Coroner Fakes Illness

"Zhao Rui, stay behind to guard Cao An. The rest of you, come with me."

Gu Qinghe tucked away the signed confession and led the group out of the side hall.

The coroner, Du Heng, had worked in the Law Enforcement Hall for sixteen years. Ma Quan's autopsy report and the annotations regarding his pulse after the breath-closing process were all written by his own hand.

Cao An chased them to the doorway.

"Du Heng has a medicine furnace at home. Every time he finishes a job for someone, he burns the notes. If you go half a quarter-hour late, you won't even find ash!"

Li Sanshun looked back at him.

"If this information is false, you won't need to wait for Mr. Bai to silence you."

Cao An shrank back against the wall, not daring to speak another word.

Du Heng lived on the south side of Law Enforcement Peak, just two courtyards away from the morgue. When they arrived, the courtyard gate was already bolted from the inside, with a wooden sign hanging on it.

Corpse Plague, No Entry.

A medicine boy peered out through a crack in the door.

"Master Du has contracted the corpse plague; he is seeing no one tonight. If the Law Enforcement Hall has business, come back when the sun rises."

Gu Qinghe flashed the Major Case Order.

"Cao An has already confessed. Du Heng is suspected of falsifying autopsy reports. Open the door for inspection."

The medicine boy retreated a few steps.

"The corpse plague is contagious. Who will take responsibility if something goes wrong?"

Medicinal smoke drifted from within the courtyard, carrying the stench of rotting meat, aged vinegar, and mugwort. Most people would likely mistake this place for a plague-ridden zone after just a few whiffs.

Li Sanshun leaned close to the door crack and took a breath.

[Residual scent of Corpse Rot Paste detected.]
[Residual scent of Purple Gromwell Juice, aged vinegar, and Breath-Closing Powder detected.]
[No toxic gas from corpse plague detected.]

Quite the elaborate act.

Li Sanshun kicked the courtyard gate open.

The medicine boy turned to run, but two law enforcement disciples caught up from either side and pinned him against the wall.

"Which room is the plague patient in?"

The medicine boy gritted his teeth and looked toward the east wing.

The door was half-ajar, and four oil lamps were lit inside. Du Heng lay on the bed wrapped in a thick quilt, his lips purple and a wet cloth draped over his forehead. A medicine bowl sat by the bed, the concoction inside still steaming.

Gu Qinghe stood at the threshold.

"Did you write Ma Quan's autopsy annotations?"

Du Heng coughed a few times.

"Ma Quan died from old injuries sustained in the cold prison; his file is already sealed. If Deacon Gu has doubts, wait until I recover to investigate."

"Cao An has confessed."

Du Heng pulled himself deeper into the quilt.

"He was caught stealing medicine and is just biting at others to save his own skin. I have the corpse plague; the longer you stay, the greater your risk."

Li Sanshun did not approach the bed, choosing instead to walk around the room.

The smell of rotting meat was heavy.

But the scent was concentrated beneath the bed.

He used his sword scabbard to flick aside the bed curtain. Three small porcelain jars sat underneath, their rims smeared with Corpse Rot Paste, alongside half a piece of meat soaked in aged vinegar.

"Coroner Du, your illness is quite well-behaved, only acting up under the bed."

Du Heng sat up.

The wet cloth slid off, revealing a forehead that was clean and dry, without a single bead of sweat.

Li Sanshun picked up the medicine bowl by the bed and sniffed it.

The Purple Gromwell Juice was responsible for staining the lips, and the Breath-Closing Powder suppressed the pulse. The dosage was small; it would only induce a fake illness, not kill anyone.

"You've hidden luggage behind the bed. Where were you planning to go while 'sick'?"

A law enforcement disciple circled behind the bed and dragged out a bundle. Inside were spirit stones, a change of clothes, and a travel permit for leaving the mountain.

Du Heng rolled off the bed and grabbed a short blade from his pillow.

Gu Qinghe kicked the hilt away before he could strike, her sword tip pinning his shoulder to the wall.

