Chapter 60

Seeing the woman's corpse on the bed in Huo Sijie's room, everyone's expressions became extremely vivid.

The young woman in the yellow robe, who was the leader of the female constables, first blushed, turned her head away, but then, remembering she was a constable, quickly turned back. The group of young heroes and heroines were so shocked that many of them gasped, a few of the young heroines even screamed, while the young heroes, with disbelieving eyes, all looked at Huo Sijie.

Huo Sijie's face was deathly pale, instantly losing all color. He muttered, "Impossible... impossible... She was in his room... She was in his room..."

The innkeeper and his staff were not much better, staring at the corpse on the bed with their mouths agape. The middle-aged innkeeper's face was ashen, his fingers trembling, unable to speak.

"This person is a major suspect; we can't let him run away!"

Behind Huo Sijie, Ouyang Qing suddenly shouted, startling the constables who had come with the young woman in the light yellow dress. Three constables drew their sabers with a clatter and stood in front of and behind Huo Sijie, ready to capture him.

The surrounding young heroes and heroines collectively fell silent. Two of the young heroines, who had just finished screaming, were now blushing and pale, looking at Huo Sijie with disbelief, their eyes filled with shock, unsure if it was fear or the shattering of their idol's image.

Huo Sijie was dazed and foolish, seeing the unfamiliar and fearful looks from the two young heroines. In his eyes, these looks were deeply disappointing. Although Huo Xiaoxia seemed not to care about the feelings of these two young heroines, he felt as if he had been punched in the heart... But he had something to hide and dared not look at the bed.

"You are a major suspect; come with me to the yamen!" The young woman in the light yellow dress, now having recovered, turned around, drew a slightly peculiar short sword, and said to Huo Sijie.

"No... I..." Huo Sijie seemed to be in a fierce internal struggle, on one hand, seemingly wanting to escape, and on the other, filled with fear, as if afraid that his reputation would be ruined!

Seeing this, Su Peng interjected, "Everyone be careful, this Huo Sijie is a formal disciple of the Hengshan Sect, his martial arts are not weak, don't let him hurt you!"

Hearing Su Peng's words, the surrounding constables' faces changed. They hadn't expected the suspect to be a formal disciple of a major sect. Formal disciples of major sects were known for their strong skills and connections, so they became cautious and each took a half-step back.

"Don't listen to his lies... I... I am innocent!" Huo Sijie, hearing this, became even more panicked, shouting loudly, but his hand was still on the hilt of his sword!

"Be careful! This Huo scoundrel is about to attack!" Ouyang Qing fanned the flames, shouting loudly from the side.

The surrounding constables immediately became tense, each one closely watching Huo Sijie, afraid he would suddenly attack.

"Don't listen to these people's lies! Huo Xiaoxia is a disciple of a prestigious sect, how could he do such a despicable thing? He must have been framed! Let's calm down and investigate first!"

Among the young heroes accompanying Huo Sijie, there was a rare clear-headed person who knew that if Huo Sijie really attacked, the charges of raping and killing a woman, resisting arrest, and injuring constables would be confirmed. He shouted loudly.

Huo Sijie, not entirely a fool, hearing his companion's words, calmed down slightly. He knew that if he attacked, it would be the end. If he cooperated with the investigation, the authorities would consider his status as a formal disciple of the Hengshan Sect and not punish him too severely. Even if he was imprisoned, the Hengshan Sect and his brother would surely come to his rescue. After careful consideration, he slowly removed his hand from the hilt of his sword, though his face was still ashen, he controlled his fear and said, "I... I am innocent, I am willing to go to the yamen and assist with the investigation."

"That's the best way." The young woman in the light yellow dress, seeing that Huo Sijie did not intend to resist, was relieved and instructed the two constables beside her, "Go and disarm him."

The two constables cautiously approached. Huo Sijie, seeing this, sighed deeply, did not resist, and handed his sword to the constables. He was then surrounded by the three constables.

"Heroes, this is a crime scene, keep it intact and don't let anyone disturb it. I will take this suspect to the yamen. In a while, a coroner and more constables will arrive. Innkeeper, the responsibility to maintain the scene is yours."

