Murder Case

Li Nuo had been at the Chang'an County Office for several days, and today was the first time he met the Assistant Magistrate and the Lieutenant.

Within a county, the County Magistrate was the chief official, while the Assistant Magistrate and Lieutenant were subordinate officials responsible for assisting the Magistrate in handling administrative affairs. The Assistant Magistrate could be understood as the Deputy Magistrate and could temporarily assume the Magistrate's duties if the Magistrate was absent for any reason. The Lieutenant, on the other hand, was specifically in charge of apprehending thieves and bandits, equivalent to the county's police chief in later eras.

Li Nuo remembered that in ancient times, most of the time, there was a significant difference in rank between the Assistant Magistrate and the Magistrate, and even more so for the Lieutenant, who was considered a minor official just entering the ranks. However, in this world's Great Xia, seemingly to balance the Magistrate's power, both the Assistant Magistrate and Lieutenant held not-so-low ranks.

The Magistrate of Chang'an was of the fifth rank, the Assistant Magistrate of the sixth rank, and the Lieutenant of the seventh rank. All were directly appointed and dismissed by the imperial court. As the head of the county, Magistrate Pei could not have absolute power within the county office.

However, judging by the subservient attitude of the two towards Magistrate Pei, while Lord Pei was extremely timid in front of his wife, his skill in managing subordinates seemed quite good. Both Assistant Magistrate Zhang and Lieutenant Wang were extremely respectful towards him.

With the Assistant Magistrate and Lieutenant in place, Pei Zhe no longer had to handle everything personally.

Matters like encouraging agricultural production, collecting taxes and corvée, establishing schools, and caring for the widowed and orphaned were handled by Assistant Magistrate Zhang. Lieutenant Wang enthusiastically took on the dirty and laborious tasks of apprehending thieves and bandits. The adjudication of lawsuits was entirely handed over to Li Nuo. He, the Magistrate, only needed to drink tea in the back hall, catch up on sleep, or use the excuse of inspecting in disguise to go to Phoenix Perch Tower to help those unfortunate women...

With such an official life, what more could one ask for?

It was a pity that all the gifts of fate were secretly marked with a price.

The reason Assistant Magistrate Zhang and Lieutenant Wang had become so obedient had a reason behind it. They were not afraid of him, but of the Minister of Justice behind him.

No, where was the Minister of Justice behind him?

But everyone thought so. It was like mud falling into his trousers, impossible to explain.

Pei Zhe sighed. For more than ten years, he had been cautious in everything he did, not wanting to get involved in the disputes of the officialdom. Yet, unexpectedly, he could not avoid it in the end.

He could only comfort himself that even if he was forced to take a side, he was siding with the immensely powerful Minister of Justice. At least until the Minister of Justice fell, he himself would be absolutely safe. Not only safe, but he could also swagger through the officialdom of Great Xia. If Prince Chun succeeded to the throne in the future, he would have contributed to the founding of the dynasty, and his position might even be elevated further...

Pei Zhe had just changed his clothes and was preparing to go out to observe the people's conditions. Before he could even step out of his room, he saw Lieutenant Wang rushing in and saying in a deep voice, "Bad news, Lord Pei, a major case has occurred!"

Judging by Lieutenant Wang's expression, this case must be significant. Pei Zhe had no time to go out and hurried to the front hall of the county office.

As soon as he reached the front hall and saw the two corpses on the ground, Pei Zhe turned and leaned against the wall, retching violently, vomiting out the breakfast he had eaten not long ago.

Near a distant wall, Li Nuo was also not feeling well.

He had just finished vomiting.

He had originally been mediating a marital dispute. Upon hearing that a murder case had occurred, he couldn't even bother to finish judging the case and rushed out immediately.

After all, for such minor cases, even if he judged ten of them, he could only extend his lifespan by one day. However, solving a murder case would grant at least ten days, and a hundred minor cases would not be equivalent to one murder case.

If the murderer was a high-level martial artist, the increase in lifespan could be many times more than ten days, leading to a significant leap.

Therefore, Li Nuo had rushed out in a hurry.

As fast as he rushed out, he retreated just as quickly.

The two corpses placed outside the court hall had likely been burned first and then soaked in water for an unknown period. They were simply gruesome, their state indescribable in words. Li Nuo had handled many criminal cases, but he was only responsible for the sentencing and had never been to the crime scene. This horrific sight gave him a massive visual shock, almost making him vomit his dinner from the previous night.

Most of the people present were holding onto walls and vomiting. Only Lieutenant Wang and a group of constables, who frequently went to crime scenes, could stand normally, but most of them also had pale faces.

Pei Zhe ordered the bodies to be moved to the morgue. After a long while, his complexion looked a little better.

He looked at Lieutenant Wang and asked, "What happened?"

Lieutenant Wang walked up to him, cupped his fists, and said, "The report came from two fishermen. This morning, when they went fishing by the river, they discovered these two corpses in a backwater. I have inspected the scene, and it is likely not the primary location. The bodies were burned first and then soaked in water for a long time. The coroner could not determine the exact time of death, but according to the two fishermen, they were fishing in that backwater all day on July 11th, and the two corpses did not exist then. Based on the appearance of the bodies, it is estimated that the deceased were a man and a woman, and the time of death was between July 12th and July 15th..."

Li Nuo had a deep memory of July 12th because that was the day he transmigrated.

Today was July 19th. This meant that the murders occurred about seven days ago, around the time he transmigrated.

Lieutenant Wang continued his report: "Both were charred corpses. The woman had a fatal wound on her chest. The man had no head, and the cut on his neck was smooth, indicating that his head was instantly severed by a sharp weapon before death. It is estimated that the killer was a martial artist of the Internal Breath realm or above. I have already sent people to visit the nearby villages to see if there have been any missing persons recently..."

When it came to investigating cases and pursuing culprits, Lieutenant Wang was undoubtedly professional.

To solve a murder case, the first and most crucial step was to identify the deceased.

Only by confirming the identity of the deceased could their interpersonal relationships be investigated one by one to determine the next direction of the investigation.

Once the identities of the deceased were confirmed and the killer found, it would be much easier for Li Nuo.

Judging by the cut on the male corpse's neck, the killer was likely a master. If they could be apprehended, it would at least add a month to his lifespan. Li Nuo was full of anticipation for this.

This anticipation lasted for seven days.

During these seven days, the constables of the county office visited many places but could not even confirm the identities of the two deceased. The case was at a standstill, with no progress whatsoever.

Although Li Nuo was somewhat disappointed, he could not blame them.

The two corpses were burned and then soaked, and one had no head. Without DNA testing technology, even their relatives would likely not recognize them.

According to Magistrate Pei, it was considered good if one out of ten murder cases within Great Xia could be solved. Most cases ultimately had no outcome.

Although this murder case, which he had placed high hopes on, was not solved, Li Nuo had gained a lot in these seven days. After the previous case involving the son of an Official of the Ministry of Personnel, the credibility of the county office among the populace had greatly increased. In these seven days, Li Nuo personally handled over a hundred cases, and his lifespan had accumulated to ninety-three days.

Compared to the three-day countdown half a month ago, three months of lifespan finally allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

Tomorrow was another rest day. Li Nuo planned to give Lord Pei and the others a holiday, and also give himself a holiday. He didn't plan to go to the county office.

He had not had a single day of rest in the past half month.

He got up at dawn and went to the county office, working hard all day, sometimes not even having time to eat lunch. In the evening, after returning home and explaining math problems to Mu'er, he would read books until late. His days were extremely fulfilling.

It just felt like life was meaningless.

So, he planned to take a day off to adjust.