Book 5: Chapter 33: Not Daring to Look
Book 5: Chapter 33: Not Daring to Look
After waiting bitterly for an entire night without any results, most of the townsmen had already scattered. Some of the ordinary soldiers outside the small building also had tired expressions on their faces. Lian Zhanshan’s orders had already been passed down. Because the Enforcer still hadn’t shown himself at this time, there was no need to preserve the crime scene that had already been investigated. All of the corpses, as well as Fourth Grandpa Zhu and others were to be brought back first.
They were now just waiting for the vehicles and horses to arrive now.
However, suddenly, a wave of disturbance sounded from the riverfront boardwalk. Bailiff Zhang Erming was originally about to lean against the pillar and fall asleep, but at this time, when he looked in the direction of the disturbance, his drowsiness completely disappeared, his entire body shivering, almost crying out in alarm.
Lin Xi appeared.
The new enforcer Sir Lin was fine, currently heading towards this riverfront small building.
These news immediately swept out like a bowl of hot braised noodles’s fragrance through an early morning alley, completely stirring up East Port Town’s calm streets.
Disorderly footsteps immediately sounded on the originally quiet limestone paths, gathering around the small building.
The slightly tired Xu Jianling also quickly saw Lin Xi, his eyes immediately couldn’t help but contract.
Lin Xi carried two wooden chests on his back, in front of him was an exceptionally pale-faced youngster dressed in embroidered clothes, and he also carried a corpse dressed in a black raincoat.
“He finally came!”
A gloomy faced Lian Zhanshan walked out from the small building. Only, the instant he saw that embroidered clothed youngster, his body suddenly went rigid. Immediately afterwards, he released a low roar. “Enforcer Lin, what were you doing this entire night?”
Lin Xi detained this embroidered clothed youngster, stopping in a vacant area behind this small building, calmly replying, “Arresting criminals, looking into cases.”
Lin Xi’s attitude wasn’t all that respectful, but his reply, as well as the people who were gathering in greater and greater numbers prevented Lian Zhanshan from acting out.
“Sir Lian, I want to denounce this Lin Xi for illegal arrest!” At this time, the embroidered clothed youngster actually shouted angrily. “I was in Swallow Descent Town, but he and Zhang Long first barged into my decorated pleasure boat, and then even forcefully dragged me here, locking me up for a night!”
Lian Zhanshan looked at Lin Xi, his eyes narrowing slightly, saying, “The so-called capturing criminals, the one you arrested was Prince Xu?”
Lin Xi didn’t avoid Lian Zhanshan’s eyes at all, saying, “Was there anything inappropriate?”
Lian Zhanshan released a cold laugh. Before he even said anything, a tall and sturdy soldier wearing light bronze armor already walked over, saying, “Enforcer Lin, do you know who he is?”
Lin Xi gave this officer stationed in the Town Supervisor Manor a look, shaking his head and saying, “He hasn’t been interrogated yet.”
“You don’t know who he is, but you already forcefully brought him back?” This military officer’s face immediately darkened a bit. “Then do you have proof that he is related to this case?”
Lin Xi frowned slightly. He looked at this military officer, asking in return, “If I don’t have proof, what would I bring him back for?”
This military officer’s expression became a bit rigid, but the embroidered clothed youngster already screamed out, “He barged into my boat just because of this raincoat man, saying that I am the one who sent an assassin after him! What kind of proof is this? If everyone waited properly in their homes, but then a corpse was tossed in, would they also be involved?”
“Even this is proof?” The military officer immediately raised his head, looking at Lin Xi and saying, “Enforcer Lin Xi, you captured someone just because of a momentary spur decision?”
Lin Xi raised his head, with a smile, he said, “Are you the Enforcer or am I?”
After this military officer became stunned again, he calmed down. With a bit of loftiness, Lin Xi said, “Whether it is proof or not, it isn’t something for you to make thoughtless remarks over.”
This military officer immediately became furious, but he actually couldn’t find any words to retort with. It was because the ones presiding over the judging of this case was the Judicial Sector’s responsibility to begin with, having nothing to do with the Martial Sector.
“The ones who appeared on the river back then included Zhang Long, where is he?” Lian Zhanshan gave this embroidered clothed youngster a look, his face becoming even more gloomy. “You detained him for so long, but you still didn’t interrogate him, this goes against the laws and decrees, there is suspicion of malicious detainment and delaying.”
“Sir Lin, I am here.”
Before Lian Zhanshan finished speaking, a middle-aged man in rough clothes walked out from the crowd, his face sickly. It was precisely Second Grandpa Zhang.
“River Dragon King!” When he walked out, many people cried out in alarm. Even though he didn’t show himself for several years, his water and boat controlling abilities were still shockingly great.
Lin Xi smiled, this smile exceptionally radiant under the morning sun. “Now, the judging of the case can begin.”
Right now, townsmen were packed around this place, the ones who came later couldn’t even get close, already moving towards the alleys that were a bit higher in elevation. Some people even climbed onto the roofs of their good friends’ buildings. When they heard Lin Xi’s words, the townsmen immediately reacted. This new Enforcer was going to judge the case on the spot!
“What is your name, where are you from, how does your family earn a living?” Without waiting for his direct superior Lian Zhanshan to say anything else, Lin Xi called over Liang Sansi to start recording the interrogation.
“Hahahaha… You are actually treating me as a criminal!” When the embroidered clothed youngster heard these words, he instead began to laugh crazily. “Fine, if you want to know, I will tell you. I am named Xu Chengfeng, originally from Deereast City. Currently, I do not have a set home, I have residences in Clear River, Swallow Descent and East Port, these three towns. My father is Xu Ningshen, currently serving as the battalion commander of three towns!”
The quiet discussions in the surroundings stopped. Even the pen in Liang Sansi’s hands trembled.
