At this time, it was already late at night, and the world was still shrouded in boundless darkness.
Just as Liu Ruyan and Li Ruoxuan were preparing to return to the house, they suddenly heard a miserable scream from outside the courtyard, breaking the silence of the night.
The two of them were suddenly shocked. They couldn't help but glance at each other and shouted in unison: "No!"
Without thinking too much, the two of them stretched out their bodies and ran quickly outside the hall.
The screams came from outside the main hall. The two came to the front of the hall and looked around warily. The surroundings were empty and deserted, but no movement was found.
The two of them split up and looked for the peach groves on the left and right sides of the courtyard. Liu Ruyan walked not far along the peach grove path on the right, and saw a short, fat servant curled up in a pool of blood. , the head tilted softly to one side, the artery under the neck was severed, and blood flowed out like a column of water. Beside him fell a lantern, the flame still flickering.
The scene before him made him frightened and gasped. He frowned, his eyes were like lightning, and he quickly looked around for traces of the murderer.
It was empty everywhere, not even a ghost. Where was the shadow of the murderer?
The servant was killed with a knife and his throat was cut. He died in such a horrific manner that he couldn't bear to see it. He murmured to himself: "What a poison! What a cruel method! Who did this?"
At this time, the sleeping people in the village were awakened by the screams, lights were turned on in every room, and a group of servants were running towards this side holding long knives.
Liu Ruyan stared at the dead servant, couldn't help but take a few steps back, and shouted to the left: "Brother Li, it's over here, come here quickly!"
Li Ruoxuan, who was searching around the peach forest on the left, suddenly heard the sound, responded, and quickly jumped over here.
Li Ruoxuan came forward and saw the tragically dead servant on the ground. He was shocked and dumbfounded. He looked at Liu Ruyan and said slightly horrified: "Slit his throat with a knife. One knife is fatal. Who did this? This person is so vicious and neat!"
Liu Ruyan frowned, shook his head, and said thoughtfully: "When I found him, his throat had been cut, and he fell to the ground, dead."
While he was talking, all the servants in the room rushed to him in a hurry.
Nangong Nan, Nangong Chunxue, Xu Feng and Nangong Yushu rushed over soon after.
When the servants suddenly saw Liu Ruyan and Li Ruoxuan standing on the spot, they couldn't help but feel startled and looked at each other with puzzled expressions on their faces.
The tall servant at the front widened his eyes and asked in a deep voice: "Ah, Liu Shaoxia, Li Zhuangshi, why are you here?"
Obviously, seeing them surrounding the body of the tragically dead servant, they all immediately became alert and looked at the two of them in surprise. In addition to doubts, there was also doubt in their eyes!
Liu Ruyan frowned and said slowly: "We also heard the screams, and as soon as we rushed over, we saw him lying in a pool of blood. It seems that he had just died by slitting his throat with a knife!"
The tall man stared at the two of them sideways, suddenly showed a wicked smile, and asked faintly: "Young Master Liu, are you saying that you have just arrived?"
Liu Ruyan looked at him calmly and said calmly: "Yes, Brother Li and I rushed over when we heard the sound."
The tall servant didn't seem to believe what he said, and said solemnly: "Then why are you two here? Could it be that we made an appointment to come together?"
Li Ruoxuan next to him couldn't help but said: "What do you mean by this?"
The tall man looked at the dead servant, then turned to look at the servants beside him, and said quietly: "What do you mean! How could a good person have his throat cut for no reason? Why can you rush in before us?" In front? I said, Liu Shaoxia, Li Zhuangshi, this can't be a coincidence, right?"
Liu Ruyan looked at him steadily, sighed, and said, "What exactly do you want to say?"
The tall man snorted coldly and said angrily: "I think his death has something to do with you! What is your intention in coming to Peach Blossom Villa?"
Liu Ruyan sighed softly and remained silent. He knew in his heart that people like him couldn't explain it clearly.
However, Li Ruoxuan said coldly: "Don't be slanderous. When Uncle Nangong comes, you can decide for yourself what is right and wrong!" He frowned and looked at the corpse on the ground quietly.
At this time, Nangong Nan, Xu Feng and others had arrived.
When everyone saw the tragically dead servant on the ground, everyone frowned and looked solemn.
Nangong Nan's eyes were like lightning, staring at the corpse on the ground. He slowly squatted down and carefully observed the severed neck of the servant. The fatal wound was a deep wound, about five inches long, and the throat had been cut. The flesh and blood were bloody, and it was obvious that his neck had been wiped without any precautions. There wasn't even a chance to resist and struggle, and there were no traces of fighting around.
It seems that the murderer is undoubtedly a ruthless man, skilled in techniques and extremely cruel.
Nangong Nan glanced at Xu Feng, and Xu Feng said solemnly: "In my opinion, who could have done this?"
Nangong Nan thought about it and said: "In recent years, the Nangong family has strengthened security and set up a variety of hidden weapons and mechanisms within fifty meters of the manor. In addition, there are also many hidden traps that are difficult to detect. It's been a long time since such a murder happened in Peach Blossom Villa. I think it must have been the Snitch from Seven Doors!" He stood up and looked around.
