Qin Guan had seen many corpses with her father, but this was truly the first time she had encountered one so gruesome. Some discovered half a month after death, though highly decomposed, were shocking enough, but this person had only been dead for two days!
After death, as long as the skin remains intact, decomposition slows down. However, if flesh and blood are exposed, it attracts flies and accelerates decay. Staring at the crimson, bloody flesh, pus, and wriggling maggots and flies, Qin Guan felt her stomach churn.
Zheng Baishi watched Qin Guan, who only looked slightly more solemn, and felt deep admiration. When the corpse was first discovered, it was unrecognizable as human, mistaken for some monster. Later, when it was confirmed to be a person, he heard several commoners had fainted from fright. Even he and Zhan Yang had vomited two or three times upon first seeing the body, and Minister Li Muyun of the Court of Judicial Review had retched several times. Though Qin Guan frowned and seemed reluctant to look, she hadn’t lost her composure...
Zheng Baishi’s gaze at Qin Guan was filled with astonishment. He then glanced at Yan Chi, who stood calmly slightly behind, his brow unfurrowed. Yan Chi’s composure didn’t surprise Zheng Baishi; what was strange was Qin Guan.
How could a young girl have such remarkable resilience!
"Lord Zheng, where was the body discovered?" Qin Guan didn’t immediately step forward to examine it but asked first.
Zheng Baishi hurriedly replied, "It was found in the southern part of the city. That area has many narrow alleys, and many residential houses are abandoned. Usually, only low-class commoners live there. Even the patrol guards of the Garrison Battalion avoid that area. The body was discovered by a few residents living there, and by the time it was found, it was already unrecognizable."
Qin Guan nodded, paused for a moment, and then said, "I need to send someone back to the residence to prepare some things. The deceased doesn’t appear to have fatal wounds on the body, and these injuries seem to have been inflicted while he was still alive. Since his skin has been peeled off, many external injuries are difficult to examine. To investigate thoroughly, an autopsy will be necessary."
Zheng Baishi was extremely satisfied. Qin Guan had thought of what he had considered and even what he hadn’t.
Zheng Baishi quickly said, "Your Highness, please send someone to prepare. We are in no rush."
Qin Guan had brought Baiying with her to the palace today and immediately instructed her a few words. Seeing this, Yan Chi directly ordered Bai Feng to escort Baiying back to the Marquis residence. After the arrangements were made, Zheng Baishi led Qin Guan and the others out. The back hall was cramped and reeked heavily of death, making the front hall more suitable for conversation.
There was no good tea in the Mortuary Temple, and at the moment, no one was likely in the mood for it, so Zheng Baishi didn’t prepare any. Qin Guan then asked, "Lord Zheng, on the way here, His Highness mentioned that this case is very similar to one from a few years ago?"
Zheng Baishi and Zhan Yang exchanged a glance, and Zheng Baishi nodded first. "Six years ago, I hadn’t yet taken up the post of Lin’an Prefect. At that time, I was the Prefect of Luozhou—"
Luozhou is only two days’ journey from Lin’an City, the closest city to the capital, and is known as the secondary capital."During my tenure as the prefect of Luozhou, a similar case occurred in Guanyin Town north of Luozhou. The princess, being knowledgeable about many murder cases, should know that ordinary killings—whether motivated by revenge or wealth—rarely employ such brutal methods. The victim at that time was also skinned alive. Since Guanyin Town was closer to Lin'an City, the case was first reported to the Lin'an Prefectural Office. After half a month of fruitless investigation by Lin'an officials, another person died. With two consecutive deaths, the case alarmed the Ministry of Justice, which dispatched personnel to expand the investigation scope into Luozhou's territory. At that time, Zhan Butou was a constable in Lin'an and also went to Luozhou to help solve this case."
Qin Guan listened with slight surprise, never expecting that both Zhan Yang and Zheng Baishi had experienced that old case.
Zheng Baishi continued, "Although the investigation extended to Luozhou back then, I was merely providing assistance. When no progress was made in Luozhou, the Lin'an officials departed. I'm not clear about subsequent events, only knowing the case was solved two months later."
Zheng Baishi looked at Zhan Yang, "Zhan Yang, you explain—"
Zhan Yang nodded, "That case ultimately claimed three victims. After extensive investigation, we identified a suspect—a Taoist priest over forty years old who lived alone at a temple north of Guanyin Town. Originally a Taoist believer, his temple had declined so severely that even he had to beg for survival. Rumor said he left for a year, and upon returning, abandoned Taoism to follow a sect called the Moon Worship Sect. Since this sect didn't exist in Great Zhou, everyone assumed he fabricated it to attract attention after his temple lost its followers."
Qin Guan frowned slightly, "Why was he considered a suspect then?"
