The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 109 Wan'er's plea for help, stepping on Li Yuan's unsolved martial virtue case!
When Liu Shuyi arrived at his office, he saw two thick stacks of files on his desk.

He quickly sat down, picked up the file, and began to examine it.

This is a case from the Xuzhou Prefectural Government Office. The case involves two neighbors who committed a crime of passion due to an argument. After the murder, the murderer, fearing responsibility, wanted to dismember the body and hide it. However, in his panic, he started hacking at the body with a knife in the yard, which attracted the attention of passersby.

The passerby was also a bit of a busybody. He thought the man was stealing some good meat, so he climbed over the wall to peek, only to see the murderer chop off his head. He was so scared that he wet himself on the spot.

He rushed to report the crime in a panic, so the murderer was arrested by the authorities before he could even escape.

The case has a complete chain of evidence, with witnesses and physical evidence, a strong motive, and sound logic.

Liu Shuyi found nothing unusual, so he quickly wrote "Passed," placed it on the table to his right, and then quickly picked up the new case file to examine it.

Because of his extensive experience and the fact that he had just woken up and his mind was very active, he processed the case files extremely quickly.

In less than half an hour, half of the case file had been processed.

However, he found no problems with these files. He wondered if it was because he had rejected the files before that the Dali Temple was more careful in its initial review of the files than before.

This makes it impossible for him to find a problematic case now.

dong dong dong.

At this time, the door was suddenly knocked.

"Master Liu," Zhao Feng's voice came from outside.

"Come in," Liu Shuyi said without looking up.

Zhao Feng pushed open the door and entered, only to see Liu Shuyi diligently handling official business. He said, "Minister Du has ordered me to bring you this ration."

Confession?

Liu Shuyi quickly realized that this must be the confession of Miaoyin'er that he had asked Du Ruhui for.

He looked up, took the statement Zhao Feng handed him, and said, "Wasn't today your day off? Why aren't you resting at home?"

Zhao Feng and Lu Yangyuan had been working very hard following him around, so yesterday he told them to rest today and come to the yamen to report for duty tomorrow.

He couldn't help Du Gou and the others get leave, but he still had the right to decide whether Zhao Feng and Lu Yangyuan should rest.

Zhao Feng smiled and said, "Last night, unlike the Assistant Minister, I didn't have to go to the palace to meet the Emperor. I went back to my residence and fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes. When I woke up this morning, I felt refreshed and didn't feel tired at all. Thinking that I had just taken office and it was time to make a good impression, I came to work."

Liu Shuyi understood that although Zhao Feng was only a minor official, his promotion from clerk to official was a significant achievement, and he could not afford to be complacent.

He nodded and said, "However, it's still important to balance work and rest. If you're constantly on edge, it can actually lead to low efficiency."

"I understand, Your Excellency. Rest assured, I will not force myself."

Liu Shuyi knew that Zhao Feng was aware of the situation, so he didn't say anything more.

He looked down at Miaoyin'er's statement and the more he read, the more he understood why Du Ruhui was so helpless.

Compared to Miaoyin'er's behavior when he last met her in prison, Miaoyin'er has provided more testimony recently.

And unlike before, it's not so obvious at a glance that it's unreliable.

But precisely because of this, it becomes even more difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake.

For example, when Du Ruhui asked Miaoyin'er who her master was, Miaoyin'er said that she could not betray her master, but she could betray her partner in order to gain a more comfortable life in prison.

The partner she betrayed was named Gu Wen, who was the county magistrate of Wannian County.

She said the reason she was able to run Miaoyinfang so well and no one had ever caused her trouble was because Gu Wen was backing her up, and that Gu Wen frequently went to Miaoyinfang for entertainment, which was something that could be investigated.

Du Ruhui investigated and indeed found out that Gu Wen had indeed been to Miaoyinfang.

