Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 377 - 14 Water Corpse (Part 3)
Chapter 377: Chapter 14: Water Corpse (Part 3)
Chapter 377: Chapter 14: Water Corpse (Part 3)
At the Zhen Residence, a servant named Xiaojiu early in the morning treaded on the snow and ran out to a pavilion on top of the mountain, where he grabbed the rope and rang the bell.
The melodious bell sound immediately awoke the town resting at the foot of the mountains.
The head of security in Niutoulan Village, Lin San, woke up; he was an old man over sixty, with white hair and skin on his face cracked like ravines.
He took pride in having obtained the title of “Scholar” in his youth, a distinction he’d carried with pride all his life.
With the heavy snow sealing off the mountains, the old Scholar Lin had originally been cooped up at home, playing Pai Gow with a few old brothers.
Unexpectedly, just as they’d started a round with a sky-high nine, someone rushed in and burst through the door.
Head of Security Lin flew into a rage, “It’s a crime to barge into one’s home without invitation! Speak quickly if there’s an issue, don’t dally.”
“Head of Security, Madam Zhen is dead, and the circumstances are strange. It seems like she’s been harmed by someone!”
Head of Security Lin’s face drained of color, “Such a thing has happened, how preposterous, lead the way immediately.”
Hearing that the well-known head of the village, the old Madam Zhen, has died, Head of Security Lin quickly tucked his dry tobacco pipe into his waistband and, surrounded by a group of strong villagers, stepped through the grand entrance of the Zhen residence.
Inside the mansion, chaos reigned, and people were panicked. Official Zhen’s first wife, Yu Jie’er, lay prostrate on a couch by the old lady’s room’s door, grieving and crying inconsolably.
Seeing this, Head of Security Lin hurried over, “Yu Jie of the Zhen family, don’t rush to cry! Where is the old lady? And where is Official Zhen?”
This person spoke interestingly—inevitably in four-word sentences, as if a child reciting the “Thousand Character Classic”.
Yu Jie had been frail since she was young. Now, with her husband not yet home, her mother-in-law having died violently, and the household suddenly falling apart, she entered the room, saw the body of the old lady, and broke down crying, as if she had lost her soul, unable to attend to anything else.
Hearing Head of Security Lin’s questions, she sobbed and gestured frantically to him, but he couldn’t understand her at all.
Old Lin furrowed his brows and assumed the authoritative air of a head of security, “Xiaojiu rang the bell—who instructed him?”
Reporting to the authorities first in such situations was proper, but seeing Yu Jie’er’s state, hardly able to articulate, it was clear that someone had made the decision for her.
Yu Jie couldn’t make herself clear, merely casting her eyes toward the crowd.
“It was me.”
Li Yan stepped out from the crowd.
Head of Security Lin turned his head and sized up Li Yan, scrutinizing for quite a while before speaking, “Niutoulan Village, ninety-four households, who are you, state your name.”
A servant beside them responded, “Replying to the Head of Security, he is a guest lodging here…”
Before the servant could finish, Head of Security Lin looked up at Li Yan and spoke, “You are a visitor, and the old lady died violently under suspicious circumstances, this must be thoroughly investigated.”
Li Yan, already in a foul mood, glared at him upon hearing this, “I am the Governor from the Left Bureau of Daning Guard, Li Yan, a fifth-rank Flying Cavalry Captain, on official duty. I was lodging at the Zhen Residence. This morning, the unfortunate occurrence with the old lady happened, and I summoned you to have someone go to the county and call for a government official to examine the case.”
Upon hearing this, Head of Security Lin’s head jerked back, his lips moved for a long time before he managed to mutter, “If you’re an official, do you have a token of authority?”
Li Yan handed the token from the previous night to Head of Security Lin, not sparing him another glance, but instead approached Yu Jie’er.
He spoke solemnly and soothingly, “Madam Zhen, you are now the lady of the Zhen residence. The arrangements for the old lady and the two maidservants must be managed by you. Wailing will not bring the dead back to life; would you wish your husband to return and find the household scattered like birds and beasts?”
Yu Jie, in her early twenties and graced with an elegant beauty, now had swollen red eyes from crying, and her complexion had paled from the recent cold, stripping her of much of her former radiance.
With the old Madam and the maid in charge both having died violently, the servants of the Zhen residence were without a leader. The only one who could offer support was Yu Jie, who herself was unwell. If she didn’t pull herself together, the household would cease to function normally.
