owlsbooks Chapter 246 The Mystery of the Emperor's Corpse
Chapter 246 The Mystery of the Emperor's Corpse
The local Kuaishou said cautiously.
"Our coroner examined them, and most of the people had no injuries whatsoever."
"Yes, several of the victimized martial artists had their skin torn in various places."
"The worst off was that grandmaster scholar, whose skin had many cracks."
Xu Huaihua waved.
"We don't need to look at the others. You take us to see the Grandmaster's remains."
Kuaishou responded and led the way.
His presence on the road explained why he was the only one leading a dozen or so archers on guard duty.
It turned out that it was nighttime. During the day, the inspector, the clerk, and even the county magistrate had all come to keep watch, and even the assistant prefect from the prefectural government had come. They all returned to their respective government offices as night was approaching.
He was quite clever; he knew to say a few good words for his superiors in front of his superiors so as not to be seen as negligent in his duties.
The group went upstairs, and he led them to the most luxurious room, the "Tian" room, where a brass lock was placed on the door.
Moreover, the lock was sealed with a seal bearing the bronze stamps of the local clerk and inspector, indicating that the local government's procedures were quite rigorous.
It's possible that a hundred or so people died at once, including a newly appointed scholar who had passed the imperial examination. This case is extremely serious.
The quick-handed man suddenly stopped, turned to look at the crowd, and said embarrassedly.
"Gentlemen, the smell inside is a bit strong..."
As he spoke, he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, then skillfully pulled out a ceramic bottle, opened it, and poured it upwards, releasing a strong smell of vinegar.
Kuaishou skillfully tied a face towel around his mouth and nose, and the sound came out muffled.
"Gentlemen, why don't you also tear off your clothes to cover your mouths and noses? I have extra vinegar; if we share it, everyone can have some."
A constable from the capital glared at him displeasedly.
"Stop arguing, just open the door when I tell you to."
"What kind of scenes haven't I, from the Six Doors, seen? I've even slept several nights amidst piles of dead bodies on the battlefield..."
The quick-handed man had no choice but to laugh awkwardly, tear off the seal, take out the key from his waist, unlock the brass lock, and then push the door open.
He leaped to the side with the speed of a rabbit.
The door was wide open, and a strong smell of blood rushed out.
That's bad enough, but the worst part is that it also has an indescribable stench.
The smell was incredibly foul, like a latrine that had been sealed for over a hundred years and then suddenly opened; the intense odor almost made people faint.
It smelled somewhat like the stench of a corpse, but a hundred times stronger, making it even more nauseating and vomit-inducing.
Everyone's expression changed.
Even the man who had previously claimed to be sleeping peacefully amidst piles of dead bodies on the battlefield nearly vomited, his throat twitching violently.
"Wow……"
Wang Daniu turned around and vomited immediately.
As soon as he vomited, the constables also turned around and found places to vomit loudly.
Yang Silang and the others, being highly skilled in cultivation, actually had an even more sensitive sense of smell, and they all held their breath.
As masters, these individuals could hold their breath for a very long time.
As for that Daoist Qingfeng, he simply flicked his sleeve, and a faint blue light enveloped him, directly using his Daoist magic to protect himself.
Regardless of how many people are vomiting outside.
Guo Laogan, Wu Tiechuan, Yang Silang, Li Hui, Qingfeng Daoist, and Xu Huaihua, the chief constable, filed in.
There was a naked human body lying face down against the wall, with a large hole in its back and its ten fingers also torn open, as if ten bloody holes had been blown open.
On the wall, there were more than twenty holes, each about one finger deep, burst open, leaving cracks all over the wall.
Beside each hole was a large pool of blood, and in the middle of this blood, a human figure could be clearly outlined.
Clearly, this grandmaster, facing a formidable foe, fought back desperately before his death, using his life essence and true energy to blast through his ten fingers and unleash a furious surge.
The blood mixed with true energy even shot out so intensely that it almost pierced through the thick wall.
However, his counterattack was ineffective, and it didn't even break the attacker's defenses, because the part of the wall that the human figure was blocking was completely intact, and not even the dust on it was wiped off. It was likely that the attacker's skin wouldn't even be broken by this attack.
Despite the fact that it happened last night, the blood remained congealed and wet, showing its strong vitality.
Yang Silang possessed the seed of the true meaning of a martial saint. Through his vague sixth sense, the rudimentary form of "intention," he could perceive the despair of a martial artist fighting back with all his life essence simply by looking at the blood.
Xu Huaihua stepped forward and gently touched it with his hand. A layer of rosy red appeared on his hand. He then rubbed it between his fingers and said in a deep voice.
"This is the Grandmaster Jinshi using his essence and blood as a catalyst to unleash his full power of true energy in a counterattack."
"However, the opponent was very strong and was not injured."
"Judging from the lingering scent at the scene, the other party was probably not an evil spirit."
"If it is an evil spirit, the essence blood of a grandmaster should be able to cause some damage and leave a mark."
Yang Silang stared at the blank human figure on the wall and suddenly noticed what appeared to be remnants of fabric in a hole.
Xu Huaihua noticed it too and used small tweezers to remove it.
It was a piece of fabric about the size of a fingernail. Although it was somewhat faded, you could still see the cross-section radiating a gorgeous metallic sheen. It was woven using the kesi technique with silk, gold and silver threads, and peacock feather threads, and cloud patterns were created on the fabric.
"This thing looks familiar..." Yang Silang glanced at it and felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it before.
