The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 223 The Shocking Truth! The Murderer Was Him! (8K)

The group carried candlesticks and approached the secret chamber.

As the candlelight completely dispelled the darkness of the secret room, everyone was finally able to see the entire room.

This is a room that is nearly ten feet long. The room is not large and has no windows. Including the walls that can be lowered, it is surrounded by walls and has no door leading to the outside.

But in this small, enclosed room, there are many terrifying things.

The walls are covered with a variety of torture instruments, including chains, hooks, branding irons, and various knives. All of these instruments are covered with thick, dried bloodstains. One can imagine how many people have suffered desperate torture here in the past.

Right next to the wall was a large urn, which was placed on a specially made iron frame. Under the iron frame were ashes left from burning wood.

Beside the large urn was a counter resembling one in a kitchen, on which sat two enormous cutting boards covered with blood-stained cleavers…

Seeing this, Lu Yangyuan suddenly felt like gagging, as if something had occurred to him.

Changsun Chong's face also turned somewhat ugly. He touched his stomach and couldn't help but say, "Damn it, could it be that I was right after all? Is this a black market shop that sells human flesh?"

Upon hearing Changsun Chong's words, the expressions of the others also became quite interesting, and many people began to gag.

Liu Shuyi glanced at Guan Feng and the other man, who both appeared calm, and said, "Don't worry, the meat we ate last night was clearly chicken and mutton, and had absolutely nothing to do with human flesh."

Although he had never eaten human flesh, he could still tell what kind of meat was being eaten. Moreover, if there was something wrong with the meat, Du Ying would give a warning. If Du Ying said nothing, it meant that there was nothing wrong with the meat.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions softened somewhat.

Liu Shuyi reassured everyone and continued to look around the secret room.

Opposite the large urn was a metal pillar, entirely black, stained with mottled bloodstains, with a small door at its base.

The small door was open at the moment, and the ashes of burnt charcoal could be seen inside.

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes: "The torture of branding?"

Even the well-traveled Changsun Chong frowned and felt a chill when he saw this secret room, which was even more terrifying than the prisons of the various government offices in the Tang Dynasty.

"What was the person who built this secret chamber planning to do? They even brought out the torture of branding with hot irons from the Shang Dynasty! What were they trying to interrogate him about?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head, his fingertips touching the cold metal pillar, feeling the rough texture of countless layers of blood and skin sticking together. He said in a low voice, "The torture of branding with hot irons was not created for interrogation... I'm afraid this place is a place used by psychopaths to torture others."

"Was this place built specifically to torture others?" Changsun Chong found it hard to believe.

In his view of life, people are driven by self-interest, and if there is no benefit to be gained, then it is not worth doing at all.

So building this place specifically to torture others... In his view, it was extremely unreasonable, since torturing others would not bring any direct benefits, but would instead involve great risks.

This is clearly something that does nothing but harm, and no normal person would do it.

But there are always abnormal people in this world. Or rather, because of his own experience and limited perspective, Changsun Chong thought he had seen through human nature, but in reality, he was still like a frog in a well, and the rules he knew were limited to his own position.

Having witnessed many cases of psychopaths in his previous life, Liu Shuyi was far less affected by the scene before him than by others.

He looked away from the metal pillar, lowered his head, and gazed at the five corpses lying in the pool of blood.

The five corpses were not arranged neatly, but rather appeared to have been thrown around haphazardly, with some piled on top of each other and others lying on the ground, making them look quite scattered.

Liu Shuyi had seen Cao Rui and his men the night before, so he recognized them at a glance as Cao Rui's five constables.

He crouched down and examined the corpse.

All of these corpses had knives in their hearts; the knives rotated inside their hearts, directly shredding their hearts and causing them to die quickly.

There were no signs of struggle on these corpses, and their expressions were all very peaceful. It can be seen that they were unconscious like Cao Rui, and their lives were taken directly while they were unconscious.

They didn't experience much pain before they died... Compared to those who faced despair in this confined space, they were lucky.

"Cao Rui's five men are indeed here."

Liu Shuyi stood up and said to Guan Feng.

Guan Feng also looked down to confirm, then turned around and looked coldly at the shopkeeper and the others, saying sternly, "What do you have to say now?!"

