The Naked Corpse Case of Yunshui Lane, Part One

Sun Shaozong hurried out of Jia Manor and saw three yamen runners in blue robes and black caps standing with their hands tucked in their sleeves beneath the wall to the right of the main gate.

Seeing that Sun Shaozong was tall and powerfully built, seven or eight parts like the man of legend, the lead runner hurried forward and bowed deeply. Carefully, he asked, "May I ask if you are Master Sun, the newly appointed Judicial Assistant Magistrate?"

Sun Shaozong sized him up. The constable was just over thirty, his horse-like face full of unease, his gaze darting about without daring to meet Sun Shaozong's eyes. This only made Sun Shaozong more certain that something was amiss.

Frowning, he said, "The transfer order I received stated that I was to take office after the New Year. Why have you come looking for me before the year is even out?"

The Horse-Face Constable knew at once that he had found the right man. Rather than answering immediately, he called over his two colleagues. The three lined up in a triangular formation and respectfully bowed. "This humble one pays respects to the Judicial Assistant Magistrate."

"Enough with this empty ceremony." Sun Shaozong waved a hand and pressed, "By rights, I have not officially taken office yet. Even if some major case had occurred, it should not have fallen to me, should it?"

Only then did the Horse-Face Constable force a smile. "Master, this humble one did not wish to disturb your peace either, but the Assistant Prefect has given orders. He said that a sudden murder case at the very end of the year is exceedingly inauspicious and must be solved as soon as possible, lest it stir panic among the people. Thus, he personally appointed you to take charge of this case."

As he spoke, he furtively studied Sun Shaozong's expression. Seeing that Sun Shaozong remained neither hurried nor flustered, while his eyes gleamed like those of an eagle vulture, he no longer dared to sneak glances at him and hurriedly continued, "The Assistant Prefect said that you solved a tremendous strange case in Qian Xiang Country in half a day. This mere murder case should naturally be no trouble for you. He also instructed that you must close the case before New Year's Eve."

Other than the Principal Third Rank Prefect and Principal Fourth Rank Assistant Prefect, the highest-ranking official in Shuntian Prefecture was the Principal Fifth Rank Assistant Prefect. The Assistant Prefect oversaw criminal law and litigation, making him the direct superior of the Judicial Assistant Magistrate. Naturally, he had the authority to assign Sun Shaozong tasks.

But it was already the twenty-seventh day of the Twelfth Lunar Month, leaving less than three days before the deadline. They had even impatiently sought out Sun Shaozong before he officially assumed office. Clearly, the other party's aim was not to solve the case, but to use this opportunity to give Sun Shaozong a show of force!

"The Assistant Prefect truly knows how to flatter a man." Sun Shaozong snorted, then asked, "So this is an unsolved case without a single lead, then?"

The Horse-Face Constable seemed to shrink another half inch, yet he did not dare offer an opinion. Pretending not to have heard, he awkwardly gave a rough account of the case.

That morning, someone had discovered a bulging burlap sack in a small alley off West Street in Yunshui Lane. At first, they had thought they had stumbled upon some treasure. But when they untied it, they found a naked male corpse inside!

There was not a scrap of cloth on the corpse, and its face had been slashed to ruins with a sharp weapon. On top of that, the nearby traces had all been buried beneath the snow, leaving not even the slightest useful clue.

With no other choice, the yamen runners had conducted a carpet-style investigation. Yet with the New Year so close at hand, every household within several miles was well accounted for. They could not find a single person who had gone missing.

Thus, the case had reached a deadlock.

Yet this was a time of celebration throughout the land. If the case could not be solved, their superiors would inevitably hold them accountable.

So the Assistant Prefect's brows twitched as a plan sprang to mind. He shoved the case onto Sun Shaozong, intending to kill two birds with one stone—casting off his own responsibility while also taking the edge off Sun Shaozong's spirit and dulling the brilliance he had gained from solving that strange case!

"What's there to see in a male corpse? Isn't there a case involving a naked female corpse?"

Sun Shaozong was analyzing the case when someone behind him complained. It was Jia Lian, who had finished making his preparations and hurried to the manor gate.

What did this wastrel take a murder case involving human lives for?

Sun Shaozong helplessly turned and shot him a glare, only to discover that besides his usual three servants, Jia Lian had brought along five burly household retainers. Clearly, the fellow wanted to watch the excitement but feared running into danger.

Too lazy to pay Jia Lian any attention, Sun Shaozong turned back to the runner and asked, "Where is the body now? Is it still at the scene?"

"It is, it is, it is!" The Horse-Face Constable nodded like a pounding garlic pestle. "This humble one specially arranged for several brothers to guard it there, waiting for you, Master, to judge every detail with perfect discernment!"

Yunshui Lane lay in the southeast of the outer city. Though the location was not particularly good, it was still far better than the slums to the south. Those living there were mostly families of comfortable means, or collateral branches of wealthy houses that had fallen on hard times.

Jia Lian had been brimming with interest on the way over, but once he reached the crime scene and saw that bloody, mangled face, the fire in his heart was doused clean through. He merely stood far away with a handkerchief over his nose and mouth, unwilling to take even half a step closer.

The crime scene was a relatively secluded narrow alley, only about half a zhang wide but three or four hundred meters long, with paths leading in every direction. Hemmed in by the mottled walls on either side, it was dim and gloomy even in broad daylight.

The corpse lay propped at an angle in the middle of the alley. Its face was a blur of blood and flesh, its upper body naked and exposed, while its lower body remained curled inside a burlap sack.

According to the Horse-Face Constable, the body had originally been removed from the sack. Later, however, so as not to offend the eyes of passing onlookers, they had slipped half of it back inside.

Arriving before the corpse, Sun Shaozong first carefully examined the wounds on its face. The crisscrossing gashes looked terrifying, but they were not actually very deep. They had merely cut through a layer of flesh and skin without reaching the skull.

Judging by the amount of bleeding from the wounds, they should not have been the cause of death. They had been inflicted after death.

After examining the facial wounds, he ran a hand over the corpse's scalp. Once he confirmed that there were no injuries beneath the dry, split hair, he asked the Horse-Face Constable for a piece of coarse cloth used to wrap evidence. With it cushioning his hand, he pried open the corpse's mouth.

There was some dark purplish blood slurry inside the mouth. The upper and lower rows of teeth were fairly intact and clean—at the very least, much better than those of ordinary people of the same era.

After inspecting the mouth, Sun Shaozong carefully searched his way downward and found several pinch marks beneath the corpse's arms and on its shoulders.

Seeing that the lower half of the body was still inside the sack, he ordered, "Take him out. Be careful—do not damage the marks on the surface of the body."

The Horse-Face Constable hurriedly gestured, and several runners swarmed forward, clumsily hauling the corpse out of the sack.

While they were handling the body, the Horse-Face Constable sidled over with a fawning smile. "My lord, there are actually no wounds on the lower half either. If this humble one's guess is correct, he was probably poisoned to death—"

"Hm?!"

Before he could finish, Sun Shaozong gave a sharp sound of surprise. He snatched the saber from the constable's waist, then crouched down without another word, as if he had discovered some peerless treasure.

The Horse-Face Constable thought to himself, Could this newly arrived Lord Sun have that sort of taste?!

Thanks to readers "Wan Xiaobao" and "Bei Chenchuan" for their rewards.