"Exactly! That makes a lot of sense! Thank you for telling me all this; I was truly confused about what you were doing."
"You're welcome. As an Englishman who has lived here for so long, I know this place quite well!"
"Oh? So, Mr. Perseus, you're from England. I'm actually a big fan of J.K. Rowling and Arthur Conan Doyle's works."
"Really? Then Officer He and I should have plenty in common. I believe we can become good friends!"
Perseus's micro-expressions were perfectly normal. I had spoken with a probing tone, but he showed no sign of deception. Yet, as the last person to see Alilan before her death, I couldn't simply dismiss him as a suspect.
However, I let him leave for now. Returning to the others, after recounting the war story, Gao Mingqiang said, "Damn it! This village is really something. We can't leave now, so are we just stuck here?"
"Don't worry, we'll solve this case while we're here!" I said confidently.
"Great! That's great!" Gao Mingqiang became excited, and the others' morale was boosted.
The group followed me to a room where the body was being kept. The village had no refrigeration equipment, which made the body a problem, but that was how it had to be. We temporarily found a dilapidated shack to make do, and here we would study the case.
This dilapidated shack became our temporary base of operations for the Sin-Punishing Team.
Perseus provided us with a detailed map of the village. On the surface, he seemed more eager than any of us to catch Alilan's murderer.
We didn't go out to question anyone for the time being, but instead, we studied the map. The village had only about 50 households. Behind the valley, on the other side near Guangming City's Guangxu Town, was said to be a very ordinary industrial town, nothing special.
The local police station or police bureau was likely underdeveloped, but if possible, we would need to contact them for assistance.
The altar was located right in the center of the village. The village was dotted with countless caves, forests, ruins, and some Roman-era buildings. I had observed before that the villagers' houses were in a medieval architectural style, but most of them appeared to have been renovated, likely with Mr. Perseus's money.
If it weren't for this case, I wouldn't have imagined that China also had descendants of Romans.
"Alright! Everyone has a grasp of the village's situation. Now we'll split up. Gao Mingqiang, you're with me to visit Perseus's home. Xiahou, you and Xie Chuchu go to Uncle Alon's house!"
"Got it!" everyone replied. I then said to Zhang Keying and He Xin, "You two go and interview the other villagers. Try to get any information you can about Alilan!"
"Understood!"
After receiving their orders, everyone dispersed. Gao Mingqiang and I quickly arrived at Perseus's villa in Osiri. This archaeologist seemed quite interesting; his villa was designed like a castle. If I remembered correctly, this must be a condensed version of Constantinople! wap.kanshu5.net
Interesting! So very interesting!
Perseus was definitely a history enthusiast.
After passing the somewhat passable moat, Gao Mingqiang and I knocked on a gate. Gao Mingqiang couldn't help himself: "Haha, have we time-traveled back to ancient times?"
"We're on a case, be serious!"
Truth be told, I wanted to laugh too, but with a death on our hands, what was there to laugh about?
Soon, the gate opened as if to welcome two generals. Perseus emerged with several family members.
I saw a man of about 20 years old to his left, a girl of about 15 years old to his right, and behind him followed an elegant woman, then two elderly people.
Perseus's family seemed quite harmonious. Upon seeing us, Perseus was the first to step forward and politely say, "Officers, welcome, welcome!"
"No need to be so formal, Mr. Perseus. We are here today to conduct an investigation because the victim was your maid."
"I understand, I understand. I will cooperate with you fully!"
"Good, let's talk inside!"
"Please!" Perseus deferentially had his family members escort us inside. Upon entering, Gao Mingqiang and I exchanged a look. We were stunned by the classical medieval interior design.
Silver candlesticks were placed on the rectangular dining table, a simple fireplace was still burning, and old cabinets displayed soldier models. Noticing our strange expressions, Perseus quickly explained, "Officers, please don't mind. I'm a history buff and like to decorate my home in an antique style!"
"Oh, no problem. Then let's sit down and talk," I suggested.
Perseus quickly asked another maid to serve us tea, and Gao Mingqiang and I sat on the sofa.
We didn't drink the tea. Seeing our slight awkwardness, Perseus said, "Officers, you don't need to be nervous. Our Perseus family has been in this village for a very long time, and everyone trusts us. If it weren't for this incident, Uncle Alon wouldn't speak of us like that!"
"Is that so? The villagers don't seem to think very highly of you? Has it always been like this?" I probed.
"No, we actually got along well when we first arrived. I funded the renovation of their houses and built some tourist areas, attracting some visitors, which gradually made the village prosperous. Of course, they were grateful to me. But later, things changed. Because I wanted to reveal their legends to the public, these people seemed unwilling to say anything, forbidding me to do so. I told them it was just for the purpose of spreading the local culture, but they wouldn't listen. Then we started having conflicts, always arguing when we met. After that, I rarely came out. I never expected such a case to happen today."
As Perseus answered these questions, I kept my eyes on his reactions. He showed no signs of deception and appeared very natural. I had observed him several times without noticing anything unusual. But then I asked, "How was your relationship with Alilan?"
"Didn't we already cover this? Officer He, are you suspecting me? Rest assured, I have no motive, nor any reason to!"
At this moment, I was observing Perseus's hands. While facial expressions can be controlled, it's very difficult to control subtle hand movements when lying. However, his hands were very calm.
At this point, Gao Mingqiang, cooperating with me, said sternly, "Mr. Perseus, that's not what we mean. It's just procedure, and we will interview everyone who was closest to Alilan. We hope for your cooperation. For now, you just need to answer our questions!"