The shopkeeper and the others turned deathly pale the moment the wall sank.

Upon seeing the corpses on the ground, his expression became even more horrified.

"how come……"

The shopkeeper suddenly kowtowed forcefully, saying, "Your Honor, please see the truth! I truly had no idea there was such a secret room here, and I have no idea how these officials could have died here! Your Honor, please see the truth!"

The cook, no longer resolute, joined the waiter in kowtowing repeatedly, echoing the manager's words.

"You don't know?"

Guan Feng was so angry he laughed. He stomped his foot on the ground and said, "There's no dust on the floor of this secret room, which means it must have been cleaned recently!"

"And this place is far from human habitation, with only a few of you living here permanently... So tell me, besides you, who else can freely enter and leave this secret room?"

"This..." The shopkeeper opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

This is their territory, and it's often deserted for long periods. If they can't prove that someone has been there recently, they can explain it away by saying it was left over from an old post station and they knew nothing about it.

But now that Guan Feng has confirmed that someone went in recently and even cleaned the place, they really have no more chances to deny it.

Seeing that the shopkeeper was speechless, Guan Feng immediately shouted, "Now that things have come to this, do you still want to make excuses?"

"I……"

The shopkeeper's eyes flickered, his expression constantly shifting. Finally, he kowtowed forcefully, drawing blood from his forehead, and wept bitterly, saying, "I confess! I shouldn't have concealed the truth from you, sir..."

“I do know about this secret room, but I discovered it by chance. I did not build it.”

"If you don't believe me, sir, you can look at these walls and those mechanisms... They are all very old, not as new as they are in recent years."

"When I discovered this secret room, I was also startled. I never imagined that there would be such a terrifying place inside the original post station... I even thought about reporting it to the authorities, but I was afraid that it would cause me trouble, so I gave up."

"Later, I thought, our inn is located in the wilderness. What if some criminals target us? So I decided to hide the existence of the secret room. If danger comes, we can hide in this secret room to avoid it."

"That's why we occasionally clean the secret room, but other than that, we really haven't done anything. We haven't even touched those horrific torture instruments in there."

"And these dead officials..."

The shopkeeper looked at the five corpses lying in a pool of blood and shook his head repeatedly: "I really don't know why they were in the secret room. This must be the work of the murderer. The murderer is trying to frame us! I beg Your Honor to see the truth!"

The waiter and the cook kowtowed repeatedly, pleading, "Your Honor, please have a clear understanding!"

Guan Feng listened to their cries of innocence and sneered, "They just said they didn't know about the secret chamber, but after I saw through their lie, they changed their story and said they knew about it but had never used it..."

He shook his head, his voice growing colder: "Do you think we're stupid enough to believe your nonsense?!"

"Somebody come!"

He waved his hand dismissively, ignoring the three shopkeepers' cries for justice, and said coldly, "Tie them up! Gag them! The evidence is conclusive; even if they don't confess, it's useless! I don't want to hear their clamor anymore!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Liu immediately stepped forward and quickly tied them up one by one with a rope. He then grabbed a few rags from the kitchen and stuffed them into their mouths, leaving the shopkeeper and the others only able to make "woo-woo" sounds.

"Finally clean!"

Guan Feng looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "County Commandant Qin, it seems the truth has come to light!"

"These guys are heartless beasts! Opening an inn here to make money is a lie; their real intention is to rob, murder, and commit all sorts of heinous crimes!"

"They were certain that this place was far from any village or shop, so even if someone was killed, the authorities wouldn't easily find out. That's why they were so audacious and treated human life so lightly!"

"Cao Rui and his group probably knew about this, which is why they came here to investigate. But they didn't expect to be discovered by these guys, and before they could find out the truth, they were killed by them!"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper and the others all struggled and shook their heads vigorously, as if to say that they did not do it.

But their mouths were gagged, and they couldn't say anything.

Liu Shuyi glanced at the shopkeeper and the others who were struggling and shaking their heads, thought for a moment, and said, "The corpse was hidden in their secret room, and the food that could be drugged was made by them... Based on these two points, they are the murderers in this case."

