The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 10 Tragic
At the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), it was still dark.

Prefect Zhao, who had been reviewing case files all night, had only managed to sleep for less than half an hour at his desk.

He was woken up by his subordinates again.

"My lord, something terrible has happened! Another incident has occurred!"

"My lord, Yu Er and the others are all dead in the dungeon!"

"Reporting to you, sir, I just informed Warden Yu that he was also found dead on his own kang (heated brick bed)."

As soon as Prefect Zhao stood up, he stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

He shook his head, asking incredulously:
"How many died? How did they die? Has the killer been found?"

bailiff: "."

at the same time.

After wandering around outside, Atu squeezed in through the fence gate.

The master and the rat summarized the situation and put it into the sacred wood space.

Atu stretched out a small paw and gestured to Gan Minglan:
"Squeak, this great king has done it! I've snatched five heads and ten eyeballs in total!"

Gan Minglan was puzzled:
"Didn't I draw a target of four people for you? Why are you making things up out of thin air?"

"Chirp, I haven't mistaken you for someone else. I saw two of the fat man you drew! They look exactly alike."

"Could that scumbag have a twin brother? What kind of clothes is he wearing? Is he also a jailer?"

Atu's rat brain capacity is limited.

Even after shouting until his voice was hoarse, he still couldn't explain the essential difference between the clothes of target number two and target number one.

If it's hard to explain, it simply chooses not to say anything.

He wiggled his bottom, huffed and puffed, and went to sleep in his cave.

It's been working so hard, it must be tired too.

A small pot of mulberries is worth only this much work, no more!
Once Gan Minglan was out of the space, she quickly learned what it had done.

What kind of good person is a jailer who can raise a scumbag son?

It's said that bad people, when they get old, will just become old scoundrels.

Her son, Ah Tu, is really good; he scratched so well!
Gan Minglan was in a great mood and wished she could give each of her roommates a steamed bun with vegetables to celebrate.

Prefect Zhao, who received the news before her, fainted from fright at the crime scene.

Compared to the way the seven jailers died the night before last, with their throats cut, this is a different story.

The deaths of these five people tonight were truly horrific.

What kind of psychopath would gouge out the victim's entire brain and eyeballs?

Just dig.

They even neatly arranged the spoils on the small table where they had drunk wine earlier!
What does this mean?
Are these to be used for sacrificial rites to heaven?
Even experienced coroners would be terrified at the sight.

My hands were shaking violently.

Having dealt with corpses for decades, his teeth were grinding together.

The scene was too cruel.

Not only the prefect fainted at the scene.

The timid officers' trousers were already soaked.

In just half an hour, the prison corridor above the dungeon was crowded with people.

The garrison soldiers, who had been temporarily brought in to guard the area, huddled together and whispered amongst themselves.

These whispers kept reaching the prisoners' ears:
"My goodness! He killed five people right under our noses without a sound. Should we say this murderer is incredibly bold, or should we praise his martial arts skills?"

"Ouch! My eyes hurt and the back of my head feels cold! What heinous crimes have these people committed?"

"Who knows? It's our first time at the government office. Who has more information than anyone else?"

"I'm just a rough guy, but I think the fact that the jailer and his son died at the hands of the same person means it must be revenge from an enemy! Maybe those jailers were also implicated because of them." "It's hard to say. I've heard of enemies taking revenge on relatives, but killing colleagues is unheard of!"

"Hiss, what kind of deep hatred would drive someone to such a ruthless act!"

"I feel this prison is filled with a heavy, eerie atmosphere! I'm going straight back to the base after my shift changes tomorrow. I really can't do this job that pays only half a tael of silver!"

"Going back together! Going back together! Even if you have a lot of money, you need to be alive to spend it!"

That's how people are.

Once the psychological suggestion takes hold, even hundreds of strong men huddled together will feel that the prison is filled with a menacing atmosphere.

They couldn't wait until dawn and started clamoring to go back to their camp.

After Prefect Zhao fainted, the investigation was taken over by the Assistant Prefect and the Police Inspector.

Investigating cases is the primary responsibility of police inspectors.

The fact that it was his own colleague who had died made the police inspector take the case even more seriously.

They soon discovered the hole that Ah Tu had dug out outside the dungeon door.

What puzzled the police officers was:
Was the pile of blue brick dust at the entrance of the cave caused by human intervention or by some animal?
What kind of tools were used?

Following this entrance, they imagined in their minds the scene of the murderer entering the dungeon through this hole.

Even a person the size of a monkey wouldn't be able to squeeze into such a hole, right?

If it were an animal, who would be instructing it?

What kind of animal can completely rip out a person's brain and eyeballs?

Furthermore, there were obvious traces of brain matter on the deceased's clothes, indicating that they had been wiped clean.

Was it intentional or unintentional?

In short, the case is very mind-bending.
Leyuan County.

Gan's butcher shop has been closed for several days.

Gan Hongzhen hosted banquets for his friends every day.

It took a lot of effort to get in touch with the local government and find the old woman who would take care of his daughter.

When the news came that their daughter was pregnant with their second child, Gan Hongzhen and Yang made a decision after discussing it.

The couple planned to have their son-in-law write a letter of release, so that they could bring their daughter and eldest grandson back to her parents' home before she was exiled.

As for that cheap son-in-law, just prepare some banknotes for him.

But today, the wind direction seems wrong.

Gan Hongzhen was deeply worried:
"Old woman, it's already noon and we still haven't received any news. Something must have happened."

Yang was easily moved to tears; upon hearing the man's words, her eyes immediately reddened.

"Honey, you'd better come up with a plan! You have so many cronies around, they'll come in handy when it counts!"
The fetus is most vulnerable in the first three months of pregnancy, like being in a prison cell, not getting enough to eat or sleep. How could my daughter endure that?

"I've been thinking about this every day, haven't I? If this doesn't work, I'll go to Daming Prefecture myself later. I'm just anxiously waiting at home."

"That's good. Take all the banknotes from home with you. Don't be stingy with money when you're trying to find out information."

"You old woman, am I being wronged? When have I, as a father, ever been stingy with money when it comes to my daughter's affairs?"

"It's my fault, I spoke too quickly. You're the best father in Leyuan County!"

The couple used their bickering as a way to ease their tense emotions.

"Father, I'll go to Daming Prefecture with you. The more people there are, the more help we'll have!"

A young man's voice sounded from outside the door.

Gan Mingfu, the eldest son of the Gan family, pushed open the door and walked in.

Madam Yang greeted her with delight: "Afu, why are you back? Is Qingshan Academy closed today?"

Gan Mingfu, covered in sweat, said, "I heard that the prefectural government office was under martial law last night, so I asked for leave because I was worried."

(End of this chapter)