Murder in an Instant

Zhang Shouzhuo's vision went black. Strange, rattling sounds rose in his throat, but though he tried to cry for help, he could not force out a single word. His body began convulsing violently beyond his control, and the letter fluttered from his hand to the floor.

"Imperial Physician Director!"

"Physician Zhang!"

Everyone in the office was frightened out of their wits by the sudden turn of events.

The next moment, under their horrified gazes, Zhang Shouzhuo's healthy complexion turned a ghastly blue-black at a visible speed. Countless fine black threads seemed to writhe madly beneath his skin!

His eyes bulged, bloodshot, and his pupils dilated in an instant. As though his bones had been drawn out of him, he collapsed in violent spasms, his body striking the floor with a dull thud.

More chilling still, within just two or three breaths, his fallen body began curling unnaturally inward. Foul-smelling black blood spilled from the corners of his mouth. He had plainly died on the spot!

"Poison! It's a deadly poison!"

"Quick! Seal this place off!"

"Get help!"

The scene erupted like a boiling pot!

Cries of alarm and screams rang out together.

Wang Bingwen, who stood closest, hastily held his breath in terror and stumbled backward, landing hard on his backside. White-faced, he stared at Zhang Shouzhuo's rapidly disfiguring corpse, trembling like chaff in a sieve.

The other medical officials were equally horrified. Some tried to approach and help, only to recoil at the dreadful state of the corpse. No one dared draw near.

Only then did someone tremblingly use a silver needle to lift open the fallen letter, now stained with a little black blood.

The sheet unfolded. On it were only two large characters in thick black ink, their strokes forceful enough to pierce the paper, brimming with boundless mockery and murderous intent:

-Quack!

The news seemed to sprout wings, spreading through the imperial city in an instant.

Sun Huaijin, the Palace Physician of the Medical Pharmacy Bureau, and the Constable Marshal responsible for security in the imperial city arrived almost simultaneously.

Constable Marshal Zhao Zhijie was a stern-faced, middle-aged man with a ring-pommeled saber slung horizontally across his back. He immediately ordered the Imperial Medical Bureau sealed off and everyone present detained.

Sun Huaijin strode forward and bent down to examine the corpse.

This should have been the Capital Prefecture coroner's job, but with the Medical Pharmacy Bureau's fifth-rank Palace Physician present, naturally no one competed with him. An autopsy personally conducted by the Medicine King's direct disciple, the chief imperial physician charged with safeguarding the imperial family's health, clearly carried greater weight.

Sun Huaijin bent over, his expression intensely grave.

He examined Zhang Shouzhuo's bulging eyes and blue-purple complexion, paying particular attention to the faint discoloration on the fingertips that had torn open the letter. The more he looked, the more alarmed he grew.

"Palace Physician Sun, can you discern anything?" Zhao Zhijie asked gravely.

Sun Huaijin held his breath as he examined the envelope, then slowly straightened, his face full of disbelief. "The poison was most likely on this envelope. The killer calculated everything precisely, using the act of tearing it open to disperse the poison, so that a minute amount would be inhaled through the mouth and nose... Such potency, such an uncanny method of poisoning... I have truly never heard of its like! Only a handful of Fifth Tier poisons in this world could possibly achieve this!"

"Fifth Tier?"

Startled, Zhao Zhijie blurted out, "A Fifth Tier poison rivals Shaolin's Great Restoration Pill. It could be called a sacred treasure among poisons! What formidable figure did Imperial Physician Director Zhang offend?"

Sun Huaijin shook his head and pointed at the corpse. "The poison attacked the heart channels and central nervous system directly, killing him in an instant. And... the delivery was exquisitely precise, the dosage calculated to perfection, with almost none escaping into the surroundings. This was no ordinary hand!"

Zhao Zhijie pondered for a moment, then pressed, "Palace Physician, can you determine what poison it was?"

Several exotic poisons whose very names struck terror throughout Jianghu immediately flashed through Sun Huaijin's mind, but none matched the condition of the corpse before him. Besides, even the most terrifying poison could not kill someone instantly after they inhaled the tiniest trace!

This defied all reason!

Sun Huaijin's gaze swept over the word "Quack" on the paper. It stung his eyes and filled him with anger.

He drew a deep breath and told the Constable Marshal, "Marshal Zhao, this is no small matter. The potency of the killer's poison and the uncanny nature of its effects are unlike anything I have encountered in my life. It is certainly not something available on an ordinary market! We cannot even identify the poison itself at present. Tracing its source would be like fishing a needle out of the sea. That avenue is closed to us for now."

