The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 228 A Crush of Wisdom! Liu Shuyi's Skill Amazes Everyone, Guan Feng is Terrified! (6K)

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately held their breath and listened attentively.

Guan Feng stared intently at Liu Shuyi. He no longer cared how Liu Shuyi had cracked his secret; he only wanted to know where he, so cautious and careful, had gone wrong!

Liu Shuyi didn't keep everyone waiting long. He looked at Guan Feng and said, "As I said before, before going to the kitchen, I had already determined that Brother Guan and the others were the murderers. Although in order to find out your true purpose, I chose to conceal everything and continue according to Brother Guan's plan..."

"But now that I know your identities and that you certainly have ulterior motives, how could I not make arrangements for my escape route?"

"Therefore, I had someone pass on a message to Miss Du in advance..."

Upon hearing this, Changsun Chong couldn't help but recall the whispered conversation between Liu Shuyi and Du Gou when they left the interrogation room, and said, "Could it be what you told Du Sicheng back then?"

Throughout the investigation, he was almost inseparable from Liu Shuyi, but he did not see Liu Shuyi send anyone to find Miss Du. The only thing he did not know was the whispered conversation between Liu Shuyi and Du Gou when Du Gou came to deliver the carrier pigeon information.

Now that the truth was beginning to be revealed, Du Gou no longer needed to hide anything. He nodded and said, "That's right. Before I left, Physician Liu did ask me to secretly find someone to pass on a message to my sister."

"What did you say?" Guan Feng stared intently at Du Gou.

Du Gou calmly looked at Guan Feng, whose face was contorted with rage and whose eyes were bloodshot, and said, "Lock the door, prepare poison to deal with any enemies who come. If the person looking for you is not me, then I'll have to rely on you to save me."

Guan Feng's pupils dilated suddenly. He hadn't expected that Liu Shuyi had already considered all the possible consequences back then, before the bloodstains were even discovered in the kitchen.

Locking the door and preparing poison... this clearly indicated that he had anticipated that he would arrange for someone to deal with Du Ying and her two weak women.

And the line "If the person looking for you is not me, then I'm counting on you to save me"... clearly foresaw their worst possible outcome.

At that time, Liu Shuyi had not yet heard about the bloodstains, nor had he obtained any clues about the secret room... However, he had already anticipated the most likely outcome.

What terrifying reasoning ability and mind this is?
Is that why he's called a detective?
Even so... Guan Feng couldn't understand how Liu Shuyi dared to do that! How could he give the only chance to save them to a weak woman?

Liu Shuyi had seen countless people, so he naturally saw through Guan Feng's thoughts at a glance.

He laughed and said, "I can't believe I would give Miss Du my only chance to turn things around?"

Guan Feng gritted his teeth and said, "I thought you and I were equally intelligent, and people like us would never entrust our fate to someone else, let alone a weak woman!"

"Others? A weak woman?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head and said, "First of all, the other people you mentioned are my beloved people who have fought alongside me for a long time, have gone through life and death with me many times, and who would get up to help me even in the coldest of dawns without uttering a word of complaint or expressing any dissatisfaction.

"!!!"

Du Gou was deeply touched by Liu Shuyi's words. Liu Shuyi had seen and remembered all the sacrifices his sister had made for him.

But Liu Shuyi's last sentence completely baffled him.

What is Liu Shuyi saying?
My beloved!?
You were seriously analyzing a case just moments ago, and the person in front of you was a vicious murderer. Now, in the blink of an eye, you're talking about love. Is that appropriate?

And did you even propose? How dare you say in public that Ah Ying is the one you love?
A gentleman like Du Gou, who followed all the rules and regulations, would never do something like publicly proclaiming his beloved before even proposing marriage.

Liu Shuyi caught him off guard, leaving him unsure of what to do in this situation.

He couldn't help but look at his younger sister, afraid that she would think Liu Shuyi was being reckless...

