"Zhao Rui, stay here and guard Cao An. The rest of you, come with me."
Gu Qinghe put away the signed confession and led the others out of the side hall.
Coroner Du's name was Du Heng. He had worked in the Law Enforcement Hall for sixteen years. He alone had filled out Ma Quan's corpse report and the notes on his pulse after taking the Breath-Closing Powder.
Cao An chased them to the doorway.
"Du Heng has a medicine furnace at home. Every time he finishes doing someone a favor, he burns the slips. If you're half a moment late, you won't even find the ashes!"
Li Sanshun looked back at him.
"If that tip is false, you won't need to wait for Mr. Bai to silence you."
Cao An shrank back against the wall and didn't dare say another word.
Du Heng lived on the south side of Law Enforcement Peak, just two rows of courtyards from the Corpse Room. When they arrived, the courtyard gate was bolted from within, and a wooden sign hung on it.
Corpse Plague. Keep Out.
A young apothecary peered out through a crack in the gate.
"Master Du has caught the corpse plague. He won't see anyone tonight. If the Law Enforcement Hall has business with him, come back after daybreak."
Gu Qinghe held up the Major Case Order.
"Cao An has confessed. Du Heng is suspected of falsifying a corpse report. Open the gate for questioning."
The young apothecary backed away a few steps.
"The corpse plague is contagious. Who'll take responsibility if something happens?"
Medicinal smoke drifted from within the courtyard, mixed with the stink of rotting flesh, aged vinegar, and mugwort. Most people would take a few breaths and truly believe this place was infected.
Li Sanshun leaned close to the crack in the gate and took a sniff.
[Remnant odor of Corpse Rot Paste detected.]
[Remnant odors of Purple Gromwell Juice, aged vinegar, and Breath-Closing Powder detected.]
[No toxic corpse-plague gas detected.]
He'd really gone all out with the act.
Li Sanshun kicked the courtyard gate open.
The young apothecary turned and ran, but two law enforcement disciples rushed in from either side and pinned him against the wall.
"Which room is the person with the corpse plague staying in?"
The young apothecary clenched his teeth, then looked up toward the East Wing Room.
The door stood half-open. Four oil lamps burned inside. Du Heng lay in bed, wrapped in thick quilts, his lips purple and a damp cloth spread across his forehead. A bowl of medicine sat beside the bed, its contents still steaming.
Gu Qinghe stood in the doorway.
"Did you write the examination notes on Ma Quan?"
Du Heng coughed several times.
"Ma Quan died of old injuries from the Cold Prison. His corpse report has already been filed. If you have any questions, Deacon Gu, look into it after I recover."
"Cao An confessed."
Du Heng curled up under the quilt.
"He was caught stealing medicine and is slandering people to save his own skin. I've caught the corpse plague. The longer you stay, the greater the risk."
Li Sanshun didn't go near the bed. He first walked around the room.
The smell of rotting flesh was strong.
But it all came from beneath the bed.
He used his scabbard to lift the curtain beside the bed. Three small porcelain jars sat underneath. Corpse Rot Paste coated their rims, and half a piece of meat soaked in aged vinegar lay beside them.
"Coroner Du, you've got a very well-behaved illness. It only flares up under the bed."
Du Heng sat up.
The damp cloth slid off his forehead, which was perfectly dry—not a bead of sweat on it.
Li Sanshun picked up the medicine bowl beside the bed and sniffed it.
Purple Gromwell Juice stained the lips, while Breath-Closing Powder slowed the pulse. The dose was small. It was enough to fake an illness, but not enough to kill anyone.
"You've got luggage hidden behind the bed, too. Where were you planning to go while you were sick?"
A law enforcement disciple went around behind the bed and dragged out a bundle. It contained spirit stones, a change of clothes, and a travel permit for leaving the mountain.
Du Heng rolled off the bed and grabbed the short blade beside his pillow.
Gu Qinghe kicked the hilt away before he could act, then pressed her sword against his shoulder.
