The deflated cultivator refused to give up and vowed to turn the tables.

The carriage moved slowly and steadily.

Su Zinong and Huang Chenghe discussed the locked-room murder case the whole way.

The so-called locked-room murder seems impossible.

There are many other possibilities.

One possibility is that it was done by someone inside Green Waves Villa, who pretended to discover a murder and falsely reported that the doors and windows were locked from the inside when they went to report it.

Huang Chenghe quickly refuted this, because it was none other than the manor owner, Zhang Tianchu, who broke in. He had personally confirmed that the doors and windows were locked from the inside, and that all the doors, windows, and walls were intact.

Secondly, it's possible that the study was quite large and had hiding places, so the group didn't notice them when they entered and escaped in the chaos.

That's impossible, because Zhang Tianchu is a cautious person. He carefully checked every corner after entering the house, and the study wasn't very big either.

Third, suicide.

However, Huang Chenghe still rejected the idea, because Zhang Yuncang was usually a positive and optimistic person, and hadn't been troubled by anything recently. Besides, the wound was on his back, and he couldn't have caused such an injury himself.

In fact, there are many other possibilities. Su Zinong doesn't want to pre-consider any ideas; he just wants to go and see for himself before making any decisions.

Since other experts have already checked, I need to be even more careful in my observations and have more flexible ideas and analyses in order to do better than others and discover more than them.

Huang Chenghe indeed had many friends and knew many people; even the gatekeeper of Green Wave Manor recognized him.

After arriving at Green Waves Villa and explaining their purpose, the butler led the two directly to the study where the incident had occurred.

Because of specific instructions, the study was left untouched; only the body of the murdered young master, Zhang Yuncang, was moved away.

Moreover, there were two servants closely guarding the outside of the study.

"How is the wound?" Su Zinong asked.

"I examined it myself. The wound wasn't large. The internal energy struck from behind, near the left side of the heart. There wasn't much blood loss at the scene, but the entire wound was yellowish and had a slightly burnt smell." Huang Chenghe also felt something was strange at the time, but he couldn't figure out why.

Su Zinong stood at the doorway and first scanned the study with his eyes, from left to right.

For a wealthy family, this study was indeed not large. It was rectangular, three zhang long and two zhang wide. There were three windows on the south side, and the north side had bookshelves neatly filled with books.

Placing the desk and chair with their backs to the window means the wind is blowing against their backs, which is considered bad feng shui.

The study was indeed very tidy, with no signs of being ransacked. The floor, however, was covered with a jumble of footprints from many people, making it impossible to tell who had left them.

"Did anyone check the doors and windows before the incident? Were they all closed?" Su Zinong carefully inspected the doors and windows inside and out, and asked the housekeeper.

"I didn't pay much attention to that. It was only later, when we discovered that the young master had stayed inside all day, that the master broke down the door and discovered the murder. The doors and windows were indeed locked from the inside at the time." The butler scratched his head.

"Steward, could you please invite Master Zhang over?" Su Zinong had been observing carefully for half an hour.

The steward nodded and hurried off to invite the owner, Zhang Tianchu.

"What did you find?" Huang Chenghe asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"It's not certain yet, there are some anomalies that we want to confirm." Su Zinong didn't want to reveal too much for the time being.

Zhang Tianchu was in his fifties, tall and imposing, with a square face. He wore all black, and his eyes held a hint of sadness, yet he remained polite.

Huang Chenghe gestured and introduced, "This is my friend Su Zinong. He is a smart man, so I asked him to take a look and see if he can be of any help."

"Chenghe, you flatter me. We don't need to be so polite. Has this room been untouched since the incident?" Su Zinong asked, turning his head to the side.

“No. The two servants outside are trustworthy.” Zhang Tianchu’s voice was slightly hoarse, but very firm.

"What can we find out from the eight blood-written characters on the desk?" Su Zinong pointed to the mahogany desk.

