The Yi Zhuang was located west of Yong Cheng, bordering the chaotic burial mound.
By the time Zhong Li and the others arrived, it was past noon.
“Your Highness, Temple Master Zhong, the body is inside.” Dong Qing stood at the entrance of the Yi Zhuang, gesturing for them to enter.
Lu Wuxie glanced at Dong Qing with a faint, cold smile. His little schemes were quite transparent.
Dong Qing’s cheeks flushed as he let out two dry chuckles. “Your Highness, this is my birth year. If I go inside, I might cause a clash and attract unclean spirits. If I were to be tainted by any of them, it wouldn’t be good for Your Highness, would it?”
Lu Wuxie ignored him, pushed open the door, and led Zhong Li into the courtyard.
“Who’s there!” the moment they stepped inside, a hoarse voice echoed from within the Yi Zhuang.
Zhong Li followed the sound and saw a hunched old man holding a shovel, watching them from not far away.
“Are you Master Hao?” Zhong Li asked, her gaze fixed on the old man’s face. She couldn’t tell how old he was; his hair was entirely white, and his skin was so loose that his eyelids seemed about to fall onto his eye bags.
“You are…” Old Man Hao mumbled, his eyes sweeping over Dong Qing, who stood at the entrance. He instantly understood.
He let out a cold laugh, muttering, “Another two useless idlers,” before saying, “Follow me.” Without waiting to see if Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie could keep up, he headed directly towards the house.
Early spring was already cold, and the Yong Cheng Yi Zhuang had not been repaired for many years. As Zhong Li stepped inside, a chill wind swept towards her, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
“Are you cold?” Lu Wuxie, walking beside her, asked in a low voice.
Zhong Li shook her head. Before she could answer, an outer cloak scented with dragon saliva was draped over her shoulders.
“Your Highness… aren’t you…” she exclaimed in surprise, attempting to return the garment.
Seeing her action, Lu Wuxie wrapped an arm around her shoulders, fastened the collar button, and said, “I’m not as sensitive to the cold as I used to be. Don’t worry.”
With that, he glanced at Old Man Hao, who was several steps ahead, and quickly followed.
Zhong Li looked at his retreating back, then lowered her gaze to the cloak on her body. It seemed Lu Wuxie had overcome his psychological barriers.
“This one was brought in yesterday. The one at the very back is from a year ago. Be careful when you walk, these are all ‘sleeping’ and not yet buried. It’s not good to wake them!” Old Man Hao pointed to a corpse in front of them and a wooden plank bed covered with a white sheet at the back, speaking.
Zhong Li walked to Old Man Hao’s side and nodded in acknowledgment. As for his mention of the corpses sleeping, in some regions, there was such a belief that if a corpse was not yet buried, its soul had not found peace. Those working near them had to be quiet and respectful, lest they incur the displeasure of the deceased and bring misfortune upon themselves.
“This must be Qi Shuishui, right?” Lu Wuxie looked at the white sheet in front of him and gently pulled it off.
As his words fell, a headless corpse, with its hands and feet severed, was revealed before them.
Zhong Li had seen gruesome corpses before, so she felt nothing.
As for Lu Wuxie, despite seeing many dead bodies in the Judicial Inspection Office, the sight of this headless corpse still made his eyebrows twitch slightly.
Zhong Li took out two scent-repelling pills from her waist, gave one to Lu Wuxie, and took one herself.
Once everything was prepared, the two began their work.
Following the usual procedure for autopsies, Zhong Li first examined the front, back, and skin of the corpse, confirming there were no fatal injuries other than the severed parts. Then, she began the dissection.
“This killer is likely a serial offender,” Zhong Li said, taking out a scalpel and continuing her work.
“How so?” Lu Wuxie, wearing gloves, assisted Zhong Li.
Zhong Li extended a finger and pointed to the victim’s neck. “Look at these marks.”
Lu Wuxie followed her fingertip. “The cut is so neat. It should have been a single stroke. And judging by the angle of the wound, can you guess what kind of weapon it was?”
Zhong Li thought for a moment, shook her head, then nodded again. “I have a suspicion, but I’m not very sure.”
“Speak your mind,” Lu Wuxie said.
Zhong Li looked at the corpse again. “When I was examining the surface of the body earlier, I noticed that the livor mortis was mostly distributed on the back. This means the deceased was lying on their back after death.”
Lu Wuxie nodded; he had noticed this earlier as well.
“Now look at the wounds on the deceased’s head, hands, and feet. Especially the hands and feet, if you look closely, there’s no sign of blood coagulation. Even if it’s difficult to discern due to the body soaking in water for a long time, it can be determined from the muscle contraction that the wounds did not gape. Therefore, there is only one possibility: the deceased’s head and limbs were severed after death,” Zhong Li analyzed.
Lu Wuxie looked at the woman opposite him in surprise at this point.
He could understand the general meaning of her words, but when it came to things like blood coagulation or gaping, he couldn’t understand a single word. This made him recall her previous mention of her lineage, wondering if she had indeed learned from someone like a Thomas.
Zhong Li, not noticing Lu Wuxie’s drifting thoughts, continued her analysis. “If the deceased was beheaded at the time of death, what kind of weapon would be so sharp, yet have such great force to create such a neat incision?
Also… the killer’s aim is excellent. The hands and feet were cut off precisely at the wrists and ankles. And this neck, less than twenty centimeters long, could be cut so smoothly?”
Hearing Zhong Li’s perplexed words, Lu Wuxie suddenly thought of something.
He met Zhong Li’s gaze, and they both spoke in unison, “A cleaver!”
Zhong Li was surprised that Lu Wuxie had reached the same conclusion. After a moment of surprise, she smiled knowingly and lowered her gaze, continuing with her work.
Lu Wuxie was momentarily dazed by her smile. He quickly regained his composure, looked at Zhong Li, who was still intently examining the internal organs of the corpse, then glanced at the sunset glow appearing outside the window. He quickly walked out of the Yi Zhuang and returned with a candlestick in his hand.
Time always passed too quickly when it was most needed.
By the time Zhong Li finished her work, it was nearing midnight.
Lu Wuxie took the autopsy report she handed him and sat beside another corpse that was almost reduced to bones, checking it while keeping Zhong Li company as she examined the bodies.
Although he had roughly guessed that Qi Shuishui might have been poisoned before being decapitated and dismembered, he was still somewhat stunned when he saw the name of the poison on the report.
Meng Li Huan?
He knew this poison. Legend had it that those poisoned would experience intense hallucinations, either of pain or pleasure, depending on how the poisoner operated. After these hallucinations ended, the person would die with severe pain and bleeding from all seven orifices.
However, this poison was very complicated to prepare, and even a slight misstep in the ingredients could fail to achieve the desired effect. Qi Shuishui was merely a prostitute; with whom had she incurred such deep enmity to be tortured in such a manner?
“Your Highness!”
As Lu Wuxie was pondering, Zhong Li’s voice sounded in his ear.
He put down the autopsy report in his hand and looked up.
“Indeed, the killer who murdered this person is the same one who murdered Qi Shuishui.”
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