Volume 1 Zhangqiao Iron Coffin Chapter 30 What’s in the Coffin?
After separating from Huo Anu, Xu Zun went straight home and started his plans for the new day.
Before entering the mountain, he had already informed the housekeeper Xiaoqi in advance that he would be working in the government office all night and would not come back, so he did not need to wait.
After returning home, Xu Zun took a shower, changed his clothes, had a simple breakfast, and then went to the county government to work again.
Although he hadn't slept all night and had walked a lot of mountain roads, Xu Zun didn't feel sleepy. After all, the case had reached a critical moment and he had to give it his all.
Originally, after Xu Zun arrived at the county government office, he wanted to ask in detail about the jade pendant.
But unexpectedly, when he entered the inner hall, he saw everyone sitting in front of someone, listening to what that person was saying.
The man was wearing casual clothes, had white hair on his temples, and looked quite old.
"Hey? County Magistrate Luo! Are you back?"
Xu Zun recognized at a glance that this person was Luo Baiwan, the magistrate of Xinye County. He did not expect that he would come back early.
"Oh, Jiying, you're here!" Luo Baiwan nodded to Xu Zun, but did not say hello. Instead, he continued to talk to everyone, "There is really nothing in the iron coffin. I was there when the coffin was opened, so I saw it relatively clearly!"
"Oh?" Qiu Yongnian wondered, "Is there really nothing?"
"At that time, the county governor, the provincial governor, and the officials from the Ministry of Justice were all there. I was in a lowly position, so I naturally couldn't force my way to the front," Luo Baiwan said, "but it was still clear at a glance whether there was anything inside!"
But Luo Baiwan looked exhausted and dusty, obviously he had rushed back to Xinye County overnight.
"Well...everyone!" He said with a heavy face, "I think everyone can understand my difficulties. Last time in the iron coffin case, Liu Zhubu and I escaped unscathed. We were only punished but not dismissed. We were lucky.
“Therefore, in the past two years, we have avoided talking about this matter and kept it a secret, for fear that we might make mistakes and cause trouble.
"I never expected it, I never expected it..." Luo Baiwan was filled with grief, and cried bitterly, "Liu Zhubu actually suffered a tragic disaster!
"well!
"Such a good man, who had worked hard for Xinye County all his life and was so old, why was he killed?
"This iron coffin...it really haunts us!"
"Lord Luo," Qiu Yongnian hurriedly advised, "Please do not be too sad. We are deeply saddened by what happened to Liu Zhubu, but we are more worried about your safety now!"
"Yes, yes, yes..." Everyone tried to comfort him.
"Alas!" Luo Baiwan wiped his tears and said, "I understand that the reappearance of the iron coffin is by no means accidental. This matter not only involves me, but also concerns the fate of our entire Xinye County Government!
"Next, officials from all levels will come to Xinye County to investigate this case," Luo Baiwan said. "We must be prepared early. If we remain clueless in front of officials at all levels like we did back then, I'm afraid our fate will be even worse than that of the previous big boss!"
After Luo Baiwan said this, everyone present showed concerns.
"Lord Luo ," said the head of the police Zhao Yu, "We have been investigating this case day and night, but we really need to know the details of the Iron Coffin Case!"
"Yes, Liu Zhubu has been killed," Qiu Yongnian agreed, "Now you are the only one who knows the details of the case! Can you tell us what happened?"
"Okay! Okay!" Luo Baiwan nodded and said, "But, I can't really say I understand! Because the case came so quickly back then, people from above came before we could react!
"After they arrived, they immediately cordoned off the scene and took away the iron coffin and the body. They didn't leave us anything to investigate, but they still wanted us to solve the case. It was obvious that they wanted us to take the blame!"
"So..." Zhao Yu was disappointed, "You are like me, you know nothing?"
"You can say that," Luo Baiwan nodded, "When the blockade was in place, not to mention me, even the county magistrate and even the governor had no right to understand the case!"
Tsk tsk tsk…
After hearing this, everyone smacked their lips, and it was obvious that everyone was very depressed.
"Alas," Luo Baiwan sighed and then said to everyone, "Now that things have come to this, I have nothing to be afraid of!
"I'd better tell you the truth. Although I didn't get to the core of the case back then, I still understood something. Today is a good time to tell you everything. Let's brainstorm and see if it can help solve the case, right?"
Damn it!
Xu Zun cursed in his heart, this old man actually has time to keep us in suspense?
Of course, Xu Zun estimated that he was not the only one who cursed her in his heart, but seeing that Captain Zhao's cheeks were already red, he was looking at his luck.
"Master Luo, please speak quickly," Magistrate Qiu urged impatiently, "We are all ears!"
"Well, back then..." Luo Baiwan turned his thoughts to two years ago and told the story, "An iron coffin suddenly appeared from Zhangqiao, and 37 bodies lay dead under the bridge!
"The deceased was dressed in mourning, paper money was scattered in the river, and the river water was dyed red with blood. It was really shocking, weird and terrifying!
“Since… at that time no one from above had come, I once went to the scene with the county magistrate and county lieutenant at that time.
"I am not very experienced in criminal cases, and I have never encountered such a big case in my life. I was completely dumbfounded and at a loss at the time!
"But, thinking about it later, I could still vaguely see some clues from those corpses," Luo Baiwan closed his eyes and recalled, "Among the 37 corpses, there were no old, weak, women or children, all of them were strong men!"
oh?
Hearing this, Xu Zun instinctively realized something.
"Those people are dressed in mourning and look like funeral processions, but how could they all be strong men?" Luo Baiwan analyzed, "This is clearly irrational!"
"Oh?" Zhao Yu muttered to himself, "At first, I only saw it from a distance, and it seemed... there really were no women or children!"
"37 people, bloody and bruised, died in a horrible way!" Luo Baiwan continued, "But I can see that most of them died from knife hacking and axe hacking, and some even had arrow wounds. They must have been shot to death! "
"Oh?" Qiu Yongnian asked, "Did you find any ?"
"No!" Luo Baiwan replied, "There is no weapon. Even the arrow wound on the body is just a bloody hole. I guess the murderer must have taken it away, right?"
"It sounds like..." Zhao Yu analyzed, "These 37 people may not be funeral processions, but more like guards!"
"Yes, I thought so at the beginning," Luo Baiwan said, "The murderer who was able to kill these 37 people must be no ordinary person, and he must have come prepared and planned it carefully!"
"So..." Qiu Yongnian judged, "It's not that there's nothing in the coffin, but the things inside have been taken away by the murderer!"
"Yes," Zhao Yu was curious, "What would be in there?"
"Hmm..." Luo Baiwan frowned slightly and said, "At the beginning, I happened to hear people from the governor's mansion talking about this matter.
"They said that there was actually something inside the iron coffin!"
"Ah?" Everyone became more and more confused and asked hurriedly, "What is that?"
"Yes... um..." Luo Baiwan said awkwardly, "There is feces and urine..."
