Chapter 26: Ghost Brand Microscope

At dawn, the main hall of the county government office was bustling, crowded with many people.

Because the person involved was Li Gongpu's nephew, the county magistrate in charge of the case had not slept a wink all night; although nominally the presiding judge, he basically listened as the Li family's legal scholar and the judicial officer Yang Ting debated the interrogation process:

"Young Master Li owns countless estates; just the Chunping Tower in the Peach Immortal Lane alone brings in a fortune daily. How could he covet the meager profits from smuggling banned drugs?"

"In the account books found at the Sanhe Tower, ninety percent of the profits were handed over to the owner..."

"Those are gambling house accounts, private ledgers for the Immortal-Ascending Powder, not specifying who the money was handed to; Young Master Li was completely unaware of this..."

Xie Jinhuan passed by the side of the main hall and could see the involved Young Master Li, wearing a cangue, kneeling in the center of the hall.

Behind the Li family stood Li Gongpu, the Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, who served the Son of Heaven constantly; even a fart from him could blow the county magistrate away. The county government office daring to make the Li family's young master kneel during the trial and even use torture was already doing its utmost, but this clearly could not harm the Li family.

Yang Dabiao had accompanied the trial all night; now leading the way ahead, he sighed heavily and said:

"This is simply a hot potato. If this case actually uncovers something, that's fine; but if nothing is found, my father and I will definitely be given a hard time..."

Xie Jinhuan was now on the verge of a great disaster; even if the Li family truly had nothing, he had to find something to consume the Wang Fu's manpower and energy. Hearing this, he comforted him:

"Local powerful families, which one is spotless? As long as they dare to sell Immortal-Ascending Powder, there must be other gray operations, such as forcing good people into prostitution, violent debt collection, and seizing fields..."

"Oh, oh!"

Yang Dabiao quickly raised his hand: "If I can clear up this matter, I'll be satisfied. Eat rice bite by bite; let's take it step by step..."

As they spoke, the three people and one bird arrived at a sheltered building with the two characters 'Corpse Room' hanging on the door.

Yang Dabiao covered his nose and reminded:

"I've been staring at the corpse for two nights and still haven't recovered; you'd better be prepared. You may have seen many dead people, but you've certainly never seen one this disgusting..."

Xie Jinhuan walked behind; as the door opened, a nauseating stench of decay hit his face.

Yang Dabiao pointed to the wooden bed in the middle:

"There, just that one. You lift the cover yourself; I really can't stand it."

Xie Jinhuan came forward to inspect and saw the corpse covered with a white cloth, the surface stained with filth.

He used the handle of his mace to lift the white cloth; Meiqiu, who had been hanging on his shoulder in idle mode, hurriedly flew to Linghu Qingmo's shoulder. Although she could not speak, her eyes clearly meant—What the hell is this?!

The corpse on the wooden bed was already severely rotted, swollen into a giant corpse; now it had also been dissected, its appearance indescribable, just a lump of human-shaped rotting flesh.

Yang Dabiao had been disgusted by this corpse for several days and now only wanted to burn the thing. Seeing Xie Jinhuan look at it seriously with an unchanging face, he couldn't help but praise:

"Jinhuan, in a few years your composure has greatly improved. I heard Mr. Xie say that the first time you saw an autopsy, you vomited and fainted."

Xie Jinhuan's first time seeing an autopsy was when he was only three years old, held by his father! Not being scared to death was already because he was bold:

"It's okay; at least it looks human. This person is covered in holes, which doesn't seem caused by rot or dissection. Haven't they found the cause of death?"

Linghu Qingmo had just eaten breakfast; now she covered Meiqiu's eyes and frowned deeply:

"The coroner said it was poison, but they couldn't find what kind of poison caused the injury. As for the holes, the coroner said they might have been gnawed by insects after soaking in the river for too long. Many seniors have seen this corpse, but no one has figured it out."

The corpse was too severely rotted for Xie Jinhuan to see the specific root cause. Just as he was thinking silently, the red-clad ghost who followed like a shadow suddenly appeared from behind, poking her head out from his shoulder:

"Eh~ What a miserable death."

Seeing his ghost wife appear directly, Xie Jinhuan was truly startled. Noticing that Mo Mo and Dabiao hadn't noticed anything unusual, he couldn't show that he had encountered a ghost, so he pretended to be normal and asked:

"What is your opinion?"

"Huh? Me?"

Yang Dabiao, standing nearby, scratched his head in confusion:

"If I had any ideas, I wouldn't have stayed up all night in the government office. Since I didn't go home yesterday, I'll inevitably get scolded by my wife again..."

