Insects

Yang Ning listened to Xu Yinyin's introduction, thinking to himself: Fortunately, the mission the Demonic Cult gave me before was to silence them, not to break them out of prison. Poisoning only requires a pill, but to rescue someone, I'd have to risk taking the key to unlock the cell. The risks involved are completely incomparable. If I didn't know how the key worked and accidentally used the wrong one, I'd probably die without a burial place!

As he pondered, he followed Xu Yinyin into the morgue. One wall of the room was densely packed with iron compartments, where all the bodies were properly stored. Three autopsy tables on wheels were placed in the center of the room, and a scent of medicinal herbs permeated the air.

Xu Yinyin re-tied the keychain to her waist, her expression very calm. She skillfully checked the labels on the compartments and explained, "Each compartment here is filled with ice to slow down the decomposition of the bodies. Dedicated disciples come to replace the ice every three days."

"The Law Enforcement Hall is very meticulous and thoughtful, both in terms of the completeness of its facilities and the division of labor among its personnel," Yang Ning praised sincerely.

"Naturally," a proud smile curved Xu Yinyin's lips. Whenever Yang Ning praised the Law Enforcement Hall, she couldn't help but feel a surge of pride.

As Xu Yinyin walked, she continued, "This Law Enforcement Hall is the culmination of Master's many years of hard work. She has done almost everything she could think of, and she has done it perfectly."

Xu Yinyin's words were filled with admiration and respect for Yun Zishan.

Xu Yinyin walked until she stopped in front of a row of compartments. She pointed to a few iron cabinets in front of her: "Here, the bodies of those moles are stored."

Yang Ning nodded, but his gaze remained fixed on Xu Yinyin's face.

"What's wrong?" Xu Yinyin asked, puzzled.

"Aren't you scared?"

"These bodies?" Xu Yinyin chuckled in surprise. "Ever since I joined, I've gone to the Mission Hall every month to receive training missions. I've wiped out quite a few bandit lairs, and I've killed hundreds, if not thousands, of wicked people. Just a few corpses are nothing."

Yang Ning gave Xu Yinyin a thumbs-up: "Impressive!"

Xu Yinyin lifted her chin: "Of course," she reached out and patted Yang Ning's shoulder, "Boss, if you need anything in the future, just ask me, and I'll protect you!"

Yang Ning smiled and nodded, but he didn't respond to Xu Yinyin's words. It was too shocking for the head disciple of the Law Enforcement Hall to protect a mole from the Demonic Cult.

Yang Ning turned and pushed over an autopsy table.

"Do you need help?" Xu Yinyin asked solicitously.

"No, I can manage," Yang Ning politely declined.

These moles had the same poison he had taken, so their bodies must contain the same traces.

Since he had just used the excuse of examining the bodies for new clues when facing Xu Yinyin, he had to produce some results. However, this process had to be completed by himself, and he had to have full control over the outcome. The less Xu Yinyin was involved, the better.

Xu Yinyin nodded obediently. Since she knew nothing about these clues anyway, she walked to a stool by the morgue door and sat down, her water bottle hanging around her neck. She propped her chin on her hands and watched Yang Ning's movements.

Yang Ning pulled open the iron cabinet, transferred the body to the autopsy table, and pushed it to the center of the room.

He put on the cloth gloves used by the coroner and gently lifted the white cloth covering the body. The deceased's contorted face still held the expression of agony from their final moments, clearly indicating that the person had suffered immense pain before death.

Yang Ning frowned slightly, thinking to himself: I hope I don't end up like this in the future, or I won't be able to rest in peace even in death.

Since the blood had already clotted, Yang Ning took a small knife used by the coroner and made a small incision in the corpse's abdomen to take a small piece of the stomach lining, which was covered in capillaries.

At the camp, Yang Ning had learned some basic principles of poisons. Almost all poisons from the Demonic Cult contained a unique herb from the Demon Realm—Gut-severing Grass.

This herb could cause incessant abdominal pain. Yang Ning's own abdominal pain and the preliminary autopsy results from other coroners confirmed that the poison did indeed contain it.

As a transmigrator, Yang Ning knew that the toxicity of Gut-severing Grass came from the alkaloids it contained. Based on basic chemical knowledge, bases react with acids to form stable salts and precipitate crystals, which was the core basis for identifying whether this poison had been consumed.

"Do you have any vinegar?" he asked Xu Yinyin, turning his head.

"Vinegar?" Xu Yinyin was taken aback.

"Yes, the more sour, the better."

Xu Yinyin scratched her head, looking troubled: "Boss, cultivators above the Foundation Establishment Stage can all abstain from eating. Eating is more for satisfying cravings. Although disciples in the Qi Refining Stage still need to eat, to avoid oil smoke pollution in the core area of the Law Enforcement Hall, the kitchen is located halfway up the mountain." She paused and added, "Also, there are strict meal times in the hall, and the kitchen is already closed at this hour... so I can't get any vinegar right now."

Yang Ning's shop actually had white vinegar, which would have a more pronounced reaction. His true intention in asking Xu Yinyin was to find an opportunity to send her away so he could go find that crazy mole and administer the poison.