The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 37 Cause of Death
When the magistrate of Qingfeng County had already begun to handle this shocking murder case in which five people had been killed.

Zuiyue Tower in Cheng'an Prefecture had just received the news.

The reason the thieves chose Qingfeng County as the location for the kidnapping and torture was that they did not want to implicate their branch.

This also resulted in a one-day delay in the news of the five people's deaths reaching both the Thieves' Gate and the Deadly Gate.

I thought it would be a simple task, like delivering vegetables to someone.

Eight people died in succession, including a swordsman.

I heard that the cause of death this time was quite bizarre.

The senior executives within the Thieves' Guild were alarmed.

That night.

The deputy sect leader personally led a team to the mortuary and stole the bodies of the five people.

In June, after only two nights, the corpses had already begun to degenerate.

The deputy sect leader first had dozens of oil lamps brought out and lit up the entire room.

Then he ordered his subordinates to remove all the clothes from the five men's bodies.

Finally, a man dressed in a black hat and robe was respectfully invited out:

"Seventh Elder, please!"

The man called the Seventh Elder is the seventh-ranked elder of the Soul-Snatching Sect.

In his youth, he was said to be a renowned coroner in the commercial capital.

Later, for some reason, he left Shangdu and entered the Gate of Death.

Besides taking on murder jobs, he also enjoys studying various poisons.

After reaching the position of elder, he no longer participated in the business of the Soul-Snatching Sect.

It was only after the leader of the Thieves' Guild gave him a few rare medicinal herbs that he was persuaded to leave the mountain.

The Seventh Elder had the air of a big shot.

He walked slowly and deliberately around the corpse.

His outstretched hands were even more delicate than the embroiderer's.

The voice, however, carried the flavor of age:

"Yes, the coroner from Qingfeng County has already examined the body. The wounds have been smeared with crushed scallion whites and covered with white paper soaked in vinegar!"
The marks on this wound are rather strange; they don't look like they were made by a knife.

He had been somewhat indifferent at first, but after seeing the identical wounds on the Adam's apples of the five men, he became quite interested.

His hands were exceptionally gentle as he examined the wound.

He even examined the palms and fingernails of several people.

Unfortunately, the bodies of these people had already been handled several times.

It is virtually impossible to reconstruct the scene of the crime.

Finally, he used a small knife made of fine iron.

He raised his hand and cut open the wound of one of them.

One cut!

"vomit"

"Wow"

After seeing the maggots gushing from the wound, the people holding the lanterns couldn't help but vomit.

The Seventh Elder said with obvious disdain, "Keep the lamp steady, or don't look if you're scared."

He was completely unaffected and continued to cut along the cut surface of the wound.

They stopped moving only after they could clearly see the full depth and shape of the wound.

Five people were dissected in succession. The lamplighters were all ashen-faced, their stomachs emptied.
The Seventh Elder's final conclusion was:
"The other side may have a hidden weapon similar to the bite of an animal's teeth, with an extremely sharp mechanism that can kill with one blow! However, it cannot be ruled out that they encountered a ferocious beast of the order Rodentia, such as a rat or rabbit."

The deputy leader of the Thieves' Guild asked, "Seventh Elder, is there another swordsman from the Life-Taking Guild of the second generation here? Do you think Rat and Rabbit can harm him?"

The Seventh Elder pondered for a long time before saying, "As far as I know, Zhang, the eldest brother of the Miao Jiang Gu Sect, can use Gu worms to drive elephants."

The implication:
Rodents are not aggressive under normal circumstances.

Under abnormal circumstances, even timid and harmless rabbits can harm and kill people.

The deputy sect leader said, "But we have never had any dealings with the Gu Sect, nor have we ever been hostile to them. They have never appeared in the Central Plains."

The Seventh Elder lowered his hat to cover his eyes, his voice hoarse and low:
"That's something you should investigate. Just a friendly reminder, this person is probably ruthless, so be careful in the future."

Even if he didn't mention it, everyone in the Thieves' Guild felt uneasy.

Although the expert's throat-slitting technique from last time is different from this one, both techniques involve targeting the neck.

They were indeed somewhat unable to figure out the other party's tactics.

They were both afraid that the other party had deadly hidden weapons and afraid of provoking the Gu sect members who could control animals to attack people.

Who wouldn't fear the methods of the Gu Sect?

The term "Outer Eight Gates" is simply a general term used by ordinary people to refer to these gates.

In reality, they did not share a common faith or have a contact person.

They usually work independently and mostly go it alone.

Cooperation between the Thieves' Guild and the Deadly Guild and the Orchid Guild is also rare.

If it weren't for the employer's generous deposit, they wouldn't have been willing to share any of the profits.

Now, it's time to consider sending someone to the Gu Sect to inquire about the situation.

Anyway, given the Zuo clan's marching speed of fifty li a day, they could find them with just a little attention.

The thieves have temporarily quieted down.

In Shangdu, Consort Yu, having received the news, paced excitedly back and forth in the Xihua Palace.

That night, she relayed all the information she had gathered during the day to the head steward:

"Nianlang, you see, I told you that the strength of a century-old family is unfathomable, right? Who doesn't have some family wealth?"

"Your Majesty is exceptionally intelligent; the Zuo family's petty tricks naturally cannot escape your discerning eyes. What are your plans next?"

"We can't kill them so easily. Now that we know someone is protecting their family, things will be easier. Maybe the treasure map isn't hidden in plain sight. Keep a close eye on this main branch of the family; we'll eventually catch their secret guards."

"Your Majesty's arrangements are extremely well thought out. In any case, their every move is under your surveillance, so we have plenty of time to slowly wear them down."

"Absolutely! Absolutely! By the way, how's that person's pill-making going lately?"

"The Celestial Master has already refined a batch of Longevity Pills, saying that taking one pill can extend one's life by ten years. His Majesty is overjoyed. He is currently asking the Imperial Medical Academy to analyze the medicinal properties!"

"What about the Imperial Hospital?"

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. I have taken care of everything. He will not die. We still need to give your unborn child nine months to grow, right? We also need to prepare for the other 50% possibility of giving birth to a princess!"

"Hmph, if it weren't for that old man, I would have been a mother long ago, and maybe I would have given birth to seven or eight little princes for you, Nianlang. It's just a pity that this one in my belly isn't your own child. You won't dislike him after he's born, will you?"

"Linglong, I will treat any child you give birth to as my own! I will raise him myself, and he will never dare to disown me as his father. I am just jealous, jealous that Dragon Shadow Guard can truly have you! And have you as his mother."

"My love, touch my heart. Without you, it can't even beat."

"Hehe, let me hear, is there me inside it?"

"Come here, Nianlang, come quickly."

A moment later, a sound that made one blush and their heart race rang out.

Such sounds would echo through the bedchamber of Xihua Palace every few days, sometimes until midnight.

The palace maids and eunuchs serving outside were already used to it.
(End of this chapter)