Though Qin Wan had seen many corpses with her father, this was indeed her first time seeing one in such a horrific state. Some bodies discovered after half a month of death might be in worse condition and equally shocking to behold, but this person had been dead for only two days!
After death, if the skin remains intact, decomposition slows. But when the flesh is exposed, it attracts insects that accelerate decay. Looking at the bright red flesh, purulent fluid, and continuously writhing maggots and flies, Qin Wan felt her stomach churning.
Zheng Bai Shi greatly admired how Qin Wan maintained only a serious expression. When the corpse was discovered, it was so unrecognizable that people thought it was some kind of monster. Upon realizing it was human, several civilians reportedly fainted from shock. Even he and Zhan Yang had vomited two or three times upon first seeing the body, and even Court of Judicature Minister Li Mu Yun had retched. Though Qin Wan frowned and found it difficult to look at, she maintained her composure…
Zheng Bai Shi looked at Qin Wan in amazement, then glanced at Yan Chi. Yan Chi stood slightly back, his expression steady and brows unmoving. While Yan Chi’s composure didn’t surprise Zheng Bai Shi, Qin Wan’s did.
How could a young lady have such incredible fortitude?
“Minister Zheng, where was the body discovered?” Qin Wan asked before beginning her examination.
Zheng Bai Shi quickly responded, “It was found in the southern city, an area full of small alleys and many abandoned houses. Usually, only lower-class people live there, and the patrol guards don’t even go through that area. Some residents there discovered the body, which was already unrecognizable when found.”
Qin Wan nodded, then after a pause said, “I need to send someone back to the mansion to prepare some things. The deceased shows no visible fatal wounds, and these injuries were likely inflicted while they were still alive. Since all the skin has been removed, many external wounds will be difficult to examine. If we want to investigate thoroughly, we’ll need to perform an autopsy.”
Zheng Bai Shi was extremely pleased—what he had thought of, Qin Wan had also considered, and she had thought of things he hadn’t.
Zheng Bai Shi quickly said, “Princess, please send someone to make preparations. We’re in no rush.”
Qin Wan had brought Bai Ying with her to the palace today and immediately gave her some instructions. Seeing this, Yan Chi had Bai Feng escort Bai Ying back to the Marquis’s mansion. After giving instructions, Zheng Bai Shi led Qin Wan and the others out. The rear hall was cramped and heavy with the stench of death—the front hall was more suitable for discussion.
The mortuary had no good tea, and at this moment none of them likely had the mood for it, so Zheng Bai Shi didn’t prepare any. Qin Wan had already asked, “Minister Zheng, on the way here, His Highness mentioned this case is very similar to one from several years ago?”
Zheng Bai Shi and Zhan Yang exchanged glances. Zheng Bai Shi nodded first, “Six years ago before I became Lin’an’s Prefect, I was the Prefect of Luo Prefecture—”
Luo Prefecture was only a two-day journey from Lin’an City, the closest city to the imperial capital, and considered a secondary capital.
“While I was Prefect of Luo Prefecture, a similar case occurred in Guanyin Town to the north. Princess, having seen many murder cases, you must know that whether killings are motivated by revenge or money, they rarely employ such brutal methods. The victim then was also flayed alive. Since Guanyin Town was closer to Lin’an City, the case was first reported to Lin’an’s prefecture office. After half a month of unsuccessful investigation, another person died. With two consecutive deaths, the Ministry of Justice became involved and expanded the investigation’s scope to include Luo Prefecture’s territory. At that time, Captain Zhan was a constable at Lin’an’s prefecture office and went to Luo Prefecture to help solve the case.”
Qin Wan was slightly surprised to learn that both Zhan Yang and Zheng Bai Shi had been involved in that old case.
Zheng Bai Shi continued, “Though the investigation reached Luo Prefecture, I only assisted. When the search in Luo proved fruitless, the Lin’an officials left. I don’t know much about what happened after, only that the case was solved two months later.”
Zheng Bai Shi looked at Zhan Yang. “Zhan Yang, tell us—”
Zhan Yang nodded. “That case involved three deaths total. After a lengthy investigation, we identified a suspect—a Taoist priest from a temple north of Guanyin Town. He was over forty, living alone at the temple. Though originally devout, the temple had fallen into disrepair, and he had to beg for survival. Rumor had it he left for a year, and upon returning, he’d converted from Taoism to a sect called the Moon Worship Cult. The Great Zhou had no such sect, so everyone thought that since the temple had lost its followers, he’d invented this new sect to attract attention.”
