Yun Que hugged his blade and opened the door.
The rain outside was torrential, like water being poured from a basin.
Mu Qingyao hesitated for a moment and said, "There is no need for that. Just turn your back and do not look behind you."
Hearing this, Yun Que closed the door again, sat on a stool, and turned his back to the wooden tub.
"Don't worry, I am a man of my word; I certainly won't look back."
"I believe you."
Seeing that Yun Que was seated properly with his back to her, Mu Qingyao pursed her lips and began to undress to bathe.
Outside, the rain poured down in sheets; inside, the room was exceptionally quiet.
There was only the faint sound of rippling water.
The young Princess had never before bathed in the presence of an outsider, and a flush of red lingered on her fair face throughout.
Halfway through, Mu Qingyao bit her lip lightly and suddenly turned her head to look.
Yun Que was sitting on the chair as steady as ever, his back to the tub, focused intently on fiddling with his long blade.
"You are a gentleman."
Mu Qingyao whispered the words softly.
On the wooden chair, Yun Que merely gave a scoff.
A gentleman?
Only a fool would be a gentleman.
Yun Que readjusted the angle of his blade, continuing to admire the beautiful scenery of the steel.
He took a few glances, then swallowed his saliva.
When Mu Qingyao had changed into a clean long robe, the heavy rain outside had also stopped.
The clothes were a bit loose; after all, they were a man's garments.
Mu Qingyao used the belt from her skirt to cinch her waist and tied her waterfall of long hair into a simple ponytail. She looked clean and refreshed, shedding some of a young girl's delicate softness and gaining a touch of heroic spirit.
"When shall we depart? You are the employer, so you set the time, though I suggest as soon as possible," Yun Que said, putting away his long blade and turning around.
"I want to go see those children who have been struck by evil," Mu Qingyao said.
"They wanted to burn you alive, yet you still want to visit them? Even a Bodhisattva isn't as merciful as you," Yun Que remarked.
"The common people are ignorant and easily misled. I could see that the scene earlier was instigated by someone behind the scenes. I don't blame them; I am just worried about the safety of those children. It is not common for over a hundred children to be struck by evil all at once. I learned some medicine from my master; perhaps I can help. If I leave now, my heart will not be at peace," Mu Qingyao said.
"I know most of the people in this town, and there are several unfamiliar faces in the crowd. Every minute we delay is another minute of danger," Yun Que said.
"Until we reach Baiyu City, you will help me, won't you?" Mu Qingyao smiled playfully.
"Since ancient times, those who hire help have always had many demands. Anyway, for a two-hundred-tael silver job, you can do whatever you like until we get to Baiyu City," Yun Que said.
Leaving the house, the two arrived at the nearest home where an incident had occurred.
A family of three, who usually relied on picking wild fruits in the mountains to sell and chopping firewood in the winter, lived a very difficult life.
The child was a daughter, four years old. Her eyes were rolled back, she was foaming at the mouth, and her breathing was weak; it looked as if she wouldn't last much longer.
When Yun Que entered, the husband and wife were staring blankly at their daughter, completely at a loss.
"What did the doctor say?" Yun Que asked.
Seeing it was Yun Que, the couple looked as if they had seen a lifeline.
"The doctor took a look and just said it was the same evil affliction as the other children; there is no cure."
"Brother Yun, please save our child! I beg of you!"
Yun Que glanced at the dying girl and said, "She is not possessed by evil, and there is no evil spirit in your home. I cannot save her."
Upon hearing this, the couple collapsed to the ground together and broke down in bitter tears.
"Let me try."
Saying this, Mu Qingyao walked to the girl's side and carefully took her pulse, her delicate, mountain-like brows slowly knitting together.
The couple hurriedly wiped away their tears and waited quietly on the side.
After a long while, Mu Qingyao withdrew her hand and said to the couple:
"Draw a basin of clear water, pour it into the child, and keep doing so until she vomits. Make her vomit at least three times."
The couple hurriedly followed her instructions and drew the water.
In their desperation, they were willing to try anything; they had no other options, and they couldn't afford a doctor from a large city. They could only treat the dying horse as if it were still alive.
