Chapter 57: Entangled Karmic Retribution and Bloody Murder, Yin Solves the Unsolved Mystery

Li Chengyin hurried back to the county yamen and locked himself in the study, pacing back and forth within the narrow space. Every step seemed laden with his deep contemplation and pursuit of the case.

He knew all too well that he was facing a meticulously minded and cruelly ruthless murderer. Without devising a foolproof plan, capturing him would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

Suddenly, a flash of determination crossed his eyes, and a comprehensive plan to lure the snake out of its hole rapidly formed in his mind.

He immediately summoned his guards, deploying every step in meticulous detail. Every aspect had been thoroughly considered by him. The guards accepted their orders and departed, each carrying their mission to make careful preparations.

Li Chengyin ordered notices to be posted across the streets and alleys of the city, announcing that a suspected serial killer had recently been successfully captured and that a grand public trial would be held in front of the county yamen three days later.

Simultaneously, he secretly arranged for a group of plainclothes guards to scatter into every corner of the city, keeping a close eye on anyone who showed an abnormal reaction to the notices.

As soon as the notices were posted, they instantly caused an uproar throughout the city. The townspeople gathered in crowds before the notices, discussing animatedly as various speculations and rumors spread like a rising tide.

At this moment, the murderer, Zhao Peng, was also mingling in the crowd, hearing the news.

Zhao Peng had originally been an ordinary young man. Five years ago, he had a chance encounter with a woman named Liu Xiaochun and fell deeply in love.

Back then, they had eyes only for each other, filled with boundless and beautiful aspirations for the future, firmly believing they could walk hand in hand through life.

Every smile and frown of Liu Xiaochun was deeply engraved in Zhao Peng's heart. They had strolled together in the blooming spring days and embraced under the tranquil moonlight, pouring out their most sincere love to each other and making solemn vows never to be parted.

Zhao Peng had once believed that he possessed the most precious happiness in the world, as if he could see a long path of life paved with flowers extending beneath his feet.

However, fate unawares bared its ferocious fangs at him.

Liu Xiaochun ultimately betrayed him mercilessly, choosing to marry a wealthy lord of vast fortune.

On that day, Zhao Peng watched helplessly as Liu Xiaochun, dressed in gorgeous bridal attire, receded into the distance in a bridal sedan chair. His world instantly collapsed, his heart seemingly slashed to pieces by countless sharp blades, and despair and rage drowned him completely like a surging flood.

He screamed frantically in his heart:

Why? Why must she so cruelly betray our love? I gave her my absolute sincerity; is it truly so utterly worthless in her eyes?

After that, Zhao Peng's inner self was consumed by the raging flames of hatred. The former affection had long since vanished, leaving only endless resentment.

Thus, on a pitch-black night, he sneaked like a ghost into the household where Liu Xiaochun had married.

A frantic gleam flickered in his eyes. Holding a torch in his hand, he ignited the house without the slightest hesitation.

The fire spread rapidly, illuminating the night sky with blazing flames. The miserable screams of that family echoing from the sea of fire sounded like a demonic carnival, while Zhao Peng stood in the distance, watching it all coldly without the slightest pity or remorse.

This massive fire shocked the entire Que County, becoming a horrifying tragedy on the lips of the people.

Yet, the officials at the time, due to various reasons, failed to notice anything amiss and hastily concluded the case as an accidental fire, allowing Zhao Peng to escape the punishment of the law.

After seeking his revenge, Zhao Peng did not find inner relief or peace.

He remained hopelessly immersed in the pleasant memories of the past with Liu Xiaochun. Those sweet bygone days now acted like a fatal poison, continuously eroding his soul.

His mind gradually grew twisted and deformed, stubbornly believing that Liu Xiaochun should never have betrayed him. Consequently, he began frantically searching the entire city for women who shared Liu Xiaochun's appearance.

Whenever he found a target, he would proactively approach them, disguising himself with deep affection to romance them, attempting to recapture the feeling of being with Liu Xiaochun through them.

However, as time passed, the demon within him became increasingly uncontrollable.

Whenever those women committed even the slightest "transgression" in his eyes—such as an accidental glance exchanged with another man or a casual greeting—he would immediately conclude that they were betraying him, just as Liu Xiaochun had done years ago.

Driven by this crazed and distorted obsession, he subsequently and brutally murdered those two women, and secretly continued his search for his next target. His heart was filled with an evil fixation:

All these women must pay with their lives for their "betrayal."

Three days later, the area in front of the county yamen was thronged with people and extraordinarily bustling. Townspeople rushed in from all directions, all eager to witness this highly anticipated trial with their own eyes.

And Zhao Peng arrived at the scene with a complex mix of apprehension and a trace of curiosity. Inwardly, he felt a secret wonder:

His actions had clearly been covert and he had not been captured; why would a suspect suddenly appear?

At that moment, Li Chengyin appeared imposingly upon the elevated platform, his gaze sweeping slowly across the crowd like a sharp sword.

Suddenly, his eyes locked onto Zhao Peng with the precision of a falcon.

A jolt of shock went through Zhao Peng, and a strong sense of ominous foreboding instantly surged into his mind. His heartbeat accelerated abruptly, feeling as though it might leap out of his throat: Could he have discovered something?

Li Chengyin's booming voice resounded across the entire venue:

"Bring the true murderer forward!"

Several guards were seen escorting a person with a covered head onto the platform. Li Chengyin then spoke in a loud voice:

"This man has confessed. He was instigated by someone else to commit these two murders, and the person who directed him is among you all."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Peng initially felt a wave of relief, secretly rejoicing: Fortunately, fortunately it is not me.

Just as he believed he could successfully escape his crimes and slightly relaxed his vigilance, Li Chengyin pointed directly at him like a flash of lightning:

"Zhao Peng, did you really think you could deceive the world and cross the sea?"

Zhao Peng's complexion instantly turned as pale as paper, and he instinctively turned to run. However, the surroundings had long been sealed off impenetrably by guards; before he could take a single step, he was swiftly subdued.

Li Chengyin walked down the elevated platform with steady strides, coming to a stop before Zhao Peng with a gaze as icy as the frost of midwinter:

"Your crimes were bound to be exposed under the light of day after all. From the moment you murdered those two innocent women, your tragic end was already predestined."

At this moment, Zhao Peng's heart was filled with endless remorse and terror. His body trembled incessantly as he screamed frantically in his thoughts:

How could I have fallen to such an end? I merely wanted to punish those who betrayed me; can that possibly be wrong?

After being dragged down into the dungeons, under Li Chengyin's stern interrogation, Zhao Peng finally confessed his crimes and the underlying motives hidden for many years point by point.

Looking at the confession in his hands, Li Chengyin was filled with myriad emotions.

This thrilling tragedy had all stemmed from the betrayal of love, yet driven by hatred, it had snowballed into an even greater evil, causing countless wounds and deaths.

He deeply understood that the emotional entanglements and hatreds of this world were like a double-edged sword; if not treated with reason and tolerance, they would ignite unimaginable disasters and plunge countless people into the abyss of suffering.

Following this battle, Li Chengyin's prestige among the people soared to the skies, and the affection between him and Xiaofeng grew all the more unbreakable through the trials of wind and rain they had experienced together. They continued to walk hand in hand, striving tirelessly for the peace, prosperity, and justice of this land.