But as a result, he was stunned once again.

Because when Ah Ying was faced with Liu Shuyi's words "beloved one," she was frighteningly powerful just a moment ago, so cold that the surrounding air seemed to be frozen. But the next moment, her face turned red, and she clutched the hem of her clothes with both hands. No matter how hard she tried to remain calm, she couldn't hide her shyness.

This was the first time in his life he had ever seen his younger sister act so girlishly.

Finished!

His heart skipped a beat, as if the cabbage in his house had sprouted wings and was about to fly away.

Cheng Chumo and the others grinned. After all, the relationship between Liu Shuyi and Du Ying had long been an open secret in their circle. Everyone knew that Liu Shuyi was Du Ruhui's chosen son-in-law.

Guan Feng, however, looked bewildered and surprised. He never expected that Liu Shuyi and that aloof woman were actually lovers.

"As for your so-called weak woman..."

Liu Shuyi said calmly, "If you knew how much suffering Miss Du endured in the deep mountains and forests over the years, how many people she saved, and how many corpses she dissected after returning to Chang'an... you would understand that she is far stronger and more determined than many men!"

"Not to mention her superb medical skills. When saving lives, medicine is like a bodhisattva rescuing people from suffering, but when dealing with enemies, it's like a living devil..."

"Even I dare not underestimate Miss Du's skills, yet you all consider her a weak woman?"

Guan Feng's pupils twitched violently. He didn't understand Du Ying at all and had really underestimated this woman.

"Moreover, Miss Du's identity as a woman is itself the best disguise..."

Liu Shuyi, observing Guan Feng's constantly changing expression, said, "If I leave two men in the room, you definitely won't ignore them; on the contrary, you'll suspect I have ulterior motives..."

"But the two women are different. Even if I didn't bring them along to investigate the case, you would just think they are cowardly and can't stand bloodshed, and thus rationalize the matter in your mind."

Xiao Liu's eyes widened as he listened to Liu Shuyi's words... What Liu Shuyi said was exactly what they had been thinking!
So, Liu Shuyi also controlled their thoughts?
Guan Feng's face grew increasingly gloomy.

"Then how did she poison him?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Liu Shuyi glanced at Du Ying, whose cheeks were slightly flushed and whose clothes were stained with blood, and said, "Although I haven't known you for long, I can tell from your many arrangements that you are an extremely cautious person. It wouldn't be easy for someone like you to poison me."

“You will certainly not allow any outsider to get close to you, not even a woman you despise, you will definitely not have direct contact with her.”

"Therefore, figuring out how to poison you is indeed a very troublesome matter."

"At that time, I was already trapped, so all I could do was try my best to stall you and buy Miss Du as much time as possible so that she could secretly learn about your personality and come up with a way to poison you."

Guan Feng was stunned, and said in disbelief, "You mean, she was able to poison me not through your method, but through her own efforts?!"

Liu Shuyi said calmly, "The fact that you asked this question shows that even though you have already lost to her, you still look down on her because she is a woman..."

"I..." Guan Feng opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything to refute it.

He truly didn't want to admit, much less believe, that he would lose to a weak woman.

Liu Shuyi was famous throughout the world and was almost magically intelligent. Although he felt unwilling to lose to Liu Shuyi, he could accept it... But losing to a weak woman was a disgrace to him, a disgrace that he would be ridiculed even if he went to hell!

Liu Shuyi saw through Guan Feng's thoughts and calmly said, "When it comes to poisoning, I'm not even an expert, so how could I possibly instruct a true master on how to do it? Besides, I believe that if Miss Du is given enough time, she will definitely be able to come up with the best solution."

"Facts have proven that I was right."

Guan Feng gritted his teeth, his voice barely audible as he spat it out: "So that's how it is. No wonder you explained those three aspects in such detail when I asked you questions, and even tried to lure me away with other secrets when I was about to leave! I knew you had no good intentions!"