"but……"

Liu Shuyi then changed the subject, saying, "The matter of Dou Jiande's treasure, which Cao Rui and the others are concerned about, has not yet been resolved..."

Guan Feng pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps I've misunderstood the motives."

“We analyzed before that Cao Rui was likely here for Dou Jiande’s wealth… and the innkeeper and his family chose to open an inn in this godforsaken place five years ago, probably also for Dou Jiande’s wealth…”

"They had been searching here for five years, considering Dou Jiande's enormous treasure as their own, and would never allow anyone else to steal it... Then, Cao Rui and his men arrived and revealed their intention to seize Dou Jiande's treasure."

"This immediately put them on guard, after all, there were only three of them, and no matter how ruthless they were, they wouldn't be a match for the government..."

"They feared that once Cao Rui confirmed the existence of Dou Jiande's treasure, he would send more men, rendering their efforts of the past five years futile! Therefore, driven by greed, they decided to strike first for the sake of that mountain of gold, cruelly killing Cao Rui and his men while they were off guard! This was to prevent the government from discovering the secret of this place and coming to search for the treasure!"

"Woooo..."

Upon hearing this, the three shopkeepers shook their heads even more vigorously.

They stared wide-eyed at Guan Feng and Liu Shuyi, wanting to say something, but because their mouths were gagged, they couldn't say anything.

Seeing this, Guan Feng said, "Their reaction is so strong, it's obvious that I hit the nail on the head! It seems that this is the truth! Or perhaps both motives exist. Cao Rui came for Dou Jiande's treasure, but also for them. Either reason is enough to make them want to kill. If both are true, then it's reasonable for them to act so boldly."

Lu Yangyuan listened to Guan Feng's words and found them very reasonable, so he nodded in agreement.

Cheng Chumo didn't care about any of that. He said, "The motive is not important. What's important is that they are the murderers. Now that the murderers have been found, they can no longer threaten our safety, and the crisis is over!"

“That’s right.” Changsun Chong didn’t care about the process either. His upbringing had always taught him to only care about the result. Whether the process was simple or difficult, full of twists and turns or smooth sailing, was not important. As long as the result was in line with his interests, that was enough.

He said, "Now I'm only curious whether Dou Jiande's treasure actually exists, and whether they know where it is."

Upon hearing Changsun Chong's words, everyone's gaze immediately fell upon the shopkeeper and the others.

The shopkeeper shook his head hurriedly, mumbling incessantly.

Liu Shuyi said, "Take the rag out of his mouth."

As the rag was removed, the shopkeeper was finally able to speak. He hurriedly said, "I'm innocent! What Dou Jiande's treasure, what coming for us... I know nothing about it. We really didn't kill Magistrate Cao and the others. Magistrate Qin, please investigate! Magistrate Qin, you must do justice for me!"

All the motives came from Guan Feng. The shopkeeper knew he had no chance of getting help from Guan Feng, so he placed all his hopes on Liu Shuyi.

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi stared intently at the shopkeeper with his deep eyes: "You don't know Dou Jiande's treasure?"

The innkeeper quickly shook his head: "I really don't know anything about treasure. I chose to open an inn here simply because there's no one around, and travelers would have a hard time finding a place to rest. Opening an inn here will earn me some copper coins... Besides, there are abandoned post stations here that we can use, so we don't need to build houses or invest too much money..."

"It has absolutely nothing to do with Dou Jiande's treasure!"

"I swear to Heaven that if I am lying, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death! And I also swear that the deaths of County Magistrate Cao and the others have nothing to do with us. We really didn't kill them!"

Before he could finish speaking, Guan Feng sneered, "If you were truly afraid of divine retribution, why would you have committed so many heinous crimes? You just repeat the same things over and over again. I thought you could come up with something new that could sway us, but..."

He looked at Liu Shuyi: "County Commandant Qin, don't waste time with him. It's simple to find out if they've found the treasure!"

"Oh?" Liu Shuyi asked curiously, "Does County Magistrate Guan have a solution?"

Guan Feng said, "If they really find the treasure, even if they can't take it all and escape for some reason, they will definitely not leave it all behind."

"But when we searched these rooms, we didn't find much valuables... Not to mention Dou Jiande's treasures, just the number of guests they've robbed and murdered over the years is countless, and the amount of valuables they've stolen must be considerable."