Zhan Yang's expression turned grave, "Because all three victims died gruesomely. The first was skinned alive, the second had their tongue ripped out and all ten fingers severed, while the third was buried alive in snow and frozen to death."
Qin Guan's heart skipped a beat, "Tongue-Pulling Hell? Icy Hell?"
Though not religious herself, hearing Zheng Baishi describe victims with torn tongues and freezing deaths reminded Qin Guan of the Eighteen Hells from Buddhist and Taoist teachings. Both religions have hell concepts—Buddhism's hell exists within the Six Realms, while Taoism's hell serves as a punishment realm for sinners, operating like a mortal government with ten Yama Kings overseeing specific torments. The Tongue-Pulling Hell punishes those who committed verbal sins like deceit and slander in life—hell guards supposedly tear out tongues with pliers. The Icy Hell awaits the cruel and heartless, filled with ice spikes where victims freeze to death...
If even non-believer Qin Guan could make these connections, surely Zhan Yang's team must have considered religious motivations back then.Zhan Yang's eyes lit up slightly. "The princess is indeed clever!" When the second person died, we already felt something was wrong. Pulling out the tongue—if it wasn't personal revenge, then this method of killing closely resembled the punishment methods described by Taoist priests in the eighteen layers of hell. The second victim also had all ten fingers severed, which in Taoism corresponds to what's called the Scissor Hell, specifically punishing those who persuade widows to remarry."
"At that time, I was just a constable. I only followed orders without knowing the reasons behind many of the higher-level deployments. I still remember later when the prefecture office invited several Taoist priests and Buddhist monks to discuss for half a day. Although they all believed in their respective Taoist or Buddhist teachings and had different schools of thought, these punishment methods could all be found in their doctrines. So the Prefect ordered us to focus our attention on nearby Taoist priests and monks who might have committed the crime. It was then that the third person died—frozen to death, exactly corresponding to the Icy Hell concept. This further confirmed our previous deduction!"
"Later, we first identified the victims, then looked for people who might have known them or held grudges against them. After thorough investigation, we discovered all three victims were connected to this Taoist priest. Moreover, the Moon Worship Sect he preached actually combined elements from various Buddhist and Taoist teachings. These hell concepts were also present in his Moon Worship Sect doctrines. Then we arrested him—"
"After the arrest, interrogation wasn't handled by us low-level constables. The Prefect, together with the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review, conducted the interrogation. However, after half a day of questioning, the Taoist priest never confessed. But after that, no more deaths occurred, so the case was closed with the Taoist priest as the perpetrator. Since he never confessed, the Prefect suspected he might have accomplices and, after consulting with other presiding officials, decided not to execute him. The case was temporarily shelved, and when the Prefect reached retirement age and returned home, the case was left unresolved. That Taoist priest is still imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's dungeon."
Yan Chi, having just joined the Ministry of Justice, had previously sorted through case files and knew well that nearly half of the ministry's cases were backlogged due to official transitions. Hearing this, he understood the whole story behind the six-year-old case. Yan Chi added, "If you think this case is almost identical to the one from six years ago, does that mean there will be a second victim?"
Zheng Baishi nodded with a worried expression. "Exactly. When we saw the body, both Zhan Butou and I felt something was wrong. We even thought about that Taoist priest from back then and wondered if we had arrested the wrong person."
The supposed murderer was already imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's dungeon, yet similar crimes were happening again, and the perpetrator had never confessed—this indeed raised doubts.
Qin Guan shook her head. "It's too early to tell. We should first identify the victim. Wasn't any clothing or other belongings of the deceased found at the scene?"
Zhan Yang shook his head. "Nothing at all was found."
Qin Guan frowned slightly, unconsciously recalling the victim's face. The killer had not only skinned the victim's body but also... Pressing her lips together, she felt a chill run down her spine.Had she not known she was here for a corpse examination, the sight of the body would have startled her. Even now, recalling it made her stomach churn slightly. Steadying herself, Qin Guan asked, "If this is a murder committed by religious believers, what does this skin-peeling represent?"
Zhan Yang sighed. "It’s the Iron Tree Hell. Originally, the Iron Tree Hell was meant for those who, during their lifetime, sowed discord among kin—turning fathers against sons, siblings against each other, or spouses apart. After death, they would be hung on an iron tree studded with sharp blades, pierced through the skin of their backs. But the Moon Worship Sect twisted it into the Skin-Peeling Hell, as if the original wasn’t terrifying enough. Back when we investigated, the Taoist priest was preaching about the Moon Worship Sect, claiming followers didn’t need to burn incense or worship deities daily—they only needed to help him eliminate their karmic sins…"
Qin Guan’s lips tightened. Yan Chi asked, "Were the three victims from back then all guilty of such crimes?"