The girl was forced to drink a large basin of clear water and vomited three full times.
Afterward, the girl's complexion improved, her breathing became steady, and before long, she slowly drifted back to consciousness.
Overjoyed, the couple bowed and thanked them repeatedly.
Mu Qingyao asked them to spread the method to save the other children struck by the affliction.
They then left the house.
"I misjudged. It really is an evil spirit," Yun Que said.
"You were not mistaken. The girl was not possessed; she was poisoned. I cannot tell what kind of poison it is, but I could only use this method to alleviate it. Fortunately, it was effective," Mu Qingyao said, filled with worry.
"To even use a young child—if that isn't the work of an evil spirit, what is? There are many evil spirits in this world wearing human skin; they look like people, yet they are more cruel than any demon," Yun Que sneered.
Mu Qingyao was speechless, a sense of self-reproach rising in her heart.
Since the arrival of this Princess, the tranquil little town had become someone else's chessboard.
The innocent people of the small town had become someone else's pawns.
"We leave now," Mu Qingyao said, steadying herself with determination.
Only when she left could Cangshi Town return to true peace.
At the intersection, Wu Dachuan and two bailiffs were hurrying toward them.
"Brother Yun! We finally found you! The Magistrate wants you to come over and perform an autopsy immediately!"
Wu Dachuan brought news of a death.
The deceased was the only daughter of a wealthy man in town. For some reason, she had thrown herself into the river and drowned last night. When she was fished out this morning, the body was bloated and misshapen—a gruesome sight.
Since Yun Que was the coroner for the local office and the Magistrate had issued an order, he could not simply ignore it.
He followed Wu Dachuan to the North Street.
Beside a water well at the end of the street, a group of bailiffs stood in a circle.
Magistrate Ma Yong and the Master of Records Niu Bucai were both there.
There was also a portly middle-aged man sitting on the ground, crying and wailing.
To one side of the well, a large piece of black cloth covered a corpse.
"My daughter! Why would you throw yourself into the well when everything was fine? You're gone, how can your father go on living!"
The wealthy man wept bitterly, a white-haired man mourning the death of his child.
Ma Yong and Niu Bucai kept trying to comfort him, using every kind word imaginable, acting very deferentially toward this man.
Seeing Yun Que arrive, Ma Yong quickly said:
"Yun Que, you've come at just the right time. Perform the autopsy quickly and see why the daughter of the Xu family threw herself into the river. Was it caused by depression or an unbearable burden on her heart?"
Yun Que rolled his eyes.
*You might as well just make up a reason and close the case. Everyone is already dead; even a god couldn't tell if it was depression or a broken heart.*
Having no choice—that was the nature of his profession—Yun Que went to the black cloth and prepared to start the autopsy.
Mu Qingyao remained by his side.
Yun Que grabbed a corner of the black cloth and warned:
"After a night in the well, while the body hasn't reached the state of advanced putrefaction, it won't be a pretty sight. Are you sure you want to look?"
Mu Qingyao nodded firmly, her expression solemn.
Yun Que pulled back the black cloth.
The moment she saw the body, Mu Qingyao’s breath hitched, and she felt a sudden urge to vomit.
Mu Qingyao closed her eyes to compose herself for a moment before opening them again. She did not dare look at the body, instead fixing her gaze on Yun Que.
As a coroner, Yun Que was professional.
After a brief examination of the body to confirm there were no external wounds, he asked the bailiff nearby:
"Which part was pulled out first?"
"The feet! The feet were pulled out first; the body was upside down," one of the bailiffs replied.
Yun Que turned to the wealthy man and asked: "Did your daughter have any history of mental illness? What happened last night?"
"No! My daughter was perfectly normal. She was so happy last night and even said she wanted to knit me a wool vest! Then, not long after, she threw herself into the well! My daughter! Wuwuwu..."
After asking these two questions, Yun Que gave his verdict.
"Homicide. A murder case."
The word "murder" left everyone around them stunned.
It was clearly a suicide by jumping into a well; how had it become a murder case?
Magistrate Ma Yong’s expression turned ugly.
If it were a suicide, it would be easy to handle—just comfort the wealthy man and that would be it.