Since Miaoyinfang is located within the jurisdiction of Wannian County, Gu Wen's secret support can indeed help Miaoyinfang avoid many problems.

However, it was perfectly normal for court officials to visit brothels, and they could not conclude from this that Gu Wen and Miao Yin'er were necessarily related.

But Miaoyin'er spoke so clearly and in such detail that Du Ruhui was momentarily unsure whether it was true or false.

Therefore, during this period, Du Ruhui had been secretly keeping an eye on Gu Wen, trying to determine whether Gu Wen really had a problem.

As Liu Shuyi looked at the contents, he couldn't help but gently stroke the confession with his fingertips. He was also wondering whether the people Miao Yin'er mentioned in her confession this time had problems or not.

Would Miao Yin'er really betray her accomplices so easily?
Or was she deliberately causing trouble for them, keeping them on her toes?

Liu Shu couldn't help but recall the time he met Miao Yin'er in the prison. Miao Yin'er kept saying that she had a deep affection for her brother, and not a word of truth came out of her mouth. She was exactly like the demonic witch he had stereotyped about... Even though he had seen countless people, he found it hard to be sure of the truth in Miao Yin'er's words.

After thinking for a moment, he continued reading.

Then it was discovered that, besides Gu Wen, Miao Yin'er had also revealed two other so-called accomplices.

One was an official from the Ministry of Works, and the other was an official from the Ministry of Revenue.

Miao Yin'er also clearly explained the detailed identities of the two officials, but neither of them had ever been to Miao Yin Fang.

"They've never been to Miaoyinfang, yet they know their identities so clearly. Either they really have some connection to her, or she planned to use them to distract us before she was arrested..."

Did she ever consider the possibility of being arrested?

Liu Shuyi frowned slightly, his fingertips tapping incessantly on the desk.

Zhao Feng, seeing Liu Shuyi deep in thought, said softly, "Sir, why don't I go and attend to my business first?"

Liu Shuyi then remembered that Zhao Feng was still here.

He thought for a moment and said, "Steward Zhao, please arrange for someone to go to the Chang'an County Government Office later."

"Chang'an County Government Office?"

Zhao Feng paused for a moment, then guessed, "Looking for County Commandant Wang?"

"Yes."

Liu Shuyi smiled, took out a piece of paper, and wrote on it his request for Wang Gui to find a case for him. He said, "You probably don't know yet, but with the death of Wan Langzhong, my position as the Director of the Ministry of Justice has become vacant. His Majesty has decided today to allow us, the officials in the criminal justice system who are qualified for promotion, to compete fairly."

"Whoever makes the most contributions in the next two weeks will be promoted to a fifth-rank physician."

"So I need some cases now, but there are too few cases that can be sent to the Ministry of Justice. I can't just wait around; I need to take the initiative and look for suitable cases."

Zhao Feng's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but ask, "So, it means that Liu Yuanwailang is about to become a doctor?"

Liu Shuyi smiled and shook his head: "Don't say that, the competition has only just begun... but I really want to give it my all."

Zhao Feng knew Liu Shuyi's abilities better than anyone else. In his opinion, Liu Shuyi was invincible in solving cases, and no one could compare to him.

So, whether the competition is based on investigating cases or on fair competition, the final winner will definitely be Liu Shuyi.

He said, "Heaven rewards those who persevere; the Assistant Minister is finally about to truly enter the core of the court!"

The core of the imperial court?
Liu Shuyi thought about it and realized that what he said was both right and wrong.

Yes, because in the Tang Dynasty, only officials of the fifth rank or above could participate in court assemblies.

In other words, those below the fifth rank did not even have the right to participate in court discussions; they were merely outward laborers.

The fifth rank is indeed a very important dividing line.

From this perspective, they had indeed entered the core of the imperial court and gained the right to discuss national affairs.

However, it wouldn't be accurate to say that one has completely entered the core of the imperial court. After all, the fifth rank is just a threshold; it only grants the qualification to participate in court assemblies.

