“That is correct,” Wu Hui said. “Yesterday, Master specifically informed this humble monk that he was going into seclusion for his Buddhist practice, and that we should not disturb him unless it was a matter of great importance.”
Upon hearing this, Zhong Li’s face showed confusion. “Wasn’t it Master Liao Chen’s turn to chant scriptures for the young lord’s mother today?”
“Indeed, it was,” Wu Hui quickly explained. “Master has never broken a promise he made to someone. As for the appointment with the young lord, it was scheduled for the afternoon. Generally, Master would not come out before the appointed time.”
“Then, after the Shen hour, did Wu Hui see anyone else enter the meditation room?” Zhong Li inquired again.
At this moment, Wu Hui could not give Zhong Li a definite answer.
He shook his head with a troubled expression. “Donor Zhong, it is like this. Ling Shan Temple is open to the public. Except for some special rooms, visitors can enter and exit many areas freely. Moreover, there was some commotion yesterday, and all the disciples were chanting scriptures in the afternoon. We truly do not know.”
“Alright, thank you, Master Wu Hui,” Zhong Li said, making a gesture of cupped hands to Wu Hui.
Wu Hui returned the gesture and turned to leave.
“Wait.” Zhong Li thought for a moment and called out to stop him.
Wu Hui turned back.
“Is it convenient to see Master Liao Chen now?” Zhong Li asked. After all, according to Wu Hui’s account, Liao Chen was the last person to see Zhao Jun, and he might know something.
Wu Hui shook his head. “I apologize, Donor Zhong. The abbot instructed that no one should disturb him. You should wait a little longer.”
With that, Wu Hui turned and left.
At this moment, only Zhong Li remained outside the meditation room. She looked up at the sky, which was turning the color of fish belly. Just as she was about to continue her investigation, Lin Jin came running from a distance, bringing a man dressed as a scholar with him.
“Brother Zhong,” he seemed to have run in a bit of a hurry. As soon as he saw Zhong Li, he greeted her while panting heavily.
Zhong Li stopped her steps towards the meditation room and looked at the man following Lin Jin. She then glanced at the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone he was holding, guessing the reason for his presence. “Are you from the yamen’s painting department?”
When Lin Jin heard this, he waved his hands repeatedly and grabbed the scholar by the collar.
“Cough, cough!” The scholar, caught by Lin Jin, was already out of breath from running. He immediately became even more deprived of oxygen, his face turning red.
“Suqing County is small and does not have a painter. I found this boy at a street stall. I thought his drawing skills were good, so I brought him along,” Lin Jin said.
Zhong Li was taken aback. She sized up the scholar, who was wearing a washed-out white shirt and a slightly tilted hat. He looked so frail that she was genuinely afraid he might faint upon seeing the scene.
However…
Having someone is better than having no one. Drawing the scene was an essential step.
“Come in,” Zhong Li stepped aside, gesturing towards the entrance.
The young scholar looked at the ‘young brother’ opposite him, who was similar in height and build, but exuded a powerful aura. He nodded, tightened his grip on the brush and ink, and prepared to walk in.
Zhong Li said, “Be mentally prepared. If you need to throw up, do it outside. This place must not be defiled.”
The young scholar nodded again and quickly entered.
The next moment, before Zhong Li could even react, she felt a gust of wind pass by her. When she came to her senses, sounds of retching could be heard from behind the meditation room.
Zhong Li raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips, saying nothing.
When the young scholar returned, dragging his ‘half-dead’ body, she casually threw something from her waist into his hand. “Eat this, it will prevent vomiting.”
The young scholar took it, glanced at Zhong Li, ate one pill, returned the bottle to her, and quickly went back inside.
Zhong Li looked back at the young scholar in the room who was preparing to draw. Just as a trace of doubt arose in her eyes, Lin Jin, who had been waiting, interrupted her thoughts. “Brother Zhong.”
Zhong Li came back to her senses and looked at him.
“The young lord asked me to escort you to the yamen for the autopsy.”
-------------------------------------
Suqing County was not large, but its population was several times that of Anding County.
Therefore, the yamen and the morgue were also considerably larger compared to those in Anding County.
Lin Jin had already placed Zhao Jun’s body on a wooden bed. As the body had not been dead for long and had been moved around somewhat during transport, the wooden board was already stained with decomposed flesh and blood.
Zhong Li pulled aside the cloth covering the body, and a strong smell of blood immediately assaulted her senses.
She looked at the body before her with an unruffled expression. On the way to the yamen, Lin Jin had shown her a portrait of Zhao Jun. Zhao Jun was not striking in appearance, with slender eyes and a broad nose. He was the type of person who would blend into a crowd and go unnoticed.
If one were to describe him, the long, hairy mole hanging from the corner of his mouth added a touch of vulgarity to his ‘ordinariness.’
And now, Zhao Jun was curled up on the wooden bed, like a ‘skinned dog,’ with not a single intact piece of skin on his body.
“After placing him here, were there any live rats found on the body?” Zhong Li turned to ask Lin Jin, who was already looking pale and about to vomit.
Zhong Li was not afraid of such things, but she did not want a little ‘Jerry’ to suddenly appear and scare people during the autopsy.
“We checked, and there were none,” Lin Jin replied truthfully. Lu Wuxie had specifically instructed him on this matter, and he had made sure to take it to heart.
Zhong Li said no more and placed her hands on the body to begin her examination.
“Based on the rigor mortis and the current temperature in Suqing County, Zhao Jun should have died about ten hours ago.”
“That would be around the end of the Xu hour yesterday?” Lin Jin reacted quickly.
Zhong Li nodded. It was currently late summer and early autumn, a time when the weather was unbearably hot. The rigor mortis had already begun to subside, so it was likely around that time.
“Most of the monks at Ling Shan Temple should have been asleep then,” Lin Jin continued.
Zhong Li pursed her lips. At that time, Lu Wuxie had just placed her on the bed in the side room.
“So, finding an eyewitness might be a bit difficult,” Zhong Li replied.
Lin Jin’s expression became somewhat somber.
Zhong Li continued her work.
Zhao Jun must have been gnawed by rats while he was still alive, which was why his body was now in a curled-up state. But how could one person willingly allow rats to torment him like this?
Just as the thought crossed her mind, her fingertips paused as she examined Zhao Jun’s wrist. She seemed to have felt something.
“Lin Jin, help!”
Zhong Li called out quickly.
Lin Jin quickly put on gloves to assist Zhong Li.
Zhong Li took out a bottle of colorless liquid with a slight smell of alcohol from her medicine box and began to rinse Zhao Jun’s wrist. After a short while, a thin, long hemp rope, its appearance obscured by blood and flesh, appeared in their sight.
“This… Zhao Jun was tied up?” Lin Jin asked.
Zhong Li did not answer, her gaze fixed on the hemp rope.
She then proceeded to examine Zhao Jun’s ankles and, as she had anticipated, found a hemp rope tied around each ankle.
“Lin Jin,” Zhong Li’s fingertips traced the knot on the hemp rope. “Doesn’t this knotting method seem familiar to you?”