"Therefore, they must have hidden their valuables!"

“There are occasional passersby outside, but they can’t keep an eye on things all the time, so the valuables won’t be hidden outside the inn. We’ve searched all the visible rooms in the inn, so the only place where they could be hidden is a secret room inside the inn.”

Chamber of Secrets?

Looking at the blood-soaked secret room before him, Cheng Chumo said, "There are only torture devices here, but no hidden money."

Guan Feng shook his head: "It might not be this secret room!"

"Not this secret room?" Cheng Chumo was taken aback. "You mean, there are other secret rooms in this inn?"

“These vicious criminals know very well what they are doing and are aware that the authorities may discover their evil deeds at any time. In this situation, they often leave themselves an escape route in order to cope with the crisis.”

Therefore…

Guan Feng stared intently at the innkeeper: "If nothing unexpected happens, this inn must have a secret passage leading outside!"

"In other words, besides the secret room in front of us, there must be other mechanisms!"

Are there other agencies?

Cheng Chumo frowned and asked, "Really?"

Seeing the shopkeeper and the others' pupils contract sharply and their expressions change drastically once again, Changsun Chong said, "Judging from their reactions, it seems that's really the case."

"There really are other mechanisms!"

Cheng Chumo couldn't help but say, "These guys are too cunning! What would you scholars call this? A rabbit with multiple burrows?"

"It's like a cunning rabbit with three burrows!"

Changsun Chong glanced at Liu Shuyi out of the corner of his eye and saw that Liu Shuyi was deep in thought. He did not disturb Liu Shuyi and asked Guan Feng, "Where is the mechanism that leads to the outside?"

Guan Feng shrugged: "If I had known, I would have opened it long ago to check if there were any valuables inside. Why would I be here doing this dry analysis?"

Seeing this, Cheng Chumo went straight to the shopkeeper, grabbed him, and demanded, "Speak! Where is the secret passage mechanism?"

The shopkeeper just shook his head, saying he didn't know anything about secret passages or mechanisms, and even if he were killed, he wouldn't know.

Enraged, Cheng Chumo slapped him several times and threw him back angrily.

"What should we do? He won't tell us!" Cheng Chumo said to the crowd.

Guan Feng looked at Liu Shuyi, who was deep in thought: "What does County Commandant Qin think?"

Liu Shuyi then raised his head and said, "Whether it's the mechanism in the secret room or the mechanism in the secret passage, they are not so easy to build. Generally, in order to reduce the difficulty, they are arranged together..." "Moreover, the secret passage to escape is the only chance of survival in a critical moment, so it must be as hidden as possible. Tell me, in the entire inn, where is there a more hidden passage than here?"

Guan Feng's eyes flashed: "You mean... the secret passage mechanism is in this secret room?"

Liu Shuyi nodded: "I think there's at least a 70% chance that it will happen here..."

"Seventy percent?" Guan Feng said directly, "Don't even mention seventy percent, even fifty percent would be enough for us to turn this place upside down!"

Then he said directly to Xiao Liu, "Now that the murderer has been found, there's no need to waste manpower asking outsiders anymore. Go and call all our people over to search for the mechanism together!"

Xiao Liu immediately nodded in agreement and ran outside quickly.

Seeing Xiao Liu leave, Lu Yangyuan turned to Liu Shuyi and asked, "Doctor Liu, are our men here?"

Liu Shuyi understood Lu Yangyuan's meaning: "Go, and call all our people over as well."

Before long, Du Gou and the others arrived, and the caravan members, the examinees, and the family of three also followed them to the kitchen.

When they saw the bloody torture instruments in the secret room, and the corpses lying in pools of blood, their expressions changed, and they subconsciously took a few steps back.

"This is a shady business!"

"How many people must have been harmed to have such a thick layer of blood on our hands!"

"I never imagined that these seemingly smiling and kind people could be so cold-blooded!"

"You really know people, faces but not hearts!"

The crowd discussed amongst themselves in the secret room with the innkeeper and his companions, and the three innkeepers grew increasingly pale as they listened.

Liu Shuyi and Guan Feng ignored the guests and had people move out the metal pillars, platforms and other items from the secret room. They then started knocking on the walls and floor to search for them.

