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墨書 Inktalez
Emergency refers to a sudden onset of illness. Anyone experiencing a sudden Emergency may either have an existing condition or be unaware of a hidden ailment.
The Woman before them claimed that her husband died from a sudden Emergency, but her descriptions of the patient's physical reactions and facial expressions during the illness were vague. If Xing Ruyi were to ask more detailed questions, the Woman would respond like she did with Chang Tai, bursting into tears and refusing to answer any further inquiries.
“How is it?” Chang Tai approached, glancing at the still-crying Woman, showing some impatience in his eyes. “Still unwilling to cooperate?”
“That man’s death is indeed suspicious!” Xing Ruyi cast a glance at the Woman, noticing her sneaking glances at her from the corner of her eye. She deliberately raised her voice, “She insists that her husband died from a sudden Emergency, yet provides no details, which is one; as a widow, she should typically cooperate with the Government Office to help uncover the truth for both her husband and herself, yet this lady is quite the opposite—she is uncooperative and evasive, seemingly reluctant for us to investigate further, which is two; thirdly, when I asked about her relationship with her husband, although she acted very affectionate, there was a clear hint of disdain in her eyes. When I asked how she would react if her husband had been murdered, she first insisted it was impossible and then said she would never let the murderer go unpunished. However, her gaze was evasive and she did not look me in the eye. From all these signs, while we cannot definitively conclude that this man’s death is related to his wife, we can at least ascertain that he did not die from illness, and this lady here, who is The Deceased's Wife, definitely knows more than she lets on!”
Upon hearing this, the Woman visibly flinched and replied, “Killing must be paid for with life; you cannot speak carelessly about such things. My husband indeed died of illness. If your words mislead those in the Yamen, it would truly be disastrous for me!”
“Whether it's careless or not will be clear once we examine your husband's body,” Xing Ruyi said as she turned to Chang Tai. “Brother Chang, where is the deceased now?”
Chang Tai glanced at the Woman and replied, “Follow me!”
“Lord Chang, my husband has already been buried; we must not disturb him again!” The Woman exclaimed urgently.
“You are mistaken; what truly disturbs your husband’s rest is not us but the murderer who caused his death. Have you forgotten that your husband crawled out from the Tomb himself and stopped right at your doorstep?” Xing Ruyi looked at the Woman. “Your husband remains at your doorstep for only two reasons: first, as his lawful wife, he has unresolved grievances and returns seeking your help; second, it could mean that his true killer is right behind this door. Which do you think it is?”
The Woman turned pale. “Of course… of course he returned… to seek my help!”
“Is that so? It seems you have disappointed your husband!” Xing Ruyi shook her head. “Not only have you failed to assist the Government Office in finding your husband's killer, but you are also deliberately concealing the truth.”
“I… I haven’t!” The Woman turned away. “I appreciate your good intentions in helping me find out the truth about my husband, but as I said earlier, this concerns lives; you must not speak carelessly.”
“I just mentioned that whether it's careless or not can be determined by asking your husband directly. If you wish to know the truth as well, why not come with us?”
The woman hesitated for a moment, her gaze seemingly searching through the crowd, before she murmured in response, "Alright then!"
The man's body was temporarily placed in a corner of the woodshed. From the woman's description, her husband had been dead for at least ten days, but the degree of decay was not severe.
The man had multiple external injuries; some were old wounds while others were recent bruises, but all were superficial. There were no signs of struggle or fighting on his face or body. The area around his heart was somewhat swollen, and there was mud in the gaps of his fingernails.
"The coroner examined this; the mud in his fingernails was likely from him scratching at something. Based on the color of the soil and the mixed debris of weeds and dried leaves, it should be from near a grave. Therefore, the coroner had a bold theory that was not reported to Lord Xie: this man crawled out of his own grave."
Upon hearing this, Xing Ruyi did not respond to Chang Tai but turned to ask the woman, "May I ask you something? Was your husband buried lavishly or simply?"
"Well..." The woman nervously rubbed her hands together. "My husband has always been frugal and had made arrangements with me long ago that when he passed, we would handle his funeral simply without extravagance!"
"So how simple was this simple arrangement? Surely you wouldn't just wrap him in a thin mat and bury him like that?"
"Of course not!" The woman turned pale with anxiety. "Although we are common folk, my husband's funeral would not be handled so hastily. Our neighbors can testify that my husband's funeral followed all proper procedures without any oversights or points for criticism. As for the coffin—"
At this point, the woman clearly paused, her expression becoming somewhat unnatural. "My husband's coffin wasn't the best, but whether it was the material, craftsmanship, or anything else, it was decent. Because that coffin... it was taken from Gu's coffin shop. But please don't misunderstand us. We did not steal it; it was promised to my husband by Old Master Gu during his lifetime. He had worked as an apprentice at Gu's coffin shop and was one of Old Master Gu's most trusted assistants."
