The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 45 He's right here! (8K)

The horses' hooves pounded the ground like drums, creating a series of resounding sounds.

Qian Wenqing had a cold face and an ugly expression, wishing she could grow wings and leave Liu Shuyi far behind.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast he sped up, Liu Shuyi clung to him like a plaster, always maintaining a distance of a horse's length. Whether he went fast or slow, the distance between them remained unchanged.

This made Qian Wenqing realize that Liu Shuyi's horsemanship was far superior to his own. The reason he hadn't surpassed him and gone ahead was to make him lead the way like a servant, which was truly despicable.

Did the case occur in the West Market?

Liu Shuyi had no idea how embarrassed and angry Qian Wenqing was. He simply followed closely behind while observing his surroundings.

After leaving the Ministry of Justice, they headed west, passing through Zhuque Avenue, Guanglu, Taiping and Yanshou Wards, and finally entered the most bustling and prosperous West Market in Chang'an.

Unlike the East Market, which was a gathering place for the wealthy and noble, the West Market was more like an international trade market. Here, you could see ordinary people dressed in plain clothes, dark-skinned Kunlun slaves, strangely dressed Hu people, and even Hu women with exotic charm.

Watching these Hu women sway their slender waists in front of various restaurants, eliciting cheers from onlookers, Liu Shuyi couldn't help but recall a poem by Li Bai.

"The Hu woman is as beautiful as a flower, smiling like a spring breeze at the counter. Smiling like a spring breeze, dancing in her silken robes, if you don't get drunk today, where will you go?"

As expected of Li Bai, his poems are very realistic.

These orchid girls are indeed very beautiful.

No wonder that when Du Gou was introducing the brothel in front of the Taoist temple, he specifically mentioned the Hu women.

Is this the tacit understanding among scholars that transcends time and space?

Lost in thought, a "whoosh" pulled Liu Shuyi back to reality.

The sound of horses' hooves stopped.

Liu Shuyi looked up and saw that they had stopped in front of a restaurant.

The restaurant has two floors and is very large, with a high entrance, making it truly magnificent.

A gold-lacquered plaque bears three large characters: "Wangyue Tower" (望月楼).

"Tavern?"

"Has a case occurred here?"

Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow and looked toward the entrance of Wangyue Tower.

At this moment, a crowd gathered outside the Moon Gazing Tower, with people standing at the door peering curiously inside.

I heard some whispers.

"Have you heard? Someone died here last night."

"How come I didn't hear about it? I was right here at the time, I was terrified!"

"You're here? Tell me what happened? How did someone suddenly die?"

"I was drinking in the lobby on the first floor when I suddenly heard screams from the second floor, saying that someone had set themselves on fire. How could I not go over and see what was going on?"

"As soon as I went up to the second floor, I saw a private room with thick smoke billowing out and flames burning inside. In the midst of the raging fire, a person sat there quietly, smiling as he looked out, letting the flames engulf him. He looked like he was looking at me... It almost scared me to death on the spot."

Upon hearing this person's words, those around him gasped in surprise.

But soon, doubts arose.

"You mean he was sitting there quietly? Really? It must have been burning him! How could he have held back his screams?"

"Yeah! And he could still smile at you while you were in so much pain, isn't that so fake?"

"Brother, I know you want to brag about your experiences, but don't make things up. It sounds very unrealistic."

Seeing that everyone around him was doubting him, the man, who was as thin as a skeleton and had a pale face, suddenly became agitated and said, "This is what I saw with my own eyes. I'm not making this up. I also heard that before he set himself on fire, he kept shouting something in remorse! Many people saw it. If you don't believe me, ask them and you'll know if what I said is true or false!"

Hearing these comments, Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes slightly.

Self-immolation? Silence? A smile?

"Master Qian, you've finally arrived."

Just then, several figures quickly walked out of the Moon Gazing Tower.

The leader was in his thirties, with a square face, very light eyebrows that looked as if they had been burned, and only a faint shadow on his eyelids.

