The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 172 Father Liu Wenjing Appears! An Unexpected Discovery!
"hiss--"

As Du Ying finished speaking, gasps of astonishment rose and fell.

Everyone who heard Du Ying's words felt a chill run down their spine and their scalp tingled.

Everyone witnessed the gruesome state of Yang Wanli's corpse. Even though Yang Wanli was dismembered after death, they were still horrified.

But now, Du Ying tells them that Yang Wanli was not dismembered after death, but rather chopped off piece by piece with an axe while he was still alive...

They simply couldn't imagine how horrific and bloody the scene was, for Yang Wanli to watch himself being torn to pieces... and that Yang Wanli wouldn't die immediately after being subjected to this torture, which was even more terrifying than being torn apart by five horses!
Just how cold-blooded was the killer to commit such a cruel act?

“Yang Wanli must have screamed when he was treated like this, right? But the people around didn’t hear any shrill screams…” Li Xinchun couldn’t help but say.

Du Ying had regained her usual aloofness. She said, "I found cotton wool in the gaps between Yang Wanli's teeth. His mouth must have been stuffed with something, which prevented him from making much noise."

Li Xinchun's eyelids twitched. He had been wondering if the murderer had first drugged Yang Wanli before dismembering him. Although the result would be the same, at least Yang Wanli wouldn't have to endure pain and torment worse than being torn apart by five horses.

It now seems that the murderer never intended to lessen Yang Wanli's suffering.

Liu Shuyi glanced at the still terrified and shaken crowd, and without wasting any time, said to Du Ying, "Let's continue."

Du Ying nodded and continued, "The murder weapon used to cut off the arms and thighs should be a sharp weapon like an axe. The murderer was probably not particularly strong, so he could not cut off the arms and thighs quickly, but instead chopped them off repeatedly with force."

"At the same time, I found some white powder on the wounds on the deceased's thigh and arm. After testing, I determined that the powder should be a hemostatic drug such as wound medicine, which means..."

She looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "The murderer was afraid that the victim would die too quickly, so he used drugs to prolong the victim's life."

Upon hearing this, Li Xinchun and the others' expressions changed again.

It's bad enough that living people is tearing them apart, but to worry that they're dying too quickly and use wound medicine to prolong their lives...

At this moment, Li Xinchun and the others really wanted to ask the murderer what grudge or hatred made him treat Yang Wanli this way.

Even a cold-blooded madman couldn't do that, right?
Liu Shuyi's face showed a thoughtful expression. Although the brutality of the murderer had exceeded his expectations, he had lived two lives and was knowledgeable, so he was not so easily swayed by it.

"Any other discoveries?" Liu Shuyi continued.

Du Ying nodded: "There were signs of binding on Dr. Yang's body. He must have been bound by the murderer before he died. I also cut open his stomach and found the ingredients of a sleeping drug in his undigested food. However, the dosage of the sleeping drug was not large. It should only make Dr. Yang unconscious for a short time, at most no more than half an hour."

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed, and he said, "The murderer first used a small amount of sleeping pills to knock out Doctor Yang, then tied him up with ropes, brought him here, and then committed the murder and dismemberment?"

"Based on the autopsy results, this should be the case."

Liu Shuyi pondered, "The drug was in the stomach, which means it entered through the mouth... Doctor Yang left in a hurry after receiving the invitation..."

"The invitation was sent by the murderer. The murderer tricked Dr. Yang into attending the banquet under some pretext, and then drugged his food while they were eating together?"

Du Ying was not clear about the specifics of the case and did not blindly agree, so as not to influence Liu Shuyi's judgment.

Liu Shuyi asked, "Can we determine when Dr. Yang ate based on the food residue?"

Du Ying thought for a moment and said, "The vegetables have been completely digested, only some mutton has not been digested yet... about three and a half hours ago."

“More than three hours ago…” Liu Shuyi estimated the time: “Doctor Yang died between the hours of Chou and Yin, so three hours ago would be between the hours of You and Xu.”

