Legend of Zhan Zhao

Chapter 36 Another Locked Room Murder

"What!!"

Upon hearing this devastating news, Lin Yuxian could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground. Lian Caiyun quickly caught her, but her own face turned pale.

"Impossible... Second Senior Brother is a master of external martial arts, and so many archers from the Blood Dragon Gang couldn't do anything to him... How could this be!"

Chu Zhirou was stunned for a moment, then roared angrily.

In comparison, Zhan Zhao was the calmest.

Firstly, he had no connection with "Angry Cloud" Tang Lei. The other party was arrogant at first but obsequious later. In their previous exchanges, he had shown great enthusiasm for the villa's foundation. He didn't have much ill will, but of course, he didn't have any goodwill or respect either.

Secondly, when he saw Lian Caiyun waiting at the door and heard the arrangements, he guessed that something might have happened inside the Gu family mansion.

The youngest, Lian Caiyun, was the most cherished. Because they were worried that she wouldn't be able to accept it, they sent her here.

In light of this, Zhan Zhao said to Lian Caiyun, "Miss Caiyun, please stay here and look after things..."

"No!"

Lian Caiyun shook her head resolutely: "Let's go together! When our eldest brother was killed, those people from the Six Doors blocked us and prevented us from seeing him one last time. This time, our second brother... our second brother again... I must see him!"

"Little sister is right! Let's go!"

Lin Yuxian bit her lip, mustered her strength in her legs, and walked towards the inner courtyard.

But when the two women actually arrived at the inner courtyard and reached the doorway that reeked of blood, they only glanced inside before turning around, running to the side, and vomiting.

It's not their fault.

Even Zhan Zhao felt his stomach churn when he saw it.

The scene was so tragic.

Tang Lei's body, nicknamed "Angry Cloud," resembled a cleaved iron tower.

It was cleaved horizontally.

He was as robust as a mountain in life, but now he was cut in half at the waist, his upper body smashed to the ground, his eyes wide open in death, staring blankly at the doorway, blood flowing everywhere, his internal organs sliding out from the long hem of his winter robe, spreading out in a sticky mess.

From the outside, one could just see a dark red heart half-buried in a pool of blood, seemingly twitching slightly, as if unwillingly repeating the beat of its life.

His lower body's legs were braced against the half-open door, standing firm, which only added to the sense of terror.

A group of people were standing outside.

The leader, Madam Yun, remained expressionless.

Behind them was a group of servants led by Granny Jiang. Some were swallowing hard, some were fidgeting with their legs, and most of them were pale but dared not scream.

"The most urgent task is to protect the scene!"

Zhan Zhao's voice broke the extremely oppressive silence.

As if waking from a dream, everyone immediately came to life, but still dared not move, all looking at Madam Yun.

Madam Yun spoke, looking at Granny Jiang: "Take them downstairs and back to their rooms. Be careful of outsiders."

"Yes!"

Grandma Jiang did as she was told.

After the servants in the house had left, Madam Yun turned to look at Lin Yuxian, looked her up and down, and nodded, saying, "It's good that you're alright."

Lin Yuxian's eyes reddened, and she immediately knelt down: "Master's wife!! Second senior brother...who...who killed him..."

"stand up!"

Madam Yun said calmly, "A life for a life. Find the murderer. What's the use of being so weak?"

"Disciple...disciple...waaaah!!"

Lin Yuxian was clearly used to her master's wife's style, but even so, seeing her childhood friend die so tragically, and thinking of her senior brother Gu Lin who had died not long ago, she could no longer hold back her grief and collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face.

Seeing this, Lian Caiyun also half-squatted down, supporting her senior sister while sobbing, "Master's wife! What exactly happened?!"

Madam Yun said, "I am practicing my internal energy and am unaware of external affairs. Shen Lan, please speak."

Shen Lan was also lost in thought and did not respond when she heard this, staring blankly at the ground.

