The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#459 - Heartbroken

Jin Duoduo hesitated for a moment, but still said, "From the moment I entered the room and saw Hall Master Jiang's body, I realized I was in big trouble. So, I didn't linger in his room afterwards, and I didn't even look closely at his body. I left the way I came as quickly as possible.

"After that, I didn't go out through the courtyard gate. Instead, I climbed over the courtyard wall and jumped into the small courtyard next door. Then, I climbed over the back courtyard wall and came here after circling half of the lotus pond."

"During this time, did Boss Jin see anything suspicious, any people or objects?"

"No."

Li Bufan didn't say anything more upon hearing this. He turned around and walked to the head of his guard team, saying to him, "Can you help me find a few young men with good swimming skills from the manor?"

The head of the guard nodded. "Yes, that's no problem. How many people does Head Li want?"

"Not too many, seven or eight will do. I'd like to trouble them to dive into that lotus pond and take a look."

"Look for what?" The head of the guard asked subconsciously.

"A very thin knife," Li Bufan paused, then continued, "and Hall Master Jiang's head."

The guard was startled. "Hall Master Jiang's head is in the pond?"

Li Bufan nodded. "We've searched the entire manor, but we haven't found the murder weapon or Hall Master Jiang's head. After thinking it over, I think the most likely place to hide these things is that pond."

The guard didn't dare to delay upon hearing this and quickly ordered his men to call for people.

However, an hour later, when those young men returned to the shore, their hands were empty.

The leader among them cupped his fist at Li Bufan and said, "Head Li, several of us have searched most of the bottom of the pond, but we couldn't find the knife or the head you mentioned. However, there are still some places we haven't had time to examine carefully.

"It's too dark right now, and we can't see clearly underwater. If you still want us to continue searching, we'll have to wait until it's light tomorrow."

"I understand. Thank you for your hard work. Let's wait until tomorrow morning to look again."

Li Bufan was helpless. The birthday banquet started at the wèi hour (1-3 pm), but it was interrupted by Jiang Lei's murder. Afterwards, they had been busy investigating the murderer. Now, unknowingly, the time had already reached the xū hour (7-9 pm), second quarter (7:30 pm).

The light underwater was already dimmer than on land. After the sun went down, it was even harder to see clearly, so the search for the murder weapon and the head had to be suspended for the time being.

Aunt Wen had people cook food and bring it to Lu Jing and the others, but none of them were in the mood to eat. They just ate a few mouthfuls to fill their stomachs, and then Li Bufan and the others took their leave.

Jin Duoduo was now the biggest suspect in Jiang Lei's murder, but after all, there was no substantial evidence to prove this.

Considering his identity and his terrifying wealth, no one deliberately made things difficult for him. The Wen family not only prepared the same food for him as for Lu Jing and the others, but they also didn't lock him up or even restrict his movements too much.

However, Jin Duoduo still returned to his small courtyard as soon as he finished eating and stayed there honestly.

He knew his troubles weren't over. No, it should be said that his troubles had just begun. If Li Bufan and the others couldn't find the real murderer who killed Jiang Lei, then he, the number one suspect, would naturally have to bear the anger of the six thousand members of the Thunder Fire Hall. Just thinking about this made Jin Duoduo feel very irritable.

On the other side, Lu Jing didn't return to his residence immediately after finishing dinner. Instead, he wandered around the manor for two more laps.

Except for Jin Duoduo, the remaining five people each had an alibi, which could be regarded as clearing their respective suspicions. In addition, Wen Liran and the others had been busy with Lu Jing for a day and needed to rest, so Aunt Wen no longer sent a little tail to follow Lu Jing.

Lu Jing strolled alone, digesting the events of the day and thinking about where he might have overlooked something.

It must be said that Li Bufan's investigation思路 (sī lù - train of thought) was still very clear. Starting from the objective conditions required for the murderer to commit the crime at the time, it could be said that he had locked onto Jin Duoduo at the first moment.

After that, he focused his attention on the murder weapon and the head, which was also fine. In fact, Lu Jing also paid attention to these two things during the search in the afternoon, especially the head. If the murderer was still in the manor, he would definitely have to hide the head.

Especially after Lu Jing saw the environment around Jiang Lei's residence, he also admitted that throwing the head and the murder weapon into that pond was the best choice for the murderer.

It was just like the box in Jiang Lei's house before. At first glance, this kind of thing seemed to have no problems, but if you think about it carefully, the problem would appear.

Because compared to finding a place to hide the head, there was a simpler way, which was not to cut off the head, or to leave the cut off head in Jiang Lei's residence. Wouldn't that be more convenient?

Unlike the murder weapon, which might reveal personal identity information, the head originally belonged to Jiang Lei. It didn't seem to matter much whether it was taken away or not.

No, on the contrary, it would be easy to be seen if one wandered around the manor with a bloody head, increasing the danger. Moreover, if one wanted to hide it in the pond, one would definitely have to do some processing, at least wrap it in oilcloth, otherwise the bloodstains would spread directly and be easily discovered.

So, the question remained, why did the murderer have to take Jiang Lei's head away? What was the point of him doing this?

Lu Jing had also passed by here during the day. Because it was already late autumn, the lotus leaves in the pond had withered. No one came to this place, but he didn't expect to run into someone after nightfall.

And it turned out to be an acquaintance.

"Madam Jiang, please accept my condolences."

Lu Jing said to Wen Lun, who was standing on the wooden bridge in the pond, staring blankly at the water.

This woman, who was praised by Wen Xiaochuan as being talented and resourceful, had been very restrained after learning of her husband's death. Even when facing Jin Duoduo, who was likely to be her husband's murderer, she had never done anything extreme.

There wasn't much expression on that pretty face. Perhaps only when there was no one around would she reveal a hint of fatigue. Lu Jing noticed that there were still tear stains in the corners of her eyes.

It seemed that she had just cried, but when she saw Lu Jing coming over, she had already regained her previous expression.