The reception hall of the Court of Judicial Review was situated in the southwestern corner of the rear court, with three sides facing the sun and excellent light. Honey-colored sunlight filtered through the latticework windows, forming neat rows of small squares on the floor. The writing table had seen better days, its four corners gleaming with the slick patina of age — yet compared to Chief Justice Chen Yanfan’s forehead, it was still a touch less lustrous.

“I had previously heard rumors of the Fourth Young Master of the Hua Family — the foremost wastrel of Yangdu, born into wealth and splendor, with friends throughout the realm.” Chen Yanfan smiled pleasantly. “I would never have imagined he would be such a strikingly handsome and distinguished young gentleman. It truly comes as something of a surprise.”

Hua Yitang smiled, his eyes curving into crescents. “I had long heard that since Chief Justice Chen took charge of the Court of Judicial Review, he has been disciplined, diligent, and steady in all he does. Having met him today, I find that the world’s understanding of the Chief Justice has genuinely been somewhat off the mark. In Hua’s humble view, the Chief Justice is vigorous in his old age, with the heart of a child undiminished — and is, truly, brilliantly bald.”

Chen Yanfan ground his teeth. “The Fourth Young Master flatters me too much!”

Hua Yitang gnashed his. “The Chief Justice is far too generous!”

The two men glared at each other. A dead silence fell.

Lin Sui’an sucked air through her teeth and thought to herself: well, well.

Chen Yanfan had opened with a string of sarcastic remarks, calling Hua Yitang a pretty but useless embroidered pillow who knew nothing but eating, drinking, and carousing, with nothing to offer but his face. Hua Yitang was even less restrained in response — the string of compliments he’d just given, translated, amounted to: you’re an utterly worthless old fossil who actually climbed a wall to eavesdrop, and you have absolutely no shame. And on top of that, you’re a bald old geezer. A truly devastating finishing blow.

Chen Yanfan was so furious his fingernails were scratching into the edge of the table with a crack crack sound. Lin Sui’an had every reason to believe that if Hua Yitang hadn’t been acting under an imperial decree, he would have upended the table and flattened Hua Yitang’s face.

Ling Zhiyan pinched his brow painfully, once again reduced to a miserable little head of cabbage.

All that could be heard in the reception hall was Junior Justice Zhang Huai noisily slurping his tea.

Fangke rolled his eyes, stuffed both autopsy examination records into Lin Sui’an’s hands, and closed his eyes to feign sleep.

The atmosphere had stiffened to this point of awkward tension. Lin Sui’an didn’t think she had the ability to break the deadlock, and reflexively thrust both of the hot potatoes back into Hua Yitang’s hands.

Hua Yitang, maintaining a smile management worthy of a girl group idol, shot a sideways glance at Chen Yanfan, then pinched a corner of the examination records and, with a light flick of his fan, sent the two autopsy reports floating through the air like feathers, landing gently at Ling Zhiyan’s feet. “Oh my, Director Ling — you’ve dropped something. Pick it up and have a look, quickly.”

Zhang Huai sprayed his tea: “Pfft —”

Lin Sui’an: “…”

He actually pulled that off?

Ling Zhiyan seized the opportunity and played along, presenting the examination records to Chen Yanfan with both hands. “Chief Justice, please take a look.”

Chen Yanfan took them with a dark expression and scanned them briefly. “These examination records do not conform to proper procedure —” Then he actually read the contents, and immediately fell silent. His eyes grew wider and wider. His gaze swept faster and faster. He read through once, then again, and with a grim face passed both examination records to Zhang Huai. Zhang Huai read through them rapidly, sat in silence for a good while, then looked at Fangke and asked:

“May I ask this coroner’s name, who his teacher was, and where he currently serves?”

Fangke didn’t even open his eyes. “If you don’t trust me, you can summon every coroner in the entire Eastern Capital here to examine them together — there’s no need to sit here insinuating and insulting people and wasting everyone’s time.”

