Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 232

However, the problem is: Zhu Jia certainly knows that he is not the murderer of Situ Wanli, but is it possible that Lu Wei and Tian Hu are the murderers?

The answer is also impossible; in the Zhu family's eyes, they would not be the murderers.

First, let's talk about Lu Wei.

Although Brother Lu Wei has been suspected of being responsible for the deaths of Tian Zhong, Zhou He, and even Tian Du several times, each time it has only been a rumor and none of them have been confirmed.

From all perspectives, it is highly unlikely that Situ Wanli was responsible for his death.

Putting aside the motive for killing, Situ Wanli's martial arts skills were inferior to Tian Hu's, and Tian Hu's were far inferior to Lu Wei's. If it were really Brother Lu Wei who made the move, he certainly wouldn't have needed three sword strikes to kill his target in such a limited space and face-to-face situation.

Now let's talk about Tian Hu.

Tian Hu's suspicion is more easily ruled out: if Tian Hu killed Brother Situ, there would be no reason for him to go to the trouble of arranging the crime scene as if Zhou He had died. After all, given his intelligence, he would most likely have subconsciously forgotten the scene from nine years ago, otherwise he wouldn't have shouted that when he saw Brother Situ at the scene today.

With the three hall masters ruled out, the only remaining option was to investigate among the Gonggong Hall disciples. However, the Zhu family had already checked their records several times before and confirmed that none of them were capable of harming Brother Situ.

After ruling out all other possibilities, it seems that the only possible culprit was a weaker accomplice from the organization to which the murderer who killed Brother Zhou He belonged.

Zhu Jia clenched his fists as he thought of this: The Farmer's School is a major school of thought among the Hundred Schools of Thought, its founder is Shennong, and its six halls have a total of 100,000 disciples. How can the hall masters be killed at will again and again?

Even the leader of the knights might...

Brother Situ's expression was also very strange. What could have made him show such an 'incredulous' look, similar to Zhou He's nine years ago...?

Furthermore, his sudden decision to go on a patrol of Shuangjiang Ridge at dawn and then enter the main hall alone upon his return is inconsistent with the Zhu family's understanding of Situ Wanli.

There are also important clues in Shuangjiang Ridge that require careful investigation...

Lu Wei knew the truth about Zhou He's death nine years ago, so he understood everything perfectly the moment he saw the crime scene in this case.

Moreover, as a master swordsman, the sect leader discovered another important piece of information in the three sword wounds on the corpse that he had not shared with others:

The very fine details of the wounds caused by a person wielding a sword smoothly all share commonalities and can be discerned.

The three wounds on Situ Wanli's body belong to two sword moves!

According to Lu Wei's judgment, the murderer first slashed Situ Wanli's thigh, rendering him unable to escape, and then stabbed him in the shoulder, completely subduing the master of the Four Mountains Hall.

Then, using special means, when the tormented Situ Wanli sees a certain surprising scene, he instantly slits his throat with a sword... Only in this way will the surprise in Situ Wanli's expression be preserved as desired.

This is Lu Wei's deduction of the crime's sequence of events based on his more than ten years of experience in the underworld, and from this sequence of events, he deduces the identity of the murderer...

There is only one answer!

Chapter 264 Competition for Heroic Leader

Zhang Er observed the thoughtful expressions on the faces of the various hall masters, maintaining a calm demeanor while remaining baffled by the murder plot.

His account of the events was true, but he omitted a few details: for example, the reason Situ Wanli dismissed all the hall guards was to have a private conversation with him.

The reason for the private conversation was his sudden patrol of Shuangjiang Ridge in the early morning.

However, to his utter surprise, when he prepared his negotiation materials, he already saw the corpse...

Zhang Er subconsciously thought: This incident has seriously disrupted their plans. The relatively peaceful situation of the Six Halls may fall apart due to the death of a hall master!

But since the deed was done, he immediately realized that he had to use Situ Wanli's death to forcefully begin the next step of his plan, namely, to succeed as the head of the Four Mountains Hall.

This requires him to clear his name of suspicion as soon as possible.

Therefore, upon seeing the corpse, Zhang Er immediately turned around and ran out of the main hall to summon other trusted disciples of Situ Wanli.

These people had been waiting at a distance, watching him go in and come out immediately. Since he hadn't actually committed the crime, they could use these people to completely absolve him of any responsibility.

Zhang Er was initially unaware that the crime scene was arranged in a way similar to Zhou He's death nine years ago. However, based on the words and actions of the gang leaders, he made a guess, but did not ask any further questions to avoid suspicion.

From the perspective of succession, theoretically, Zhang Er should have acted more actively in the face of Situ Wanli's death. However, Zhang Er was the head steward of the Siyue Hall, whose identity naturally carried legitimacy. He was also secretly a member of the Gonggong Hall. Although he didn't have time to report more important details to Lu Wei during the investigation, Hall Master Lu would definitely support him.

Master Zhu has a friendly relationship with the Siyue Hall and will not object.

