“Frozen to death?!” Qin Wan’s brows furrowed. Six years ago in that old case, the third victim had been buried in snow and frozen to death, corresponding to the Moon Worship Cult’s Ice Hell punishment – specifically meant for those cold-hearted individuals who disowned their families. The victim from six years ago had starved his elderly father to death, so what about this time?
Qin Wan glanced at the spring scenery around her. “It’s already late spring, almost early summer. Where did someone freeze to death?”
While it might be easy for someone to freeze to death during the depths of winter with heavy snow, the current weather hasn’t seen snow or even much rain. It seemed impossible for anyone to freeze to death under normal circumstances.
“In the ice storage cellar west of the Zui Xian Lou restaurant…”
Ice storage? Qin Wan’s heart sank. “I’ll go with you right away!”
At Qin Wan’s command, Fu Ling immediately brought a cloak, while Bai Ying gathered the necessary equipment for examining the corpse. They left the Marquis Manor and headed westward.
The carriage moved quickly, with Zhan Yang riding alongside.
Qin Wan hurriedly lifted the curtain to ask, “Has the victim’s identity been confirmed?”
Zhan Yang promptly replied, “Yes, he was the ice cellar keeper, Hu Dequan, over forty years old. He worked as a servant at Zui Xian Lou, but since he was missing a leg, he couldn’t work as a regular server. Due to his disability, they assigned him to guard the ice cellar. It’s now late April, not yet time for Zui Xian Lou to use the ice, so usually only Hu Dequan stays in the cellar. Today, when a server from Zui Xian Lou came to discuss next month’s ice retrieval, they found the courtyard gate wide open but no one in sight. The door leading to the ice cellar was also open. The server thought Hu Dequan might be working below, so they went down, only to find all the doors inside the ice cellar open…”
“Hu Dequan was just the keeper – he wasn’t supposed to open the ice cellar without orders. The server thought Hu Dequan might be stealing ice and went in, only to find him dead in the farthest corner of the ice cellar, his body already rigid. The terrified server left to alert Zui Xian Lou before reporting to the authorities.”
Qin Wan listened with furrowed brows but remained silent. The carriage continued westward, soon arriving at a remote neighborhood in the western part of the city. The carriage entered an alley and stopped before a somewhat dilapidated two-courtyard residence. Guards stood at the entrance, bowing as Qin Wan arrived.
Qin Wan entered with Zhan Yang, immediately scanning the courtyard. Weeds grew wildly throughout the neglected space. Looking at the main building, she noticed moss covering the roof ridge and dust and cobwebs coating the door frame. More guards stood outside the main door. Inside, Zheng Baishi sat in the head position of the main hall, with a well-dressed, slightly overweight middle-aged man seated to his left. Zheng Baishi was the first to spot Qin Wan and quickly rose to greet her.
“Princess has arrived—”
Zheng Baishi bowed, and the middle-aged man followed suit.
Zheng Baishi then said, “Princess, this is Chen Wanfu, the manager of Zui Xian Lou.”
Chen Wanfu was not only overweight but had a face as round as a large bowl, though his eyes gleamed with intelligence. He quickly assessed Qin Wan before kneeling in greeting. Qin Wan waved her hand and asked, “Where is the body?”
“This way, Princess. We haven’t moved him – he’s still in the ice cellar.” Zheng Baishi headed toward the east wing, then paused after a few steps to look at Qin Wan’s clothing. “It’s very cold in the ice cellar, Princess. Your clothes might be too thin…”
Qin Wan gratefully replied, “It’s fine. Please lead the way, Sir.”
Zheng Baishi nodded and led Qin Wan’s group into the wing room. The ice cellar entrance was located within the wing rooms, which consisted of three chambers. Two had been excavated, with stairs leading down and equipment for lifting items up and down. While the courtyard was neglected, the wing rooms and ice cellar were well-maintained. Halfway down, Qin Wan already felt the cold rising from below. Knowing there was a dead body inside made the chill even more unsettling.
“Is this ice cellar Zui Xian Lou’s property?”
At Qin Wan’s question, Chen Wanfu, who was following behind, immediately responded, “Yes, Princess. This was originally a small ice cellar belonging to a restaurant in the western city. Five years ago, when that restaurant closed and wanted to sell, our owner bought it and expanded it into our dedicated ice storage facility.”
As the manager of Zui Xian Lou, Chen Wanfu was skilled at reading situations and speaking appropriately. As they walked, he continued, “Zui Xian Lou’s original ice cellar was in its back courtyard, but it wasn’t as large as this one. Because of that, we would run out of ice by summer. Since buying this place, Zui Xian Lou’s summer business has improved considerably.”
