Ji Yunshu looked at the man lying on the ground, having completely lost his strength.

Then she explained to the jailers: “He just has mania!”

“Mania? What’s that?”

“People with this illness, once they have an episode, cannot control their rationality. They may even hurt others, and also hurt themselves.”

This was why she had seen the man banging his own head against the wall earlier!

Several jailers were all very shocked.

“This is the first time hearing about it!”

“What? When this person was having episodes, didn’t you call a physician to examine him?” Ji Yunshu asked.

A short jailer’s cheeks twitched as he said: “No… we didn’t! At first, we thought he was trying to play tricks to get out, so we didn’t pay much attention. After it happened several more times, thinking he had probably gone mad, we didn’t call a physician. We were just afraid he would hurt people, so we locked him up here alone.”

Sweat!

Ji Yunshu sighed.

Having illness without seeing a physician—if he died, these jailers would also be unable to escape responsibility!

That jailer was puzzled again: “But Mr. Ji, why can this mania be cured with just a cup of water?”

“Of course it can’t be cured with just a cup of water. It can only temporarily calm him down, but as for how to cure the condition at its root, that must be determined by a physician.”

“Oh, I thought you were also skilled in medicine, Mr. Ji.”

“I don’t understand medicine! I only know a little about some unconventional methods!” As she spoke, she glanced at the man on the ground again. “You’d better go get a physician to examine him. If this continues, someone will definitely die! Also, the next time he has an episode, you should use the same method as just now, but remember, you must pinch his nose! Make him choke and swallow the water, coughing out that pent-up breath in his chest.”

The jailer bowed: “Alright, alright, thank you, Mr. Ji.”

At this moment, the man on the ground was breathing heavily but motionless, his face pressed sideways against the floor, both hands stretched beyond his head.

Ten fingers spread open!

Obviously appearing weak and powerless.

Ji Yunshu also inadvertently noticed the man’s hands!

Her gaze fixed.

Suddenly tense.

Those were… peeling hands.

And very white!

Different from the skin color on his face and neck, even his wrists.

She immediately lifted her robe and crouched down.

Her gaze constantly fixed on that person’s hands.

Jingrong followed her gaze and also discovered the abnormality of that person’s ten fingers.

Obviously whiter than the skin color on his wrists! Logically, this was impossible. An ordinary person’s hands were generally whiter at the wrists. Moreover, that man was in the gambling stone business, exposed to sun and rain year-round, traveling east and west—it was impossible for his ten fingers to be so white. Even if he maintained them well, being a bit whiter would be normal, but his hands were peeling extremely severely! They hadn’t been maintained at all.

This was completely abnormal.

But why?

Ji Yunshu was examining those hands, pondering something in her mind.

Seeing this, Jingrong also crouched down.

He directly lifted up the man’s hand.

A bit closer.

For careful observation.

“You feel something’s wrong, don’t you?” Jingrong asked.

Ji Yunshu nodded: “Yes! It seems we’re thinking the same thing.”

Saying this, she reached out to touch the man’s fingertips, tearing off a piece of skin that was about to fall off.

She rubbed it between her fingertips to examine it carefully.

This left several jailers watching from the side dumbfounded.

What kind of operation was this?

Baffled!

One person asked: “Mr. Ji, Young Master Jing, what are you…?”

Taking someone’s hand to look at—wasn’t that a bit perverted?

But the two didn’t respond.

After a little while, Jingrong asked Ji Yunshu: “Do you know what caused this?”

Ji Yunshu furrowed her brow tightly, silent for a long moment, her eyes tightening again.

She said: “If I’m not mistaken, this person should have been in contact with some alkaline substances for many years.”

“Alkaline?”

“Mm… simply put, it’s a substance that at normal temperature has a pH greater than 7 in solution… roughly like that.”

Alkaline?

pH?

This was called simply put?

And roughly like that?

Jingrong indicated he was completely lost.

Couldn’t understand!

Fortunately, he was also accustomed to those strange and odd words Ji Yunshu spoke.

Therefore, he didn’t delve deeper.

Anyway, knowing the general meaning was enough.

He just asked: “So what does that represent?”

“Someone who has been in contact with alkaline substances for many years, with whitened hands, I… can only think of one thing.”

“What?”

“Plaster!”

Jingrong was suddenly shocked, his sword-like eyebrows gathering bit by bit toward the center of his brow as he said: “Plaster? You mean… the plaster used to make that fake stone.”

“Exactly! If a person’s hands frequently contact plaster powder, it can cause alkaline damage to the skin, leading to peeling and cracking. And this person’s hands are also whitened, which further proves this point. He must be someone who contacts plaster powder.”

“If you put it that way, then this person is…” He didn’t fully speak his thought.

Ji Yunshu also had some suspicions.

However—

She looked at the man on the ground: “Even if we want to question him now, we probably won’t get anything out of him.”

That man was now like a puddle of dead mud.

They couldn’t get anything out of him at all!

Jingrong thought of something and said: “Since he entered Gaoding together with that gambling stone merchant, perhaps that old merchant knows something.”

“Yes.”

The two stood up and told the jailer: “Take me to see that group previously imprisoned who were in the gambling stone business.”

The jailer responded and led the two of them over.

Those people in the gambling stone business had been locked up since the day they entered the city gate.

At first, they would roar and shout in the prison, constantly crying out their innocence.

But after these past days, they were now all quiet.

Completely accepting their current situation.

Only praying for the murderer to be found quickly.

When the old merchant saw Ji Yunshu again, thinking he would be saved.

His hollow, haggard eyes immediately brightened.

“Are you going to let us out?”

They hadn’t bathed in a long time. If kept locked up any longer, they’d stink to death.

Ji Yunshu looked at him sympathetically and said: “The case hasn’t been cleared up yet. We can’t let you out.”

Upon hearing this, disappointment showed in the old merchant’s eyes.

But the other people in the cell became agitated.

“You officials don’t treat us common people as human at all.”

“That’s right, how much longer are you going to keep us locked up?”

“Let us out.”

“Open the door! Let us out.”

…

They all became excited.

The old merchant was ultimately a sensible person. He quickly spoke to stop them: “Stop making noise. The skeleton was discovered in the goods we were transporting. It’s normal for the authorities to detain us.”

His awareness was quite high!

Then, the old merchant asked Ji Yunshu: “Since you’re not here to release us, then you’re here…?”

“I want to ask you about someone.”

“Who?”

“That person who fell ill and was locked up separately.”

“You mean Liu San?”