Zhan Yang nodded. "The first victim, skinned alive, had instigated his brother into a fight over family property, leaving the brother permanently disabled. The second, whose tongue was torn out, had falsely accused his wife of adultery to divorce her and remarry. The third, frozen to death in the snow, had abused his elderly father to death…"
Qin Guan’s heart sank. The reach of worldly laws was far too limited. If Zheng Baishi’s description of Guanyin Town was accurate—remote and desolate—such places witnessed daily transgressions against morality and law, yet no one ordinarily intervened. The common people suffered deeply, placing their faith in gods and buddhas. But neither Taoism nor Buddhism taught murder.
While the old case was now clear, the current one remained shrouded in mystery. After a short wait, Bai Feng and Baiying returned. Baiying brought the Aversion Incense and the gauntlets gifted by Yan Chi. For the autopsy tools, Qin Guan used those available at the Mortuary Temple. She placed a Scent Pill in her mouth, had the Aversion Incense lit, and only then re-entered the inner hall.
Confronted once more with the corpse devoid of intact skin, Qin Guan still felt uneasy. Yet, as a professional coroner, she quickly composed herself and focused.
Zheng Baishi and the others watched from the sidelines, an indescribable dissonance unsettling them. Qin Guan, with her elegant, almost ethereal beauty, stood in stark contrast to the grotesque, filthy corpse before her—a sight that pained them to witness.
Yan Chi stood at a distance, his brow deeply furrowed. Though he supported Qin Guan’s dedication and skill in her work, even Zheng Baishi and the others found the scene hard to bear, let alone him.
"The deceased is male, approximately five and a half feet tall. No fatal external injuries are present. Preliminary assessment suggests death by excessive blood loss. No traces of smoke or foreign substances in the mouth or nostrils. The back of the skull... shows a slight depression, likely caused by blunt force trauma..."
"The body has no intact skin, and all wounds have decomposed. Aside from the cranial depression, no other fatal injuries have been identified yet. Based on dental and skeletal development, the deceased is estimated to be around twenty years old. The perpetrator likely used a finely honed, thin blade to remove the skin. Near the rib area, there are minor cut marks, possibly due to the killer’s nervousness or fatigue in the wrist.""The killer is someone skilled with a small knife and adept at tasks similar to flaying human skin. From his perspective, if he were to peel off the victim's epidermis over a prolonged period, the victim would die from blood loss before experiencing the full extent of the pain. Judging by the color of the wounds on the victim's body, almost all were inflicted before death. Calculating this way, he would have spent at most two ke (a unit of time, approximately 30 minutes) to half a shichen (an hour). During these two ke, the victim would have endured extreme pain but would not have died immediately, and the victim would have bled profusely. Such a complex task could not have been completed outdoors..."
As Qin Guan spoke, she paused and turned to look at Zheng Baishi. "Lord Zheng, was any blood found at the location where the body was discovered?"
Zheng Baishi shook his head. "There was some, but not much. It was likely a dumping site."
Qin Guan frowned slightly. "The victim wasn't dead at that time."
Zheng Baishi looked puzzled. Qin Guan pointed to one of the victim's arms and said, "On his left arm, there is an abrasion wound. Though it's not very obvious now, you can still see faint linear marks. I suspect he wasn't dead when he was thrown into the alley. He must have woken up later, and the abrasion on his arm is evidence of his struggle."
Zheng Baishi winced at the thought. Even a minor injury is painful to the touch, but this person had been flayed and wasn't yet dead. To wake up and struggle—how excruciating must that have been...
Qin Guan continued, "It's still difficult to determine his identity based on this. He was young, and the estimated time of death suggests he died two nights ago. We can either wait for his family to report him missing or find clues to identify him. If he had no family, then it's up to the authorities. I'm going to perform an autopsy."
Most residents in the southern part of the city were commoners or laborers from other regions who had come to the capital for work. Many of them had no family in the capital. The victim was a young man found in the southern district, making it highly likely he was an outsider with no family in the city—an easy target for the killer. Zheng Baishi quickly added, "You're right, Princess. We've considered that possibility as well. But it's been two days, and no one has reported him missing to the authorities. It's most likely, as you said, that he had no family in the capital—"
Zheng Baishi had always relied on Qin Guan's expertise, but now, given her changed status, he held her in even greater respect. Seeing Qin Guan's solemn expression as she prepared to begin the autopsy, Zheng Baishi gritted his teeth and stood his ground without moving. Li Muyun stood to the side, watching Qin Guan, his eyes flickering with unreadable emotions.
Meanwhile, Qin Guan picked up a knife, felt the victim's abdomen, and with precise aim, made a clean incision.
OpenNovel