Faced with Shen Tianyin's questioning, Xu Sanhu sneered, "Miss Shen is too sensitive. I am merely conducting a routine inquiry. Currently, your suspicion is the highest. As the village chief of Dong Village, it seems not improper for me to ask a few questions, right?"
Having already prepared his response, Xu Sanhu pressed on, leaving Ye Fan and the others no room for rebuttal.
"You..."
Shen Tianyin trembled, pointing at him. She couldn't believe that Xu Sanhu, who had a smiling face yesterday, was so treacherous today.
Ye Fan held her back, winking at her and signaling her not to get angry.
He then looked at Xu Sanhu and asked, "May I know how Village Chief Xu intends to deal with us?"
It was clear that Xu Sanhu intended to frame them, so any explanation would be futile.
For now, they could only take it one step at a time, adapting to whatever came their way.
Xu Sanhu chuckled and waved his hand, "You are esteemed guests of our Dong Village. How could I possibly deal with you? However, our village's treasure has been lost, and you are all among the suspects. To clear your names, I ask that you kindly stay in the ancestral hall and not leave. Once we have thoroughly investigated this matter, we will surely return your innocence."
As he spoke, Xu Sanhu waved his hand, and Hu Liu immediately stepped forward with several villagers.
These men eyed them menacingly, as if ready to attack Ye Fan and the others should they dare to resist.
Elder Lei and Elder Ji were furious and about to lash out, but Ye Fan stopped them.
"Village Chief Xu is truly thoughtful. Since everything is arranged, we shall return to sleep. However, please remember to inform us once you have investigated thoroughly."
With that, Ye Fan exchanged a glance with Elder Lei and the others, pulled them along, and slowly left the mortuary.
At this juncture, any defense or struggle would be in vain. It was better to conserve their strength.
Along the way, Elder Lei and Elder Ji were seething with anger, cursing non-stop.
Although the villagers were annoyed, they dared not act rashly without Xu Sanhu's orders. They could only endure the humiliation. Hu Liu, in particular, trembled with rage.
Upon reaching the ancestral hall, Hu Liu and the others sternly instructed, "Stay put inside, or you'll regret it."
Then, they quickly left.
Ye Fan let out a sigh of relief. It seemed Xu Sanhu had no intention of killing them for the moment, which gave him an opportunity.
Everything had been arranged beforehand; all that was needed now was time.
"Ye Fan, what exactly is going on? I know you're hiding something from us. Are you still not going to tell us now?"
Elder Lei turned to look at Ye Fan, his brow furrowed, his eyes filled with coldness.
With their lives hanging in the balance, anyone with eyes could see that Xu Sanhu was deliberately orchestrating this. Thus, he wanted to know the truth, even if it meant dying with clarity.
Ye Fan forced a smile. He understood the old man's temperament. Normally, he would be jovial and carefree, but now, with two of the people he brought dead, it was a huge blow to Elder Lei.
Therefore, with his temper flaring, even Ye Fan had to be cautious.
"What could I possibly be hiding from you? I merely discovered some clues and found a lead, and as a result, I was confined here."
"What did you discover?"
Elder Ji asked urgently.
They had been completely in the dark about this matter. Since Ye Fan had made some discoveries, they naturally wanted to have their doubts cleared.
Shen Tianyin also stared at him. Although Ye Fan had confided some things to her, there were still many aspects she didn't understand.
Seeing all three staring at him, Ye Fan shrugged.
"Initially, I didn't find anything suspicious about Xue Tao's death. I just found it strange that no one had discovered anything, but there was no evidence to prove he was killed by someone from the village. It wasn't until Xue Zhonglong's death that I discovered the problem."
Pulling over a chair, Ye Fan sat down.
"Firstly, Xue Zhonglong and Xue Tao died in exactly the same way. If it were truly the work of malevolent spirits, why would they use the same method to kill them both? It should have been arbitrary, done in whatever way was convenient. But that was not the case. Therefore, I can confidently assert that the killer must be human, and there is a common purpose in killing them both."
"Secondly, under Xue Zhonglong's wrist, I found that piece of porcelain. It should have been inadvertently left behind by the killer. From this, it can be deduced that somewhere near Dong Village, someone is firing porcelain. Moreover, the shard is very peculiar; it can absorb blood, and once it absorbs blood, it becomes a perfect piece of porcelain. Following this line of reasoning, could the killer be choosing to murder people in order to create more porcelain shards?"
"Therefore, yesterday morning, Tianyin and I went to see Xue Zhonglong's body again. After treating the body with the vinegar distillation method, I discovered that Xue Zhonglong had no blood above his neck. You must understand that after death, even if the blood stops flowing, it doesn't solidify so quickly. Yet, Xue Zhonglong's face had no blood. There is only one explanation: the blood on his face was absorbed by the shard, and it was made into a piece of porcelain."
Ye Fan's voice was low and his pace slow, as if he were narrating a perfectly ordinary story.
"So that's why Xue Zhonglong's face was so pale. It was for this reason."
Shen Tianyin showed a look of sudden enlightenment.
At the same time, her admiration for Ye Fan grew. No matter the problem, it seemed that as long as Ye Fan was there, it could be easily resolved.
Ye Fan nodded and continued, "After verifying my guess, I deliberately told Xu Sanhu that the killer would be apprehended soon. My intention in doing so was to startle the snake. If the killer was related to Xu Sanhu, he would surely inform the killer, and the killer would then try to make a move against us. After all, they didn't know how much I had already discovered. To be safe, apprehending me was the most sensible course of action.
As expected, Xu Sanhu acted against us this morning. This indicates that the killer is here, and if my guess is correct, it should be someone close to Xu Sanhu."
The way Ye Fan could unravel the mystery by analyzing seemingly insignificant clues, through layered reasoning and a battle of wits, completely convinced Elder Lei and the others.
"Someone close? Are you referring to his discarded son? But he's clearly a madman."
Shen Tianyin frowned, unable to comprehend.
Ye Fan smiled and shook his head, "Who says Xu Sanhu's close relations are only his wife? Don't forget, on our way here, we encountered another person. Xu Sanhu probably wouldn't dare to disobey that person."
Hearing his words, all three widened their eyes in shock.
"You, you're talking about Xu Laogun? But how is that possible? Didn't he die five years ago?"
Elder Ji asked urgently, his old eyes filled with doubt.