[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m":3,"chapter-simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-chapter-11":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Simultaneously Transmigrated: My Cheat Skill Is Myself",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2315266,4528,"Chapter 11: The Terrified County Magistrate of Yanggu","simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-chapter-11",11,"\u003Cp>In the Yanggu County yamen, County Magistrate Wen Bin sat upright on the central official chair, wearing a green robe denoting his seventh-rank status.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wore a fu tou (a soft headcloth commonly worn by Song officials,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>often appearing dark blue-black, hence known as “wusha,” the origin of the term “wushamao”),\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a leather belt cinched at his waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes were half-lidded, his expression unreadable, revealing no trace of joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To his lower right and left stood the County Assistant and the County Constable, the second- and third-ranking officials of Yanggu County.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On either side of the yamen, two rows of yamen runners held water-and-fire staves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the open space at the center of the yamen lay the bodies of Ximen Qing and Dai’an, covered in white cloth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Madam Ximen, do you know who killed Master Ximen?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin asked, his face expressionless, addressing Wu Yueniang, who knelt beside Ximen Qing’s corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yueniang was Ximen Qing’s principal wife; though a second wife,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>she was the undisputed mistress of the Ximen household, making her the most suitable person to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as County Magistrate, Wen Bin naturally did not fear Ximen Qing’s wealth and power the way commoners did,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>nor did he dare address him respectfully as “Master Ximen the Great.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Ximen Qing was dead, and in life he had connections with the eunuchs Liu and Xue,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>so after careful consideration, Wen Bin referred to him as “Master Ximen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Honor, this humble servant only learned of Master Ximen’s death through a report from our household servant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I beg Your Honor, like a bright mirror hanging high, to bring the killer to justice\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>so that my master may rest in peace with a smile beneath the earth!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yueniang bowed gracefully, tears streaming down her face like pear blossoms in the rain, wiping them with a silk handkerchief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Ximen was a renowned virtuous gentleman of this county. Madam Ximen, rest assured—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shall surely bring the killer to justice and punish him publicly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin’s first words were a grand, righteous pronouncement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Your Honor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only now, after learning of Ximen Qing’s death, did Wu Yueniang feel a sliver of reassurance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bring in the Ximen household servant!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After calming Wu Yueniang, Wen Bin ordered the first servant to discover Ximen Qing’s body to be brought in for questioning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the yamen runners immediately stepped forward to carry out the order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the servant was led into the yamen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All eyes—of the magistrate, the assistant, the constable, and the two rows of runners—fixed on the servant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The servant was merely a lowly menial in the Ximen household,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>never having faced such a scene; he trembled violently, barely able to stand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your humble subject bows before the upright magistrate! Your humble subject bows before the upright magistrate!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The servant banged his head against the floor like a pounding pestle before Wen Bin on the main seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I ask you: did you see the killer of Master Ximen?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin did not stop the servant from kneeling; he asked directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Honor, when I entered the side room, Master Ximen was already without breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I saw no one who killed him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The servant nervously recounted everything he knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, no one in the entire Ximen household saw the killer?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he had spent the past decade obsessed with the imperial examinations and little with human affairs,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>his years in office had given him some insight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the servant’s terrified, trembling demeanor, he knew the man was not lying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not knowing the killer’s height, build, or even gender—this case would be extremely difficult to solve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Coroner, can you determine the killer’s method?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next moment, Wen Bin’s gaze shifted to He Jiushu, the coroner standing beside the corpses of Ximen Qing and Dai’an.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiushu was the same coroner from Water Margin who, after Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian poisoned Wu Dalang,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>detected signs of poison during the autopsy, feigned unconsciousness,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>secretly took Wu Dalang’s bones and preserved them with the silver Ximen Qing had given him,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>providing crucial evidence for Wu Song’s later investigation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a veteran coroner who had served in Yanggu County for decades, with immense experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Wen Bin’s view, if anyone in Yanggu County could determine Ximen Qing’s exact cause of death, it was He Jiushu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the Chief Constable of Yanggu County responsible for investigations?