"I'm not a weak person. You should go back first. After all, we'll be investigating the case tomorrow," Ye Zhiqiu flatly declined his invitation.
Agreeing to come here with him today was already a mistake. He wouldn't make another one.
It was better to keep a certain distance from Song Yan. He knew his own constitution best. The other man had only cooperated with him because of it. There was no need to get too close.
Sooner or later, they would part ways anyway. It was meaningless.
Without giving the other man a chance to reply, Ye Zhiqiu slowly started walking back.
By the time Song Yan reacted, all he could see was Ye Zhiqiu's fading back. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he always felt that Ye Zhiqiu was deliberately keeping his distance.
This feeling was not good. He, Song Yan, the director of the Investigation Department and a well - known figure on the Yuling Ranking, had rejected many people who wanted to get close to him.
But Ye Zhiqiu just kept pushing him away.
It was unreasonable. Extremely unreasonable.
Song Yan didn't think as much as Ye Zhiqiu did. He had no such concerns. He was like a child. The colder Ye Zhiqiu was to him, the more he wanted to make him laugh.
In Shen Huaian's words, this kind of mentality was because he had had a too smooth life and wanted to find something to challenge himself.
Regardless of the reason for his thoughts, he had already made up his mind.
Of course, this could only be done on the premise that the Investigation Department could be preserved.
After running a few laps in the horse - racing field, Song Yan returned to his mansion. After taking a bath, changing clothes, he fell into a deep sleep. He felt that he hadn't slept so soundly since these cases occurred.
After sleeping, he felt much more energetic. He changed his clothes and went to the Investigation Department. As soon as he entered, he found that all the investigators around him looked listless, which was in sharp contrast to his own high - spirited appearance.
"What's wrong with you today? Why do you all look so listless?" Song Yan found it strange and grabbed Mo Xu who was passing by to ask.
Mo Xu had dark circles under his eyes that were almost reaching his chest. He was holding several scrolls in his arms. After hearing Song Yan's words, he rubbed his eyes and said, "We went to investigate the Yanhong Courtyard last night. We've got a lead on the murderer, so we kept watch there all night."
"Have you caught the murderer?"
"Not yet. That person is very cautious. He's probably waiting to meet someone. By the way, this is the information about the body. I was just about to send it to you. Since we've run into each other, it saves me a trip."
As Mo Xu said, he handed the scroll in his hand to Song Yan. He yawned as he spoke, "I'll go and rest first. Director, call me if you need anything."
Song Yan looked at Mo Xu whose steps were a bit unsteady. Looking down at the scroll in his hand, he felt complicated.
All he did was reach out and gently pat his shoulder and said word by word, "Okay, go and rest."
Song Yan took the scroll into the inner chamber. After opening it, he found that the body was Jia Xing, a cloth merchant from the western suburbs.
As soon as he saw this name, he remembered that the day before the incident, a servant from his family had reported to the government that Jia Xing was missing.
Since it was a matter for the government, he hadn't paid much attention to it. But now seeing this name, the clues seemed to be faintly connected.
He also had some impression of this man. Shen Huaian had told him about Jia Xing several times. Jia Xing was so arrogant because he had a unique technique for making cloth.
The rarer a thing was, the more valuable it was. Thanks to this unique production method, he never had to worry about business. And precisely because of this, he developed a bad temper and an arrogant personality.
Shen Huaian had tried to cooperate with him several times, but Jia Xing didn't appreciate it at all. Instead, he mocked Shen Huaian.
During that period, Shen Huaian had been nagging about Jia Xing in his ear every day. He never thought that he would see his body now.
"If that's the case... Jia Xing should have quite a few enemies," Song Yan frowned slightly as he looked at the information. He still had no clue about identifying the culprit.
This kind of person was most likely to make enemies. He had accumulated a lot of resentment. It was possible that someone had killed him impulsively in a fit of anger. But if they targeted this group of people, the scope would be too wide.
Maybe he should change his thinking.
Instead of looking for the murderer himself, he should let the murderer show himself.
According to folk rumors, the last picture a person sees before death will be engraved in their mind, and then they will turn into a ghost to seek revenge on the murderer.
From the scratched pupils of Jia Xing, it could be seen that the murderer must be very timid. Maybe he was shivering with fear somewhere at this moment.
It was impossible for the murderer to show himself, so they had to make him expose his flaws out of fear.
Song Yan's plan was actually very simple. The murderer should be extremely scared by now. At this critical moment, he wouldn't go out alone and wander around. So he must be unclear about the truth of the news.
He could only rely on the rumors in the streets and alleys to judge whether he had gotten rid of suspicion.
Since they were all rumors, who would know the truth?
Song Yan lowered his head and pondered for a while. He quickly formulated a plan and then sent people to spread the rumors he had fabricated in all the bustling areas of Yuling.
In a teahouse in Yuling, two commoners were whispering to each other. They described the matter so vividly as if they had seen it with their own eyes.
"Hey, have you heard? The cloth merchant, Boss Jia from the western suburbs, is dead."
"Ah? How do you know? Wasn't he reported missing before?"
"You don't understand. The Investigation Department has identified the body as Jia Xing. Murderers usually go out to kill people in the middle of the night. And Jia Xing liked to go out to drink and visit brothels at night. Maybe he was killed on the way."
"Really? If it's really Jia Xing, why doesn't the government notify his family in the Jia Mansion to claim the body?"
"Who knows? Maybe the government is still relying on this to solve the case."
"Hey hey hey, your news is a bit outdated." Just as the two were chatting enthusiastically, someone suddenly squeezed in between them. After taking a sip of tea, he said this mysterious sentence.
The two commoners were naturally unhappy when they heard this. They waved their hands at the sudden intruder, "Get out of here. Your news is outdated. Don't force yourself in. There's no room for you here."
The man didn't intend to leave. Instead, he waved at the two of them with a mysterious look on his face. The two of them became curious and leaned closer.
"Actually, the dead man is not Jia Xing at all. I heard that he suddenly felt unwell after going out that day and turned back on the way. That's how he managed to escape this disaster."