But if it were a murder, it meant a headache for the local office.
He would have to find clues and hunt for the killer.
It would be fine if the case were solved quickly, but if a murder case remained unsolved for a long time, his performance appraisal as Magistrate would suffer greatly.
Criminal justice was a key standard for assessing a Magistrate; if too many murder cases piled up, his official career would be in jeopardy!
Especially when the body was intact; it was hard to even convince people by claiming it was the work of a demon.
When demons cause trouble, they inevitably hurt people.
There were no demons that didn't eat people but instead liked to drag them into wells.
Although Niu Bucai was illiterate, he was skilled at reading the room. Noticing the Magistrate's foul expression, he knew things had gone wrong and quickly tried to remedy the situation:
"Yun Que, take another look. Could it be that an evil spirit was at work and killed the wealthy man's daughter?"
As he said this, Niu Bucai discreetly held up one finger, symbolizing one tael of silver.
"I cannot be mistaken. It is a homicide," Yun Que said.
"Look closer. I think it looks like a suicide," Niu Bucai said, holding up three fingers.
Yun Que naturally noticed the man's subtle gestures and laughed, saying:
"Master Niu, do not trouble yourself. Business is business. Even if you add your toes to the count, this case remains a homicide. Someone committed a murder last night and is now at large."
Niu Bucai stood frozen, unable to speak.
The coroner who was always greedy for money was not interested in silver today.
Niu Bucai thought he understood Yun Que, but he didn't realize that Yun Que had his own bottom line.
He might be greedy for money, but there were some things that even a mountain of gold wouldn't tempt him to look at twice.
Mu Qingyao watched everything quietly from the sidelines.
Ma Yong's expression grew even uglier, and he glared at Niu Bucai.
Helpless, Niu Bucai retorted:
"Since you insist on calling it a homicide, Yun Que, tell us where the evidence is! Not even a shadow of the killer exists—on what grounds do you judge it to be murder?"
Yun Que smiled and said: "It is very simple to prove. I invite Master Niu to sit by the edge of the well, and I will give you the evidence."
Niu Bucai didn't understand why he had to sit at the well's edge.
Someone had just died in that well; he didn't want to sit there, but a look from the Magistrate forced him to comply.
"From this moment on, everything I say is a hypothesis. Master Niu, pay attention; pretend it is all real."
Yun Que said something strange.
Niu Bucai agreed and sat down by the well.
"Your father is dead," Yun Que said.
"Ah? No, he was out for a walk this morning," Niu Bucai said, scratching his head.
"Hypothetically, Master Niu. You should show the appropriate sorrow," Yun Que said.
Ma Yong scolded: "Just act as if your father is dead! Show the appropriate reaction!"
Niu Bucai kept saying "fine" and began frowning and sighing, simulating the sorrow of losing a father.
"Your mother is dead," Yun Que said.
Niu Bucai thought for a moment, and his frown turned into a mask of grief. He was getting into character.
"Your wife is dead," Yun Que said.
Niu Bucai’s sorrowful expression instantly turned into a smile, and he laughed out loud involuntarily. Realizing everyone was looking at him, he quickly switched back to a mournful face.
"Your son is dead," Yun Que said.
Niu Bucai paused, then fell silent, clearly looking more upset.
"The good news is, he isn't yours," Yun Que added.
Niu Bucai’s silence turned to fury, and he glared.
"All your relatives are dead, leaving only you. You have been diagnosed with an incurable disease and have only one day left to live—you will die by nightfall," Yun Que said.
Niu Bucai sucked his teeth and said: "That miserable? Why does it feel like you are cursing me?"
"Before nightfall, what would you do?" Yun Que asked.
"If I only had one day to live, I would certainly eat something good, play something good, say goodbye to my friends, and then lie on the bed and wait for death," Niu Bucai said, frowning.
"Would you want to jump into a well?" Yun Que asked.
"No! I'd rather die at home than in a well!" Niu Bucai shook his head like a rattle-drum.
Yun Que smiled and said: "Master Niu, even with your whole family wiped out and a terminal illness, you still don't want to jump into a well. The Xu girl lived a comfortable life without a worry in the world; why would she suddenly decide to throw herself into a well?"