Upon seeing this man, Zhao Feng whispered, "He is Wang Gui, the county magistrate of Chang'an County."

County Commandant of Chang'an County?
Liu Shuyi nodded knowingly.

The West Market is under the jurisdiction of Chang'an County. If a murder occurs in the West Market, the Chang'an County government will naturally be responsible.

The fact that the case has now been submitted to the Ministry of Justice indicates that the investigation by the Chang'an County government must have encountered difficulties or encountered other thorny issues. Otherwise, it would not be a trivial case that warrants the involvement of the Ministry of Justice.

Qian Wenqing's expression was still not good, so he didn't speak to Wang Gui in a friendly tone, saying, "The Ministry of Justice is busy with official business, so I was delayed a bit."

Busy with official duties?

Zhao Feng couldn't help but sneer inwardly as he listened to Qian Wenqing's words.

He knew very well that Qian Wenqing's so-called busy official duties were just a pretext to wait for Liu Shuyi to issue the first task after the promotion to others, and then intercept it, hoping to embarrass Liu Shuyi.

Qian Wenqing never expected that his interception would not only bring Liu Shuyi along, but also his own.

Once Liu Shuyi arrives, he will inevitably be involved in the investigation. If the case is eventually solved by Liu Shuyi... then things will get interesting.

"County Commandant Wang, what's the progress of the case?"

At this moment, Liu Shuyi dismounted and went directly to Wang Gui, asking him a question.

Wang Gui looked blankly at Liu Shuyi, who was dressed in the official robes of a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice, and asked, "Who is this superior?"

Zhao Feng said, "This is Liu Shuyi, who solved the murder case involving the ghost of Prince Xi, the case involving the head of the falcon, and the case of the disappearance of Prince Xi's remains that shocked the court. This morning, His Majesty promoted him to the position of Assistant Director of the Ministry of Justice."

Upon hearing Zhao Feng's introduction, Wang Gui and the yamen runners from Chang'an County behind him were first taken aback, and then looked at Liu Shuyi with surprise.

Wang Gui quickly said, "So it's Master Liu!"

"I have long heard of Master Liu's reputation for solving cases with divine skill. Today, I have met him and I can confirm that he is indeed a man of great bearing and extraordinary demeanor. With Master Liu's arrival, I am confident that this case will be solved!"

Liu Shuyi knew that his reputation had been established after solving three cases in a row.

Therefore, Wang Gui's reaction was not unexpected. He nodded slightly and, without saying much, said directly, "Please tell me the details of the case, County Commandant Wang."

"It's natural."

Wang Gui hurriedly and solicitously invited Liu Shuyi into Wangyue Tower: "Please, Mr. Liu, let's talk as we walk."

Qian Wenqing, who was still looking down at Wang Gui and the others from his horse, saw that everyone was accompanying Liu Shuyi and forgetting about him, and his face immediately turned extremely gloomy.

He said coldly, "County Commandant Wang, Assistant Minister Liu is only here to help. I am the one truly in charge of investigating this case. Don't forget who you've come to."

Upon hearing this, Wang Gui abruptly stopped in his tracks.

He then realized that he had been so excited to see the rumored Liu Shuyi that he had completely forgotten about Qian Wenqing.

As for Qian Wenqing's personality, he knew him well after knowing him for so long.

Because Qian Wenqing is Pei Ji's nephew-in-law, he has a powerful background and is very arrogant. He looks down on people of lower rank than him. Moreover, he is narrow-minded and cannot stand others saying anything bad about him. If he neglects Qian Wenqing and Qian Wenqing becomes jealous, things will be very bad.

His expression changed, and he quickly turned around, bowed, and apologized: "Look at my brain, I didn't sleep a wink last night because of this case, and I'm so confused. Of course I know that you are inviting Master Qian... Master Qian, please come in, I will explain the details of the case to you."

