Chapter 380 - 278: Taking a Shortcut (Second Update)

Chapter 380: Chapter 278: Taking a Shortcut (Second Update)

The group’s attention immediately shifted to Fang Tao, who was quickly running over.

Fang Tao ran up to them, caught his breath for a moment, and then said, "After we returned to the county, Huachun Garden was already closed, so we went directly to Manager Jin’s house at Huachun Garden. As soon as we described the features of the deceased, Manager Jin immediately said that the only ones who bought pastries from him and planned to travel in the direction of Xinzhou in recent days were... were Master Lin’s chief steward at Guangming Hall, Yang Shao, and his wife Lin Fanghe!"

Xu Jing’s eyes widened suddenly, looking at him in disbelief.

The name Yang Shao had become deeply etched in her mind during this period.

Unexpectedly, the deceased were one of the reasons she had specially returned to Anping County!

Her informants had just told her a few days ago that Zhu Shunxi might have noticed their people investigating them, and now Yang Shao was in trouble.

Could there be some connection between these two events?!

Fang Tao continued, "Manager Jin said that the pastries were bought by the servants under Yang Shao and Lin Fanghe, and their plan to go to Xinzhou was also something he heard from those servants. Because the Lin Family really likes the pastries from Huachun Garden, Yang Shao and Lin Fanghe had come in person before as well. Manager Jin said that the height and age of Yang Shao and his wife exactly match those of the deceased!"

Xu Jing stared at him, her expression stern, and said, "Did Manager Jin say why they suddenly want to go to Xinzhou?"

Fang Tao shook his head and said, "Manager Jin said that this point was not mentioned by the servant, but after knowing that the deceased might be Yang Shao and his wife, we brought their family members here. I came over first to report this to County Magistrate Deng, and the others are being led this way by Lv Wei."

County Magistrate Deng couldn’t help but say, "Well done, well done!"

Xu Jing asked again, "What people did you bring?"

Fang Tao replied, "Because Yang Shao is not from Qingzhou, his parents and brothers are not in Qingzhou. The only ones we could find were Lin Family’s relatives. The Lin Family’s younger sister of Master Lin from Guangming Hall is in Qingzhou. But Master Lin and his two sons have been in the Western Capital these days, and his several brothers are also managing Guangming Hall branches in various locations. The Lin Family still in Qingzhou are fewer in number and mostly elderly, weak women, and children. We could only invite Master Lin’s wife over.

Additionally, we also brought over Manager Zhu and his wife, who are currently managing Guangming Hall in Anping County.

Manager Zhu’s wife, Lin Yuerong, is the Lin Family’s cousin, and they are also relatives who are closer to Yang Shao and his wife.

Moreover, on the way here, I heard them mention that the night before yesterday, Manager Zhu and Yang Shao seemed to have a dispute while drinking, and it was very unpleasant, almost coming to blows, but fortunately, family members managed to stop them.

But because I had to hurry back to report to County Magistrate Deng, I’m not entirely clear on what specifically happened."

The crowd couldn’t help but look at each other.

Just the night before yesterday, there was a dispute, and today Yang Shao and his wife are dead.

This seems too much of a coincidence.

Xu Jing’s eyes darkened further.

The day before yesterday was also the day Zhu Shunxi discovered their people.

Because Lv Wei had to bring several people and couldn’t travel quickly, everyone had to patiently wait.

While waiting, Xu Jing asked Cheng Xiao to get her a piece of paper and a charcoal pencil.

This was part of her regular investigative tools, and since Cheng Xiao had been with her frequently lately, he didn’t forget to bring these things along.

Then, Xu Jing called over the few Government Officials who had gone into the woods earlier to find the body parts and said, "Could you briefly describe the terrain of these woods to me, as well as the locations where the body parts were found?"

Something said by one of the officials who had gone out to find the body parts caught her attention.

Perhaps in this case, she could take a shortcut.

Just as Xu Jing, with the help of several officials, finished drawing a map of the nearby terrain and marked all the locations where the body parts were found, Lv Wei’s voice finally came through, "County Magistrate Deng, Miss Xu, I brought the people who might be related to the deceased over! They should just need to look at the bodies, and it should confirm whether the deceased are indeed Yang Shao and his wife!"

Soon, under the bright torchlight, they saw Lv Wei leading over a tall, thin middle-aged man with a goatee and two women supporting each other as they walked quickly over.

All three were frowning deeply, their faces pale, and the man with the goatee—Zhu Shunxi—spoke first, "What on earth happened! How could Yang Shao suddenly be dead! Could there be a mistake!"

One of the women, dressed in a pale moon color cross-collared ruqun and appearing more delicate, said with some trepidation, "Yes, they, they should have gone to Xinzhou by now. Our Guangming Hall had some issues at the Xinzhou branch, and they left for Xinzhou yesterday afternoon."

The other woman, wearing a light green waist-length ruqun and slightly fuller in figure, reassured, "Cousin-in-law, don’t panic, those two officials just now said they were letting us come to identify the bodies, meaning they aren’t sure if it’s really our cousin and her husband who had an accident."

It appeared that the woman in the pale moon ruqun was Lin Chengzhao’s wife, and the woman in the pale green ruqun was Zhu Shunxi’s wife, Lin Yuerong.

The people present immediately stepped aside, clearing a path to the bodies for them.

Before taking them over, Lv Wei said, "On the way, I already told you, the murderer used very brutal methods, both victims were dismembered, and the condition of their bodies is horrific. You need to be mentally prepared."

Zhu Shunxi responded with a pale face, "We understand."

The two women hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Only then did Lv Wei lead them over, but despite having been warned, Xu Jing and Wu Wuzuo had thoughtfully pieced the body parts together before identifying them, yet all three were still greatly frightened upon seeing the two bodies.

Lin Chengzhao’s wife screamed once and immediately fainted, with Lv Wei quickly supporting her.

The other two didn’t faint, but they weren’t much better off; Lin Yuerong stumbled several times and then grabbed hold of Zhu Shunxi beside her.

Deng Youwei gave them a deep look and asked, "You—do you think these two are—could they possibly be Yang Shao and his wife?"

With such mangled corpses, outsiders might not be able to identify them.

But for family members who had been with them every day, they should be able to make out certain features from their body shapes and outlines.

Zhu Shunxi’s face was deathly pale, and after a long while, he finally said with trembling lips, "They—they do seem to be Yang Shao and his wife..."

Lin Yuerong could no longer hold it in and turned around to cover her mouth, retching furiously. After a difficult recovery, she murmured, "Impossible, impossible... How could my cousin and her husband..."

Deng Youwei immediately exchanged a glance with Xu Jing.

The identity of the victims was confirmed, making the next steps easier.

Xu Jing looked at Zhu Shunxi and asked, "Just now, Master Lin’s wife said that Yang Shao and his wife were going to Xinzhou to handle matters related to the Guangming Hall’s Xinzhou branch. Does Manager Zhu know what specific matters they were dealing with?"