“Hu Dequan, who died, came here three years ago. He initially appeared strong and healthy and was responsible for purchasing supplies, but after losing his leg in a drunken fight, he couldn’t do that job anymore. At first, we thought about dismissing him, but in his condition, he probably wouldn’t have survived. I felt sympathetic and let him guard the ice cellar instead. He’d been here over a year without incident, until now…”
As they spoke, the group reached the ice cellar entrance, where two shivering guards stood watch. Zheng Baishi glanced at them and told them to go rest, then led Qin Wan inside.
The ice cellar door was thick iron, painted with lead paint on both sides for insulation. Even so, the ice nearest the door had begun to melt, with water soaking the ground near the entrance. Further in, man-height blocks of ice remained perfectly arranged. The ice cellar had three large chambers, each as big as Song Feng Yuan’s courtyard, packed tightly with large ice blocks. The sight was quite impressive. Hu Dequan’s body lay in a corner near the wall.
Qin Wan spotted Hu Dequan as soon as she entered the third chamber.
He was curled up on the ground, his exposed wrists and hands completely pale. Upon closer inspection, his face was also ashen, with a thin layer of frost on his eyebrows and lashes.
Qin Wan quickened her pace, approaching the body while keenly observing the surroundings.
Ice blocks were neatly stacked on both sides, with Hu Dequan curled up in the middle passageway. To ordinary observers, the scene would appear quite eerie, made more disturbing by the faint smile seemingly frozen on Hu Dequan’s face.
Zheng Baishi stepped forward, “Princess, this is exactly how we found him, sleeping on the ground like this. The outer door was half-open. Our people searched the area but found no signs of anyone else. Outside, the neighbors said the courtyard gate was often left half-open, and no one knew if anyone lived there…”
Qin Wan replied briefly, “Let me examine him first.”
She crouched down and conducted a preliminary examination of Hu Dequan’s body, then instructed, “This location isn’t suitable – we need to move the body for a proper examination. From initial observation, he froze to death, but with the door open, he wouldn’t have frozen himself to death here deliberately.”
Zheng Baishi immediately ordered people to remove Hu Dequan’s body. As they lifted him, Qin Wan noticed a mark beneath where he had lain. The ice cellar floor was paved with bluestone slabs, but under where Hu Dequan’s body had been, there was a mud mark.
“Magistrate Zheng, look at this – doesn’t it resemble a footprint?”
Hearing this, Zheng Baishi quickly came to examine it. “It really does – like the front half of someone’s foot.”
He straightened up and asked, “Is it Hu Dequan’s footprint?”
Qin Wan shook her head, comparing the size with her hand. “Probably not. This footprint is too large – Hu Dequan’s should be smaller…”
She turned to look at Chen Wanfu, who stood at the back. “Manager Chen, does anyone else come to this ice cellar?”
Chen Wanfu quickly shook his head. “No, no one. Since storing ice last winter, no one else has come. Usually, I have one key and Hu Dequan had another. He kept a key to check if the ice was melting or if there was water accumulation after rain. People won’t come again until next month to move the ice.”
Qin Wan looked at Zheng Baishi, who immediately said, “I’ll have someone make an impression of this footprint.”
Qin Wan nodded and scanned the area once more. Finding no other marks, she walked a few steps along the passage toward the entrance, where she noticed the wet patch by the door.
Qin Wan observed, “I noticed wear marks and mud stains on Hu Dequan’s clothes. I suspect the killer dragged Hu Dequan in from outside. The killer’s shoes were muddy, and when they stepped in the water by the entrance, they left footprints along the way. But since they were dragging Hu Dequan in front of them, Hu Dequan’s body wiped away most of the footprints. By the end, only a partial print remained. When they put Hu Dequan down, they didn’t notice their footprint was hidden beneath his body…”
Zheng Baishi had been wondering why they only found footprints at the passage’s end. Qin Wan’s explanation made perfect sense, and he nodded in admiration. Qin Wan then left the ice cellar. Upon emerging, she exhaled deeply. While the cellar entrance was bearable, it grew increasingly cold further inside. Despite only being down there for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, her spring clothing had left her chilled to the bone.
Hu Dequan’s body had been moved to another wing room. When Qin Wan arrived, she noticed his body was still curled up, wearing only a light spring silk robe.
Zheng Baishi followed and said, “He certainly wouldn’t have gone into the ice cellar to freeze himself to death. We found several dishes and half a pot of wine in his room. Would you like to examine those first?”
