The bluestone floor in the backyard of the Xuan'an Bureau glistened under the night rain. A young constable ran with such haste that his heels skidded on the slick surface, nearly sending him sprawling into the foul gutter nearby.
He steadied himself with one hand against the wall, the copper badge at his waist clattering in a rapid, frantic rhythm, like a sparrow whose tail had been stepped on. "Detective Pi! The corpse of Butcher Zhang in the morgue... it sat up by itself in the middle of the night!"
Gu Qinghuan’s Xiuchun Saber was still stained with blood from Tianji Tower. She reached out and pressed down on the young constable’s trembling shoulder, her fingertips sensing the cold sweat soaking through his back. "Speak slowly. When was this discovered?"
Chapter 127