shell of solidified asphalt.

The stars are connected in a line, like gaps in the shell, revealing a little light from the outer world.

Hong Fan had no idea how long he had been sitting there.

Until the sound of clappers at the fourth watch could be heard in the distance outside the house.

Even though it is midnight during the festival, the watchman still has to walk around the streets.

Those who suffer from the same insomnia will inevitably feel sympathy for each other.

The banging sound is far away.

Hong Fan's knotted thoughts loosened slightly and became clear again.

The first thing that surged up was grief. When he saw Zhan Yuanzi's body, it was like a heavy hammer hitting his head.

The buzzing dizziness left behind will not be diluted until Wu Ruyi, Gu Taining and others leave.

After sadness comes anger.

Hong Fan returned to Xijing full of ambition.

The business trip is on the right track, and the martial arts is progressing smoothly.

The network of personal relationships is broadened little by little, and the foundation of the Jin Haihong family is slowly consolidated...

Everything should have a new look in the new year.

But Zhan Yuanzi's death, as a fact, was as real and hard as iron. When Hong Fan was caught off guard, it slapped him in the face.

The unchangeable life and death stand in front of you like a high wall, making everything seem insignificant.

Feelings of powerlessness pile up like firewood, fueling the fire of anger.

At this moment, Hong Fan wanted to cry like Wu Ruyi, trying to get rid of the excess emotions as much as possible.

But he couldn't shed a tear.

Under sadness there is anger, under anger there is powerlessness.

What is there when there is no power?
Hong Fan couldn't suppress the heat all over his body, so he stood up and took off his outer robe.

On the arms, the hairs stood on end.

In an instant, he understood the emotions hidden deep in his bones.

fear.

Hong Fan was able to think suddenly.

Unfortunately, rationality still brings frustration.

[Who did the planning? 】

【What is the purpose? 】

【Why this time? 】

Still sitting there.

The fruitless thinking left Hong Fan numb.

Until the sound of voices and movement was heard in the front yard.

[Are the investigators here? 】

Hong Fan thought about it, and when he looked up, he realized that the starry night had faded away.

But at some point, it was dawn.

······
The sixteenth day of the first lunar month was a little warmer than the day before.

It's almost time for the snow to melt.

Hong Fan was still wearing the same clothes as when Jin Hai came all the way. He went to the front yard and saw that the new guards were already busy in the side room and the garden.

He was then led.

Back in the backyard, Hong Fan fetched water from the well and washed his face three times until his skin ached from rubbing it, and finally felt sober as a new person.

As usual, the things that should be done under the current situation were automatically listed in his mind one by one.

Hong Fan first went to the kitchen to boil hot water for later use.

Then he opened two cakes of top-quality old white tea given by Zhuang Liren and brewed a large wooden bucket for the reception.

Finally, he collected some broken silver and went out to buy a hot breakfast and brought it back himself.

Wu Ruyi arrived quickly, followed by Jian Siyuan
The latter is already old. He obviously didn't get much sleep last night and looks particularly old today.

After all, professional things must be done by professionals.

The policemen of the city guard were divided into groups and conducted extremely detailed surveys.

The thickness of the ice layer in the pool, the integrity of the shrub branches, the traces of the root angles inside and outside the wall, the stress deflection of the roof tiles...

Not to mention the impact of the fight between the two sides and the condition of the remains.By the end of the moon, the case had preliminary results.

"Mr. Hong, according to our speculation, the case occurred around Hai hour on the [-]th day of the first lunar month."

The head catcher in a navy blue soap coat said.

This man's name is Jiang Lechi, his forehead is full of knife marks carved by time, and he is very famous in Xijing.

"There are five people coming."

"We tested the thickness of the ice surface in the pool in the garden and found that the right third was thinner."

He led Hong Fan and others to the garden pond pavilion.

"At that time, the victim was painting in the pavilion. No. 1 was hiding under the water and suddenly fired a cold arrow through the ice."

"The last brushstroke on the painting was paused for a long time. We estimate that this blow was detected by the victim early - the Tianxin Sensing Chapter he practiced has this effect."

"The hidden arrow was dodged and hit the pavilion pillar."

Jiang Lechi stepped into the pavilion and pointed to the gap in the pillar.

"This blow was fatal and powerful. The fragments struck cut off the new branches of the shrubs outside the pavilion, but we did not find any remnants of these fragments."

"There are two inferences."

"First, hidden arrows are fired by condensing water into ice."

"Second, combined with the turtle's breath submersion technique required for lurking, this person should be practicing water martial arts."

This analysis was so intertwined that Hong Fan and others couldn't help but nod their heads after listening to it.

"The victim was an experienced Tiqi. He didn't panic after the assassination. He evacuated the room immediately."

Jiang Lechi looked east and spoke again.

"This is because he is proficient in swordsmanship, but he did not bring a weapon when painting. When the murderous intention appears, the first thing a swordsman thinks of is to take the sword."

During the conversation, several people walked back to the eaves.

Beside it were windows that were pushed inwards.

"The victim broke into the house and retrieved the sword."

Jiang Lechi jumped into the house with a slight leap.

Everyone followed suit.

"After taking the sword, he turned around and slashed repeatedly, shattering four ice arrows that were chasing after him outside the window. The flying ice flakes left traces."

In the darkness, the head catcher stood under the beam and made false cuts toward the window several times, and then pointed to seven or eight locations around him without looking.

Hong Fan used his eyesight enough to see that these places were damaged by impact.

"But the real murderous intent is not outside, it's here!"

Jiang Lechi suddenly raised his hand and pointed upward.

Hong Fan felt like he was in trouble.

Directly above where the head catcher stood was the beam of the house.

"One person had already ambushed Liang Shang and waited for the victim to deal with the ice arrow before taking action silently."

Jiang Lechi's tone was low, as if he had witnessed that scene himself.

"The palm was condescending and powerful. The victim jumped back urgently. Although he barely managed to catch the palm with his palm, he still couldn't bear it and was knocked backwards and knocked out of the front wall of the wing."

"By the way, there is half a footprint left by the assassin on the main beam. The position of the opposite palm is seven and a half feet up from the ninth brick under the window."

He added.

"How do you determine the position of your opponent's palm?"

Wu Hongling was confused.

"Wu Siye can go get a ladder and take a look at the offset distribution of dust on each horizontal beam and vertical beam."

Jiang Lechi glanced at her and replied.

"Not only can you know where the palms are facing each other, but you can also know that the wind of the palm is shifting from west to east - the second assassin's palm strength is higher than that of the victim."

"The contusion on the left wrist on the latter's body can also confirm this."

Wu Hongling nodded and said nothing.

"Anyway, this palm knocked the victim away, smashed the door and fell out."

Seeing no one asked, Jiang Lechi passed by two broken doors half hanging on the door shafts and walked into the depths of the courtyard.

"And then there's the third person."

"This man is standing here, he is very big, and when he exerts his force, he crushes all the two grasses between the bricks."

"When he saw the target coming out, he started to move forward to meet it. He should have slashed it out with something like a broadsword."

"The knife was barely blocked, but it cut off the Lingshu Sword that was padded on it, and left a compression scar in front of the victim's body."

(End of this chapter)