The phantom drifted down silently, tilting its head to lean close to Chu Yunxi, almost touching his face. Its hollow eye sockets stared straight at Chu Yunxi’s breath, and it spoke faintly: Yuniu, he has breath.
Chu Yunxi’s gaze pierced through the phantom, catching sight of Shi Wuxie’s jade-like face. The corners of his lips curved upward: You don’t believe me? Why don’t you touch and see for yourself?
While speaking, a few fingers of his right hand twitched with effort, the fingertips just brushing against the cool fingers of Shi Wuxie hanging by his side. Then his gaze shifted downward, looking at his own open chest, and he blinked at Shi Wuxie.
Shi Wuxie remained silent for a split second, then understood and slowly pressed his palm against that icy chest.
Thump-thump, Thump-thump
Rhythmic heartbeats came from his palm.
Not only that, but on that bloodless, pale skin, there was also a wound just carved by his dissecting scalpel. Because blood circulation had recovered, it was now oozing blood, gradually merging into a crimson patch that bloomed across the translucent skin like red plums suddenly bursting open in the deep winter snow.
Shi Wuxie’s eyebrows lifted slightly, and he nodded knowingly, the flicker of excitement in his eyes seeming even more pronounced.
Could this be resurrection from the dead?
The phantom also excitedly turned into a black cloud and circled overhead. Yuniu, was he not completely dead before? How did he come back to life?!
Shi Wuxie’s eyes shone brightly, and he thought to himself: I should find an opportunity to dissect him and take a look.
Chu Yunxi struggled slightly at the shoulder, his voice tainted with deliberate ingratiating grievance: Can you let me go now? Being tied up hurts so much…
Shi Wuxie made no move, instead answering a question with a question: The servants in the estate said that yesterday, after you dined alone in your room, you collapsed and died. However, we checked all your food and found no poison. Do you know how you died?
Chu Yunxi was stunned for a moment, then shook his head. I… don’t remember.
The fragmented memories belonging to the original owner in his mind flickered with only a few sporadic segments of a wedding featuring bright red candles and noisy crowds.
Yet the person in front of him, who had bowed with him in marriage and claimed to be his husband, had almost tried to dissect him.
What kind of hellish starting scenario was this?
Hearing this answer, a flash of suspicion swept across the depths of Shi Wuxie’s eyes. It vanished in an instant, only to be replaced once more by a gathered wave of curiosity: Then how did you come back to life?
Chu Yunxi thought to himself that he would love to know as well.
One second he was skiing, just jumping off the highest peak of a snowy mountain, and the next second he had woken up inside this body.
He forced a dry laugh. I have no idea either.
The phantom floated mid-air, looking down at Chu Yunxi, both curious and excited: Yuniu, he has no clue about anything. Could this be borrowing a corpse to bring back a soul?
Shi Wuxie pondered for a moment and then shook his head. That doesn’t seem quite right. He recognized Chu Ji and called him father. He should still remember his identity.
Remarkable! Truly remarkable! The phantom abruptly grew excited, flying in rapid circles around Chu Yunxi.
Yuniu, we searched through ancient texts for so long and never found a method to bring the dead back to life. And right here, there is a living case study!
Looking at Chu Yunxi, Shi Wuxie’s burning gaze grew increasingly resolute.
If this person had appeared ten years earlier, how wonderful that would have been; back then, he could have brought all his loved ones back to life.
But now was not too late either.
As long as he cut open this person’s niwan palace and found the crucial clue to resurrection…
Chu Yunxi only saw Shi Wuxie’s lips move slightly, as if whispering. His gaze grew increasingly eager and eager to try. The next instant, that freezing, terrifying scalpel lifted once more, descending without hesitation straight toward his chest.
Chu Yunxi:!
With lightning-fast reflexes, he rolled off the autopsy table and scrambled backward several steps toward the door, staring in disbelief: Wait! Are you trying to commit uxoricide?!