Upon hearing this, Qian Wenqing glanced smugly at Liu Shuyi before nodding and dismounting.

Seeing this, Zhao Feng couldn't help but whisper, "Qian Wenqing is clearly warning and reminding Wang Gui to distinguish between primary and secondary matters. I'm afraid he won't let Wang Gui cooperate with us in the upcoming investigation."

Liu Shuyi naturally noticed these things, but he didn't care.

Investigating a case relies not on the cooperation of subordinates, but on the search for, analysis, and reasoning of clues.

Not to mention, if Wang Gui could solve the case simply by cooperating, then there would be no need for him to ask the Ministry of Justice to intervene.

Wang Gui knew how difficult Qian Wenqing was, yet he still had to seek him out. This meant he must have no clue what to do. Otherwise... given Qian Wenqing's personality, why would Wang Gui bother asking him for help?
"Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Qian Wenqing caught up with Liu Shuyi in a few steps, then deliberately rushed up the stairs ahead of Liu Shuyi and asked the question first, as if this would give him the upper hand.

Wang Gui was quick-witted. Upon seeing Qian Wenqing's behavior, he knew that he and Liu Shuyi were probably at odds.

He was of low rank and dared not offend anyone, so he could only lower his head and say in an official manner: "At around 3:45 pm last night, thick smoke suddenly billowed out of the Zizhu Pavilion, a private room on the second floor of Wangyue Tower, and at the same time, crazy voices also came from the Zizhu Pavilion."

"Nearby diners and waiters saw this and rushed over to see what had happened."

"But the door to Zizhu Pavilion was locked from the inside. No matter how much they knocked, the person inside didn't respond at all. They just kept repeating the same sentence in a madman."

"One sentence? What sentence?" Liu Shuyi asked.

Upon hearing this, Wang Gui subconsciously glanced at Qian Wenqing, only to see that Qian Wenqing's brows were slightly furrowed, seemingly dissatisfied with being late to Liu Shuyi's words.

Seeing that Qian Wenqing did not stop him, Wang Gui said, "I deserve to die."

"Am I supposed to die?"

Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow.

A look of confusion flashed in Qian Wenqing's eyes as he asked in bewilderment, "Why did he say I deserved to die?"

Wang Gui shook his head: "This humble official doesn't know either. When I asked the waiters, they all said they didn't know either. This person just suddenly went mad without any warning."

Liu Shuyi lightly tapped the jade pendant at his waist and asked, "And then? What happened next?"

Qian Wenqing gritted her teeth, wondering why Liu Shuyi had always spoken first.

"When they saw that the people inside were not responding and the smoke was getting thicker, they pushed the door open forcefully."

"After finally managing to push the door open a crack, they quickly looked inside and discovered that behind the door was a cabinet. The guests inside had not only bolted the door but had also pushed the cabinet behind the door, blocking it."

"They didn't have time to think, so they quickly looked into the room through the gap above the cabinet, and what they saw next left them stunned."

At this point, Wang Gui suddenly raised his head and looked at the two people in front of him. His tone subconsciously became a few degrees deeper: "They discovered that the diners inside were standing in the room with disheveled hair, slapping themselves hard. As they slapped themselves, they cried and said, 'I am guilty.' After they finished crying, they laughed. As they laughed, they cried again."

"After crying and laughing several times, the man seemed to know that someone was watching him outside the door. Suddenly, he picked up the candlestick on the table, glanced in the direction of the door, and then... used the candlelight to set himself on fire."

"He set himself on fire?" Zhao Feng's expression changed upon hearing this.

The other officials in the Ministry of Justice also felt a chill run down their spines.

Wang Gui nodded, his expression serious: "That's right, he set himself on fire. According to the waiter and the others, this diner must have been doused with kerosene or something similar beforehand, so when the candle was lit, he was completely engulfed in flames."

"They were completely terrified when they saw this, and several guests even screamed and lost their composure."