"Madam Yang said that Dr. Yang received the invitation around 5 PM and then left for the banquet... If that's the case, the timing matches up, so it seems that the person who wrote the invitation is the murderer."

Upon hearing this, Li Xinchun's eyes lit up immediately, and he nodded repeatedly: "Finally, the connection between the invitation and the murderer has been confirmed. It seems that the murderer killed Dr. Yang as a long-planned conspiracy, rather than a murder committed on impulse!"

"I just don't know if the murderer chose Dr. Yang because they had a grudge against him, or for some other reason."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi asked Du Ying, "Besides being torn to pieces, did Doctor Yang suffer any other abuse before he died?"

Du Ying nodded and said, "There are some wounds on his body from before he died, caused by blunt force trauma. The murderer must have beaten Doctor Yang severely."

Liu Shuyi stroked his chin and said, "If it's just about performing some kind of ritual through Doctor Yang, then cutting off his body while he's still alive would be enough... There's no need to beat Doctor Yang up again."

"Judging from the brutal beating, and the fact that despite the presence of a sedative, the perpetrator deliberately made Dr. Yang watch herself being torn to pieces while fully conscious, the murderer seems more like someone venting their anger and seeking revenge... Could the murderer and Dr. Yang have some deep-seated grudge?"

He turned to Madam Yang and asked, "Madam Yang, do you know if Doctor Yang has any enemies or has any grudges against anyone?"

Madam Yang frowned and said, "If any of the servants in the manor break the rules, the master will indeed punish them severely according to the family rules, and they may be somewhat dissatisfied with the master... Apart from that, the master gets along well with his colleagues. I have never heard the master say anything bad about anyone, nor have I seen anyone target the master."

A servant in the household who made a mistake?
Recalling the gatekeeper's words, Li Xinchun couldn't help but say to Liu Shuyi, "Doctor Yang is very strict with his servants. If they make a mistake, he will gouge out their eyes, cut off their tongues, and break their hands and feet... This is indeed somewhat similar to how the murderer tore Doctor Yang to pieces and tortured him. Could it be that the prisoners in the Yang family who were punished by Doctor Yang harbored resentment and came to take revenge on Doctor Yang?"

Ding Feng replied, "The servants have had their eyes gouged out, their tongues cut off, and their limbs broken. Even if their limbs could be reattached, their eyes would never be able to see again. Under these circumstances, how can blind servants possibly deal with Doctor Yang?"

"This..." Li Xinchun thought for a moment and said, "Is it possible that these servants' family members did this to avenge their relatives?"

"Family members?" Ding Feng frowned, but did not refute it further. If they were the servants' family members, then there was indeed no possibility that they were blind or disabled.

He looked at Liu Shuyi and asked, "What does Doctor Liu think?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xinchun and the others all turned to look at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi pondered for a moment and said, "Now there are two questions."

"What's the problem?" Li Xinchun asked hurriedly.

"The first question is, although the murderer's actions clearly showed revenge against Doctor Yang, don't forget the bodies we just painstakingly collected... If the murderer was really a servant or a servant's family member who had been punished in the Yang household, then they only needed to make Doctor Yang suffer physical pain. Why bother to follow the Five Elements method, go to the trouble of hiding them separately and risking being discovered?"

Li Xinchun's heart sank. Indeed, if it was just a matter of revenge, torturing Yang Wanli would be enough. There was absolutely no need to do anything superfluous after Yang Wanli's death.

"second question……"

Liu Shuyi continued, "It's about the murderer's methods of luring Yang Wanli out, and the fact that he shared a dinner with Yang Wanli... If the murderer was really a servant or a servant's family member who was kicked out of the Yang family, they were all the lowest-class people. Even if Yang Wanli had never met the servant's family members, with Yang Wanli's experience and insight, he would definitely be able to recognize their identities immediately."

"After Yang Wanli found out that the murderer was a commoner, do you think he would have been willing to share dinner with him? Would he have eaten and drunk with him without any suspicion? Wouldn't Yang Wanli have thought about what these lowly ants were up to?"

Liu Shuyi's two questions ruthlessly shattered Li Xinchun's original guesses.

