Minglong

Chapter 26: Apia Microscope
In the early morning, there was a lot of noise and crowds of people gathered in the lobby of the county government office.

Because the person involved in the case was Li Gongpu's nephew, the county magistrate in charge of the case was so shocked that he couldn't sleep all night. Although he was nominally the chief judge, he basically listened to the debate between Li's lawyer and the legal counsel Yang Ting during the interrogation:
"Mr. Li has countless assets. Just the Chunping Building in Taoxianfang alone can bring him a fortune every day. Why would he care about the small profits from smuggling banned drugs?"

"Ninety percent of the profits from the account books found in Sanhe Building were handed over to the owner..."

"That was the gambling house's account, the private account for the Ascension Powder. It didn't specify to whom it was handed over. Master Li was completely unaware of this..."

Xie Jinhuan passed by the side of the lobby and saw that the young master Li, who was involved in the case, was kneeling in the lobby in shackles.

Behind the Li family is the Huangmen Lang Li Gongpu, who has served the emperor for many years. A fart can kill the county magistrate. The county government dared to make the young master of the Li family kneel down to listen to the trial and even tortured him. They have done their best, but this obviously can't do anything to the Li family.

Yang Dabiao, who had been on jury duty all night, was leading the way and sighed:

"This is such a hot potato. If something is found out in this case, it would be fine. But if nothing is found, my father and I will definitely be in trouble..."

Xie Jinhuan was about to face a disaster. Even if the Li family had nothing wrong, he would still have to find out something to consume the manpower and energy of the palace. Hearing this, he comforted them:
"Local nobles are not innocent. As long as they dare to sell the Ascension Powder, they must be involved in other shady businesses, such as forcing women into prostitution, violent debt collection, and seizing land..."

"Hey!"

Yang Dabiao quickly raised his hand: "I will be satisfied if I can get to the bottom of this matter. We should eat one bite at a time. Let's take it step by step..."

As they were talking, the three people and the bird came to a sheltered house with the words "corpse house" hung on the door.

Yang Dabiao covered his nose and reminded:

"I've been staring at the corpse for two nights, and I still haven't recovered. You'd better be prepared. You may have seen many dead people, but you've definitely never seen such a disgusting death..."

Xie Jinhuan walked behind, and as the door opened, a disgusting stench of corpse hit them in the face.

Yang Dabiao pointed to the plank bed in the middle:
"Well, just this one, you can lift it up yourself. I really can't stand it anymore."

Xie Jinhuan came over to check and saw that the body was covered with a white cloth and the surface was covered with stains.

He used the handle of his mace to lift and separate the white cloth, and the coal ball that was squatting on his shoulder flew to Linghu Qingmo's shoulder. Although he couldn't speak, his eyes clearly meant - what the hell is this thing?!
The corpse on the plank bed was already severely decayed and had turned into a giant. Now that it had been dissected, its image was beyond description. It was just a human-shaped piece of rotten meat.

Yang Dabiao had been disgusted by the corpse for several days and now just wanted to burn it. He noticed that Xie Jinhuan was looking at it seriously without changing his expression, so he couldn't help but admire him:

"Jinhuan, your concentration hasn't improved in a few years. I heard from Lord Xie that the first time you performed an autopsy, you vomited and fainted."

Xie Jinhuan was only three years old when his father held him in his arms to watch an autopsy for the first time! He was so brave that he didn't die of fright:
"Not bad, at least he looks like a human. This person's body is covered in holes, and it doesn't look like it was caused by ulceration or autopsy. So, they haven't figured out the cause of death yet?"

Linghu Qingmo had just finished his breakfast and now he was frowning while covering his eyes with coal balls:
"The coroner said it was poisoned, but they couldn't find out what the poison was. As for the holes, the coroner said it might have been soaked in the river for too long, causing insects to gnaw on it. Many senior people have seen this body, but they couldn't figure out the cause."

The corpse was so badly decomposed that Xie Jinhuan couldn't see the specific cause. As he was secretly pondering, the red-clothed ghost who had been following him like a shadow suddenly appeared from behind and peeked over his shoulder:
"Eh~ What a tragic death."

Xie Jinhuan was really shocked to find that the ghost wife appeared directly. When he found that Momo and Dabiao did not notice anything unusual, he did not want to pretend that he had seen a ghost, so he could only pretend to ask normally:

"What do you think?"

"Ah I?"