"Fortunately, the shopkeeper arrived at this time. Upon hearing what had happened, he quickly organized everyone to break down the door. However, the door was blocked not only by a bolt but also by a cabinet. It took them a lot of effort to finally break the door open."

"And when they broke down the door, they discovered..."

Wang Gui looked at Liu Shuyi and Qian Wenqing and said in a deep voice, "The room was also full of fire. The diner was sitting in the flames, smiling and looking directly at them. He didn't shout or struggle. It was extremely strange. Before long, he became a human torch."

"They quickly called for help to put out the fire. Fortunately, there were many diners in the restaurant at the time, and the water supply was plentiful. In addition, the fire in the room had not yet fully spread, so the fire was eventually extinguished."

"It's just that customer..."

Wang Gui stopped in front of a charred door, looked into the room, and shook his head, saying, "She's stopped breathing."

Upon hearing Wang Gui's words, everyone subconsciously looked up, and then... their pupils all contracted.

The room in front of them had its door wide open.

The house behind the door was a completely black world after the fire.

The walls were blackened by smoke, and the cabinet was burned down to only half its original size.

The ground was covered in a mixture of soot and water, and was very dirty.

A figure was sitting on the ground three steps away from the doorway, directly opposite it.

He was completely black; you couldn't see his clothes or his hair.

Everything visible to the naked eye is a hideous wound left by burning.

Its skin was completely burned off, its teeth were exposed, and its whitish-gray eyeballs were stuck in their blackened sockets, staring in the direction of the doorway. It gave them the feeling that at this very moment, it was still smiling and watching them outside the door.

At this moment, both Zhao Feng and Qian Wenqing finally understood what Wang Gui meant by "smiling and extremely eerie".

Zhao Feng felt his scalp tingle and goosebumps rise. He thought that after experiencing the skinning of the human skin lantern, he had seen a lot and that ordinary death scenes would not scare him.

But now he realizes that there is no limit to how terrifying things can get.

Liu Shuyi stared at the charred, bizarre corpse in front of him, recalling Wang Gui's words, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"You investigated all night, what clues did you find? Who was the deceased? Why was he here last night?"

Hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Qian Wenqing and the others were finally brought back to their senses.

The thought of Liu Shuyi getting ahead of her again filled Qian Wenqing with shame and annoyance. Why was she always ahead of Liu Shuyi? If this continued, wouldn't it make Liu Shuyi seem like the one in charge?
He walked into the private room with a stern face and looked at Wang Gui: "Speak."

Wang Gui nodded and said, "Because the deceased's appearance has been destroyed, we cannot know his identity for the time being. However, the Chang'an County Government has already posted a notice that if anyone goes missing, they should report to the government as soon as possible, and then we will know."

"Why is he here? According to the waiter, this man came to the private room alone last night, ordered some wine and dishes, saying he wanted to entertain his guests. After that, he told the waiter to leave and said that the waiter was not allowed to come and disturb him without his orders."

"Invited to a banquet? Who was invited? Has that person arrived?" Qian Wenqing, afraid that Liu Shuyi would preemptively ask, quickly inquired upon hearing Wang Gui's words. Liu Shuyi glanced at Qian Wenqing and shook his head inwardly.

This Qian Wenqing is quite interesting; he even argues about who asks the question first. As long as he gets the key information, he doesn't care who asks it.

"The waiter doesn't know who the person in front of him is either."

Wang Gui shook his head: "Because the deceased did not allow the waiter to disturb him, the waiter only came to the private room again after discovering the thick smoke inside."

Qian Wenqing frowned: "Didn't the waiter notice when a guest came in from outside?"

"Wangyue Tower was very popular because it had Hu women providing services. There were many customers coming and going every day. The time of the incident was also the busiest time for Wangyue Tower. The waiters and the manager were so busy that they did not notice who had come in."

Upon hearing this, Qian Wenqing was immediately embarrassed and annoyed: "You don't know this, you don't know that, then you've been searching all night and haven't found anything useful?"

