Chapter 264

Yin Suqin and Cao Hanyan endured the disgust, picked out the corpse bone with a wooden stick, dragged a table for stopping corpses out of the shed, and placed the corpse bone on it.

This corpse didn't know how long it had been in the pit, it had turned into a pool of black water and white bones, and no skin or flesh could be seen on it. It was "stacked" for several layers, which was Li Miao who could recognize the identity of this corpse bone based on the little data recorded back then.

Cao Hanyan also realized Li Miao's meaning, and deduced the result. After the bones were laid out, the two looked at the firelight and nodded secretly—it was indeed exactly the same as the records in the case file.

The news was told at noon, they rushed over to check for a long time in the afternoon, and it was only at night that they found some clues, but they found that the main owner had already died.

Yin Suqin muttered: "Could it be that this matter is just a folk legend?"

"No." Cao Hanyan shook his head.

"Let's put aside whether she knows Wu Gong. Unknown origin, merchant disappearance, and her inexplicably dying here, these three things still have no explanation."

He turned to look at Li Miao and said in a low voice: "The primary problem now is to determine when Xue Bangzhu died."

Xue Bangzhu was destroyed twenty years ago, moved to the righteous village thirteen years ago, disappeared five years ago, and since then the righteous village started to have accidents, and the merchant team also disappeared at this time in the righteous village.

With Xue Bangzhu's death, no one would think she died of old age.

Determining the time of Xue Bangzhu's death can divide these things, which belong to her, and which belong to the "murderer". This matter still has to fall on Li Miao, this Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Li Miao smiled: "If you look at the decay of this corpse alone, it can be said to be five years, ten years, twenty years."

He took out the long sword from Zheng Yi's waist, picked up Xue Bangzhu's spine and brought it to his eyes, looking while saying.

"The person who killed her was hiding her corpse, in order not to let the smell spread, the pit was carefully paved with oil paper and sealed with wax. This corpse rotted in it, and there was no wind or rain, and the bones were clean, and there was no difference in a few years."

"However—"

Li Miao picked the sword tip, and the white spine fell back to the table, and the position was exactly the same.

"Still can see three things."

"First, this spine has been worn out severely, she was a hunched old man when she died, at least sixty years old. So at least before moving to this righteous village, she was still alive."

"Second, she is a martial artist, and her Wu Gong is not low. This bone, especially the hand bone, is much stronger than ordinary people, it is tempered, and the skill is not shallow."

"Third—"

Li Miao waved his hand, and with a clang, the long sword returned to Zheng Yi's waist. He looked at Zheng Yi and said.

"She is eight out of ten, the person you and I are looking for."

Zheng Yi's expression changed abruptly, and she asked urgently: "What is the basis for this, Lord?"

"Stature."

Li Miao answered.

"When the yamen measured her body, she was already forty years old, and her figure was a bit out of shape, so I didn't make a conclusion. Now that there is no skin and flesh, it is clear."

"I straightened her spine, you compare it with yourself, shoulder width, height, arm length, hip width, is it—exactly the same?"

"The deformation and wear of this hand bone can also see her most commonly used sword-holding posture, which is exactly the same as yours."

"Disguise can only manage skin and flesh, not bones."

Li Miao reached out and led.

"Go and see."

"This is the fellow sect member you are looking for."

Zheng Yi was stunned for a while, unable to speak.

She would not question Li Miao. In the range she knew, the person with the highest Wu Gong and the most killings in this world was undoubtedly Li Miao. To talk about the understanding of the human body, no one in this Great Shuo could be out of his right, and there was no more authoritative coroner than Li Miao.

She had envisioned many possibilities.

When seeing a fellow sect member, perhaps it was crying in each other's arms, perhaps it was tearful, or even drawing swords against each other, she had envisioned them all.

But she never thought that she would see a corpse bone soaked in black water.

After a while, she moved her steps, walked slowly to the table, held up the skull with both hands, and raised it to her face. Looking at the two black holes, she let out a long breath.

She now understands why she didn't think of the possibility that Penglai fellow sect members would draw swords against her, and still needed Li Miao to remind her—because she subconsciously didn't want to admit it.

She no longer had a home, and decided to fight everything to avenge Yingzhou. But "fighting everything for revenge" is actually much more difficult than it sounds.

At least she didn't have that temperament.

Subconsciously, she was still looking for family, companions, and a place to stay. So much so that she subconsciously ignored the possibility that Penglai fellow sect members would not recognize her, or had already died.

Li Miao let her see this bone, just to tell her—

Don't fantasize.

Revenge will not be the romantic process in storybooks, meeting companions, looking for family, and finally stabbing that sword into the enemy's chest and dying with a smile.

She will not get anything in this process, only constant loss. The best result is to die with Yingzhou and turn into a handful of yellow soil.

Without this awareness, don't talk about revenge.

After a while, Zheng Yi slowly put the skull back in place, took a deep breath, clenched her hand on the hilt, and turned to look at Li Miao.

"Lord, since she is already dead, there is no point in lingering here. Let's go to the next place—"

Li Miao interrupted her.

"Not urgent."

He smiled.

"People are dead, it doesn't mean you can't find useful things. And don't you think it's a bit strange?"

Li Miao said slowly.

"Since she escaped from Penglai, she should have a Heavenly Being realm, then after she was destroyed, why could 'No Leaving' still live?"

"Besides, Heavenly Beings all have the characteristics of seeing God and not being bad, and will not show old age until they are exhausted. But this spine is worn out severely, she was already hunched before she died—so where did her realm go?"

"That merchant's family who lost the corpse, why could they push a sixty-year-old Heavenly Being to the ground?"

"This bone is clearly broken before she died, who can make her like this, and why seal her corpse?"

Li Miao twisted his fingers, paused, and finally said.

"The most critical point is that she shouldn't have died when she was in the righteous village, and those lost corpses were eight out of ten her handwriting—what does she want so many corpses for?"

Li Miao smiled.

"The higher the Wu Gong, the more evil things there are. Things like passing on skills, seizing houses, grafting limbs, and urging flesh and blood are all things that ordinary martial artists don't dare to think about."

"Xue Bangzhu hasn't left since she came to Kaifeng, this means of needing corpses is mostly Penglai's inheritance. And Penglai is of the same origin as Yingzhou."

"Finding the details of her means can mostly reverse the foundation of Yingzhou."

"Doesn't this deserve us—to get to the bottom of it?"