Mulberry Lake

A throat-slitting procedure wouldn't result in immediate death. The killer's method was swift; instead of cutting the trachea, they severed the carotid artery on the side of the throat.

This person is clearly an expert.

In Xu Qi'an's previous life, severing the carotid artery was a fatal injury that even a god couldn't save him from, and he would undoubtedly die.

However, this will not cause immediate death.

The junior officer died lying face down on his desk, without struggling or splattering blood everywhere, suggesting that the cause of death was not throat-slitting.

What truly caused his immediate death was a fatal brain injury, leaving him no chance to react or struggle, and he died on the spot.

The killer shattered his skull, then slit his throat cleanly and efficiently. Staring at the shallow crater on the victim's forehead, the image flashed through everyone's minds.

Xu Qi'an touched the deceased's body and, after careful observation, said, "Rigidity is present throughout the body, the lividity has stopped shifting, and the corneas are quite cloudy. The time of death is more than seventeen hours. In other words, the murderer killed him at night."

"I suggest investigating from these aspects: First, the night patrol passes recently issued by the government office; second, inquiring whether the Imperial Saber Guard encountered any suspicious individuals in the vicinity; third, inquiring about the night Nightwatchers the area; and fourth, inquiring about the deceased's recent social interactions with the family."

For a long time, no one spoke; Lü Qing and the others stared at him blankly.

Is that all?

Has the direction been given?

In such a short time, they have made clear and definite inferences, and based on these, pointed out the direction for the investigation of the case.

Even though everyone knew Xu Qi'an was a master detective, they still felt that things were "too fast."

Lu Qing thought for a moment and said, "Let the coroner examine it first."

When encountering a homicide case, the arresting officers will usually bring a coroner to conduct a preliminary examination, which will allow them to better combine clues from the scene to make inferences.

The coroner's findings were similar to Xu Qi'an's, and even less detailed.

Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao were alright, but Lü Qing and the other officials in the prefecture all felt a surge of admiration for Xu Qi'an.

"What a pity, he's already Nightwatchers, the government can't get him to come." Lü Qing sighed regretfully in his heart.

Having such an excellent colleague to apprehend criminals and solve cases with is truly a joy in life.

Lü Qing called over the quick-thinking interrogators outside and asked them what they had found out.

The conclusions drawn are: the deceased had not made any enemies recently; no guests visited last night; and the deceased was in good spirits recently.

Lu Qing, who was at a loss for what to do, frowned deeply.

"The deceased was just a minor officer. If we rule out a revenge killing, then what could have been the reason for the murderer to break into the house late at night and commit the crime?" Xu Qi'an said softly beside her.

Lu Qing, with his extensive experience in criminal investigation, lit up upon hearing this and immediately summoned the deceased's first wife, asking, "Has there suddenly been an extra sum of money in the house? Or did Liu Han say anything to you?"

The beautiful woman racked her brains for a long time before saying sadly, "A few days ago, my husband did say that he wanted to take us away from the capital to live a carefree life outside."

Lü Qing and Xu Qi'an exchanged a glance. "How many days ago exactly?"

"About ten days," the woman said, though she couldn't quite remember.

On the way out of the courtyard, Lü Qing said in a deep voice, "He accepted bribes and was silenced."

Xu Qi'an nodded. This was a very reasonable guess, and that was what he thought too.

Song Tingfeng frowned and said, "But what could a mere banner officer have done to be silenced?"

Xu Qi'an thought for a moment, as if he had caught something, and asked, "If I remember correctly, the Golden Guard is responsible for the east gate of the inner city and the east gate of the imperial city."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed slightly.

Xu Qi'an said, "Perhaps we should go see Liu Han's direct superior, report this matter back to the yamen first, get a warrant, and then go to his door to question him."

Liu Han's superior was a centurion of the Golden Guard. Although both were centurions, the Golden Guard held a much higher position than the Imperial Saber Guard. The latter were security guards for the unit, while the former were bodyguards for their superiors.

Xu Qi'an and his group needed a warrant issued by the government to conduct questioning, similar to a search warrant in their previous life.

Back at the Nightwatchers's office, they reported the matter to Li Yuchun. Brother Chun took it very seriously and pondered, "This matter is quite strange, but the imperial city is heavily guarded. A mere flag officer can't cause any trouble. Just ask him as usual; the Golden Guard will investigate on their own. Besides, His Majesty's ancestral worship ceremony is just around the corner. Our focus should be on this matter."

The ticket was issued immediately.

After waiting for a while at the Nightwatchers's office, Lü Qing and the other quick-witted officials from the prefectural government arrived in a flurry, and the group headed to the east gate of the imperial city.

Zhou Baihu was on patrol with his men and returned after an hour. Upon learning that the Nightwatchers and the government officials had come looking for him, he immediately came to greet them.

Zhou Baihu had a thick beard, triangular eyes, and a face full of fierce flesh; he didn't look like an easy person to get along with.

Song Tingfeng asked, "Commander Zhou, do you have a banner officer under your command named Liu Han?"