The Tian family did not place any competitive candidates in the upper echelons of the Siyue Hall, nor could they object to it.

Therefore, as long as he is not suspected of murdering Situ Wanli, the position of hall master will definitely be his. Rather than doing more and making more mistakes, he should hand over all the power of the case to the five hall masters. In this way, regardless of whether the case can be solved or not, the plan will not deviate too much.

"Let's interrogate those trusted disciples first." Among the various halls, the Zhu family was the most concerned and the most active in this case.

It was already late, and the interrogation had been carried out intensively all night. The five hall masters personally investigated, but found no problems among these people.

So they really are from outside the Four Mountains Hall?

"Gentlemen, Hall Master Zhouhe died suddenly several years ago, and now Hall Master Situ has followed in his footsteps." After a whole night without sleep, except for Tian Mi who said she couldn't stay up any longer and went to catch up on sleep, the remaining four hall masters gathered together. Tian Meng said meaningfully, "Even though there are many suspicious points, instead of investigating a murderer with no clues, shouldn't we consider something else?"

“Master Tian Meng, please speak your mind. There’s no point in beating around the bush.” Lu Wei stared at Tian’s elder brother for a few seconds, showing no intention of backing down.

"If you want to listen to my elder brother, then listen properly!" Tian Hu, protective of his family, immediately couldn't stand it: "Lu Wei, this kind of murder case originated from your Gonggong Hall, and now it has implicated Situ Wanli. What right do you have to speak?"

"What does Master Tian Meng mean?" Zhu Jia asked, but he didn't look at the noisy Tian Hu, focusing instead on getting straight to the point.

“We should think about why the enemy did this, and why they are able to do it!” Tian Meng deliberately turned his gaze away from Lu Wei, looked down at the Zhu family, and said calmly.

"Oh?" Zhu Jia tilted his head back and stroked his chin, his tone puzzled. "I'd like to hear the details."

“Situ Wanli runs a casino, which gives him many enemies, but the reason he was killed has nothing to do with the casino. It can only be because of his position as the head of the Four Mountains Hall.” Tian Meng paced slowly. “We should see clearly that the murderer’s ultimate goal is the Farmer’s Clan! To control the Farmer’s Clan!”

Even without direct communication, Tian Meng's hints made Lu Wei fully understand the whole situation:

The net of cunning can't wait any longer.

Of the seven states in the land, excluding the northern states of Yan and Dai, only the state of Qi remained.

Anyone who pays even a little attention to the general trend of the world knows that it is inevitable that Qin and Qi will become enemies, and in order to gain some more merits before Qin unifies the country, Luo Wang needs to target the peasants.

Therefore, Zhou Wen has probably already received orders from Xianyang to immediately launch the plan to seize the leadership of the Xia Kui and bring the Farmers under the control of the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven).

The Lieshan Hall is nominally the hall of Zhou Wen, who is disguised as Tian Meng. The large number of assassins in the Dazeshan area of ​​Qi State also nominally follow Zhou Wen's instructions.

However, there is every reason to believe that Zhou Wen's every move will be reported to Xianyang without reservation.

Therefore, Lu Wei and he could only rely on their tacit understanding of the plan to act together. Even if the plan needed to be modified for various reasons, they could not risk being exposed by notifying each other. Zhou Wen's identity as a traitor to the peasant family still had its uses.

Killing Situ Wanli was not only the beginning of Zhou Wen's Luo Wang Xia Kui Plan, but also a way of openly informing his partner Lu Wei.

The reason why Lu Wei trusted Zhou Wen with a relatively lenient attitude was because the mission he was carrying out was a mission for the Xia Kui, but his identity was that of a fake Tian Meng.

This false identity meant that he could never betray Zhou Wen... unless Zhou Wen had a way to kill him.

The original plan had to be moved forward due to the Luo Wang organization. Compared to this case, the leader of the hall needs to consider how to deal with the situation after he becomes the leader of the chivalrous sect at this point in time.

From a purely analytical perspective, the greatest value of Situ Wanli's death was that it served as a notification.

As for the subsequent case-solving and Zhou Wen's performance, those were all acts for the Zhu family, Tian Hu, and the network behind them.

I think I'll receive a warning from 'that person' in the next few days.

Hopefully, he won't be exposed and will try to survive; at least that will help to burst the bubble.

"So, the one who benefited the most from the deaths of Zhou He and Situ is Lu Wei, isn't he?!" Upon hearing his brother's pointed remark, Tian Hu blurted out without thinking, "I trusted you nine years ago! Did you kill Situ Wanli because he didn't support you becoming the leader of the chivalrous sect?"

If only all opponents were reckless fools like Tian Hu, who would immediately accept any hint or suggestion after a mere provocation...

Although it's supposed to be a performance for the Luo Wang organization, this is going too far. It feels like Tian Hu's mental capacity has declined further compared to nine years ago... Is it because he completely abandoned independent thinking after his 'elder brother Tian Meng' returned...?