After hearing Li Yan’s words, Yu Jie barely managed to stop her tears, though she still hiccuped from time to time.
Li Yan continued, “First, send a capable servant to call back your husband, Official Zhen, who is out. Or you could send a letter; in any case, it is imperative that he is informed of this news.”
After Li Yan finished speaking, he turned and said, “Head of Security Lin.”
Head of Security Lin jumped as if he could leap three meters high, “Lord Governor is correct!”
He hadn’t even fully grasped what Li Yan had said, but in his excitement, he even changed his usual speech pattern.
In his youth, Old Man Lin was indeed a scholar. He flipped through and scrutinized the contents of the tag before him until they were crystal clear to him. His heart immediately sank; he had actually mistaken a fifth-rank imperial general for a murderous culprit.
As he stamped his foot in regret, he heard Li Yan asking him a question. There was no reason for Old Man Lin not to respond.
Li Yan nodded slightly and said, “Given the difficulty of traveling on snowy roads, even if people from the county were to set out now, they would only arrive by tomorrow night at the earliest. By then, any traces or clues might have been missed. Although I’ve only met the old lady once, she has shown me kindness. I would like to examine the body. As the local security head, I’d like to hear your thoughts on this.”
“Lord Governor is considerate, Lord Governor is thoughtful. Please, feel free.”
Head of Security Lin nodded repeatedly in agreement.
“Good.”
Li Yan said these words in front of everyone, gave Cha Xiaodao a look, and then the two proceeded to enter and examine the corpses of Madam Zhen and her two maidservants.
…
Three bodies lay in front of the window, devoid of external injuries, their clothing tidy, with no signs of a struggle, the corpses stiff.
Last night, the kind and gentle Madam Zhen had died with a ferocious expression, as if she had been frightened.
Li Yan did not move the bodies but circled around the scene twice. A fleeting glance was all it took for the best corpse examiner to understand.
[Death by Losing Soul]
Cha Xiaodao also crouched down, “Did someone come from outside, or is there something inside the mansion?”
“It should be from inside. I’ve placed Sudu birds around the outside also right in front of our door. There was no disturbance.”
“Why would this monster harm the old madam of the residence? Shouldn’t it be targeting us instead?”
“This indicates that Madam Zhen’s death might not be connected to the forty-eight heretics from the Five Blessings Tower. The means don’t quite match. To be frank, Mr. Hu San also couldn’t be sure whether we would stay or not. It wouldn’t be worth the effort for him.”
Li Yan poked at the sword box behind him, “With this thing around, wherever I go, there always seems to be trouble brewing.”
Speaking, Li Yan reached out and closed the eyelids of both Madam Zhen and the two maidservants. Just last night, these two young girls had been playing merrily in front of his door, but the next time he saw them, they were nothing more than two cold corpses.
Suddenly, Li Yan turned his hand over and felt the cold dampness of water on his fingers.
“Worms?”
Cha Xiaodao’s pupils involuntarily constricted.
The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on freёnovelkiss.com.
“Hmm.”
Li Yan nodded. After injecting an appropriate medicine, their vision was beyond the ordinary. To others, this might seem like regular water, but Cha Xiaodao, who observed closely, could see the clear water teeming with transparent spore worms.
[Water Hag Corpse Worm]: A highly poisonous creature that brings instant death to anyone who touches it, typically found in vile places nurturing corpses.
“You’re right, there is something wrong with this house, but it’s not targeting us. Yesterday night, Madam Zhen mentioned the house was only built in February. It might have had hidden dangers since then.”
“But if there’s something wrong with the house, how come you felt nothing?”
Cha Xiaodao asked. Ever since they had met, Li Yan had always had a keener sense of impending danger than he did.
Li Yan’s fingers clenched, and the clear water flowed from the seven orifices of the three bodies, defying gravity, collecting in his hands.
“Because this thing…” he said, his expression complicated, “is an aquatic organism.”
Li Yan possesses the Power of Wu Zhiqi, which makes these creatures not only harmless to him but actually beneficial. Therefore, from the start, Li Yan had felt nothing out of the ordinary.
Calamity Faction strikes!
[You have gained control over the Water Hag Corpse Worm. You can cultivate them within the four hundred tons of Calamity Wave and deploy them flexibly.]
[Esteemed Walker, please take note: Cultivating a large quantity of Water Hag Corpse Worms within the Disaster Water may yield unexpected benefits.]
