The Corpse

Bone Replacement began with extracting a bone. The corpse's strange condition immediately brought the possibility to Jiang Shuo's mind, but he soon shook his head.

Jiang Shuo had spent some time studying at the Hundred Flowers Sect, and he realized that no one outside knew of Bone Replacement. It was very likely a method unique to the Chiyun Tribe. The corpse's missing bones did not necessarily mean they had been used for Bone Replacement. The killer might simply have hated Dream Red Pavilion so deeply that they had resorted to such a cruel way of taking revenge.

The unusual expression on Jiang Shuo's face disappeared in a flash, but Taohong watched him, her brows faintly knitting for some reason.

"Would Senior allow me to examine the corpse?" Jiang Shuo asked. A visual inspection alone could never reveal everything.

"Ruyan invited you two here to investigate this matter, so of course you may." Liu Ruyan stepped aside slightly.

Jiang Shuo lifted the corpse's forearm again and carefully examined the wound. Its edges were ragged and covered in torn flesh; it had not been cut open with a sharp blade. Instead, the killer had used extraordinary Martial Arts, thrusting fingers into the flesh and wrenching the bone out by force. Judging by the color and degree of coagulation, Jiang Shuo could also tell that the wound had been inflicted while the victim was still alive. Imagining someone's bones being forcibly torn out while they were still living made his scalp prickle, and deepened the doubts in his heart.

The texts in the Chiyun Village altar recorded that the bones used for Bone Replacement had to be extracted from a living body. Jiang Shuo did not know whether this was connected, or whether it was merely a coincidence.

He put the thought away for now, raised his hand, and began feeling over the corpse. Having bones forcibly extracted would not kill someone; he needed to find the cause of death.

He pressed two fingers lightly against the corpse. Though she was dead, she had been a woman, and he could hardly avoid touching some sensitive areas. Seeing this, Sun Daoming's expression turned strange, and he could not resist sneering, "Who examines a corpse like that? You're utterly shameless."

With that, Sun Daoming shoved Jiang Shuo aside and began examining the corpse himself.

His father, Sun Man, held a high position in the Hundred Flowers Sect. Raised in a good family environment, Sun Daoming had been far more capable than his peers in both medicine and Martial Arts since childhood. Otherwise, he would never have achieved such good results in the selection.

Jiang Shuo was pushed aside. He turned his head and gave Sun Daoming a cold look but said nothing.

He had nearly finished examining the first corpse and had reached some conclusions. Rather than argue with Sun Daoming, he asked Liu Ruyan for permission to inspect the other six corpses.

With Liu Ruyan's approval, Jiang Shuo examined them one by one. This time, he was faster than he had been with the first corpse; he finished in no time. The other six corpses were also missing bones. The last one in the row had been dead the longest, and the hot weather had left it unrecognizable, badly decomposed. Jiang Shuo showed no disgust and examined it as calmly as the rest.

"How did it look, you two?" Liu Ruyan asked.

Sun Daoming answered first. "The killer took the bones with a forceful, direct method, so their Martial Arts must be formidable. We can start by investigating Martial Arts related to Eagle Claw. Also, all the victims died from a palm strike that severed their meridians. There aren't many people in Yulin City with that level of power, unless the killer came from elsewhere."

"You're quite right, Young Master Sun." Liu Ruyan nodded in agreement, an appreciative look on her face. Then she turned to the other side. "Young Master Jiang, what do you think?"

Sun Daoming glanced sideways at Jiang Shuo. The dead were dead; they couldn't speak. Jiang Shuo had probably learned as much as he had, if not less.

Ignoring Sun Daoming, Jiang Shuo calmly added, "If the bones were taken before the victims were killed, they would have fought fiercely before dying. Yet there are no signs of a struggle on their bodies."

"I already told you the killer's Martial Arts were extraordinarily powerful. One strike was enough to kill them. How could they have had time to fight back?" Sun Daoming said disdainfully.

"If the killer's Martial Arts were far superior to the victims', then killing them effortlessly would indeed have been easy, assuming that was all the killer wanted. But the killer also had to take their bones. Bones are the foundation of the human body. Even an ordinary person faced with such danger would struggle with all their might, making it difficult for the killer to get what they wanted. What's more, the bones of these corpses clearly belonged to people who practiced Martial Arts." Jiang Shuo explained his doubts. "And their expressions weren't panicked or fearful. They were remarkably calm. That's hard to understand, too."

"I..." Sun Daoming was at a loss for words.

Liu Ruyan pondered this, then continued, "So, Young Master Jiang, your theory is..."

"Some of the wounds are on the front of the victims' bodies. It would have been very difficult for the killer to approach them, let alone strike, from the front. So it's very possible, as Senior Liu said, that someone familiar from within Dream Red Pavilion was responsible." Since Feng En had said that Liu Ruyan knew he had been outside eavesdropping at the time, Jiang Shuo had no need to keep hiding it. "Of course, there's another possibility: the victims were drugged and knocked unconscious while they were alive. That would explain the various mysteries surrounding the corpses. To confirm it, we would have to cut open their stomachs and intestines. And because of the drug's properties, bodily fluids, the passage of time, and other factors, the results could easily be inconclusive. Besides, my knowledge is limited. I'd need my sect's help to determine the truth."