When Lin Jiangnian and Lin Qingqing rushed to the outside of the dungeon, the atmosphere at the door was depressing. The city defense army surrounded the dungeon tightly with three layers inside and outside.
Every city defense soldier had a serious expression on his face.
They had just taken over the prefectural government when the murderer easily broke into the dungeon right under their noses, which was like a slap in the face to them.
More importantly...
The number of people who died in the dungeon was enough to cause a major earthquake in Xunyang County.
Therefore, everyone looked extremely solemn and shrouded in gloom.
The city defense troops at the gate blocked the way of Lin Jiangnian and Lin Qingqing. Only after Lin Qingqing showed her identity token could they successfully enter the dungeon.
Outside the dungeon door, the crime scene had not yet been moved. Several already cold corpses lay at the door. They were wearing armor, but the heart area on their chests was slightly sunken.
"The murderer's martial arts skills are very high!"
Lin Qingqing spoke in a low voice from the side.
"How did you meet?"
Lin Qingqing explained in a low voice: "These people were killed without any reaction... The expressions on their faces were normal, without any trace of pain or fear, which is enough to prove that they didn't even notice the murderer before they died..."
"And the fatal wounds on their chests are clearly caused by someone using palm energy to collapse their hearts from a distance. To achieve this, the opponent must have possessed extremely powerful internal energy..."
Lin Jiangnian narrowed his eyes: "In your opinion, what level of martial arts is the murderer at?"
"It's hard for me to say!"
Lin Qingqing thought about it and shook her head: "But at least it's better than my subordinates. I can't do this. Even if I could, I would never be able to do it as easily and quietly as the murderer."
Lin Jiangnian nodded thoughtfully, and glanced at the corpses at the door for a moment.
"Let's go in and take a look!"
Lin Jiangnian was the first to step into the dungeon.
There were city defense troops at the door, but after Lin Qingqing took out the token, no one stopped her.
As soon as I entered the dungeon, a cold breath hit me, accompanied by a strong smell of blood.
Lin Jiangnian covered his nose and looked forward.
Not far away, there were also several bodies lying on the ground, no sound had been made.
Lin Qingqing went forward to check and found that the cause of death of these city defense soldiers was almost the same as that of the few people at the door. Either they were severely injured in the heart, or their necks were cut by some sharp weapon.
Kill with one blow!
A fatal move, clean and neat.
"Judging from the marks on the wounds, they were almost all caused by one person."
Lin Qingqing frowned and said, "Could it be that the murderer broke into this place alone?"
Lin Jiangnian withdrew his gaze from the corpses and continued walking deeper into the cell. The closer he got, the stronger the strong smell of blood became.
Soon, Lin Jiangnian arrived at the deepest part of the dungeon.
At the same time, several figures had already appeared in the deepest part of the dungeon. Yanzhou Governor Yuan Zhongnan was in the cell.
When Lin Jiangnian approached, he saw two bodies lying in a pool of blood inside the cell, and Yuan Zhongnan squatting in the cell with a gloomy face.
The sound of footsteps behind him made him turn around and catch a glimpse of Lin Jiangnian outside the cell. The two men looked into each other's eyes.
After a moment, Yuan Zhongnan stood up and walked out.
"Governor Yuan?"
"His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince of Lin!"
Yuan Zhongnan's gaze fell on Lin Jiangnian and he nodded slightly.
The two had met before and had reached some agreement. Now that they met again, everything was clear.
Lin Jiangnian's eyes fell on the two bodies in the cell: "Dead?"
"Dead."
Yuan Zhongnan's voice was a little low.
"who?"
"Wang Shiquan and his advisor Zheng Chang."
Yuan Zhongnan's voice was a little low, without any emotion except a hint of gloom.
Faintly, one could hear a hint of anger in his tone.
Lin Jiangnian heard it, but didn't say much. He glanced and said, "Can I go in and take a look?"
"Your Highness, please do as you please."
Lin Jiangnian stepped into the cell, the pungent smell of blood reaching his nostrils. Even with his excellent mental state, he couldn't help but feel a little nauseous at this moment.
Lin Jiangnian frowned slightly, holding his breath and walked in front of the two corpses.
The two people lying in a pool of blood were Wang Shiquan and Zheng Chang. Seeing this scene, Lin Jiangnian was silent.
In the sight, Wang Shiquan's throat was cut by a sharp weapon, and blood stained his whole body red. Wang Shiquan's pupils were wide open, and he seemed a little frightened.
Zheng Chang, who was standing by as if he was protecting Wang Shiquan, was easily pierced through the heart and died.
The methods were fierce, almost instantly wiping out the enemies.
Even the city defense soldiers at the door were killed instantly, and Wang Shiquan and Zheng Chang in the cell were naturally killed in the same way.
It was a miserable death!
Lin Jiangnian stared at the dead looks of the two men, his brows gradually furrowing.
Yuan Zhongnan walked back into the cell and came to Lin Jiangnian's side. His eyes fell on the two people on the ground, then on Lin Jiangnian's face. After a moment of silence, he said in a deep voice, "I was careless!"
