Autopsy

"Were we being spied on?"

Xu Qi'an was taken aback. He walked to the window, his sharp gaze sweeping around before he looked away. "How did you know we were being spied on?"

He didn't feel like he was being spied on. Although the cultivation of a third-rank martial artist was sealed, the Heavenly Gu would only be more sensitive to this.

"It suddenly said that someone was watching us after you left."

Mu Nanzhi was still a little scared. "But I looked out the window for a long time and didn't find anything, which terrified me."

Xu Qi'an looked at the little white fox with a serious expression. "You have this kind of talent and supernatural Divine Ability?"

The little white fox shook her head and said sweetly, "My talents are stealth and speed."

Xu Qi'an questioned, "Isn't it just your imagination?"

The little white fox kept shaking its head. "My intuition is never wrong."

"I see."

Xu Qi'an said, "You two stay in the Floating Pagoda for now. I've encountered some strange things while investigating a case recently."

He summoned the innkeeper and prepared some dry food, water, and daily necessities. Then, he summoned the Lingfu Pagoda and took Mu Nanzhi and the little white fox inside.

After finishing all this, Xu Qi'an did not leave immediately. He walked to the table, spread out the papers, and habitually reviewed the Chai family's case.

Although there had been some attention and analysis before, Xu Qi'an always prioritized seizing the dragon's energy and only touched upon the details of the case.

Having witnessed the deaths of a family of three, Xu Qi'an decided to put the dragon energy aside for the time being and devote himself entirely to the case, and have some fun with the person behind the scenes.

"Follow me, kill me to cover your tracks, spy on Mu Nanzhi, fine, I'll play along."

He has extensive experience in criminal investigation and knowledge of criminal psychology, and his analytical skills are far more accurate and perceptive than those of the smartest people of this era.

"The root of it all is the murder that occurred at the Chai residence twenty days ago. The deceased was Chai Jianyuan, the suspect was his adopted son Chai Xian, and the witnesses included Chai Xing'er and the rest of the Chai family. The motive for the murder: love!"

Note: Miss Chai Lan has gone missing.

Xu Qi'an did not stop writing and continued writing:

"The motive is insufficient to support the suspect's patricide and patricide, or there may be other reasons, or he may have been framed."

"Myolie Chai's ex-husband died because of Chai Jianyuan, and she harbored resentment; Chai Jianyuan's children were mediocre and unable to inherit the family business. Therefore, Myolie Chai was the biggest beneficiary and had ample motive to kill him."

After writing this passage, Xu Qi'an summarized:

The first suspect is Chai Xian; the second suspect is Chai Xing'er.

Although he suspected Chai Xing'er more than Chai Xian, there were witnesses to prove that Chai Xian was the murderer. Investigations cannot be based on subjective opinions, therefore Chai Xian remained the prime suspect.

Xu Qi'an picked up his teacup, took a sip, and, maintaining the posture of holding the cup, began writing the second phase of the case report a dozen seconds later.

"Afterwards, Chai Xian committed numerous murders in Xiangzhou and even Zhangzhou, targeting people from the underworld, which later affected ordinary people!"

Note: This does not fit the behavior of a suspect who murdered his father for love.

In short, Chai Xian's motive for committing the crime and his subsequent actions of causing trouble in Xiangzhou are completely contradictory and unreasonable.

There are only three possibilities:

"Conclusion: Chai Xian's motive for murder can be overturned; it was not for love, but for another reason; Chai Xian was framed, and there are other hidden circumstances in this case."

After reviewing the case, Xu Qi'an wrote down two points of doubt:

Was the person who committed murder to cover up the crime in the small village the real killer?

What was the motive for committing a series of murders in Xiangzhou?

Xu Qi'an put down his pen and analyzed carefully:

"If the person behind the murder last night was the one who silenced him, then he/she would have been fully capable of ambushing Chai Xian and eliminating him. But the person behind the murder didn't do so. If the person behind the murder is Chai Xing'er, shouldn't she have gotten rid of Chai Xian as soon as possible?"

Herein lies another contradiction.

There are three contradictions in the whole case. If Chai Xian is the murderer, then the murder at the Chai residence and the subsequent mass killings are contradictory.

This contradiction highlights the possibility that Myolie Chai, as a beneficiary of the situation, might have framed Chai Xian.