I decided to ignore him. I could use Tian Hu again later, and clean up the mess afterward. "So, you mean the reason why the peasants are so passive now is because they lack a chivalrous leader?"

Lu Wei's words echoed what Tian Meng hadn't said.

“Not bad.” Tian Meng’s lips curled up: “Our Farmer’s Clan has the ability to become the number one sect in the martial arts world, but it is precisely because we lack a leader and the six halls are divided that we are at the mercy of others.”

“Situ Wanli died because of this. No matter who the murderer behind it is, if the Farmer Clan is a complete unit, then no one can bully us at will!”

"Instead of investigating the cause of Situ Wanli's death, we should take this opportunity to directly elect a new leader of the knights, so that we can solve this problem once and for all in the future."

"This... is still worth discussing further. After all, we don't have accurate information about Boss Tian Guang yet." Zhu Jia's mask changed to surprise, indicating some disagreement with Tian Meng's opinion.

This was actually what Lu Wei was supposed to say: according to the procedure, the name 'Tian Guang' should indeed be mentioned next as a topic for Zhou Wen, so it would be easier for Zhu Jia to speak for him.

“Tian Guang? Hmph!” Tian Meng scoffed at the name. “He’s been missing for years. A farming family can’t be without a chivalrous leader.”

"Besides, isn't it precisely because of Tian Guang's incompetence that the Farmer's Clan is now being slaughtered so wantonly by others? When Zhou He died, Tian Guang was still alive!"

"Big Brother..." Tian Hu, who had been listening excitedly from the side, froze instantly when he heard Tian Meng's evaluation of Tian Guang. He opened his mouth wide and tugged at his brother's arm: "That's Boss Tian Guang."

Although there are slight differences between the "Tian" in Tian Guang and the "Tian" in Tian Meng and Tian Hu, Tian Hu held no less respect for Tian Guang.

"Tian Meng! You've gone too far." Unlike Tian Hu, who needed to save face for his elder brother, Zhu Jia retorted without hesitation: "Without Tian Guangxiao's planning, how could our peasant family be as prosperous as we are today!"

"Merit is merit, and fault is fault. Tian Guang has indeed made some contributions to our Farmer's Clan, but that doesn't mean his weakness is right!" Tian Meng met Zhu Jia's gaze without flinching. "The Farmer's Clan is strong enough now. We need a more assertive leader who can guide us to greater heights!"

"The more ruthless leader you're talking about, are you referring to yourself?" Lu Wei asked casually with a smile.

"The selection of the new leader of the martial arts world should be decided by the Sixth Elder, or at least by the Yan Emperor's Decree. It's not something you, Lu, can decide with a single word." Tian Meng's tone was particularly firm today.

"In my opinion, we should temporarily exclude Situ Wanli's Four Mountains Hall. The five of us hall masters can report to the Six Elders at the Tomb of the Six Sages tomorrow and ask them to make their judgment on the selection method for the new leader of the chivalrous heroes!"

At this point, he revealed his true intentions: the Tian family wanted to take advantage of the current situation to secure the position of the leader of the knights.

"I agree with my elder brother's opinion. The six halls must unite now and become the strongest of the Hundred Schools of Thought!" Although he had reservations about his elder brother's evaluation of Tian Guangxiao, Tian Hu still firmly supported his elder brother's idea of ​​selecting a new leader.

"This..." Zhu Jia's expression changed rapidly, the colorful masks of a thousand different people displaying an unpredictable mood.

Lu Wei stepped forward and said, "In that case, let's settle on this. The peasants do need a new leader."

His statement implied that the Tian family's proposal had been agreed upon by all three branches, leaving the hesitant Zhu family with no choice but to comply...

Looking up at Lu Wei and Tian Meng, whose faces were brimming with confidence, a question suddenly arose in his mind:

What makes Tian Meng so confident that he can beat Brother Lu?

And it just so happens to be at this time...

Chapter 265 Six Sword Slaves

Zhou Wen's confidence was another reminder to Lu Wei: If Luo Wang wanted to take down Xia Kui, what could be easier and more direct than physical elimination of their biggest competitor?

After Situ Wanli's incident yesterday and the overnight interrogation, he will be going to the Tomb of the Six Sages tomorrow to ask the elders to decide on the competition method for the Xia Kui (Chief of Knights). Lu Wei doesn't believe that the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven and Earth) didn't lay their "Heaven and Earth Net" in advance.

The methods that give Luo Wang such confidence are probably limited to just a few.

The sect leader was tempted: time was a bit too tight, but this was also an opportunity...

Zhou Wen, wearing Tian Meng's face, turned and left first, while trying to conceal the information he was about to tell Lu Wei, who was looking at him. Tian Hu followed closely behind.

He didn't know how much of the plan his anti-Net accomplice had guessed, although in reality, Zhou Wen himself didn't know what kind of setup the Net had prepared for the farmers.