Qin Wan listened with furrowed brows. “Then why was he considered a suspect?”
Zhan Yang’s expression became stern. “Because all three victims died in horrific ways. The first was flayed, the second had their tongue pulled out and fingers cut off, and the third was suffocated to death in the snow.”
Qin Wan’s heart skipped a beat. “The Hell of Tongue-Pulling? The Hell of Ice?”
Though Qin Wan didn’t believe in religious sects, when she heard Zheng Bai Shi describe how one victim’s tongue was pulled out and another was frozen to death, she couldn’t help but think of the eighteen levels of hell described in Buddhism and Taoism. Both religions speak of hell, though there are many differences between them.
In Buddhism, hell is one of the six realms of existence. In Taoism, hell is where sinners go, structured like a mortal government with ten kings of hell each having their duties, punishing those who sinned in the mortal world. The Hell of Tongue-Pulling punishes those who lied, slandered, and committed sins of speech in life—it’s said that in this hell, demons use pliers to pull out the sinner’s tongue. The Hell of Ice is for those who were cruel and heartless in life, even to their kin. It’s said this hell is full of ice, where people freeze to death…
Qin Wan could think of these connections, and surely Zhan Yang and the others had also considered religious motivations at the time.
Zhan Yang’s eyes brightened. “The Princess is indeed clever! When the second person died, we knew something was wrong. Pulling out tongues—if not for personal revenge, this method of killing was very similar to the punishments described in the eighteen levels of hell. The second victim also had their fingers cut off, which in Taoism corresponds to the Hell of Scissors, meant to punish those who encouraged widows to remarry.”
“I was just a constable then, aware of many orders but not their reasons. I remember the prefecture office later invited several Taoist priests and Buddhist monks to speak at length. Though they all believed in their respective faiths and had different sects with varying interpretations, these punishments could be found in all their teachings. So the Prefect had us focus our investigation on nearby priests and monks who might be responsible. Just then, the third person died, frozen to death, matching the description of the Hell of Ice. This further supported our earlier deductions!”
“Later we identified the victims and investigated those who might have known them or had grudges against them. Eventually, we discovered all three victims were connected to this priest, and his Moon Worship Cult was a mixture of Buddhist and Taoist teachings. These concepts of hell were also part of his cult’s doctrine, so we arrested him—”
“After the arrest, the interrogation was beyond us minor constables. The Prefect, Ministry of Justice, and Court of Judicature conducted the questioning together. However, despite lengthy interrogation, the priest never confessed. But after his arrest, the killings stopped. So the case was concluded with him as the murderer, though he never admitted guilt. The Prefect suspected he had accomplices, so after consulting with the presiding officials, they decided not to execute him. The case was later shelved when the Prefect retired, and the priest remains in the Ministry of Justice’s prison to this day.”
Nearly half of the Ministry’s cases were backlogged due to official transitions. Having organized case files when he first entered the Ministry, Yan Chi knew this well. Understanding the old case’s background now, he asked, “If you think this case is nearly identical to the one six years ago, does that mean there will be a second victim?”
Zheng Bai Shi nodded worriedly, “Exactly. When we saw the body, Captain Zhan and I both felt something was wrong. We even wondered about that priest and if we’d arrested the wrong person.”
With the supposed murderer in prison yet similar crimes occurring again, and the suspect never confessing, doubts were natural.
Qin Wan shook her head, “It’s too early to say. Better to identify the victim first. Was nothing found at the scene—clothes or other belongings?”
Zhan Yang shook his head, “Nothing at all.”
Qin Wan frowned, thinking of the victim’s face. The killer hadn’t just flayed the body but even the face… She pressed her lips together, feeling her scalp tingle.
If she hadn’t known she was coming to examine a corpse, that body would have shocked her too. Even now, remembering it made her nauseous. Collecting herself, she asked, “If this is a religious killing, what does the flying represent?”
Zhan Yang sighed, “It’s the Hell of the Iron Tree. Originally, this hell was meant for those who caused discord between family members—turning fathers against sons, siblings against each other, or spouses against one another. After death, they would be hung on iron trees covered in blades, which would pierce through their back skin. In the Moon Worship Cult, this became the Hell of Flaying, as if the original wasn’t horrific enough. When we raided the temple, the priest was preaching this cult, saying followers didn’t need to burn incense daily, only help him eliminate karmic obstacles and sins…”
Qin Wan’s lips tightened. Yan Chi asked, “The three victims from back then—had they all committed such sins?”