Wang Gui looked somewhat embarrassed and flustered, unsure how to respond.

Qian Wenqing glanced at Wang Gui, then at Liu Shuyi. Seeing Liu Shuyi carefully observing the private room, he said, "If you ask me, although there are no clues in this case and the identity of the deceased is unknown, the fact that the deceased committed self-immolation is certain."

"Although his death was very tragic, it was ultimately just a matter of suicide. Your county government can handle this, so why bother my Ministry of Justice?"

Upon hearing Qian Wenqing's words, Liu Shuyi also looked at Wang Gui.

Based on the information currently available, the case is indeed quite clear: the self-immolation was not murder, and there was indeed no need to alarm the Ministry of Justice.

Then they heard Wang Gui say, "If this is the only case, then I really don't need to alarm the Ministry of Justice..."

"You mean... there was more than just one case of self-immolation last night?" Liu Shuyi's eyes narrowed as he asked directly.

Upon hearing this, Qian Wenqing was startled.

Wang Gui nodded heavily: "To be honest, the night before last, there was also a case of self-immolation. It also happened in a restaurant. The door was locked, a cabinet was blocking the door, and the person went crazy, saying 'I deserve to die,' before setting themselves on fire and dying. That's what they looked like after death..."

He looked at the rather gruesome corpse before him and said, "It's exactly the same."

Zhao Feng's pupils dilated: "Two cases?!"

Wang Gui nodded: "Yes, two self-immolation cases in two consecutive nights, and the victims' deaths were all very strange... No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like a normal suicide."

"Moreover, the cases all occurred in bustling restaurants, making it impossible to suppress the news; it's already widely known among the people... If these two cases aren't the whole story, and if a third or fourth occurs, it will inevitably cause panic among the people, so..."

He looked at the two men, his face bitter and solemn: "I had no choice but to seek the support of the Ministry of Justice after the second self-immolation incident."

Hearing Wang Gui's words, even Qian Wenqing refrained from saying anything inappropriate this time.

They all realized just how bizarre and complex the self-immolation case before them truly was.

The fact that they both committed suicide by self-immolation can be considered a coincidence, but the deceased was just strange, or perhaps mentally unstable.

But the two self-immolations had almost identical processes and outcomes, so it couldn't be a coincidence.

If there really is a third, a fourth, or even an endless series of such incidents... not only will the people panic, but the prestige of the court, which is unable to prevent such bizarre self-immolation events, will also be shaken.

In these turbulent times, who knows what terrifying chain reactions might occur.

Qian Wenqing frowned. He hadn't expected that the case he had casually taken on would be so complicated and difficult.

This case is different from other cases. Other cases, even if they are not solved, will at most become unsolved cases. But if this case cannot be solved and will continue to occur, it will eventually come to Li Shimin's attention.

By then, even a minor case will become a major one.

However... this isn't all bad.

Think about how Liu Shuyi rose to power. Wasn't it just a stroke of luck that he solved a few complicated and difficult cases?
Therefore, if I can solve this case and find out the truth, I might catch Li Shimin's eye. With Pei Ji's help behind the scenes, I might be the next person to be promoted!
Thinking of this, Qian Wenqing immediately perked up. He absolutely could not let Liu Shuyi get there first; he had to solve the case first.

Liu Shuyi wanted to sabotage his plans by taking credit, so he climbed up by stepping on Liu Shuyi's head.

He wanted to let Liu Shuyi know whose territory the Ministry of Justice was.

Thinking this through, Qian Wenqing didn't delay any longer. He glanced at Liu Shuyi with a cold smile, then led his trusted subordinates in two separate groups.

They inquired with the waiters and diners at the restaurants along the way to learn more details, and then went to another restaurant to investigate.

He wanted to use his numerical advantage to race against time and find out everything before Liu Shuyi.

Seeing that Qian Wenqing had taken action, Zhao Feng said, "Master Liu, there are only two of us, far fewer than them. Should we go find some help?"

