Chapter 497: All Three Went to the Chang'an Ghost Market Before Their Deaths!

Fine snow drifted like cotton, covering the eaves outside the hall of Jing Zhao Fu, filtering the midday light into a dim haze.

The charcoal fire inside the hall burned brightly, yet it could not disperse the lingering heaviness in the air.

The last eyewitness bowed and withdrew, the wooden door creaked shut, finally cutting off most of the wind and snow sounds from outside.

Chen Yan leaned sideways on the wooden chair covered with thick felt, his fingertips pressing his brow and gently massaging, murmuring, "Finally, the questioning is over…."

The soft crackle of the charcoal fire rang especially clear in the hall; Gao Jiong leaned forward, gathering the scattered notes, his fingertips pressing the pages to smooth the creases, the ink stains spreading faint shadows in the warm light.

When he straightened up, his brows already heavy with gravity, he stepped to the desk and said in a deep voice, "Sir, the results of the questioning are all the same…."

After a pause, he lowered his eyes to scan the notes in his hand, his expression growing more solemn, his tone adding a few more gravities: "In summary, Staff Officer Han, Staff Officer Zhang, and Junior Officer Li all died in full view of the public!"

"And they bore no fatal wounds!"

In other words, those who were present at the time and witnessed the three officials' sudden deaths serve as proof that the murderer was not present.....

Chen Yan slowly lifted his head, his sharp eyes still present, but now with a hint of clear composure; he gave a slight nod and reached out to lift the tea bowl from the desk.

The blue‑white porcelain bowl still retained warmth; the scalding tea slipped down his throat, dispelling the surrounding chill, and only then did he speak slowly, meaningfully, "This is probably the effect the murderer wanted to achieve…."

"To create a terrifying, cursed atmosphere!"

Gao Jiong, hearing this, exhaled a heavy gust of stale breath; the heaviness in his brows eased slightly, yet still carried a trace of apprehension, and he remarked, "The method is indeed formidable!"

"The three were all Court‑appointed officials; they died in full view yet bore no fatal wounds. Once the news spread, the entire city's populace would surely be thrown into panic."

"Had you not arrived beforehand and exposed the human‑made key....."

"Shuyi, upon first hearing this, couldn't help but think of ghosts and monsters at work!"

He recalled the bizarre scenes described by the eyewitnesses earlier, and a faint chill rose on his back.

No wounds, not even contact, just like a sudden death from a cursed illness.....

Just hearing it sends shivers down the spine.

"If the murderer has put such thought into the scheme, they surely don't want it easily seen through."

"Yet there is no truly trace‑free killing method in this world; it's merely hidden more covertly!"

Chen Yan's lips curled into a faint curve; as he set down the tea bowl, his brows lifted slightly, and his fingertips rhythmically tapped the desk, the thudding sounds echoing distinctly in the quiet hall.

His gaze passed over the window lattice, looking at the snow swirling outside, and he murmured calmly, "I wonder how their autopsies turned out....."

After another pause, his fingertips rested on the edge of the notes on the desk, "Jing Zhao Fu is truly curious how the murderer managed to kill unseen while in full view!"

The reason Chen Yan deliberately kept Zhu Yi to assist Tang Jingwen with the autopsies was to speculate that it might be some method......

Because the way they died gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

It reminded him strongly of a low‑budget, high‑quality web drama he had once watched.....

The silence in the hall had just begun to spread when the sound of footsteps treading snow arrived from outside, the cold wind and snow drawing nearer.

Gao Jiong suddenly tilted his ear toward the doorway, his gaze fixed, and immediately called out, "Sir, Liu Mu Zhi has returned!"

The wooden door was gently pushed open, a rush of cold air carrying a few snowflakes surged in; Liu Mu Zhi entered with a tall, upright bearing, a thin layer of snow foam on his shoulders, icy particles still clinging to his hair, followed by several embroidered‑clad envoys.

He swung the door shut behind him, sealing the swirling snow outside, and hurried toward the desk.

Chen Yan lifted his gaze, the inquisitiveness still evident in his eyes, and asked, "Mu Zhi, what are the results of your investigation?"

Liu Mu Zhi hurried to the desk, bowing his waist slightly, clasping his fists in a salute; his voice, hoarse from the haste of travel, still carried weight as he said, "Sir, I have a discovery....."

