A skeleton inside?

Zhao Huai didn’t believe it and immediately rebutted, “Impossible. There couldn’t possibly be such a thing in the vat.”

“Whether there is or not, you’ll know once you open the vat.” Ji Yunshu said.

Zhao Huai hesitated!

After a long while—

He waved his hand. “Open the vat.”

Soon, the vat was carried in.

The vat was a full two meters tall, made of wood pieced together in a rectangular shape. All sides were sealed, with only one side having a small opening with a thin tube inserted.

Used for drawing wine.

At Zhao Huai’s command, several people climbed up the small built-in ladder on the vat, knocked off the corner clamps on the vat top one by one, and slowly lifted it open.

Naturally, the wine’s fragrance also gradually wafted out from inside…

Those with greedy mouths licked their tongues and swallowed their saliva.

After all, this wine had been aging for five years and was brewed by the Leader and Second Leader to commemorate the deceased old stronghold master.

For generations, the Zhao family, when the old stronghold master was still alive, had built their fortune on brewing wine. The entire stronghold was actually a large wine cellar factory.

It was said that the wine brewed by the old stronghold master had been drunk by the previous emperor himself. Just one sip left an endless aftertaste.

Unfortunately, ten years ago, the old stronghold master grew old in years and passed away!

He entrusted everything in the stronghold to his two sons. Who would have known that within just a month of the old stronghold master’s burial, Gaoshan Stronghold went from being a renowned brewing family to becoming a bandit den overnight.

From then on, Gaoshan Stronghold became infamous throughout Shanhuai County. The Leader and Second Leader of the stronghold were spoken of in ways that made people lose their courage. What exactly caused the once-glorious Gaoshan Stronghold to become what it is today?

No one knew!

Neither Zhao Huai nor Zhao Qing had ever mentioned it to anyone!

At this moment, the vat lid had been opened. Inside, half a vat of wine gently swayed, clear to the bottom.

“Ugh!”

Someone cried out!

Nearly falling from the ladder.

At the bottom of the vat were grayish-white bone segments, piece after piece, separated and scattered everywhere.

Even a few were floating on top.

“Leader, this… inside here… there’s a skeleton.”

“Ugh!”

Everyone was stunned.

People climbed onto tables one after another, craning their necks to look inside, then covered their mouths, nearly vomiting.

Zhao Huai pulled one of them down from the ladder and climbed up to look himself.

Sure enough, inside was indeed a skeleton.

Femur, ribs, pelvis… all present.

But—

Zhao Huai was puzzled. “Why doesn’t this skeleton have a skull?”

No skull?

That meant this was a headless corpse.

In an instant, it exploded among everyone.

Zhao Huai, who had jumped down from the ladder, looked around and angrily rebuked, “Who did this?”

“It wasn’t me… it wasn’t me…”

Everyone showed fearful expressions and retreated backward.

Someone said, “Leader, this… is truly suspicious. When the vat was originally sealed, there was nothing inside, and this vat hasn’t been unsealed at all in five years.”

Suddenly—

Ji Yunshu spoke up. “This vat is made from southern ginger water wood. Four sides sealed, the vat top uses a corner clamp method to prevent rainwater from seeping in—sturdy and solid. But there are advantages and disadvantages. When the vat lid is first clamped onto the vat body, it fits completely flush. But if it’s removed and clamped on a second time, the lower end of the vat lid won’t fit flush with the vat body anymore. A gap will remain in the middle. And because the alcohol ferments inside, the gases hit against the ginger water wood, and at the gap, a layer of shallow moss will form.”

Hmm?

Zhao Huai was dazed for a moment but quickly reacted. In his bewilderment, he pondered briefly, then looked at the lower end of the vat lid with half-believing doubt.

He discovered there really was a layer of shallow moss.

Ji Yunshu lowered her eyes. The wound on her back didn’t hurt so much anymore—after all, the bleeding had stopped.

Her complexion had also improved somewhat.

She then said to Wei Yi, “Help me over there.”

“Yes.”

Wei Yi agreed and carefully supported her to the side of that table.

Her slender, blood-stained fingertips reached into the bowl containing the scaphoid bone and capitate bone in wine.

She pinched up the capitate bone and turned it in her hand to examine it.

Then she drew a conclusion, saying, “This skeleton has been dead for one year.”

One year?

“A year ago, someone must have severed the corpse’s head, then opened the corner clamps of the vat lid and threw the body inside.”

“You can determine all this?” Zhao Huai didn’t believe it.

Her eyes were resolute. “Generally, very few people know how to open this type of corner clamp method on vat lids. Moreover, each vat’s corner clamps vary according to the different sizes of the vats. Therefore, the person who could open this vat’s corner clamps is very likely the murderer. And the murderer might very well be the person who originally constructed this vat, or someone who participated in sealing the vat.”

“How do you know these things?” Zhao Qing beside them spoke up to ask.

How does she know?

She must know!

Back when she had just graduated from university, she was fortunate enough to participate in a project—the excavation project of a thousand-year-old tomb beneath Zhongning Mountain.

All the coffins in the ancient tomb were made from vats!

To research how to open those vats, she had done no small amount of homework. For an entire year, she was either immersed at the research institute’s base or at the library. Heaven rewards the diligent—after a year, she had opened all the vats in the tomb.

She even made the newspaper headlines because of this!

Unfortunately, she hid behind the camera and refused to accept media interviews, earning herself the non-mainstream title of “Mysterious Genius Girl.”

At this moment, Ji Yunshu only said, “I merely read a few more books and learned about the construction process and methods of this type of vat.”

Zhao Qing’s probing gaze rolled over her as he asked another question.

“Who exactly are you?”

“Just a scholar!”

“You understand medicine, understand bones, and know the structure of this type of vat—just a scholar?”

“Didn’t I just say? Because I’ve read a few more books than ordinary people, naturally I know more.” Having finished, she turned toward Zhao Huai. Her deep eyes lifted slightly, carrying a conditional tone as she said, “Leader, this vat of wine must be very important to you. Moreover, a corpse has been thrown into the vat—you must want to investigate who did it, right? And also, whose corpse is this?”

“What are you trying to say?”

Ji Yunshu’s confidence rose. “If I can help you find out who threw the body inside and also help you determine whose body this is, you must release Wei Yi and me and no longer pursue this matter.”

Non-negotiable!

“Release you? No longer pursue it?” Zhao Huai was astonished and laughed coldly. “You killed so many of my stronghold’s men, and you think it can just end like this? Moreover, why should I trust a scholar who only knows words and ink?”

Full of contempt and disdain!

Clearly, he absolutely disagreed with the conditions Ji Yunshu proposed!

At this moment, Zhao Qing suddenly said, “If you agree, I’ll give you the Cuizhong Bottle that Father left me.”

Zhao Huai was shocked and stunned!

The Cuizhong Bottle!

Ten years ago, after the old stronghold master died, he left behind two things. One was the twin tiger dagger. The other was the Cuizhong Bottle.