Those who can truly participate in deciding national affairs must at least be at the level of a fourth-rank vice minister.

However, no matter what, the fifth rank was an insurmountable barrier for people like Liu Shuyi who were below the sixth rank. If they wanted to have the opportunity to enter the inner circle and become important officials in the future, they had to take this step!
Liu Shuyi said, "Let's not talk about the later things for now. The most urgent thing is to find a way to make a contribution."

"Wait a moment, I'll write another letter to Military Advisor Cui. When you send someone to deliver the letter to County Magistrate Wang, also have a messenger deliver the letter to Military Advisor Cui."

As he spoke, he took another piece of paper and wrote the same message on it for Cui Lin.

Zhao Feng watched Liu Shuyi writing furiously, and then, as if struck by a thought, asked, "Master Qian, are you also going to compete?"

"of course."

Without looking up, Liu Shuyi said, "He is also a junior official, and he has been in office longer than me. He would never let this opportunity slip by."

"Not to mention……"

A cold glint flashed in Liu Shuyi's eyes: "If Pei Ji wants to stop me, he will definitely support someone else to seize the position of physician. Qian Wenqing is his nephew-in-law and has been under his arrangement to target me. If nothing unexpected happens, Qian Wenqing will be my biggest opponent in this competition for the position of physician."

Knowing the relationship between Liu Shuyi and Pei Ji, Zhao Feng frowned upon hearing this and said, "If Minister Pei is supporting Qian Yuanwailang behind the scenes, can it still be considered fair competition? He is Minister Pei, and although he is not as powerful as before in the last year or two, he has been managing the court for so many years, and his influence is still terrifying. If he makes a move, he can easily create a lot of trouble for us. With his help, it would be difficult for Qian Wenqing to lose."

Liu Shuyi had anticipated all of this, and said calmly, "His Majesty talks about fair competition, but you don't really believe that it will necessarily be fair, do you?"

"So this competition is not only about ability, but also about background and connections."

"However, Qian Wenqing has Pei Ji's support, and I also have Master Du's support. Master Du will never allow Pei Ji to make a move against me. In other words, I don't need to worry about Pei Ji causing me trouble."

"But that's all we can do... After all, as the Minister of Justice, Lord Du can't be too biased towards me, otherwise the other assistant ministers of the Ministry of Justice will definitely feel dissatisfied."

In this competition, Du Ruhui can only be considered a shield to protect himself from open and hidden attacks. As for the rest, he can only rely on himself!

This is why Du Ruhui told himself to "fight and snatch" instead of "don't worry, everything is alright."

Zhao Feng nodded knowingly and said, "Just now, when I came to see the Assistant Minister, I ran into Assistant Minister Qian. Assistant Minister Qian inexplicably gave me a cold laugh and said that my good days were coming to an end. Then he left quickly with a smug look on his face, as if he had received some case..."

"I was quite puzzled at first, not understanding what had gotten into him. Now it seems that he must already know about the competition for the position of physician and has already received a case that could bring him merit."

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes: "Are our good days coming to an end? Is this a reminder that if he becomes a doctor, he won't let us have a good ending?"

"They're really arrogant. The competition has only just begun, and they're already planning how they'll deal with us after they win."

Zhao Feng's expression was solemn: "No matter what, we cannot let him succeed! Otherwise, we may have no place in the Ministry of Justice."

Liu Shuyi was well aware of all this. Although he had Du Ruhui's support, the position of prime minister was clearly more important to Du Ruhui than the position of Minister of Justice. Therefore, Du Ruhui's time in the Ministry of Justice was very limited, and it was even possible that one day Du Ruhui would leave the Ministry of Justice and devote himself to the position of prime minister.

In this situation, if Qian Wenqing were to climb over him again, he would definitely not have an easy time. After all, there are too many ways to persecute people in officialdom. As long as it is within the rules, even Du Ruhui might not be able to protect him.

