Seeing that everyone remained silent, the old man smiled slightly and said, "You are all people associated with Hollett, and in our investigation, you are the ones most likely to want to kill Hollett. Burt." He suddenly called out a name.
The young man with a dark complexion beside Dudian trembled and said, "I, I didn't kill him. I really didn't."
The old man gave him a deep look and said, "You have neither a wife nor a daughter. What were you doing buying roses at the flower shop on the night of the 25th?"
Dudian looked straight ahead and lowered his head to look at the tabletop in front of him.
The young man named "Burt" beside him trembled slightly and said, "I, I..."
"Speak!" The old man suddenly shouted loudly.
Dudian and the others were all startled.
Burt shuddered violently and quickly said, "I bought the flowers. I bought them to give to a girl I like. I, I have a crush on her."
The old man was slightly taken aback, narrowed his eyes, and said, "What's the girl's name?"
"Lu, Lucy," Burt lowered his head and said.
The old man nodded slightly and waved slightly to a Tribunal guard behind him, motioning for him to go out and investigate.
After the guard left, the old man didn't continue to ask more questions. He said to a middle-aged divine official in a white robe beside him, "Conduct a blood test."
The middle-aged man nodded slightly, placed the box in his hand on the table, and opened it. Inside was a steel nail with blood on it. He waved to a Tribunal guard beside him, and the latter immediately handed over a bowl and a small knife that had been prepared.
"If you have read the newspaper, you should know that this is the main murder weapon that killed Deacon Hollett," the old man's gaze quietly swept across the faces of Dudian and the other four people. "However, besides Deacon Hollett's blood on it, there is another type of blood. This blood is likely left by the criminal..." As he said this, his gaze fell on Dudian.
Dudian saw his expression and raised his eyebrows, saying, "You don't suspect it's me, do you?"
"Currently, the most suspicious person is you," the old man's face no longer had the previous kindness but showed some hatred and a sneer. "Three years ago, you were imprisoned for theft, and this case was personally handled by Deacon Hollett. Later, you escaped from the Thistle Flower Prison. This steel nail is a torture instrument from the Thistle Flower Prison, and you resented Deacon Hollett's judgment. After escaping from prison, you used the torture instrument that had been pierced into you to assassinate Deacon Hollett. This is a despicable revenge murder!"
Hearing his words, the four people beside Dudian were all stunned and looked at Dudian, who was sitting side by side with them, in disbelief. The most astonished one was the young man who had spoken earlier. Seeing that Dudian was not old and dressed simply, he had thought that Dudian was an ordinary commoner. He didn't expect that Dudian was a super criminal who had escaped from the extremely dangerous Thistle Flower Prison!
Thinking of his previous words, his eyelids twitched, and he subconsciously moved to the left.
Dudian calmly met the old man's gaze and said, "When Deacon Hollett died, I was still in prison. I don't understand what you mean by this escape from prison."
"Hmph! Boy, stop playing dumb!" The middle-aged man beside him said harshly, "Do you really think everyone is like those incompetents in the Thistle Flower Prison? Now that there is conclusive evidence, do you think you can get away with playing dumb? You should now pray for the noble who bailed you out. After the test is over, he will be charged with covering up a criminal, listed as an accomplice, and his family will be raided and his noble status will be revoked!"
Dudian stared coldly at him and said, "Before the result is verified, I hope you can shut your mouth. Divine officials rely on evidence, not words. Or did you take money from someone and want to find a scapegoat?"
"Damn it, what did you say?!" The middle-aged man slapped the table and stood up, pointing angrily at Dudian.
Dudian leaned back in his chair and shifted his gaze to the old man in front of him, saying, "Since you already have the evidence, there's no need to say more nonsense. Start the verification so that everyone can have some peace and quiet."
The old man said coldly, "You don't need to tell us that. We will conduct the verification ourselves." As he spoke, he said to the middle-aged man, "Start."
The middle-aged man gave Dudian a cold look and said, "Boy, you're the first. Stretch out your hand!"
Dudian stretched out his hand.
When the middle-aged man saw that he suddenly became obedient, he snorted coldly and rolled up his sleeve. Immediately, he saw dense whip marks and other scars on his arm, and he could even see the marks left by burns. His face couldn't help but change slightly.
The four people beside him also noticed the numerous scars on Dudian's hand and couldn't help but gasp. Just these countless scars made their scalps tingle.
"Serves you right!" The middle-aged man snorted softly, made a shallow cut on Dudian's wrist with the small knife, and the blood oozed out and dripped into the small bowl.
The young man beside him secretly glanced at Dudian. Seeing that he had a normal expression and didn't even frown, he secretly marveled in his heart. At the same time, he said to the middle-aged man, "Sir, don't you want to scrape the blood off the steel nail to see if it can dissolve with our blood?"
The middle-aged man glanced at him and said coldly, "If the investigation information didn't say that you had a motive for murder, with your intelligence, I wouldn't believe that you could commit a murder."
The young man stared and said, "What do you mean by that?"
The middle-aged man ignored him and waved his hand outside.
After a while, a Tribunal knight outside came in holding a box the size of a palm, placed the box on the table, and then stepped back.
The middle-aged man opened the box, and inside was a soft little worm. It was translucent all over, like crystal, chubby, and was wriggling slightly on the soft cotton pad inside the box.
"This is the 'Homologous Worm'," the middle-aged man looked at Dudian and sneered. "The bloodstain left on the steel nail has dried up and can't be tested. But the homologous worm can identify the same blood. Besides blood, it can also identify other identical substances."
After saying that, he held the small bowl in front of the box.
The blood floating in the bowl gave off a faint smell of blood, which quickly attracted the attention of the white and tender little worm in the box. It crawled out of the box, and many small, translucent claws under its body firmly stuck to the smooth bowl. It stuck its head into the bowl and sucked the blood.
After the blood entered its body, its body turned a reddish hue.
The middle-aged man held the blood-stained steel nail beside it in front of the worm and looked at it nervously and expectantly.
The white and tender little worm half stood upright, sniffed the steel nail gently. After a moment, it suddenly retracted its body and burrowed into the box.
Seeing this scene, the middle-aged man was immediately stunned.
The old man sitting opposite Dudian also changed his expression and repeatedly said, "Try again."
The middle-aged man came to his senses and held out the steel nail again.
The white and tender little worm showed no reaction and lazily lay in the box, wriggling its body.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man and the old man couldn't help but look at Dudian, their eyes filled with doubt. Although they had summoned five suspects this time, the person they suspected the most was Dudian. The bloodstain on the steel nail was excellent evidence. However, now, after the verification, besides Hollett's blood, the other blood on it wasn't Dudian's either?
If it wasn't his, whose could it be?
Could it really be just a coincidence?