Hearing this, Chen Yan pressed his lips together, a hint of urgency in his brows, and immediately raised his hand to urge, "Speak quickly!"

After leaving the morgue, Chen Yan deliberately arranged for separate actions.....

Since the three families were all not far from Jing Zhao Fu, Liu Mu Zhi led the embroidered envoys to make a round trip.

Liu Mu Zhi straightened, his fingertips instinctively gripping his sleeve cuff, pausing briefly to phrase his words, ensuring accuracy before speaking in a deep tone, "Returning, Sir, I have traced the recent movements of the three deceased; I found that Staff Officer Han and Junior Officer Li, shortly before their deaths, had privately gone together to the Chang'an Ghost Market....."

"To buy Hu women!"

After another pause, he added, "I have separately visited the two residences, using the pretext of checking the clues to examine carefully, and indeed saw those Hu women in the side courtyard."

"They all had high noses and deep‑set eyes, hair colors varied, looking as if they had just entered the Central Plains, their expressions restrained......"

Those Hu women possessed an exotic charm; though not as refined as those at the Duke's mansion, they were still quite fine.

Liu Mu Zhi had the embroidered envoys examine them closely; none possessed any martial skill.....

In the hall, the charcoal fire crackled, sparks flaring up and falling.

Gao Jiong, hearing this, clicked his tongue in surprise, his face full of astonishment, and remarked, "I didn't expect it, those two gentlemen actually liked that after all....."

Chen Yan's fingertips rubbed his jaw, he lifted his gaze to Liu Mu Zhi, his eyes sharp as torches, and asked directly, "What unusual aspects did you notice, and why?"

Liu Mu Zhi lowered his eyes, lingering in thought for a moment; when he raised his gaze again, his eyes were filled with depth, showing no ripple, only a heavy solemnity. He stepped forward half a pace, lowered his voice, and said, "Staff Officer Zhang also went to the Chang'an Ghost Market before his death....."

"Only, he wasn't there to buy Hu women; it seemed he was investigating some secret matter!"

"All that said, Staff Officer Han and Junior Officer Li went to buy Hu women, while Staff Officer Zhang went to investigate....."

"Regardless of purpose, the three of them all went to the Chang'an Ghost Market before they died!"

"This cannot be a coincidence!"

Chen Yan sat upright in his chair; hearing this, his eyes narrowed slightly, a sharp glint flashing in his gaze, and he slowly spoke, his tone laden with meaning, "Now that is an important discovery....."

"The three all went to the Ghost Market, then died in rapid succession without any fatal wounds, and a cursed‑murder illusion was fabricated."

He tapped the desk lightly with his fingertips, "If so, perhaps their cause of death lies within…."

As his words fell, the hall fell into a brief silence.

That Chang'an Ghost Market was originally a gathering place for the three teachings and the myriad sects, a mingling of fish and dragons, concealing filth and corruption.....

Now it has become the only intersection before the three deaths, and it must contain the key to solving the case.

After a moment, the three exchanged glances and simultaneously nodded.

At that moment, two steady footsteps sounded from outside the door.

The wooden door was pushed open again, and amid the flurry of snow, Tang Jingwen and Zhu Yi entered side by side.

The two hurried to the desk; Tang Jingwen first bowed and spoke with a steady, powerful voice, without a hint of hesitation, "Sir, we have completed the autopsies of all three deceased."

Chen Yan heard the words, his body slightly leaned forward, his gaze fell on Tang Jingwen, and asked, "How is it? Any sign of a fatal wound or poison?"

Gao Jiong and Liu Mu Zhi also turned their eyes sideways together, holding their breath and concentrating, waiting for the result.

After all, this is the key to solving the murder case.....

Tang Jingwen straightened up, brows tightly knit, expression heavier than when he arrived, slowly shook his head, and in a deep voice replied, "Sir, Shuyi has carefully examined the entire bodies of the three deceased, from head to toe, the skin intact, no knife wounds, blunt‑force injuries or any injury marks; the mouth, nose, internal organs were also examined, and no residual poison was detected....."

"Even the skeletal meridians show no trace of bruising or damage; there is no internal injury at all!"

Gao Jiong let out a murmuring to himself, repeatedly chewing on those four words: "No wound, no poison?"