Holding the scalpel, Shi Wuxie tilted his gaze slightly, casually pulling up a ready-made excuse: Since you don’t know your cause of death, I must find the truth myself. My superiors made an exception and allowed me out of prison to investigate, but only for tonight. If I cannot find the real culprit before dawn, I will still have to return to prison to await trial.
As he spoke, he walked unhurriedly toward Chu Yunxi. The hem of his coarse-cloth autopsy garment swayed in the dim light and shadow, the sharp blade in his hand tilted downward, its cold edge glimmering brightly and fading rhythmically with each step.
Therefore, I still need to perform an autopsy.
The excitement in his gaze felt too palpable, causing Chu Yunxi to finally notice and feel an unexplainable chill creeping down his spine.
Why does it feel like he’s looking at a precious experimental subject?
Rare, and yearning to be thoroughly explored.
Steadily retreating, Chu Yunxi laughed out of exasperation and humor. Have you ever thought about the fact that since I’m not dead now, your murder charge won’t hold up? If you make a move on me now, you’ll actually become a murderer.
Amidst his retreat, his peripheral vision caught sight of a long saber dropped on the ground. He agilely stooped to scoop it up, flipped his wrist in a slash, and the ropes binding his arms snapped cleanly apart. Then, he pointed the saber straight at Shi Wuxie.
Meeting the tip of the blade, Shi Wuxie did not retreat in the slightest, the straight line of his lips even lifting uncontrollably.
It doesn’t matter. You’re already ‘dead’ anyway.
Chu Yunxi: ……
This guy is an absolute lunatic.
He turned and ran.
The rainy night of the Dali Temple was shattered by the sound of footsteps. A thoroughly drenched red-wedding-robed figure sprinted wildly through the covered corridor, bare feet slapping against the puddles. Not far behind him, a grayish-white figure maintained a steady and swift pace, pursuing closely.
Several bailiffs were currently cowering near the doorway leading to the corridor, peering out anxiously.
One of them trembled, Boss… did you… just see that? Those black-armored guards… they were all scared away by that resurrected corpse…
The speaker received a light knock on the head from the leader.
Nonsense! The leading bailiff scolded righteously. Stop learning those ridiculous rumors from the common rabble. We’ve served in the Dali Temple for so many years; when have we ever actually seen a ghost?
However, no sooner had his voice fallen than deep within the corridor, amidst the interwoven light of the rainy gloom and dim lamps, a disheveled figure appeared, dressed in a deep crimson wedding robe.
The figure’s robes were disheveled, and blood was still slowly seeping from the pale chest. Holding a shining saber, the figure ran head-on toward them.
All the color drained from the leading bailiff’s face in a flash. Trembling, he pointed at the flash of red, his lips moving, G-G-Ghost… As he spoke, his eyes rolled back, and he fell backward in a stiff faint.
Boss!
Just as the other bailiffs caught him, a gust of icy wind swept past, and the crimson vengeful ghost had already closed in right before them. Everyone was scared out of their wits, frozen stiff in place.
Yet the phantom paid them no mind, rushing past their side without looking back, leaving behind only an indignant, darkly amused shout echoing in the air: Is it really necessary to dissect me just to investigate a case?! Can’t you find another way?!
The next instant, the other grayish-white figure had arrived.
Moving like the wind, Shi Wuxie raised his voice: A corpse is the most honest evidence. Only by clarifying your cause of death can we trace the culprit to the source!
As he finished speaking, his figure swept past their side like a gust of wind.
Everyone remained frozen in place, standing in disarray in the wind.
After a long while, a bailiff blankly spoke up: The corpse… is being chased and run down by Lord Inspector…
Instantly, an incredible yet inexplicably reasonable notion popped into his mind. His eyes suddenly lit up, tinged with a sense of shared pride and excitement: Is the Lord Inspector… capturing a ghost right now?
As expected of the Lord Inspector!
Bypassing several winding corridors and cutting through the rain curtain, Chu Yunxi’s path was blocked by a heavy stone wall.
Lifting his head against the curtain of rain, using the dim light of the wind-guard lanterns under the eaves, he saw the black-and-gold inscribed plaque on the lintel,
Dali Temple Prison.