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sorry—Yanggu County currently had no Chief Constable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the previous Chief Constable left office, County Magistrate Wen Bin, the County Assistant, and the County Constable had all wanted to install their own man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the three top officials remained deadlocked,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>each time one recommended a candidate, the other two joined forces to reject him,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>leaving the position of Chief Constable vacant for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Yanggu County had not seen any major or critical cases in recent years, so life had simply drifted on in confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why, then, didn’t Wen Bin, who nominally held absolute power, simply force a Chief Constable into place?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Cóng Dynasty had laws forbidding officials from serving in their home regions to prevent them from growing too powerful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin, as County Magistrate, was merely a rotating official who would be transferred within a few years,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>while the County Assistant and County Constable were local tyrants from families entrenched in the region for over a century.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Ximen Qing, without any official post, had managed to gain Wen Bin’s caution by befriending Eunuch Liu and Eunuch Xue,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>sending servants to deliver gifts to Minister Cai Jing in Bianliang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How much more so the County Assistant and County Constable?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind these two men might stand this official, that official, this marquis, that marquis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Wen Bin wielded great authority in Yanggu County, he could not cover the sky with one hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiushu, called upon by Wen Bin, bowed slightly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Honor, this case is very strange.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh? How so?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin’s interest stirred; he pressed for details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Honor, observe: Master Ximen’s arms are both broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We all know the femur and humerus are extremely resilient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging by the severity of the fractures on Master Ximen’s arms,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>only a man of immense strength wielding a heavy weapon—such as an axe or hammer—could have caused them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But strangely, I found no axe or hammer marks; instead, I discovered a palm print,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>as if Master Ximen’s arms had been shattered by a single palm strike.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiushu lifted the white cloth, revealing the wounds on Ximen Qing’s arms to Wen Bin and the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eh—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Wen Bin had heard from his runners that Ximen Qing’s death was gruesome, he had not imagined it to be this horrific.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ximen Qing’s arms were nearly severed, white bone exposed through the wounds,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>blood oozing from his seven orifices turned black, the entire corpse resembling a demon escaped from hell!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most striking of all, though he had been dead for hours,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ximen Qing’s eyes remained wide open, refusing to close!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He died with eyes unshut!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who could have committed such cruelty?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What hatred, what vengeance must this have been?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The yamen runners, too, could no longer remain silent; they began whispering among themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the County Assistant and County Constable, who had stood silently beside them, turned their heads in surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Silence!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin, a veteran of imperial examinations and years in office,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>possessed extraordinary composure; he instantly suppressed his inner shock,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>slammed his gavel, and silenced the murmuring runners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You say there was a palm print—where?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the County Assistant, standing below, spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, he could not see any palm print on Ximen Qing’s shattered arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin, seated on the high-backed chair, cast a approving glance at the County Assistant:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, he hadn’t seen any palm prints either, but as county magistrate, he held his dignity and couldn’t ask directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other yamen runners, Ximen’s servants, and Wu Yueniang and others all cast questioning glances at He Jiushu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing the stares of the crowd, He Jiushu spoke calmly: “Your Excellencies, please look—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Are these five depressions on Master Ximen’s arm similar to the five fingers of a human hand?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, he pointed out each of the five indentations in turn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ssshh~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin involuntarily clenched his fist and sucked in a sharp breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These five depressions, when combined, were unmistakably the five fingers of a clapped hand!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ssshh~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The assistant magistrate, the county commandant, and the yamen runners all drew in synchronized breaths,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>making their own contribution to global warming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chilled air choked: No, please stop breathing like that~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The assistant magistrate and several yamen runners were already drenched in cold sweat:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They thought of how they had once pursued such a monstrous killer,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and felt as if they had just walked past the gates of hell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isn’t this like an old man drinking arsenic—why wait for the King of Hell to call you when you’re eager to die?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These two wounds won’t kill Ximen Qing anytime soon—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Have you found his direct cause of death?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frightened, Wen Bin no longer called Ximen Qing “Master,” but addressed him by name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He cursed Ximen Qing bitterly in his heart: how dare he attract such a killer to Yanggu County—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a killer even the Western Army or Bianliang didn’t know existed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This didn’t just roast Wen Bin on a fire—it threatened his very life as county magistrate!