"After Old Master Gu passed away, his daughter also disappeared without a trace. If my husband hadn't been looking after that coffin shop, it probably would have closed down long ago. So, out of both sentiment and reason, taking one coffin shouldn't be considered anything unusual."
"I don't think there's anything wrong with that," Xing Ruyi replied. "The coffins made by Old Master Gu were intended for the deceased; leaving them to be eaten away by rodents and insects would indeed be wasteful. So on this point, I don't believe you did anything wrong."
After saying this, Xing Ruyi turned to Chang Tai: "I have seen the coffins from Gu's shop; both their materials and craftsmanship are among the best in the community. Such a coffin would not be easy for even a strong warrior to open by themselves if they were to come back to life. Moreover, there is also a thick layer of yellow earth on top of it."
"That's something I hadn't considered before," Chang Tai said with some embarrassment. "What if someone assisted from outside?"
"If there is external assistance, it can certainly be done. Therefore, I would also like to ask Brother Chang to personally take a look around the area later and see if there are any traces left."
Chang Tai nodded, then asked Xing Ruyi with a hint of confusion, "If that's the case, what are we still checking in the woodshed? What I mean is, if he has been revived after death, then..."
"Brother Chang means that if the husband has revived from death, then naturally the wife's suspicion can be ruled out, is that correct?"
Chang Tai did not respond verbally, but his expression answered everything.
"Whether or not he has revived from death indeed needs to be clarified, but this is something your Yamen needs to investigate thoroughly. From the perspective of the Fox Demon, regardless of what this person has experienced in the past, he is currently just a dead man. The only thing the Fox Demon wants to clarify, and can help the Government Office clarify, is the cause of his death."
"The Fox Demon is right; no matter what he has gone through before, he is dead. For the Yamen, while the investigation process is important, it is even more crucial to understand how he died and what led to his death."
Xing Ruyi nodded without saying anything further and walked directly in front of the deceased.
The first thing Xing Ruyi did was use her Ghost Eye to scan his body. Through observation, she could determine that there were two hidden injuries on the man. The first was on his chest, precisely where the Heart is located.
His Heart showed obvious swelling, clearly caused by external force or impact. Bleeding from the Heart could indeed lead to what appears to be an "Emergency" situation, so whether his wife's words are true or false still needs verification.
The other injury was hidden deeper and was more peculiar; it was located within his nasal cavity.
"How is it? Did you find anything?" Hearing Xing Ruyi's light sigh, Chang Tai quietly asked beside her.
"Is the Coroner still here?"
"Under Lord Xie's orders, he does not dare to leave and has been waiting outside."
"Bring him in. I found something strange about the deceased's nose; there are foreign objects in the nasal cavity, and I need to remove them."
Upon hearing Xing Ruyi's words, the woman collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Xing Ruyi glanced at her and said to Chang Tai, "It seems this wife is not innocent. Brother Chang, have someone take her back to the yamen. Once I retrieve the object from the deceased's nasal cavity, let the Coroner take her back. As for the truth, I believe Lord Xie will be able to clarify it in his first hearing! Also, we need Shengzi to investigate the people around this woman. I believe that the suspect, the murderer, and the person who helped him escape from the grave are all among them.
If there are no leads, it might be worthwhile to listen to what the neighbors are discussing privately. Perhaps we will uncover both the truth and the real culprit!"
Chang Tai nodded and promptly assigned tasks: "Proceed according to what Ruyi just said. Split into two groups; one will discreetly investigate people related to this woman, while the other will look into whom this person interacted with in the days leading up to his death, as well as any disputes or arguments he may have had.
Also, check the cemetery; do not overlook any clues! If anything arises, report back to me immediately. If I am not here, go directly to report to Lord Xie."
As they spoke, the Coroner had already entered. Xing Ruyi pointed out where he should begin, allowing the Coroner to personally perform an autopsy on the deceased's nose. Once the nasal cavity was fully opened and the object came into view, he was completely stunned.
"This is... a nail!"
"That's right; it is a nail, and it belongs to this deceased's home," Xing Ruyi explained as he wrapped the nail in a silk handkerchief and held it up for comparison with a nail currently fixed in the wall. "This is a coffin nail; common people wouldn't use it because they consider it unlucky. However, it's different for the deceased; he used to be an apprentice at a coffin shop and likely has a special connection to such nails. As you can see, almost all of the nails used in his home are of this type. Furthermore, this nail was forcibly driven into his nasal cavity."
After finishing his explanation, Xing Ruyi placed the nail in front of Chang Tai.
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