"Let me, the old woman, speak!"

Just then, Granny Jiang's voice rang out.

After settling the servants, she strode swiftly to stand behind Madam Yun and began, “To guard against the thieves from the Six Doors, I have been patrolling every night for the past few days. Just three-quarters of an hour ago, I heard a noise coming from the Second Young Master’s room. I rushed to the window and found that there were still thieves inside…” She pointed to the other side of the crime scene, “I wanted to climb in through the window to help the Second Young Master, but he shouted from inside, ‘Guard the window, don’t let the thieves escape!’”

Chu Zhirou said sternly, "So the murderer who killed Second Senior Brother was inside the house?"

"That's what I thought too. Besides, the Second Young Master's voice was loud and clear, full of energy. He must have the upper hand and wasn't afraid of the thieves. So I did as he said and stood guard outside the window."

Granny Jiang said in a deep voice, "At that moment, the Third Young Master also passed by, so I told him to go around to the main gate, block the front and back, and catch him like a turtle in a jar. But I never expected that this would happen!"

At this point, everyone turned to look at Shen Lan.

Shen Lan remained standing there, stunned.

Zhan Zhao shifted his gaze from the gruesome corpse inside the room. Following Granny Jiang's description, he moved his feet, circled around most of the room, and arrived at the north-facing window, looking inside.

The house on site has a main door facing south and windows facing north, which are basically in a straight line. A huge screen separates the inner room from the outer room.

Through the north-facing window, one can clearly see the interior, while the exterior is obscured by the limited light filtering through the screen.

"What happened?"

Meanwhile, seeing that Shen Lan remained silent and that everyone was urging her on, Granny Jiang could only continue her story: "I saw... after the Third Young Master pushed open the door, the Second Young Master's upper body fell down!"

"what?"

The image flashed through their minds, and everyone present was horrified.

Looking at Shen Lan, who seemed to have lost his soul, one could understand why he was acting this way.

Did he kill his own senior brother with his own hands?

No.

It must have been a trap set by the murderer.

But it can also be a shadow that accompanies you for life.

"How could this be... How could this be... Wait!"

Chu Zhirou shook her head at first, then realized: "Did someone open the door beforehand?"

Granny Jiang shook her head: "The second young master stood blocking the door the whole time, and no one opened it to leave!"

Chu Zhirou said, "If that's the case, then the murderer should still be inside the house after Third Senior Brother entered! Where is the murderer? I will tear this person to pieces!"

"I also believed the murderer was trapped inside the house, but... the murderer suddenly disappeared!"

Granny Jiang paused, her tone revealing disbelief: "When I saw the second young master dead, I immediately climbed into the house, but I only saw the third young master turn around and rush out. After searching the house, I couldn't find any trace of the murderer! I was worried about the safety of the others in the house, so I didn't dare to stay and went to the eldest young lady's room..."

The words fell.

The outside world returned to deathly silence.

Amidst the pervasive stench of blood, only pairs of blank, lifeless eyes remained fixed on the scene of the tragedy.

The north-facing window was guarded by Granny Jiang, who patrolled the night, preventing the murderer from escaping from that side.

The south-facing door was blocked by the deceased Tang Lei, who had blocked his way out, and was finally pushed open by Shen Lan.

As a result, both of them only saw a body cut in half at the waist inside the house, while the murderer mysteriously disappeared.

Here comes the problem-

How did the murderer leave after committing the crime?

Suddenly.

A terrible thought came to mind.

Was the way "Angry Cloud" Tang Lei died extremely similar to that of "Dwelling Cloud" Gu Lin?
All of them were in secret rooms...

Mysterious death!

However, the last locked-room murder had an answer, and the culprit pointed directly to the Six Doors!

What about this time?

Instinctively, everyone's gaze converged on that figure standing proudly like a pine tree.

Zhan Zhao met the crowd and said only eight words: "If you trust me, I will investigate the case!"

(End of this chapter)