Chapter 101: The Corpse Rot Poison

By the faint light of a Fire Folder, Xie Daohan walked to the end of the tunnel and turned into the underground cavern!

Once inside the cavern, that nauseating stench grew even more intense.

Even though Xie Daohan had witnessed countless crime scenes, he could barely hold on; he covered his nose with his sleeve and walked forward a few more steps!

Xie Daohan suddenly saw a blade lying on the ground by his feet; it was a barrier blade!

The barrier blade was the standard-issue sidearm for the Constables of Qingzhou.

The ominous premonition in Xie Daohan's heart grew stronger, and his gaze turned cold.

He walked two more steps and faintly saw a person lying on the ground!

He walked over cautiously and shone the Fire Folder toward the person's face!

That could barely be considered a human face!

Both eyeballs had completely melted into black pus, which had flowed out of the sockets and corroded trails of rotting flesh down both cheeks!

In the middle of the face appeared to be a knife wound that had sliced both the nose and mouth in two; the blood had already dried, and the wound was gaping open...

The right side of the neck was even more of a black, rotting mess, and the skin and flesh on half the shoulder had already rotted away, oozing black pus...

Although the corpse was unrecognizable, Xie Daohan recognized at a glance that this was his own nephew, Xie Lei!

"Lei'er! Oh, Lei'er!"

Xie Daohan slammed his head against the ground and wept bitterly! "Uncle came too late!"

"Who was it?"

"Lei'er! Who was it? Who made you die so miserably!" Xie Daohan's eyes were split with rage, his eyes bloodshot, and snot streaming down his face!

"Big Brother, I have failed you! It was I who didn't take good care of Lei'er! I have let the Xie family line end with me!"

Xie Daohan clawed at the hard, dry soil on the ground and said hatefully, "No matter who you are! I will definitely drag you out!"

"I will carve your flesh off piece by piece! Roast it, and feed it to the dogs!"

After his grief, Xie Daohan quickly calmed down; he wiped away his tears and immediately organized a team of Constables to seal off the area.

At the same time, he sent someone to fetch the Coroner to examine the body and search for clues!

Before the Coroner arrived, Xie Daohan held up an oil lamp and entered the cavern for a second time, where he made further discoveries.

In the corner of the wall, he found discarded tattered clothes and shoes and socks...

Xie Daohan recognized at a glance that those were the clothes Xu Ruhu had been wearing when he was arrested...

Xie Daohan's heart hammered; next to the clothes was a patch of peeled-off hair, and looking at the graying hair, it appeared to be Xu Ruhu's scalp!

"Xu Ruhu?" He had not expected that Xie Lei's death would also be related to Xu Ruhu!

Soon, Xie Daohan dug up Xu Ruhu's corpse in the ground next to the clothes!

Inside the cavern, Xie Daohan felt a chill run through his body, his thoughts spinning rapidly...

He immediately issued an order for several capable, trusted Constables to lead teams to seal off the four city gates again!

He prepared to have the Coroner examine the bodies first, and after the examination, he would compile the information and report it immediately to the County Magistrate, Shen Yanliu!

A major case had taken a turn; the city gates could no longer allow anyone to enter or exit!

Just as Xie Daohan finished making arrangements, a Constable arrived with the Coroner.

This Coroner was following in his father's footsteps; his name was Liu Kui, and he was only twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

Being so young, one would surely look down on him at first glance! After all, the Coroner's profession was one built on accumulated experience!

But Xie Daohan had been working with him for two or three years and had watched his father train him; he had always known that this kid, despite his age, had grown up around skeletons and was already no worse than his old father when it came to performing autopsies!

"Liu Kui, my Lei'er has been murdered! You must examine him thoroughly; if you find any clues, I will reward you handsomely!" Xie Daohan said with red eyes.

On the way over, Liu Kui had already heard from the Constable who summoned him, so he sighed and said, "Head Constable Xie, please accept my condolences! I will do my utmost!"

Liu Kui did not practice martial arts, and since the well was narrow, it was inconvenient for Xie Daohan to carry him up and down, so he tied a rope at the edge of the well and lowered Liu Kui, who was carrying his toolbox, down!

Liu Kui descended to the cavern at the bottom of the well; by this time, bright oil lamps had been lit in the four corners of the cavern.

The thick stench and the smell of blood were extremely pungent, but Liu Kui merely frowned and managed to endure it!

Inside the cavern, there were only Xie Daohan and Liu Kui.