Many people’s eyes landed on this embroidered clothed youngster’s body.
Yunqin was an empire founded on martial might. Every town had garrison troops, a battalion established every three towns, administered by a battalion commander.
Even though battalion commanders didn’t interfere with the concrete affairs within towns, only focused on running the army, they had military power and held Martial Sector’s major seventh rank, two whole levels higher than a Town Supervisor. Compared to Lin Xi’s Enforcer major tenth rank, it was five whole levels higher.
Among the people outside, Pu Feng and the others’ minds trembled, their hands and feet becoming slightly cold. Even though they already knew that this youngster had a military background, none of them expected him to be the prince of a major seventh rank official.
“This only makes even more sense, no wonder there were these people who spent some time in the military that were willing to throw away their lives for you.” However, Lin Xi’s expression didn’t seem to have changed in the slightest, calmly saying this.
The embroidered clothed youngster didn’t expect Lin Xi to have this type of reaction right now, so he began to laugh out of anger again. “Enforcer Lin, please cease your unreasonable conjectures and framing.”
Lin Xi didn’t immediately reply, only turning around.
Another commotion began to stir in the alley outside. A moment later, a completely exhausted Du Weiqing dressed in a bailiff uniform and several robust men passed through, avoiding all the people here, walking inside. They brought in a white clothed corpse, also placing it before the embroidered clothed youngster.
“This person’s name is Feng Zeyi, not a native of Deereast City, but he instead opened up a portrait shop in Clear River Town to help people draw portraits. He has a warm, caring mother, as well as a pretty wife, but one day, his wife suddenly disappeared who knew where. Then, he went to Clear River Town’s Enforcer Office to report a case, claiming that someone from Silver Hook Lane was seen kidnapping her. However, Clear River Town indeed doesn’t have any proof, only reporting a missing persons case.”
Lin Xi’s eyes stopped over this corpse wrapped in white cloth, a wave of unclear somber and sadness released from his body. “Then, he should have tried to find proof himself, but his corpse ultimately flowed along the river. Perhaps it was heaven’s will, perhaps his wrongs were too great, in the end, he was still discovered in the port of this East Port Town, perfectly entering the administrative region of East Port Town’s Enforcer.”
“As Silver Hook Lane’s boss, this matter, Prince Xu Chengfeng, you should be aware of it, right?” Lin Xi’s eyes calmly shifted to Xu Chengfeng’s body.
“What? He is Silver Hook Lane’s boss?”
“There was actually this type of thing?”
“Since Sir Enforcer is saying it like this, does this mean that…”
In that instant, Lin Xi’s calm words instead suddenly felt like a clap of thunder out of nowhere, stirring up a storm by this river bank.
Xu Chengfeng’s face became white, shouting fiercely. “You are simply speaking a bunch of nonsense!”
“Sir Lin, please watch your wording.” Lian Zhanshan berated. “Before you have proof, you are not allowed to make random deductions.”
“I previously told you that there was one thing that I couldn’t figure out.”
Lin Xi didn’t pay this stern and gloomy faced direct superior any attention, only looking at Xu Chengfeng and saying, “You all seized the moment Fourth Grandpa Zhu came to visit me to launch this assassination, originally only wishing to frame Fourth Grandpa Zhu, for me to get rid of this nail in your place. Because Second Grandpa Zhang and Fourth Grandpa Zhu have hindered quite a bit of your livelihood during these years, with their existence, you all don’t dare act too unrestrained either, at the very least you fear being caught by them when kidnapping women. You also understand that they are extremely unyielding, not like some officials, easily purchased by you all. Moreover, there are some officials who often visit your Silver Hook Lane as guests.”
When he heard these words, veins appeared on Lian Zhanshan’s forehead, unable to hold back an urge to take a step forward. However, when he saw the corpses on the ground and the two wooden chests on Lin Xi’s back, as well as the longsword wrapped in cloth in his hands, he instead forcibly endured it.
“I already sent out people to investigate. During these three years, there were a total of twenty-eight cases of good-looking women going missing along this Breath River, five of them known to be related to Silver Hook Lane. However, in the end, all of the cases were settled by leaving it unsettled.”
Lin Xi’s voice became more and more calm, but the townsmen crowding all around became more and more uneasy, only some heavy breathing sounds audible. When they listened to this Enforcer Great One speak, they vaguely sensed an exceptionally dark plot coming to light.
“Originally, what I couldn’t figure out was that someone as smart as you, if you only wanted to frame Fourth Grandpa Zhu, there is no way you would produce such great forces, not really truly wishing to get rid of me. However, this Feng Zeyi who died after being wronged, made everything suddenly become clear.” Lin Xi looked at Xu Chengfeng whose face became more and more pale. “It is because you never expected him to just happen to drift where I was. You also knew that there is no way I would lower my head, so you decided you might as well just get rid of me, switching to a new Enforcer shouldn’t be an issue.”
“That is why this is precisely what is strung through and filled with evil, precisely the will of heaven.” Lin Xi raised his head, taking a look, the dazzling sunlight making him narrow his eyes slightly, the faint golden sunlight making his body appear more and more straight and unyielding.
Xu Chengfeng took several breaths of air, doing his best to calm himself down. He then said with a sunken voice, “This is completely your own assumption…”
Lin Xi suddenly took a step forward, this silver-clothed youngster froze up, his voice cut short, only seeing Lin Xi directly undo the white cloth of the floating corpse, saying while looking at Xu Chengfeng. “If you say you are unrelated to him, do you dare look at his face, at his eyes filled with injustice!”
Xu Chengfeng’s heart shook, subconsciously wanting to lower his head and look. However, at this moment, he suddenly didn’t dare take a look, instead taking a step back from Lin Xi’s shout.