Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie arrived at the meditation room at Chen Shi.
At this moment, the meditation room was surrounded by monks of all ages, each with a look of fear on their faces.
"Young Master." Wu Hui, as the chief disciple of Chen, naturally recognized Lu Wuxie's identity. Upon seeing him, he quickly stepped forward to pay his respects.
"What happened?" Lu Wuxie, abandoning his usual nonchalance, asked in a serious tone.
Wu Hui glanced back at his disciples.
Simultaneously, everyone made way for Lu Wuxie.
"Replying to Young Master, someone died in the meditation room," Wu Hui said.
"Meditation room? So early?" Lu Wuxie was puzzled. He knew that those who appeared in the meditation room at such an early hour were usually monks. And from Wu Hui's use of 'someone' instead of a monk's Dharma name, he deduced that the person inside was likely a lay pilgrim.
Wu Hui nodded and said, "Yes, it was Steward Zhao, who came to find the Abbot yesterday. He never left the meditation room. This morning when I brought breakfast into the room, I found him dead."
Hearing Wu Hui's words, Zhong Li looked up at the meditation room opposite. Wasn't that the room she had tried to enter yesterday but was stopped by Wu Hui?
Lu Wuxie led Zhong Li to the front of the meditation room. Just as he was about to reach out and push the door open, Wu Hui quickly stepped in front of them.
"Young Master..." Wu Hui's expression was hesitant.
Lu Wuxie stared at him, waiting for him to finish.
Wu Hui lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then said, "Young Master, what I mean is... it's too horrific inside. You should be mentally prepared."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhong Li bypassed him and pushed open the meditation room door.
Almost simultaneously, a pungent, bloody stench washed over them like a tidal wave.
"Oh heavens, how gruesome."
"Ugh... so disgusting."
"Amitabha."
The monks gathered outside the meditation room, upon seeing the scene inside, all wore expressions of fear and nausea.
Zhong Li's gaze was icy as she surveyed the scene. The small meditation room, approximately two zhang square, was already stained with blood and minced flesh. In the center stood a low-legged tea table and a meditation cushion, both soaked in blood and pulp. Beside the tea table, a 'lump of flesh' was curled up.
"What is that?" Lin Jin, standing behind Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie, also looked curiously at the situation inside.
"Ah! It moved!"
As his question escaped his lips, the lump of flesh trembled. The curious monks around all showed surprised expressions.
Zhong Li's eyes darkened. She pulled Lu Wuxie into the room and, with a swipe of her hand, closed the meditation room door.
The sound of her action caused the lump of flesh to tremble even more violently.
Zhong Li's fingertips touched her waist, preparing to take out her dissection knife. Unexpectedly, the lump of flesh suddenly emitted a few 'squeaking' sounds. In an instant, several large rats, covered in blood and flesh, emerged from the lump and scurried into a rat hole in the corner of the meditation room, disappearing.
At the same time, the lump of flesh flipped over. It was not what she had expected; it was a corpse, gnawed beyond recognition.
"Rats eating people," Lu Wuxie stated his conclusion.
Zhong Li remained silent, her gaze fixed on the rat hole, her mind echoing the same thought. However, she soon felt a pang of doubt.
What kind of rats would eat people?
As everyone knew, rats were omnivorous. Whether it was rice, flour, or some meat, they were generally indiscriminate about what humans ate. Theoretically, rats eating people was plausible, but that was usually in times of famine, and most of the flesh consumed by rats was from corpses. As for live humans...
Zhong Li pondered for a moment. Such cases were extremely rare. Moreover, Lingshan Temple was not short of food. No matter how desperate rats were, they wouldn't be foolish enough to eat live humans and risk being caught.
With this thought, her gaze fell upon the corpse by the tea table, which had been gnawed beyond recognition. Although bloodstains had covered the original color of the floor, she could faintly see some oily residue on the ground.
She quickly put on gloves and stepped forward to examine it.
"How is it?" Lu Wuxie asked.
Zhong Li's expression turned grim. She looked back and replied, "As expected, it's sesame oil."