Li Xinchun rubbed his forehead and said, "But Madam Yang also said that the people who hate Doctor Yang are these servants who were driven away. Besides the servants, who else hates Doctor Yang so much?"

As Liu Shuyi listened to Li Xinchun's words, his gaze slowly shifted to the plaque beside him, whose color had completely faded.

He had previously concluded that the murderer deliberately chose to commit the crime in this mansion.

The murderer had some connection with the wealthy merchant family, and the murderer's actions against Yang Wanli were clearly acts of revenge, coupled with the family's strange past experiences... After killing Yang Wanli, the murderer drew bizarre patterns and disposed of the body according to the Five Elements theory...

Weird against weird...

So, is it possible that the murderer was taking revenge on Yang Wanli because of the strange encounter that happened to the wealthy family ten years ago?
Yang Wanli...is related to what happened to the wealthy merchant family back then!?
Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes. His conjecture was undeniably bold, but whether it was true or not, he would need to learn more about the case from ten years ago to find out.

"Master Liu, Yuan Lingtai from the Imperial Observatory has arrived." At this moment, a yamen runner came to report.

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi turned around and saw Yuan Tiangang dismounting and being blocked at the alley entrance by the yamen runners.

Without any hesitation, he quickly went to meet them.

"Yuan Lingtai, I'm troubling you again today," Liu Shuyi said with a smile as he approached Yuan Tiangang.

Yuan Tiangang bowed to Liu Shuyi and said, "Please don't say that, Physician Liu. We are colleagues, and we hit it off immediately when we were investigating the silver treasury case. I am happy to help you, both for public and private reasons."

Why does this sound so familiar?

Did I just fool someone like that not long ago?
Liu Shuyi's eyelids twitched, and he laughed heartily, "Yuan Lingtai is right. We hit it off immediately and feel like we've known each other for ages. If Yuan Lingtai ever needs my help in the future, I will definitely go to assist him."

As he spoke, he instructed the constables to let Yuan Tiangang pass and led him toward the residence.

“Yuan Lingtai, I’ve come across a very strange case, and I’d like to hear your thoughts.”

"A strange case? I wonder what kind of strangeness it is?" Yuan Tiangang asked curiously.

As Liu Shuyi walked, he said, "Grand Master Yang Wanli was murdered in the early morning. While he was alive, the murderer cut him into five pieces with an axe, and then disposed of the body according to the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. I want to know if there is any explanation for this in your Taoist metaphysics."

"Is Grand Councilor Yang Wanli murdered?" "Or was he dismembered while still alive...?"

Even though Yuan Tiangang had achieved great success in his cultivation, he couldn't help but show surprise upon hearing this shocking news.

Liu Shuyi said, "This case is truly bizarre, which is why I asked Yuan Lingtai to come and help."

Yuan Tiangang nodded, stroked his beard, and quickly calmed down, saying, "The theory of the Five Elements has important uses in feng shui, fortune telling, and rituals. As Doctor Liu said, the murderer divided Doctor Yang's body into five parts and hid them using the method of the Five Elements..."

"It seems to be related to feng shui and rituals, but I need to go to the site to see what the specific effect is and do some deduction."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "This is easy to arrange. I will arrange for someone to take Yuan Lingtai to check on him later."

As they talked, the two entered the courtyard.

As soon as Yuan Tiangang entered the mansion, he saw the scarlet bloodstains in the courtyard. Even though Yuan Tiangang was prepared, he was still shocked by the horrifying scene and frowned.

Liu Shuyi raised his hand, pointed to the table in front of the bloodstains, and the pig's head, fruit, and wine pot in front of the table, and said, "Yuan Lingtai, what do you think these are for?"

Following Liu Shuyi's gaze, Yuan Tiangang quickly said, "A memorial service."

"A memorial service? Are you sure?" Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow.

Yuan Tiangang nodded: "Although these offerings are needed for sacrifices, rituals, and offerings to gods and Buddhas, there are still obvious differences in their placement and types."

