Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Hu Hai's gaze shifted from Zhang Jingwei's familiar yet strangely unfamiliar face, now contorted by his earlier portrayal of "King Yama," and he scanned his surroundings with a sense of unease. The eerie green "ghost fire" had extinguished, replaced by several kerosene lamps hanging on the rock wall, emitting a steady yellow glow that illuminated the space in a dim light. The acrid smell of sulfur in the air had faded, replaced by a more complex odor—damp earth, the rust of metal, burning coal, and… a warm, moist steam. The mournful "ghostly wails" had also disappeared, replaced by a low, rhythmic "whoosh…whoosh…" sound, like a giant beast panting in the darkness, mixed with the slight "click" of metal pipes and the gurgling of water.

There were no menacing pillars here, only roughly hewn stone walls covered with damp moss and watermarks. In the distance, the vague outlines of some large, heavy metal structures could be seen, reflecting a dark luster under the dim light. Thick pipes meandered and crawled, connecting to the deeper darkness. The "ghosts being tortured" and "ghost messengers" from before had now transformed into ordinary-looking servants and craftsmen, their faces still smeared with paint, frantically tidying up various leather, wooden, and cloth "instruments of torture" and "masks."

"Where exactly is this..." Hu Hai murmured to himself, his voice hoarse, still carrying an air of disbelief and disorientation. The scene of hell was so real that reality itself seemed surreal.

Yuan Liang had already taken off his heavy Yama's robes and changed back into plain clothes, wiping the remaining white paint from his face with a handkerchief. Hearing this, he calmly explained, "This is the underground cave beneath Gaoyang Tower. After being renovated by the officials, it's now the location of the 'Water Resources Experiment Bureau,' directly under the county government. The sounds you hear are the exhaust from the steam engine and the pumps drawing water; the 'mist' you see is mostly cooling vapor." He pointed to the distant, roaring outlines of massive machines.

Steam engine? Water Bureau? Hu Hai's mind raced, trying to connect these unfamiliar words with the scene before him and the sounds he heard. Yes, the so-called "hellish winds" were actually white mist formed by the cooling of hot steam from the machine; the piercing wails were the screeching of the steam pressure relief valve... The source of all this terror and eeriness was these cold and noisy mechanical creations!

A profound sense of absurdity and a shame of being completely seen through and manipulated overwhelmed him like an icy tide. But at the same time, an even colder, more piercing fear followed—what had he said in his extreme terror and desperate attempt to protect his siblings? He had confessed that his siblings were the murderers!

Zhang Jingwei didn't give him much time to process the shock. He had completely shed his imposing "King of Hell" persona, reverting to his usual calm yet sharp official demeanor. But now, this demeanor was even more compelling because he had uncovered the crucial secret. He walked up to Hu Hai, his gaze locking onto him as if it were a tangible object.

"Now, answer my question." Zhang Jingwei's voice was not loud, but every word was clear and unyielding. "Your brother Hu Jiang and sister Hu Xi murdered Hu Sheng?"

Hu Hai shuddered violently, struggling to stand up, but a constable beside him pressed down on his shoulder. He slumped back down, clutching his head in his hands, shaking his head in anguish: "I don't know... sir, I really don't know! They are usually very well-behaved and sensible, especially Xi'er, who is an excellent student at school. Although Ajiang is a bit mischievous, he has no bad intentions... I... I just can't understand how they could... how could they do such a thing!" His voice was filled with desperate confusion, not feigned.

“Now that things have come to this, with your underwear completely exposed, what else is there to hide?” Yuan Liang wiped his face clean and walked over, his tone tinged with sarcasm. “Just now in the underworld, you almost lost your soul to protect them. To say you didn’t know anything now is too late and too fake.”

"I really didn't know!" Hu Hai raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, and said urgently, "If I had known they had this intention, I would have stopped them even if it cost me my life! How could I have just watched them commit such a terrible mistake, and how could I... how could I have taken the blame for this capital offense!" His words made sense. If he had known his younger brother and sister-in-law were the murderers, he might have taken other measures to stop or cover it up, instead of hastily taking the blame after the fact.