Liu Shuyi knew what Qian Wenqing was up to, but he didn't care.

Since the two cases are almost identical, going to the other restaurant or not will not make much difference.

Not to mention, judging from Wang Gui's reaction, the situation at the other restaurant is not much better. Both have no clues, and whether the time is earlier or later, or whether there are more or fewer people, it won't make much difference.

"Ignore him."

Liu Shuyi ignored Qian Wenqing and looked at Wang Gui again, pondering, "Has the identity of the victim in the other self-immolation case been confirmed?"

Wang Gui shook his head: "Not yet. We've had the notice up all day, but no one has come to report it."

No one reported it all day...

Liu Shuyi stroked his chin and said, "He may live alone, his family may not have seen the portrait, or he may be away from home often, so his family has gotten used to it and didn't pay attention when he disappeared for a day or two."

Wang Gui nodded and sighed: "Yes, that's the most troublesome part for me. How can we investigate further when we can't even confirm the identity of the deceased?"

Zhao Feng also sensed the tricky part. This self-immolation case seemed simple, with a clear cause of death, but in reality, it might not be much easier to investigate than the case of the ghost of the Prince of Xi and the case of the head of the Falcon.

It's even more difficult.

After all, they have absolutely no leads right now.

"Does the waiter remember their clothes? Can he estimate their identities?" Liu Shuyi didn't have the same worried look as the other two. After thinking for a while, he continued to ask.

Wang Gui frowned: "I didn't ask that."

"Call the waiter over."

Without delay, Wang Gui immediately ordered someone to summon Xiao Er.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, Liu Shuyi glanced around.

The private room wasn't very large. It had a separate window, a table, a few stools, and a cabinet for storing guests' clothes.

At this time, the table and chairs, which were close to the wall, were burned to half their original size, and the cabinet by the door was also reduced to a small half.

Even the windows were burned out.

Standing here and looking out, you can clearly see the sturdy locust tree outside the window.

Liu Shuyi went to the window, took a deep breath, and felt that the cold air was particularly refreshing. This breath made him feel much more energetic.

He looked out the window and saw lush locust trees, their trunks covered in snow that was blown away by the wind and suddenly fell down.

Fortunately, the alley below was sparsely populated; otherwise, someone would surely have been cursing loudly into the air.

Liu Shuyi turned around and looked into the room, his gaze sweeping over every inch of it.

"Ok?"

At that moment, he seemed to have discovered something and suddenly strode to the wall directly opposite the door.

On the wall, blackened by fire, about four feet off the ground, were two iron nails.

Why are there iron nails?

Furthermore, about three feet above the nail, there was a very fresh-looking dent on the wall.

"These marks..."

Liu Shuyi frowned and thought for a moment, then turned to look at the corpse not far away.

Approaching the corpse, he carefully examined the horribly burned and mangled body. He stroked his chin and muttered to himself, "What kind of person could withstand the pain of being burned alive without reacting?"

"This is?"

At this moment, Liu Shuyi looked at the lower abdomen of the corpse and saw a clear scar there.

However, it's not a new scar; it must be an old scar from at least a few years ago.

"A knife wound?"

"Or was it caused by another sharp weapon?"

Liu Shuyi suddenly turned to Zhao Feng and said, "Go to the Du residence and ask Miss Du for me."

As he spoke, Liu Shuyi paused. He suddenly thought of a scene where the Jade Emperor reached out and shouted, "Quickly go and invite the Buddha!" ​​His current actions seemed strangely similar.
Zhao Feng had no idea what Liu Shuyi was thinking. Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, he left without saying another word.

At this moment, Xiao Er was brought over trembling with fear.

"This humble servant greets Master Liu." The young man, around twenty years old, was dressed in hemp clothing and appeared quite nervous.

Liu Shuyi said in a gentle voice, "Don't be nervous. I just want to ask you a few questions. Just answer them truthfully."

