Tang Dynasty detective

Chapter 204 Clues to the Murder Weapon
Hetou Village is a small village with a population of no more than [-] households. Hearing that the county magistrate came, the head of the local Baojia village came to salute at the same time.

"I didn't know your lord was coming, so I was disappointed to welcome you. I hope your lord will forgive me." Baojia was a middle-aged man. When he saw Kang Xu, he knelt down and saluted him in fear.

"You don't need to be too polite. I'm here just to ask, have you seen any suspicious people pass by our village these days?" Kang Xu asked them to get up.

"Suspicious person?" Baojia and the village head looked at each other for a while, then shook their heads and said, "My lord, we haven't seen any suspicious person."

"Then after the eve of midnight, have you ever seen a man and a woman pass by here?" Kang Xu asked in a different way.

Baojia scratched his head and replied in a low voice: "My lord, I waited for the small village in the countryside, and I fell asleep after dark. It was too late the night before, and I really didn't pay attention."

Kang Xu rubbed the center of his brows. Baojia was right. For the villagers, Zishi was already midnight, and most of them had already fallen asleep.

However, Kang Xu didn't give up, so he asked the government servants to go door to door and inquire.

From the bamboo forest to here, there is only this village nearby. Since the murderer has kidnapped Tao Zhaoxue, it is absolutely impossible for him to return to Zhengyang City.

What's more, Tao Zhaoxue's body floated down the river, which also shows that she died outside the city.

After about half an hour, the yamen servants came back to answer.

"My lord, we have already inquired all of them, and the villagers did not find anything abnormal that night." A yamen servant bowed and said.

"Is there really nothing abnormal?" Kang Xu couldn't help doubting his own judgment.

"Yes, my lord."

Baojia and the village head looked at each other suspiciously, and asked cautiously: "My lord, I don't know what the abnormality you are looking for is related to?"

"This officer is currently investigating a murder case. If you find any abnormalities, report to the Yamen immediately. In addition, you should pay more attention to the strangers who come and go to this village these days. If you notice anything unusual, you must notify the Yamen immediately." Kang Xu rubbed his eyebrows and said to Baojia and the village chief.

"Yes, yes, the villain must obey the orders of the adults and pay attention to the people who come and go." Baojia nodded repeatedly, not daring to hesitate.

Looking up at the sky, it was almost dusk before he knew it, and after finding nothing in Hetou Village, Kang Xu decided to go back to the yamen first, and then discuss it.

In the county office, Xiao Wu and Chang Feng have been waiting for a long time.

Seeing Kang Xu came back, the two rushed forward to inquire.

Kang Xu told the two of them the clues he found one day, and they immediately fell into deep thought.

"Xiao Wu, how is your investigation about the murder weapon?" Kang Xu asked while sitting on a chair.

Xiao Wu walked to the table, pointed to the evidence on the table and said: "These steel needles are common things, and you can buy them from any tailor shop. What's more, they are daily-use things for the common people, and every household has them in stock." There are quite a few, so it is really difficult to investigate. However, this knife is a little strange."

"What's so special?" Kang Xu asked.

"When I took this murder weapon to investigate, I asked a blacksmith. After he saw it, he said that the knife was forged twice and joined together." Xiao Wu picked up the short blade that was still stained with blood, and said to the two of them. Said: "Look here, here is the joint. Although it is not obvious, it is enough to show that this blade has been broken."

Kang Xu and Chang Feng approached, staring at the blade, they saw a trace as thin as a mosquito's silk, which was hard to find without careful inspection.

Xiao Wu went on to say: "I asked the blacksmith, and he said that he can mend the broken parts so tightly that the repairer is definitely an expert. There is no one in Zhengyang City who can reach this level."

"In other words, it is very likely that this murder weapon was brought from outside?" Chang Feng asked suspiciously.

"Also, this short blade is slender and has a peculiar shape. It is far from ordinary daggers. I have searched all the iron shops in Zhengyang City and no one has seen a similar short blade." Xiao Wu shrugged his shoulders, as if he felt that he was too It was useless and became annoyed.

Kang Xu patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "It's already pretty good that you can investigate this."

He picked up the dagger, observed it carefully for a while, and suddenly said, "Xiao Wu, have you ever been to the weapon shop?"

Xiao Wu was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head and said, "Why are you going to the weapons shop?"

"Look, there are marks on the body of this short blade, which are obvious traces of weapons colliding with each other, indicating that the owner of this blade often uses it for self-defense. As I guessed right, the owner of this blade should be a master, and he is also quite famous. A master of capital." Kang Xu mused.

Xiao Wu scratched his head in confusion, and said, "Brother Kang, how did you know that the owner of this blade knows martial arts? How did you start with being quite wealthy?"

Xiao Wu was puzzled, and Chang Feng was also puzzled.

With only a dagger, how can he determine the owner of this short blade?
"The dagger is a melee weapon. Although it has strong explosive power, it is not easy to use. This kind of weapon is mostly used to stab down killers. But the scars on this dagger show that the owner of this blade is not just using it Assassination, but as the main weapon. Chang Feng, you have also practiced martial arts for several years, you may use a dagger as a weapon to fight with others?" Kang Xu asked Chang Feng.