Suddenly, amidst a series of dull knocking sounds, a clear "tap tap tap" sound rang out.

"found it!"

Lu Yangyuan's excited voice rang out.

Upon seeing this, everyone quickly gathered around.

Then Lu Yangyuan was standing where the cutting board had just been placed. He pointed to the floor under his feet and said, "It seems like there's nothing underneath."

"It really is here!" Cheng Chumo exclaimed happily.

Changsun Chong stroked his chin and said, "There are no gaps around the floor, and it fits perfectly with the other floorboards... It doesn't seem like it can be pried open directly."

"Does it require a mechanism to open it?" Cheng Chumo frowned. "Where is the mechanism?"

"Is this it?" Xiao Liu's voice came from that moment.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Xiao Liu squatting next to the stove of the fourth large pot, pointing to a brick on the right side of the stove and saying, "There are gaps around this brick, it seems to be movable."

"Really!" Cheng Chumo leaned closer to look and said, "There are indeed some gaps around it, it's not completely sealed. Could it really be a trap?"

As he spoke, he pressed it inward.

Then there was a cracking sound, as if the brick had hit something in the stove.

Then, some tremors were felt on the ground.

Everyone quickly stepped back, and saw that the paving stone that Lu Yangyuan had just pointed to, as well as the eight paving stones around it, sank down at the same time.

Soon, a dark, shadowy entrance to a secret passage appeared before them.

"It really is here! There really is a secret passage!" Cheng Chumo exclaimed excitedly.

Guan Feng glanced coldly at the shopkeeper and the others, and sneered, "Are you still going to try to argue now?"

Seeing the secret passage opened, the shopkeeper and his companions seemed to have their spines broken, and no one made a sound, as if they had resigned themselves to their fate.

Liu Shuyi took in their reactions and began to speculate about what was going on below.

"Let's go, let's take a look!" Guan Feng said to Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi nodded.

"I'm in front."

Cheng Chumo grabbed the candlestick and took the lead into the secret passage.

Seeing this, the other Imperial Guards also followed suit.

Guan Feng also said to Xiao Liu and the others, "You all follow along. If there is any danger, warn us immediately."

"Yes!"

Without hesitation, Xiao Liu and the others took their lanterns and went inside.

Seeing that no unusual sounds came from down there for a while, Guan Feng said to Liu Shuyi, "It seems there is no danger down there, let's go down too."

"it is good."

Liu Shuyi and Guan Feng entered the secret passage one after the other.

Upon entering, Liu Shuyi discovered that the secret passage was surprisingly spacious.

A person can walk on it with their back completely straight.

They were walking down the steps, surrounded by walls made of smooth, non-rough stones.

After descending about twenty steps, you will reach the bottom.

There was a stone gate in front of us.

The stone door had been opened, and Cheng Chumo and the others were walking inside.

Liu Shuyi and Guan Feng exchanged a glance and entered the stone gate.

then……

They suddenly felt enlightened.

Although the passageway wasn't particularly cramped, the darkness still created a somewhat oppressive atmosphere.

Therefore, upon arriving at a very spacious underground space, which is as high as two floors, the sense of openness is invigorating.

Cheng Chumo and the others, carrying candlesticks and lanterns, stood in the center of the space, where there were some boxes.

"County Commandant Qin, come and take a look!" Cheng Chumo waved to Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi quickly walked over.

Upon closer inspection, one can see more than ten boxes arranged neatly.

The box was unlocked, so Cheng Chumo had already opened it several times.

The contents of the opened box were beyond everyone's expectations.

Some of the boxes contained valuables such as copper coins and pearls.

Some of the boxes contained things that no one could understand.

For example... strands of hair tied up with blood-red ropes.

For example, some clothes that look like they've been worn by someone.

Some of the boxes contained clean heads...

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the contents of the box.

Even the composed Du Gou and the intelligent Changsun Chong were speechless for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"What are these?"

"Heads! How can there be so many heads?"

"And those clothes, they were all stained with blood!"

Just then, a cacophony of exclamations erupted behind me.

Liu Shuyi turned around and saw that the group of guests who had been in the kitchen had also come down and were staring at the contents of the box, discussing it animatedly.

