"I recall Tian Lianxue saying that this hairpin was compensation from a scholar surnamed Xiao," Zhong Li said, holding the red coral hairpin.
Lu Wuxie nodded. "That scholar lives in the north of the city. Although Jin City has no curfew, it's not appropriate to go to the north of the city at this hour."
Zhong Li knew it was indeed not appropriate. This scholar was not the murderer, nor were they in a hurry to pursue fugitives overnight. If they were to question the scholar, it would have to be in broad daylight.
"Actually, we've overlooked the most crucial aspect of this case."
"What is it?" Lu Wuxie asked.
"The body parts."
As soon as Zhong Li uttered those two words, Lu Wuxie's expression instantly became one of realization.
"I previously reviewed Peng Yong's records," Zhong Li recalled. "The Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment had both interrogated Peng Yong, and there was information regarding the whereabouts of these body parts."
"Where?" Lu Wuxie inquired.
Zhong Li's face darkened as she pointed to the lower abdomen of the man opposite her.
Lu Wuxie lowered his gaze along her direction and immediately understood everything. He recalled the case details recorded in the files; when Peng Yong was apprehended, blood was still trickling from his mouth, yet he had no visible wounds. The whereabouts of the body parts were self-evident.
Then, what about Miao Jie?
He looked up and met Zhong Li's gaze.
They had both reached the same conclusion. When Miao Jie was arrested, besides being splattered with blood, no severed body parts of Ming Xia were found on him.
As for whether he had consumed them, Zhong Li remembered the gruesome state of Ming Xia's body with its severed parts. Considering the amount of flesh and how quickly Xu Qing and others had arrived, even if Miao Jie intended to eat them, he wouldn't have been able to finish. This left only one possibility: the body parts were hidden. As for where they were hidden, the scene would likely require a thorough search.
"Didn't you say there were three points to investigate? What is the remaining one?" Lu Wuxie directly asked Zhong Li for the third investigative direction. In his opinion, being asked to search for body parts in the dead of night with a lantern by the esteemed heir of the Prince Xian's estate was preposterous.
Zhong Li took a neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket and placed it in front of Lu Wuxie.
Lu Wuxie took it, opening it with suspicion.
Initially, he thought the woman opposite him was trying to be mysterious. It wasn't until he saw a map drawn on the paper that a hint of confusion flickered in his eyes.
"You're planning to leave Jin City?"
"Yes, to the northern suburbs. Judging by the travel time, the carriage should reach the destination around daybreak," Zhong Li replied truthfully.
"You're going to search Miao Jie's old residence?" Lu Wuxie added.
Zhong Li nodded firmly. "That's part of it. If we're lucky, we might find something. Of course, more importantly, I want to understand what kind of person Peng Yong was when he lived there."
As dawn broke, the carriage arrived at the northern suburbs of the city.
When Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie were woken by the coachman inside the carriage, the farmers living in the northern suburbs were just beginning their work.
The two passed through the fields and, guided by the map in Zhong Li's hand, successfully found Miao Jie's home.
Unlike his residence in the city, this place had been uninhabited for a long time. The house, built with rammed earth, was covered in cobwebs. Due to a lack of repairs, the roof had long been riddled with holes by the rain.
Zhong Li gazed at the anvil covered in dust and mud. After searching all the rooms and finding nothing, she circled the house and went to the back.
Behind the house, several earthenware jars were piled on the ground. Having not been used for years, the jars were already broken, and numerous dark, sticky things could be seen clinging to their walls.
Out of curiosity, Zhong Li took a few steps forward, intending to investigate.
"Be careful!"
As her body leaned closer, she felt her sleeve tighten, and she was pulled back by a man. Immediately, a man's cloak was thrown over her head.
Simultaneously, a buzzing sound emanated from outside the cloak. Zhong Li looked out through the gap between the cloak and the man's body. She saw swarms of flies, like a giant black python, flying towards the sky with their long tails trailing. Accompanying the flapping of their wings was a nauseating stench.
"Thank... thank you."
Once most of the flies had left the earthenware jars, Zhong Li looked up at the man shielding her. It was none other than Lu Wuxie, who had been following her all along.
However, it was surprising. Whether it was the previous night's reconnaissance in the Jia family's backyard or this escape from the flies, Lu Wuxie always seemed to sense danger approaching and quickly rescued her from peril.
Lu Wuxie lowered his gaze to the woman in his arms. Although she had been disguised as a man during this time, it did not diminish her beauty. Especially now, when he was closer, he could faintly smell a medicinal fragrance on her.
Seeing her slightly disheveled hair from her hasty movements, he instinctively reached out to tidy it.
"Your Highness, look quickly!" Zhong Li's words pulled Lu Wuxie back to reality.
His fingertips stopped half an inch from her hair, and his gaze followed her voice.
He saw that the earthenware jars, previously covered in flies, contained dried preserved meat. The meat appeared very oily, with streaks of grease hanging on it, emitting a foul odor.
However, Zhong Li knew this was not preserved meat. Normally, preserved meat was smoked with cypress branches, which repelled insects. But this meat...
"So, it's these things that attracted the flies," Zhong Li detached herself from Lu Wuxie's embrace and walked to the earthenware jars, quickly putting on gloves from her pocket.
Lu Wuxie followed her at a leisurely pace, observing her every move.
"Can you tell what kind of meat this is?"
Lu Wuxie squatted beside her and asked.
Zhong Li held a piece of meat and examined it in the morning sunlight, then brought it to her nose to sniff.
Immediately, her brows furrowed, and a hint of unease flashed in her eyes.
Lu Wuxie gazed at the woman's profile, taking in all her expressions. Although she hadn't spoken a word yet, he had already gotten his answer.
"Are you sure?" he asked again.
Zhong Li still did not reply. Instead, she picked up meat from another earthenware jar and continued to examine it.
After an unknown amount of time, she finally replied, "There are too many pieces of meat, and they are all scraps. I can't determine it for now. I will notify the Dali Temple to send more personnel to search and see if any crucial clues can be found."
Lu Wuxie understood what Zhong Li meant by crucial clues. If even a small portion of human remains could be found, the case would have a new breakthrough.
He turned to look at Lin Jin, who was following behind him.
Lin Jin understood and quickly ran out of the house.
When he looked back, Zhong Li had already walked to the center of several broken earthenware jar fragments not far away.
She seemed to have discovered a new clue, her eyes fixed on a piece of pottery shard in her hand.
Lu Wuxie gazed at the messy scene on the ground. After pondering for a moment, he still lifted the hem of his robe and followed her.
"Wait!"
Just as he was about to step closer to Zhong Li, she suddenly called out to him.
Lu Wuxie froze, his foot suspended in mid-air.
He lowered his gaze to the earthenware jar fragments on the ground, stained with turbid liquid.
The next moment, his nonchalant expression froze. He flicked his wrist, and a pebble shot straight from his sleeve towards the earthen wall behind him.