“Going to Ximing Temple at this hour?” Zhu Yan muttered, watching him leave. She then ran into Lu Chuichui.
Lu Chuichui, pale-faced and trembling, got straight to the point: “Sixth Miss, another body has been unearthed at Ximing Temple.”
“Including Kuang Zhanxin and Liang Chenzhong, there are now six pairs of male and female corpses, totaling twelve bodies. These bodies share the same condition as Kuang and Liang’s, all embracing each other. The coroner found similar knife marks on the ribs and the women’s faces, which means…”
Zhu Yan said gravely: “Their hearts were cut out and faces slashed. The modus operandi is consistent. A series of murders has occurred at Ximing Temple.”
At Ximing Temple, the once-bustling scene of burning incense and constant visitors had been completely transformed by the exposed murders.
The ashes in the incense burners were already half-cold. The abbot had set aside several rooms to house the corpses. A dozen monks walked from the long corridor to the main hall, chanting sutras to deliver the souls of those who died tragically in the temple.
The chanting continued uninterrupted. Under the eaves, the Imperial Guard had cordoned off the crime scene in an orderly manner. While these guards in their fine black robes remained expressionless, the Ministry of Justice runners mixed among them in short clothes and leggings, covering their noses with white cloth, complained bitterly: “The sun has been scorching these past two days, making the smell inside even more unbearable. It’s truly suffocating. I don’t know how these Imperial Guards endure it. And that Grand Secretary who just arrived, with the stench of corpses so strong, went straight to examine the bodies without fear of corpse poison. It’s really…”
“No chattering or private conversations at the crime scene,” interrupted Zhu Yan as she entered, dressed simply.
The runners all called out “Clerk” in unison, but before they could greet her properly, they saw Zhu Yan raise her eyes to look at the other end.
Following her gaze, they saw Jing Lin standing in the opposite corridor, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere. Behind him, dressed in purple robes with a jade belt, the tall and graceful Shen Du wore a gloomy expression, his brows slightly furrowed, visibly displeased.
The runners’ hair stood on end. As they watched Shen Du come down, their knees weakened, nearly causing them to fall to the ground. But Shen Du reached out and grabbed Zhu Yan, pushing her back.
“Go back. Who allowed you to come here?”
Zhu Yan, initially thinking he was up to something else, was startled when suddenly pushed away. She quickly retorted: “I’m a clerk from the Ministry of Justice. If there’s a case, I must be present and assist with recording. Why can’t I come?”
As she finished speaking, someone behind her called out “Zhu Yan.”
Jiang Ming, the captain of the Ministry of Justice’s Arrest Division, came running up from outside, a long sword at his side. His square, resolute face lit up with joy upon seeing Zhu Yan, but after taking a few steps, he halted upon noticing Shen Du.
“This subordinate greets the Grand Secretary!” Jiang Ming’s expression became more composed as he immediately cupped his fists in salute.
Shen Du gave him a sidelong glance before returning his gaze to Zhu Yan. Jing Lin, having been with Shen Du for a long time, directly asked on his behalf: “Where are the newly discovered mummified bodies placed?”
Jiang Ming quickly led the way.
Shen Du withdrew his gaze and followed Jiang Ming’s directions to the back courtyard. Zhu Yan heard Lu Chuichui behind her chattering about how frightening Shen Du’s gaze was. She shushed him and followed behind Shen Du.
Inside the room, the windows were tightly shut, with several oil lamps burning.
On a bamboo mat lay a pair of bodies, male and female, in an embrace, but devoid of any warmth. The male corpse appeared to be in his early twenties, his skin rough and purple-black from mummification. His eyes were tightly closed, his expression peaceful, but his chest had been ripped open, revealing a large, dark hole.
“This man is from Quanling Village, surnamed Huang, called Huang Yun. He was a poor scholar. He had an elderly mother at home, and his wife passed away from illness five years ago. It’s said he was honest by nature, kind-hearted, and studious. He never had any conflicts at the village school.”
Jiang Ming relayed the information they had gathered to Shen Du and Zhu Yan in detail.