Qin Wan shook her head. “I’ll examine the body first, then look at those later.”
She removed her cloak, put on protective gloves, and lit purifying incense before beginning the examination.
Since he had frozen to death, Hu Dequan’s body showed minimal decomposition and barely any corpse odor. The lividity is presented in red. Chen Wanfu, unfamiliar with autopsies and not being an official, was asked by Zheng Baishi to wait in the main hall. As he walked there, Chen Wanfu reflected on Qin Wan’s appearance, surprised that Princess Yongci was exactly as rumored.
Only Zheng Baishi and Zhan Yang remained in the wing room.
While examining the body, Qin Wan reported, “The deceased, Hu Dequan, height five and a half chi. Pale face, purple lips, showing signs consistent with freezing death. Based on winter death timing calculations, the victim likely died during the latter half of the night before last, before dawn yesterday – approximately fifteen shifts ago. No obvious external injuries on the body surface, but bruising on both hands and legs, likely from being dragged by the killer.”
Before dawn yesterday! Zheng Baishi and Zhan Yang exchanged glances!
Qin Wan paused briefly before continuing, “The deceased shows signs of long-term illness. Someone in poor health wearing thin clothing would lose consciousness after an hour or two in the ice cellar. As body temperature gradually drops, particularly when internal organs reach winter water temperature, the heart stops beating. In severe winter conditions, death occurs within one to two hours. In the ice cellar, it would take two to three hours in total. Therefore, I deduce the victim was brought into the ice cellar around midnight. His curled position indicates he could feel the cold before death. I suspect the killer may have used drugs to render him unconscious before bringing him in.”
After she finished, Zheng Baishi looked at Hu Dequan’s face and asked, “If he froze to death, why is there a smile on his face?”
Though dead, Hu Dequan’s features hadn’t decomposed, making the smile particularly noticeable and eerie. Qin Wan explained, “Before freezing to death, people often experience hallucinations. Some even feel extremely hot, which is why winter victims are sometimes found with their clothes removed. Though Hu Dequan froze to death, he likely felt no pain but instead experienced hallucinations. During such times, people often think of pleasant things, which is why freeze victims often die smiling.”
Zheng Baishi was amazed. “Even in heavy snow, the capital never experiences deadly winter conditions. We’ve never seen a freezing death case.”
Qin Wan continued the examination. “At extremely low temperatures, blood diffusion is very slow, resulting in light lividity. Finding no fatal or consciousness-altering external injuries suggests drugs were used. Magistrate Zheng, I need to perform an internal examination…”
Zheng Baishi quickly agreed, “Of course, whatever the Princess requires.”
Qin Wan proceeded immediately. Zheng Baishi and Zhan Yang watched as blood flowed from Hu Dequan’s body. Despite being dead for a day and night, the corpse remained remarkably fresh. After the examination, she scraped out some black powder with a small knife. “This is Datura leaf powder, commonly used in sleeping incense. Magistrate Zheng, I suggest searching Hu Dequan’s oil lamp.”
Zheng Baishi, nauseated by the blood smell, immediately went to give the order.
After cleaning up the body and washing her hands, Qin Wan headed to the main hall.
When Chen Wanfu saw her enter, he quickly stood. Zheng Baishi emerged from an adjacent warm room saying, “Princess, please look at this – the lamp wick is completely burned.”
Qin Wan hurried to the warm room and saw the burned-out wick, with black powder still visible inside. “This lamp was the key! The powder is from Datura leaves.”
Zheng Baishi frowned. “But this was his lamp – why would it contain such things?”
Qin Wan’s brow furrowed as she noticed several simple dishes and a pot of wine on the table. She examined them closely – all were common dishes and cheap wine. Two sets of bowls and chopsticks showed signs of use. She noted, “It seems he had a visitor that night.”
She turned to ask Chen Wanfu, “Manager Chen, did Hu Dequan have any close friends?”
Chen Wanfu shook his head. “I don’t know, but he had a poor reputation at our restaurant. He liked to drink, which caused him to miss work several times. He also borrowed money from other workers and never repaid it, so people didn’t like him.”
Since Ice Hell punished those who disowned family, Qin Wan quickly asked, “Did he have any family?”
Chen Wanfu shook his head again, but then added, “I don’t know if he had any, he lived alone these three years and seemed to have no family. But I heard from workers that he had a daughter…”
Zheng Baishi raised an eyebrow. “Where is his daughter now?”
Chen Wanfu sighed. “They say five years ago when he couldn’t repay his gambling debts, he sold his daughter to a brothel…”