The A Piao-brand microscope

At dawn, a noisy crowd had gathered in the county Yamen's main hall.

Because the man implicated in the case was Li Gongpu's nephew, the county magistrate handling it had been too alarmed to sleep all night. Though nominally the presiding judge, he had spent most of the hearing listening to the Li Household's legal advocate debate with Legal Clerk Yang Ting:

"Lord Li owns countless businesses. Spring Screen Tower in Peach Immortal Ward alone brings in a bucket of gold a day. Why would he covet those paltry profits from trafficking in banned drugs?"

"In the account books discovered at Three Harmony Tower, ninety percent of the profits went to the proprietor..."

"Those were the gambling house's accounts. The private accounts for Ascension Powder never specified who received the money. Lord Li knew nothing whatsoever about this..."

As Xie Jinhuan passed along the side of the main hall, he could see the Li Household's eldest young master kneeling inside in a cangue.

Behind the Li Household stood Yellow Gate Attendant Li Gongpu, who attended the emperor year-round. A single fart from him could blast the county magistrate to death. Having the Li young master kneel for the hearing, and even subjecting him to punishment, was already the county Yamen doing its utmost, but that clearly could not bring down the Li Household.

Yang Dabiao had sat through the hearing all night. Now he led the way, sighing:

"This is a real hot potato. It'll be fine if we actually uncover something, but if we don't, my father and I are definitely going to get squeezed..."

Disaster was already looming over Xie Jinhuan. Even if the Li Household had truly done nothing, he had to dig something up to drain the Prince's Manor's manpower and energy. At that, he offered some reassurance:

"What local powerful clan is spotless? If they dare sell Ascension Powder, they're bound to have other shady businesses, like forcing respectable women into prostitution, violent debt collection, seizing farmland..."

"Whoa, whoa!"

Yang Dabiao hurriedly raised a hand. "I'll be satisfied if we can get to the bottom of this case. You have to eat one mouthful at a time. Let's take this step by step..."

As they spoke, the three people and one bird arrived at a shaded building with the words "Corpse Room" hanging over its door.

Yang Dabiao covered his nose and warned:

"I stared at that corpse for two nights, and I still haven't recovered. You'd better brace yourself. You might have seen plenty of dead people, but definitely none this disgusting..."

Xie Jinhuan followed behind. As the door swung open, a nauseating stench of decay hit him in the face.

Yang Dabiao pointed toward the plank bed in the middle:

"There, that one. Lift the sheet yourself. I really can't take it."

Xie Jinhuan approached to examine it. The corpse was covered with a white cloth, its surface stained all over.

He lifted the white cloth aside with the handle of his mace. Coal Ball, who had been idling on his shoulder, promptly flew onto Linghu Qingmo's shoulder. Though the bird could not speak, the look in those eyes plainly said-What the hell is that?!

The corpse on the plank bed had already rotted badly and bloated into a giant. Now that it had also been cut open for an autopsy, its appearance defied description. It was simply a human-shaped lump of rotten flesh.

Yang Dabiao had been sickened by this corpse for days and now wanted nothing more than to burn the thing. Seeing Xie Jinhuan studying it quite seriously without batting an eye, he could not help praising him:

"Jinhuan, your composure's improved in the years since we last met. I heard Master Xie say you vomited yourself unconscious the first time you watched an autopsy."

Xie Jinhuan had only been three when his father first held him in his arms to watch an autopsy! The fact that he had not been frightened to death was proof of his courage:

"It's all right. At least it looks human. His body's full of holes, and they don't look like they came from decomposition or the autopsy. You haven't determined how he died?"

Linghu Qingmo had eaten breakfast not long ago. Now he covered Coal Ball's eyes and frowned:

"The coroner said he was poisoned, but couldn't determine what poisonous creature injured him. As for the holes, the coroner said he might have soaked in the river too long and been gnawed by insects. Quite a few senior experts have examined this corpse without figuring anything out."

The corpse was too badly decomposed for Xie Jinhuan to discern its precise condition either. As he pondered, the red-clad A Piao who followed him like a shadow suddenly emerged from behind him, peeking over his shoulder:

"Eww~ What a gruesome death."

Xie Jinhuan was genuinely startled to see his ghost wife pop out so openly. Finding that Momo and Dabiao had noticed nothing unusual, he could hardly act as though he had seen a ghost. He could only feign normality and ask:

"What do you think?"

"Huh? Me?"

