A thick beam ran across the ceiling, supporting the weight of the floor above. It spanned the entire room, extending all the way to the partition wall.

Zhao Lin moved a table under the beam, climbed onto it, and ran his hand along the beam, pressing it inch by inch.

Near the partition wall, the beam was supported by a pillar, with a section of the beam jutting out just past it.

Zhao Lin pressed on it and immediately felt it give way. He gave it a gentle push from below and heard a soft CLICK.

He straightened up, looking down from his vantage point, and understanding dawned on him in an instant.

The protruding section of the beam was fitted into the main beam using a mortise and tenon joint.

To put it simply, it was like two clasped hands with interlaced fingers, resting on the pillar in a T-shape.

Normally, a mortise and tenon joint is extremely sturdy, but the mortise had clearly been tampered with. It had been hollowed out extra deep and propped up with a small, removable wooden peg.

It was as if the two hands were only interlocked at the fingertips, leaving a hollow space behind them.

Zhao Lin pulled out the peg, supported the protruding beam section, and pulled it back, sliding out a long piece of the beam.

An opening appeared in the middle of the wall, about two feet square—large enough for a person to pass through.

Using the light from the room, Zhao Lin peered into the opening and saw another large, thick beam running across the other side. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

’So that’s how it is,’ Zhao Lin realized. ’No wonder Sun Zhang didn’t find anything during his inspection.’

From Room 9’s perspective, the beams of the two rooms lined up perfectly, so even a careful inspection would reveal nothing amiss.

If Zhao Lin hadn’t already known there was a secret passage under Room 10 and deduced the killer’s escape route, he never would have discovered this.

At this point, the whole truth was very nearly within his grasp.

’The Shopkeeper is definitely a major suspect, but the man with the hoarse voice in the tunnel might be the real killer. They’re both tied to these two cases, and neither can escape responsibility!’

The suspects had been identified. The next step was to arrest them.

Zhao Lin restored the scene to its original state. After a moment of thought, he decided not to act rashly.

’How strong is the killer? How many exits does the tunnel have? If I try to make an arrest without figuring these things out, not only might I let the killer escape, but I could very well get myself killed.’

Besides, from the conversation he’d overheard, the person hiding in the tunnel wasn’t planning on leaving for the next few days.

「Early the next morning」 Zhao Lin rose and hurried to the magistrate’s office for the morning roll call.

The first thing Magistrate Liu did upon convening the morning court session was to ask Zhao Lin about the case’s progress.

"Reporting to Your Honor, I’ve already uncovered some clues. I should be able to apprehend the killer within two or three days," Zhao Lin said, stepping forward.

"Oh?"

Seeing Zhao Lin’s confidence, Magistrate Liu smiled. "And where is this suspect?"

Zhao Lin hesitated for a moment before replying, "Your Honor, the suspect is hiding in a very secluded location. For now, I only know the general area."

"Are you unwilling to disclose the details, Chief Zhao? Are you afraid we’ll steal your credit?"

Sun Zhang said in a snide, mocking tone.

Zhao Lin glanced at him and replied evenly, "What are you talking about, Chief Constable Sun? I’m simply worried our brothers will be too eager for merit and end up tipping off the suspect."

Magistrate Liu nodded. "Good. The case is in your hands; you have full authority. You only have three constables under you. Is that enough manpower?"

Since the Magistrate had opened the door, Zhao Lin didn’t stand on ceremony. "Your Honor is most thoughtful. For the arrest, I will need at least twenty to thirty constables to ensure there are no mistakes."

After speaking, he glanced at Sun Zhang and fell silent.

The implication was clear: he wanted the authority to command the constables of the Eastern District.

Sun Zhang shot him a furious glare, his eyebrows raised high, looking as if he were about to explode at any moment.

Zhao Lin stared straight ahead, pretending not to notice.

’When you’re stuck with a boss who constantly makes trouble for you and pins the blame, the best solution is to take his place.’

’Just showing weakness to protect yourself will only make you no better than a dog.’

Magistrate Liu was silent for a moment, then said, "As I mentioned a few days ago, Chief Constable Sun has been working hard on the night patrols. Therefore, the position of Chief Constable during the day will be filled by you, in an acting capacity."