Chang Feng shook his head in a daze: "I once heard the knight-errants say that the way of the dagger is easy to learn but difficult to master. Most of the people who study this way are assassins who make a living from assassination. Could it be that the owner of this dagger is An assassin?"

Chang Feng blinked suspiciously, staring at the short blade in Kang Xu's hand.

"Whether the owner of this dagger is an assassin is still unknown. But one thing is certain, this dagger is very valuable." Kang Xu weighed the dagger and said.

"How do you see this?"

"Look, the handle of this dagger is wrapped in shark skin and wrapped with gold wire. The gold wire alone is expensive. Look here, there is a depression here. If I guess correctly, the inlaid place in this depression should be It's a gem." Kang Xu pointed to the joint between the handle and the blade of the dagger, and said to the two of them.

The two looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Master, forgive me for not agreeing with your statement. In my opinion, this is an ordinary dagger. How can you be sure that the inlaid place in the depression is a gemstone?"

For the two of them, Li Canghai was the detective in their eyes, and they would have no doubts about Li Canghai's words.

But Kang Xu was not like that to them.

For one thing, the two had never worked with him.Second, they didn't believe that Kang Xu had the same thoughtfulness as Li Canghai and could solve difficult murder cases.

Kang Xu knew everything about what they were thinking.

He didn't care about their thoughts, and smiled slightly: "It's very simple, because this dagger is made of pure gold."

With that said, Kang Xu pulled out the plain knife hanging from Chang Feng's waist, and scraped vigorously on the handle of the dagger.

I saw layers of dust falling one after another, and after a while, some golden colors appeared on the handle of the dagger.

Chang Feng and Xiao Wu were astonished. They looked at each other and were immediately stunned on the spot.

"Brother Kang, how do you know that this dagger is made of pure gold?"

"The handle of this dagger is too heavy, which is unusual. What's more, how can ordinary daggers be inlaid with orbs? Therefore, I boldly guess that the dagger itself must be more valuable than jewelry. If a touch of jewelry is inlaid on an iron handle, how can it be inlaid?" Isn’t it a waste of money?” Kang Xu put down the simple knife, and said with a smile: “I never thought that I guessed it right, this dagger is actually made of gold.”

Chang Feng looked at him blankly and said, "Master, why do I feel that your way of solving the case is so similar to that of an adult? If I didn't know that your adult is in a coma now, I really thought you were an adult!"

Hearing this, the corners of Kang Xu's eyes twitched involuntarily, but the strangeness disappeared in a flash, and he soon returned to calm.

"I grew up with the adults, and I must have been influenced by the adults. To be honest, I learned all the methods of solving cases from the adults." Kang Xu smiled and said casually.

Chang Feng nodded suddenly and said: "That's right, don't talk about the master, I am old Chang, and I have learned a lot of knowledge about solving crimes during the time I followed the adults. Before, I was still worried that there would be no adults in this murder case. Would we be able to solve the crime?" The case can be solved, and now it seems that my worries are superfluous."

Xiao Wu touched his nose, he looked at Kang Xu strangely, with suspicion in his eyes.

He always felt that Kang Xu was a little strange, but he couldn't tell where the strangeness was.

Kang Xu noticed the way Xiao Wu was looking at him, but he deliberately didn't look at him, but said to Chang Feng: "Brother Chang is very right, we must do our best to solve this case as soon as possible, and we must not let the reputation of adults be affected. .”

Having said that, Kang Xu glanced at Xiao Wu, seeing that he was still staring at him suspiciously, he frowned suddenly.

He narrowed his eyes, handed the dagger to Xiao Wu, and said, "Tomorrow, go to various pawnshops and check to see if anyone has pawned gems recently."

Xiao Wu was a little puzzled, he asked suspiciously: "Why do you want to investigate these things?"

"The gemstone on this dagger was taken off by someone. It is very likely that it was pawned by the murderer. As long as we can find out the whereabouts of the gemstone, we may follow the clues and find the murderer." Kang Xu thought.

Xiao Wu nodded, and then put away the short blade.

After ordering Xiao Wu, Kang Xu turned around and asked, "Chang Feng, did you find any clues as you went upstream along the river bank?"

Chang Feng snorted, and hurriedly picked up a bundle of hemp ropes covered in mud from the ground beside him, and said, "We went up the river and didn't find any clues. However, we found this bundle of hemp ropes upstream. So I brought it back."

Kang Xu picked up the hemp rope and looked at it, and said strangely: "The breaks of the hemp rope are neat, as if cut by a sharp knife, where did you find the hemp rope?"

"It's in the grass by the river a few miles away from Hetou Village." Chang Feng replied.

"Besides this, are there any other discoveries?" Kang Xu looked at the flat cut of the hemp rope and asked suspiciously.

Chang Feng scratched his head and said, "There is still half a torn rope net."

"Rope net?" Kang Xu frowned, "Where is the rope net now?"

Chang Feng bent over and poured out the cloth bag containing the hemp rope, and found half a tattered rope net inside.

(End of this chapter)