Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"Report to the authorities," Nie Qiuyuan said.
We did not take any further action, quietly standing at the door, waiting for the officials to arrive.
I felt a bit excited, yet somewhat frustrated. Had I really fallen into that kind of curse? In just a few short months, wherever I went, a murder would occur?
"Are you scared?" Qiu asked.
I felt a chill in my heart. Hearing that made me instinctively alert, completely forgetting that I was a delicate lady! How could I face my crush's concern with such a display of squeezing through the door?
"I... I..." I quickly thought of something. "Liuying doesn't want to be a burden to her brother, so I'm not afraid!"
I put on an act of being strong.
My brother paused for a moment before saying, "That's good. If you're scared, come out and let Melan accompany you back."
I shook my head resolutely.
The county town wasn't large, and the officials arrived quickly. A death in the shop was indeed ominous and a big deal; the owner had long been waiting at the door with an umbrella.
"Captain Hu, thank you for your trouble! Once you're done here, I'll prepare drinks and snacks; we've just received some fine wine..."
"Enough!" Captain Hu was tall and robust. "Cut the nonsense; where is the body?"
The shop owner hurriedly led the officials to the scene. Captain Hu stood at the door of the private room with a group of constables and noticed us standing around, looking quite surprised.
"Who are you? If there's nothing wrong, don't stand here; I'm telling you it's obstructing official business!"
What modern dialogue!
Nie Qiuyuan calmly took out his official seal and said, "I am Nie Qiuyuan, the newly appointed magistrate of Yichuan County. Passing through Blessed Land, I happened to encounter this incident and would like to lend a hand."
In fact, this was quite polite. Captain Hu examined the official seal and found it genuine, looking very surprised.
The magistrate of Yichuan County was on par with Captain Hu's superior, Feng County Magistrate; he was someone who must be respected and obeyed upon meeting.
However, the Yichuan County Magistrate looked to be only about twenty years old. That was incredibly young! Moreover, the group of people standing here were all handsome men and beautiful women!
I felt that Captain Hu must have thought the same way! His astonished gaze at Nie Qiuyuan made me feel quite pleased and proud.
Captain Hu paused for a moment before stepping forward to bow and said, "Please, my lord!"
Over there, Luo Dachun kicked the door down.
This was not due to Luo Dachun's recklessness; rather, the door had been locked from the inside. If one had the right technique, kicking it down was the quickest and most convenient method.
Inside was dark and eerie, with the faint flicker of the Peony Lantern casting strange shadows throughout the room.
The Shop Owner had already called for someone to bring a light, but they dared not approach. We took the lantern and placed it in various spots around the scene, illuminating the room brightly.
On the ground lay a scholar in white robes. He was sprawled on his back, his hands tightly gripping his throat, his eyes wide open, seemingly unable to close even in death.
Upon closer inspection, although his death was gruesome, he had a remarkably handsome face. In life, he must have been quite a striking figure!
There were no visible wounds on him. Although his hands were clutching his neck, there were no marks or rope impressions on his throat; it was smooth and unblemished, unlike someone who had been strangled.
How did he die?
Moreover, looking around, the door that Luo Dachun had kicked down had been neatly propped back up against the wall. Clearly, it had been locked from the inside—not only locked but also secured with an iron lock, which still appeared to be in a locked state.
As for the windows, they were all tightly shut. The constables were quite aware and immediately checked; not a single window was open.
The room formed a completely sealed space. Aside from a small vent hole near the top of the west wall, there were no other openings. That hole was so small that even a wild cat might struggle to squeeze through.
Not only had we encountered a dead body again, but we also found ourselves in one of the most classic scenes of detective stories—a true locked room mystery!
If this was a murder case, then how did the murderer escape?
Thus, we should proceed according to the protocol for locked room murders. First and foremost, we should consider whether it could be suicide!
"The doors and windows are all locked. If it was murder, the murderer couldn't have escaped. However, when we entered, there was no one else in the house. Everyone present now had just appeared outside; it's impossible for anyone to have hidden inside beforehand. So, I'm afraid the deceased must have taken their own life!"
Captain Hu of Feng County was no fool; he spoke these words with great insight.
The Boss, who was nervously standing at the door, nodded repeatedly.
Indeed, his analysis made a lot of sense.
But as Nie Qiuyuan approached the table and surveyed the scene for a moment, he said, "From the state of the body, the time of death was within the last hour. The inkstone on the desk has freshly ground ink; they were copying the Diamond Sutra before they died."
The Diamond Sutra had four or five lines copied, but the last character was only half-written.
It seemed they had been interrupted by something.
If it was suicide, why would it be so hasty? Would someone really start copying scriptures and then suddenly decide to take their own life?
Moreover, how exactly did they die?
The Shop Owner trembled at the door, hesitating to speak. I had a feeling he desperately wanted this to be a suicide, but after hearing Nie Qiuyuan's words, everyone felt it didn't seem like a suicide at all. At that moment, the Boss became tense.
"Shopkeeper, feel free to speak your mind," Nie Qiuyuan said gently, having keenly noticed this.
"Your Excellency..." The Shop Owner's face turned pale. "Please, Your Excellency, do not make this public; otherwise, my shop's business will be ruined!"
Nie Qiuyuan and Inspector Wu both nodded in agreement.
"This might be a vengeful spirit seeking retribution!" With the Boss's words, a thunderclap from outside sent chills down my spine.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Have you heard of the Peony Lantern legend? Recently, there have been many rumors of hauntings. Late at night, people often see ghosts carrying peony lanterns walking about; sometimes they even float in mid-air! And during rainy days, you can often hear a female ghost crying..."
I shivered involuntarily and clutched at Qiu's sleeve. Qiu frowned slightly and calmly brushed me off.
This time, I was genuinely scared; it wasn't intentional for me to approach him. Did he... dislike me?
I quickly steadied my mind and focused on listening to Boss's words.
"This young man has been staying at the inn for some time now; he's a scholar. It's well-known that the ghost of the Peony Lantern favors scholars. This mysterious and sudden death... Look, isn't there also a Peony Lantern in the room?"
In such a secretive place, with such an inexplicable death, could it really be that only the Vengeful Spirit seeking revenge could explain it?
"My lord," Captain Hu suddenly spoke up, "the situation in the room is as it is. Why not take the corpse back to the county office for the Coroner to examine before making any decisions?"
Nie Qiuyuan nodded.
Captain Hu continued, "My lord, you are known for your integrity. Passing through our county without notifying us is quite unusual. Lord Ge would certainly want to invite you personally if he knew. Would it not be better for you to stay at the county office for a few days instead of here at the inn?"
I assumed this "Lord Ge" referred to the magistrate of Feng County.
Now that this incident had occurred, we were essentially reporters of the case and fell under the category of witnesses, so we naturally couldn't stand by idly. Staying at the county office seemed to be the most convenient choice.
"Then I shall comply with your request; please lead the way, Captain Hu," Nie Qiuyuan said.
Comment 0 Comment Count