Chapter 72: Exposed

Earlier, Chen Xiaobei asked Cui Banxian if he had seen anyone go to Chen Anbang's house or pass by his door.

Cui Banxian's answer was no, he hadn't seen anyone, not a soul.

At first glance, this answer seemed fine, but upon closer thought, it raised some issues.

This implied that Cui Banxian had passed by Chen Anbang's house before, otherwise, he would have simply said he had never been there, or something along those lines.

There was also another point: without Chen Xiaobei saying anything, Cui Banxian already became very wary and asked if he thought he had harmed Chen Anbang. This indicated that Cui Banxian was guilty.

So even if Cui Banxian wasn't the one who harmed Chen Anbang, it was likely that there had been some kind of conflict between them.

Watching Chen Xiaobei walk away, Cui Banxian began to feel uneasy. He hadn't expected Chen Ping to report to the authorities.

The worst part was that someone had seen him go to Hetou Village.

The more Cui Banxian thought about it, the more afraid he became. He gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and decided that he couldn't stay any longer. "The best course of action is to leave, and fast."

Thinking this, Cui Banxian hurried back into his house, grabbed a few belongings, and wrapped up the few taels of silver he had saved.

With his bundle on his back, Cui Banxian quickly ran out of the village.

At that moment, Chen Xiaobei returned to Hetou Village.

He found Elder He sitting under the big locust tree, looking at a loss.

Upon asking, he learned that Elder He and his men had questioned almost every villager, but hadn't found any useful clues.

This situation was actually within Chen Xiaobei's expectations.

Sometimes, when you're walking down the road, and you look back, you might not even notice if someone was standing there in the distance.

Seeing Chen Xiaobei arrive, Elder He simply nodded in acknowledgment but didn't speak.

Chen Xiaobei sat down next to him. "Head Constable He, I just went to Cui Banxian's village and talked to him. I feel that there are many suspicious points about him."

Hearing this, Elder He immediately stood up.

Now, Cui Banxian had become Elder He's lifeline. They had searched the entire Hetou Village and found no clues, so hearing that the fortune teller seemed suspicious made him very excited.

This sudden reaction startled Chen Xiaobei.

"Head Constable He, what do you mean by this?"

Elder He seemed impatient. "If there's suspicion, we need to investigate thoroughly."

"Cui Banxian's house is easy to find. Enter the village, walk a bit, and on the north side of the road, there are a few thatched huts." Chen Xiaobei picked up a stick, intending to draw a simple map on the ground.

Elder He grabbed his arm. "Xiaobei, take me there. Let's interrogate this Cui Banxian properly."

As they spoke, Elder He didn't waste any time and grabbed Chen Xiaobei, pulling him outside.

Upon entering the village, the village guards from Cui Banxian's village immediately came up to greet them.

They bowed and saluted, showing great respect.

Seeing this, Chen Xiaobei couldn't help but feel impressed.

When Elder He arrived, things were indeed different; he commanded respect.

Earlier, when Chen Xiaobei came by himself, they didn't even acknowledge him.

Elder He nodded to the village guards and said in a loud voice, "Where is Cui Banxian's house? Take me to him."

Upon hearing this, the village guards were shocked. They looked at Elder He with some apologetic expressions. "Head Constable He, we're terribly sorry, but Cui Banxian left the village earlier. He said he was going to do a fortune-telling for someone."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaobei grew anxious. This was definitely an attempt to flee in the face of guilt.

Elder He quickly understood, confirmed the direction, and hurriedly led his men in pursuit.

After leaving the village, Cui Banxian quickly started running, but being an elderly man, he couldn't go far before he was out of breath.

He barely made it a short distance before he had to stop, sitting on a stone by the roadside, panting heavily.

From a distance, he saw Chen Xiaobei and his men chasing after him.

Cui Banxian cursed inwardly, looked around, and spotted a bush nearby. Without hesitation, he dived into it.

Chen Xiaobei had actually seen him already. To be fair, even if he hadn't seen him initially, once the man dived into the bush, the movement of the branches made it obvious.

Elder He waved his hand, and a few constables rushed forward, pulling Cui Banxian out like a dog caught by the collar.

"Everyone, what are you doing?" Cui Banxian exclaimed, his face full of panic.

Elder He asked calmly, "Cui Banxian, where do you think you're going?"

Cui Banxian awkwardly smiled, "Sir, as a fortune teller, I roam the world, and I don't really know where I'm going."

Nonsense. This was absolutely nonsense.

Chen Xiaobei immediately stepped forward. "Cui Banxian, stop pretending. First, I go to find you to inquire about the situation, and then you run off. Something's definitely wrong here."

Cui Banxian ramped up his performance again, "Sir, as the saying goes, 'Those who don't manage the household don't know how expensive the daily needs are.'"

Saying this, he wiped his eyes and began to cry.

"I'm just an old man, alone and without a meal, if I don't go out and do fortune-telling, I'll starve."

This was just absurd.

Of course, Elder He didn't believe such nonsense.

"Cui Banxian, I now suspect that you are involved in Chen Anbang's death. You need to come with me."

Cui Banxian pointed at Chen Xiaobei and immediately spoke up, "I already told Captain Xiaobei that I didn't see anything. What else do you want me to say?"

Chen Xiaobei snorted, "Someone saw you pass by Chen Anbang's door, right?"

Elder He glanced at Chen Xiaobei and thought to himself, how come I haven't found this witness?

But when he saw Chen Xiaobei wink at him, Elder He instantly understood—it was a trick.

Sure enough, Cui Banxian panicked. "I passed by his door, but that doesn't prove anything."

"Then why didn't you say so when I asked you?" Chen Xiaobei coldly stared at Cui Banxian.

"Well, I... I was just nervous, I was nervous!" Cui Banxian said, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.

Elder He was starting to lose his patience. "Then let me ask you, if you were just passing by, why did you run?"

"Sir, as I said earlier, I was going to do some fortune-telling for someone."

Chen Xiaobei pointed at the bundle on his back. "What do you take with you when you go fortune-telling?"

Elder He turned around, and a constable stepped forward to take the bundle off his back. When it was opened, several clothes fell out, and along with them, copper coins and silver clinked to the ground.

"Do you need to bring this with you to do fortune-telling?" Chen Xiaobei coldly asked.

Initially, Elder He had been skeptical of Cui Banxian's words, but when he saw the silver fall out, he understood—Cui Banxian had been trying to escape.

Going out for fortune-telling with so much silver? That didn't make sense.

"Cui Banxian, who brings silver when they go fortune-telling? You were clearly trying to escape."

Elder He waved his hand. "Take him back and interrogate him thoroughly."

Soon, Cui Banxian was tied to the big locust tree in Hetou Village.

Then, Chen Ping arrived with his men.

"Cui Banxian, give me back my grandfather's life!" Chen Ping shouted, raising the kitchen knife and rushing forward.

Seeing this, Chen Xiaobei quickly stepped forward and blocked him.

"Brother Chen Ping, don't be hasty. Let's wait for Head Constable He to finish the interrogation."