The mind-reading coroner drove the court crazy

What does it mean to eat?

Qin Miaoxi was full of doubts and puzzled when, "Swoosh!" a sharp sound of breaking through the air suddenly came from a distance, and a sharp arrow shot towards Wang Biao's heart like a meteor.

Qin Miaoxi's eyes narrowed instantly, and she shouted anxiously, "Over there!"

Before she finished speaking, she had already pulled out the wooden stick from the ground like lightning and rushed towards the sharp arrow.

However, the arrow came with such force that it pierced the wooden stick in an instant.

Qin Miaoxi's brow furrowed. At this critical moment, she reached out with lightning speed and grabbed the tail end of the sharp arrow. The arrowhead sank deeply into her palm, and blood gushed out instantly, but she gritted her teeth and persisted, forcing the arrow to stop.

"Blood!" After instructing his men to chase in the direction of the arrow, Shi Xinzhe hurriedly turned his head and saw Qin Miaoxi's hands covered in blood, with the bright red blood slowly flowing down her arms.

He looked anxious and quickly took out a handkerchief to bandage her: "Quick, bandage it first, don't hurt your bones."

Qin Miaoxi shook her head lightly, with a look of relief on her face: "It's okay, luckily Wang Biao was not hurt."

But when she subconsciously lowered her head to check, she froze in place, her eyes filled with panic as she stammered, "He..."

Shi Xinzhe's heart tightened, a trace of panic flashed across his face, and he blurted out: "He's dead?"

As he said this, he quickly reached out to feel Wang Biao's breath.

Upon probing him, his face instantly turned pale, and his voice trembled a bit. "He's really dead! How could this happen so suddenly? He was fine just now and could even talk. Could it be a last gasp?"

Qin Miaoxi's face was full of self-blame, her eyes were slightly red, and her voice was filled with deep guilt: "I'm sorry, I didn't protect him."

Shi Xinzhe waved his hand, his expression showing both grief and relief: "How can I blame you for this? You have done your best to help him regain consciousness before he died."

Qin Miaoxi remained silent because she knew in her heart that Shi Xinzhe was telling the truth.

As she stitched Wang Biao's wound, she realized that his lucidity was merely a fleeting moment of recovery. While the rest of his body was fine, his heart was severely damaged, a fatal injury that could not be repaired by external forces.

Shi Xinzhe frowned, his face full of confusion, and muttered to himself: "But what exactly did he mean by 'Old Child' before he died?"

Qin Miaoxi naturally couldn't tell Wang Biao that she had heard his inner voice. Recalling Wang Biao's cry of "Lao Tong" before his death, she couldn't help but ponder these two words over and over again.

In an instant, a flash of lightning flashed through my mind - rejuvenation!

But she quickly dismissed her own guess. How could this be possible? How could a person truly regain their youth?

Suddenly, her heart trembled violently, and a horrible thought flashed through her mind: Could it be that the murderer ate these people's hearts in order to achieve the effect of rejuvenation?

She thought to herself that this was not an unfounded fantasy.

Once upon a time, in her senior sister’s library full of the breath of time, she accidentally read an ancient book, which recorded a creepy sacrificial object in Siam - Kumantong.

The book details how a Kumantong is crafted through a complex ritual using children's ashes purified through Buddhist teachings and supplemented with precious Buddhist relics. According to local Siamese legend, sincere donors can harness the Kumantong's spiritual power to secure its protection and assistance, fulfilling their many aspirations, including safety, prosperity, and academic advancement.

Since there are such mysterious things in the world, it is not impossible that the murderer heard the heresy that "eating the heart of a living person can rejuvenate" and thus developed such a crazy idea.

The more she pondered, the more her conjecture seemed incredibly plausible. Then she recalled the bamboo scroll she'd found in Prince Wang's study, which claimed that a living person's heart could unlock a dragon vein treasure. Now it seemed likely this was a carefully crafted scam by someone with ulterior motives, designed to lure those blinded by greed into the scheme.

Seeing Qin Miaoxi's silence for a long time, with a fluctuating expression on her face, Shi Xinzhe couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Qin, what are you thinking about? Do you have any clues?"

Qin Miaoxi took a deep breath and slowly told Shi Xinzhe her guess.

After hearing this, Shi Xinzhe's face instantly turned pale, his eyes filled with disbelief: "This is impossible! How could anyone believe such heresy?"

Qin Miaoxi nodded slightly, her eyes revealing determination. "Whether this speculation is true or not, we must investigate this clue thoroughly. There is a connection between Prince Wang and Qian Baiwan, and Qian Baiwan has funded Wang Biao. It is obvious that Qian Baiwan is the key figure in this entire case. Now that those two are dead, the only ones who may know the inside story are Cui Zhibao, the old Hanlin who accepted the silver from Qian Baiwan, and Lord Zhao, who had a close personal relationship with Qian Baiwan. We might as well start our investigation by looking for clues from them."

Shi Xinzhe fell into deep thought. After a moment, he nodded heavily and replied, "You are absolutely right. From them..."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly paused. The next second, he looked at Qin Miaoxi with suspicion, "You just mentioned Lord Cui Zhibao and Lord Zhao. What's going on? When did Qian Wanli mention these two people?"

He was at the scene when Qian Wanli's body was found, but he did not see Qian Wanli leave any last words or hints. Where did this information come from?

Qin Miaoxi's heart tightened and a trace of embarrassment appeared on her face. She couldn't say that she had beaten someone up at night!

Her expression remained impassive. After a moment's reflection, she replied calmly, "I discovered clues from the correspondence in Qian's study while investigating the mansion. While those letters didn't explicitly mention the key issues, they repeatedly mentioned close contacts with Cui Zhibao and Lord Zhao, and even hinted at financial gifts and cooperation. I suspect they must be related to the case."

As she spoke, she secretly observed Shi Xinzhe's expression, hoping that he would not become suspicious.

Shi Xinzhe chose to believe her without hesitation and said in a deep voice, "Since that's the case, let's split up. I'll go investigate Lord Zhao, and you go meet Cui Zhibao. Be very careful. The person involved in this case is of extraordinary status. If we make any mistakes, I'm afraid the outcome will be difficult."

Qin Miaoxi nodded in agreement and immediately went to Cui Zhibao's mansion.

There were guards standing in front of Cui's mansion, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

She looked up and saw this scene, which made her suspicious: How could a retired Hanlin need such strict protection, to the point where there was a guard every ten steps?

After Qin Miaoxi stated her identity and purpose, she was led by the servant into a side hall to wait.

Not long after, an old man over 70 years old, with silver hair but vigorous spirit and sharp eyes walked into the side hall calmly. This man was Hanlin Cui Zhibao.

He looked Qin Miaoxi up and down, his expression showing a bit of contempt: "I heard that you are a coroner. What brings you to my residence?"

Qin Miaoxi's expression suddenly darkened. She knew all too well how much she'd been looked at with disdain simply because she was a woman working as a coroner. Those people were full of prejudice, their eyes etched with undisguised contempt and disdain. She never cared to curry favor with such people. Why should she try to curry favor with them? She refused. She would do what she believed in and follow her own path, unconcerned with such unwarranted discrimination.

She bowed with dignity and said, "Master Cui, there have been several bizarre murders recently, and some of the clues point to you. I have come here to ask you for advice."

Cui Zhibao's face suddenly darkened, and he snorted coldly, "How dare you! What do you mean? Do you suspect that I am involved in the murder?"