Zhan Yang nodded. “Yes. The first victim, who was flayed, had instigated conflict between his brother and others over inheritance. His brother was permanently injured in the resulting fight. The second, whose tongue was removed, had falsely accused his wife of adultery, divorced her, and remarried. The third, who froze to death, had abused his elderly father until he died…”
Qin Wan’s heart sank. The law’s reach was too limited. If Guanyin Town was as remote as Zheng Bai Shi described, such places saw daily violations of law and morality that usually went unchecked. People were so poor they placed their faith in gods and Buddhas, but neither Buddhism nor Taoism taught killing.
With the old case clear but the current one still mysterious, they waited briefly until Bai Feng and Bai Ying returned. Bai Ying brought purifying incense and the protective gloves Yan Chi had given her. Qin Wan used the mortuary’s tools for the autopsy. After taking a Borneol pill and having someone light the purifying incense, she returned to the inner hall.
Seeing the corpse again, completely stripped of skin and flesh, Qin Wan still felt uncomfortable. However, as a professional coroner, she quickly focused.
Zheng Bai Shi and the others watched, feeling an inexplicable dissonance.
Qin Wan’s elegant, otherworldly beauty contrasted sharply with the ugliest, most defiled corpse imaginable. The scene made everyone’s heartache for her.
Yan Chi stood at a distance watching Qin Wan, his brows tightly knitted. Though he supported her passion and expertise in this field, if even Zheng Bai Shi and the others found the scene difficult to watch, how much more did it affect him?
“The deceased is male, five and a half chi tall, with no fatal external wounds. An initial estimate suggests death from blood loss. No foreign substances like smoke powder in the nose or mouth. The back of the head… shows a slight depression, likely from blunt force trauma…”
“No intact skin or flesh remains on the body, and all wound surfaces have decayed. Besides the depression at the back of the head, no other fatal wounds are currently visible. Judging by the teeth and joint development, the victim was approximately twenty years old. The killer likely used a very fine, thin blade for flaying. Near the ribs are several minor cuts, probably due to the killer’s nervousness or fatigue.”
“The killer is skilled with small blades and experienced in flaying. From their perspective, removing the victim’s skin would cause death by blood loss before experiencing complete suffering. The wound colors indicate they were all inflicted before death. This would have taken between fifteen minutes to half an hour. During this time, the victim would have been in extreme agony but wouldn’t die immediately. There would have been extensive bleeding—such complex work couldn’t be done outdoors…”
Qin Wan paused and turned to Zheng Bai Shi, “Minister Zheng, was blood found at the discovery site?”
Zheng Bai Shi shook his head, “Yes, but not much. Likely where the body was dumped.”
Qin Wan frowned, “The victim wasn’t dead then.”
Zheng Bai Shi looked confused. Qin Wan pointed to the victim’s arm, “His left arm shows abrasion wounds. Though not obvious now, you can still see faint linear marks. I believe he was still alive when dumped in the alley and regained consciousness later. These are wounds from his struggles.”
Zheng Bai Shi winced hearing this. Even a small wound was too painful to touch—this person had been flayed alive, yet hadn’t died completely, even struggling after regaining consciousness. The pain must have been unimaginable…
Qin Wan continued, “It’s still difficult to determine his identity. He was young, and calculating the time of death, he likely died two nights ago. Either we wait for his family to report him missing, or we find clues to identify him. If he has no family, we can only rely on an official investigation. I need to perform the autopsy.”
The southern city mostly housed lower-class citizens and migrant workers without family in the capital. The victim being a young male in the southern city, was likely an outsider without a local family, making him an easy target. Zheng Bai Shi quickly said, “The Princess is right. We had the same thought. After two days with no missing persons report, he likely has no family here—”
While Zheng Bai Shi had always relied heavily on Qin Wan, her different status now commanded even more respect. Seeing her serious expression as she prepared for the autopsy, Zheng Bai Shi bit his lip and didn’t move. Li Mu Yun stood to the side watching Qin Wan, his eyes flickering.
Meanwhile, Qin Wan picked up the knife, felt the victim’s abdomen area, took aim, and made her first incision.