"Today, I will reiterate: until this case is solved, the constables of the Eastern District must obey Zhao Lin’s command!"

Sun Zhang, Shi Dahai, and Jin Liqun exchanged glances. Reluctantly, they and the constables under them responded, "Yes, Your Honor!"

After the morning session concluded, Zhao Lin walked directly up to Sun Zhang and the others. He cupped his hands in a salute. "Chief Constable Sun, Chief Shi, Chief Jin."

Sun Zhang glanced back towards the magistrate’s dais, his face grim. "What is it?"

Zhao Lin said calmly, "To ensure that I can gather manpower immediately when needed, I must trouble you all to keep your men in line. For today and tomorrow, they are not to leave on other business. Everyone is to remain at the magistrate’s office on standby."

"What?"

Sun Zhang sneered. "You think we sit around doing nothing all day? What if there’s a public disturbance? What about the lawsuits we’re handling?"

Zhao Lin scratched his head, feigning difficulty. "Oh, so Chief Constable Sun has his difficulties. Well, in that case, I’ll just go talk to Magistrate Liu about it..."

"Stop!"

Sun Zhang’s face twitched uncontrollably. "Fine! Everyone on standby, is that it? Did you all hear him?"

He directed the last sentence at Shi Dahai, Jin Liqun, and their subordinates.

"We heard," the men replied in unison.

"Do as he says. If you can’t solve the case, I’ll settle the score with you later."

Sun Zhang threw out the threat and stormed out of the main hall.

Zhao Lin ignored him and gave Liang Song a task in a low voice: to investigate the background and identity of the Yunlai Inn’s Shopkeeper.

"Go directly to the docks and ask Tian Dabang for help. He’s met you before. Oh, and if he asks what it’s about, don’t mention the case."

"Don’t worry," Liang Song said. "Can’t go startling the snake."

After Liang Song left, Zhao Lin took He Qingquan and Tao Erleng to the storeroom of the magistrate’s office.

’If the coroner’s age estimate for the killer is accurate, then it’s highly likely this person has committed crimes elsewhere.’

’A person doesn’t just suddenly become a monster in their fifties.’

’For fugitive killers, the various prefectures would have issued wanted posters, offering rewards for their capture within their jurisdictions.’

’If the case was serious enough, they would even send notices across prefectural lines.’

Zhao Lin’s purpose in coming to the storeroom was to look through all the wanted posters Qinghe County had received over the years and find the origin of this serial rapist and murderer.

"Chief Zhao, what brings you here?"

The storeroom clerk greeted Zhao Lin respectfully upon his arrival.

Zhao Lin almost laughed out loud. ’I’ve just been made *acting* Chief Constable, and this clerk has already dropped the "acting" from my title. A true master of flattery.’

"It’s *Acting* Chief Constable," Zhao Lin corrected him.

"Yes, yes, of course, Acting Chief Zhao."

"Where are the wanted notices from the various prefectures and counties over the years? I’d like to take a look."

The clerk was taken aback. "Just the wanted posters?"

"Yes."

Seeing the clerk’s reaction, Zhao Lin guessed that no one had ever done something like this before.

In this era, there was no concept of data analysis. Even experienced constables rarely consulted historical documents, let alone wanted notices from other prefectures.

Whether it was the county office or the prefectural office, most officials only cared about sweeping the snow from their own doorsteps; they weren’t too concerned with cases from other jurisdictions.

Wanted notices were kept in the Justice Division for three years at most, after which they were tossed into storage to gather dust.

"Over here!"

The clerk searched the storeroom and found two stacks of wanted notices on a corner shelf. They were more than half a man’s height tall and covered in dust.

"You want all of them?" the clerk asked.

"Just the last fifty years," Zhao Lin said after a moment’s thought.

’The killer is in his fifties. Even if he started his evil deeds at the age of ten, fifty years’ worth of records should be enough.’

"Fifty years ago would be... the fifth year of the Hongxi era."

The clerk counted on his fingers for a moment, then sorted out the documents from the last fifty years and handed them to Zhao Lin.