Chapter 146

Jia Cong, Yang Hongbin, Jia Yuancun, and others were all shocked when they heard this. Dozens of corpses—that was a heaven-shaking murder case.

The Longtan Port case has not yet ended, and the Eastern Japanese ronin who committed the murder are still at large.

Before the previous matter was finished, could it be that another big case was about to happen? As the Prefect of Ying Tian, Jia Yuancun's face instantly became extremely ugly.

Because the matter was of great importance, Jia Yuancun personally took the coroner and dozens of yamen runners to the scene of the incident.

Because Prince Ning was under imperial order to handle the important affairs of Jin Ling, and such a big event occurred, Yang Hongbin and Jia Cong, as subordinates of Prince Ning's temporary residence, naturally followed along.

Arriving at Shicao Wozi, they saw that the mouth of the mountain nest had been guarded by garrison soldiers. The leader was Liu Hai, the platoon leader of the Water Supervision Department who was guarding the construction site.

Arriving at the place and seeing the scene before them, everyone felt horrified in their hearts.

Jia Yuancun ordered the coroner and yamen runners to dig up the mountain mud and clean up the corpses.

Finally, there were as many as sixty-one corpses cleaned up, laid out all over the ground. Everyone present was shocked.

Qixia Mountain, Great Mercy Temple construction site.

Those corpses covered in mud were gradually cleaned up. The coroner and yamen runners present issued exclamations from time to time, as if they had discovered something very strange.

Yang Hongbin pointed to the corpses that had been chopped into two halves and said, "This kind of concise and fierce hacking is a common move in Eastern Japanese sword techniques.

Yang Hongbin checked the sword wounds on almost all the corpses, his eyes flickering, his face extremely solemn.

Last night, there was a sudden heavy rain, which caused the wood and lime stored in the construction site warehouse to be severely damp.

Eastern Japanese swords are known for their exquisite forging and ability to cut iron like mud. Only top-quality swords can chop a human body into two halves with one stroke."

……

Jia Cong saw that his expression was a bit wrong and asked, "Advisor Yang, did you see anything from examining the corpses?"

That night, torches were lit all night in Shicao Wozi, strictly guarded by soldiers, strictly controlling the entry and exit of personnel, and the atmosphere was solemn.

Jia Yuancun ordered the yamen runners to clean the corpses to facilitate the coroner's examination.

"The murderer's sword technique is fierce and fierce, with great explosive power. They all kill with one stroke. It doesn't look like the sword technique of the Central Plains, but rather like the Eastern Japanese sword technique!"

Yang Hongbin, as a subordinate of the Dali Temple, is known for his ability to examine and solve cases, otherwise he would not have been transferred to accompany Prince Ning to the south to assist Prince Ning in handling the Longtan Port case.

Although the weather cleared up early this morning, the construction wood and lime could not be used, so construction official Qin Ye ordered a temporary suspension of work.

These corpses all died from sword wounds, mostly in vital parts such as the neck, chest, and abdomen, killing with one stroke, clean and neat.

He checked several corpses in a row and found that all the corpses had their faces slashed, which was unbearable to look at. It should be because the murderer was afraid that they would be recognized.

There were also some sword wounds that were slanted or vertical, extremely fierce. Several corpses were even chopped into two segments, and it took a long time to piece them together, looking very creepy and bloody.

He also selected sixty or seventy craftsmen and thirty garrison soldiers guarding the construction site from the construction site to transport new wood and lime into Jin Ling City.

The craftsmen who were not assigned tasks were happy to steal a day of leisure, mostly hiding in the tents to sleep. The remaining garrison soldiers were also a bit lazy, patrolling the construction site in boredom.

After half a day, the sun had just climbed to the middle of the sky, and more than a dozen yamen runners brought dozens of prisoners into the construction site.

The garrison soldiers guarding the camp checked the official documents. It turned out that the first batch of labor prisoners had been working at the construction site for more than a month, and Ying Tian Prefecture sent new labor prisoners to rotate.