Zhang Huai: “…”

Truly worthy of the title of Doctor Fang! Consistently deadly in putting people in their place! Lin Sui’an quietly gave a mental thumbs-up.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Hua Yitang tilted sideways, pressing the tip of his fan to his temple, his eyelids dragged into a long, narrow expression. “If you don’t catch this killer quickly, another victim will appear very soon.”

Zhang Huai: “What does the Fourth Young Master of the Hua Family mean by that?”

“I haven’t yet had the chance to report,” Ling Zhiyan said, presenting the earlier case files to Chen Yanfan. “After reviewing everything, I have found that ten unsolved cases from the Jingzhao Prefecture and three cold cases under the Court of Judicial Review’s jurisdiction are all strikingly similar to these two river corpse cases. All victims are young women, and all their bodies were subjected to some special treatment after death. It is my opinion that these cases should be combined and investigated together.”

Zhang Huai quickly skimmed through the case files and raised a question: “But the causes of death are not the same — five were strangled, eight suffocated, and these two died of carbon monoxide poisoning. A single killer will generally employ the same method of killing, or rather, every killer has their own particular killing habits —”

“A killer is a person, not a stone or a blade of grass by the roadside. And people change.” Hua Yitang fanned himself. “For example, I — yesterday I felt like eating bo tuo noodles, today I want minced fish, tomorrow I might want flatbread, and the day after I might want to try hand-pulled mutton —”

Ling Zhiyan: “Ahem!”

“This killer has been growing.” Lin Sui’an kicked Hua Yitang’s foot; he let out a grunt. “Though the killing methods differ, the killer’s underlying core logic has not changed.”

This explanation left not only Chen Yanfan and Zhang Huai, but even Ling Zhiyan wearing expressions of confusion. Lin Sui’an realized she had unwittingly used a modern way of phrasing things, and quickly translated: “What I mean is, the killer’s objective has never changed.”

Hua Yitang: “When an ordinary killer commits murder, they will generally, in order to conceal their crime, destroy the body and eliminate all evidence. But in all these cases, the killer not only took pains to preserve the body, but also went to great lengths to maintain its external appearance. Such abnormal behavior must have a reason that compelled it.”

Chen Yanfan: “Then what do you two say the killer’s motive is?”

Hua Yitang: “To leave behind an intact and beautiful corpse.”

Lin Sui’an: “Strangulation does not damage the body’s integrity. Suffocation leaves no marks whatsoever. And carbon poisoning gives the skin a pinkish hue — making it look even more vivid and beautiful.”

Hua Yitang: “In other words, the killer has been continually refining their killing methods, trying to make the corpse appear ever more beautiful.”

Zhang Huai: “If what you say is true, why would the killer do these things?! What on earth is their purpose?!”

Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang exchanged a glance. It was somewhat difficult to say outright.

“Necrophilia.” Fangke stated the two words with unnatural calm. “Both examination records contain the relevant notation.”

Chen Yanfan hurriedly looked over the records once more and sucked in a sharp breath.

Zhang Huai was stunned: “But — only these two bodies showed this — the other bodies had none of —”

“I reviewed the autopsy records in the other case files. Of the thirteen female corpses, ten were never properly examined in their intimate areas by the coroner — hence nothing was found. As for the remaining three, a midwife briefly examined them, found no blood, and concluded the deceased had not been assaulted.” Fangke said. “There is a glaring flaw in that logic. If a living person is assaulted, there may or may not be blood. If assaulted after death, the chance of bleeding is slim to none. However, based on the lividity patterns of those bodies, they too had suffered the same atrocity within two to four hours of their deaths. There is one more point — the surfaces of their bodies had all been coated with something that preserved the exterior from decay. It should be a specially formulated aromatic ointment of a kind I have never encountered before — very possibly something from overseas. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to determine the composition of the ointment.”

Ling Zhiyan’s face went pale as iron. “What kind of person is this killer?! Why commit such a beastly act?!”

What kind of person? Naturally, a deranged one. Lin Sui’an thought this in her heart, but said aloud: “The killer has an arrogant and conceited personality.”