Liu Shuyi chuckled and said, "Didn't you start this? If you hadn't shamelessly asked me for advice, would I have had this opportunity?"

"I……"

Guan Feng was speechless once again.

Liu Shuyi was right. After seeing Liu Shuyi and the others being imprisoned, he felt that victory was in his grasp. Therefore, following his past habit, he wanted to review his actions and summarize his experiences and lessons.

Unexpectedly, this gave Liu Shuyi the opportunity to delay his plans.

He finally showed his regret: "I shouldn't have thought everything was over before the mission was even completed, and let my guard down. If I had locked you up and then turned around and left, I wouldn't be the one who lost!"

"That's not necessarily true," Liu Shuyi said calmly.

"What did you say?!" Guan Feng stared intently at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi stared at Guan Feng with his dark eyes and said, "Do you think I'll really let you leave smoothly?"

Xiao Liu sneered, "No one can change our boss's decisions! Didn't you see that when you tried to lure us with a secret, he completely ignored you? Liu Shuyi, I admit you're very capable, but don't try to glorify yourself! You only won because we underestimated you!"

Guan Feng didn't speak, but it was clear that his thoughts were the same as Xiao Liu's.

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "The secret I used to lure you in was just something I said offhand. It would be best if it could delay you for a while, but it's not a big deal if it can't. After all, I've already delayed you for quite a while, and I believe that's enough time for Miss Du to prepare."

Guan Feng frowned: "What do you mean? Are you saying you have a secret that can make me unable to move my legs just by hearing about it?"

"Why not?" Liu Shuyi looked at him with a half-smile and slowly uttered a sentence: "For example, the person you are looking for who spread the rumors about Dou Jiande's treasure... Or, for example, the real hiding place of Dou Jiande's treasure!"

brush!
As Liu Shuyi finished speaking, Guan Feng and the others widened their eyes and stared intently at him.

"You...you...you..." Xiao Liu stammered several times, unable to finish his sentence due to extreme shock. Guan Feng also shuddered, feeling a sudden chill run down his spine. Facing Liu Shuyi, he felt his hands and feet turn icy cold for the first time: "You already know..."

Liu Shuyi said calmly, "Haven't we already guessed pretty much why Cao Rui and the others came here?"

"Since he came for wealth, isn't it normal that you also came for wealth and to eliminate your competitors?"

"And the blood-written words you left behind, and your final actions... You wanted to kill us all! We didn't even know you, there was no conflict or contradiction between us, and you were clearly not murderers, yet you still wanted to kill us all, leaving no one alive!"

"Under what circumstances must you do this? Or are you worried that if the people here leave alive, they might not want to leave any survivors?"

Liu Shuyi met Guan Feng's gaze, watching Guan Feng's brown eyes twitch uncontrollably again and again. He said in a deep voice, "I think the only reason you don't want the secret here to be revealed is..."

"But if it's just a simple murder, no one will know you're the killer. Why be afraid of people saying someone died here? Besides, you can just leave and disappear into the vast mountains and seas. Who will be able to find you then?"

"Therefore, the only reason you would do this is... the legendary treasure of Dou Jiande!"

“You have come for the treasure, but you do not know where Dou Jiande’s treasure is, and you are not sure how long it will take you to find it and move it all… In this situation, you must ensure that the people outside do not know about the treasure or the rumors about it. Only in this way will you have enough time to do these things.”

“But the rumors of the treasure have clearly spread. Even if you kill everyone here, some people will still find out… Yet you still do it, so there’s only one possibility…”

Xiao Liu and the others kept swallowing, staring at Liu Shuyi with tension and horror.

Then Liu Shuyi slowly said, "That is to say, the rumors are not at all as I expected, that they have spread completely! On the contrary, the rumors have not spread much at all, and very few people know about them!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shan couldn't help but say, "That's not right! When I first heard this rumor, quite a few people were talking about it."

Deng Hui nodded subconsciously.