Zhu Yan crouched down and noticed that Huang Yun’s clothes were covered in dirt.
Seeing her actions, Jiang Ming stood to the side. Despite having seen Zhu Yan directly touch corpses many times before, he still couldn’t help but grimace.
The stench in the room was almost enough to make him faint. But seeing Shen Du’s usual scowl and Jing Lin’s unchanged expression, he didn’t dare to retch, only pinching his nose.
Shen Du glanced at him, then looked at Zhu Yan, his face dark.
Seemingly oblivious, Zhu Yan rubbed the soil on Huang Yun’s clothes between her fingers and brought it to her nose.
It smelled like the soil from the Ximing Temple.
She frowned, lifted his outer garment, felt the material of his undergarments, and then traced down to his shoe soles. She noticed that Huang Yun’s shoes were embroidered with the Eight Treasures cloud pattern, and the soles were white and quite clean.
She then turned her attention to the female corpse embracing Huang Yun. The purple-black face had flesh turned outward, revealing the stark white bones beneath. Despite this, one could still tell she was a petite young woman, no more than sixteen or seventeen years old.
She wore a complete set of apricot-yellow blouse and skirt, made of Jiangnan cloud brocade, embroidered with peach blossom patterns. While cloud brocade was expensive, the embroidery was also not easily obtained.
Zhu Yan untied the auspicious cloud knot on the clothes, causing all the men present to turn away. Shen Du remained motionless, and Zhu Yan felt his gaze. She turned back and scolded, “Turn around!”
Shen Du’s eyes flickered, and he pivoted on his heel to face away.
The Imperial Guard had encountered more dead bodies than she would in a lifetime. Zhu Yan thought about how Shen Du’s lack of respect for the dead was similar to the coroner’s numbness to corpses. She remembered that before joining the Imperial Guard, he had been taken into the imperial harem. Thinking of his current position, just below one and above ten thousand, she lowered her eyes and reached inside.
No undergarments.
— Previously excavated Kuang Zhanxin had also not worn undergarments.
Moreover, this young woman, with her heart missing and face slashed, had not a single drop of blood on her, nor any dirt.
“Previously, Kuang Zhanxin was embraced under Liang Chenzhong’s corpse. Is it the same for this pair of bodies?” Zhu Yan asked.
“Yes.”
Jiang Ming continued: “We haven’t yet identified this woman, but she had been staying at an inn in the city before the incident. According to the innkeeper, she came from Yuezhou and was in the capital searching for relatives. However, we have no leads on whom she was looking for or their name. The innkeeper said she stayed at the inn with meager belongings, carrying only a moth-shaped jade pendant.”
Shen Du’s eyes narrowed: “A moth-shaped jade?”
Zhu Yan: “Do you have a lead?”
Shen Du’s back remained straight: “No. However, a moth-shaped jade requires intricate carving, and such fine workmanship is no ordinary object — Jing Lin.”
“Yes.” Jing Lin bowed his head and went straight out, presumably to investigate.
Shen Du was guarding against her; even if he had a lead, he wouldn’t tell her. Zhu Yan looked away and said to Jiang Ming: “If so, this woman and Huang Yun had no connection.”
Jiang Ming nodded. He stole a glance at Shen Du, saw that his gaze was fixed on the two corpses and not paying attention to himself, let out a sigh of relief, and then heard Zhu Yan ask: “Captain Jiang, when were these two killed?”
“The coroner has already examined them. These two were killed last month. They were placed in a wooden coffin and buried in the bamboo grove behind Ximing Temple’s rear mountain.”
“The coroner determined that Huang Yun was twenty-three this year, and this unidentified woman was just seventeen.” Jiang Ming reported all the information he knew.
“This time, a total of twelve bodies were excavated from Ximing Temple, in six pairs, each in a coffin. Because multiple layers of wood charcoal and herbal charcoal were sprinkled in the coffins, along with herbs to slow decomposition, these two bodies were still lifelike when removed from the coffin.”
Jiang Ming raised his sleeve in a gesture of “please” and led them further inside.