Fortunately, Xie Jinhuan didn't expect anything from Dabiao.

Ye Hongshang was an invisible ghost; her true form always remained in the sword. She didn't use eyes to see things but relied on spiritual consciousness perception; the so-called image was merely an illusion generated by Xie Jinhuan.

Ye Hongshang carefully examined the corpse for a moment, then raised her hand and pointed to the corpse's abdomen:

"Before death, the vital energy was depleted, but not by evil cultivation techniques; rather, it was caused by poisonous insects capable of absorbing vital energy.

"The insects nurtured inside the body for a long time, leaving insect eggs invisible to the naked eye; they should be some kind of special fly."

Xie Jinhuan looked at the indicated spot and found a mass of internal organs that could no longer be identified as any specific organ. Leaning in to examine closely, the insect eggs were also hard to see with the naked eye.

Seeing this, Ye Hongshang raised her Bai Xi palm; immediately, a sphere appeared in her palm.

The sphere was like a world in the palm; the internal scene showed details of the tissue, and it kept magnifying until, amidst countless impurities, it locked onto a single insect egg.

The insect egg was as large as a soccer ball; through the thin membrane, the internal structure and tissue fluid could be clearly seen...

Holy crap?

Xie Jinhuan didn't expect his ghost wife could be used as a 'Ghost Brand Microscope'; he immediately carefully observed the details of the insect egg...

But even then, he couldn't recognize what kind of insect it was!

However, speaking of flies that absorb human vital energy, Xie Jinhuan carefully recalled books he had read in past years; his heart stirred, and he turned to look at the two:

"Have you heard of 'Corpse Flies'?"

Yang Dabiao looked completely confused, appearing to have never heard of them.

Linghu Qingmo thought carefully:

"Corpse Flies seem to be a kind of Gu insect of the Wu Sect. I heard my master mention them twice before..."

Xie Jinhuan shook his head silently and explained seriously:

"Gu is the essence of poison; flowers are the essence of Gu. Mr. Shen Jiang, the former Vice Minister of the Imperial Agriculture Office, once compiled a book called 'Classic of Plant Essences'. In the section on Strange Essences of Flowers, it recorded over a dozen Gu flowers, six or seven of which used Corpse Flies.

"Corpse Flies feed on vital energy. The shaman plants seeds inside their bodies and nurtures them with human vital blood. When the insect dies and the flower blooms, it becomes a Gu flower... I don't remember the specific content very clearly; Miss Mo Mo had better ask a senior for advice."

?

Seeing Xie Jinhuan recite it like counting his own treasures, Linghu Qingmo's eyes widened slightly. She carefully recalled the books she had read in the past:

"You've read such obscure and miscellaneous books this carefully?"

Yang Dabiao was not surprised by this and explained:

"Jinhuan has been diligent since childhood. I heard Mr. Xie say before that Jinhuan wanted to 'win at the starting line and roll the local natives to death'. I didn't understand what that meant, but anyway, since he was three, he started clutching books and gnawing on them, while simultaneously learning all kinds of flashy things. The result was like his Thunder Technique: he wasn't proficient in anything. Only in recent years did he find his way back and make up for his martial arts attainment."

"Is that so?"

Hearing this, Linghu Qingmo's eyes remained wide with surprise.

After all, being mediocre at everything is an insult, but if one dominates in one aspect while knowing a little of the rest, that makes one a polymath.

She truly hadn't expected Xie Jinhuan's martial arts to be so exaggerated, nor that he had time to read obscure books.

Handsome, fierce, and deeply learned in literature—how are other men supposed to live?

Linghu Qingmo had intended to leave, but then thought something was amiss, so she leaned close to the rotting flesh to examine it carefully:

"Are there corpse flies here?"

Xie Jinhuan had deduced the source thanks to the Ghost Bride's supernatural powers; how could mere human eyes possibly find insect eggs? He offered a casual explanation:

"Seeing the body covered in holes and maggots, I happened to think of it, but I dare not be certain. Miss Linghu had best go ask a senior."

"Oh..."

With a clue in hand, Linghu Qingmo wasted no time, turning to walk out:

"I'll go check the Pill King Pavilion. Yang Dabiao, you accompany Young Xie Da for a while."

"Sure."

Yang Dabiao covered the body with the white cloth: "Jinhuan, what corpse do you want to see next? All sorts of ridiculous causes of death..."

Xie Jinhuan still needed to find a way to uncover the truth about the demon bandits; now that he had a clue, how could he have the mood to look at ridiculous deaths?