Zhang Jingwei stared at him for a few seconds, seemingly judging that his current confusion and pain were not entirely feigned. He changed his question: "Then tell me about the night of the incident. From the moment you left home until the discovery of Hu Sheng's body, I want to hear every single detail. Remember, everything."

Hu Hai took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his turbulent emotions. His eyes gradually focused as he was lost in the nightmarish memories of that night.

“...That night, Liu and I...arranged to meet in the old coal drying room in the backyard of the coal processing plant.” His voice was low and hoarse, filled with shame, but he didn’t care at the moment. “It was a separate courtyard, where some old tools and low-quality coal were piled up. No one had lived there for a long time, and it was rarely visited. It was secluded...we usually went there.”

“I arrived a little earlier than the agreed time. After climbing over the wall, I hid behind the coal pile in the corner of the yard, intending to wait for her. But not long after, I heard some noise coming from the shed next door where they stored miscellaneous items… rustling sounds, and the dragging of heavy objects.” Hu Hai’s eyes became suspicious. “At first, I thought it was some poor man in the village who was afraid of the cold, or a petty thief who was stealing some coal. What I did was dishonorable, so naturally I didn’t dare to make a fuss. I just wanted to wait for them to finish stealing and leave as soon as possible.”

“But…the noise was getting more and more strange.” He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I quietly moved to the edge of the torn window of the prefab house and peeked inside…there were no lights on inside, only a sliver of light from a lantern outside, making it very dim. I saw two figures, one tall and one short, seemingly…moving something very heavy. That thing…that thing’s shape looked like a person! Curled up, mostly wrapped in a sack or old felt!”

Hu Hai's body began to tremble, as if he had returned to that terrifying night: "I was terrified, my legs went weak. I thought, could it be that I've encountered a thug who has killed and robbed people and is disposing of the body? I... I want to run away as soon as possible and get out of this place of trouble."

"Just then, the courtyard gate creaked open, and Liu... she pushed the door open and came in." Hu Hai closed his eyes, his facial muscles twitching. "The two figures in the prefab house were obviously startled by the commotion! I only heard a flustered rustling sound inside, and then the shorter figure nimbly darted out of another broken window of the prefab house, jumped over the low wall, and disappeared. The taller one seemed to hesitate for a moment, then followed suit by jumping out of the window, but his movements weren't as swift."

“Although it was hard to see clearly at night, there was a windproof lantern hanging near the back door of the coal leaching workshop, its light slightly brighter than elsewhere. The short figure climbed over the wall and landed, turning back in a panicked glance… the lantern light swept across her profile!” Hu Hai suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with pain and disbelief. “Just that instant! I saw her clearly… although she was wearing ill-fitting old men's clothes, and her hair was tied up like a boy's, those eyebrows, those features… I would never mistake her! That was my younger sister, Hu Xi!”

His voice trembled as he continued, "My mind went completely blank. Before I could even react, I heard Liu scream from the coal drying room! I was terrified and, without thinking, scrambled over... I pushed open the half-closed door... and there I saw Hu Sheng... lying face up on the coal dust-covered floor, a knife stuck in his back... blood... everywhere... Liu sat slumped beside him, her face ashen..."

Recalling this, Hu Hai seemed to have exhausted all his strength, collapsed, and gasped for breath.

Zhang Jingwei frowned: "Are you sure you saw it clearly? The lighting was dim, and it happened so suddenly. Could you have been mistaken? Or was it just a similar body shape?"

"My own sister!" Hu Hai hissed, with an almost obsessive certainty. "I watched her grow up since she was little, her face is etched into my bones! Even if I only glanced at her, I would never mistake her! It's Xi'er!"