This is also the practice of the yamen of various states and counties to drive prisoners to hard labor.

The garrison soldiers also took the newcomers to hand over with Huang You'an, the head of the Ying Tian Prefecture yamen runners who was guarding the prisoners at the construction site.

This Huang You'an is a man in his thirties, eloquent and shrewd. He had been at the construction site for more than a month and was familiar with these garrison soldiers.

Hearing that Ying Tian Prefecture sent people to rotate, he was a bit surprised. He checked the other party's official documents, which were stamped with the seal of Ying Tian Prefecture and the personal signature of Prefect Jia Yuancun.

It's just that the person who came to hand over was a bit unfamiliar. Huang You'an was meticulous and asked, "I have been in Ying Tian Prefecture for many years. This brother looks a bit unfamiliar."

The man laughed, "It's normal for Platoon Leader Huang to find me unfamiliar, because I am not from Ying Tian Prefecture, but serve under the Magistrate of Liuhe County. Because Ying Tian Prefecture has been busy arresting suspects recently.

Manpower is insufficient, so the Prefect issued a document to transfer us to Jin Ling for duty. I am Deng Hongchun from the Liuhe County Yamen. Please take care of me, Platoon Leader Huang."

The man smiled and took out his identity token for Huang You'an to check. Huang received it, took a look, and returned it. With the official seal of Ying Tian Prefecture and an identity token, it couldn't be fake at all.

Huang You'an laughed, "Platoon Leader Deng is too polite. We are all our own people. I will go back to the tent to explain and rotate with you immediately."

Before long, Huang You'an let his dozen or so yamen runners lead dozens of prisoners out of two tents, several of whom were carrying two boxes containing tools such as shovels and picks.

Deng Hongchun and Huang You'an handed over the relevant documents and laughed again:

"Platoon Leader Huang, the carriages and horses I brought are at the mouth of the mountain pass in front. You can take the carriages and horses back to the yamen. After the month is up, please ask the Prefect to send carriages and horses to rotate."

Huang You'an cupped his hands, very experienced and steady, and laughed, "Thank you. When I have time, I will invite Platoon Leader Deng to drink in Jin Ling City."

After speaking, he waved his hand, and the yamen runners behind him escorted dozens of prisoners and left the construction site unhurriedly.

Deng Hongchun watched Huang You'an take people out of the construction site and wiped his palms, which were full of cold sweat, on his clothes.

Huang You'an took people to the mountain pass on the left side of the construction site. Sure enough, five large carriages were parked there. This mountain pass and the long mountain road in front are the only way to get out of the mountain.

A sturdy yamen runner stood beside Huang You'an, directing everyone to get on the large carriages, and the group set off along the mountain road.

The mountain road was secluded, and the trees on both sides became more and more sparse and lush. The carriages went forward for a while, and steep cliffs gradually appeared on both sides of the mountain road, and the road surface became narrow.

The sunlight overhead was blocked by the tangled trees on the cliff, and the light was a bit dim, actually having a bit of a gloomy meaning.

Huang You'an and the sturdy yamen runner sat on the shafts of the first carriage, the wheels rolling, turning around the bend of the road.

Suddenly, they saw that the road on the mountain cliff ahead was blocked by a pile of giant rocks more than two people high. Looking at the way those giant rocks were piled up, it was clearly man-made.

Huang You'an's face changed greatly. The sturdy yamen runner beside him spoke in stiff official language, chattering a lot, his expression full of shock and anger.

Just at this time, a sudden change occurred. Many porcelain jars of different shapes were thrown down from the cliffs on both sides, each jar leading a fire.

A few fell to the ground and shattered, oil splashing everywhere, and a piece burned up immediately!

More porcelain jars smashed down at the five large carriages. Almost in an instant, all five large carriages caught fire.

(End of chapter)