His brows knotted, his face full of shock and disbelief, pupils slightly dilated, as if he could not digest this inconceivable result, "Even the coroner of the Bright Mirror Department cannot determine the cause of death....."

No external injury, no poisoning, no internal injury, yet the conclusion remains sudden death out of nowhere.

At that moment, Gao Jiong more clearly felt the horror of the murderer.....

We must have Father add guards to the mansion; this portion of silver cannot be spared!

Chen Yan's expression did not change, still as calm as before, sitting upright, eyes like torches, burningly staring at Tang Jingwen, and asked, "What about their heads?"

"Any fine cracks in the occipital region?"

Tang Jingwen was instantly struck as if by lightning, his whole body froze, his graying beard trembled slightly, his face wrote unmasked surprise.

He stared blankly at Chen Yan, eyes full of disbelief, only after a while did he recover, his voice carrying a barely perceptible tremor, astonished, he asked, "You… Sir, how do you know?!"

This is something the two of them have repeatedly examined for a long time, spending considerable time to confirm.....

Yet the very master who never even touched the corpses accurately stated it?!

Too inconceivable!

Chen Yan saw this, the curve of his lips widened a bit, turning into a faint smile, and said, "Seeing your reaction, I guess the household was right!"

Tang Jingwen then fully recovered, the earlier shock turned into admiration, looking at Chen Yan, his graying beard swayed lightly from the stirring emotions, and he instinctively raised his thumb, his tone full of awe: "Sir, you are simply divine!"

As soon as the words fell, he quickly composed his expression, face returned to seriousness, bowed and clasped his hands, and in a deep voice reported the key details of the autopsy: "Sir, after Shuyi repeatedly examined and confirmed, the three deceased have identical injuries at the occipital bone and the brow bone!"

"It was not a direct blow to the back of the head, but first someone struck the brow bone and eye socket with a clever force; the force traveled along the skeleton, and because the deceased was caught off guard and tilted his head back, the back of the head slammed into a hard object, creating that hair‑thin crack!"

"That crack is extremely hidden; if Shuyi had not examined corpses for years and been intimately familiar with bone texture, and had not used a silver needle to probe the grain, plus the assistance of Guard Zhu, it would have been impossible to detect!"

Zhu Yi took over the sentence, pausing between each word: "The murderer used a throwing Secret Weapon Technique!"

After a pause, he continued: "As Young Master you previously speculated, this secret weapon is small and concealed, yet its force is precisely calibrated, targeting the vital point of the brow bone."

"If there were even a third‑rate master's skill nearby, or a slightly higher vigilance, one could sense the incoming secret weapon and block it, never suffering such a disaster!"

Chen Yan slowly nodded, a playful smile curling at his lips, his gaze deep as a pool: "Indeed, it causes the skull to crack, leading to a brain hematoma."

He tapped the desk lightly with his fingertip, "The best part is, this injury does not cause immediate death; it only triggers dizziness and weakness, a state often mistaken for fatigue from overwork over many days......."

"Thus, whether the victim or those around him, they usually do not notice the abnormality right away, only watching them grow weaker in a daze until eventual death!"

Gao Jiong and Liu Mu Zhi exchanged glances, both showing a look of sudden enlightenment.

Tang Jingwen nodded repeatedly, face full of agreement, and immediately affirmed: "Exactly! When Shuyi examined, we found that the three deceased all had brain hematomas, but because the external injury was minimal, without linking the skull crack deeper, one would never think this was the cause!"

"Disguising it as a curse, the meticulous mind and poisonous method are truly rare!"

Chen Yan's right hand lightly supported his jaw, the pad of his finger slowly rubbed his stubble, his gaze settled on the record on the desk, sinking into deep thought, murmuring, "Staff Officer Zhang went to Chang'an Ghost Market, what exactly was he investigating....."

"What could make the murderer resort to such a concealed poisonous method, repeatedly silencing them....."

At that moment, Tang Jingwen suddenly spoke again, his tone a bit urgent: "Sir, Shuyi has another discovery!"

Chen Yan heard, instantly withdrew his thoughts, lifted his eyes to look at him, a hint of inquiry flashing: "Oh?"

Tang Jingwen's expression was solemn, he said in a deep voice: "In Staff Officer Zhang's shoe sole, we found an object....."

He spoke while reaching his hand into his bosom.....