"Falsifying a corpse report, helping a wanted criminal escape, and preparing to flee. Shall we add resisting arrest to the list?"
A clay pot shattered at the back of the courtyard.
Li Sanshun turned and dashed out of the room.
The young apothecary, who had been restrained earlier, had freed one hand and thrown a fire pellet into the medicine room. The window paper caught fire, and smoke billowed from inside.
"Burn the medicine furnace!"
The young apothecary had barely finished shouting when two law enforcement disciples forced him back down.
Li Sanshun rushed to the medicine room and raised a hand, summoning a stream of water. It poured through a crack in the window and doused the fire on the floor. Gu Qinghe led the others in breaking down the door. Several sacks of charcoal were piled inside, and the medicine furnace on the east side was roaring.
The furnace was stuffed full of papers.
Li Sanshun stepped on a floor tile, blocking the draft beneath the furnace with dirt. Gu Qinghe pulled out a clump of paper that hadn't fully burned and pressed it into a basin of water.
The pages stuck together, and most had already turned to ash.
A law enforcement disciple fetched a bamboo sliver and carefully peeled apart the wet paper. A few lines remained on the innermost layer.
Three qian of Breath-Closing Powder, one qian of Turtle Breath Herb. Pulse stops one quarter-hour after taking it; resolves on its own after two hours.
Two names were written below.
Ma Quan.
Zhao Chong.
At the bottom of the page were Cao An's medicine-dispensary mark and Du Heng's own handwritten note: "Tested and confirmed effective."
Gu Qinghe took out Ma Quan's corpse report and placed the two documents side by side. The writing habits and the way the strokes ended matched exactly.
Another wad of paper was only palm-sized, with half of a vermilion seal left along its edge.
The seal's design showed the tail feathers of a Black Bird, and the four characters "Kin-Seeking Mission" could be made out beside it. This seal did not belong to the Tai Xuan Sect. It was used only on royal kin-seeking documents.
When Du Heng saw the half-seal, the fight went out of him.
Gu Qinghe had the scraps sealed as evidence, then found half a bottle of purple medicinal liquid by the furnace. A copper tag was pressed against the bottom of the bottle, engraved with Ma Quan's prisoner number.
All the evidence was laid out again in the East Wing Room.
Cao An's confession, the seal-marked paper from the medicine room, the Array-Breaking Awl, the remnant formula for Breath-Closing Powder, Ma Quan's corpse report, and the traces of the royal private seal—one item after another.
Gu Qinghe placed the confession in front of Du Heng.
"Cao An prepared the medicine, you falsified the corpse report, and Sun Erhe handled the transport. Zhao Chong was packed into Ma Quan's corpse bag, and Ma Quan was put into corpse locker fifteen. The evidence for the corpse-transport scheme is complete."
Du Heng stared at the tabletop, refusing to pick up the brush.
Li Sanshun picked up the travel permit for leaving the mountain.
"You feigned illness tonight, and you already packed your things. Where did Mr. Bai promise to take you?"
"I don't know."
"The mission's private seal ended up in your medicine furnace, and you still expect to distance yourself from this?"
Du Heng looked up at the doorway. The courtyard gate had been sealed, and the young apothecary had been fitted with Spirit-Locking Shackles. There was no way out.
Gu Qinghe pushed the brush toward him.
"Tell us about Mr. Bai, and you may still have a chance to stand trial in public. Keep covering for him, and you'll die for any one of these: falsifying a corpse report, freeing a wanted criminal, or destroying evidence."
Du Heng picked up the brush. His hand trembled for a long while, but in the end, he wrote his name on the confession.
"I've never seen his real face. He always wears a White Wood Mask. There's a burn scar at the base of his right thumb. He gave me the formula for Breath-Closing Powder, Ma Quan's prisoner number, and the time Zhao Chong would escape."
Li Sanshun tapped the half-seal on the table.
"Where did this seal come from?"
Du Heng paused for a long time before swallowing.
"I've only ever seen Mr. Bai's complete private seal on someone from the royal kin-seeking mission in the imperial city."
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