Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Chen smiled. "What insights can I provide? What needs to be done is find that former student. If he’s alive, that’s good. If he’s dead, we need to at least see his corpse. This case can’t be resolved without him."

The atmosphere suddenly became quiet, and silence could be frightening.

Outside the door, everyone stared at each other. They felt both surprised and angry, but dared not speak a word because the speaker was the Grand Xia Duke, a transcendent existence!

He was an official that stood at the apex of the empire!

King Xiang remained silent, wearing a contemplative expression on his face. Ouyang, the governor, and others not only paid attention to King Xiang's expressions but also observed Fang Chen's face. If King Xiang didn't speak, then it naturally wasn’t their turn to.

After a few moments of silence, Yu Zhang, who was standing behind Master Chen, suddenly turned around to look at Fang Chen and clasped his fist. "Duke Fang, I am Yu Zhang from the Southern Mountain Academy. I hope to say a few words about this case."

Fang Chen nodded faintly. "Go ahead."

All eyes turned to Yu Zhang, who quickly began, "This case has been dragging on for several years. Initially, Commander Jue, who was supposed to be guarding the gate, failed to keep watch, allowing Zhao Yan to escape. As such, the case was unsolved. Over the years, the victims in the case have repeatedly failed to get a just answer. Their families have been waiting anxiously, hoping that the culprit, Zhao Yan, can be brought to justice. During this period, some of the victims’ family members have already passed away, while others, like this old man, are struggling on the brink of life and death. Their only wish before death is for Zhao Yan to face justice. If, due to some minor details, we continue to let Zhao Yan live on, how can their hearts find peace?"

Resentment flashed across Commander Jue’s face, and he glared at Yu Zhang.

He could speak about the case if he had to, but must he criticize him?

The onlookers outside heard Yu Zhang's words and nodded. Murmurs of agreement rose again. They acknowledged Yu Zhang's words.

Fang Chen smiled faintly. "What do you mean by ‘some minor details’?"

Yu Zhang was slightly surprised but remained composed. "What I mean to say is that while Huang Xin was the one who had indeed discovered a victim's jewelry in Zhao Yan's bag, Huang Xin was just a witness providing a clue that might help with the case. But the jewelry itself was the piece of evidence, and it was this evidence that had led the Guards to find the victims' remains at Zhao Yan's home." Pausing for a moment, he continued, "Therefore, regardless of whether Huang Xin is present or not, this piece of evidence is valid and irrefutable. It doesn't allow for anyone to dispute it."

He then looked at King Xiang and asked, "I wonder if we have this piece of evidence in the magistrate court here with us?"

"We do." King Xiang nodded. He picked up a wooden hairpin which had been laid on the table before him.

Everyone instinctively nodded. Since the victim's jewelry was found in Zhao Yan's bag, it further established the possibility that Zhao Yan was the culprit.

Yu Zhang once again looked at Fang Chen and added a silver of questioning to his tone before continuing, "Duke Fang, the evidence is clear. If Zhao Yan is not executed today, the anger of the people in the Southern Immortal Prefecture will be hard to quell! It may also raise suspicions about why you might be speaking up for Zhao Yan!"

"Preposterous!" yelled King Xiang and others immediately.

However, Master Chen remained silent. He lowered his head without saying a word.

Undeterred by the rebukes, Yu Zhang locked his gaze on Fang Chen.

"Indeed, you deserve your reputation as the chief scholar of the Southern Mountain Academy. You dare to speak like this in front of Duke Fang. It shows your sincerity. If you can serve as an official in the Southern Immortal Prefecture in the future, we will be really fortunate!"

"Scholar Yu Zhang dares to say such things in front of Duke Fang. He must have no ulterior motives. If Zhao Yan can be brought to justice today, I will definitely worship Yu Zhang as a god! I might even offer him incense day and night for his blessings."

