The moment Zhang Daqi appeared, Shasi reacted as if seeing a ghost, his face filled with terror as his body pressed tightly against the corner of the wall.

His entire body trembled.

“Uh… uh…”

His eyes widened, mouth gaping open.

Rainwater and sweat droplets merged together, sticking to his face.

This scene might have gone unnoticed by others, but for two people with meticulous observation skills like Ji Yinshu and Wen Shisan, they caught Shasi’s abnormal reaction perfectly.

Why would Shasi be so afraid upon seeing Zhang Daqi?

Could it be that he was frequently bullied by him?

But that didn’t seem right!

Zhang Daqi was not only a filial son but also an honest man in everyone’s eyes.

How could he bully a fool?

After a long while without receiving a response, the two withdrew their gazes and happened to meet each other’s eyes.

Wen Shisan gave her a meaningful smile.

Ji Yinshu, however, glared at him fiercely.

She shifted her gaze away!

Jingrong noticed her expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head.

“Nothing.”

Jingrong didn’t press further, but cast a cold, stern glance in Wen Shisan’s direction before turning his attention outside.

He said, “The rain is getting heavier, and the sky darker. It seems we’ll have to stay here tonight.”

Ji Yinshu replied, “That’s fine, though I apologize for the inconvenience to Your Highness the Prince.”

She smiled.

Jingrong said, “This prince has traveled all across the land—what place haven’t I been to? What place haven’t I slept in? I’ve even slept in Yi Zhuang, so why would I fear spending a night here?”

He countered with a question.

The Yi Zhuang matter seemed to have become a knot in his heart!

He would probably never forget for the rest of his life that Ji Yinshu had left him to sleep in Yi Zhuang for a night.

Ji Yinshu lowered her eyes with a helpless smile.

This topic was really difficult for her to respond to.

She simply changed the subject. “I really hope the rain will stop early tomorrow morning so we can go to the ruined temple and search for more clues.”

“This prince believes that even if the rain washes away the clues, you will certainly be able to find evidence.”

“You trust me that much?”

“Only you.”

Sweet words came in an instant.

Ji Yinshu gazed at him and nodded gently in response.

“Rumble, rumble, rumble…”

Thunder.

“Crack!”

Lightning.

That bolt of lightning struck a large tree outside.

The originally lush tree was split cleanly in two, with half of it falling and crashing to the ground.

Then came another bolt of lightning.

“Crack!”

It almost illuminated the entire sky outside.

The people in the room gasped.

They all shrank back, involuntarily frightened.

Among them, some whispered.

“Is the sky about to collapse? What will we do if this continues?”

“Looks like we can’t count on any harvest this year.”

“My house was flooded, everything inside is gone, all gone…”

“Your house is gone? My family’s pigs are gone too, swept away by the flood. Who knows where they’ve drifted to.”

“I really hope the court can provide us some relief.”

…

Sighs and laments!

Cries of hardship!

“Crack!”

“Rumble, rumble, rumble…”

Thunder and lightning flashed.

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept in.

The wind howled furiously.

After extinguishing the two lanterns outside, it blew out all the candlelight in the room.

Instantly, everything went pitch black!

“Ah!”

The people in the room panicked, losing their composure and scattering in all directions.

Objects were blown to the ground by the wind, making a series of “crash, crash” sounds as they hit the floor.

“Everyone, don’t panic!” Village Chief Zhang shouted in the darkness.

No one listened, still pushing and shoving. Several tables were overturned.

The moment the candlelight was extinguished, Jingrong tightly grasped Ji Yinshu’s hand.

He said softly, “Don’t worry.”

This prince is here.

She knew.

Then she blinked, only seeing shadows passing before her eyes, unable to see clearly.

Suddenly—

A beam of light flashed before her eyes, fleeting.

She initially thought it was lightning, but it wasn’t. It seemed like something reflecting light. Just like earlier outside when a beam of light had blinded her painfully, she instinctively closed her eyes.

After a brief moment.

The strong wind finally swept out of the ancestral hall.

Someone took out a fire striker and lit a candle in the darkness.

The faint light slowly spread out like Buddhist light, gradually calming everyone’s panicked and frightened hearts.

Then, the second lamp, the third lamp… all lit up, and the ancestral hall was once again brightly lit.

But—

The villagers had been running around inside like headless flies, creating a complete mess.

Overturned tables.

Broken chairs.

Shoes that had been knocked off.

And people who had fallen to the ground.

And also… a dead person.

Yes, a dead person.

“Ah!”

Someone shouted loudly, eyes full of terror, one hand covering their mouth, the other pointing to the corner of the wall.

“A… a dead person.”

That person kept backing away.

Everyone followed their gaze and saw someone slumped in the corner, head tilted to one side, bleeding from all seven orifices.

The deceased was none other than—Shasi!

In an instant, everyone began to stir.

Ji Yinshu stood up abruptly, disbelieving, and rushed over quickly.

Wen Shisan also intended to go, but was held back by Jing Yi, who quietly reminded him, “Right now, what’s most important for you is to help this prince solve the dry well case. This kind of matter can be left to those who enjoy meddling in other people’s business.”

“Your Highness…”

“Don’t say anymore. Just remember my words.”

Full of威压!

Actually, Wen Shisan didn’t want to interfere either, but for cases Ji Yinshu involved herself in, he wanted to touch them too.

To put it bluntly, he just wanted to compete with her, to contend with her.

But with Jing Yi blocking him, he had no choice but to give up.

He obediently became a bystander.

Ji Yinshu stood before Shasi, and after a long while to collect her feelings of grief, she slowly crouched down. Using her naked eye to examine his body, she took out a handkerchief, wrapped it around her palm, lifted Shasi’s chin, and pushed aside his disheveled hair.

Indeed, bleeding from all seven orifices!

Jingrong came over to inquire, “The person was fine just moments ago. How could he suddenly die? Do you know the cause of death?”

Ji Yinshu said, “Generally speaking, the reasons that cause a person to bleed from all seven orifices are massive internal organ hemorrhaging, or a fractured skull base, commonly known as intracranial hemorrhage. The saying goes that the seven orifices are interconnected and each connects to vital vessels, which leads to this condition appearing before a person dies.”

Although he didn’t understand the professional terminology, Jingrong still grasped the general idea.

“So him?”

“I need to examine him before I can say.”

Ji Yinshu laid Shasi on the ground and in front of everyone tore open his tattered clothing.

On his skinny chest and stomach, there were no signs of being beaten at all—only bloody scratch marks everywhere.

She pressed firmly several times on his chest and stomach with her hand.

Finally, she confirmed the result: “It’s not internal organ hemorrhaging.”

“How can you tell?”

“If it were internal organ hemorrhaging, when I pressed hard on his chest and stomach just now, blood should have come out of his mouth.”

Oh!

Truly profound knowledge.

She said, “So it should be intracranial hemorrhage.”

As she spoke, she examined Shasi’s head. From the surface, there were no signs of the head having been struck or hit.

Internal injury?

She carefully pushed aside Shasi’s disheveled, foul-smelling hair.

Her eyes narrowed.

She actually discovered…