The overcast rain continued incessantly, falling all day long before finally stopping as evening arrived.

In the front courtyard of the Ji family residence, they were entertaining distinguished guests from the capital, while at this moment Ji Yunshu was organizing the pigments in her box. These ink-wash pigments were all personally mixed by her—they applied with lustrous color and would only grow brighter with time. Preserving them for a thousand years would pose no problem.

After approximately the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Luan’er came rushing in urgently, saying: “Miss, the county magistrate asks that you hurry to East Suburb Village. He says there was a great fire in the East Suburb dwellings that killed quite a few people. Now the family members are all waiting to identify the bodies for burial, but those corpses have all been burned to charcoal, their faces completely unrecognizable, so he’s asking you to go take a look.”

“When did this happen?”

“An hour ago.”

Ji Yunshu gave a soft acknowledgment. Without hurry or agitation, she closed the lid of the sandalwood box, changed into a set of men’s clothing, lit a lantern, and went out on assignment again.

When Ji Yunshu went on assignments, she never brought Luan’er—naturally someone still needed to remain and watch over the courtyard.

The night road was difficult to traverse, but fortunately East Suburb Village was not very far. The moment Ji Yunshu arrived, she saw collapsed dwelling after collapsed dwelling still emitting thick smoke. The acrid smell of charred wood was extremely pungent. The surrounding villagers held lanterns as they gathered outside—some were wailing and crying bitterly, others were sighing repeatedly.

Drawing closer for a better look, she saw more than ten already-charred corpses laid out neatly on the ground. Their skin and flesh were scorched and mangled, their features impossible to discern.

When the county magistrate saw Ji Yunshu arrive, he hurried over, lowering his voice and speaking in soothing tones: “Yunshu, please take a look. If the situation weren’t so severe, this official wouldn’t want to disturb you. For such a thing to happen during the first month—never mind that you find it inauspicious, right now everyone is crying out in misery!”

“It’s getting late. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can return.”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

The county magistrate ordered someone to bring over a table and lay out more than ten sheets of rice paper, then had the bailiffs cordon off the surrounding area.

Looking at the corpses covering the ground, Ji Yunshu’s almond-shaped eyes drooped slightly for a moment, concealing a surge of emotion. Though she was accustomed to seeing such sights, to say she felt nothing at all would be a lie.

After a brief pause, she walked to the first corpse and crouched down to examine it. The charred body before her was not only torn skin and flesh, but the face was also slightly swollen. She studied it carefully for a while, murmuring softly: “Both eye sockets deeply sunken and misshapen, cheekbones low and flat, forehead bone wide, mandible narrow.”

Then she took a pair of white gloves from her waist and put them on, gently pressing on the person’s facial bones and cranium. She already had a general sense of it.

Returning to the table, she opened the sandalwood box, took up her brush and mixed colors, then painted a portrait on the rice paper.

The moment the portrait was completed, someone suddenly rushed out from the crowd, crying out to heaven and earth as they ran to the first corpse: “This is my husband! Husband, how could you abandon me and just leave like this? What reason do I have left to live in this world…”

Ji Yunshu continued examining the second corpse. The occipital bone was split open—it must have been struck by a wooden beam. The sphenoid bone protruded, and the upper jaw bone was slightly tilted…

The second portrait emerged.

A man and woman rushed forward, calling out “Mother” in hoarse voices.

That scene truly moved people to tears!

…

Ji Yunshu spent half a quarter-hour completing portraits of all seventeen charred corpses. Of these, twelve were claimed, leaving five unidentified bodies with no one to claim them.

The county magistrate had people take the portraits and inquire around the area, but none of the villagers recognized them.

Unidentified corpses?

East Suburb Village in Jinjiang wasn’t very large to begin with—how could five unidentified corpses appear? Could they be outsiders?

But if they were outsiders, why would they appear in the East Suburb dwellings?