Chapter 33: Gu Jiangming Feels Something Is Not Quite Right!

The Leping County government office in reality.

A corpse with a miserable cause of death had its face covered by a black cloth.

Even for someone like Assistant Magistrate Li, who was accustomed to murder cases, seeing the state of the deceased felt extremely unsettling.

"Jianyue, you are knowledgeable and experienced." Magistrate Lu's expression was equally unsightly; he pointed at the corpse and said, "Does this have anything to do with a monster causing trouble?"

Assistant Magistrate Li, whose given name was Li Hua and courtesy name was Jianyue, was not a native of Leping County; he had mishandled affairs in the line of duty and offended some people, leading to his demotion all the way here.

This Leping County was located in a remote area, but the county seat had weathered many years of storms, and the number of murder cases encountered was actually not high; this one in particular was a complete anomaly, especially since the deceased's state was extremely jarring.

The deceased had clamped his own hands onto his neck, presenting a twisted posture, while his legs were splayed outward as if snapped like chopsticks, the bones completely fractured.

It was as if a giant had broken his thighs.

Assistant Magistrate Li naturally did not want to get involved in this matter; for things that could be linked to ghosts and gods, it was better to believe they existed than to believe they did not.

"How does the Magistrate wish to handle this?" Assistant Magistrate Li immediately threw the question back; this county seat was not his alone, and in terms of official rank, Assistant Magistrate Li was only the second-in-command.

The true master was still Magistrate Lu.

"I think it is suicide." Magistrate Lu hesitated for a moment, intending to reach a conclusion; for this kind of thing, if you really had to investigate, it would be hard to do so, and if it were a slightly more normal death, he might have been able to see some clues.

In this state, who could find out who the real culprit was?

"Let the coroner examine it tomorrow morning; if there are no other suspicious signs, it is suicide." Assistant Magistrate Li agreed to this.

"But what if such cases appear in the county seat again in the future, what should we do then?" The constable who discovered the corpse beside them still looked shaken.

Large and tall, he was covered in cold sweat; fearing the unknown had always been a human instinct.

His words spoke of the thing the two of them least wanted to face.

This time it was suicide, but if another murder case occurred, would that also be suicide?

Could it still be suicide?

"See if there are any enlightened people nearby who can perform rituals." Assistant Magistrate Li pondered for a moment and said, "Invite them first to see if they can dispel the disaster."

When dawn arrived, a rooster crowed.

Gu Jiangming walked in from the gate outside the county seat; as soon as he entered the government office, he felt an incomparably heavy atmosphere.

"Old Chang, what happened today?" Gu Jiangming asked the constable standing at the entrance.

Chang An glanced at Gu Jiangming.

Over these three months, Gu Jiangming had become a familiar face to everyone in Leping County; he was eloquent, and everyone knew that Gu Jiangming had a deep relationship with Assistant Magistrate Li in the government office, so they naturally gave him some face.

"Leping County had a murder case." Chang An mentioned it, lowering his voice, "The method is very strange; I'm afraid it's a monster causing trouble."

Gu Jiangming found it strange; the simulation in the Reincarnation World a few days ago was exactly about a monster causing trouble in an era where cultivators were in decline.

Waking up today and hearing this sentence was rather frightening.

But surely there couldn't really be a monster, right?

Simulation is simulation, and reality is reality.

But Gu Jiangming thought again, if the simulation came true, it didn't seem like it would necessarily be a bad thing?

At the very least, he would gain a wife for free.

He had genuinely dated a partner in that Reincarnation World.

Thinking of this, Gu Jiangming smiled again.

What are you thinking about!

Starting to dream in broad daylight?

His Reincarnation World was pushed back ten thousand years, so what? Could he still change things that happened ten thousand years ago?

What a joke! A cheat of this level could never appear in his hands.

Go check the situation first.

Monster causing trouble?

I want to see how a monster causes trouble!

Gu Jiangming followed the path to the government office's mortuary to see the corpse Chang An spoke of.

As soon as he entered, Gu Jiangming saw the bizarre corpse.

Originally, Gu Jiangming wanted to find Assistant Magistrate Li to talk about some high-end investigative techniques.

Even a familiar short-video case-explanation tune had already started playing in his head.

He was planning to teach by example, identifying potential clues based on the deceased's interpersonal relationships and identity, helping Leping County make a major breakthrough in this case.

The moment he saw the corpse.

Gu Jiangming fell silent.

As everyone knows, a normal person cannot commit suicide by strangling themselves.

Because the human body's survival instinct has a life-saving mechanism; once consciousness blurs, one will let go and breathe naturally, the same principle as how a person cannot suffocate themselves by holding their breath.

Of course, if a ruthless person could break their own neck, that would be a different matter.

This was clearly someone who had strangled themselves to death.

It directly caused Gu Jiangming's brain to crash.

