14 – Chapter
She instantly understood the cold look in her Master’s eyes.
“Having the Immortal Lord grace our humble home truly brings it honor! It is the greatest fortune for my Hu family!”
He Xuan glanced at Mu Lingyan.
Mu Lingyan immediately understood his meaning.
She stepped forward to handle the pleasantries for He Xuan: “Magistrate Hu, there’s no need for excessive words. Right now, we only wish to know the details of the flaying case. Please get straight to the point.”
“Alright, alright, alright! This old man has spoken too much.”
Magistrate Hu picked up his teacup, took a noisy sip, smacked his lips a couple of times, and then began to speak.
“The earliest case occurred one month ago. The victim was a maid from my household. The body was discovered when my wife happened to be taking a walk in the rear garden after a meal. The corpse was found among the rockeries in that garden.”
Liǔ Niáng interjected: “Yes, Immortal Lord! It was absolutely terrifying! That body was so horrifying! It was all bloody and completely skinless, as if someone had peeled it off alive.” As she spoke, she appeared very frightened, taking deep, heavy breaths and patting her heaving chest with her small hands.
Mu Lingyan heard Ruan Jiujiu gulp. She turned her head and saw her junior sister staring wide-eyed at Liǔ Niáng’s chest.
She leaned over and quietly teased Ruan Jiujiu beside her.
“Junior Sister, don’t be envious. You’ll have them too when you grow up.”
Ruan Jiujiu’s little face flushed bright red in an instant, like a boiled shrimp.
She shot an angry glance at Mu Lingyan.
“Senior Sister! You’re going too far!”
He Xuan looked back at them, and only then did the two stop their playful banter.
He Xuan: “Magistrate Hu, please continue.”
“To be honest with you, the second corpse was discovered ten days ago, also within my household. The deceased was one of my concubines. A maid went to attend to her in the morning and found the body in her bed.”
Ruan Jiujiu: “Don’t tell me the third corpse was also in your household?”
Magistrate Hu smiled bitterly: “That one wasn’t, but it’s almost the same. The third victim was Bái Hé’s younger brother.” As he said this, he looked toward the woman who had remained very quiet all along.
“Oh, right, Bái Hé is my secondary wife. I haven’t introduced her to the Immortal Lord yet.”
Mu Lingyan hadn’t expected this. Judging by the demeanor of these two women, she had assumed Bái Hé was the principal wife and Liǔ Niáng was the concubine. She never imagined it was the opposite.
Moreover, judging by Magistrate Hu’s attitude, he clearly favored Liǔ Niáng more.
He Xuan’s gaze fell upon Bái Hé.
Bái Hé bowed slightly in greeting and began speaking softly: “My younger brother had been delivering vegetables to the Falling Phoenix Pavilion and to this household. Five days ago, just after the hour of Chén, the household servants opened the gate, waiting for my brother to deliver the vegetables.”
At this point, she took out a handkerchief and dabbed the corner of her eye before continuing: “Who could have imagined that when the servants opened the gate, they found my brother lying on the vegetable cart, skinned with only flesh and blood remaining, devoid of any breath and already dead.”
Mu Lingyan asked: “The first two victims were female, and the third was male? There was a twenty-day interval between the first and second crimes, but only a five-day interval between the second and third?”
Bái Hé sobbed quietly. Magistrate Hu didn’t even glance at her; instead, it was Liǔ Niáng who offered low words of comfort.
Magistrate Hu replied to Mu Lingyan: “Yes, Immortal, that is indeed the case.”
Mu Lingyan continued questioning: “For the two who died within the household, was there anything unusual about them before they were killed?”
Magistrate Hu looked at Liǔ Niáng. Liǔ Niáng pouted resentfully but still tried to recall carefully.
“Immortal, there was nothing unusual. They were just as they usually were.”
Mu Lingyan looked at Bái Hé: “Was there nothing unusual about your brother either?”
Bái Hé slowly shook her head: “There was nothing unusual.”
At this moment, He Xuan had already stood up: “Chief Hu, where are the bodies being kept?”
“In the woodshed at the back courtyard. I’ll take you there, Immortal Lord.”