"She... maybe she just couldn't get past a thought," Niu Bucai said, feeling guilty.
"Exactly right. That is indeed a possibility."
Yun Que pointed to the well and said: "If she couldn't get past a thought, why didn't she sit by the well and think it over carefully? Master Niu, if you couldn't get past a thought and wanted to jump into a well, would you sit by the edge to think, or would you run out of your house and dive straight in?"
After Yun Que finished speaking, everyone around them fell silent.
The wealthy man had said his daughter was perfectly fine that evening before she suddenly ran out and jumped in.
This would only happen if she had suffered a massive emotional blow.
But the woman who jumped into the well clearly had no such emotional distress.
Yun Que’s voice rang out, eerie and cold:
"To commit suicide by jumping into a well, one must first jump in. Throwing oneself into a river is different from a well. The mouth of a well is narrow; even if someone were suicidal, no one would choose to go in headfirst."
Since the body was pulled out by the feet, it proved she had entered the well headfirst.
Without any other clues, this method of death alone was suspicious.
That was why Yun Que was certain it was a homicide.
Someone had dragged the girl from her home last night and stuffed her into the well headfirst!
Though a murder was confirmed, there were no clues whatsoever.
Magistrate Ma Yong broke out in a cold sweat and demanded to know if the wealthy man had seen any trace of the killer, but the man was completely oblivious and had seen nothing.
"This is trouble... Wu Dachuan! You are the head bailiff, I order you to find the killer within ten days!"
Ma Yong vented his anger on the bailiff.
Wu Dachuan's face fell, but he could only submissively accept the order.
A headless case, not even a single clue—where was he supposed to find a killer?
Beside the well, it was chaotic. The Magistrate, the Master of Records, the bailiffs, the family, and the crowd were all arguing endlessly.
Mu Qingyao's gaze remained fixed on Yun Que.
The young Princess found it strange.
Yun Que had already finished the autopsy, but he was now squatting beside the body alone, seemingly muttering something to himself.
Due to the noise, Mu Qingyao couldn't hear what he was saying.
But she could see a rare, cold chill in his eyes.
"The world is chaotic enough. Demons are disrupting it, and now humans are doing the same."
Yun Que reached out to close the corpse’s eyes, looking at the bloated body as he muttered:
"Before she arrived, you were the best to look at while bathing. What a pity, I won't see that again. Sigh, there goes another hobby."
Covering the body with the black cloth again, Yun Que slowly rose and grasped his blade with one hand.
His delicate face seemed to be covered in a layer of frost.
Yun Que said: "Do you want to solve this case?"
Mu Qingyao: "A life for a life, debts must be paid. Jin State has laws, and I believe in retribution. But the children being struck by evil and the woman throwing herself into the well—these strange events are being instigated by people to get the townspeople to burn me alive. If we find the murderer, we will have to confront the person behind the scenes. You might be in danger."
Yun Que said: "The important figures who want you dead won't show their faces in a small place like this. The guy hiding in this town is at most a lackey. The greatest danger is closer to the Imperial City. Two hundred taels of silver is not enough to make me risk my life."
Mu Qingyao: "Even if he is a lackey, this person is very sinister and likely hard to deal with. You could just send me away from Cangshi Town—why risk finding him?"
Yun Que said: "A person can live a cowardly life or drift through their days, but one must keep their mind clear and focused. If I don't slaughter the killer, I won't be at ease."
Mu Qingyao: "Mind clear and focused... did you know the deceased?"
Yun Que said: "The old hunter who adopted me died in my second year. Sometimes when I had nothing to eat, I would come to town. The wealthy man was the richest and the stingiest; he would give me half a bowl of porridge, mostly water with barely a grain of rice. Every time, his daughter would secretly tuck two steamed buns into my hand—white ones, just like the ones sister Xiu'er has."
Yun Que was smiling, but the killing intent in his eyes was about to overflow.
"So, I want to teach that killer a new word," Yun Que said.
"What word?" Mu Qingyao asked.
"I'll teach him how to write the word 'death'!" Yun Que's voice was cold as ice.