A horrific, extremely disgusting corpse appeared before everyone.

The shock of that moment was too intense. Chi Can finally couldn’t bear it and ran outside, clutching the corridor pillar as he vomited.

Shao Mingyuan couldn’t help but step forward, looking at Qiao Zhao with worry.

She stood right beside that horrific corpse, enduring the most direct visual and olfactory assault.

The beautiful young woman and the terrifying corpse – this moment brought equally intense shock to Shao Mingyuan.

He couldn’t help thinking: What kind of girl is Miss Li that she can do this? Is it only for her cousin… or Physician Li?

He thought of the silk pouch in his chest. Because he was afraid of accidentally losing it, he had always kept it carefully pressed against his heart.

Perhaps he should take a look at what was actually inside the pouch. This thought flashed through Shao Mingyuan’s mind.

Coroner Qian walked over and focused intently on the corpse.

His eyes didn’t blink as he examined it seriously, as if he were facing not a bloated, rotting corpse but a wonderful work of art.

Qiao Zhao endured the discomfort while quietly observing Coroner Qian, thinking: Each profession has its specialty. Perhaps it’s precisely because of this that Coroner Qian could become the best coroner under heaven.

The stench of decay drilled straight into Qiao Zhao’s nose, but she forced herself not to move away.

Coroner Qian had said the real test hadn’t begun yet. She could probably guess what the upcoming test would be.

This was truly an arduous test, but she absolutely couldn’t retreat. One step back, and her parents and relatives would never be cleared of injustice.

“Little Six, get her a pair of gloves,” Coroner Qian straightening up.

Little Six brought over a pair of gloves, his gaze moving back and forth between Shao Mingyuan and Qiao Zhao, unable to determine who should receive them.

Qiao Zhao reached out to take the gloves: “Thank you.”

Little Six couldn’t help but look toward Coroner Qian.

Coroner Qian nodded slightly, his gaze toward Qiao Zhao becoming somewhat gentler.

Little Six looked incredulous.

Master wouldn’t want this young lady to become a coroner, would he?

That would truly be absurd!

Qiao Zhao put on the gloves and proactively asked: “Coroner Qian, what should I do?”

Since she couldn’t escape, better to get it over with quickly.

“You’re not afraid?” Coroner Qian wasn’t in a hurry to speak now, examining Qiao Zhao with interest.

Qiao Zhao forced a smile: “Whether I’m afraid or not, the test won’t change.”

She was just an ordinary girl – how could she not be afraid? Not just afraid, but extremely disgusted.

Coroner Qian nodded: “Very well. Carefully observe the corpse’s hands and describe what you see.”

Qiao Zhao’s face was pale. She couldn’t even take a deep breath to calm her emotions, because that would mean inhaling the nauseating stench.

Perhaps her proactive action of putting on gloves satisfied Coroner Qian somewhat. Seeing her momentarily motionless, he just stared at her without immediately scolding.

The young woman lowered her eyes to stare at her own hands.

In that moment, Shao Mingyuan felt an impulse to disregard everything and take her away.

What was it all for that she would push herself to such extremes?

Qiao Zhao reached out and grasped the corpse’s hand.

The sensation was indescribable, yet she knew she would never forget it for the rest of her life.

Chi Can walked back in. Seeing the scene inside, his expression changed.

Shao Mingyuan reached out to grab him and shook his head.

Chi Can stared at Coroner Qian as if he wanted to devour him: “How could he—”

Shao Mingyuan sighed softly: “Shixi, if you can’t bear it, wait outside.”

Chi Can shook his head: “No, I’ll stay here to keep her company.”

Neither spoke again. The young woman’s sweet voice rang out: “The hand is swollen, bluish-red in color, the epidermis…”

“Look at the fingernails.”

Qiao Zhao suppressed her nausea and observed: “The fingernails aren’t long – they should have been trimmed recently. They look very clean…”

Coroner Qian nodded and pointed to the corpse’s mouth: “Pry it open and look.”

Seeing Qiao Zhao standing motionless, he raised his voice somewhat, quite impatient: “Hurry up!”

Qiao Zhao extended her hand to touch the corpse’s mouth. Fine beads of sweat covered her forehead, and her face was paler than snow.

After a moment, her voice rang out, clear in the malodorous, cold room.

Time passed – no one knew how long. For Shao Mingyuan and Chi Can, it seemed like they had never endured such difficulty. Finally, they heard Coroner Qian speak: “Enough.”

Everyone looked toward Qiao Zhao.

The young woman still stood straight, but her clothes were already soaked with sweat, as if she had been pulled from water.

She struggled somewhat to remove the gloves.

Coroner Qian glanced at her and said indifferently, “If you want to vomit, you can go outside.”

Qiao Zhao shook her head.

Coroner Qian withdrew his gaze and looked toward Little Six.

“Master, did you discover something?”

“This person was pushed into the water after death.”

Little Six was somewhat shocked: “How could you tell?”

Not only was Little Six surprised, but Shao Mingyuan and Chi Can were equally unable to hide their amazement. Only Qiao Zhao, who had personally experienced the examination just now, stood with lowered eyes, dimly understanding.

“If a person drowns, instinct would cause violent struggling, so there would be mud, sand, and water plants between the fingers and under the fingernails. But this corpse’s fingers are very clean…” Coroner Qian explained unhurriedly.

In this cold room, though his clothes were ragged and his face weathered, he seemed like the master ruling this domain, radiating strong confidence.

Qiao Zhao listened carefully. For a moment, she even temporarily forgot the overwhelming nausea.

Starting from the corpse’s hand characteristics, Coroner Qian explained, according to the parts he had made Qiao Zhao examine, speaking both to Little Six and to Qiao Zhao.

When he finished, he glanced at Qiao Zhao and asked Little Six: “Do you understand?”

Little Six nodded with admiration: “I understand. Master, you still need to take action personally. Yesterday I looked for half the day and couldn’t see anything.”

Coroner Qian smiled coldly.

“Master, did you determine this person’s cause of death?” Little Six took the opportunity to ask.

The county magistrate took this case very seriously, otherwise, he wouldn’t have made several trips up the mountain in one day. He had been desperate, but unexpectedly, his master had come down the mountain.

“This person was smothered to death.”

Little Six’s eyes widened: “How could Master tell? I examined the neck area – there were no marks.”

“Look at the injuries in the mouth and nose, and also—” Coroner Qian used tweezers to extract a thin thread from the corpse’s oral cavity. “What do you think this is?”

“This is—” Little Six blinked, his face wrinkling.

“Embroidery thread?” Qiao Zhao blurted out.

Coroner Qian nodded, looking at Qiao Zhao with approval: “Correct, it’s embroidery thread.”

He looked deeply at Little Six: “This person was thrown into water after death. The embroidery thread in the mouth and nose couldn’t have been inhaled after entering the water. Under what circumstances would a person inhale this?”

Little Six wasn’t stupid and blurted out: “When someone uses a soft handkerchief or similar embroidered item to cover the mouth and nose?”

“Exactly.” Coroner Qian threw the tweezers onto the tray and nodded slightly to Qiao Zhao.

“Little girl, you’ve temporarily passed your test. Let’s go.”