It’s not unusual for mushrooms to grow on rotten tree stumps, but no one had heard of them growing on human bodies. Even Xu Wenlin paused his step: “What is this?”

Doctor Xie had already opened the deceased’s chest cavity and replied: “I’m embarrassed to say that Captain Ma has no new wounds anywhere on his body. I cannot find the path through which the poison entered. I need Miss Tan’s help.”

Tan Qingshuang, who was nearby, said softly: “These are flesh-eating mushrooms from Sunset Swamp. They naturally feed on poison. With Doctor Xie’s permission, I placed the spores of these mushrooms on the corpse, and now they’ve grown.” She pointed to the deceased’s chest and abdomen. “The more violent the poison, the more vibrant the color and larger the size of the mushrooms. The deepest traces of poison often remain near the wound, and even if invisible to the naked eye, these mushrooms can always detect it.”

The others looked carefully and indeed found that the mushrooms growing on different parts of the corpse varied. Those on the limbs were pale in color and small in size. The closer to the chest and abdomen, the darker the mushrooms and the more vigorously they grew.

“The mushrooms growing on the chest are the darkest, but there’s no breach in the skin—not even a needle mark can be seen. Therefore, I opened Captain Ma’s chest to examine it and discovered this inside his heart valve.” Doctor Xie held up a small glass bottle.

The bottle was transparent, allowing everyone to see two tiny ants inside!

They were half the size of ordinary ants—those with poor eyesight could barely see them.

Tan Qingshuang exclaimed in shock: “Heart-devouring ants?”

Seeing everyone’s eyes turn to her, she explained: “Though small, heart-devouring ants are extremely fierce ancient beasts. They are naturally immune to all poisons, and if there are more than a hundred of them, they can devour an adult’s heart in just over ten seconds. Their distinguishing feature is their enormous mouthparts, which make up half their total volume. I’ve only read about them in books; I never expected to see them in person.”

Xu Wenlin’s face darkened: “Captain Ma was killed by two ants?”

“There are no wounds on his body,” Doctor Xie added. “The ants might have carried poison and entered through his ears, mouth, or nose. They’re not much larger than dust particles, so invading a human body would only cause slight discomfort.”

Xu Wenlin said coldly: “In any case, someone manipulated them secretly.”

Qiao Tianxing sighed in relief: “Then it could have been any one of the onlookers.”

Xu Wenlin gave him a look: “Perhaps, but your suspicion hasn’t been cleared yet—the range of suspects has merely expanded.” He stood up, his expression fierce. “Now seal off Shun Dongfeng, upstairs and downstairs, including all the bystanders who were watching when it happened. Don’t let anyone escape!”

Miss Yao said with a pained expression: “I need to go upstairs quickly to inform the customers.”

Xu Wenlin beckoned to her: “Come with me.”

Miss Yao had no choice but to follow.

The two entered a nearby accounting room. Xu Wenlin set up a barrier, and the anger he had been suppressing appeared unmasked on his face: “Useless! This incident was all caused by you! Don’t you have a brain? Why did you pick a fight with the Wei envoy?” His iron fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly. He wanted to slap this shrew but feared that with so many people outside, being seen assaulting a witness would not look good.

In the end, he could only forcefully jab the table twice, puncturing two holes in it.

Miss Yao looked at the two holes in the table, her eyes showing alarm, but she immediately lowered her head: “I was wrong. I despise Wei people too much.”

She offered no defense, which left Xu Wenlin with his anger bottled up inside. He paced back and forth a few steps before saying: “Tonight’s murderer might have been targeting the Crown Prince. I’m letting you know so you’ll understand how to respond later.”

Miss Yao suddenly raised her head: “Is that so? These people weren’t trying to kill Captain Ma?”

“What use would killing him serve?” Xu Wenlin laughed coldly. “Tonight, the Crown Prince was traveling incognito and dining at Shun Dongfeng. I don’t know where they got this information.” As the commander of the City Guards, he naturally had access to such classified information before others.

Miss Yao finally understood why he had rushed to Shun Dongfeng and asked dumbly: “So it was Captain Ma who died?”

“What do you know?” Xu Wenlin snorted. “Using heart-devouring ants to kill leaves no trace, far superior to conventional methods. But controlling such ancient beasts isn’t like using one’s divine powers—they can be guided but not perfectly controlled. When their ferocity is unleashed, they can injure the wrong person.”

Mistaken injury? Miss Yao was stunned and after a long while just said, “Oh.”

Xu Wenlin had already paced back and forth several times by the table. Now he stopped and said: “Although you’ve caused me trouble, it might not be a bad thing. When the final accounts are settled, this mark against the Wei people cannot be erased. Hah, perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise?”

Miss Yao stared at him, understanding yet not understanding. Had the general determined that the Wei people were the killers? But if so, why say “it might not be a bad thing”? How could an assassination attempt on the Crown Prince be a good thing?

Xu Wenlin turned his head and saw her confused face, and couldn’t help but curse: “Stupid woman!” His mood had improved compared to earlier. Seeing Miss Yao in her peach-colored skirt and white blouse, her waist seeming even slimmer than before, he added, “You can’t escape punishment. I’ll deal with you tonight!”

Miss Yao blinked twice, seemingly aware that the storm had passed, and responded with a soft sound: “Has the general found a new favorite? How do you still remember an old flame like me?”

Xu Wenlin could hear the jealousy in her voice and glanced at her sideways: “Don’t be resentful. She’s pretty, but she doesn’t know how to please me like you do.”

Miss Yao covered her mouth with a handkerchief and laughed: “If the general used the same methods on her as he did on me, she would surely yield.”

“She’s from a respectable family.”

Miss Yao snorted: “And I’m not?” She looked him up and down, eyes wide. “Don’t tell me the general hasn’t conquered her yet?”

Being looked down upon by a woman, Xu Wenlin’s face darkened. He grabbed her waist to pull her closer, his hand moving downward, about to grab her firm buttocks.

But just then, a guard suddenly knocked loudly on the door outside, urgently saying: “One of the Wei envoy’s guards has escaped! Our brothers have already gone after him.”

Miss Yao immediately stepped sideways, while Xu Wenlin wasted no words and strode out rapidly: “Bring him back for thorough questioning!”

The Wei guard hadn’t managed to escape very far. The City Guards, familiar with the terrain, cornered him after pursuing him for several hundred paces. But no matter how fast they moved, they couldn’t outpace the speed of poison—they soon found the Wei guard lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth and writhing uncontrollably.

Within seconds, the man had died.

When the corpse was brought back, Xu Wenlin’s eyes flashed with fury, as if he wanted to bore a hole through it with his gaze. Qiao Tianxing, however, turned pale as paper, muttering: “How could this happen?”

Just as he was about to clear himself of suspicion, what madness had possessed his guard to flee and then commit suicide by poison? It indicated guilt! Now, how could Xu Wenlin not make things difficult for him?

Sure enough, Xu Wenlin turned his gaze on him, looking him up and down: “Does the Wei envoy have anything else to say?”