Seeing Jingrong and Ji Yunshu arrive, Jing Zhaoyin wore a furrowed expression as he said, “Your Highness, Master Ji, the person… has already been pulled out. He’s over there.”

He pointed to a spot.

Zhao Zhiwen’s corpse was covered with a white cloth and placed on a board, with several bailiffs standing guard beside it.

The atmosphere around them was extremely oppressive.

Jingrong withdrew his gaze and asked, “When did this happen?”

“This morning, a few children passing by saw it and immediately reported it to the authorities. When this official arrived with men, we saw the deceased floating in the pond. After pulling him out, we recognized from his clothing and appearance that he was the president of the Qiyang Commerce Association. We immediately sent people to check Wenlai Pavilion, and when he wasn’t found there, we confirmed it was him.”

“Did you question everyone at Wenlai Pavilion one by one?”

“They all said they didn’t know.”

Luo Mingyang and Liu Zhinan stood beside the corpse, sighing and lamenting.

Luo Mingyang speculated, “Two of us four commerce association presidents have died in such a short time—first President Xing, and now President Zhao. Could it be… could it be that the killer is targeting our commerce associations? If that’s really the case, then the next person the killer wants to murder, could it be…”

Me?

A sense of terror gripped his heart!

He dared not say more.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhinan maintained a composed demeanor: “President Luo, if you’ve done nothing wrong, naturally you have nothing to fear from a ghost knocking at your door.”

Who the hell invented this kind of toxic chicken soup?

Even timid people fear ghosts knocking at their door, alright.

At this moment, Ji Yunshu had already crouched down beside the corpse. Taking the gloves the bailiffs had prepared, she lifted the white cloth covering the body.

The first thing revealed was the mask worn on Zhao Zhiwen’s face.

It was the last of those three masks—the Snake-Ghost Mask!

Because the mask was covered in water, several colors had blended together, making it somewhat smeared.

She reached out to grasp the mask and slowly removed it.

Just like the previous two corpses, the skin had been flayed off, leaving bloody flesh exposed, sinews hanging in strands. Those large eyes, wide as gongs, stared open in death, refusing to close, stained with bloody water. Because the body had been soaked in water, the facial flesh had swollen somewhat, making it appear even more grotesque.

Several bailiffs nearby covered their mouths and turned away, nearly vomiting!

Was it really that disgusting?

Ji Yunshu had examined countless corpses—ones gnawed by dogs, ones crawling with maggots, even ones that had been deep-fried. She had encountered almost every imaginable condition, so a face that had been flayed and rotted from water immersion was nothing unusual to her.

She frowned slightly and began examining the corpse.

Zhao Zhiwen’s facial skin had been peeled off from behind the ears along with the face skin. The previous two victims had only had the skin on their faces removed, but the cause of death was the same—all had their throats slit by a sharp, thin, curved short blade, killed with one stroke. Because the body had been thrown into water, the time of death was somewhat delayed. Fortunately, Zhao Zhiwen’s corpse wasn’t as decomposed and unrecognizable as Jiao Shiniang’s body, so the time of death was determined quickly.

It was the third quarter of the Hour of the Rat!

Wenlai Pavilion was located on the west side of the capital.

“At the third watch, still hovering by the water”—could it really have come true?

She focused intently and continued the examination. Zhao Zhiwen was soaked through, with dirty water grass and mud clinging to his clothes, hair, and shoes. Apart from the knife wound on his neck, no other injuries were discovered.

But—

On the back of Zhao Zhiwen’s hand, she discovered a large burn mark! It appeared to have been left when the back of his hand pressed against a scalding iron object, and the burn wasn’t old—it had occurred around the Hour of the Rat.

The autopsy was complete!

Everyone waited for her autopsy results.

“Master Ji, what’s the verdict? Was it truly the same killer?”

She nodded. “The person died last night at the third quarter of the Hour of the Rat. Like the previous two victims, he was killed with one stroke by a sharp, thin, curved short blade. Both the technique and the killer’s perverse behavior suggest it was the same person.”

“Alas…” Minister Yu clenched his fists. “Our people had been on guard repeatedly, but we were still a step too late.”

Both angry and remorseful!

Ji Yunshu asked, “Before you arrived, was there anything unusual about this place?”

“When we pulled the body out, we had people look around the area but found nothing.”

“Then who was the last person to see Zhao Zhiwen?”

“That would be me.” It was Luo Mingyang who spoke.

He walked over and sighed. “I went to his room last night.”

Huh?

Ji Yunshu looked him up and down. “You went to find him? What for?”

“Because the Commerce Festival is only a few days away, so I wanted to discuss it with him. I remember it was the Hour of the Dog. He was just about to go out and didn’t have time to discuss it with me.”

“Did he say where he was going?”

“He didn’t say, but…” Luo Mingyang hesitated for a long while before speaking. “Ever since arriving in the capital, President Zhao would go to the Spring-Full Tower every few days, so… at the time I assumed he was going there again.”

Spring-Full Tower?

Who would have thought Zhao Zhiwen was such a wine-and-women man!

Ji Yunshu continued asking, “According to what you’re saying, he went to Spring-Full Tower last night?”

“Should be… I suppose.”

Jing Zhaoyin immediately denied it: “That’s impossible. This official questioned the several people guarding the main gate outside Wenlai Pavilion. They said they didn’t see him leave at all last night.”

“He left through the back door.” Liu Zhinan, who had been silent until now, walked over and said, “This person cares about face, but he’s also lustful, so every time he goes out he uses the back door. I’ve caught him many times. I happened to see him again last night. If I had stopped him then, perhaps this wouldn’t have happened.”

Somewhat regretful.

Luo Mingyang worried, “Distinguished officials, the killer has murdered three people in succession. President Xing is dead, President Zhao is also dead. The next one… could it be us?”

Ji Yunshu couldn’t be certain.

So she couldn’t answer him.

Subsequently, Jingrong instructed Minister Yu to send people to make a trip to Spring-Full Tower to check whether Zhao Zhiwen had gone there last night.

“How should the corpse be handled?” Jing Zhaoyin asked.

Jingrong replied, “Take it to Yi Zhuang. If relatives come to claim the bodies of Jiao Shiniang and Xing Xiyang, let them take them back for burial.”

“Yes, this official will make arrangements.”

Shortly after, the scene was processed, and several courtesans from Spring-Full Tower were brought to the Court of Judicial Review’s main hall for questioning.

The courtesans were dressed elaborately, their faces painted with rouge and powder, their clothing flowing and revealing, exposing as much as possible.

Standing in the main hall, they were each a “scenic view”!

They were also surrounded by a strong scent of fragrant powder.

As soon as they entered, several bailiffs sneezed.

“Distinguished officials, we’re all law-abiding citizens who haven’t done anything illegal. Please don’t wrongly accuse us.”

“That’s right, don’t wrongly accuse good people!”

“We’re very busy—many customers are still waiting for us to return and serve them.”

…

The courtesans spoke one after another, their bodies swaying and twisting, standing there soft and boneless.

Minister Yu frowned. “This official asks you, do you recognize Zhao Zhiwen, the president of the Qiyang Commerce Association, from last night?”

At the mention of this name, the courtesans immediately fell silent.

They looked at each other.

One of the women pinched her handkerchief and waved it forward forcefully. “That stinking man—who doesn’t know him!”