Hua Yitang: “The killer has gone to great lengths to preserve the corpses’ appearance intact — partly to satisfy their own vile acts, and partly because they are confident that even if the authorities discover the victims’ identities, those identities cannot be traced back to them. It is almost as if —” He paused. “— a provocation.”

Lin Sui’an: “The killer comes from a wealthy family with considerable means.”

Hua Yitang: “All the bodies were found in the Eastern Capital’s waterway system. The killer must own a boat capable of moving freely through the various rivers and canals without drawing attention, making body disposal convenient. To kill with carbon gas and store the bodies without discovery, the killer must also own a private residence — no, perhaps more than one residence.”

Chen Yanfan and Zhang Huai stared fixedly at Hua Yitang and Lin Sui’an, seemingly stunned that the two of them could speak in such seamless coordination, with every sentence reasoned and well-grounded, as though they had both encountered the killer in person.

“The killer is male, arrogant and conceited in personality, of comfortable means, owns a boat and a residence, and has access to precious imported goods from overseas —” Hua Yitang tapped his fan against his chin. “This is all we can deduce for now — Chief Justice, why are you glaring at Hua like that?!”

Chen Yanfan: “It sounds a great deal like you, Fourth Young Master of the Hua Family!”

Hua Yitang: “Hua rather thinks it sounds a great deal like the Chief Justice!”

Zhang Huai: “Ahem, ahem, ahem, ahem, ahem!”

“This is too broad. We absolutely cannot identify the killer based on this.” Ling Zhiyan shook his head.

Zhang Huai: “Men matching this description in the Eastern Capital must number in the tens of thousands.”

Chen Yanfan crossed his arms over his chest, glared at the examination records on the table, and began to worry.

Actually, there are more clues. Lin Sui’an frowned. But —

Hua Yitang tugged her sleeve and gave a slight shake of his head.

Lin Sui’an understood his meaning. For now, neither of them could make sense of the significance of what the two corpses’ memories had conveyed. Bringing it up would only arouse suspicion, and serve no practical purpose.

A knock at the reception hall door. A court attendant entered and reported that two households had come to identify the bodies based on the posted notices. Ling Zhiyan immediately rose to go out and receive them. Just then, Chen Yanfan suddenly called out to Hua Yitang.

“Fourth Young Master of the Hua Family — please stay.”

Chen Yanfan had a solemn expression. Even the sheen on his forehead seemed to carry the weight of those words. Lin Sui’an looked back in surprise. Hua Yitang gave her a slight nod. Zhang Huai stepped forward and escorted Lin Sui’an and Fangke out the door together.

In an instant, Ling Zhiyan, who had just stepped outside, was nowhere to be seen. Zhang Huai’s strides were enormous — he walked like someone trying to catch up — and Fangke was huffing and puffing to keep pace. Lin Sui’an’s speed was no trouble at all, though she was somewhat curious.

“Junior Justice Zhang — is something amiss?”

“Chief Justice Chen has always been reluctant to let Sixth Young Master Ling get involved in this case, and there is a reason for that.” Zhang Huai looked at Lin Sui’an. “Afterward, if Lin Niangzi can find it convenient — could you perhaps look after Sixth Young Master Ling a little?”

“Eh?” Lin Sui’an pointed at her own nose in surprise. “Me? Look after Director Ling?”

Zhang Huai nodded. “I imagine that at this very moment, the Chief Justice is saying something similar to the Fourth Young Master of the Hua Family.”

Lin Sui’an felt something uneasy stir inside her: from the sound of it, could the handsome Director Ling be hiding some unspeakable secret?

The Corpse Repository was now right before them, its door half-ajar. From inside came the sound of heartbroken wailing. Zhang Huai furrowed his brow, pushed the door open and walked in. Lin Sui’an hesitated for a moment, then followed.

Ling Zhiyan stood with his back against the ventilation window, spine straight, his expression hidden in shadow and unreadable.

Before each of the two autopsy tables stood three people. Beside the female corpse discovered yesterday stood a middle-aged couple: trouser legs rolled up, shoes muddied, clothes plain and simple. The man leaned on a carrying pole; the woman’s bamboo basket had tumbled over, spilling vegetable leaves across the floor. The woman knelt on the ground, clutching the corpse’s hand, sobbing and wailing. The man’s carrying pole struck the floor as his tears streamed down his face.