Liu Shuyi retorted, "When you say 'many people are talking about it,' do you mean everyone is discussing it, or are only a few people loudly proclaiming it?"

“This…” Zhu Shan thought for a moment: “I’ve only encountered one.”

“Me too!” Deng Hui replied.

Liu Shuyi understood. He looked at Changsun Chong and said, "Do you remember the person in the rumors about Zhu Shan and Deng Hui who saw Dou Jiande's vengeful spirit? His appearance, clothes and temperament were completely different."

Changsun Chong nodded: "Of course! I'm also curious why the same person is described so differently by different people."

"Now I can answer your question..."

Liu Shuyi said, "I think the reason why the person who supposedly encountered Dou Jiande's vengeful spirit appeared differently to different people is not because the person spreading the rumors has distorted the truth beyond recognition! Rather... that person simply changed his clothes and appearance in different places and in front of different people."

"Or to put it more bluntly, someone is looking for him, trying to catch him. To avoid being caught, he, like us, has changed his appearance to make it easier for him to escape."

Changsun Chong was surprised: "Is this making it easier for him to escape? Is someone trying to catch him?"

Cheng Chumo was also very surprised: "How did you figure that out? Just because his clothes and appearance were different?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "I deduced that from Cao Rui."

"Cao Rui?" Everyone frowned.

Liu Shuyi said, "Cao Rui would ask everyone who came to the inn where they came from. If anyone came from the direction of Cangzhou, he would call them in for questioning immediately!"

"This means that, in Cao Rui's understanding, the rumors only spread on the way from Cangzhou to the inn..."

"Then, on what basis does he think that?"

Changsun Chong's eyes flashed: "Because he came here following the rumors?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "That's not quite accurate. You should say he followed the person who spread the rumors all the way here!"

"Because in Cao Rui's view, only the person he was pursuing knew about this rumor, so only that person would spread such a rumor. No one else or anywhere else could have this rumor!"

"Only in this way can he be certain that the rumors only exist on the road from Cangzhou to the inn, and that they cannot exist anywhere else!"

A thoughtful look flashed across Changsun Chong's face. After a moment, he said, "I see. This explanation is indeed more reasonable."

Liu Shuyi continued, "In addition, when Cao Rui met me, he heard that I came from Cangzhou and specifically asked about my identity, down to which family I belonged to... This shows that he wanted to determine whether I was lying about my identity."

"I have absolutely no connection with him; we were just strangers who met by chance. Yet he wants to verify if there's anything wrong with my identity... What does that mean?"

Changsun Chong reacted quickly, saying, "That means he's looking for someone! And that person might have changed their appearance and forged an identity!"

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Both aspects lead to the conclusion that Cao Rui is looking for someone, and that person has changed his appearance... So we can be certain that Cao Rui came here because of the rumors about Dou Jiande's treasure, and also because he was chasing after that person."

"And while that man was fleeing for his life, he was also spreading rumors about Dou Jiande's treasure. I think..."

He narrowed his eyes, looked again at Guan Feng and the others who were bound, and slowly said, "It's because Cao Rui arrested him that he knows the secret of Dou Jiande's treasure! Or rather, he is the only one who knows the true secret of Dou Jiande's treasure!"

Upon hearing this, Guan Feng's pupils contracted uncontrollably, and sweat dripped down his face.

He wanted to show a disdainful expression, but the shock and horror Liu Shuyi gave him made it impossible for him to remain calm, and he eventually revealed his true thoughts.

Liu Shuyi took in Guan Feng's reaction, a smile playing on his lips, and continued, "For some reason, Cao Rui learned of this secret and set his sights on this man in order to seize Dou Jiande's treasure for himself! But unfortunately, he failed to capture him and the man escaped instead."

"Because Cao Rui already knew that Dou Jiande's treasure was nearby, that person did not want Cao Rui to succeed in the end. Therefore, on the way to escape, he kept spreading rumors about Dou Jiande's treasure, hoping that other people who wanted the treasure would also come here to look for it!"

