Chapter 461 No Escape
When Sun Shaozong rushed to Fayuan Temple, not only Jie Chen and Jie Xiu had been brought over, but even Wei Ruolan, Qiu Yunfei and Master Qi had also been waiting in the hall for a long time.
Seeing Sun Shaozong coming in from outside, Qiu Yunfei was the first to step forward, eyes wide open and curious, "Sir, you asked people to bring those two bald donkeys back to the temple in the middle of the night, did you find some important clues?!"
It is said that you should not scold a monk in front of a bald man, but he did the opposite. He started shouting "bald donkey" in the temple, and I don't know how many monks glared at him.
but……
Who cares whether they are happy or not!
As long as we solve this serial case, why should we worry that they will report it to the emperor because of a few words of "bald donkey"? !
Therefore, Sun Shaozong did not bother to correct Qiu Yunfei's words. He raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said with a smile: "You really guessed it right. I just found a key clue. If my inference is correct, I only need to do a simple inspection to determine who the murderer is."
"Really? What is it..."
"Amitabha."
Before Qiu Yunfei could ask again, the monk Lechi stepped out from behind him and chanted the Buddha's name, "May I ask how you would like to verify it, Lord Sun? As long as you can make the criminal show his true form, everyone in this temple will certainly obey."
"There's no need to be so serious about it."
Sun Shaozong smiled, his eyes fell on Jie Xiu and Jie Chen, then slowly moved down to stop at their dark blue shoes, then raised his hand and pointed: "Just ask the two masters to take off their shoes and socks, and we will know the truth at a glance."
Just take off your shoes and socks to find out?
Everyone was a little confused. Could it be possible to tell who the murderer was just by looking at the feet?
Jie Chen couldn't help but sneer and said, "Sir, you don't think that the murderer has two dog do you?"
But even though he was laughing, he still bent down to take off his cloth shoes.
However, at this moment, Jie Xiu suddenly asked in a deep voice: "Sir, isn't this a joke for you to investigate the case? I have been practicing for more than ten years, and I have never heard that you can determine whether a person is a murderer just by looking at his feet! If Sir Sun does this just to avoid being reprimanded by the court and to make false accusations, then aren't we going to be wronged in vain?!"
Jie Chen also stopped taking off his shoes and nodded, "That's right, although taking off shoes and socks in public is not a big deal, but if you want to convict me with empty words without any real evidence, Lord Sun, you will never succeed!"
Seeing the two people's reactions, the smile on Sun Shaozong's face became even more intense - just now he was only 80% sure, but now he has reached 99%!
"Of course I have real evidence."
Then he said in a loud voice: "Compared with the previous three murders, because he intended to make Jie Nian's death look like the work of a heavenly dog, the murderer deliberately came up with a clever trick to deceive people - but he didn't know that it was this clever trick that left a fatal flaw!"
"So you say."
Master Qi couldn't help but ask curiously, "Sir, have you successfully solved the mystery of the footprints?!"
"That's right."
Sun Shaozong nodded and said, "This so-called mystery of the footprints is actually very simple. It's just a pair of clogs."
"Clogs?"
"Yes, but these are not ordinary clogs. They are clogs with wooden teeth carved into the shape of dog paws!"
"The murderer mixed his own footprints with those of the wild dog, creating the illusion that there were only Jie Nian's footprints at the scene."
"After a detailed investigation, I have successfully found the murderer's footprints - three dog paw prints in the shape of a finished product, arranged at equal distances!"
"I led my men to track the claw marks all the way to the northeastern forest, where we found some fragments of clogs. Apparently, the murderer destroyed the clogs and threw them back into the forest."
"absurd!"
When Sun Shaozong said this, Monk Jiexiu suddenly sneered and said, "Can Lord Sun figure out who the murderer is just based on a few pieces of sawdust? Or is the murderer's name engraved on the sawdust?!"
At this time, everyone present, especially Wei Ruolan and others, had already noticed that something was wrong with Monk Jie Xiu. When they were questioned before, he was obviously much more cooperative than Jie Chen, and he didn't say a single sarcastic word. But now...
However, what Monk Jiexiu said was not entirely unreasonable. It is indeed impossible to determine who the murderer is based on some wood chips alone. Not to mention wood chips, even if a complete pair of clogs is found, it seems that it can only confirm Sun Shaozong's inference, but cannot prove who the murderer is.
"It's impossible to just rely on some sawdust."
At this time, Sun Shaozong took out a handkerchief from his sleeve pocket, spread it out carefully , and showed it to everyone, saying: "But when combined with these two hemp ropes, it is enough to expose the real culprit!"
Twine?
Everyone felt even more puzzled. Qiu Yunfei, Wei Ruolan, Master Qi, and even Monk Lechi went forward to take a look, but they saw that they were just two thin ordinary hemp strings. They looked as if they had fallen from a hemp rope. What was so strange about them?
“What a joke!”
Jie Xiu raised his head and sneered, "Two pieces of hemp rope and a few pieces of sawdust are actually described as so miraculous by Lord Sun. I am now really curious about what kind of irrefutable evidence Lord Sun has found from these two pieces of rope!"
Faced with his aggressive attitude, Sun Shaozong became more confident and grinned, saying, "When you get to the bottom of it, it's still very simple."
"The texture of this sawdust is tough and solid. It should be made of red sandalwood or other wood used to carve Buddha statues. Although the wood is locally sourced in the temple, which reduces the risk of purchasing wood outside, this pair of clogs is much heavier than ordinary clogs."
"Especially, the murderer made the clogs wider and longer in order to separate the three dog paws as much as possible."
"How can such a heavy pair of clogs, which are to be worn to kill people , be loose like ordinary clogs? Of course, they must be tied tightly to the feet!"
Sun Shaozong raised two fingers and said, "The murderer has two choices. One is to simply make a pair of shoes [boots with clogs soles]."
"But although shoes are convenient to wear, they are difficult to make. Moreover, if too many materials are used, they are prone to flaws. Besides, why is it necessary to make a pair of shoes that are thrown away after use so complicated?"
"So the murderer chose the second option, making ordinary clogs, and then putting a few more hemp ropes through them and tying them around the feet for reinforcement!"
"However……"
The smile on Sun Shaozong's face turned cold, and he stared at Jie Xiu's feet and said, "Walking with such heavy clogs tied tightly to your feet will cause you to fall down. Even if you wear shoes on your feet, they will definitely leave marks!"
"That is why I concluded that if the murderer just takes off his shoes and socks, he will be nowhere to hide!"