Seeing that Liu Shuyi's tone was gentle and his attitude was kind, much better than Qian Wenqing who had just interrogated him, the waiter breathed a sigh of relief and spoke a few steps faster: "Please ask whatever you want, sir. As long as it is something I know, I will tell you everything I know."

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly: "You work in a restaurant and see all kinds of people every day. You should have developed a keen eye. You can't tell a customer's identity at a glance, but you can at least tell whether they are rich or poor and how many copper coins they can spend. So, in your opinion, what kind of person was the deceased?"

The waiter hadn't expected Liu Shuyi to ask such a question. He thought about it carefully before replying, "Sir, this gentleman is about forty years old. His clothes are made of very fine fabric, so he must be either rich or noble. However, he has a bad temper. He became very impatient as soon as I asked him a few more questions."

"Ask a few more questions? What did you ask?"

"I didn't ask anything, just whether he needed me to fetch the guests he was waiting for, and whether he needed Hu Ji to come in and serve him."

"How did he answer?"

“No need! Just those two words, no need for anything else, it’s really annoying… It gives me the feeling that he doesn’t really want to serve this guest…” The waiter frowned and thought about his words, then said, “It’s like he doesn’t really want to serve this guest.”

"Oh? You're not keen on entertaining him?" Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow. "How much food and drink did he order? Are they expensive or cheap in your restaurant?"

"We ordered quite a lot; it's considered expensive."

I wasn't really keen on hosting them, but the food and drinks were lavish and quite expensive...

There's a contradiction here!
Liu Shuyi thought for a moment and said, "Do you remember any of his physical features?"

"I don't remember very clearly," the waiter said. "I have to serve too many guests every day, so I really can't remember what they look like unless they come often."

"So, the deceased didn't come here often?"

"It should be, otherwise someone with such a bad temper, and who is either rich or noble, would at least leave an impression on a petty person."

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly and said, "If I could find his portrait, could you recognize him?"

“Of course I can,” the waiter said. “Although I can’t remember his features, I’ll definitely remember him once I see his face.”

"it is good."

Liu Shuyi nodded and continued, "When did he arrive at the restaurant? Did he choose this private room as soon as he arrived?"

"He arrived around 7 PM. This private room was reserved by someone he had arranged beforehand."

"Did someone make a reservation beforehand? Who made the reservation? Himself?"

The waiter shook his head and said, "It wasn't him, it was his servant who paid the deposit in advance."

"A servant? What does this servant look like? When did they come to pay the deposit?"

The waiter shook his head with a wry smile: "To be honest, Mr. Liu, I didn't really pay much attention to a servant. However, I remember that he was very thin, almost skin and bones, and his complexion was also very bad. He looked like he was seriously ill and was very pale. He came to pay the deposit yesterday at noon."

Very thin, as thin as a skeleton.

His face was extremely pale, as if he were suffering from a serious illness...

With a thunderous boom, it exploded in Liu Shuyi's mind.

I don't know what he was thinking.

Without any warning, they rushed straight out.

Wang Gui was stunned when he saw this scene, wondering what was wrong with Liu Shuyi.

He quickly followed him out.

When he rushed out of the Wangyue Tower gate, he found Liu Shuyi standing there, frowning as he looked at the crowd of onlookers.

Wang Gui couldn't help but ask, "Master Liu, what's wrong?"

Liu Shuyi was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "If I told you that just now, not long ago, the deceased's servants might have been here, would you believe me?"

"What?" Wang Gui exclaimed in surprise, "Really?"

"Where is he? What is he doing?"

Liu Shuyi's voice was low as he recalled the scene of eavesdropping on the people's discussions when he first arrived here. He said, "He was standing in the crowd, right where I am, excitedly telling others what he had witnessed: the deceased self-immolating..."

"What!?"

Wang Gui felt a chill run down his spine and stood frozen in place.

　Here's 8,000 words. There should be another chapter tonight. If today's update reaches 10,000 words, please give me some monthly tickets in recognition of my hard work!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)