His footsteps halted abruptly. Looking at the plaque, he tilted his head, then, as if thinking of something, a clever glint flashed in the depths of his eyes.
He spun around instantly, raising a palm forward to make a clear stop gesture.
The footsteps that had been shadowing him closely actually stopped dead in their tracks.
Shi Wuxie paused a couple of paces away, rain threads dripping down his slender jawline.
Chu Yunxi pointed behind him at the prison gate: Are all the suspects inside?
Shi Wuxie nodded: Everyone who had the opportunity to make a move during yesterday’s wedding banquet is temporarily detained here, twenty-seven people in total.
Good. The clever glint in Chu Yunxi’s eyes grew brighter. He blinked at Shi Wuxie: Let’s strike a bargain. If I can help you find the culprit, you let me go, how about that?
Shi Wuxie tilted his head in confusion: What are you going to do?
Instead of answering immediately, Chu Yunxi turned back to face the prison gate, a mischievous smirk curving his lips.
His smile carried a wicked charm: Open the door and let me in.
The prison guards stationed at the entrance were already scared out of their wits, legs trembling, and looked to Shi Wuxie for help.
Shi Wuxie’s gaze landed on Chu Yunxi’s back, a minute ripple flashing across his eyes, before he lightly nodded.
Trembling, the guard fished out the key, missing the keyhole several times before finally aligning it. With a dull clank, the heavy iron lock popped open, and an eerie gust of wind mixed with the stench of mold and blood instantly rushed out from inside the doorway.
Wielding his saber, Chu Yunxi stepped into the darkness with a slow, unhurried gait.
On both sides of the passage were jail cells separated by iron bars. Most of the prisoners at this moment were curled up in the corners on piles of straw. Only a few near the entrance, startled by the sound of the door opening and the eerie dragging of the blade, lifted their heads in a daze to look down the corridor.
By the flickering, yellow torchlight, a deep crimson figure slowly emerged from the depths of the darkness.
The person was soaked through, dripping water droplets that slid down the magnificent hem of his garments onto the ground. The ink-like cascading hair half-covered his face. Beneath his open lapels, across a blindingly pale chest, a fierce wound was slowly oozing blood.
The figure walked slowly, the dragging tip of the blade scraping occasionally against the floor and kicking up a few sparks.
I am here, The shadow tilted its head and let out a chuckle, shoulders shaking, its chilling and bizarre voice echoing through the prison: Coming to take, my, revenge,
After a brief, dead silence,
Ghost, a ghost!
L-Lord, it wasn’t me! It wasn’t me who did it! Don’t come looking for me, ahhh!
Cries of weeping and begging for mercy rose one after another, instantly filling the entire dungeon and spreading toward the deeper cells.
First light at dawn.
The first rays of morning sun fell upon the plaque of the Dali Temple Prison.
Shi Wuxie stood quietly outside the prison doors at the foot of the stone steps, a night of cold rain having soaked his clothes so they clung tightly to his lean silhouette.
He stood ramrod straight, dew condensing on his raven-feather-like eyelashes, staring unblinkingly at that pitch-black prison door.
The phantom seemed somewhat restless, peering in and out of the prison entrance a moment ago, and now appearing beside Shi Wuxie, fluttering and circling him.
Yuniu, day is breaking.
The voice brushed against Shi Wuxie’s earlobe. If you don’t solve the case now, you’ll have to go back to the big cell.
Shi Wuxie remained silent.
The phantom flashed back and forth, weaving through the space around Shi Wuxie, leaving behind trails of afterimages.
Why didn’t you just dissect that kid? Why did you agree to his terms?
Anyway, he’s already a dead person; what harm is there in dying once more?
Can’t your forensic skills uncover the truth? When the time comes, you’ll clear your name, and we can keep his corpse to study the secret of how he resurrected!
Only then did Shi Wuxie’s eyes shift, a strange light flashing briefly: I am simply curious.
