After urging Hairo to gather all of Granny Apple’s neighbors and relatives who could be found, and after so questioning, Qing Deng successfully locked onto a suspect whose features matched his speculation perfectly: Granny Apple’s childhood friend—Xun Sanlang.
Fortunately, a few people happened to know where this Xun Sanlang lived.
After asking those who knew Xun Sanlang’s address to lead him there, Qing Deng had not yet reached out to pull the door open when he saw an anxious old man rushing out, carrying a large cloth bundle on his back.
Seeing the large cloth bundle on the old man’s back and the clear scratch marks on the old man’s left hand, Qing Deng’s eyes instantly darkened.
While announcing his own identity to the old man, he slightly lowered his center of gravity, raised his right arm a bit, ready to respond to any sudden situation.
Behind Qing Deng, the neighbors and relatives of Granny Apple who knew Xun Sanlang’s residence and helped guide Qing Deng, as well as Hairo standing slightly behind and to the side, all stared dumbfounded at Xun Sanlang’s current desperate escape posture.
Earlier, when hearing Qing Deng ntion a cri of passion, Hairo’s first reaction was to sneer.
A cri of passion? What a joke! How old was Granny Apple anyway? She was no longer a young maiden in her pri!
At that ti, Hairo thought Idiot Aoto was just being foolish, always spouting nonsense!
He clearly believed Qing Deng was talking rubbish, but sohow… after hearing Qing Deng’s confident tone and the expression full of certainty, Hairo unexpectedly had a strange urge: he wanted to follow Qing Deng to visit Xun Sanlang personally, to see with his own eyes whether Qing Deng’s claim was true or false.
At that mont, the bustling crowd outside Granny Apple’s house had quieted down sowhat, and many disturbances had lessened, so Hairo handed the task of maintaining order to one of his capable subordinates and followed Qing Deng alone to Xun Sanlang’s ho.
Although following Qing Deng to visit Xun Sanlang, Hairo still thought Qing Deng’s earlier theory about the culprit was utter nonsense.
But now… seeing Xun Sanlang, who looked like he was trying to flee desperately, Hairo felt as if his head had been struck violently by a big stick, his mind buzzing.
Imdiately, he instinctively turned his head and looked at Qing Deng with eyes full of shock.
Seeing Qing Deng, dressed fully as a Dōshin with a jutte at his waist and an inrō tied to his left hand, Xun Sanlang’s expression rapidly and violently changed.
He was stunned at first.
Then… like a taut string suddenly snapping, the pressure that had been building since last night erupted all at once.
The stunned look on Xun Sanlang’s face shifted with terrifying speed into fear and panic.
His complexion drained, his expression changed abruptly.
He suddenly threw the large cloth bundle on his back forcefully toward Qing Deng.
Because Qing Deng had been prepared for any possible attack from Xun Sanlang, he smoothly sidestepped the thrown bundle in ti.
As the bundle passed Qing Deng, the cloth unraveled, and money, clothes, and other items inside spilled to the ground.
After throwing the luggage, Xun Sanlang quickly retreated half a step, then reached into his bosom and pulled out a hidden sword.
He drew the sword and pointed the sharp tip toward Qing Deng and the others.
“Everyone move away! All of you get out of my way! Let
leave here!!”
Xun Sanlang’s sudden outburst startled Hairo and the others.
“Put, put, put the sword down!” Hairo stamred nervously and quickly hid behind Qing Deng…
Compared to the noisy Hairo, Qing Deng was much calr—upon seeing Xun Sanlang draw a weapon, his expression only darkened slightly, then he raised his hand and drew the jutte from his right waist.
His swordsmanship was not yet refined enough to injure without killing, and if he wanted to capture soone alive, the jutte was more suitable. Therefore, Qing Deng chose the weapon he was currently more skilled with—a jutte that could serve as a baton.
Carrying luggage and looking like he was in a hurry to escape, upon seeing the Dōshin of the Teimachi squad, Xun Sanlang imdiately grew agitated and drew his weapon to threaten them not to co closer—no one, no matter how foolish, could misunderstand what Xun Sanlang’s behavior ant.
“Xun Sanlang! You bastard!” one of Granny Apple’s neighbors shouted. “So you’re the one who killed Granny Apple? Weren’t you childhood sweethearts? Why would you kill her?!”