The Night Great Succubus could only tell it was caused by Gu insects; he himself couldn't distinguish what kind of Gu flower it was. Such matters were best asked of the Wu Sect demoness. He picked up the cowardly Meiqiu:

"I made an appointment yesterday; I still need to visit the Lin Family Clinic, so I must take my leave for now."

Yang Dabiao, as someone who had been through it, patted his shoulder with full understanding:

"Understood, young people are all like that. Cherish the present. Once you're married, you'll understand; sometimes the morgue is quite interesting—at least no one is shouting nonsense in your ear..."

"Uh..."

—

Moments later.

Xie Jinhuan carried Meiqiu out of the county government office.

The Night Great Succubus still floated before him, praising softly:

"I didn't expect you to be so learned."

In front of the Ghost Bride, Xie Jinhuan was still quite proud:

"I began diligent study and practice at age three. Not only did I read many books, but I also play chess, paint, play the zither, and so on; I can chat with anyone I meet."

"Is that so?"

Ye Hongshang teased: "The top courtesans in the pleasure quarters train the same way; they learn a bit of all eighteen skills so they can get along with any customer. With your foundation, it's a pity you aren't a male concubine."

Xie Jinhuan had actually discovered around age fifteen or sixteen that all the skills he had grinded out were just slightly lacking in every field, except for being a 'Duck King,' where he was invincible.

Fortunately, in these past three years he had found his way back; now his martial arts were extraordinary, and he knew many tricks, so his youth was not entirely wasted.

One person and one ghost conversed thus, heading toward Ning'an Street. Before they had gone far, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from ahead.

Clip-clop, clip-clop...

Xie Jinhuan looked up and saw three swift horses gallop past their side.

The riders all wore eye-catching red robes embroidered with qilin patterns on the chest, with standard-issue official swords at their waists; the leader also wore a gold-embroidered gauze hat on his head, with a bronze plaque hanging from it.

The government office Runners outside, seeing this, were terrified and immediately ran forward to greet them:

"Three my lords, are you..."

"Zhou He, Hundred-Household of the Crimson麟 Guard, sent to assist in investigating the Li family case. Where is the Magistrate?"

"Greetings, Hundred-Household Zhou. Lord Zhang is currently interrogating a case in the inner government office..."

Because he had grown up in Jingcheng since childhood, Xie Jinhuan was incredibly familiar with the Crimson麟 Guard.

They are the Son of Heaven's private guard, independent of the Six Ministries, mainly used to supervise all officials, possessing the power to arrest, interrogate, and even execute, with authority reaching the heavens.

Xie Jinhuan's strongest impression of them was once when the Crimson麟 Guard was handling a case and needed to question his father about some details, but it was already late and the government office had closed; so seven or eight Crimson麟 Guards simply crashed down into his family's courtyard!

His father was eating at the time and was directly scared into a stupor; for the next three days, his speech was not very fluent.

The Crimson麟 Guard takes orders directly from the Son of Heaven, and Li Gongpu is a favorite of the Emperor. Now that people from the Crimson麟 Guard have come to assist, the Li family case will basically be impossible to investigate further.

Fortunately, there was a breakthrough on the demon bandit side.

As long as clues regarding the demon bandits are found, and the stink of Mount Zihui's demonic qi is dumped on them, giving the Pill King some hope of solving this case himself, the time for nuclear weapons to be deployed will naturally be delayed, and there might even be a chance to bluff past the matter of the Demon-Suppressing Mausoleum.

Thinking of this, Xie Jinhuan did not linger and quickly left the government office.

Meanwhile, outside the county government office.

Three Crimson麟 Guards, hands on their swords, stepped quickly up the government office steps, discussing the case along the way.

But just as they were about to enter the main gate of the county government office, Hundred-Household Zhou He suddenly paused, turning his head to look at the bustling street.

The government office Runner following behind, terrified as always, seeing this, felt slightly puzzled and turned to look at the main street:

"Hundred-Household Zhou?"

Zhou He's gaze fell upon the white-robed Young Master who had already gone far, his brows knitted tightly:

"What is this person's identity?"

"Oh, this is Young Xie Da Jinhuan, a brother of Wei Shi Yang. He just returned from studying martial arts at Fengling Valley and has been helping at the government office recently; his kung fu is extremely formidable. Does Hundred-Household Zhou know him?"

"Fengling Valley..."

Zhou He pondered for a moment, then continued walking inside;

"The son of an old friend. No wonder he looks familiar."

"Oh..."

(End of this chapter)