The phantom’s weaving abruptly stopped, freezing mid-air as it tilted its head to look at him.
His method might actually be useful.
At that exact moment, a swishing sound of friction and light footsteps emerged from the darkness inside the prison door.
The sound drew nearer, and Chu Yunxi’s blurred silhouette slowly materialized.
He held a saber in one hand, while with the other, he was dragging someone by the back collar. The majority of that person’s body dragged limply on the ground, their legs trailing powerlessly across the threshold.
When he reached Shi Wuxie, he relaxed his wrist.
Thud!
That half-dead person was dumped in front of Shi Wuxie like a sack of garbage.
The culprit, I’ve found him for you. Chu Yunxi sleepily let out a yawn, his clear voice still tinged with the hoarseness of a sleepless night.
Shi Wuxie looked down at the person lying flat on the ground. It was the chef who had married into the Shi estate alongside Chu Yunxi. The man’s eyes were rolled back, his face completely drained of color, his lower garments stained wet, and he muttered weakly in a breathy voice: …S-Small… the small one just wanted to slack off… using peach pastries from the Jubao Pavilion to supply the young master’s snacks… I… I really didn’t know their pastries contained almonds…
Young master… spare my life…
Before he could finish, the chef’s head slumped to the side, and he passed out cold.
Chu Yunxi shrugged. I’m allergic to almonds, so all the food in my courtyard is handled by dedicated personnel, and almonds are strictly forbidden. This chef tried to cut corners, buying peach pastries from outside of his own accord to pass them off as snacks. He only realized it after I collapsed from the allergic reaction, but he didn’t dare to speak up because he was terrified.
As he spoke, he tossed over a written confession. There, he had already confessed and pressed his fingerprint.
Shi Wuxie took the confession, glanced over it, and then flicked his gaze toward the phantom, saying with excitement in his eyes: Look, it really worked!
The phantom: ……
Even like that works? The phantom was slightly speechless, but then it bizarrely grew buoyant, spinning in a circle on the spot. So simple! I should scare people like that from now on; wouldn’t investigating cases become so much easier?
Recalling the scene earlier when the phantom tried to bite the Marquis, Shi Wuxie shook his head: You can’t… other people can’t see you.
The phantom stopped spinning, hovering beside him with its head drooping down.
Shi Wuxie said to Chu Yunxi: Since you didn’t die, it doesn’t constitute a murder case. At most, this is an accident caused by negligence within the inner courtyard, compounded by malicious concealment. I will log the details and subsequently close the case files at Dali Temple. Saying this, he glanced at the unconscious culprit on the ground. He is your person; how to dispose of him is up to you.
Looking at the chef who had already been scared out of half his wits, Chu Yunxi waved a hand. Being so careless with his work, I wouldn’t dare use him again. Best to just dismiss him.
Shi Wuxie nodded.
Just a farce. Chu Yunxi took a half-step forward, tilting his head closer. Staring intently into Shi Wuxie’s fathomless eyes, he spoke in a soft tone full of coaxing temptation: We had a deal, didn’t we? Since the case is solved now, you can let me go, right? Lord Inspector?
Shi Wuxie lifted his eyelashes, reacting belatedly as the excitement in his eyes was replaced by disappointment.
Ah…
It felt as though a precious experimental specimen was right before his eyes, yet he could only look and not touch.
After a long moment, Shi Wuxie seemed to be waging a fierce internal battle.
Can a promise already made be broken?
It seemed… it couldn’t be.
His slender eyelashes blinked, and finally, he unwillingly squeezed out a single syllable: Fine.
Chu Yunxi’s eyes lit up.
Yet he heard Shi Wuxie add: I’ll use the blade on you once you die again.
Chu Yunxi froze, blinking slowly:?
A moment later, by the time he processed it, Shi Wuxie had already walked away.
He hurriedly quickened his footsteps to chase after him, his voice carrying an incredible sense of absurdity: What do you mean? So if I’m alive, you won’t dissect me, but once I die, you still won’t let me go? Are you even human?!
Hey, wait up!