"Sesame oil?" Lu Wuxie heard this and his gaze fell on the hole where the large rats had disappeared. He said, "You mean this person was murdered?"
Zhong Li did not give Lu Wuxie a definitive answer. Instead, she looked up at the three teacups and the pot of tea on the tea table.
The purple clay teapot for the tea was nearly empty. Based on the unfurling of the tea leaves and the color of the tea, this pot of tea had been brewed at least three times, and it was time to change the water.
As for the three teacups, one was inverted, appearing unused. One was filled with tea, with a few faint bloodstains sprinkled on it. The other teacup was overturned on the table, with not much tea remaining, only having stained a small part of the tea table.
Afterwards, Zhong Li's gaze swept across the windows and doors of the meditation room, and she even checked the skylight above.
After a long while, she stood up, took out a small bag of white powder from her medicine box, and began to busy herself.
Watching her actions, Lu Wuxie turned and walked towards the exit of the meditation room.
After Zhong Li sprinkled white powder around the corpse and completed the trace fixation, the meditation room door was opened again. Lin Jin, leading three guards who had accompanied them, stood at the doorway and said, "Brother Zhong, Young Master said he would be away for a moment and asked me to wait here to assist you."
Zhong Li looked back, observing the meditation room entrance where only Wu Hui was still waiting, while everyone else had left. She understood.
She stood up and walked to the door, saying, "Guard Lin."
Lin Jin cupped his fist in greeting.
"Kindly find a stretcher to carry the body away."
"Alright!" Lin Jin nodded.
As he turned to give instructions, Zhong Li added, "Before that, kindly ask Guard Lin to find someone who knows how to paint and sketch the scene in this room."
"Alright!" Lin Jin nodded again and led the other three to act separately.
"Master Wu Hui." Zhong Li glanced at the monk standing at the door, watching the situation inside with concern.
Wu Hui came back to himself and said to Zhong Li, "Amitabha, such a tragic event occurring in a sacred Buddhist place..."
"Master Chen, until what time was Master Liao Chen here yesterday?" Zhong Li asked.
Wu Hui thought for a moment and said, "Master probably left around Shen Shi yesterday."
Zhong Li thought about it. Yesterday, the Buddha's tears appeared in the morning, and Chen arrived at the Great Hall of Heroes close to noon. It seemed he had eaten and then entered the meditation room. "Then, did you bring tea to him yesterday?"
"I suppose so," Wu Hui frowned.
"How so?"
"Amitabha, it was like this," Wu Hui explained. "Yesterday, around Shen Shi, I was carrying tea to refill Master's cup. But Master said he would be leaving soon and didn't need tea, so I took the tea elsewhere."
"He?" Zhong Li noticed the word 'he' used by Wu Hui and asked, "Do you know if your Master was referring to himself or..."
She stopped speaking halfway.
Wu Hui naturally understood Zhong Li's meaning and said, "Benefactor, you may not know, Steward Zhao was a capricious person, and Steward Zhao's eating and drinking habits were very regular."
"How so?"
"Steward Zhao has always respected Master. Master had helped him when his family faced difficulties, so whenever he had free time, he would come to Lingshan Temple to find Master. On one hand, he came to do good deeds and solicit donations; on the other, he sought Master's guidance in Buddhist studies.
Sometimes, when Master left, he would stay alone for the night. Other times, when Master left, he would also leave shortly after. Moreover, Steward Zhao always paid attention to his health and would not drink a single drop after You Shi, even if he stayed in the meditation room. Therefore, I don't know if Master's 'he' referred to himself or Steward Zhao."
Zhong Li was not surprised by Wu Hui's answer. Some ancient people were very particular about their health. To prevent puffiness when waking up the next day, they would not consume anything after a certain hour.
Although Liao Chen left the meditation room at Shen Shi, the water on the table was enough for Zhao Jun to drink for an hour. Thus, his refusal of Wu Hui to bring tea was understandable.
"Does Master Liao Chen know about Zhao Jun's accident?" Zhong Li pondered for a moment and then asked Wu Hui.
Wu Hui shook his head.
"With such a major event, why wasn't the Abbot notified?"