Liu Kui's gaze was focused as he began using various tools to examine Xie Lei's corpse!

Liu Kui used a scraper to scrape a bit of the black, purulent blood, dissolved it into a bowl of clear water, lifted the bowl to sniff it carefully, and then threw a small piece of cured meat from his toolbox into the bowl to observe the changes in the meat!

"How is it? What exactly is that black pus poison?" Xie Daohan asked eagerly from the side.

Liu Kui acted as if he hadn't heard, continuing his work, and surprisingly, Xie Daohan didn't fly into a rage, simply waiting patiently on the side.

After a long while, Liu Kui raised his head, his sharp, bright eyes flashing as he said, "This should be Corpse Rot Poison!"

"Corpse Rot Poison?"

"Yes." Liu Kui's gaze was clear and steady as he said, "It comes from the hands of the evil doctor Shen Ping. It is based on corpse poison and mixed with various other toxins; the toxicity is intense and complex, with no known antidote!"

"The evil doctor Shen Ping... this person seems to have... been in seclusion for many years..." A look of contemplation appeared in Xie Daohan's eyes.

"Head Constable Xie, do you remember? Several years ago, shortly after the County Magistrate arrived in Xiangu County to take office, when we were handling a case related to the Whale Tiger Gang, I followed my father to perform an autopsy and encountered this Corpse Rot Poison as well!" Liu Kui suddenly said.

Xie Daohan's gaze shifted. "The Whale Tiger Gang?"

He truly hadn't known about this; at the time, the case regarding the Whale Tiger Gang had been handled personally by Shen Yanliu, who hadn't let him participate at all!

Xie Daohan thought to himself: This Whale Tiger Gang has been gone for many years; could this matter be related to them?

Xie Daohan pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Are there any other clues?"

Liu Kui's eyes flickered as he said, "This wound on Xie Lei's face should be a knife wound, but the edges of the wound have not rotted, which shows the blade was not coated in poison!"

"As for these rotting wounds..." Liu Kui paused slightly and said, "They should be from some kind of small, poison-coated hidden weapon! Very likely flying needles!"

"Flying needles?" Xie Daohan's heart stirred as he searched his mind for anyone in Xiangu County who practiced similar hidden weapon techniques.

"Both eyeballs have completely liquefied, and the degree of corrosion around the edges of the entire eye socket is about the same. This shows that the poison-coated hidden weapon struck exactly in the center of the eyeballs. Therefore, it must be some kind of small, poison-coated hidden weapon, most likely flying needles!" Liu Kui said with flickering eyes, as if he had seen the scene himself.

In truth, when Duan Rong left, he had already taken the remaining flying needles, but he still hadn't managed to escape Liu Kui's analysis.

Xie Daohan left the underground cavern, preparing to go find Shen Yanliu to report on the case. Just as he exited Xie Lei's courtyard, a Constable suddenly came galloping up on horseback, telling him that at the West City Gate, someone was holding a funeral procession, and there was a list personally approved by the County Magistrate, with over a hundred people on it!

Xie Daohan was furious; his Lei had just died, and for a funeral to be held at this very moment was far too coincidental.

He could not help but suspect that the enemy who killed his nephew was mixed in with the funeral crowd, trying to use the opportunity to leave the city and escape.

Xie Daohan immediately mounted his horse and galloped toward the West City Gate, fearing that if he arrived too late, he would let the enemy escape.

Looking at the list in his hand stamped with the County Office's official seal, Xie Daohan was momentarily in a dilemma!

Beside that seal, there was also Shen Yanliu's personal signature!

If he were to directly refuse to recognize this warrant, he would be slapping Shen Yanliu in the face!

Having worked with Shen Yanliu for these past few years, Xie Daohan had already figured out Shen Yanliu's temperament very clearly; this man usually appeared lenient, but in reality, he had a strong desire for power and was a narrow-minded fellow who would seek revenge for the slightest grievance.

Shen Yanliu was already quite suspicious of him; if he dared to refuse to recognize a warrant that Shen Yanliu had personally signed and stamped, he feared his time as Head Constable would be at an end, and Shen Yanliu would certainly find a reason to strip him of his position.

Besides, wasn't this case of Xu Ruhu right before his eyes a ready-made handle for him to use?

The prison break was likely the work of Lei; although he did not know the hidden circumstances within, could he, as both Head Constable and uncle, truly stay out of this matter?

(End of chapter)