The young woman in the light yellow dress said to the surroundings, then glanced at Su Peng. Su Peng, with a clear conscience, met her gaze. The young woman looked at him for a while, then turned away, and left with the three constables, taking Huo Sijie with them.

"Ha ha ha... Truly satisfying!" Ouyang Qing laughed loudly, drawing angry glares from the young heroes, but he ignored them, laughing heartily.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Su Peng pulled on Ouyang Qing's sleeve and asked, "Brother Ouyang, what exactly happened? I'm still in the dark..."

"Let's go downstairs, and I'll explain in detail..." Ouyang Qing chuckled and whispered to Su Peng...

...

The innkeeper was in a terrible situation. Hearing that there was a murder in the inn, the guests demanded refunds. The innkeeper, helpless, had to refund their money, inwardly cursing Huo Xiaoxia's ancestors.

Leaving this aside, Su Peng, Ouyang Qing, and Fu Yi walked down the stairs and onto the street. Ouyang Qing then recounted the events of the night.

It turned out that after dinner, Su Peng returned to his room first. Ouyang Qing, who ate quickly, was the second to finish, while Fu Yi, who believed in slow eating for health, was the last to leave the table.

Ouyang Qing returned to his room, opened the window for fresh air. His room was on the same floor as Su Peng's, and because of the angle of the window, he could see a dark alley far away.

Just as he opened the window, Ouyang Qing suddenly noticed that about ten meters away, in another inn, a window opened, and a person, in a panic, used lightness skills to jump out and fled in a random direction.

This person was none other than Huo Xiaoxia, Huo Sijie of the Hengshan Sect.

Ouyang Qing, curious, wondered why Huo Xiaoxia, who had booked a room in his inn, was in another inn's second-floor room and fled in such a panic after the search for the lecherous thief.

Ouyang Qing, with his own lightness skills, jumped out of the window and, in a few bounds, entered the small building from which Huo Sijie had fled.

Inside, he found a naked woman dead on the bed. The woman's body was flushed, her temperature still normal, indicating she had just died. There was white fluid on her lower body, and her neck showed signs of strangulation.

With his extensive experience, Ouyang Qing immediately guessed that this was a case of rape and murder, and the culprit was most likely Huo Xiaoxia.

Actually, according to Ouyang Qing's nature, he thought that if it were true, capturing a few young women for pleasure was not entirely unacceptable, though he himself did not particularly enjoy such things. However, the fact that the culprit was a formal disciple of a prestigious sect piqued his interest. Ouyang Qing, who had been rejected by a prestigious sect in his youth and insulted as unsuitable for martial arts, had no good feelings towards prestigious sects and loved to see them in trouble. He immediately became interested and followed Huo Sijie from the window.

However, Huo Sijie seemed to be in a daze, wandering aimlessly in the town like a headless fly. Ouyang Qing lost patience after following him for a while and returned to the tavern.

But just as he returned to the tavern, he heard the innkeeper asking if he was Huo Xiaoxia's friend. Finding this suspicious, Ouyang Qing pretended to be Huo Xiaoxia's friend. The innkeeper gave him an envelope, saying it was delivered by a passerby on someone's behalf. Ouyang Qing opened the envelope and found a note that read, "Huo Xiaoxia, in Jiangning Su Peng's room, there is a strangled female corpse. Please investigate and report to the authorities."

Ouyang Qing immediately sensed something was wrong, put the note back in the envelope, and went to Su Peng's room. He used a knife to pry open the door and found a female corpse, the same beautiful woman he had seen dead in the other inn, but in a very shameful position.

Just as Ouyang Qing was feeling puzzled, he heard movement in the courtyard. He hid outside the door, leaving a small gap to observe, and saw a person jump in through the window, look around, and then jump out again. Ouyang Qing recognized the person as Huo Xiaoxia of the Hengshan Sect!