Not to mention, if Du Ruhui had to handle everything, then I would be too incompetent, and my status and image in Du Ruhui's eyes might be affected.

Therefore, in this struggle, the victor must be oneself.

Otherwise... the future is unpredictable!
Liu Shuyi took a deep breath, handed the two letters to Zhao Feng, and said, "Go and deliver these messages for me first. Also, investigate how Qian Wenqing's case came about. Was it submitted by a lower-level government office and just happened to fall on Qian Wenqing's head? Or was it specifically sent to him?"

Zhao Feng took the letter without hesitation and said, "I will investigate immediately."

After saying that, he quickly left.

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes as he watched the door close again.

The competition for doctors this time is probably more intense than he originally expected.

Only half an hour after I learned of the news, Qian Wenqing already knew about it and had taken on the case to investigate...

What about everyone else?
Does this mean that I've already fallen behind?
Liu Shuyi lightly tapped his fingertips on the desk, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly.

Regardless of what others do, you must not lose your composure.

Investigating a case is different from other things; it's not that whoever investigates first will necessarily get results.

So who will have the last laugh remains to be seen until the very end.

For him now, handling his official duties well and patiently waiting for an opportunity is the best choice.

Otherwise, if even basic official duties cannot be handled properly, and someone finds a weakness to attack, that would be a big problem.

Thinking about this, Liu Shuyi shook his head, suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and looked back at the confession on the table.

He couldn't determine the truthfulness of Miao Yin'er's testimony for the time being, so he put it aside and would talk to her again after he seized the position of physician.

Didn't Miao Yin'er always hope that he would reach the fifth rank as soon as possible? Then he would see how Miao Yin'er would react when he actually reached the fifth rank.

After carefully folding Miaoyin'er's confession and putting it in his pocket, Liu Shuyi didn't delay any longer. He picked up the case file again and quickly began to review it.

And so, another half hour passed.

He finished processing all the case files.

As he expected, there were no problems at all.

There was no breakthrough to be found in the files of the Dali Temple.

dong dong dong.

With a knock on the door, Zhao Feng's voice rang out again: "Your Excellency, it's me."

"come in."

crunch--

Zhao Feng pushed open the door and entered.

Upon seeing Liu Shuyi, he couldn't wait to say, "I have already found out that Qian Wenqing's case was submitted to the Ministry of Justice by Gu Wen, the county magistrate of Wannian County, hoping that the Ministry of Justice would provide assistance."

"Gu Wen?"

Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow, recalling Miao Yin'er's testimony. According to Miao Yin'er, Gu Wen was her accomplice, but Du Ruhui couldn't confirm the truth and hadn't taken action against him for the time being.

I didn't expect to hear his name again so soon.

Liu Shuyi said, "So, this case has been assigned to Qian Wenqing?"

"No."

Zhao Feng said, "After Gu Wen submitted the case to the Ministry of Justice, he took the initiative to ask Qian Wenqing to take action."

"Actively sought out Qian Wenqing?"

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed. He suddenly remembered that when Wang Gui requested the Ministry of Justice's assistance in Bai Jinghong's case, he also found Qian Wenqing.

But at that time, the Ministry of Justice only had one assistant director, Qian Wenqing. If he didn't seek help from Qian Wenqing, no one in the Ministry of Justice could help him. Moreover, if he offended Qian Wenqing, the Ministry of Justice might not help him anymore.

Therefore, Wang Gui had no choice but to choose Qian Wenqing.

Now that the Ministry of Justice has a renowned official like himself, logically speaking, choosing him in his spare time would be more helpful in solving the case than choosing Qian Wenqing.

Gu Wen, however, insisted on having Qian Wenqing do the work...

Liu Shuyi asked, "Does Gu Wen have a relationship with Qian Wenqing?"