He shifted tack, his gaze sharpening. "Our immediate priority must be a two-pronged approach. First, the person who delivered the letter is our only lead. We must spare no effort in tracing their identity and movements. Second, we must thoroughly investigate everywhere Zhang Shouzhuo went over the past three months. Every patient he treated and every Jianghu acquaintance he made must be examined, without exception. That word, 'Quack,' is irrefutable proof of a revenge killing!"

Zhao Zhijie looked thoughtful and was about to speak when a voice suddenly cut in. "Not so~"

Sun Huaijin paused and turned. Among the Constables stood a beautiful young woman with a high ponytail, casually eating pastries as she spoke. "Set aside the letter's delivery for now. Your second proposal simply won't work. I hear Palace Physician Sun and Imperial Physician Director Zhang studied under the same master... Don't you know perfectly well what sort of fellow disciple you had?"

Sun Huaijin's expression instantly turned cold.

A headache rose in Zhao Zhijie's temples. "Mingxiao, stop talking nonsense!" he snapped.

"I'm not talking nonsense."

The young woman, Yan Mingxiao, smiled. "On the way here, I asked a few people some questions and looked through Physician Zhang's files. He had a wide circle of acquaintances and was especially fond of taking private patients to line his pockets. Among them were unusual figures from Jianghu and retainers of the powerful. Yet his medical skills were mediocre. There were seven or eight people who had fallen out with him over his treatment alone!"

"Half a month ago, Poison-Handed Yama, a guest retainer at the Prince of Liang's Residence, suffered a cultivation deviation and damaged his meridians. Zhang Shouzhuo treated him, but rather than easing his condition, he worsened his injuries and nearly crippled his martial arts entirely. Poison-Handed Yama is a master of poisons with a vicious, eccentric temperament. He publicly denounced Zhang Shouzhuo as a 'quack' and threatened revenge."

"There was also Blood Bodhi, a retainer of Minister of War Zong Chuke. A month ago, Blood Bodhi's son was struck by an exotic poison during a fight. Zhang Shouzhuo failed to identify it and delayed treatment. Although the boy survived, he was left with a lingering ailment, and Blood Bodhi was likewise displeased. Then there was the Crescent Moon Hall..."

"Enough!"

Sun Huaijin shouted, his face livid. Xiantian astral qi erupted from him as he jabbed a finger at her in fury. "What are you implying?"

Yan Mingxiao was not the least bit afraid. Her own true qi erupted, her presence not yielding an inch—clear proof of extraordinary training and exceptional talent. "I'm merely telling you!" she said coldly. "An investigation along those lines would cast far too wide a net. From princely retainers and high ministers at court to hardened outlaws of Jianghu, every one of them would be a suspect. You would meet resistance at every turn. And the envelope was thrown into the bureau from the direction of the Western Market using yielding force. Dragons and snakes mingle there: foreign merchants, martial artists, and spies from every faction. Tracing it would be harder still. That avenue leads nowhere..."

Her expression was icy. "Besides, there's no need to investigate enemies from the past three months. With those people's methods, revenge would never wait overnight! By the same logic, someone holding a poison this deadly would certainly not delay for long either! The killer is more likely someone he offended in the past few days! Palace Physician Sun, Imperial Physician Director Zhang came out of your Palace Physician duty room before he died. Do you truly have no leads?!"

When the young woman finished speaking, the Imperial Medical Bureau's main hall fell deathly silent.

Every gaze converged on Sun Huaijin.

Sun Huaijin's expression grew uglier still. "Are you suggesting that I am shielding the killer?" he asked darkly.

"I wouldn't dare."

Though Yan Mingxiao said she would not dare, there was no respect in her tone. "I'm merely reminding you, Palace Physician Sun, that if we're investigating recent grudges, you ought to provide useful leads rather than evasive remarks... I'm only trying to catch the culprit as quickly as possible and obtain justice for your junior fellow disciple..."

A cold glint flashed in Sun Huaijin's eyes. Her words, parrying his accusation while striking back and insinuating that he was muddling the investigation, thoroughly enraged him. He abruptly interrupted with a cold laugh. "Very well! Since you want to investigate recent grudges, someone does come to mind-the newly appointed Director of Medicine at the Princess's Residence, Lu Changfeng!"

An uproar swept through the hall!

Zhao Zhijie frowned. "Lu Changfeng? The man who cured Young Master Xue? Palace Physician Sun, do you have any evidence for this?"

"Evidence?"

Sun Huaijin flicked his sleeve and said coldly, "Today at the Pivot of Heaven Pavilion, Zhang Shouzhuo and Lu Changfeng clashed in public. County Lady Wu can bear witness! That young man's medical arts are bizarre, and his origins are unknown. He had been at the residence for barely two days before he dared purge his opponents from the Spirit Pivot Institute! Zhang Shouzhuo clashed with him one moment and died of poison the next. How could there be such a coincidence in this world? I have given you your lead. Do you dare enter the residence and search it?!"