Then he turned to look at the tall servant next to him and asked, "Guangfu, how many people are on duty tonight?"
Na Guangfu bowed and clasped his fists and said: "Back to the owner, tonight as usual, there are two people arranged, Ma Lei and Jiang Yun. One is responsible for patrolling the peach garden in front, and the other is on duty at the gate of the east and west wings in the backyard." Guangfu's face turned blue and white, and he lowered his head, very low, for fear of being scolded by Nangong Nan.
Nangong Nan said in deep thought: "If my guess is correct, when Brother Xu came with his family today, he must have been secretly watched by people from the Seven Gates. Those snitches have already been eyeing the treasures of my Nangong family. This time, we are hosting a banquet for distinguished guests. They neglected to take precautions and sneaked in secretly. They had already expected that we would have a drink, and after we fell asleep drunk, they waited for the opportunity to steal. Hey, I was drunk tonight too, and I forgot to explain to you that I should send more people. Some people are patrolling."
At this time, Nangong Chunxue said again: "Dad, we intercepted and killed several people from Qimen last time. Do they still have the guts to steal again? But I think the method of committing the crime, slitting the throat with a knife, is not good. Is it too similar to the style of Seven Gates? Dad, will there be another bandit targeting us? "
Nangong Nan stared at the fatal wound on the servant's neck and murmured: "Hey, the Nangong family tree attracts wind, and there are many bandits in the rivers and lakes, how can there be only seven gates targeting us? Although this knife wound does not look like that It’s the seven-door method, but if the seven doors want to avoid people’s eyes and ears, it’s not a bad idea to use other methods! The top priority is to seal off all the exits of the village and search inside and outside.”
As he spoke, he seemed to suddenly realize something, showing a surprised expression, and suddenly said: "Oh no, we have fallen into a trap to lure the tiger away from the mountain. The reason why the snitch chose to kill people in the front yard was to deliberately lure us away. Then go to the secret room in the atrium to steal. Quick, go to the secret room and take a look!" He suddenly panicked and analyzed the real intention of the snitch. He hurriedly led everyone to the secret room in the atrium to check.
Everyone looked worried and quickly followed Nangong Nan towards the secret room in the atrium.
At this moment, Liu Ruyan suddenly said: "Uncle Nangong, please stay!"
Nangong Nan was suddenly startled, stopped, looked back at him, and asked in surprise: "Young Master Liu, what's wrong?"
Liu Ruyan's eyes flashed and she said in deep thought: "To be honest, uncle, I tossed and turned and couldn't sleep well tonight. At midnight, I suddenly saw a figure flashing outside the window. The figure was very fast. By the time I chased him out, he had already disappeared. There is no trace." Of course he didn't say anything about bumping into Li Ruoxuan outside the wing.
When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but look at each other, and they were all shocked. Nangong Nan immediately asked: "Is there such a thing? Can Young Master Liu see clearly? In what direction is the figure going?"
Liu Ruyan said steadily: "The figure flashed past, and I couldn't see clearly below. I only saw that it was running towards the atrium."
Nangong Nan's eyes were as bright as lightning and he muttered: "That's it. As expected, we fell into the trap. The thief's purpose was to lure us away and divert our attention. After killing the servant, From the peach grove to the backyard to steal."
Nangong Nan was immediately startled, looked at Guangfu, and suddenly asked: "Where is Jiang Yun? Why don't you see Jiang Yun?"
When Guangfu heard this, he immediately realized and shouted: "Yes, we are only here to investigate the cause of Ma Lei's death, why did we forget Jiang Yun in the backyard! Jiang Yun was on duty in the backyard, and he must have heard Ma Lei's tragic death. Why don't you see him coming?"
Everyone was shocked and looked at each other, as if they had noticed that this matter was obviously fishy, and perhaps there was a deeper inside story.
Nangong Chunxue suddenly said: "Could it be that Jiang Yun was also poisoned? Then why didn't you hear any movement?"
Nangong Nan couldn't think about it anymore and said in a deep voice: "Don't say any more, without further ado, let's go to the backyard and take a look!"
Everyone immediately swarmed towards the backyard gate.
At the same time, Guangfu and Nangong Yushu each led a team of troops to secure the four exits at the front and back of Taohua Villa.
Nangong Nan led everyone to the gate of the backyard. They saw the gate of the backyard open, but there was no trace of Jiang Yun.
Xu Feng took Shangguan Hongqin, Leng Yue and Menghua to guard the corridors of the east and west wings. Everyone was cautious, looking around for the murderer.
Nangong Nan led Nangong Chunxue, Liu Ruyan and Li Ruoxuan into the backyard gate and jumped into the atrium secret room. The door to the secret room was closed, but the large gold steel lock on the door had been destroyed. Apparently, the thief used special techniques to open the lock.
Nangong Nan secretly screamed something bad and quickly dodged into the secret room.
