Chapter 53 Embroidered Corpse

Zhao Qinghe's expression shifted instantly. He looked at the grim-faced Head Constable Wang, then at the gentle-toned but firm Qi Huan. In the end, he could only sigh and reluctantly agree with a bitter expression.

"Yes, Lord Qi is right. Since that is the case, Lord Chen, please enter."

Head Constable Wang stood by with a face full of resentment. "Chief Qi, this..."

"Say no more. This is, after all, the business of the Demon Suppression Division. If something truly unusual has occurred, can you bear the responsibility for such a crime?"

Qi Huan merely gave him a cold glance and cut him off. The impatience in his tone immediately silenced Head Constable Wang.

Chen Mu ignored them and said to Liu Ziming, "Let's go in."

Liu Ziming hurried to follow, limping along. As he passed Qi Huan, he couldn't help but steal a few glances at this expert from the Prefecture.

Qi Huan gave a slight nod, watching the two of them enter Zhao Qinghe's manor.

Once Chen Mu and Liu Ziming had completely disappeared behind the vermilion gates, Head Constable Wang immediately leaned toward Qi Huan. His face was flattering, but his voice was kept low.

"Chief Qi, why did you... why did you hold back just now? We know your capabilities; it shouldn't have been hard to take that kid down. How could you let him be so arrogant?"

Qi Huan gave a cold snort and spoke indifferently while staring at the direction where the two had gone.

"This lad indeed has extraordinary qualities. His movement and swordsmanship both show remarkable attainment. It is truly rare for someone so young to have such a level of cultivation."

"Furthermore, although I could defeat him, I would have to use my trump card. It's simply not worth the cost."

"Besides, we came to Yunmeng to assist Lord Xu in maintaining local order, not to come here and fight others out of bravado, and certainly not to act as thugs for certain people."

He spoke these words mercilessly, directly exposing Head Constable Wang's hidden little schemes.

Head Constable Wang was momentarily choked with frustration, his face turning blue and white, but he ultimately had no logic with which to argue.

Qi Huan stopped looking at him and gave orders to the subordinates behind him.

"You all wait here. Do not move without my command. I will be right back."

With that, he strode toward the street corner. His steps remained steady, though his speed was slightly faster than usual.

Qi Huan went straight to a nearby latrine and entered quickly. After looking around to ensure no one was there, the calm expression on his face completely collapsed.

He abruptly raised his left hand. At a rough glance, his knuckles were already highly swollen and turned a deep shade of purple.

"Hiss—damn it!"

Qi Huan sucked in a breath of cold air, a layer of cold sweat already breaking out on his forehead, and he couldn't help but curse in a low voice.

"Is the fist of this newcomer from such a small place made of iron? He's a monster!"

Gritting his teeth, he carefully set his own bones, his face contorting in pain.

Fortunately, it was only a dislocation caused by the direct clash and wasn't completely broken. With his physique and recovery speed, he would be fine after a few days of careful recuperation.

"Chen Mu, I've certainly remembered you."

As Qi Huan circulated his Qi to promote blood flow and disperse the bruising, he recalled the scene of their clash. He had originally flicked the longsword away, which should have been a certain defeat for the opponent, but he hadn't expected the boy to seize the opportunity to turn defeat into victory. It left him both surprised and impressed, and even a bit fearful.

If they had truly used killing moves in a life-or-death struggle...

He shook his head and stopped thinking about it. The priority now was to deal with the injury so that no one would notice anything amiss.

...

The courtyard of the Zhao Manor was much deeper than it appeared from the outside.

Zhao Qinghe led Chen Mu and Liu Ziming through two corridors to a side courtyard, his steps carrying a hint of deliberate sluggishness.

The atmosphere inside the manor was extremely oppressive. The passing servants all hurried by with their heads bowed, as if afraid of having any interaction with the three of them.

"The bodies are kept in the wing room of the side courtyard."

Zhao Qinghe stopped in front of the courtyard gate. He raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead and stepped aside half a pace. The smile on his face was uglier than a crying expression as he continued to struggle.

"Lords, that sight is truly... not very pleasant. If you two..."

"No matter."

Chen Mu immediately interrupted him and stepped straight into the side courtyard.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he noticed something strange.

Although this was a side courtyard, the decorations were very grand, with upturned eaves, carved beams, and painted rafters. It had clearly been meticulously renovated and was more magnificent than many of the courtyards they had seen since entering the manor.

Using such a courtyard to house corpses?

Chen Mu gave Zhao Qinghe a suspicious glance but said nothing, instead pushing open the tightly closed door of the wing room.

A scent of blood mixed with a sweet, cloying aroma of fat rushed toward them. The smell was incredibly bizarre, and Liu Ziming immediately covered his nose and mouth, feeling a wave of nausea.

The floor of the wing room was covered with a gold-woven carpet, and in the center stood three sandalwood couches placed side by side.

Three corpses lay upon the couches, covered with magnificent brocade shrouds. Beneath them were thick silver-thread embroidered quilts. The exquisite fabric and complex embroidery were certainly not something an ordinary family could afford.

"This... this is how you keep corpses?"

Liu Ziming's eyes widened, his tone filled with disbelief.

Chen Mu frowned inwardly. He walked slowly to the side of a corpse and reached out to gently touch the shroud; it felt cold and silky, indeed a top-quality material.

"Squire Zhao, your manor is quite extravagant even when keeping corpses?"

A flash of panic crossed Zhao Qinghe's face, but it was instantly suppressed. He then forced a smile.

"Lord Chen must be joking. Although they had only been in the manor for a day, the incident did happen under my roof. My Zhao family has always established itself on the principles of benevolence and righteousness, and I truly couldn't bear for them to depart in such a meager fashion, so I made some slight arrangements."

"Slight arrangements..."

Chen Mu repeated with a cold laugh. He didn't bother with further small talk and stepped forward to pull back the shroud.

His pupils trembled slightly.

There were three corpses—one male and two females—all young and beautiful. They were the Xianggu who had married into the Zhao Manor yesterday and the two girls from the Chunyue Pavilion who had been taken in as concubines this morning.

Their deaths were exceptionally gruesome. Their limbs were incomplete, appearing as though they had been frantically bitten and gnawed by some sort of wild beast.

The Xianggu, dressed as a groom, had half of his neck torn open, exposing the cervical bone. Of the two women dressed as brides, one had her abdomen sliced open with most of her internal organs missing, and the other's left arm had vanished, leaving a bloody, mangled stump that looked as if it had been ripped off by force.

The edges of the wounds on all three were jagged and uneven, definitely not caused by any ordinary blade or axe.

Even more bizarre was that an indescribable expression remained on the faces of all three corpses. It was not terror, nor was it pain, but a kind of numb calmness.

The corners of their mouths were slightly upturned, as if they had seen something pleasant before they died.

"This... this was definitely not done by a human!"

Liu Ziming's voice trembled, and his hand was shaking as he pointed at the corpses. "Chen Mu, look at this..."

"Squire Zhao, I recall you saying at the manor gate just now that these three died by suicide?"

Chen Mu's voice carried a hint of mockery. He wanted to see how the other party would try to deny it in the face of such a gruesome reality.

Zhao Qinghe's face was pale, and the corners of his mouth twitched violently. He was trembling and about to offer a perfunctory explanation when a sinister voice came from behind everyone.

"What are you looking at! Is there anything worth seeing?"

"If you keep looking, you'll end up like this sooner or later!"