Standing beside him, Yang Dabiao scratched his head in bewilderment:

"If I had any ideas, I wouldn't have spent the whole night at the Yamen. I didn't go home yesterday. Your sister-in-law's bound to give me another dressing-down..."

Fortunately, Xie Jinhuan had not been counting on Dabiao anyway.

Ye Hongshang was a shapeless, shadowless A Piao whose true body remained inside the sword. She did not use eyes to see, but perceived things through her soul. Her so-called appearance was merely an illusion Xie Jinhuan experienced.

After carefully examining the corpse for a moment, Ye Hongshang raised a hand and pointed at its abdomen:

"His vital essence was depleted before death, but not by an unorthodox cultivation art. It was caused by poisonous insects capable of draining vital essence.

"The insects were nurtured inside his body for a long time and left behind eggs barely discernible to the naked eye. They should be some special kind of fly."

Xie Jinhuan looked where she pointed and found a lump of viscera so decayed he could no longer tell what organ it was. Even leaning closer for a careful look, he could hardly see the eggs with the naked eye.

Seeing this, Ye Hongshang raised her fair hand, and a sphere immediately appeared above her palm.

The sphere was like a world held in her hand. Within it were the details of bodily tissue, magnifying continuously until it locked onto an insect egg amid countless impurities.

The egg was the size of a soccer ball. Through its membrane, he could clearly see its internal structures and tissue fluid...

Holy shit?

Xie Jinhuan had never expected his ghost wife to double as an "A Piao-brand microscope." He immediately studied the details of the egg...

But that still doesn't tell me what insect it is!

Still, speaking of flies that drained human vital essence, Xie Jinhuan carefully recalled the books he had read over the years. Something stirred in his mind, and he turned toward the other two:

"Have you heard of Corpse Flies?"

Yang Dabiao looked utterly blank, apparently never having heard of them.

Linghu Qingmo thought carefully:

"Corpse Flies seem to be a type of gu insect used by the Witch Cult. I heard my master mention them once or twice..."

Xie Jinhuan inwardly shook his head and explained earnestly:

"Gu are the essence of poison, and flowers are the essence of gu. Master Shen Jiang, formerly vice minister of the Court of the Imperial Granaries, once compiled a book called Essence of Plants and Trees. Its Flower Section: Unusual Essences recorded over a dozen types of Gu Flower, six or seven of which used Corpse Flies.

"Corpse Flies feed on vital essence. A Gu Master plants seeds inside their bodies and nurtures them with human blood essence. When the insect dies and the flower blooms, it becomes a Gu Flower... I don't remember the particulars very clearly either. Miss Momo had better consult a senior expert."

?

Seeing Xie Jinhuan reel it all off as though counting his family treasures, Linghu Qingmo's eyes widened a little. He carefully recalled the books he had read:

"You even read obscure miscellanies like that so closely?"

Yang Dabiao was not surprised, and explained:

"Jinhuan's been hardworking since he was little. Master Xie used to say Jinhuan wanted to 'win at the starting line and grind the local natives to death.' I don't understand what that means either. Anyway, he started burying himself in books at three, while also learning all sorts of flashy tricks. In the end, just like his Thunder Magic, he mastered none of them. Only in the last few years did he turn back from the wrong path and bring his martial skills up to scratch."

"Really?"

Hearing this, Linghu Qingmo still looked surprised.

After all, "master of none" was disparaging, but if someone surpassed all rivals in one area and knew a little about everything else, that made him an all-round talent.

He truly had not expected Xie Jinhuan to have time for obscure books when his martial skills were so outrageous.

Handsome, fierce, and also learned and literate-how were other men supposed to compete...

Linghu Qingmo had been about to leave, but something felt wrong on second thought. He leaned toward the rotten flesh and examined it carefully:

"There are Corpse Flies here?"

Xie Jinhuan had only thought of their origin thanks to his ghost wife's Divine Ability. How could he possibly find the eggs with his naked eyes? He explained casually:

"I happened to think of them when I saw all the holes and maggots. I can't be certain either. Miss Linghu had better ask a senior expert."

"Oh..."

Now that he had a lead, Linghu Qingmo wasted no time and turned to head outside:

"I'll go take a look at the Dan King Pavilion. Yang Dabiao, show Young Master Xie around."

"Sure."

Yang Dabiao replaced the white cloth. "Jinhuan, what other corpses do you want to see? We've got every absurd way of dying here..."

Xie Jinhuan still had to find a way to uncover something about the Demon Bandits. With a lead now in hand, how could he be in the mood to look at absurd deaths?