Yang Dabiao, who was standing next to him, scratched his head in confusion:
"If I had my own ideas, I wouldn't have stayed in the government office all night. If I didn't go home yesterday, I would have been scolded by your sister-in-law again..."

Fortunately, Xie Jinhuan didn't count on Da Biaozi.

Ye Hongshang is an invisible ghost. His true body is always in the sword. He does not use his eyes to see things, but relies on the perception of his soul. The so-called image is just an illusion created by Xie Jinhuan.

Ye Hongshang carefully examined the corpse for a moment, then raised his hand and pointed at the abdomen:

"Before death, his vital energy was depleted, but it wasn't caused by any evil techniques, but by poisonous insects that could absorb his vital energy.

"The insects were kept inside the body for a long time, leaving behind eggs that are difficult to see with the naked eye. They must be some special kind of fly."

Xie Jinhuan looked at the place he pointed to and found that it was a pile of internal organs that could no longer be identified. He took a closer look and found that it was difficult to see the insect eggs with the naked eye.

Seeing this, Ye Hongshang raised his white palm, and a ball immediately appeared in his palm.

The sphere was like a world in the palm of the hand, and the scene inside was the details of the flesh tissue, and it was constantly enlarging until a worm egg was locked in from countless impurities.

The eggs are as big as a football, and you can clearly see the internal structure and tissue fluid through the membrane...

Damn it?

Xie Jinhuan hadn't expected the ghost wife to be able to act as an 'Apia brand microscope', so he carefully observed the details of the insect eggs...

But I can’t tell what kind of insect it is!

However, speaking of flies that absorb human essence, Xie Jinhuan carefully recalled the books he had read in previous years, and his heart moved. He turned his eyes and looked at the two people:

"Have you ever heard of 'corpse flies'?"

Yang Dabiao looked confused and seemed to have never heard of it.

Linghu Qingmo thought about it carefully:
"Corpse flies seem to be some kind of poisonous insect from witchcraft. I've heard Master mention them twice before..."

Xie Jinhuan shook his head secretly and explained seriously:

"Gu is the spirit of poison, and flowers are the spirit of Gu. Mr. Shen Jiang, the former Shaoqing of the Ministry of Agriculture, once compiled a book called "The Book of Herbal Essences." In the chapter on flower spirits, he recorded more than a dozen kinds of Gu flowers, six or seven of which used corpse flies.

"Corpse flies feed on essence and energy. The wizard plants seeds inside them and nourishes them with human essence and blood. When the insects die and the flowers bloom, they become poisonous flowers... I don't remember the details very clearly, so Miss Momo, it's best to ask a senior."

?

Seeing Xie Jinhuan know everything like the back of his hand, Linghu Qingmo's eyes widened a bit, and he carefully recalled the books he had read in the past:
"You read this kind of obscure book so carefully?"

Yang Dabiao was not surprised by this and explained:
"Jinhuan has been diligent since he was young. I once heard Master Xie say that Jinhuan wanted to 'win at the starting line and crush the locals.' I don't really understand what he meant, but he's been poring over books since he was three, and also learning all sorts of fancy stuff at the same time. As a result, just like his thunder magic, he wasn't good at anything. Only in recent years has he come to his senses and made up for his martial arts."

"is it?"

When Linghu Qingmo heard this, his eyes were still filled with surprise.

After all, being a jack of all trades is a derogatory term, but if you are the best in one area and know a little bit about other things, then you are a complete genius.

She hadn't expected Xie Jinhuan to be so skilled in martial arts, yet still have the time to read obscure books. Handsome, fierce, and profoundly knowledgeable, how could other men survive...

Linghu Qingmo wanted to leave, but then he thought it was wrong and went up to the rotten meat to examine it carefully.

"Are there corpse flies here?"

Xie Jinhuan only figured out the source thanks to the ghost wife's magical powers. How could he find the eggs with the naked eye? He casually explained:
"Seeing it covered in holes and maggots, I just happened to think of it, but I'm not sure. Miss Linghu, it's best to ask the seniors."

"Oh……"

With a clue, Linghu Qingmo didn't delay and turned to walk out:
"I'm going to Danwang Pavilion to take a look. Yang Dabiao, you accompany Master Xie around."

"Row."

Yang Dabiao covered the body with a white cloth and said, "Jinhuan, what else do you want to see? There are all kinds of outrageous deaths..."