But last night's massacre in the small mountain village once again contradicted the speculation that "Myolie Chai was the mastermind behind it all."

The first phase of the case, the murder at the Chai residence, identified Chai Xian as the suspect.

In the second phase of the case, a series of murders occurred in Xiangzhou, and Chai Xing'er was identified as the suspect.

The third phase of the village massacre further reduced the suspicion that Myolie Chai was the mastermind, making the case even more perplexing.

Where is Chai Lan? Where did Chai Lan go?

"Assuming that Chai Xing'er is the mastermind, but Chai Lan was responsible for the massacre in the small village, then the previous hypothesis can be loosely accepted and doesn't need to be overturned. But what was Chai Lan's motive for doing this?"

"We can't make such a conjecture. Chai Lan has never appeared, and there are no clues related to her. Making such an assumption rashly will only lead me into a dead end."

After analyzing this far, Xu Qi'an vaguely sensed that something was amiss.

This is an old detective's intuition.

Xu Qi'an leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and held this position for more than ten minutes. When he opened his eyes, he already had the answer in his heart.

Confusion!

Yes, the biggest problem with the Chai family case is its chaos and contradictions everywhere, but what truly made him realize something was wrong was the motive!

"All the contradictions stem from illogical motives. Chai Xian's motive for killing Chai Jianyuan is illogical, the motive for the massacre of the entire village is illogical, and the motive for killing so many people just to spare Chai Xian is equally illogical."

"It feels like using a cannon to kill a fly. If Chai Xianruo is a love-struck fool who is willing to kill his father for Chai Lan, then as long as Chai Lan is hidden away and used as a hostage, he will not leave Xiangzhou."

"Therefore, there are other hidden details in this case, and it is not as simple as it seems on the surface."

"To trace the origins, we must start with the Chai family."

Xu Qi'an flicked his wrist and set the paper ablaze, turning it to ashes. He then casually tossed it into the small celadon water vat used for washing brushes before leaving the inn.

Half an hour later, the innkeeper sat behind the counter, fiddling with the abacus and organizing the account books.

A gentle sound of chanting Buddhist mantras reached my ears.

"Amitabha!"

The shopkeeper looked up and saw a monk with features of a Western Region person, dressed in a simple robe for easy travel, and with a calm and reserved demeanor.

"Master, would you like to stay at the inn or just have a meal?"

The shopkeeper was all smiles.

He had run this upscale inn in Xiangzhou for most of his life, and had only seen monks a handful of times. In the Central Plains, Buddhist School monks were a rare sight.

The young monk clasped his hands together, his voice as gentle as a spring breeze:

"This humble monk wishes to inquire whether a man and a woman have recently checked into the inn. The man is dressed in blue, the woman is of average appearance, and they are riding a warhorse."

The monk's words seemed to possess a convincing power, and a strange feeling arose in the shopkeeper's heart, as if the monk opposite him were a dignified elder.

"There was such a couple of guests."

The innkeeper truthfully replied, "If you say it was an ordinary-looking man and woman, I wouldn't recognize them. But if you mention warhorses, then I know who you're referring to, sir. Unfortunately, this guest just checked out and left."

Jingxin nodded and said, "Thank you for informing me, shopkeeper."

Late at night, at the Chai residence.

A shadow crept silently through the darkness. The torchlight of the patrolling guards distorted the reflection of the green belt, illuminating the stealthy shadow for a fleeting moment.

But in the next moment, it vanished silently, reappearing in the darkness further away, continuing its journey toward its destination.

Before long, he arrived at a secluded courtyard.

They did not enter immediately because many more guards had been added near the courtyard, including several martial artists at the Spirit Refining Realm.

But the shadowy figure did not retreat; it circled around and came to the back of the courtyard.

Inside the room, candlelight shone brightly, and the rich aroma of meat filled the air. Three men sat around the table, eating hot pot.

Since Chai Xian invaded the cellar, the Chai family has strengthened its defenses here.

Not only were more people deployed outside, but skilled individuals were also stationed inside the house day and night.

Xu Qi'an, standing outside the house separated by a wall, focused his mind on sensing:

"The three inside are all martial artists above the Spirit Refining Realm. A sneak attack would only make them sense my presence earlier, thus attracting the guards outside. If it were me in the past, I would probably have had to rely on brute force to rush in, but I am no longer a crude martial artist."