Beside the blind woman’s body stood only one figure — an elderly person with streaks of white in their hair bun, hunched and bent, their whole body trembling violently. Their eyes were open, but the pupils were cloudy — clearly sightless. Fingers dry and thin as branches trembled as they traced the female corpse’s face, not missing a single inch, before finally coming to rest on the hairline at the corpse’s forehead. They combed through the hair again and again, lips pressed tightly together, as if something had seized their throat. Their voice produced a low, muffled keening. Turbid tears welled from those fog-white eyes — one drop, two drops, three drops — rolling down the corpse’s forehead. The old person frantically pulled at their own sleeve to wipe them away, but no matter how they wiped, the tears kept coming.

Lin Sui’an’s throat constricted. She couldn’t help but look away. She saw Ling Zhiyan slowly step forward, his voice soft: “The departed has passed on. Please accept our condolences.”

“A’Niang had made her a new set of clothes she hadn’t even gotten to wear yet — how could she just die like this? How could she just die like this…” The woman gripped Ling Zhiyan’s hem with all her might. “Official! Official! How did my Er Niang die?! How exactly did she die?!”

Ling Zhiyan quickly crouched down to help her up — but no matter how he tried, the woman refused to rise. Her mouth could only repeat the same wailing cry over and over: “My Er Niang was only seventeen — how could she just die?! How could she just die like this — like this —”

Lin Sui’an and Zhang Huai went to help, but before they could even get the woman to her feet, the middle-aged man also fell to his knees, buried his face in his hands, and wept with heaving sobs. The old person, as though startled awake from a dream, knelt down on all fours and crawled toward the three of them, seizing Lin Sui’an’s sleeve with both hands and knocking their forehead against the floor again and again — the sound ringing out like a drum against the ground — crying out: “Official, official — what killed my girl?! Official, I beg you to tell me! Even if it costs me my last breath, I will avenge my girl!”

Zhang Huai gave a heavy sigh and turned his face away.

Lin Sui’an felt as though a fishbone were lodged in her throat. She couldn’t say it. She could not tell them how these two young women had died.

Ling Zhiyan’s eyes reddened. He opened his mouth, his throat working, then opened his mouth again. His voice came out choked: “They… they… they were…”

The woman: “Official, just tell me the truth — was my Er Niang drained by Xiangliu, the serpent demon?”

The old person: “They say those who are eaten by Xiangliu cannot even keep their souls — they cannot be reborn. My girl suffered her whole life following this old man through hardship, but she was kind-hearted. People always said that kind-hearted souls could be reincarnated into a good life. Can it be that my girl doesn’t even have a next life now?!”

The middle-aged man: “My poor child! What sin have we committed?! Without a soul, where will we find you after we die?!”

Lin Sui’an seized upon the key point: they kept saying — Xiangliu? Devouring people?

“That’s not it!” Ling Zhiyan drew a breath. “The one who harmed them was a person — not a demon!”

All three looked up, stunned, tears streaming down their faces. “Is — is that true?”

“It is true!” Ling Zhiyan said with conviction. “We will bring the killer to justice. We will see that you receive a fair reckoning!”

The three of them kowtowed heavily, weeping beyond words.

Ling Zhiyan helped each of them to their feet. Zhang Huai and the court attendants led them to the rear court to handle the paperwork for claiming the bodies. As he left, Zhang Huai looked at Lin Sui’an with a meaningful glance.

Lin Sui’an quickly understood what Zhang Huai meant. She watched as Ling Zhiyan walked out of the Corpse Repository alone.

Lin Sui’an dared not make a rash move, and could only follow at a distance. But she saw Ling Zhiyan walking further and further into a deserted part of the grounds — an untended garden where weeds sprawled everywhere and almost no one ventured. Then, without warning, Ling Zhiyan’s perfectly straight silhouette suddenly folded. He dropped to one knee, and began to retch violently.