Upon arriving at the entrance, Steward Wu Taiming was already there.
Seeing the two of them approach, he got straight to the point, “Why are you two so slow? The Internal Affairs Office has already arrived.”
“What!” Lu Chui was so shocked her jaw nearly dropped, incredulous, “We left first, how did they get ahead of us?”
Wu Taiming ignored Lu Chui and turned his gaze to Zhu Yan, “Your husband is inside. Do you want to go in and take a look?”
Zhu Yan sighed and nodded, “Investigating the case is important, so I must go in.”
She could attest that she and Lu Chui had rushed all the way here, so how Shen Du managed to arrive before them was a mystery.
At the crime scene, they could see a group of people in eagle-patterned official uniforms from afar.
Under the shade of the bamboo, a tall figure stood out, and Zhu Yan recognized him immediately.
As if sensing their presence, Shen Du turned around, his deep gaze assessing the two of them, his words laced with sarcasm, “Riding at full speed, did your horses fall asleep on the road?”
“…” Both were speechless, and Zhu Yan chose not to respond, heading straight to the burial pit.
By this time, the coroner had returned, and after saluting the group, he reported, “My lords, after examining the bodies, I conclude that these two have been dead for some time. Their identities are still unknown, and the exact time of death will require further examination.”
Zhu Yan crouched by the pit, listening to the coroner while inspecting the scene. She pinched some soil between her fingers, rubbed it, and sniffed it.
Something seemed off.
First, there wasn’t much soil around the pit. Although it was damp, it was slightly loose. A light rain had fallen a few days ago, which would cause the surface dust to become moist, but what puzzled her was why the bodies were buried so shallowly, making them easy to discover.
Why would the murderer do this?
After carefully examining the shovel marks at the bottom of the pit and the patterns on the sides, she reached a surprising conclusion.
The murderer did it on purpose!
Seeing Zhu Yan’s meticulous observation, the others refrained from interrupting her investigation.
Soon, Zhu Yan climbed out of the pit and walked slowly to the wall at the edge of Ximing Temple, where six bloody characters were written.
“Fo Deng Ran, Zui Mi Wu.”
The handwriting was neat, and the calligraphy was outstanding, but identifying the writer from the handwriting alone would be difficult.
Zhu Yan carefully examined the six characters. Beside her, Lu Chui seemed impatient and asked, “Liu Niang, have you found anything?”
Lu Chui kept her voice low, not wanting to disturb Shen Du, who was also examining the crime scene.
“It’s hard to say,” Zhu Yan shook her head slightly. “It’s just a guess, and it doesn’t seem reasonable. Everything needs careful investigation.”
Lu Chui nodded, half-understanding, “We haven’t identified the bodies yet, nor can we find their families or acquaintances. Is investigating these bloodstains and the pit useful?”
“Anywhere the murderer has been will leave traces. If we observe, we’ll find them. I refuse to believe he could make these characters appear on the wall out of thin air.”
After speaking, Zhu Yan stepped forward and gently wiped the characters on the wall.
The red color stained her fingertips, and she brought it to her nose to sniff. Her brows furrowed; her hypothesis was correct.
Lu Chui seemed to lose patience and turned to see Shen Du standing beside Zhu Yan, startling her.
“Grand… Grand… Grand Leader,” Lu Chui stammered, unable to speak clearly.
Shen Du quickly gestured for her to stop talking and turned his gaze to the contemplative Zhu Yan, “Have you discovered anything?”
Zhu Yan shook her head, then nodded, confusing Shen Du.
“I can’t understand why the murderer would do this,” Zhu Yan explained. “Why deliberately let us discover all this?”
“What?” Lu Chui’s eyes widened, “What did you find? I’m completely lost.”
Shen Du remained silent, but his expression showed he didn’t understand Zhu Yan’s reasoning either.
“I can only speculate that the bodies were buried shortly after the crime, and they were buried shallowly. The murderer deliberately arranged all this, waiting for the rain to soften the soil, allowing the moisture to cause the bodies to bloat and break through the soil.”
“This!” Lu Chui couldn’t accept this clue.
“Isn’t it common to bury bodies deep to avoid discovery? Why would the murderer do this?”
Shen Du’s brows furrowed as if he had thought of something, and he asked, “Is there anything else?”
Zhu Yan nodded, “Look at the characters on the wall. They’re not blood, but ink made from special stone mixed with cinnabar. After being washed by rain, they appear blood-red. They were written some time ago, waiting for the rain.”
Shen Du’s face darkened further, while Lu Chui seemed not to grasp the meaning.
“Could the murderer predict the rain?” she asked.
Neither responded to Lu Chui’s question, clearly having reached the same conclusion.
Seeing their silence, Lu Chui dared not ask Shen Du directly and gently tugged Zhu Yan’s sleeve, “What’s going on?”
Not far away, Wu Taiming listened to their conversation, equally curious.
What was the mystery here? Like Lu Chui, he couldn’t understand.
“The murderer is taunting us,” Zhu Yan finally said, and Shen Du’s fist clenched suddenly.
“Utterly despicable,” Shen Du almost spat the words through gritted teeth, “When we find this murderer, I will show no mercy.”
Zhu Yan turned to Shen Du, wanting to say something but unsure where to start.
Lu Chui and Wu Taiming were also shocked, their faces pale. The murderer was indeed bold, daring to provoke Shen Du. Did he think he was invincible?
“Any clues from the bodies?” Zhu Yan asked suddenly, seemingly to ease the tension.
“Well…” Lu Chui hesitated, making Zhu Yan unable to decipher her words, “The identities are still unknown, and like you, we can only confirm they’ve been dead for some time. Nothing else.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Zhu Yan said, having already heard the coroner’s report. She looked at Lu Chui, “Didn’t you find any clues from their clothing or accessories?”
“That requires further examination. Why don’t we go take a look?” Lu Chui suggested, glancing at Shen Du’s dark expression.
Examining the bodies wasn’t her intention; she just wanted to leave Shen Du’s presence as soon as possible.
Especially seeing Shen Du’s grim face, she felt her life was at risk.
Zhu Yan nodded and turned to Shen Du, “There might be clues with the bodies. Will you join us?”
Shen Du nodded and, without further ado, turned and left first.
Lu Chui was on the verge of tears!
This wasn’t the outcome she wanted…