“I don’t know!”
Xun Sanlang shouted, veins bulging on his neck.
“I don’t know what ca over
then!”
“No matter how angry or wronged I was, I would never hurt Ahei!”
At this mont, Xun Sanlang’s voice began to tremble along with his body, and the hidden sword tightly gripped in his hand writhed like a fish desperately trying to escape.
“But I don’t know why… after hearing Ahei reject , my mind went blank, and my body seed to lose control!”
“When I ca to my senses again, Ahei had already… already…”
“I really don’t know what happened to
then…!”
“I don’t know! I don’t know!!”
Xun Sanlang’s increasingly hoarse and desperate screams naturally attracted the neighbors and passersby.
Seeing Xun Sanlang in such an abnormal state and the sword in his hand, along with Qing Deng holding a jutte confronting him, the crowd that gathered after hearing the noise scread in terror and scattered.
Of course, a few idle onlookers, full and bored, still stared excitedly.
Xun Sanlang’s repeated cries of “I don’t know” clearly showed his ntal instability.
If they didn’t take asures to control him soon, no one could predict what this ntally unstable Xun Sanlang might do.
Therefore—Qing Deng decided to take the initiative!
Qing Deng suddenly lowered his center of gravity and charged at Xun Sanlang.
His feet slid as the ground creaked beneath him.
Seeing Qing Deng suddenly rush forward, Xun Sanlang’s face showed great alarm, and he instinctively swung his sword to stab.
Earlier, when examining Granny Apple’s wounds at the cri scene, the chaotic and unthodical knife wounds, and the fact that only one out of seven stab wounds hit a vital spot, all indicated to Qing Deng that the culprit likely didn’t know how to use a blade properly.
And the fact perfectly matched Qing Deng’s inference.
Xun Sanlang’s clumsy sword swings posed no threat at all against Qing Deng, who was skilled in baton techniques, grappling, and freestyle fighting.
But to be cautious, Qing Deng chose a steady approach.
He didn’t imdiately knock Xun Sanlang down but first dodged the strongest and most powerful initial attacks with his footwork.
After Xun Sanlang’s energy dissipated greatly due to the failed attacks, Qing Deng imdiately lunged forward, used the jutte to knock the hidden sword from his hand, then pinned Xun Sanlang to the ground with grappling techniques.
The mont after Qing Deng pinned Xun Sanlang down—
[ Ding! Talent Detected ]
[ Successfully Copied Talent: “Sleep God” ]
[ Talent Description: Sleep quality far better than ordinary people, less prone to insomnia, requires much less sleep ti than ordinary people ]
The cold system voice echoed in Qing Deng’s mind as Xun Sanlang fell.
After listening to the system’s introduction of this new talent, Qing Deng raised his eyebrows in surprise at the information.
“Unexpected… you actually have such a powerful talent…” Qing Deng’s brows showed unstoppable joy as he took out a hemp rope from his back waist and used rope capture technique to bind Xun Sanlang, whom he was pinning down, tightly.
Just capturing the culprit, and yet copying such a powerful talent from him—this was a complete unexpected bonus.
Sleep quality far better than ordinary people, less prone to insomnia, and requiring much less sleep ti… just hearing the talent description sounded aweso!
“Ahhhhh—!”
From the mont Xun Sanlang shouted, his voice was no longer coherent words.
Being caught and pinned down by the Teimachi squad’s Dōshin seed to worsen his ntal state further.
He scread wildly and twisted his body repeatedly, trying to break free from Qing Deng’s control.
But no matter how much he struggled… he was just an old man nearing seventy.
In a strength contest, there was no way he could beat a young man like Qing Deng.
Since earlier, Hairo had been staring blankly like a statue, dumbfounded watching Qing Deng skillfully subdue Xun Sanlang.
Only now, seeing Qing Deng take out hemp rope to tie Xun Sanlang up, did Hairo finally snap out of it and quickly stepped forward to hold down Xun Sanlang’s legs, helping Qing Deng reduce the difficulty and pressure of tying him up.
“Ah, thanks.” Qing Deng casually said thanks to Hairo, who ca to help.
“It’s what I should do…”
At this mont, the look in Hairo’s eyes toward Qing Deng no longer held any hint of disdain.
Only intense astonishnt and disbelief remained in his pupils.
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