As soon as Ning Yan finished speaking, Xu Tiao jerked his head up and stared at her in horror. “You’re talking nonsense! N-No, it wasn’t her! You’re making things up!”
Ning Yan shook her head. “Whether I’m talking nonsense or not can easily be verified with an investigation.”
After a brief pause, she turned to Qin San. “I’ve said everything I need to say. The rest is up to you.” She took out a handkerchief, wiped her hands, and turned to leave.
At that moment, however, Xu Tiao, who was still sitting on the ground, suddenly shouted, “This has nothing to do with anyone else! It was only me!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he leaped to his feet and bolted down the riverside path, shoving pedestrians aside.
“After him!” Qiao Lu shouted.
Four or five constables immediately gave chase.
Xu Tiao managed only a few dozen paces before they caught him.
Qiao Lu slapped him to the ground and barked, “You dare run? Have you got a tiger’s guts?”
A dim yellow lantern hung above Xu Tiao’s head. Under its warm glow, he panted heavily.
From a distance, Ning Yan narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t sure it was just her imagination, but it seemed smoke was rising from the top of Xu Tiao’s head.
The next moment proved she had not imagined it. A strange light suddenly appeared atop Xu Tiao’s head. The glow shone outward through all seven of his facial orifices. He looked like a burning honeycomb coal briquette.
“Not good!” Ning Yan spoke in a low voice.
In the blink of an eye, the light streaming from Xu Tiao’s eyes, nose, ears, and mouth transformed into flames. Like venomous snakes, tongues of fire burst out from inside him.
“AAAAH!” Xu Tiao screamed in agony and rolled frantically across the ground. In an instant, his entire body was engulfed in flames.
Ning Yan rushed over, but it was already too late.
After rolling several times, Xu Tiao stopped moving and breathed his last.
Everyone present was struck speechless with terror. The bustling riverside fell deathly silent. Only the crackling and popping of burning fat could be heard within the blaze. A suffocating stench of scorched flesh filled the air.
Qiao Lu stood dumbfounded. He looked at Ning Yan and pointed at the corpse. “W-Why? Why did he suddenly… b-burst into flames?”
“The fire started inside his body.” Ning Yan crouched beside the corpse, her brows tightly furrowed.
Cases of spontaneous human combustion had been reported before, but they were often treated as something bordering on the supernatural, lacking any reliable scientific explanation. This was the first time Ning Yan had seen a living person spontaneously combust. The flames on the body were eventually extinguished, but the interior remained intensely hot.
Ning Yan wiped her hands and stood up. “Under these circumstances, I doubt an autopsy would uncover any useful clues.”
The victim’s internal organs had been completely burned away. With current investigative methods, they couldn’t determine the exact cause of the fire.
Qin San’s face darkened. He ordered the corpse taken back to the yamen and instructed his men to thoroughly search the surrounding area, leaving no clue overlooked.
Ning Yan studied the charred ground, then looked up and saw someone watching her closely.
“What do you think?” Pei Yan asked. Standing beneath a tree with his arms crossed, he appeared completely at ease. “Who do you think the murderer is?”
Notably, Pei Yan wasn’t interested in discussing the spontaneous combustion. His attention remained fixed on identifying the true killer.
“The murderer is most likely the victim’s fiancée,” Ning Yan answered honestly. In truth, she had suspected as much from the moment she concluded that the scene had been staged. She believed the victim’s parents probably knew that their son had gone out that evening with his fiancée. Only when the perpetrator was someone familiar with the victim was there such a strong need to disguise the crime scene.
A slow smile spread across Pei Yan’s handsome face. He glanced at her approvingly and nodded. “Not bad. You truly do have some talent.” Then he stepped close enough that only a short distance separated them. He bent slightly and fixed his eyes on hers.
Ning Yan did not retreat. Instead, she raised an eyebrow and met his gaze calmly.
Up close, Pei Yan’s features were exceptionally striking. The only flaw was the wild arrogance in his bearing. He resembled a dangerous lone wolf, one that nobody could approach safely.
“I’m very interested in you.” Pei Yan studied the young woman before him.
She was good-looking enough, though perhaps a little too proud. More importantly, she was capable. And that fit his requirements perfectly.
Pei Yan handed her a name card. “Come to the military camp tomorrow and find me.”
“Ning Yan.” With a smooth motion, he swung himself onto his horse and stared down at her. “If you don’t come, you’ll bear the consequences.”
Ning Yan was utterly baffled. What did he mean by “bear the consequences”? She had no intention of going.
But Pei Yan didn’t give her the chance to respond. He turned his horse around and rode away.
Ning Yan casually tucked the card into her pouch and headed home. Still, the way this case had concluded left her deeply surprised.
When Xu Tiao burst into flames earlier, amid the foul, fishy stench, she detected a faint fragrance. It was unusual, unlike anything she had ever smelled before. It immediately reminded her of dried flowers being roasted and essential oils heated over a fire. For the moment, she couldn’t identify it.
But was the spontaneous combustion truly caused by someone, or was it merely one of those inexplicable phenomena that bordered on the supernatural?
Once Qin San found the victim’s fiancée, Ning Yan, she really wanted to meet the woman herself. Lost in thought, she arrived home, knocked on a side gate, and pushed it open.
“Ning Yan, you’re back!” A plump young woman rushed over and hugged her. Grinning from ear to ear, she stuffed a hot flatbread into Ning Yan’s hand. “It’s still warm. Hurry up and eat!”
Ning Yan looked at Liu Ye and smiled. “Thank you, Cousin.”
“No need to thank me.” Liu Ye pinched Ning Yan’s cheek. “As long as my Ning Yan is doing well, I’ll sneak bread back for you every day.”