"Liu Langzhong is not an official of the Ministry of Rites, so he may not know about this, but I can tell at a glance that this is a memorial service for the dead. There should be a memorial tablet on the table, and someone should have burned yellow paper nearby."

Upon hearing Yuan Tiangang say the words "burned yellow paper," Li Xinchun and Ding Feng, who had initially been skeptical of Yuan Tiangang, whom Liu Shuyi had specially invited, immediately showed surprise.

"This Yuan Lingtai is quite capable; he even deduced that the yellow paper had been burned," Li Xinchun said in a low voice.

Ding Feng nodded in agreement: "No wonder Doctor Liu specially invited him here. Those whom Doctor Liu has chosen are indeed worthy of their reputation."

Liu Shuyi ignored their hushed chatter. In fact, when he saw the yellow paper, he had already suspected that the murderer was commemorating someone, but he was not sure. Now, with the explanation from a professional, he was finally able to confirm it.

The fact that the crime was committed at the wealthy businessman's mansion, and then the memorial service was held here... this almost clearly indicates that the murderer was killing for the wealthy businessman's family.

The murderer did not clean up the bloodstains, and when throwing away the body's arm and head, they did so almost right under the noses of passersby. This shows that the murderer had no intention of hiding Yang Wanli's body at all, and even hoped that the people would discover it.

If the common people discover the body, the government will inevitably find it as well. Once the government learns of Yang Wanli's identity and the tragic state of his body, they will surely investigate frantically. It will only be a matter of time before they find the mansion not far from where the body was dumped.

So, does this mean that the murderer actually wanted the authorities to find this place?

When the authorities arrived and found this scene resembling a memorial service, their next move became quite obvious...

Is the murderer guiding the government's investigation into the strange encounter of a wealthy family ten years ago?
What does he want the authorities to find out?

A thoughtful look flickered in Liu Shuyi's eyes. After a moment, he took a deep breath and looked away.

Whatever the killer's intentions, the direction forward is clear: the decade-long ordeal of the wealthy family must be investigated.

"Yuan Lingtai, there's one more thing we need you to help us confirm its purpose."

Liu Shuyi led Yuan Tiangang to the corner of the wall, pointed to the strange eye pattern on the ground below, and asked, "Yuan Lingtai, do you know what this is?"

"This is!?"

Yuan Tiangang, who had been calm, finally showed a noticeable change in expression after seeing the strange pattern on the ground.

Seeing this, Liu Shuyi quickly asked, "Does Yuan Lingtai know about it?"

"How could it be it?"

Yuan Tiangang's expression turned serious. He looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "To be honest, Doctor Liu, this is a kind of evil ritual used by heretics that is forbidden by the orthodox Taoist sects and has even been lost. I have never seen it before, but I have only seen records of this ritual in ancient books."

"Ancient texts say that the purpose of this ritual is to summon the Eye of Evil into the world. Legend has it that this Eye of Evil connects to the eighteen levels of the underworld and can suck people's souls into it, causing them to fall into the Avici Hell forever and never be able to turn back. In Taoist records, it is one of the most vicious rituals."

"What kind of deep-seated hatred could drive someone to stage such a ritual?"

Is it still revenge...? Liu Shuyi asked, "How can one absorb a person's soul into the eye of an evil spirit? To kill someone on the spot?"

Yuan Tiangang shook his head and said, "Killing people is not enough, but the specifics are not recorded in ancient books, so I don't know either."

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment, then took out the blood-stained scarecrow from his pocket and said, "On the eyes of this scarecrow, we also found this scarecrow with Doctor Yang's birth date and time written on it."

"A small doll bearing the birth date and time... stained with Doctor Yang's blood... and Doctor Yang was killed on the spot, his soul departing..."

Yuan Tiangang tapped his fingertip as if he were deducing something. After a moment, he said, "Although I don't know the specific method of the ritual, those who use evil methods to harm people can never escape the influence of birth date and time and villains... So I judge that this should be enough. The person who set up the formation is to ensure that even if Doctor Yang dies, he will not be able to be reincarnated."

Upon hearing this, Li Xinchun couldn't help but swallow.

