Chapter 536: Chapter 172 Chen Jiusi’s Trap within a Trap (Seeking Subscriptions)_5

Seeing Old Arutai, Chen Jiusi immediately stood up with a smile and said, “Ah, Uncle Arutai, haha, it’s been so long since we’ve met!”

Yelu managed to squeeze out a smile upon seeing Old Arutai, though he was not very happy, even somewhat reluctant to see this detestable Old Arutai, since this Arutai was the local representative of the Mulan people’s interests.

The local Mulan people were fervent and avid supporters of Mulan supremacy, as well as supporters of the Daqian Prime Minister Bo Yan.

And Yelu represented the Hanization Party, a political rival of Bo Yan, thus the relationships between the two parties were not harmonious.

However, upon meeting, the most basic courtesy was still necessary.

Yelu, beaming with a smile, welcomed Old Arutai, taking his hand and sitting him down, “Uncle Arutai, I’ve truly missed you after not seeing you for so long.”

While saying this, Old Arutai replied, “I’ve missed Lord Yelu as well.”

Yelu asked, “Uncle Arutai, would you like some Longjing tea?”

Arutai waved his hand and said, “I’m not accustomed to Han Tea, Lord Yelu. I’ve come this time to seek justice for the Tara family.”

“Ah, the matter of the Tara family–I’ve heard of it, it’s indeed extremely audacious. Rest assured, I will immediately mobilize the entire county’s forces to capture the heretics of the Zoroastrian Sect and avenge the Tara brothers’ family.”

Yelu sincerely said this to Old Arutai, who, taken aback, looked at Yelu and said, “Who said it was the work of the Zoroastrian Sect? The murderer is Chen Jiusi of White Tiger Hall!”

“That can’t be, hahaha… I’ve read the county report on the case; it was the work of the Zoroastrian Sect’s heretics!”

Yelu laughed again.

Old Arutai glared and said, “Lord Yelu, you’ve been deceived. Can you trust the Han people’s case report? They’re all in collusion. You’re our Mulan people’s Darugachi, not the Han people’s Darugachi. You must stand up for us!”

Looking at Yelu, Old Arutai said, to which Yelu replied without changing his expression, “Uncle Arutai, what you’re saying isn’t right. I’m neither the Han people’s Darugachi nor the Mulan people’s Darugachi; I’m Daqian’s Darugachi, and I must abide by Daqian’s laws!”

“Isn’t Daqian ours, the Mulan people’s, too? So if you help us, the Mulan people, isn’t that abiding by Daqian’s laws?”

Old Arutai said, looking at Yelu, who, while keeping a neutral face, inwardly cursed the old fox. You want to entangle me in this mess, huh? What’s the difference? The difference is whether I hand over the benefits of Nan Lake to you or keep them for myself.

Can I really not make a choice in my heart?

Yelu said, “Uncle Arutai, I understand how you feel, but as Daqian’s Darugachi, I must administer justice impartially. I can’t abandon my adherence to the law because of your coercion. Thus, everything must be based on evidence. You say the murderer is Chen Jiusi, do you have proof?”

Arutai said, “I have…”

Yelu interjected, “Oh, let’s not talk about those two lying servants. In fact, I could ask Tara’s mother to recount yesterday’s incident and see who the real culprit is.”

“Lord Yelu, why must you make it hard for us, the Mulan people, by helping the Han people?”

Arutai frowned, and Yelu replied after a glance, “Uncle Arutai, I’m not favoring anyone. I rely on evidence. As it happens, the Mianshui County Magistrate Tang Wannian has also arrived. Let’s have him speak about the murderer!”

Yelu gave Qimu Ge a look, and Qimu Ge immediately said, “Yes, I’ll go and find someone right away.”

Qimu Ge soon brought Tang Wannian in, followed by Wu Hong.

Upon seeing Wu Hong, Old Arutai immediately furrowed his brows and his heart skipped a beat, knowing this man wouldn’t be able to spout nonsense in front of him.

“Your humble servant Tang Wannian (Wu Hong) greets Lord Yelu!”

The two bowed in salutation.

Yelu looked at them and said, “Hmm, thank you for coming. Here’s the situation: Uncle Arutai here doesn’t know who the murderer who wiped out the Tara family is. As the County Magistrate and arrest officer of this county, this case falls under your jurisdiction. Tell us, who is the murderer of this case?”

“Yes!”

The two acknowledged, and then Tang Wannian spoke up, “Lord Yelu, the case was investigated under the lead of arrest officer Wu Hong, and the county only found out afterward. So it’s better if arrest officer Wu Hong speaks.”

Hearing this, Wu Hong directly bowed and said, “Alright, allow me to explain. After receiving the report, our county government immediately took action, and I arrived at the scene as fast as possible. Based on the situation at the scene, the murderer who killed the Tara family was a swordsman.”

“A swordsman?”

Yelu looked at Old Arutai; everyone knew Chen Jiusi used a gun.

Old Arutai said, “It could be Chen Jiusi’s disguise!”

Wu Hong continued, “Impossible. I inspected the traces left by the swordsmanship, and many signs show that it was the work of Sword Gang, indicating that the enemy’s power is at the level of Energy Transformation, a swordsman of the Energy Transformation level!”

Old Arutai exclaimed, “Chen Jiusi is at the level of Energy Transformation!”

Wu Hong went on, “Moreover, according to the footprints left at the scene, the murderer should be female, and there were two of them, both wearing shoes of the same size. We can deduce that the height and weight of the two are similar; these are not marks that a man would leave.”

“This…”

Old Arutai paused, at a loss for words.

Following that, Wu Hong said, “Additionally, the murderer left behind writings at the scene. I’ve taken rubbings for you to see. The handwriting is delicate, clearly that of a woman, not written by Chen Jiusi. Here, I have samples of Chen Jiusi’s handwriting for comparison.”

Yelu added, “Hmm, I have some knowledge of handwriting, and this is indeed not written by the same person.”

“Lastly, I find it strange that the family of the deceased has not made an appearance for such a major case. Hence, I suggest we invite the mother of the deceased to tell us the truth of the matter.”