"I didn't expect that the other party would act so quickly!"
I'm afraid no one expected that the murderer would strike within just a few hours of Wang's imprisonment.
Even in the prefectural government office!
Lin Jiangnian turned around and asked: "Who do you think the murderer is, Governor Yuan?"
"Not sure yet."
Yuan Zhongnan's face turned slightly pale, and he said in a deep voice: "However, there is probably a traitor in the governor's mansion, and someone has leaked the information!"
What happened last night happened too suddenly. Except for the people in the mansion, no one knew what was going on in the prefect's mansion.
And how did the murderer know all this?
The only reasonable explanation is that there is a traitor in the prefectural government. Or even, there is a traitor close to Yuan Zhongnan!
"What Governor Yuan said makes sense."
Lin Jiangnian nodded calmly and glanced at the two bodies on the ground: "The murderer was able to act in such a short time, his purpose must be very complicated..."
At this point, Lin Jiangnian glanced at him and said, "Governor Yuan, where are the other members of the Wang family?"
“They’re all dead!”
Yuan Zhongnan's face was expressionless, his eyes tinged with anger. "More than thirty members of the Wang family were killed, and no one survived."
When saying this, Yuan Zhongnan's eyes were filled with anger, but at the same time, there seemed to be a hint of panic flashing across his face.
He was shrouded in gloom and it was obvious that he was very angry.
As for the reason for being angry, it is not clear at the moment.
Lin Jiangnian glanced at Yuan Zhongnan for a few seconds, then withdrew his gaze and nodded, saying, "Although the Wang family is guilty of treason and deserves death, Wang Shiquan is the governor of Xunyang after all. How to deal with him must be left to Your Majesty to decide..."
"Now that Wang Shiquan and his relatives and family members have been murdered, this matter is not simple... Whether the Wang family was silenced or was being targeted for revenge is still unclear. But regardless, this matter demands an explanation."
Yuan Zhongnan naturally understood the meaning of Lin Jiangnian's words and said calmly, "Your Highness, don't worry. Since this matter has now happened under my command, I will definitely not sit idly by."
"Now that the Wang family has been murdered, this governor will definitely find the murderer and get to the bottom of the truth."
Lin Jiangnian raised his eyebrows: "Does Governor Yuan have any clues?"
"Not yet."
Yuan Zhongnan glanced around, his expression slightly gloomy. "The murderer is extremely skilled in martial arts. He took advantage of the chaos in the prefectural governor's residence last night to sneak into the dungeon, annihilated over thirty members of the Wang family, and then quietly left..."
"It's probably not that easy to find clues."
This answer was within Lin Jiangnian's expectations.
If all this was not done by Yuan Zhongnan, it would not be so easy to find the murderer of Wang Shiquan.
There were no clues left at the scene, and finding the real culprit was extremely difficult.
Is it revenge?
Or silence them?
At this moment, a soldier walked to the door and said, "Sir, the cause of death of all the other victims has been fully investigated..."
"how?"
"The cause of death for all of them was the same: a sword piercing their throats, or perhaps through their hearts, leaving them powerless to fight back..."
"The murder weapon was a three-foot-long narrow sword, found outside the dungeon."
“Give it to me!”
Yuan Zhongnan waved his hand, and the soldiers brought the murder weapon forward. Yuan Zhongnan picked up the murder weapon, the long sword, and looked at it for a few seconds, frowning slightly.
This sword was the standard longsword of the city defense forces, which means that the murderer simply grabbed a sword at random and killed everyone?
Apart from some bloodstains on the sword, there was no other clue.
Yuan Zhongnan stared at it for a moment, then glanced at Lin Jiangnian beside him: "Your Highness, can you see anything?"
Lin Jiangnian glanced at it and shook his head slightly. Aside from the bloodstains and the remaining gaps on the blade, there was indeed no trace of anything else on the rapier.
"Investigate, seal off the entire city, and strictly investigate all suspects inside and outside the city!"
Yuan Zhongnan spoke expressionlessly.
The Wang family was wiped out, and the Xunyang prefect was murdered. Sooner or later, this matter could no longer be concealed. Once the news spread, it would definitely cause a sensation.
Fortunately, with Yuan Zhongnan in charge, there was no major chaos. However, the extermination of the Wang family was also a deep provocation to him.
No matter what, he had to find the murderer.
After giving his instructions, Yuan Zhongnan left in a hurry. As the governor of Yanzhou, he needed to clean up the mess of Xunyang City as soon as possible after such a big incident happened.
Lin Jiangnian did not leave immediately. After Yuan Zhongnan left, he went to other cells and checked on the other members of the Wang family who were killed.
Just as the investigation revealed, almost all of the Wang family members died tragically. Before they died, they showed expressions of fear on their faces. Some of them died with their eyes open and their faces were ferocious, unlike the city defense troops.
Obviously, they saw the true face of the murderer.
but……
Why did the murderer do this?
Lin Qingqing, who was standing behind him, saw His Highness looking so thoughtful and asked tentatively, "Your Highness, do you have any clues?"
"No."