"Let me think... I think I saw it at Zhou Mingxuan's wedding... Oh right, it was Princess Le'an's wedding dress with an imperial cloud-shaped shawl draped over it..."
"Princess Le'an is so fat and a woman who can't even kill a chicken, the murderer couldn't possibly be her."
"Hiss... I remember now, the dragon robe worn by Emperor Yongchang had this cloud pattern and weaving technique."
Yang Silang frowned.
He had met Emperor Yongchang a few times, though only from a distance, surrounded by a group of people.
However, thanks to his practice of observing mountains and shooting, Yang Silang felt that his eyesight was no worse than that of the Grandmaster of Golden Marrow.
With just a few glances, he clearly memorized the emperor's majestic appearance and his attire.
It didn't mean much, but as the ruler of Shun Kingdom, Yang Silang saw him as a spectacle, a walking and talking humanoid symbol of power, so he remembered him.
The twelve-symbol robe with nine dragons worn by Emperor Yongchang was woven with cloud patterns in this style.
His toothache gave him a vague idea.
Could it be that Emperor Jinghe transformed into a flying zombie and fled westward, stopping here last night to rest and having an extra meal because he was hungry?
If that's the case, then it makes sense.
The one who fed Emperor Jinghe a batch of turbid black blood and even attempted to subdue the emperor's corpse was a Changsheng Zhenren (a type of immortal cultivator).
Emperor Jinghe relied on the corpse energy to fight against its magical power, resulting in a temporary stalemate where neither side could gain the upper hand.
Mo Xinlian, bored with what she was seeing, went over and patted the Taoist on the shoulder to say goodbye, which startled the Taoist so much that he lost his mind and his magic power became sluggish.
He spat out a mouthful of his vital essence, suffering severe injuries, and was able to gain the upper hand by Emperor Jinghe.
Mo Xinlian touched the magic brush and left. After leaving the treasure peak, she also wiped away the entrance and exit, thus ending that path in life.
She had her reasons for doing so.
This man's actions must be ambitious, and he intends to commit heinous acts. If he succeeds, countless people in the capital will die. Therefore, he deserves to die.
Finally, Emperor Jinghe broke through the treasure peak and emerged. That immortal was probably in grave danger and had already died.
Given Emperor Jinghe's strength, let's set aside the fact that he was an emperor and how he could possess Taoist magic and supernatural powers after his death.
Just the fact that he could contend with that immortal immortal shows how powerful he is. If he had entered the inn last night because he was hungry...
There aren't enough people in this whole stack to kill if they're all tied up together.
No wonder that apart from the Grandmaster who made a desperate attack, most of the others seemed to lose their lives without any resistance.
A malevolent being at the level of an immortal being, with just his terrifying evil thoughts, can suppress all living beings, leaving them sitting there dumbfounded, terrified, unable to do anything, and helplessly watching themselves being enjoyed and devoured.
Yang Silang noticed.
When Master Qingfeng and Xu Huaihua saw the fingernail-sized piece of cloth, they exchanged a subtle glance.
Xu Huaihua's blood and qi fluctuated violently, but it subsided in an instant. He concealed it well, but Yang Silang already had doubts in his heart, so he could not hide it from him.
As for Master Qingfeng, he appeared calm on the surface, but the whisk on his arm trembled slightly a few times.
The two huddled together and whispered.
"Is this the craftsmanship, this pattern?"
"It looks like it to me."
"What do you think of the traces at the scene, Taoist priest?"
"It's neither an evil spirit nor a demon; it's more like rigor mortis."
"I think so too. In terms of strength... to be able to stand there and withstand a blow from a Grandmaster containing his essence and true energy without being hurt, he must be at least a Grandmaster or above, and most likely has reached the Martial Saint or True Person realm."
"Hmm, the sheer power required to break through with bare hands... it matches up."
"That should be it..."
The two spoke as if they were exchanging cryptic messages.
Guo Laogan, Wu Tiechuan, and Li Hui couldn't understand what they were saying at all, and Yang Silang also pretended to be stupid.
Fortunately, everyone knew that these two were both officials, which inherently meant trouble, so they didn't want to investigate further.
"You don't need to investigate this matter anymore..." Xu Huaihua waved to the local thug and said, "The Six Doors will take over."
"From now on, matters including on-site security are no longer your concern."
"You will receive a formal document shortly; you can go back and report to your immediate supervisor."
"Have him send more men. A dozen archers aren't enough. Send a hundred or so tonight and surround this inn."
The quick-handed man was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with joy. He kowtowed on the ground, readily agreed, said "This humble servant will retreat," and darted away almost like a rabbit.
Anyone who has witnessed the horrific scene inside the inn and has managed to stay outside without breaking down and persevering until now is truly remarkable.
He fled as if granted a pardon.
This inn case was clearly a major scandal, but fortunately, someone tall stepped in to protect it, and the local officials were able to extricate themselves from this mess, which was naturally a cause for celebration.
He rushed off to report to his superior.
Xu Huaihua then issued a series of orders, sending two constables back to Beijing to allocate manpower and coordinate official documents; and sending two more constables to guard the front and back gates of the inn.
As for that Daoist Qingfeng, he had his eyes closed and was holding a jade tablet. The tablet was flashing on and off, clearly indicating that he was also calling for help from afar. If it really was that person, even if they were tied together, they wouldn't be a match for him. Of course, they would have to call on a real powerhouse to come and help.