Zhong Li knitted her brows, recalling a famous general from a renowned novel who was just such a person. "I know of them, but I haven't seen them," she replied.
"Last night, they returned from outside but didn't enter the house. They all sat in the positions you saw earlier, staring blankly with their eyes open. At first, I thought they were deep in thought, or perhaps possessed. After observing them for a long time and seeing they hadn't moved, I snuck down to investigate. I discovered their breathing was even and their bodies were naturally vertical. They appeared to be asleep," Lin Jin said.
"How could this be?" Zhong Li exclaimed, disbelief flashing in her eyes. From what she knew, the condition of these people Lin Jin described sounded more like sleepwalking.
But collective sleepwalking? She had never witnessed such a thing.
"Miss Zhong," Lin Jin said, looking at the people still engaged in a frenzied battle below, a frown creasing his brow. "You say they went out for a bit and ended up like this. Rain County has a population of over a hundred thousand, and almost every household has posted a picture of this deity called 'Yayu' on their doors. Is this deity truly so powerful that it can bewitch so many followers?"
Zhong Li narrowed her eyes in thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't know that for sure at this moment. However, from my understanding, there isn't a single deity in this world with such potent magic. The problem must lie with their bodies."
As she spoke, she glanced at the first floor, where the bloody battle was nearing its end. She whispered something into Lin Jin's ear and quickly entered the house.
Half an hour later, after Zhong Li had finished feeding Lu Wuxie some thin congee, there were two knocks on the windowpane.
She walked over quickly and opened the window.
With a thud, an object wrapped in a white sheet was tossed inside. As the sheet rolled off the object, a corpse was revealed before Zhong Li's eyes.
"You were quite fast. Did they not discover you?" Zhong Li turned to ask Lin Jin, who had also flipped in through the window.
"No, I stole a corpse and came in from the backyard. The inn's attendant was entirely focused on picking through the corpses' purses and didn't notice me," Lin Jin replied.
Hearing this, Zhong Li walked to the window and looked down through the rain. She saw the inn's attendants and the proprietor carrying the corpses into the backyard, beginning to inspect the deceased's belongings and search for anything valuable.
"Judging by their proficiency, they're likely repeat offenders," Zhong Li remarked, closing the window.
Lin Jin let out a cold laugh. "Who isn't? The hall was in such chaos, and they never came out, just waiting to reap the benefits. They must be used to such scenes."
Zhong Li remained silent and crouched beside the corpse Lin Jin had 'stolen' back, beginning her examination.
Lin Jin, understanding the need for quiet, sat by Lu Wuxie, hugging his sword, and pretended to nap.
After a considerable while, Zhong Li stood up, holding a piece of flesh she had cut from the corpse, and sniffed it intently.
"Miss Zhong, what is it?" Lin Jin opened his eyes upon hearing the movement and glanced at the corpse, which had been re-covered with the white sheet. Knowing she had finished her examination, he asked.
Zhong Li took out her homemade tweezers from her medicine box, pinched the piece of flesh with them, and brought it closer to Lin Jin. "Smell it. Do you detect anything?"
Lin Jin leaned in and sniffed. His brows furrowed. "Aside from the smell of blood, there seems to be a faint scent of..."
"An unusual fragrance, right?" Zhong Li interjected.
Lin Jin nodded. "Could it be his habit of wearing or bathing in something?"
Zhong Li placed the flesh in a clean small dish, turned, and walked to the corpse. She pulled back the sheet and said, "The deceased was thin and wore simple clothing. Due to a leg disability, there are signs of wear on his trouser leg. He was certainly from the poorer side among those fighting. Someone like this wouldn't even have new clothes, so how could they use scented oils to wash themselves?
Furthermore, to be absolutely sure, I checked his belongings and found no sachets. Your idea doesn't hold water."
"Then where did this scent come from?" Lin Jin asked.
Zhong Li shook her head, indicating she didn't know for now. She casually re-covered the corpse with the sheet and said, "For now, the fatal wound appears to be a knife cut to the neck, likely from the fight. As for other matters, like why they transformed this way, the stomach contents revealed no suspicious related substances."
"This is strange. No medication, and within just one night, how could they become so frenzied and irritable?" Lin Jin muttered to himself, then suddenly remembered something. He quickly took something out of his怀. "Miss Zhong, see if this item is of any use to you."
Zhong Li took the small bottle from Lin Jin.
She opened the cap, and a pill rolled out.
She brought it to her nose and immediately a foul odor assailed her, nearly making her vomit.
"Where did it come from?" she asked Lin Jin.
Lin Jin replied, "When the proprietor and attendant were rummaging through the corpses, I found it in the hand of one of them. I thought it might be useful, so I took the risk to bring it here."
Zhong Li looked at the pill in her hand in silence. After a long while, her gaze swept over the windowpane, battered by the rain, and she asked, "Lin Jin, you mentioned you didn't sleep all night?"
"Yes!" Lin Jin nodded, faint bruises under his eyes.
"Then did you notice anything unusual during the night?" Zhong Li asked again.
Lin Jin furrowed his brow in thought. As if due to extreme fatigue, he shook his head. "No... no... I heard the sound of bells."
"Bells?" Zhong Li raised an eyebrow.
"Yes! But..." Lin Jin's brow furrowed even deeper.
"Please, speak freely."
Lin Jin said, "I don't know if it was my imagination. I might have dozed off while keeping watch. I heard it vaguely, and I don't know if it was a dream or reality."
"I see," Zhong Li took a deep breath and casually took out a small bottle from her怀, placing it in front of Lin Jin. "This snuff bottle is for you. On rainy or overcast days, people are naturally more prone to irritability, and coupled with your recent fatigue, it contains camphor, which will help you stay alert."
Lin Jin took it and tucked it into his怀. "Thank you, Miss Zhong."
Zhong Li shook her head and walked to the window. Seeing that there was no one in the backyard, only piles of corpses, she said, "I'm going out for a bit. Please watch over Mo Cang. If possible, you should also get some rest."
"Miss Zhong, you alone..."
"Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
With that, Zhong Li dragged the corpse in the room to the window, letting it roll into the backyard, and then jumped in herself.
The rain had not lessened compared to yesterday; if anything, it was intensifying.
Zhong Li put on the oilcloth hat she had prepared in Liao City and quickly walked towards the piles of corpses.
Half a day had passed since the fierce battle that morning, and combined with the rain, the rate of cooling for the corpses was faster than in a normal summer.
Zhong Li drew her dissection knife from her怀, randomly chose a corpse with fewer apparent wounds, and cut out a piece of flesh, bringing it to her nose to sniff again.
If the unusual fragrance she had smelled from the corpse Lin Jin brought back earlier was a coincidence, then the piece of flesh in her hand now also carried a faint, elusive fragrance, making her firmly believe that this scent was definitely problematic.
Just as she was about to continue searching the corpses for more clues, two arguing voices approached from a distance.
"Did you really not take that thing?"
"Boss, what did I take? I've been working right under your nose. How many times have you taken that thing? Am I going to care about this one?"
"Then it's strange. We've searched all the corpses and haven't found that thing. Could it be..."
"Impossible. I personally administered the medicine to the three people staying at the inn, and I saw them eat it. They've probably only just woken up. How could they have taken that thing?"
"Hmph, who knows? If we really can't find it, we'll have to take a risk."