I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Corpse Rot Poison

Jie Daohan, under the faint illumination of a flint, reached the end of the passage and turned into the crypt!

As soon as he entered the crypt, the nauseating smell became even more intense.

Even though Jie Daohan had witnessed countless crime scenes, it was hard to endure. He covered his nose with his sleeve and took a few more steps forward!

Suddenly, Jie Daohan noticed a knife lying on the ground by his feet, a Barrier Saber!

The Barrier Saber was the standard sword of Qingzhou’s constables.

A bad feeling grew stronger within Jie Daohan, his gaze turning cold.

He took another two steps and faintly saw a person lying on the ground!

He cautiously approached, shining the flint toward the person’s face!

It barely resembled a human face!

Two eyeballs had completely turned into black pus, leaking from the eye sockets, corroding the cheeks into pathways of rotten flesh!

There seemed to be a knife wound in the middle of the face, splitting the nose and mouth in two. The blood had dried, the wound gaping...

The right side of the neck was a mass of black decay, with half the shoulder’s skin and flesh rotten, oozing black pus...

Though the corpse was hardly recognizable, Jie Daohan immediately recognized it as his nephew Jie Lei!

”Lei’Er! Lei’Er!”

Jie Daohan thumped his head on the ground, crying bitterly! ”Uncle, I’m late!”

”Who did this?”

”Lei’Er! Who? Who caused your cruel death like this!” Jie Daohan’s eyes widened with rage, his eyes red, nose running!

”Brother, I’m sorry! I failed to protect Lei’Er! Our Jie Family is now doomed without descendants!”

Jie Daohan grabbed the dry, hard soil, and said with resentment: ”Whoever you are! I will hunt you down!”

”I will carve your flesh piece by piece! Roast it, and feed it to dogs!”

After his grief, Jie Daohan quickly calmed down. He wiped his tears and immediately organized a team of constables to seal off the area.

He also had someone summon the forensic doctor to examine the corpse and search for clues!

Before the forensic doctor arrived, Jie Daohan, holding an oil lamp, entered the crypt for the second time and made another discovery.

He noticed discarded clothes and shoes in a corner of the wall...

Jie Daohan recognized at once that they were clothes worn by Xu Ruhu when he was captured...

Jie Daohan’s heart raced as he saw, beside the clothes, a scalp with stripped hair, appearing to be Xu Ruhu’s scalp judging by its gray hair!

”Xu Ruhu?” He hadn’t expected that Jie Lei’s death was related to Xu Ruhu!

Soon, Jie Daohan excavated Xu Ruhu’s corpse from the ground near the clothes!

In the crypt, Jie Daohan was chilled to the bone, his thoughts racing...

He immediately ordered his trusted constables to again block all four city gates!

He planned to have the forensic doctor perform an autopsy, compile the information, and report immediately to County Magistrate Shen Yanliu!

The major case has changed, the gates can’t allow anyone in or out!

Just after finishing the arrangements, a constable arrived with the forensic doctor.

The forensic doctor, inheriting his father’s profession, was named Liu Kui, no more than twenty-five or six years old.

Being so young, he’ll doubtless be underestimated at first sight! After all, being a forensic doctor relies on accumulated experience!

However, Jie Daohan had worked with him for two to three years, having witnessed his father train him; he knew well that despite this young fellow’s age, he grew up around skeletons and was no less skilled in autopsy than his old father!

”Liu Kui, my family Lei’Er has been murdered! Examine thoroughly, and if you find any leads, I will greatly reward you!” Jie Daohan said, his eyes red.

Liu Kui, having heard from the constable who called him on the way, sighed: ”Chief Constable Jie, my condolences! I will do my best!”

Liu Kui hadn’t practiced martial arts, and the well was narrow, so it wasn’t convenient for Jie Daohan to bring him up and down. Instead, he tied a rope at the well’s edge, lowering Liu Kui and his toolbox!

Liu Kui descended into the crypt; at this time, bright oil lamps had been lit in its four corners.

The overwhelmingly foul stench and bloodiness were piercing, but Liu Kui merely furrowed his brow, somehow enduring it!

Inside the crypt, only Jie Daohan and Liu Kui remained.