The rest was simple. Ouyang Qing, seeing Huo Xiaoxia jump out of the window again, carried the corpse to Huo Xiaoxia's room, placed it on the bed, and used his internal energy to close the door to Su Peng's room. He then returned to his room to wait. Sure enough, not long after, Huo Xiaoxia brought a group of people up, and Ouyang Qing went out to intercept them. Later, when Su Peng returned, the events that followed were known to everyone.

Hearing this, Su Peng was speechless, never expecting the case to be so complicated.

Fu Yi, hearing this, stroked his beard and said, "So, despite the twists and turns, the woman was indeed raped and murdered by Huo Xiaoxia!"

"Definitely! Ha ha ha, I told you! These so-called prestigious sects are just places of filth, breeding a bunch of dirty scoundrels!" Ouyang Qing, seeing Huo Xiaoxia taken to the yamen and losing his arrogance, felt very satisfied and laughed heartily.

At this moment, Su Peng was organizing the information he knew in his mind.

"According to the timeline, it should have started with the monk Yao Tong abducting the beautiful woman, then attempting to assault her in the room. She resisted, and he lost interest, bound her, and used a sedative, then left to wander the streets. We met him on the street, and the three of us, Su Peng, Fu Yi, and Ouyang Qing, went to the inn for dinner. We learned about the lecherous thief from the young female constable. Huo Xiaoxia and others went to investigate. Huo Xiaoxia may have found some clues and located the inn where Yao Tong was hiding. Upon entering, he saw the victim. The room was filled with a powerful aphrodisiac from the West, and Huo Xiaoxia, perhaps in a moment of weakness, and with the woman's will impaired, had a brief encounter with her."

"After that, the window may have opened, and after the encounter, the woman regained consciousness, realizing she had been defiled, and screamed. Huo Xiaoxia, also regaining consciousness, panicked and strangled the woman to death, then fled in a hurry, just as Ouyang Qing saw him, leading to the events described."

"Then, Yao Tong returned to the inn, saw the woman's corpse, and thought of framing me. I had already eaten and returned to my room, so Yao Tong, seeing no one in my room, moved the corpse there, but was seen by Fu Yi... Perhaps Yao Tong found some free time, wrote a note, and paid a passerby a few taels of silver to deliver it to the inn to find Huo Xiaoxia, not knowing that Huo Xiaoxia was the murderer."

"After that... it was the events that happened after I logged back in..."

Organizing the timeline of these events, Su Peng was speechless. The case was indeed very complicated.

However, it was fortunate that the real murderer was caught... Perhaps there was still a local lecherous thief in Poyang Lake who hadn't been caught, but it was no longer their concern.

"Truly unlucky to encounter such a situation, but thanks to Brother Ouyang and Brother Fu, I was spared this unjust disaster." Su Peng bowed to Ouyang Qing and Fu Yi.

Ouyang Qing laughed heartily, saying it was no problem, and that Su Peng should treat him to a drink the next day. Fu Yi also smiled and waved his hand.

"Alright, we've been up half the night, I'm a bit tired. Since we can't stay at the inn tonight, I'll go back to the boat. What about you two?" Ouyang Qing stretched and asked Su Peng and Fu Yi.

Su Peng was about to say he would go with them, but Fu Yi spoke first:

"The moon is beautiful tonight, and we plan to go to the lakeside to enjoy the moon and fish, probably returning to the boat later."

"Ha ha, you two have such refined tastes, but I hate fishing and moon-watching, so I won't join you. I'll take my leave!" Ouyang Qing said, bowed, and used his lightness skills to leave.

Su Peng was puzzled, not knowing why Fu Yi had sent Ouyang Qing away, but heard Fu Yi say, "Su Xiaoyou, come with me to the lakeside."

Although puzzled, Su Peng knew Fu Yi was friendly and wouldn't harm him after just helping him, so he agreed and walked with Fu Yi.

They didn't walk far before reaching the lakeside where Su Peng had pretended to dispose of the corpse. Fu Yi looked at the sky and said, "The moon is beautiful tonight, and after walking for several miles, it's a good time to stretch... Huo Xiaoxia, draw your sword, and let's have a match!"