Zhao Feng said, "I made a special inquiry and they said that Gu Wen and Qian Wenqing knew each other for a long time. They were classmates in the same county school."

Classmate?

No wonder Gu Wen went directly to Qian Wenqing.

Liu Shuyi asked, "Do you know what kind of case it is?"

Zhao Feng nodded: "I asked, and it's just an ordinary murder case. It doesn't seem particularly difficult."

It wasn't particularly difficult, but we found Qian Wenqing...

Liu Shuyi understood.

It seems that the credit for solving the case was specifically given to Qian Wenqing.

This is clearly aimed at the dispute over doctors.

"Besides Qian Wenqing..."

Zhao Feng looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "I have also learned that other officials have taken action as well."

"The Assistant Magistrate of the Ministry of Justice has gone to the prison, apparently to re-examine and interrogate the prisoners currently held there..."

"The Assistant Director of the Ministry of Revenue went to the Ministry of Revenue to audit the local judicial accounts and determine whether there was any corruption among local officials."

"The Ministry of Justice has also begun investigating the documents and checking whether anyone is smuggling behind the back of the court."

The four departments of the Ministry of Justice each have their own responsibilities.

The Du Guan Si was in charge of prisoner management, the Bi Bu Si was in charge of auditing and justice, and the Si Men Si was in charge of checkpoints, passage, and smuggling investigation.

It's true that power can be influencing people's hearts. The competition among doctors has only just begun, and they're already getting restless, eager to find opportunities to make a name for themselves.

Thinking about their actions, Liu Shuyi suddenly had a sense of déjà vu with the "Judicial Sword-Breaking Operation." Could it be that Li Shimin hoped to thoroughly investigate the court through this competition?

Don't say...

Given the current turbulent situation and the presence of numerous powerful forces within the court, it's not impossible for Li Shimin to seize this opportunity to expose some problematic officials.

Moreover, these competitors are not only comparing their own abilities, but also their background and resources. In this way, it might be possible to find out who is close to whom, and who belongs to the same faction...

hiss……

Don't dare to think about it.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that Li Shimin used the competition among doctors as a pretext to play a grand game.

However, this has little to do with him; the most urgent task is to find the case.

Qian Wenqing already had a case, and everyone else had started taking action, but he had made no progress all afternoon.

"Has County Magistrate Wang replied?" Liu Shuyi asked.

Zhao Feng shook his head: "My men delivered the letter to County Commandant Wang and then returned. County Commandant Wang hasn't sent anyone to relay the message yet."

Liu Shuyi frowned slightly. Wang Gui hadn't sent a message, which most likely meant that there were no cases at the Chang'an County government office at the moment.

Should we go find Du Gou?
However, the Court of Judicial Review has so many assistant judges and judges. If a case is handed over to the Court of Judicial Review, they will rush over like tigers and wolves at the first moment. It will probably not be easy to snatch the case from the Court of Judicial Review.

But there's no other way right now, so he has to seize even the slightest opportunity.

He said, "After I finish my shift, I'll go to the Du residence to see Vice Minister Du..."

"Master Liu..."

Before he could finish speaking, a voice suddenly came from outside the door: "There is a woman named Wan'er outside the yamen. She says she is a maid from the household of the magistrate and requests to see him."

Wan'er?

Liu Shuyi was somewhat surprised.

When he was on duty, Wan'er never came to the yamen to look for him.

Her sudden arrival suggests something must have happened.

"Let her in... no."

Liu Shuyi stood up immediately: "I'm going to see her."

As I hurried out of the yamen, I saw Wan'er, dressed in a green dress, pacing back and forth outside.

Her once vibrant face was now filled with anxiety, and her normally arched eyebrows were tightly furrowed together.

This was the first time Liu Shuyi had seen Wan'er with this expression, and he had a bad feeling. He immediately stepped forward and said, "Wan'er."

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's voice, Wan'er paused, then abruptly turned to look at him.