"Falsifying autopsy reports, assisting a major criminal in escaping, and preparing to flee. Do you want to add resisting arrest to the list?"

A sound of shattering pottery came from the back of the courtyard.

Li Sanshun turned and bolted out of the room.

The medicine boy, previously restrained, had broken free with one hand and thrown a fire pellet into the pharmacy. The window paper caught fire, and thick smoke began to billow from the room.

"Burn the furnace!"

Before the boy could finish shouting, the two law enforcement disciples tackled him back to the ground.

Li Sanshun rushed to the pharmacy door and channeled a stream of water. The water poured through the window gaps, suppressing the flames on the floor. Gu Qinghe and her men kicked open the door; inside, bags of charcoal were stacked high, and the medicine furnace on the east side was burning fiercely.

The furnace mouth was stuffed with paper.

Li Sanshun stomped on the floor tiles, using dirt to block the furnace's air vent. Gu Qinghe fished out the half-burnt paper balls and pressed them into a basin of water.

The pages were stuck together, most already reduced to ash.

A law enforcement disciple brought over a bamboo strip and carefully peeled back the wet paper. A few lines of text remained on the innermost layer.

Three qian of Breath-Closing Powder, one qian of Turtle Breath Herb; pulse ceases one quarter-hour after ingestion, self-reverses in two hours.

Two names were written below.

Ma Quan.

Zhao Chong.

At the bottom of the paper was Cao An's signature for receiving the medicine, along with Du Heng's own handwritten note: "Verified and correct."

Gu Qinghe took out Ma Quan's autopsy report and placed the two papers side by side. The writing habits and the way the strokes ended matched perfectly.

Another scrap of paper was only the size of a palm, with half a vermilion seal on the edge.

The seal depicted the tail feathers of a mysterious bird, with the four characters "Kin-Seeking Inspection" beside it. This seal did not belong to the Tai Xuan Sect; it was used exclusively on imperial kin-seeking documents.

When Du Heng saw that half-seal, the strength to struggle left him.

Gu Qinghe ordered the remaining papers to be sealed, then found half a bottle of purple liquid by the furnace. Beneath the bottle lay a copper tag engraved with Ma Quan's prisoner number.

All evidence was laid out in the east wing.

Cao An's confession, the stamped paper from the pharmacy, the Array-Breaking Awl, the remnants of the Breath-Closing Powder, Ma Quan's autopsy report, and the traces of the imperial private seal—each piece of evidence lined up one after another.

Gu Qinghe placed the confession paper in front of Du Heng.

"Cao An prepared the medicine, you falsified the autopsy, and Sun Erhe was responsible for transporting the person. Zhao Chong was stuffed into Ma Quan's corpse bag, and Ma Quan was delivered to locker number fifteen. The corpse-smuggling scheme ends with you; the evidence is complete."

Du Heng stared at the tabletop, refusing to pick up the brush.

Li Sanshun picked up the travel permit.

"You were faking illness tonight, and your bags were packed. Where did Mr. Bai promise to send you?"

"I don't know."

"The mission's private seal has already turned up in your furnace, and you still think you can distance yourself?"

Du Heng looked toward the door. The courtyard gate was sealed, and the medicine boy had been fitted with Spirit-Locking Shackles; all paths of retreat were gone.

Gu Qinghe pushed the brush toward him.

"Confess about Mr. Bai, and you still have a chance to enter the public tribunal. Keep carrying the burden for him, and the charges of falsifying autopsy reports, releasing a major criminal, and destroying evidence will be more than enough to see you executed."

Du Heng grabbed the brush, his wrist trembling for a long time, before finally writing his name on the confession.

"I have never seen his true face. He always wears a White Wood Mask, and there is a burn scar on the web of his right hand. The formula for the Breath-Closing Powder, Ma Quan's prisoner number, and the time of Zhao Chong's escape—it was all given to me by him."

Li Sanshun tapped the half-seal on the table.

"Where did this seal come from?"

Du Heng paused for a long time before swallowing hard.

"The complete private seal in Mr. Bai's possession... I have only ever seen it on the members of the imperial kin-seeking mission."