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes, about to say something, when he heard Changsun Chong exclaim, "Ironclad evidence! No wonder the shopkeeper and the others looked so desperate when they saw the secret passage opened..."

"This Heshun Inn is truly a complete rip-off!"

"And I was right, they really do seem to be cooking with human flesh... Otherwise, they wouldn't have cut off all these heads, cleaned them so thoroughly, and even packed them in boxes!"

Upon hearing Changsun Chong's words, Lu Yangyuan couldn't help but vomit.

Changsun Chong glanced at Lu Yangyuan and laughed, "Although they use human flesh to cook, they don't use it on us, so you don't need to do that."

"I understand, but I just feel nauseous... Ugh!" Lu Yangyuan covered his mouth and dry heaved.

Changsun Chong shook his head, looking at the contents of the boxes, and said, "I've really learned something new today. I never imagined that people's hearts could be so twisted! Torturing people is one thing, killing people is another... and after killing people, they even collect their hair, clothes, and heads separately!"

"What benefit do they gain from this? I really can't understand it."

Liu Shuyi calmly said, "Not everyone pursues profit, and not everything must be profitable to be done..."

"In this world, some people may develop twisted minds due to innate factors or acquired experiences, resulting in views that are completely different from those of the general public. What they do may seem heinous to us, but to them, it may be a form of self-redemption, something that brings them joy."

Changsun Chong pondered Liu Shuyi's words for a moment, seemingly gaining some insight, and said, "It seems that in the future, when dealing with other people, in addition to considering their interests, we should also consider whether their hearts are twisted."

Liu Shuyi nodded.

Changsun Chong glanced at the boxes and said, "However, although there are some valuables in these boxes, the quantity is not large, far from enough to steal treasure. Are the shopkeeper and the others telling the truth and really unaware of Dou Jiande's treasure?"

"should--"

Before Liu Shuyi could finish speaking, a loud bang suddenly came from behind him.

Where did that noise come from?

Some people are confused.

"Stone Gate! The Stone Gate is closed!" someone exclaimed in alarm, pointing at the Stone Gate.

Everyone was taken aback and quickly looked towards the stone gate.

Then, their expressions changed.

The heavy stone door that had been open was now actually closed, completely blocking the way up.

"How could the stone door have closed?"

Cheng Chumo was startled and quickly ran over.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't budge the stone gate an inch.

"Oh no!" Cheng Chumo's expression changed.

Liu Shuyi walked over, looked at the unmoving stone door, and asked Cheng Chumo, "When you came in, was this stone door open or closed?"

“It’s open. We didn’t touch the stone door at all!” Cheng Chumo said.

"Is that really how it is..." Liu Shuyi seemed to be deep in thought.

Upon seeing this, Changsun Chong's heart stirred: "Does County Commandant Qin know what's going on?"

Liu Shuyi nodded, but before he could speak, a familiar voice came from behind the stone door: "County Commandant Qin, are you behind the door?"

This sound is...

"Close the gates!"

Changsun Chong quickly looked at the surrounding crowd.

"County Commandant Guan is not here!"

"Not only is he not here, but none of his men are here either!"

"And it seems there are fewer people in the caravan!"

Hearing Changsun Chong's words, Liu Shuyi nodded in understanding and said, "So that's his purpose."

"What?" Changsun Chong didn't understand.

Du Gou and the others also looked bewildered.

Then, they saw Liu Shuyi look at the tightly closed stone door and slowly say, "County Commandant Guan, you deliberately lured us here to trap us... So, the blood letter you left behind wasn't just to scare us; you really intended to kill us all!"

"Are you planning to use this place to trap us and let us die?"

hum!
Liu Shuyi's words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky, causing everyone's brains to buzz.

Deng Hui was stunned, Zhu Shan was also dumbfounded, and Cheng Chumo and Lu Yangyuan were also taken aback.

The caravan members looked at Liu Shuyi with bewilderment and helplessness. They couldn't help but swallow hard and asked, "Qin... County Commandant Qin, what do you mean by that?"

"Don't you understand yet?"

Liu Shuyi glanced around at everyone and calmly said, "The murderer is Guan Feng!"

(End of this chapter)