Xie Jinhuan still had to find a way to find out what happened to the demon bandit. Now that he had a clue, he had no mood to watch him die in such an outrageous way.

The Night Demon could only tell that it was caused by a poisonous insect, and he couldn't tell what kind of poisonous flower it was. It would be best to ask the witch cult witch about this matter. He picked up the cowardly coal ball:
"I had an appointment yesterday and I have to go to the Lin Family Clinic. I'll excuse me for now."

As someone who has experienced this, Yang Dabiao patted his shoulder with great understanding:

"I understand. Young people are like this. Cherish the present moment. When you get married, you'll understand that sometimes the morgue can be quite interesting. At least there's no one yelling in your ear..."

"Uh……"

……
-
After a while.

Xie Jinhuan carried the coal briquettes out of the county government office.

The Night Succubus was still floating in front of him, praising him softly:
"I didn't realize you were quite knowledgeable."

Xie Jinhuan was still quite proud in front of the ghost wife:

"I started studying hard at the age of three. Not only did I read a lot of books, I also learned to play chess, draw, and play the piano. I could chat with anyone I met."

"is it?"

Ye Hongshang teased, "That's how courtesans in brothels train themselves. They learn a few of the eighteen skills so they can strike up a conversation with any client. With your background, it would be a shame if you weren't a male concubine."

In fact, when Xie Jinhuan was fifteen or sixteen years old, he had already discovered that his skills were not good enough for anything else, except being the "Duck King".

Fortunately, he has come to his senses in the past three years. Now he has excellent martial arts skills and knows many tricks, so it is not that he has wasted his youth.

The man and the ghost communicated in this way and walked towards Ning'an Street. Before they had gone far, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the front.

Hoof-tapping hoof-tapping...

Xie Jinhuan looked up and saw three fast horses galloping past him.

The people on horseback were all wearing eye-catching red robes with Qilin patterns embroidered on their chests, and standard official swords on their waists. The leader also wore a gold-studded hat with a bronze plate hanging on his head.

The yamen runners outside the door were terrified at the sight and quickly ran forward to greet them:

"The three adults are."

"Crimson Guard Captain Zhou He has been ordered to assist in the investigation of the Li family case. Where is the county magistrate?"

"Greetings to Captain Zhou, Lord Zhang is currently interrogating a case in the inner court...

……

Because he grew up in the capital, Xie Jinhuan is very familiar with the Chilin Guard.

They are the emperor's private guards, independent of the six ministries, and are mainly used to monitor officials. They have the power to arrest, interrogate, and even execute people, and their power is all-encompassing.

Xie Jinhuan's greatest impression of him was that one time the Chilin Guards were doing something and needed to ask his father about a case, but it was late and the yamen was closed, so seven or eight Chilin Guards just swooped down into his yard!
His father was having dinner at the time and was so frightened that he couldn't speak clearly for the next three days.

The Chilin Guards take orders directly from the emperor, and Li Gongpu is a favorite of the emperor. Now that the Chilin Guards have come to assist in the investigation, it will be basically difficult to investigate the Li family case further.

Fortunately, there was a breakthrough on the demon bandits' side.

As long as we find clues about the demon bandits and put the blame on the demonic energy of Zihui Mountain, giving Dan King some hope of solving the case on his own, we can naturally delay the time for deploying nuclear weapons, and even have a chance to cover up the matter of the Demon Suppression Mausoleum.

Thinking of this, Xie Jinhuan left the yamen quickly without stopping.

At the same time, outside the county government office.

The three Chilin Guards quickly walked up the steps of the yamen with their swords drawn, discussing the case along the way.

But when he was about to enter the gate of the county government office, Captain Zhou He suddenly stopped and turned to look at the busy street.

The yamen runner who followed behind him in awe was a little puzzled when he saw this. He turned his head and looked at the street:

"Captain Zhou?"

Zhou He's gaze fell on the young man in white robes who had already gone far away, and his brows were furrowed.

"Who is this person?"

"Oh, it's Master Xie Jinhuan, a fellow disciple of Yang Weishi. He just returned from studying martial arts in Fengling Valley and has been helping out at the government office recently. His martial arts skills are quite impressive. Captain Zhou, do you know him?"

"Wind Spirit Valley..."

Zhou He pondered for a moment and continued to walk in;
"The son of an old friend, no wonder he looks familiar."

"Oh……"

……

(End of this chapter)