"Uncle Zhang, what is his cause of death?" Gu Jiangming asked.

"Magistrate Yu said it was death by asphyxiation." The coroner, addressed as Uncle Zhang, replied to Gu Jiangming.

The coroner in ancient times was not like a modern forensic pathologist; he was just an ordinary minor official whose main job was to handle the moving and dissection of corpses.

There was another coroner responsible for recording and reporting.

Although this was not any dynasty Gu Jiangming was familiar with, the corresponding official positions were all present.

"Are there any signs of prior strangulation?" Gu Jiangming still had some doubts, "Is there a possibility that he was suffocated first, and then that illusion was created?"

Uncle Zhang looked at Gu Jiangming.

Then he shook his head, "I cannot pry his hands off now, and there are no rope-like ligature marks on his neck."

"If he had drowned, there should be water in his stomach that he swallowed in his panic."

"He has neither water on him nor ligature marks; from head to toe, aside from his broken legs, there is nothing but the hands strangling himself."

"If someone had smothered him, there would at least be signs of a great struggle, and his hands should not be in that position."

"Other than him strangling himself, I cannot think of any other possibility."

Zhang Bo thought for a moment and said, "I never imagined this person could seek death in such a way."

"The world is vast, and truly, nothing is too strange."

At this moment, Gu Jiangming did not have the sudden realization of 'solving a puzzle' like Zhang Bo; instead, he felt a bone-chilling cold.

Excluding those impossible options, no matter how bizarre the only remaining option is, it is the only truth left.

There really are demons in this world.

There really are demons!

Gu Jiangming felt that the current situation was already not right!

"Mr. Gu, Assistant Magistrate Li is looking for you; go quickly to the main hall to see him." Chang An hurried over, swept a glance at the corpse on the ground, and did not dare to look any longer.

Gu Jiangming walked quickly to the main hall.

Assistant Magistrate Li's expression was as usual; he walked up, reached out to touch Gu Jiangming's arm, which still had some residual warmth, and then inadvertently revealed a look of slight relief.

After a moment, he said helplessly, "Young man, you went to the mortuary to look just now?"

"I did." Gu Jiangming did not hide it; he had not only taken a look, but he had also asked clearly.

"Hmm, do you think it is a demon causing trouble or..." Assistant Magistrate Li seemed to be asking.

"It is hard for me to say, but it is absolutely impossible for an ordinary person to strangle themselves with their own hands." Gu Jiangming spoke the truth.

This sentence of his was practically an admission that it was a demon causing trouble.

"In these days, the people of our Leping County... not many go out, and not many come to Leping County." Assistant Magistrate Li listed them one by one: "Excluding the thirty-eight fellow villagers who returned from outside the county, you are the only one who has been added."

"With this matter having occurred, this Assistant Magistrate cannot continue to let things be." Assistant Magistrate Li's tone softened, and he then asked: "Where are you originally from? Where is your ancestral home?"

Facing the suddenly changed Assistant Magistrate Li, Gu Jiangming steadied his heart and immediately replied: "A disciple of the Gu Clan of Guanzhong."

"Which branch of the Gu Clan?" Assistant Magistrate Li continued to press.

"The clan was wiped out during the previous dynasty and long since separated; I do not know the details. What has been passed down to this day is but a small branch, not worth mentioning."

"Is it literary or martial?" Assistant Magistrate Li walked to Gu Jiangming's side.

"Martial," Gu Jiangming replied.

"Good." Assistant Magistrate Li stopped pressing, "However, there is an interesting story I happened to hear recently; I wonder if you would like to hear it, young man."

"If you are willing to tell it, I am willing to listen." Gu Jiangming let out a sigh of relief in his heart; it seemed he had passed.

"In this Leping County, seventy years ago, there was also a person with the same name and surname as you." Assistant Magistrate Li stroked his beard.

"He also wrote a fine hand and was considered a heaven-sent talent; at only nineteen years of age, he topped the imperial examinations as a commoner."

"However, this person had a very stubborn temper, which ruined his official career, and he died in depression."

"Do not be like him; sometimes you must know how to trade off—what should be discarded, discard; what should be let go, let go."

Gu Jiangming froze.

"Does he... does he have a grave?"

"He does, why wouldn't he?" Assistant Magistrate Li said: "It is right on the mountain behind Leping County. Why, are you interested in him?"

"I would like to go see him."

On the sea level where torrential rain had fallen for several days, a half-day of clear sky finally appeared.

The faint, stinging sensation in the midst of deep sleep makes one toss and turn.

【Please begin your first Reincarnation—】

【Please begin your first Reincarnation—】

I do not know how many times the call has come.

Beneath the entire deep sea, only the sound of peaceful slumber finally echoed faintly.

【Custody mode has been automatically entered; the simulation function will operate as usual according to your personality and style of action.】

(End of this chapter)