The Killer's Cleansing Manual

Chapter 114 New Entry Point

As the night deepened, Lin Shanjuan's vision gradually became unfocused. He accidentally caught a glimpse of the last line of words, and his extremely bored brain began to "find fault".

She took it to Ye Xi and pointed at the character "会" (meaning "will"), the last stroke of which was obviously wrong, and asked, "Is this character written wrong?"

Ye Xi couldn't help but laugh: "Why, you can't find any clues, so you start grading papers for Master Jin?"

Lin Shanjuan also laughed with her: "I really think this word is awkward, he must have written it wrong!"

Qi Zhen also felt numb, and raised his eyes to look at his master, just as a way to wash his eyes.

"What word?"

Lin Shanjuan held it in front of him and said, "This one shouldn't have a horizontal line in the middle. It should have two dots."

Qi Zhen looked at it for a few seconds and was suddenly stunned: "Boss, this looks so familiar to me! I've seen this word before, on these test papers!"

Lin Shanjuan was stunned. He and Ye Xi looked at each other and said in unison: "What have you seen? Find it out quickly!"

The probability of the same incorrect writing habit occurring in two unrelated people is extremely low.

Since Wang Xing, who was not dead, took part in the imperial examination, but there is no red paper with him, there is only one possibility - he used another name.

And this writing habit will be the most obvious evidence.

With a goal and motivation, the three of them buried their heads in the red scroll that Qi Zhen had read and searched again. Ye Xi suddenly raised the red scroll in his hand.

"Found one! This one!"

The other two people hurried over to look and found that they were exactly the same. Not only were the mistakes the same, but even the ending of the word "日" was exactly the same.

Wrong writing habits are difficult to replicate, let alone the exact same pen strokes.

This person must be Wang Xing!

Ye Xi untied the string on the far left, pulled out the red scroll and looked at the name. The three of them were stunned.

“…Chu Kuo?”

Lin Shanjuan looked at Qi Zhen: "The new dean who came a while ago is Chu Kuo, right?"

Qi Zhen's eyes flashed with excitement: "Yes! I will take him down right away!"

Lin Shanjuan quickly grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back: "Don't, don't! Wait, I'll think of a foolproof plan before I do anything."

Ye Xi agreed and patiently explained to Qi Zhen, "Our current evidence can only prove that he is Wang Xing, but it cannot prove that he killed those two fellow villagers. If we arrest him rashly, he will definitely come up with an excuse to exonerate himself."

Qi Zhen was worried: "But there are no clues related to him at the two murder scenes. Does that mean there's nothing we can do about him unless he confesses?"

Lin Shanjuan pondered for a long time, and suddenly an idea came to him: "No, we are only busy investigating the murder case, but we forgot to investigate one case."

Qi Zhen was stunned, and Ye Xi reacted instantly: "You mean... the arson case of Master Jin's study?"

Lin Shanjuan nodded with satisfaction. "He's new to the capital, so he's definitely not very thorough. He fell into such an obvious trap, which proves he's not a smart guy."

If it was a high-ranking official who was colluding with him, he would never fall into the trap so easily. He definitely did this because he was worried that his handwriting would be discovered!

Qi Zhen nodded fiercely: "So we just need to find evidence to prove that he set the fire, and then we can lock him up. By then, he'll be in jail, and he won't be able to pass on information or do anything about the murder. We can slowly try him!"

Lin Shanjuan folded his arms and nodded: "Smarter than Bai Shu."

Qi Zhen smiled embarrassedly, stood up and prepared to check.

Ye Xi smiled helplessly: "What time is it now? Who are you going to ask to check with you?"

Qi Zhen then remembered that it was already late at night and scratched his head embarrassedly: "What about us?"

Lin Shanjuan pulled out Chu Kuo's red scroll and put the others together: "Let's gather our strength and clean up a room for Ye Xi. We can check it out after we get enough sleep!"

Qi Zhen was a little embarrassed when he heard this: "Boss, all the rooms here are occupied. How about I go and book a room for the princess?"

Ye Xi didn't feel comfortable asking someone to pay for it, so he quickly declined: "No need, no need. I'll just go back home."

I've been helping here all day, and now you ask me to ride back home for an hour in the middle of the night. How can I do that?

Lin Shanjuan called her over and said, "Then you can sleep in my room and I'll just sleep on the floor!"

Ye Xi had followed his father on marches since he was a child, and sleeping in the open air was commonplace for him, not to mention sleeping on the ground, so he readily agreed.

Qi Zhen brought two thick quilts to help Lin Shanjuan make the bed before returning. Seeing this, Ye Xi took the initiative to lie on the ground, but was helped up by Lin Shanjuan:

"You go to bed and I'll sleep here."

Ye Xi immediately refused: "How can that be? I'm used to sleeping outdoors with the army. Sometimes sleeping on the floor is considered good. I'll do it."

Lin Shan was tired and said, "I'm more used to it. Come on to bed. Why are you being so polite to me?"

Ye Xi wanted to say something else, but Lin Shan lay down on the floor like a spoiled brat, closed his eyes and pretended to threaten:

"Okay, now the floor is my bed, please stop stepping on it with your shoes on."

Ye Xi was amused and had to let her do as she pleased. She took off her boots and lay on the bed.

After covering herself with the quilt, the silent night filled the entire room. The quieter it got, the more sleepless Ye Xi became. She couldn't help but think about what Lin Shanjuan had just said, "I'm more used to it."

"... Shan Juan, I have something to ask, but I'm not sure if I should ask you."

Lin Shanjuan was almost asleep when he was suddenly woken up. He was still a little confused: "Huh? Ask."

Ye Xi heard her nasal tone and felt a little embarrassed: "Did I wake you up?"

Lin Shan turned over tiredly and muttered, "If you don't ask me, I'll go to sleep again."

Ye Xi laughed and thought for two seconds. He couldn't think of any euphemistic way to ask, so he simply looked at the ceiling and asked directly: "Are you a killer?"

This sentence completely dispelled Lin Shanjuan's sleepiness. She was silent for a long time before she said softly, "Does Princess Annan always speak so directly?"

Ye Xi let out a light laugh: "I am the only Princess Annan in the court."

Lin Shanjuan didn't deny it: "Yes, I knew I couldn't hide it from you."

Some methods may not be very obvious when used in front of outsiders, but they are all flaws in front of experts.

Ye Xi was curious when he heard this: "Shan Juan is so skilled in martial arts and his archery skills are unmatched, surpassing everyone I've ever met. Why have I never heard of him?"

Lin Shanjuan remained silent: "I didn't lie to you. My name is indeed Lin Shanjuan. Since I'm not from Jingguo, you probably haven't heard of it."

Ye Xi suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."

After a few seconds, she added: "It's not that I don't believe it, I'm just a little curious."

Lin Shanjuan hummed, "I know, and I believe you won't plot against me."

Ye Xi felt warm at heart when she heard this, and her voice rose a lot: "Well~ go to sleep."

Lin Shanjuan's lips curled slightly: "Okay, good night."