Yu Zhang raised his hand and clasped his fist towards the sky, his expression icy. "Everyone, what I, Yu Zhang, said today is not meant to offend anyone. I'm just expressing my feelings. If Zhao Yan can still live today, where is justice in the world?!"

The students of the Southern Mountain Academy were impressed by Yu Zhang's courage.

Fang Chen smiled and casually asked. "You are the chief scholar of the Southern Mountain Academy?"

Yu Zhang was momentarily surprised but then nodded. "Indeed."

Fang Chen turned to look at Zhao Yan. "I remember that the chief scholar of the Southern Mountain Academy is elected, right? Each term is different, and every chief will eventually be recommended by the dean to go to the capital and start as a fifth-rank official. This is a privilege bestowed by the northern region to the southern region considering the situation here. Those who comprehend the arts of literature and philosophy here are rare talents. With your knowledge and talent, why weren’t you elected chief scholar in the first place?"

Before Zhao Yan could respond, Yu Zhang beat him to it. "Zhao Yan had already committed a major crime and became a fugitive by the day of the election. Otherwise, he would have definitely taken the position of chief scholar. Unfortunately, he’s not fit to be called human, much less hold the position of chief scholar. He’s just a man with a human face but a beast's heart."

Fang Chen pointed at Yu Zhang. "So, you benefited from the situation?"

Benefited from the situation? After thinking for a few moments, the crowd understood what Fang Chen’s words meant. Their faces fell, and they turned to stare at Yu Zhang with some suspicion.

“Indeed," admitted Yu Zhang frankly. "Since Zhao Yan got into trouble, I had the opportunity to become the chief scholar. But this has nothing to do with the current case. You are going off-topic, Duke Fang.”

"Cough, cough." Master Chen suddenly cleared his throat twice, looked at everyone present, and smiled slightly. "Gentlemen, Yu Zhang has been in the Southern Mountain Academy since he was a child. Although his comprehension is not as good as Zhao Yan's, it's not exactly bad, either. Even if Zhao Yan became the chief scholar, Yu Zhang could still be recommended by me to go to the capital. He didn't have any reason to conspire against and harm several innocent women just to frame Zhao Yan. He wouldn't gain much benefit from this. This is an unreasonable take." He turned to Fang Chen and continued, “Duke Fang, I also suspected the same thing back then. However, when you think about it a bit more, you’ll find that assumption quite laughable.”

The students from the Southern Mountain Academy began to chime in one after another.

"Yeah, how could Senior Yu frame Zhao Yan just for a bit of a reputation as the chief scholar?!"

"How much effort and risk would it take for him to do this? Besides, Senior Yu is naturally compassionate. He wouldn't even step on an ant, let alone kill someone."

"As long as Senior Yu graduates, he will definitely be able to go to the capital and become an official. Even if he doesn’t start at the fifth rank, he could at least be of the sixth rank. His future prospects are promising. Why would he need to frame Zhao Yan?"

Hearing the students’ arguments, the other people present found them quite reasonable. After all, deliberately killing several women to frame a fellow student was entirely unreasonable!

A few moments later, Fang Chen chuckled. "There's a type of crime committed under extreme impulse. It’s a type of mental disorder, and criminals with this condition have a different mentality and a different way of thinking than ordinary people. They do not care about what’s at stake. They have a goal in mind and they’d do anything to achieve it. If all it took for them to be able to obtain the position of chief scholar is for Zhao Yan to die, then so be it. You think everything has to make sense to you?” said Fang Chen, “He had achieved his goal. Who knows why he might’ve done it. It could be as trivial as Zhao Yan accidentally stepping on his shoe once, or it could be that he had said to him something that he thought was offensive, or maybe it was just that Zhao Yan had grown into someone he didn’t like."

"..."

The expressions of the crowd became extremely peculiar. King Xiang, Governor Ouyang, and Commander Jue, among others, started to contemplate over Fang Chen’s words. Upon further consideration, it did seem that the type of logical and rational approach they took to decipher the cases could not be completely applied to every case.

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