lcionline Chapter 918 Case
Chapter 918 Case
The sound of horse hooves beat out rapid drum beats on the bluestone road. The corpse wrapped in white cloth in Su Yan's arms swayed slightly with the bumps, and the cold penetrated the cloth into his palms. The red lacquered gate of the Dali Temple was like the fangs of a giant beast in the night. When he lifted the straw curtain of the autopsy room, the stench of decay and the strong smell of medicine hit him in the face. Several oil lamps flickered in the draft, illuminating the human meridian map hanging on the wall. "Old Zhou! Come and see!" Su Yan gently placed the corpse on the blue brick autopsy table. The ceramic drain trough still had dark red marks from the murder the day before. The coroner, Old Zhou, raised his head from a pile of yellowed medical books. There was always dark brown stains between his fingernails that could not be washed off, and years of fatigue accumulated in the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. When the white cloth was lifted, the hand holding the silver needle shook violently, and the needle tip moved back and forth on the pale skin of the woman, making a subtle "sizzling" sound. "Captain Su, this woman was indeed strangled to death." Old Zhou used tweezers to pick up a strand of hair from the neck of the deceased. The roots of the hair were abnormally blue-gray. "But this strangulation mark..." He moved closer to the oil lamp. Under the copper magnifying glass, the surface of the black mark actually showed fine scales, which glowed under the refraction of light. "I have examined corpses for thirty years and have never seen such a strange mark. It doesn't look like it was done by an ordinary rope. It looks like..." Old Zhou suddenly fell silent, his Adam's apple rolled up and down, and his turbid eyes moved restlessly, as if those scales would suddenly come alive and drill into his throat. Su Yan took out the wrinkled paper talisman from his sleeve. The edge of the talisman was burnt black, and the rune drawn in cinnabar in the center looked like a distorted human face, emitting a faint fishy smell. When it was close to the oil lamp, there were tiny sparks jumping between the runes. "Old Zhou, take a look at this. I found it in the Wuchang Temple." Old Zhou's reaction was more intense than Su Yan expected. The silver needle in his hand fell to the ground with a clang. He wiped his calloused hands on his apron again and again before he took the talisman paper with trembling hands. The yellowed talisman paper rustled between his fingers, like dead leaves in the autumn wind. "This... this is a soul-catching talisman!" Old Zhou's voice suddenly rose, hitting the cold wall of the autopsy room and bouncing back. "Legend has it that only the soul-catching messenger in the underworld will use this talisman paper, which is specially used to catch the living soul..." His voice became smaller and smaller, and the last few words were almost uttered in a breath. "Is Chang'an really being targeted by a soul-seeking ghost?" Su Yan frowned, and his fingertips stroked the three raised seal characters "Dali Temple" on the bronze plate. He was born into a scholarly family and received sage education since childhood. He did not believe in supernatural powers the most. "Old Zhou, there are no soul-collecting messengers in this world." He carefully put away the talisman paper, "It must be someone who is doing evil in the name of ghosts and gods. You should identify the body as soon as possible and check if she has any birthmarks, scars or other characteristics." When leaving the autopsy room, Su Yan's boot sole rolled over a silver needle, and the sharp touch pierced his ankle through the sole, making his ankle numb. The archive room at the end of the corridor smelled of old paper and ink. Dozens of rows of camphor wood bookshelves were filled with files with peeling paint, and spider silk woven into a translucent web on the top of the shelves. He tiptoed to take down the file marked "Temple Records", and dust fell on his shoulders. There were a few dried datura petals between the yellowed pages. It turned out that the Temple of Impermanence was once one of the most popular temples in Chang'an. In the meticulous illustrations in the case files, two statues of the two impermanence masters, more than ten feet tall, are majestic. The White Impermanence holds a mourning stick, and the four characters "一见生财" on his hat are dazzlingly gilded; the Black Impermanence holds the Book of Life and Death, with a hideous and terrifying face. On the first and fifteenth day of every month, believers line up to ask for divination, and the divinations written by the temple keeper are collected as calligraphy. However, in the records of the third year of Yonghui, the handwriting suddenly became sloppy: "There was a cry in the temple for no reason, and the believers who stayed overnight disappeared. The government found nothing and sealed it." A faded notice was posted on the last page of the case file, and the four characters "阴邪作祟" on the corner were blurred by rain. "Su Jutou! Su Jutou!" The sharp shout interrupted Su Yan's thoughts. A petty official stumbled in, his official uniform covered in mud, his hair crooked, "Another incident! A body was found in the West Market, and the cause of death was exactly the same as the woman before!" The bustle of the West Market contrasted sharply with the silence just now. The people surrounding the body whispered to each other, some said they saw the deceased talking to the woman in red before he died, and some said they heard the sound of chains dragging on the ground in the middle of the night. Su Yan separated the crowd, and the bluestone slab under his feet was sticky and wet, not sure if it was blood or spilled wine. The deceased this time was a middle-aged man, with an unsold Hu merchant jade pendant hanging around his waist, and the black marks on his neck were winding like a snake. The half-scattered soul-catching talisman beside him was constantly flipped by the wind, and the cinnabar on the talisman paper seemed to be redder than before, as if it was soaked in blood. "Everyone retreat! The Dali Temple is handling the case!" Su Yan's voice seemed particularly calm in the noise. He squatted down and found that the dead man's right hand was clenched into a fist, and there were dark brown debris in the nails. When he smelled it closely, there was a faint smell of decay. Just as he was about to pry open the dead man's fingers, he caught a glimpse of the edge of the crowd. An old man in gray was staring at the corpse, with a strange light flashing in his turbid eyes. That look was not fear, but rather like admiring a carefully crafted work of art. "Old man, please stay!" Su Yan got up and chased him, but the old man seemed to blend into the crowd, and the corner of his blue-gray clothes flashed in the light of the lantern. He pushed a few people away, but only felt a cold hand. The silk shop clerk next to him shook his head and sighed: "This official, you may have seen it wrong. There was no old man here just now." Su Yan looked at the empty street, and the copper bells on the eaves made a clear sound in the wind, but inexplicably reminded him of the sound of the soul-catching chain described by Lao Zhou. In the direction of the Impermanence Temple in the distance, a black fog was rising quietly, swallowing up the half-moon.
"Bang!" The wooden door shattered. The room was pitch black, and the strong smell of blood almost overwhelmed him. Su Yan fumbled to take out the fire starter, and lit it with a "pop". The dim light illuminated the scene in the room, and the scene in front of him made his pupils shrink suddenly - there were five corpses lying on the ground, their faces were distorted, and the familiar purple marks were wrapped around their necks. The cause of death was exactly the same as the previous two murders. Under the swaying light, the old man in gray stood quietly in the corner, holding a burning soul-catching talisman in his hand. The flames reflected his wrinkled face, and the smile on his face was indescribably weird, as if it was an evil ghost crawling out of the depths of hell. "Captain Su, do you think this is an ordinary murder case?" The old man's voice was hoarse and low,