Liu Kui focused intently, beginning his examination of Jie Lei’s corpse using various tools!

Using a scraper, Liu Kui collected a little black pus, mixed it into a bowl of clear water, carefully smelled it, and threw a small piece of preserved meat from his toolbox into the bowl, observing the meat’s reaction!

”How is it? What kind of poison is that black pus?” Jie Daohan urgently asked from the side.

Liu Kui seemed not to hear, continuing his work, while Jie Daohan surprisingly didn’t lose his temper, patiently waiting.

After a long time, Liu Kui raised his head, his eyes bright with clarity, saying: ”This appears to be the Corpse Rot Poison!”

”Corpse Rot Poison?”

”Yes.” Liu Kui’s gaze shone, saying: ”Crafted by the malicious doctor Shen Ping. It’s primarily corpse poison, mixed with various toxic substances, strongly poisonous with no antidote!”

”Malicious doctor Shen Ping... this man seems to have withdrawn many years ago...” Jie Daohan appeared contemplative.

”Chief Constable Jie, do you remember? Several years ago, just after the County Magistrate arrived in Xianggu County for duty, while handling a case involving the Whale Tiger Gang, I accompanied my father for an autopsy and encountered this Corpse Rot Poison!” Liu Kui suddenly recalled.

Jie Daohan’s eyes twitched. ”Whale Tiger Gang?”

He genuinely wasn’t aware; the case related to the Whale Tiger Gang had been personally handled by Shen Yanliu, without involving him at all!

Jie Daohan silently thought to himself: The Whale Tiger Gang has been dormant for years, could this matter relate to them?

After a brief pause in thought, Jie Daohan raised his head and asked: ”Any other clues?”

Liu Kui’s eyes flickered, saying: ”The wound on Jie Lei’s face seems to be a knife wound, yet the knife wound hasn’t decayed, indicating the blade wasn’t poisoned!”

”As for these decayed wounds...” Liu Kui paused slightly, saying: ”They should be from some kind of small poisonous hidden weapon! Most likely, it’s the Flying Needle!”

”Flying Needle?” Jie Daohan’s heart skipped a beat, searching his mind for anyone in Xianggu County known to practice similar hidden weapon techniques.

”Both eyeballs completely turned into pus, and the edge corrosion around the eye sockets is about the same. This indicates the poisoned weapon hit directly in the center of the eyeball. Thus, it must be some small poisoned hidden weapon, most possibly a Flying Needle!” Liu Kui spoke as if he had visualized the scene.

In fact, Duan Rong had removed the leftover Flying Needle upon leaving, yet it didn’t escape Liu Kui’s analysis.

Jie Daohan emerged from the crypt, preparing to report the case to Shen Yanliu. He just exited Jie Lei’s courtyard when suddenly a constable arrived on horseback, informing him that someone intended to have a funeral procession at the western gate, and there was a list personally authorized by the County Magistrate, with over a hundred people on it!

Jie Daohan was furious that Lei’Er had just died, and at this coincidental moment, there was going to be a funeral procession.

He had to suspect that the enemy who murdered his nephew was mixed in with the funeral procession, attempting to use it to escape the city.

Jie Daohan immediately mounted a horse, galloping towards the western gate, fearing that if he were delayed, the enemy would escape.

Jie Daohan clutched the list, stamped with the county office’s seal, feeling somewhat perplexed!

Beside the seal was Shen Yanliu’s personal signature!

If he outright rejected this order, he’d be disrespecting Shen Yanliu!

Jie Daohan had worked alongside Shen Yanliu for several years, clearly discerning his temperament: he seemed lenient but was indeed ambitious, narrow-minded, and vengeful.

Shen Yanliu had always been suspicious of him; if Jie Daohan dared to not recognize an order personally signed and stamped by Shen Yanliu, this position of Chief Constable might be nearing its end, as Shen Yanliu would certainly find a reason to remove him.

Furthermore, the Xu Ruhu case before him was the perfect leverage, wasn’t it?

The prison robbery was likely Lei’Er’s doing; although Jie Daohan didn’t know the hidden details, could he truly remain uninvolved as both Chief Constable and uncle?