The Nightly Great Succubus had only determined that gu insects were responsible, and he could not identify the type of Gu Flower either. For something like this, it was best to ask the Witch Cult's demoness. He picked up the cowardly Coal Ball:

"I made an appointment yesterday and still have to visit the Lin Family Clinic, so I'll excuse myself."

As someone who had been through it all, Yang Dabiao patted his shoulder with great understanding:

"I understand. Young people are all like that. Treasure the present. Once you're married, you'll understand that sometimes even the Morgue is quite interesting. At least nobody's yammering in your ear..."

"Uh..."

A short while later.

Xie Jinhuan left the county Yamen with Coal Ball on his shoulder.

The Nightly Great Succubus still floated before him and praised him softly:

"I couldn't tell you were so learned."

Before his ghost wife, Xie Jinhuan was still rather proud:

"I started studying and training hard at three. Besides reading plenty of books, I can play chess, paint, play the zither, and so on. Whoever I meet, I can exchange a few words with them."

"Really?"

Ye Hongshang teased, "That's how the courtesans in brothels train too. They learn a little of all eighteen arts so they can chat with any customer. With your foundation, it'd be a pity not to become a male favorite."

In truth, by fifteen or sixteen, Xie Jinhuan had already realized that all the skills he had ground away at fell a little short for any profession. Only as the "king of gigolos" would he be unstoppable.

Fortunately, he had turned back from the wrong path over these past three years. Now his martial skills surpassed others, and he also knew plenty of fancy tricks, so his youth had not been wasted.

The man and ghost conversed like this as they headed toward Ning'an Street. Before they had gone far, hoofbeats suddenly sounded ahead.

Clop-clop, clop-clop...

Xie Jinhuan looked up and saw three swift horses gallop past him.

Their riders all wore striking red robes embroidered with qilin on the chest, with regulation official sabers at their waists. The man in front also wore a gold-inlaid gauze hat and carried a bronze badge.

The Yamen runners outside were terrified at the sight and hurried forward to greet them:

"You three gentlemen are...?"

"Zhou He, Hundred-Household Commander of the Scarlet Qilin Guard. I've been ordered to assist with the Li Household case. Where is the county magistrate?"

"My respects, Hundred-Household Commander Zhou. Magistrate Zhang is questioning people in the inner offices..."

Having grown up in Capital City, Xie Jinhuan was thoroughly familiar with the Scarlet Qilin Guard.

They were the emperor's private guard, independent of the Six Ministries, primarily tasked with monitoring officials. With the authority to arrest, interrogate, and even execute, their power reached the heavens.

Xie Jinhuan's strongest impression of them came from a time when the Scarlet Qilin Guard needed to ask his father about a case. It was already late, however, and the Yamen had closed for the day, so seven or eight Scarlet Qilin Guards simply landed in his family's courtyard, one after another!

His father had been eating at the time and was scared witless on the spot. For the next three days, he could barely speak smoothly.

The Scarlet Qilin Guard answered directly to the emperor, while Li Gongpu was an imperial favorite. Now that their men had come to assist the investigation, the Li Household case would be very difficult to pursue any further.

Fortunately, they had found an opening on the Demon Bandits' side.

As long as he uncovered clues about the Demon Bandits, then dumped the chamber pot of Purple Emblem Mountain's demonic aura onto their heads, giving the Pill King some hope of resolving the case himself, that would naturally delay the deployment of nuclear weapons. He might even have a chance to bluff his way past the whole Demon-Suppressing Mausoleum affair.

At that thought, Xie Jinhuan did not linger and briskly left the Yamen.

Meanwhile, outside the county Yamen.

The three Scarlet Qilin Guards strode up the Yamen steps with their hands on their saber hilts, discussing the case as they went.

But just as they were about to enter the county Yamen's main gate, Hundred-Household Commander Zhou He suddenly stopped and turned toward the street bustling with horses and carriages.

The Yamen runner following behind in trepidation looked slightly puzzled and glanced back at the street:

"Hundred-Household Commander Zhou?"

Zhou He's gaze settled on the white-robed young gentleman already far away, his brows tightly knitted:

"Who is that man?"

"Oh, that's Young Master Xie Jinhuan, a close friend of Officer Yang's. He just returned from studying at Wind Spirit Valley and has been helping at the Yamen lately. His martial skills are exceptional. Do you know him, Hundred-Household Commander Zhou?"

"Wind Spirit Valley..."

Zhou He pondered for a moment, then continued inside;

"An old acquaintance's son. No wonder he looked familiar."

"Oh..."