Lin Jiangnian withdrew his gaze and sighed softly: "These people died too quickly. The murderer didn't leave any clues. Look at these people, they were all cut in the throat by the murderer with a sword. It was so clean and neat. This sword, let alone me, even if it was..."
Halfway through his speech, Lin Jiangnian was suddenly startled, suddenly remembering something, and his eyes fell on the corpses of the murdered Wang family members.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?"
Lin Qingqing, who was standing by, noticed that something was wrong with His Highness and spoke subconsciously.
Lin Jiangnian stared at the wounds on the necks of the corpses for a long time, and the more he looked, the more familiar they looked.
This sword seems familiar.
Each martial art in the world has its own characteristics and habits. For example, Kendo excels at continuous sword energy, using the sword to break the way, and the moves are swift and fierce.
As the representative of the famous and upright sects in the martial arts world, Kendo would most likely not be so sharp and ruthless even when it attacked, which is inconsistent with the Kendo concept of swordsmanship.
Now these people died tragically under the sword, their deaths were cruel and their methods were fierce and brutal.
And this familiar feeling seemed familiar to Lin Jiangnian.
Liu Su?
If he remembered correctly, Liu Su had once taught Lin Jiangnian about the Tianshen Sect's martial arts when they were in the Lin Wang Mansion. Although the Tianshen Sect was good at poisoning, they also had martial arts such as swords, knives, and clubs.
At that time, Lin Jiangnian didn't care about the various martial arts skills. In order to survive and become stronger, he memorized them all.
Now that I think about it carefully, it seems a bit similar?
At the same time, Lin Jiangnian suddenly remembered the few people he met by chance in the teahouse in Xunyang City not long ago!
“Qingqing?!”
Lin Jiangnian suddenly turned around.
Lin Qingqing was startled: "Your Highness, what's wrong with you?"
"Do you remember those people I asked you to check in the teahouse last time?" Lin Jiangnian asked in a deep voice.
Lin Qingqing was stunned for a moment, then thought for a moment and quickly remembered.
Not long after His Highness arrived in Xunyang City, he and she met a few strange people in a teahouse in Xunyang City.
His Highness had asked her to send someone to keep an eye on those people...
If I remember correctly, those people are from...the Celestial God Religion?
"I still remember it, what's wrong?" Lin Qingqing said.
"Where are they?" Lin Jiangnian asked in a deep voice.
"They are staying in an inn in Xunyang City. Last time, I sent someone to follow them, but..."
After this series of events, Lin Qingqing had no time to care about the disciples of the Tianshen Sect in the inn. Now that His Highness asked, she really didn't know the answer.
"Go and have a look."
Lin Jiangnian had some guesses in his mind and said in a deep voice, "Be careful, don't alert the enemy."
How smart was Lin Qingqing? She immediately realized what Lin Jiangnian was thinking: "I will go immediately."
After saying that, he left in a hurry.
…
"Wang Shiquan and his family were assassinated last night and all of them died..."
In the courtyard, Lin Jiang spoke in a young voice and sighed.
"I didn't expect that I missed a step."
Under the eaves nearby, Zhiyuan sat by the railing, gazing at the sky indifferently.
After a long time, he looked away.
"Not a single one left?"
"That's not the case."
Lin Jiangnian shook his head slightly: "Wang Changjin's whereabouts were unknown last night. He was not caught by Yuan Zhongnan, so he escaped a disaster."
Zhiyuan was silent for a moment, his eyes still cold: "He must die."
"Don't worry, he won't survive."
Lin Jiangnian walked over and sat down next to Zhiyuan. He stared at her cold face and said softly, "Wang Changjin not only almost killed you and me, but he was also the mastermind behind the murder of your Jiang family. He will definitely die."
"However, the fact that he is alive now is a pleasant surprise."
Zhiyuan looked at him with confusion.
Lin Jiangnian said meaningfully, "Although I don't know what the connection is between the Wang family and Yuan Zhongnan, I can be sure that the Wang family must have some leverage that Yuan Zhongnan is wary of..."
"The Wang family was suddenly silenced, but Wang Changjin is still alive. He probably has all the evidence. Yuan Zhongnan will definitely do whatever it takes to get him killed!"
"This actually helps me a lot!"
Zhiyuan's eyes became more and more confused.
Lin Jiangnian shook his head gently, took her hand, and said with a slightly smug tone: "Just wait and see, I have my own plans."
Zhiyuan said nothing, his face was cold, he pulled his hand away and moved to the side.
Just as Lin Jiangnian was about to approach, footsteps were heard outside the yard.
"Your Highness!"
Lin Qingqing rushed back exhausted.
Seeing this, Lin Jiangnian sat up.
"How is it?"
"Sure enough, everything is as Your Highness expected!"
Lin Qingqing's eyes were filled with excitement as she reported in a deep voice, "I just went to the inn and learned from the innkeeper that the people staying there have been behaving strangely for the past two weeks and haven't been out much..."
"And just a few hours ago, they checked out and left in a hurry. Their whereabouts are unknown..."
"As expected, it has something to do with them!"
“…”