Ning Yan raised an eyebrow.
Liu Ye immediately covered her mouth, her bright eyes darting about before she broke into a sheepish grin. “No, no. Not steal. Really.”
Ning Yan laughed.
The original Ning Yan had lost both her parents. Since the age of five, she had lived with her aunt’s family. Her aunt had a son, Liu Zhan, and a daughter, Liu Ye.
The entire family worked as servants for the Zhang household. Originally, Ning Yan had also been a maid in Miss Zhang’s courtyard. But eight days earlier, Zhang Heting had accused her of stealing money and had her whipped thirty times. Ning Yan ran a high fever for five days and died. Then she arrived in this body.
“Is Cousin Liu Zhan still not back?” Ning Yan asked as she ate the flatbread and headed back to her room with Liu Ye.
Her aunt and uncle had visited relatives the previous day and likely wouldn’t return for another half month. As for Liu Zhan, he was always busy running errands and making purchases, rarely stopping for a moment’s rest.
“Forget about him. Let’s get some sleep.”
Ning Yan could not sleep. She eventually lit a lamp and began reading instead. She had already read The Gazetteer of Zining County seven or eight times.
One thing was certain: She couldn’t keep working as a maid for the Zhang family. Her temper was too bad. Serving other people was simply not something she was suited for.
Early the next morning, Ning Yan woke before dawn. After eating the breakfast Liu Ye had brought her, she headed into town.
Someone suddenly bumped into her. The man apologized hurriedly and kept running.
Ning Yan stopped him to ask what was happening and learned that the county yamen was recruiting constables today.
Constables? Her interest was immediately piqued. She didn’t have many special skills, but after years in law enforcement, she had immense confidence in her abilities, especially beyond her specialized forensic knowledge. If she could become a constable, she would be more than willing.
Before she even entered, she heard loud commotion from inside. When she pushed open the gate, she froze briefly. The courtyard was packed with people. At a rough glance, there were at least fifty or sixty applicants. All of them were young men, each looking sturdy and strong. They were only recruiting two constables, yet so many had shown up.
As soon as Ning Yan stepped into the courtyard, the noise died away abruptly. Dozens of eyes turned toward her in unison. A moment later, expressions of surprise appeared on every face.
“Miss, did you come to the wrong place?” a bearded man chuckled. “If you’re looking for embroidery work, that’s not being recruited here.”
The surrounding men burst into laughter, joking that she was a woman.
Ning Yan glanced at the speaker and continued walking.
However, embarrassed to be ignored, the man stepped forward to block her path. “If you’re looking for work because you can’t afford to eat, why not follow your big brother here? I’ll take care of you.” His tone was blatantly flirtatious.
The crowd laughed even louder.
“How about it, little sister—” Before he could finish his sentence, his body suddenly flew through the air. Bang!
Ning Yan had thrown him over her shoulder. He crashed heavily onto the ground.
The entire courtyard fell silent.
Ning Yan took out a handkerchief and wiped her hands. With a cold snort, she said, “With skills like yours, what kind of big brother could you possibly be? I wouldn’t even want you as a dog.”
“You!” The man scrambled to his feet, drew the saber from his waist, and charged at her.
Ning Yan sidestepped the attack. After no more than a dozen exchanges, she pinned him beneath her foot once again.
The man groaned pitifully, unable to move.
Ning Yan swept her gaze across the courtyard.
The men who had been laughing moments earlier fell silent. Each stared at her in shock. Who could have imagined that such a slender, delicate-looking young woman would possess such formidable martial skills? Even as she beat the man down, she didn’t even furrow her brow. She was clearly someone not to be trifled with.
Ning Yan kicked the man aside and walked over to the clerk. “Give me a registration token.”
The clerk stood there with his mouth hanging open, still struggling to process what he had just witnessed.
“Women aren’t allowed.”
At that moment, Qiao Lu emerged alongside Qin San. Both men were still wearing their constable uniforms, and neither looked pleased to see her.
“Miss Ning,” Qiao Lu said, “being a constable isn’t just about solving cases. We go into the countryside to collect grain taxes, help with construction in town, and handle all sorts of jobs.” He adjusted the saber at his waist, his expression arrogant. “So women aren’t suitable.”
Ning Yan frowned. She knew government offices in ancient times generally didn’t recruit women. Apparently, the Great Zhou Dynasty was no exception. Without arguing further, she turned to leave.
Then she suddenly looked at Qin San. “Have you found the fiancée from last night’s case?”
“We found her,” Qin San replied grimly. “But she also burned herself to death.”
Ning Yan’s eyebrows knitted together. “The same as Xu Tiao?”
“The same.” Qin San remained relatively courteous.
Two people had spontaneously combusted. That could no longer be dismissed as an accident.
She turned back and asked, “Could I take a look at the body?”
Qiao Lu was about to refuse, but Qin San answered first. “Yes.”
Ning Yan went to examine the deceased fiancée from the pagoda case.
The woman’s body had been burned completely black, making her features unrecognizable. Yet a faint fragrance still lingered around her.
Ning Yan could not identify the scent. She did not comment and was about to leave when something on the woman’s left shoulder caught her attention. A patch of skin remained untouched. It was deeply unsettling.
On a corpse burned entirely black, a section of skin no larger than two copper coins remained pale, smooth, and delicate. And on that patch of skin was a crimson mark resembling blazing flames. It had been tattooed there.
She turned to Qin San. “Have you seen this before?”
Qin San shook his head. “No. We found it strange as well.”
Ning Yan then examined Xu Tiao’s body. Sure enough, his left shoulder bore an identical patch of unburned skin with the same flame-shaped mark. A violent shock ran through her heart. How could this be…?