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this killer came to the yamen, who could possibly stop him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fat, bloated commandant and his band of old, weak, sickly soldiers?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d rather trust his own eighty-year-old servant, whose teeth were nearly all gone!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Excellency, based on my observation, Master Ximen and his personal servant Dai’an\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>both died from a single palm strike to the head.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiushu, unaware of Wen Bin’s turbulent thoughts, continued plainly with his conclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Show me your evidence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin forced down his fear and managed a calm expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Excellencies, please look—this is the evidence I found.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiushu lifted the white cloth covering Dai’an’s corpse,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>pointing to the dark bluish-black scalp, freshly shaved hours ago,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>still streaked with stubble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin and the others stared: a black palm print was stamped on Dai’an’s scalp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, this print had killed Dai’an.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Zhang Jie would never leave his own palm print at the scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anyone compared this print to his hand,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>they’d find it was a full palm-width larger, with fingers much thicker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is there one on Ximen Qing’s head too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The anxious commandant spoke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a pause, He Jiushu smiled bitterly: “I don’t know—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Madam Ximen forbade me from damaging Master Ximen’s body.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced at Wu Yueniang standing nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shave it! Immediately!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The commandant’s eyes glinted with malice—he cared nothing for Ximen Qing’s dignity, or Dongmen Qing’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought of having nearly met the King of Hell at dawn filled him with dread—and rage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is for the sake of solving the case swiftly and bringing the killer of Master Ximen to justice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, the commandant, as Yanggu County’s third-ranking official, had some cunning:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He quickly devised a reason Wu Yueniang couldn’t refute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Faced with such a noble justification, Wu Yueniang could only nod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Wu Yueniang subdued, He Jiushu immediately shifted into professional mode.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pulled a leather case from his sleeve, containing small tools:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a knife, scissors, ear pick, nail clippers—all present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He withdrew a small razor, identical in shape to a barber’s, only smaller,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>stepped before Ximen Qing’s corpse, said, “Forgive me,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and swiftly shaved off all the hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ssshh~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone stared: a palm print, identical in size and shape to Dai’an’s, appeared on Ximen Qing’s scalp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Incredible! Such precise control!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin and the others were horrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This palm strike had turned the brains of Ximen Qing and Dai’an into real brain matter,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>yet not a single hair on their scalps was disturbed—what terrifying control!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin, the commandant, and the assistant magistrate exchanged glances,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>each seeing unmistakable terror in the others’ eyes:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this killer quietly struck them like this, wouldn’t they die without knowing why?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Confirmed: this was someone they couldn’t touch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin and the two others simultaneously decided to close the case quickly and ignore the matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin and the other two simultaneously prepared to swiftly close the case and overlook this matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Bin cleared his throat softly and said to He Jiushu:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He the coroner, quickly sketch a rough portrait of the killer based on the palm print.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I will issue a warrant for his arrest throughout the county.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This county will issue a notice to apprehend this person throughout the entire county.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiushu bowed in assent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old coroners like him could estimate a person’s height and weight from footprints or palm prints.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, height ≈ 2 chi (about 60 cm) plus six times the length of the palm print.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Still, Ximen Qing’s death isn’t without benefits for me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of Ximen Qing’s vast fortune, Wen Bin’s heart burned with greed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the saying goes: three years as a prefect brings a hundred thousand taels of silver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t a prefect, but as county magistrate for three years,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he’d surely pocket at least ten or twenty thousand taels!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, he’d spent years studying in cold lodges—was it really to serve the Zhao family in the imperial palace?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lacked the courage to chase this killer,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but the courage to exploit the hunt for the killer to enrich himself? That he had—greatly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lacked the nerve to apprehend this murderer,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but he had plenty of nerve to extort money under the guise of catching bandits!\u003C\u002Fp>",2281,"2026-06-20T14:22:35.989Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","eaf38db59c76e9cc438dfaed03b869369107bc59f578bd1298ffa14effc1a93d","simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-chapter-12","simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-chapter-10",601,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsimultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-cover.jpg"]