"Since he cannot protect the treasure himself, nor can he obtain it, he will certainly not let Cao Rui have his way!"

"During his pursuit, Cao Rui heard these rumors and naturally understood the man's intentions. This infuriated Cao Rui, but also made him extremely wary, fearing that someone might actually believe the rumors and come here in search of treasure... That's why Cao Rui questioned everyone who came from the direction of Cangzhou, and after learning that they knew about the rumors, he specifically told them that they were baseless rumors and forbade them from believing or spreading them in every way..."

Upon hearing these analyses, Deng Hui, Zhu Shan, and the others exchanged bewildered glances. They never imagined that Cao Rui's questions and explanations to them concealed such an astonishing secret!
"Cao Rui was very cautious and careful, thinking he had nipped all the crises in the bud, but..."

Liu Shuyi shook his head and said, "He calculated everything, but he didn't expect that the real crisis would come from a direction completely opposite to Cangzhou!"

He stared at Guan Feng: "Because the caravan you were hiding in came from south to north, which is the opposite direction from Cangzhou, Cao Rui didn't pay any attention to you or even think of asking you. Who knew that in the end, he would die at the hands of someone he never even suspected."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Chumo asked in confusion, "Guan Feng and the others didn't come from Cangzhou either, so how would they know the secret of Dou Jiande's treasure?"

"Whether they came from Cangzhou or not is not important. As long as their companions have heard of this secret and are interested in Dou Jiande's treasure, then whether they send messages by carrier pigeon or by riding day and night, they will eventually get them into their hands."

"Partners?" Cheng Chumo was taken aback. "You mean, Guan Feng and his group have other accomplices?"

When Guan Feng and the others heard this, their expressions changed. Clearly, none of them had expected that Liu Shuyi would have these suspicions.

Liu Shuyi watched their every move, his eyes growing increasingly serious as he observed their drastically changed expressions.

He said, "Many of Guan Feng's men are hiding in the caravans, and the caravans, apart from picking up some passengers along the way, do not recruit people along the way... In other words, if they are not lying, then Guan Feng and his men really came from the direction of Zhengzhou, and it is impossible for them to have any connection with the road to Cangzhou."

“In this situation, the only reason they would know about the rumors of Dou Jiande’s treasure is that someone else was sending them the message.”

Guan Feng pursed his lips tightly, his expression towards Liu Shuyi revealing an increasing sense of fear and shock.

He already knew how capable Liu Shuyi was, but only now did he realize that what he thought he knew was still a huge underestimation of Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi is simply a monster who can read people's minds!

Liu Shuyi's gaze met Guan Feng's, and he continued, "Back to the case..."

"I have figured out that you killed Cao Rui and the others because of Dou Jiande's treasure."

"At the same time, I also deduced that the secret of Dou Jiande's treasure was spread by the person Cao Rui was looking for..."

"So, if you want to find Dou Jiande's treasure in the shortest amount of time, the only way is to find this person!"

Therefore…

Liu Shuyi's lips curled into a half-smile as he said, "Tell me, after you've locked us up, if I use the location of Dou Jiande's treasure and his whereabouts as leverage, will you turn around and leave without hesitation, or will you be rooted to the spot and unable to take another step?"

"I..." Guan Feng opened his mouth subconsciously, but couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

His face turned pale, and he felt that Liu Shuyi in front of him was more terrifying than anyone he had ever met.

Liu Shuyi's gaze fell on Xiao Liu again. Recalling Xiao Liu's cold snort and rebuke just now, he said, "And you? Do you still think I can't attract Guan Feng? Do you still think I'm trying to make myself look good?"

…………

P.S.: 6200 words delivered. I forgot to ask for monthly votes at the beginning of the month, which was quite dismal. If you have any spare monthly votes, please cast one.

(End of this chapter)