Mu Lingyan glanced up at the blazing sun overhead and could already imagine the scene inside the woodshed.
As the group made their way to the back courtyard, Mu Lingyan noticed a wisp of blackish-red smoke behind the rockery.
However, no one else seemed to react.
The System explained within her Sea of Consciousness: Host, because you possess an innate demonic body, you are naturally sensitive to demonic and monstrous energies.
Mu Lingyan: Is that wisp of smoke behind the rockery monstrous energy?
System: Correct. Demonic energy is usually pure black. Only monstrous energy can shift into such eerie colors.
Because she was communicating with the System in her Sea of Consciousness, she unconsciously fell to the back of the group.
Just as He Xuan and the others turned past the rockery, Mu Lingyan casually reached out and captured that wisp of monstrous energy into her Spirit-Sealing Pouch.
He Xuan knew Mu Lingyan hadn’t kept up, but he pretended not to notice, simply following behind Chief Hu.
Mu Lingyan jogged to catch up with the group. After turning another corner, they arrived at the door of the woodshed.
The servant boy opened the wooden door, but the expected overwhelming stench did not rush into her nostrils.
There was hardly any smell.
As He Xuan stepped over the threshold first, Mu Lingyan followed closely behind.
Above the three bodies covered with white cloths floated a water-blue orb.
Mu Lingyan pondered; this Spirit Treasure must be capable of masking the odor of the corpses.
Chief Hu glanced at the servant boy, whose face was full of reluctance and fear as he walked over and lifted the white cloths.
Liǔ Niáng let out a startled cry, her voice trembling as she said, “Master, I’ll step out first. This is just too terrifying!”
Chief Hu patted the back of her hand to comfort her.
Liǔ Niáng ran out of the woodshed, not forgetting to pull Bái Hé along with her.
Suppressing the urge to vomit, Mu Lingyan examined the three bodies.
To call them bodies was generous; they were essentially piles of rotting flesh placed together. Some of the decayed flesh had already separated from the bones and fallen off. The visual impact was undeniably intense.
He Xuan noticed Mu Lingyan’s pallid face.
With a hint of malice in his eyes that others couldn’t see, he said coldly, “Lingyan, step forward and examine them.”
Mu Lingyan: !!
“Mas… Master, is that appropriate? This disciple…”
He Xuan remained unmoved: “Go quickly…”
Mu Lingyan had no choice but to grit her teeth and step forward.
She wasn’t even afraid of death.
Why fear corpses?
After mentally preparing herself, she focused her gaze intently on the three bodies. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, she returned to He Xuan’s side.
He Xuan: “Did you discover anything?”
Mu Lingyan: “Judging by the degree of decay, it should be the work of a monstrous creature. If it were a human perpetrator, the bodies would only decay naturally, not at such an accelerated rate. Moreover, some of the flesh appears blackened, likely corroded by monstrous energy.”
Ruan Jiujiu silently gave a thumbs up.
She mouthed two words soundlessly toward Mu Lingyan: Awesome!
He Xuan seemed quite satisfied with Mu Lingyan’s answer.
“Hmm, my disciple is correct. Since it has been determined to be a monstrous creature, how should we proceed with capturing it?”
Mu Lingyan was about to give a standard answer when she suddenly noticed He Xuan’s hand, hanging at his side, make a subtle gesture.
A flash of insight struck her: “Ordinary Monstrous Creatures are naturally easier to deal with, but this Skin-peeling demon is somewhat difficult to catch. Because after she peels off a human’s skin, she can not only transform into that person’s appearance but can also arbitrarily piece together features from several skins and wear them on herself, making her appear like a ‘person’.”
Upon hearing this, Chief Hu’s face clouded with worry.
Mu Lingyan said calmly, “However, regarding this monstrous creature, the Immortal Sect has developed a type of scale powder. As long as the powder is scattered around the victim, the creature’s movement trajectory can be seen.”
“In this way, this creature is quite easy to capture.”
Magistrate Hu clapped his hands and exclaimed, “Excellent! That’s great, that’s great! If we don’t catch it soon, this matter will be impossible to keep hidden!”
Ruan Jiujiu, however, frowned in deep thought: When was this scale powder developed? How did she not know about it?