The moment Wan'er saw Liu Shuyi, she pursed her lips tightly, as if she was about to cry.

"Master..."

She hugged Liu Shuyi tightly and said, "Mo Xiaofan is in trouble!"

Mo Xiaofan?
In Liu Shuyi's mind, a figure instantly appeared: wearing dirty clothes but with a pair of very bright eyes.

Mo Xiaofan was introduced to her by Wan'er. He was a little beggar who helped her solve the cases of Liu Yuanming stealing the remains of the Prince of Xi and the disappearance of Changsun Chong.

He had a good impression of Mo Xiaofan. Mo Xiaofan was young and, although he was a beggar, he had his own principles and beliefs. He was independent, self-reliant, and confident. He liked Mo Xiaofan very much and had invited him to work at the Liu residence more than once, but Mo Xiaofan did not want to be controlled and refused.

Unexpectedly, after our last parting, the next news I heard from him was that Wan'er had brought news of an accident.

He gently patted Wan'er's back and said, "Don't worry, tell me, what's wrong with Xiao Fan?"

Hearing Liu Shuyi's voice, Wan'er felt as if she had found her pillar of support. She took a deep breath, looked up at Liu Shuyi, and said, "These past few days, Mo Xiaofan and the others have not been able to beg successfully and have lost a lot of weight. So I made an agreement with Mo Xiaofan that I would prepare some food and have him come to the Liu residence yesterday evening to take the food for him and the other little beggars."

Liu Shuyi nodded; this was also his intention.

In order to repay Mo Xiaofan for his help, he told Mo Xiaofan that if he couldn't get any food, he should go to Liu's house. As long as Liu's house had a bite to eat, he wouldn't go hungry.

"Didn't he go to get the food on time?" Liu Shuyi wondered.

"Yes!"

Wan'er nodded emphatically: "After I prepared the food, I waited for him at the door. Although Mo Xiaofan is just a little beggar, he is very punctual. He has never been late for the time we agreed to meet."

“But yesterday, I waited for him all night, and he didn’t come.”

"I was worried that something had happened to him, so as soon as it was light, I rushed to his usual place to look for him, but..."

Wan'er's eyes were full of worry: "The other beggars told me that Mo Xiaofan left before evening yesterday. Before he left, he said he would bring them food and that they should wait for him at their lodgings and not leave."

"They waited for Mo Xiaofan all night, but Mo Xiaofan never returned."

Liu Shuyi frowned: "So, Mo Xiaofan did indeed set off for the Liu residence, but he didn't arrive... Did he encounter an accident along the way?"

Wan'er nodded emphatically: "Yes."

"I didn't know if the young master had returned. In my anxiety, I mobilized the beggars to search for Mo Xiaofan while I went to the Chang'an County Government and the Wannian County Government to report the case."

"You reported the case to both county governments?"

Wan'er said, "I don't know if he might encounter something along the way and change his itinerary to go to other markets, so to be on the safe side, we reported the case to both government offices to find out if there were any casualties last night."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "You did the right thing. What was the result?"

Wan'er shook her head: "When the Wan'nian County government heard that I had reported a case for a beggar, they ignored me completely. They said that beggars are homeless and do all sorts of petty theft. Maybe he did something bad and ran away because he was afraid of being discovered. They won't accept my report."

"The Chang'an County government originally intended the same thing, but after County Lieutenant Wang heard that the person I was looking for was Mo Xiaofan, he changed his mind..."

Liu Shuyi's heart skipped a beat: "Does he know Mo Xiaofan?"

Wan'er said, "When County Magistrate Wang and you were investigating the case of the disappearance of the Temple Attendant Changsun together, you organized the case files and learned that it was Mo Xiaofan who provided the copper coin clue. He didn't know if it was the same name, so he met with me."

"After hearing the details of what happened from me, he told me that he would arrange for the yamen runners of Chang'an County to investigate. He also told me that he had not heard any news of casualties in his jurisdiction last night."

