There is a god in the sky

Chapter 223 The Mummified Corpse Case 16

“Sun Wei, a native of Tanzhou, has passed the provincial examination twelve years ago, but has yet to pass the imperial examination. He studied at Yishan Academy for seventeen years, is that correct?”

Xiao Ji had read his file and remembered his situation vividly.

It is rare to see students studying at an academy until old age.

Sun Wei is already over forty, an age at which many test-takers have lost their enthusiasm.

Sun Wei gave a self-deprecating laugh and did not deny it.

“Your family is quite wealthy, otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to study at the academy all this time. You were at Yishan Academy fifteen years ago. Do you still remember the case of the mummified corpse back then?”

"So what if I remember?"

"You killed Qian An and Gao Dounan using the same method, hoping that the authorities would continue to treat these two murders as the work of a fox spirit, right?"

"That's a very good imitation. Looks like you did a lot of research on this case back then."

Xiao Ji walked around the kiln, then looked up, pointed to the tree branches above, and instructed Sui Feng, "Go up and take a look."

Sui Feng climbed up the tree trunk and carefully walked to the top of the earthen kiln. He saw a rope tied to a branch with signs of friction.

This branch is very thick; it should be able to support a person hanging on it.

“I’ve been thinking, if the murderer is someone from the academy, where would he find the time to go out so often?”

It was only after coming here tonight that I realized you only need to come out once every night.

You killed them both near the academy, right? What excuse did you use to lure them out?

Sun Wei retorted with an upright expression, "I don't understand what Lord Xiao means! I didn't kill anyone!"

Sui Feng jumped down, grabbed him by the collar, lifted him up the tree, and put the noose around his neck.

Sun Wei was terrified. His limbs trembled, and his eyes darted around as he looked down.

Shen Lan stood under the tree for a while and then raised a question: "There are no obvious ligature marks on the corpse's neck, so it doesn't look like it has been hanging for several days."

Sui Feng had a sudden inspiration and hung him upside down. "What if his head is down?"

Shen Lan was very clear about the condition of the corpses, recalling that there was indeed a ring of lighter color around the ankles of the two mummies.

"That's possible."

Sun Wei was hanging upside down from a tree, with the earthen kiln burning brightly below, and hot air rising continuously.

Sun Wei could already feel the burning sensation; his hands flailed wildly in the air, and he screamed incessantly.

"Put me down!"

He could imagine himself being slowly roasted into a dried-up corpse, and a shiver ran down his spine.

Xiao Ji threatened, "It's fine if you don't tell me. I'm just curious about how mummies are made, so I'll use you as an example."

"No! I said! I said!"

Sun Wei shouted, "Let me down! I'll confess everything!"

Sui Feng put him down and saw that he was dizzy and disoriented. He kicked him in the knee and made him kneel down.

"Ugh..." Sun Wei braced himself on the ground with both hands, feeling dizzy and nauseous.

He chuckled softly, "Hehe...hahaha..."

He looked up, laughing even louder, tears streaming down his face.

"Why! Why can they succeed! Why have I studied hard at the academy for more than ten years but still haven't made any progress?"

In what way are they better than me? Their honor should have belonged to me!

Xiao Ji sneered: "You're quite good at flattering yourself. Your repeated failures in the imperial examinations are enough to show that you have limited abilities and shallow knowledge."

If everyone were as jealous of others as you are, you would have killed far more than just those two.

You're only so brazen because you see they come from ordinary families, have no servants, and no one will investigate their deaths!

Sun Wei roared, "What do you know? If the imperial examination was fair and there was no cheating, how could I not pass? That year, I clearly answered the questions very well, but in the end, the person who passed was someone much worse than me."

Just because he's the son of a high-ranking official, just because he has access to the exam questions—do you think that's fair?

"Which year did this happen?" Xiao Ji hadn't expected that the source of the cheating case Qian An mentioned was here.

It must have been Sun Wei who told him this that prompted him to investigate the matter so diligently.

"Ha, that was more than ten years ago. But once something like this happens, it will happen again. Where is the fairness in this world for ordinary people?"

Outsiders all say you, Xiao Ji, are a prodigy, but how could you possibly become the top scholar at sixteen, even if you started studying from birth? The Xiao family must have sacrificed a great deal for you, right?

Sui Feng slapped him to the ground, saying, "You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth! My master passed the imperial examination with real talent and hard work. Do you think everyone is as mediocre as you!"

"He knows best whether it's slander or not!"

Xiao Ji, with his hands behind his back, calmly said, "Of course I know. If you think the grades are suspicious, you can request a verification through proper channels. Making baseless guesses without any evidence is just deceiving yourself."

Besides, what does this have to do with you killing them? Qian An and Gao Dounan both came from poor families; how could they have bought the exam questions?

"Heh, I told Qian An about the cheating, but he didn't take it seriously at all. He even passed the provincial examination with top honors. Every time I see him, it's as if he's mocking my incompetence!"

“You’re overthinking it. Qian An has been investigating the cheating case.” Xiao Ji couldn’t help but shake his head.

Qian An must have been a thoughtful person, taking his friend's words to heart, but he never expected to be murdered instead.

Sun Wei was taken aback at first, then said sarcastically, "You don't need to provoke me. I won't regret killing him!"

"Has Qian An ever done anything to wrong you? Has Gao Dounan ever bullied you?"

"……No."

Not only that, they were quite close.

They knew he had been unappreciated for many years, so they always accommodated him.

But Sun Wei doesn't want other people's accommodations or sympathy. They only sympathize with him because they look down on him!

When did you first decide to kill me?

Sun Wei did not want to answer.

Xiao Ji looked down at him with icy eyes.

"You must have been well-prepared to come up with such a convoluted way to kill them. It's impossible that you only started planning after Qian Anzhong was defeated."

Sun Wei's expression changed, feeling a sense of shame at being seen through.

He was furious and embarrassed: "Everyone says that Lord Xiao is a brilliant detective, but if we hadn't met here tonight, would you have been able to find me? My flawless plan was ruined by these two outsiders!"

Ultimately, what he lacks is not skill, but luck!

"This means that Heaven is going to destroy you, so how can you fight against Heaven?"

Xiao Ji shook his head, pointed at him and said, "Tie him up and take him back for a proper interrogation!"

They should go down the mountain too, otherwise a group of officials will be patrolling the academy every day, and the students will have no time to study.

Sun Wei laughed maniacally without responding.

But as he was being dragged up, he asked, "Don't you want to know who was behind the mummified corpse case from over a decade ago?"

Xiao Ji raised an eyebrow. "Do you know who it is?"

"How about we make a deal?"

"I do not make deals with death row inmates," Xiao Ji refused.

Death row inmates will do anything to survive.

But no matter how tempting they are, Xiao Ji will not forgive them.