The city of Linzhou was not large, and the group spent less than half a day exploring its entirety.
It was still early when they returned to the Prefect's manor. After dinner, at the insistence of Lu Wuxie and Zhong Li, they gathered in the main hall to thoroughly investigate Shentu Jue's affairs.
Madam Tian, the wife of Prefect Tian, a businesswoman in Linzhou with extensive connections and access to information, was also invited to participate.
Zhong Li produced the prepared portrait of Shentu Jue, giving one copy each to Tian You and Ah Li, and asked, "Have either of you seen this person in Linzhou?"
Prefect Tian naturally knew the purpose of Lu Wuxie and Zhong Li's visit.
As for Ah Li.
She looked at the portrait of the man in her hand and said, "He doesn't look like he's from the Southern Yue Kingdom?"
Zhong Li nodded, "Madam, to be frank, he is from Yingzhou."
As she spoke, she explained Shentu Jue's case to Ah Li.
Ah Li pursed her lips and pondered, "There haven't been any people from Yingzhou appearing in Linzhou's restaurants or inns recently. Most are from the Northern Di or our own people."
After speaking, she glanced at Tian You beside her.
Tian You agreed, saying, "Your Highness, Lord Zhong, to be candid, although Linzhou is barren, its governance is strict. It is, after all, a border town. Anyone entering the city must possess the relevant permit. Before your arrival, I also checked the entry records and confirmed that no one from Yingzhou has entered the city."
"However, according to our investigation, and confirmed by Shentu Jue's letter to his subordinate Shang Yuanhong, Shentu Jue met his demise in Linzhou."
"Moreover..." Zhong Li said, taking out a letter from her embrace and placing it on the table, "along with Lord Shentu's remains was a ransom note."
"A ransom note?" Ah Li reacted swiftly. She took the letter Zhong Li placed on the table and skimmed through it before handing it over to Tian You.
Tian You's expression also turned grave as he looked at the ransom note.
Zhong Li knew this was a lead. After Tian You finished reading, she inquired, "Prefect Tian, Madam Tian, do you know anything?"
"Alas!" Tian You sighed and signaled to a servant behind him.
The servant quickly ran out of the hall and returned with a case file in his hand.
"Lord Zhong, please take a look at this." Tian You took it from the servant and handed it to Zhong Li.
Zhong Li placed the case file in the center, and she and Lu Wuxie examined it together.
In less than half an hour, Zhong Li finished flipping through the case file, her expression solemn as she looked at Tian You, "Northern Di Tuo clan, Northern Di Shan clan, Northern Di Chao clan, Shu Rong Dou clan, and now the Yingzhou Shentu Jue in our hands. There have been five such cases in Linzhou?"
"Yes, there are currently five reported cases," Tian You replied.
"And none of them are from the Southern Yue Kingdom?" Lu Wuxie pointed out the issue and added.
Tian You nodded and sighed, "Replying to Your Highness, this is indeed the case. According to the Prefect's office, the killer is not a single person but likely multiple individuals or even a group. Their methods are simple and direct."
"They would kill the victim, dismember the body, and send the body parts to the victim's home through civilian postal services, demanding a high ransom for the remaining parts."
"High ransom." Zhong Li seized on the key point in Tian You's words, "In that case, they would likely have investigated the victim's family's financial situation."
Tian You thought for a moment and said, "It's possible. The Tuo clan of Northern Di has been a family of renowned physicians in Northern Di for generations; the Shan clan are merchants traveling between Northern Di and Southern Yue; the Chao clan are noble ladies from the Chao family of Northern Di; as for the Dou clan of Shu Rong, they seem to have some connection with the Grand Priest of the Shu Rong Kingdom."
"I see the cases were recorded starting five years ago. Did similar incidents also occur five years ago?" Zhong Li asked.
Tian You did not answer immediately but took another case file from a nearby attendant and placed it on the table, saying, "I have been the prefect of Linzhou for three years. The case files from the previous two years were recorded by the former Prefect Hao. During that time, I also reviewed the records of missing persons."
"And discovered a problem."
Zhong Li flipped through the case file, gesturing for Tian You to continue.
"Except for the significant population decrease in Linzhou twenty years ago, the population of Linzhou has been increasing. Excluding infant mortality, the number of missing persons each year is no more than a hundred. However, in the first two years of the last five years, the number of missing persons increased slightly by a few cases, with no trace of their whereabouts. In the subsequent three years, the number of missing persons returned to normal." Tian You said.
Zhong Li knew that in any city, some missing persons were due to natural disasters, some to fleeing famine or leaving Linzhou without their families reporting it to the authorities, and the remaining small portion were due to accidents.
If the analysis from the case file provided by Tian You was accurate, the murderer's pattern of operation seemed difficult to discern, but upon closer inspection, the problem could be identified.
"What did Lord Zhong discover?" Lu Wuxie noticed Zhong Li's expression change from tense to relieved as she looked at the case file, and he knew she had found some details.
Zhong Li nodded and placed the case file she was holding in the center of the table so that everyone could see it.
"Prefect Hao, the former prefect of Linzhou, had a good habit of recording missing persons. He would analyze the reporter's family situation, the age of the missing person, and possible reasons for their disappearance. Prefect Tian has also diligently followed this habit since taking office, so it is not difficult to find the problem if one looks closely."
Zhong Li said, pointing to the first year, "Compared to previous years, the missing persons this year are younger. Their family backgrounds are diverse, including farmers, merchants, herders, and nobles. However, invariably, these few additional people share a common trait..."
As she spoke, her fingers slid over certain unique surnames.
"They are not from the Southern Yue Kingdom?" Lu Wuxie finished her sentence.
Zhong Li nodded, "Yes! None of these people are from the Southern Yue Kingdom; in fact, it can be said that they are all from the Northern Di!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Tian You seemed to realize something and flipped out Prefect Hao's records from the second year, saying, "The situation in the second year is the same."
Zhong Li nodded.
"But in the third year..." Ah Li also leaned in, looking at the case file with confusion.
Zhong Li flipped through all of Tian You's records from the third year onwards, and then flipped through all the records from previous years before these five years, saying, "Do you see any pattern?"
Lu Wuxie crossed his arms and leaned in for a closer look, "The killer has become more targeted?"
"Exactly!" Zhong Li nodded and explained, "In the later three years, after Prefect Tian took office, Linzhou's security should have been strengthened. The killer dared not act too openly. More importantly, the killer discovered an issue in the first two years of operation. Many of the outsiders they killed were ordinary people with no significant background, making it difficult to extort much money. Therefore, they turned their attention to wealthy merchants doing business in Linzhou, or noble ladies and physicians visiting Linzhou..."
"So, based on Lord Zhong's analysis..." Lu Wuxie finished Zhong Li's sentence, pondered for a moment, and said, "The reason the killer killed Shentu Jue and delivered his body to Shang Yuanhong is that they knew Shentu Jue's identity, or they believed that by killing Shentu Jue, they could extort a large sum of money?"
"Yes!" Zhong Li affirmed Lu Wuxie's words and added, "However, they certainly did not know Shentu Jue's true identity. Judging by their method of killing outsiders and extorting money, the killer was unwilling to offend the Southern Yue Kingdom's court, or rather, they did not want the Southern Yue Kingdom's court to intervene in this matter."
"So the conclusion is that they believed Shentu Jue was wealthy?" Tian You asked.
"Then, what was Shentu Jue's identity when he came to Linzhou?" Ah Li inquired.
Hearing this, Zhong Li exchanged a look with Lu Wuxie. They recalled the letter Shentu Jue had given to Shang Yuanhong and answered in unison, "A traveler!"