“Nothing was found.” Zhang Tianchu shook his head. “The handwriting is vigorous and powerful, but it is Huang’s cursive script. There are countless people who can write this style, so there is probably no clue.”

"Please come and take a look, Mr. Zhang." Su Zinong pointed to the floor next to the large window in the middle, directly opposite the desk.

There was some fine powder on the ground, like the ashes of burnt items.

“I also found it here, but I couldn’t confirm what it was. Maybe it was some kind of mosquito coil or sandalwood incense, but there was no incense stick. Since I couldn’t connect it to the murder case, I didn’t think about it any further.” Zhang Tianchu sighed.

“I’ve searched inside and out and found only two anomalies, one of which is this ash. We can’t confirm whether it’s related to the murder yet; we need to verify it. Are there any ribbons or similar items in the mansion? Also, are there any cultivators nearby who are skilled in fire magic or other pure Yang energy techniques?” Su Zinong asked repeatedly.

“The ribbons are easy to find; the warehouse should have them. As for those who practice fire magic, I have a good friend who is a member of the Fire God Sect and is currently a guest at the manor,” Zhang Tianchu replied.

"Please come here and bring the ribbon, along with a little bit of kerosene," Su Zinong instructed.

Zhang Tianchu didn't understand why, but for Huang Chenghe's sake, he did as he was told. Soon after, he brought over a short old man in white robes with a booming voice and a ruddy complexion.

Behind him was a servant carrying a white ribbon and a bottle of kerosene.

Su Zinong then carefully examined the bolt inside the window.

A little while later, Su Zinong took a ribbon, tied it securely to the window bolt, smeared the ribbon with kerosene, and threaded the other end out of the window. After closing the window, he went outside and walked around to the window.

Everyone frowned slightly, puzzled, wondering what Su Zinong was up to, acting mysteriously yet confidently.

Only Huang Chenghe appeared completely trusting, always wearing a smile, but inwardly he was insecure.

Su Zinong reached the window and gently pulled the ribbon down. The window latch slid down slowly and clicked into the locking slot, locking the window tightly and just like locking it from the inside.

“Young Master Su’s method is truly ingenious! However, when I came in to carefully inspect the window, there were no ribbons or anything like that tied up,” Zhang Tianchu said.

"Please invite Elder Ma of the Fire God Sect to demonstrate his divine skill. Please send pure Yang fire energy from outside the window onto this white ribbon and ignite it," Su Zinong said with a mysterious smile.

"It's just a trivial skill, I'll have to make a fool of myself with it." Although Elder Ma said he was making a fool of himself, he had a proud look on his face.

Lighting the ribbon was not difficult for the Fire God Sect; even Elder Ma's eldest disciple could do it with all his might.

Of course, it would be even more amazing if Elder Ma performed it. He first channeled his true energy into the entire ribbon, and then suddenly exerted his power. The entire ribbon burst into flames with a "boom", burning thoroughly and evenly without any residue.

Silk ribbons are inherently flammable, and when coated with kerosene, they become slippery and easily ignite.

In just a few breaths, the white ribbon had burned to ashes and fallen to the ground, the ashes being almost identical to those left behind.

“Master, this is not a real locked-room murder, but a disguised locked-room murder. Although I dare not say that my method is exactly the same as the murderer’s method, it is entirely possible!” Su Zinong said.

The weather at the time of the incident was similar to today's, with a cool breeze and a pleasant atmosphere. Zhang Yuncang was reading indoors, and at that time, he probably kept the windows open most of the time.

The murderer quietly crept to the window. Zhang Yuncang had his back to the window, but the newcomer was very agile and skilled, and was not detected. He struck out from behind with a palm strike, killing Zhang Yuncang.

Then he went inside, arranged Zhang Yuncang's body, wrote words in blood, and locked the other doors and windows from the study.

Then, take out a ribbon, smear it with kerosene, tie it to the bolt, jump out of the window, and pull down the bolt from the outside, just like Su Zinong did. Finally, use fire skills to burn the ribbon to ashes, making it look like a locked-room murder...