"While Dr. Yang was alive, he was forced to be conscious and made to watch helplessly as he was cut open piece by piece with an axe; as a result, after his death, he was subjected to this cruel and demonic ritual, condemning him to eternal damnation in the eighteenth level of hell, never to be reborn..."

"This murderer is truly ruthless."

Ding Feng had served as an imperial censor for many years, and this was the first time he had encountered a murderer who was so cruel both in life and in death. He nodded and said, "The murderer we encountered this time is probably an extremely crazy and dangerous person."

Yuan Tiangang listened to their conversation, looked at Liu Shuyi, and said, "This man possesses forbidden techniques that have been lost. He may also have ancient books that are even older than those in the imperial library. If you find him, I hope you can find out about these ancient books. It would be a good thing for the imperial court to complete the collection of lost ancient books."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Don't worry, Yuan Lingtai. If we find him, I will question him myself."

As he spoke, he looked back at the desolate and bleak mansion and asked, "What does Yuan Lingtai think of the feng shui of this mansion?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xinchun and Yuan Tiangang immediately looked at him. They knew that Liu Shuyi wanted to confirm whether the series of strange incidents that happened to the wealthy family ten years ago were really related to the rumored bad feng shui.

Yuan Tiangang examined it carefully and then made calculations with his fingers. After a while, he said, "The feng shui is good, and wealth is gathered here. Living in this house should bring you good fortune."

The feng shui isn't bad... Liu Shuyi nodded, cupping his hands in thanks. "Thank you, Yuan Lingtai. Next, Yuan Lingtai, please go and check the five locations where the body was dumped to confirm the murderer's intentions."

After witnessing the ritual of the Eye of Evil, Yuan Tiangang became very interested in the identity of the murderer and what other Taoist secret techniques the murderer possessed. Even if Liu Shuyi hadn't mentioned it, he would have taken the initiative to investigate.

Upon hearing this, he didn't hesitate and, more enthusiastic than ever before, nodded to Liu Shuyi before turning and leaving.

Watching Yuan Tiangang leave without a word, Ding Feng remarked, "This Yuan Lingtai, like County Magistrate Gu, is an extremely efficient person, truly a model for officials of our Great Tang."

"Cough cough..." Even though Li Xinchun knew that Ding Feng was not in the Yin-Yang realm, he still almost choked.

Is Gu Wen efficient?
If it wasn't Liu Shuyi who gave the orders, try having someone else do it?

Li Xinchun couldn't help but sigh, "Sometimes, these censors are incredibly sharp-eyed, able to spot even the smallest problems, but other times, they're just plain blind."

"Dr. Liu!"

Just then, Gu Wen's voice came from outside the door: "This humble official is back."

Upon hearing Gu Wen's voice, everyone quickly turned to look at the entrance, only to see Gu Wen striding into the courtyard.

Seeing the obvious joy on Gu Wen's face, rather than the tension of worrying about being displeased by Liu Shuyi, Li Xinchun had an idea and quickly stepped forward, saying, "The case file has been found?"

Gu Wen nodded hurriedly, then looked up at Liu Shuyi who was walking over and said, "After I returned to the yamen, I immediately summoned the yamen runners to search with me. We searched almost every file in the file room, we practically dug up the entire file room..."

"No need to go into the details, I know you worked very hard. Just tell me the result." Liu Shuyi interrupted Gu Wen's attempt to take credit in front of him.

Gu Wen awkwardly touched his nose, but having gotten what he wanted, he stopped talking and said, "The case file has been found! I didn't expect that the yamen back then would actually write a case file for this not-so-important disappearance case."

"However, the records in this file are rather brief, and there's another person mentioned in it..."

At this point, Gu Wen hesitated, and his gaze unconsciously drifted towards Liu Shuyi.

His unusual behavior could not escape Liu Shuyi's notice. Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked, "Who has appeared? I know them?"

Gu Wen pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and finally said, "Doctor Liu does indeed know him. The person mentioned in the case file... is Doctor Liu's father, Liu Wenjing!"

(End of this chapter)