Just as Zhou Baihu, looking displeased, was about to reply, he suddenly saw one of the gong-bearers take out a piece of paper from his pocket and ignite it with his qi.

The next moment, his pupils were tinged with a clear light.

Qi-Watching Technique? Zhou Baihu calmly suppressed the rage between his brows. "Yes."

"He's dead," Song Tingfeng said.

"What?" Zhou Baihu could not hide his surprise.

Lu Qing asked, "Has Liu Han acted strangely lately?"

"No."

"During his duty at the East Gate, were there any suspicious people or objects entering or leaving the Imperial City?"

"No," Commander Zhou shook his head. "There are many soldiers guarding the imperial city. Bribing just one person won't work unless you bribe them all, which is impossible."

Zhu Guangxiao asked, "What if I bribe you?"

Zhou Baihu's expression changed, and his suppressed anger surged up again. "What do you mean?"

Song Tingfeng laughed and said, "It's just a routine question, why should Commander Zhou be angry? His Majesty's ancestral worship is imminent, and we don't want anything to go wrong at this crucial moment."

After asking questions for a while, with a Qi-Watching Technique expert watching nearby, Commander Zhou answered every question, suppressing his fiery temper.

After Xu Qi'an's Qi-Watching Technique wore off, Song Tingfeng smiled and said, "Thank you for your cooperation. We'll take our leave now."

On the way back with Lü Qing and the others, Xu Qi'an said, "He wasn't lying."

Song Tingfeng squinted. "Perhaps Liu Han was silenced for some other unknown reason."

Zhu Guangxiao said in a deep voice, "Let's put this case on hold for now; the ancestral worship ceremony is the priority."

The day after tomorrow is the day the emperor will offer sacrifices to his ancestors, so everything else must be postponed.

After bidding farewell to Lü Qing and the others, Xu Qi'an pondered the entire process in a side hall, but to no avail, so he put Liu Han's matter aside.

The 15th day of the 10th month of the Gengzi year, a Jiazi day.

It is auspicious for praying for blessings, holding religious ceremonies, and worshipping ancestors.

Soon, the day for the royal family to worship their ancestors arrived. Xu Qi'an was no stranger to this; at this time every year, the inner city gates would be closed, and his second uncle, who was a centurion of the Imperial Saber Guard, would be transferred to the inner city today to enforce martial law. The people of the inner city were required to stay at home and were not allowed to go out.

A similar sacrificial ceremony is held again at the beginning of spring, which is to worship Heaven and pray for favorable weather, abundant harvests, and national peace and prosperity in the coming year.

Starting yesterday, inns in the inner city were inspected one by one, and all travelers were driven to the outer city. Restaurants were closed and inns were not allowed to accommodate overnight guests.

Xu Qi'an, Nightwatchers, was assigned to Sangbo to stand guard.

Sangbo is a small lake located right next to the imperial city. Willow trees are planted along its shores, but at this time of year, their leaves have not yet sprouted.

A winding corridor is built across the water, connecting to a high white marble platform in the center of the lake. On the platform stands a temple with four gilded characters inscribed on its plaque:

May it forever protect the mountains and rivers!

The ancestral worship ceremony takes place here.

Sangbo is no ordinary lake; it has a fascinating history related to the founding emperor of the Great Feng Dynasty.

Legend has it that "Sangbo" was formerly known as Xuanwu Lake, and the mythical beast Xuanwu lived in the lake.

On one occasion, the founding emperor of the Great Feng Dynasty, after his rebellion failed, fled to Sangbo with his remaining troops, only to find himself out of ammunition and food.

Just when all hope seemed lost, the lake waters boiled, and Xuanwu cleaved through the waves, a divine sword capable of slaying the heavens and destroying immortals stuck in its back.

Xuanwu said that it had been waiting here for hundreds of years for a chosen one.

Having said that, he presented the divine sword and rode away on the waves.

The founding emperor obtained the divine sword, meditated in the lake for three years, broke through the barrier, regrouped his troops, and from then on, he was invincible, overthrowing the corrupt previous dynasty.

After unifying the Central Plains, the Great Feng established its capital at Sangbo.

Sangbo is the place where the founding emperor of the Great Feng Dynasty attained enlightenment, and it has extraordinary symbolic significance. Therefore, the Great Feng royal family holds an ancestral worship ceremony in Sangbo every year.

The temple on the lake enshrines the portrait of the founding emperor.

"Liu Bang even started his rebellion by slaying a white snake. I wonder how much of that legend is true or not," Xu Qi'an thought to himself, gazing at the high platform in the lake.

P. S.: Other authors just copy book reviews to write their books. When they get writer's block, they open the chapter comments section, copy some reviews, and before they know it, a whole chapter is done.

All I could do was look at this chapter and laugh out loud, saying: These guys are just too damn good.

Then I continued writing as usual, because I dared not plagiarize. Hey, be civilized! How could I have readers like you!

He's useless at everything except getting laid. This chapter offers absolutely no useful advice. ㄟ(▔,▔)ㄏ