Liu Shuyi nodded. If there were any cases involving casualties, Wang Gui would notify him immediately after receiving his letter.

"And then what happened?" Liu Shuyi asked.

Wan'er said, "I learned from County Magistrate Wang that you have returned, but I was afraid of disturbing you while you were handling your official business, so I thought I would wait for news from the beggars and the Chang'an County government."

"As it turns out, half an hour ago..."

She took a deep breath and said, "I learned from the beggars that they found one of Mo Xiaofan's shoes in Yongpingfang, and on the wall next to the shoe, they found a pattern."

"A pattern?" Liu Shuyi asked curiously, "What pattern?"

"A red skull, with a blood-red knife below it."

"Below that pattern, there are four words—'I'm back!'"

I'm back?

Liu Shuyi was taken aback. What did those words mean?
And that red skull and blood-red knife... he seemed to have a vague recollection of it; his predecessor seemed to have seen it somewhere before.

But his memories of his predecessor were very vague, and he couldn't recall them for the time being.

Wan'er said, "I immediately informed County Commandant Wang of the news. When he heard it, his expression changed drastically. He told me to come find you immediately, young master, saying that only you can save Mo Xiaofan!"

"Why only me?" Liu Shuyi asked. "What does this pattern represent?"

Wan'er took another deep breath, her grip on Liu Shuyi's clothes tightening unconsciously. She said, "County Commandant Wang said this is the mark of the murderer who, five years ago, made everyone in the Tang Dynasty feel insecure and killed one person every month for five consecutive years."

"This serial killer would kidnap someone before each murder and leave this pattern nearby. He would give the authorities three days to investigate. If the authorities couldn't find the person after three days, he would dismember the body and dump it in the street to mock the authorities!"

"The imperial court has mobilized countless people and spent countless efforts to capture him, but they have never been able to find him or stop him. However, for some reason, he suddenly disappeared five years ago and stopped killing people. The imperial court thought he had given up killing people. Who knew that the same mark would be seen again this time."

"And this means that Mo Xiaofan only has three days to live! If he cannot be found within these three days, he will surely die!"

"Master..."

In Wan'er's dark eyes, Liu Shuyi's image was reflected: "You must rescue Mo Xiaofan. In the entire Tang Dynasty, only you have the ability to rescue him!"

After listening quietly to Wan'er's story, Liu Shuyi had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Serial killer...

Upon hearing this name, he finally recalled the case from his hazy memories of his past life.

Five years, sixty months, sixty lives lost.

Sixty provocations against the imperial court!
This person began committing crimes not long after Li Yuan ascended the throne.

Li Yuan initially paid no attention to it, regarding the murderer as a monkey jumping around trying to attract attention, and he believed that the court would soon be able to capture him.

But year after year passed, and the murderer was still alive and well. On the contrary, the reputation of the government was getting worse and worse, which made Li Yuan very angry. He ordered local governments to arrest this man.

But this man was too cunning. He kept moving around to different prefectures and cities, committing crimes in different places each time, which made it impossible for the authorities to catch him.

Until the sixth year of the Wude era, after committing his last crime, this murderer suddenly disappeared without a trace.

The imperial court did not know why he stopped committing crimes, nor did it find any evidence against him, so it recorded the case as an unsolved case and archived it.

The original owner had copied this case when copying case files at the Ministry of Justice, but it was a long time ago, so the memory was not deep.

Unexpectedly, this serial killer reappeared after disappearing for a full five years.

I'm back... So is this a declaration of my return?
Liu Shuyi's eyes gleamed. He was just worried about not having any cases, and now a case had come to him on its own!
Moreover, it was a mysterious case that once shocked the entire Tang Dynasty!

If this case is solved, the credit will be substantial!
Thinking of this, he didn't hesitate at all and said, "Take me to the place where Mo Xiaofan disappeared."

(End of this chapter)