“However,” Zhang Jingwei’s voice turned cold, carrying an undeniable skepticism, “your younger brother, Hu Jiang, and younger sister, Hu Xi, have been boarding and studying in the private school I established since they enrolled. I have personally questioned the teachers, the dormitory supervisors, and even the night patrol guards. Everyone can testify that for several days before and after the incident, and even for the entire month, your siblings strictly adhered to the school rules and never asked for leave to leave the school even for a moment! The school walls are high and the courtyard is deep, and the security is quite tight. There is absolutely no way they could have traveled dozens of miles through the mountains at night to sneak into Hu Village and commit murder!”

Hu Hai was stunned. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. This contradictory fact was like a wall crashing into him.

Zhang Jingwei stared intently at him: "Unless... someone is lying. Or, you're mistaken."

“No… I can’t be wrong…” Hu Hai murmured, then a faint light flashed in his eyes, as if he had grasped something, “Ah Jiang… Ah Jiang, he’s been quite mischievous since he was little, and he’s also stronger than me… Could he… could it be that he’s fooled the dormitory manager and the guards…” His voice grew softer and softer, and he himself felt that the possibility was extremely slim.

Zhang Jingwei, however, seemed to have gleaned something from his words. He didn't dwell on whether Hu Hai had mistaken him for someone else, but quickly pieced together his thoughts: Hu Hai firmly believed he saw Hu Xi, but Hu Xi did have an alibi at the time of the incident. So, either Hu Hai was hallucinating or mistaken, or… Hu Xi's alibi was flawed, or perhaps the person at the coal processing plant that night wasn't Hu Xi at all? Considering the white sticky paste, the dressing case, the human skin mask…

A bolder, more horrifying hypothesis gradually took shape in his mind.

Without further hesitation, he turned to Qian Ming, who had been standing by his side, and decisively ordered, "Qian Ming!"

"exist!"

"Take a few reliable men and head to the private school tonight! Don't alert too many people. Go directly to the dormitory manager and the guards on duty, and under the pretext of assisting with the investigation, bring Hu Jiang and Hu Xi in for questioning separately. Remember, be gentle in your attitude, but act swiftly. Don't let a single word slip by, and especially don't give the siblings any opportunity to collude!"

"Yes! Understood!" Qian Ming clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, turned around, pointed to a few capable yamen runners, and hurriedly walked towards the stone steps leading to the ground.

"My lord! My lord!" Hu Hai cried out in terror, struggling to lunge forward, but was held down by the constables. Tears streamed down his face as he pleaded, "Please! I'll pay with my life! I confess! I accept my punishment! Hanging is what I deserve! Can you... can you let them go? They're so young! There must be some misunderstanding! Please have mercy, stop investigating... all the blame is on me! Kill me!"

Zhang Jingwei looked at Hu Hai, who was almost driven mad by his younger brother and sister-in-law, and sighed inwardly. He walked up to Hu Hai, squatted down, looked at him with a complicated expression, and slowly asked, "Hu Hai, are you so sure that your younger brother and sister-in-law would really kill someone?"

Hu Hai paused for a moment when asked, a look of confusion and struggle flashing in his eyes: "I...I don't want to believe it either...but...I saw it with my own eyes..."

“What you see with your own eyes may not be the truth.” Zhang Jingwei stood up, his tone regaining its calmness and decisiveness. “Especially on that night, under those circumstances. I will not judge the two children’s guilt based solely on your word, especially given your involvement in the case and your emotional state. Everything will be clear after I personally question them.”

He looked up at the water droplets seeping from the rock wall, listened to the ceaseless roar of the steam engine in the underground space, and his eyes were deep.

“Before that,” he turned to Yuan Liang, “we need to go to another place to verify a hypothesis.”

The dim light in the underground cave cast shifting, ever-changing shadows. The outline of the truth seemed to gradually emerge amidst the mechanical roar and damp air, yet it remained shrouded in a deeper fog. Hu Hai's confession was like a key, opening a door, but behind it lay not the expected answer, but a path that was even more winding, secluded, and unsettling.