A dozen seconds later, a sleeping rat woke up from its burrow beneath the foundation of the yard, opening its blood-red eyes.

This is no ordinary rat; its entire body is poisonous, and the toxins are exhaled with its breath, infecting all living things around it.

Inside the house!

Why did Chai Xian come back?

"That's what a burly man said."

"The clan elders said they were looking for Xiao Lan. That madman thinks Xiao Lan was killed and hidden in the cellar."

Another man shook his head. "Wasn't Xiao Lan kidnapped by him?"

As they were talking, they heard a "squeak" sound. Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw a large, fat black rat standing in the shadows of the corner of the wall, its red eyes silently staring at the three of them.

As martial artists with an exceptionally strong sense of danger, the three men's intuition immediately warned them the moment they saw the rat.

They instinctively grabbed the weapons leaning against the table and tried to shout to alert the guards outside.

But the next moment, the three of them collapsed limply onto the table, unconscious.

A few seconds later, a shadow emerged from under the table. Xu Qi'an looked around, listened intently, and confirmed that the guards outside the courtyard had not noticed the commotion inside. He then turned and went to the cellar entrance, pulling open the heavy stone lid.

The three people in the room were poisoned with a strong paralyzing effect, which would not endanger their lives; at most, they would be weak for a few days and would recover.

As the stone lid opened, a dark cave entrance appeared. Xu Qi'an took out the prepared candle, lit it, and, holding up the orange glow, entered the cellar along the steps.

He walked lightly past rows of corpses, feeling as if this was the safest and most comfortable place in the world.

But solving the case was more important, so he forcibly suppressed the urge to talk to or interact with the corpse and headed straight for the secret room deep inside the cellar.

The Chai family has a custom: when a clansman dies, he is either cremated or his body is offered to the Lineage to be turned into a walking corpse.

This was to prevent outsiders from exhuming the bodies of the clansmen.

Before the operation, Xu Qi'an had already obtained information from Li Lingsu that Chai Jianyuan's body had been turned into a walking corpse by Chai Xing'er and stored in the cellar.

Myolie Chai's explanation was that the Chai family had suffered a major upheaval and urgently needed power to protect the Lineage's safety.

This reason won the unanimous approval of the Chai family.

But Xu Qi'an believed that there was a selfish motive involved. "An eye for an eye."

Of course, Chai Xing'er's thoughts are not important; Xu Qi'an's infiltration was for the purpose of performing an autopsy.

The corpse can provide a lot of information, such as the appearance of the wounds and the extent of the injuries, which can tell Xu Qi'an whether the crime was committed by someone he knew.

Soon, he arrived at the secret room deep inside the cellar.

The door to the secret room was locked.

Xu Qi'an placed his palm on the lock cylinder and exerted force suddenly. With a "clang," the lock cylinder was knocked away, shaking out a cloud of dust.

There weren't many corpses in the secret room, four on each side, all wearing hoods and dressed in identical gray clothes.

The slightly bulging chests indicated that three of the corpses were female.

Xu Qi'an removed the hood from the corpse and, after identification, recognized the third corpse on the left as Chai Jianyuan.

Interestingly, the third corpse on the right is a male corpse with clear features. According to Li Lingsu's description, "he" is Chai Xing'er's ex-husband.

"Tsk, looking at each other, Chai Xing'er really does harbor resentment towards Chai Jianyuan."

Without delay, Xu Qi'an kicked over Chai Jianyuan's corpse, stripped off his gray clothes, and examined the body with a candle in hand.

On Chai Jianyuan's chest, there was a stitched wound, but the widespread lividity obscured the traces of other injuries.

Xu Qi'an moved the candle, its orange glow moving down from his chest and stopping between his legs. He covered his hands with his gray clothes and reached for a bird egg.

"Avoid attacking the groin!"

This position is a relatively weak point for a warrior with a body of steel.

Moving further down, the candlelight illuminated Chai Jianyuan's feet.

In the dim light, Xu Qi'an's pupils dilated slightly, his gaze fixed.

Chai Jianyuan's left foot has six toes.

P. S.: Sorry, my updates have been slow lately. This month's word count is only 160,000, a new low since the series started. I'm trying my best to get back on track.