Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 125 Serial Murders

Zhaoxingfang is located in the southwest corner of Chang'an City. Just a few steps further out, you can leave the city.

In the southwest corner of that neighborhood, at the foot of the city wall, there is an alley called Elm Coin Alley. In April, the elm trees all over the alley are covered with strings of coins, hence the name.

Zhou Zhao looked at the carriage in front of him. The carriage looked dusty and worn, with red mud on the walls and wheels. If you touched it, it would fall into dust in a rustling sound.

The carriage door was open, and inside sat a young girl in a formal dress. Sunlight filtered through the dappled leaves, illuminating her face and making her skin appear almost translucent pink. The corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, as if she were smiling shyly, and if you got close enough, you could almost hear her soft, coquettish voice.

Amidst the crackling of firecrackers and the resounding of drums and sheng, a grand procession of red bridal processions celebrates the newlyweds.

But upon closer inspection, two chilling tears of blood streamed down the corners of the bride's eyes, and a yellow mourning cloth covered her head.

Her hands were placed in front of her, her ten fingers stretched straight forward, her nails painted a deep scarlet.

Zhou Zhao approached and sniffed; it smelled of blood.

She pursed her lips and looked at Zhou Xuan questioningly, "Was the deceased Bao Chun'an?"

Zhou Xuan nodded somewhat absentmindedly, "Exactly, how could Chun'an..."

As she spoke, she looked at the maidservant beside her, who was covering her mouth and nose in shock, and said, "Bai Ling, go home and tell the old lady."

Bai Ling snapped out of her shock, glanced at Zhou Xuan with concern, lifted her skirt, and jogged to the carriage, instructing the driver to drive away.

It really is Bao Chun'an!

Zhou Zhao and Liu Huang stepped forward and carefully examined the corpse.

"The deceased had been struck on the back of the head with a heavy object; there was blood on the wound, indicating it was not fatal. Bao Chun'an was likely attacked from behind, knocked unconscious, and then taken away. There were obvious strangulation marks on her neck, and the deceased's eyes were slightly protruding..."

As Liu Huang spoke, his gaze fell on Bao Chun'an's scarlet lips.

He wiped it with his hand, then brought it to his lips and sniffed it. "This isn't lip rouge; it must be blood."

As Liu Huang spoke, he pried open Bao Chun'an's eyelids with his hand to examine them. "The blood and tears were dripped on later; there was no bleeding in the deceased's eyes. Apart from that, there were no obvious fatal external injuries on the deceased's body. He was probably strangled to death by the murderer."

As Zhou Zhao listened, a sense of familiarity inexplicably welled up in his heart.

“On the night of the third day of the sixth lunar month, Bao Chun’an was also attacked from behind… It cannot be ruled out that the murderer is the same person,” Zhou Zhao said, lightly leaping onto the carriage and looking at the soles of the deceased’s shoes. “The deceased was wearing a brand new pair of embroidered shoes.”

"The soles of the shoes were spotless, which means that the murderer dressed the body in auspicious clothes after the death and then moved the body to a carriage."

As she spoke, she stepped forward again, blocking the curious gazes of the Northern Army soldiers.

Zhou Zhao reached out and pulled open Bao Chun'an's collar. Seeing the bluish-red discoloration on her collarbone, he sighed softly and then straightened her collar.

Zhou Zhao looked around the carriage. Unlike its dirty exterior, the interior had been thoroughly cleaned and no particular clues were left behind.

Thinking it over, she lightly jumped down and said to Su Changying, "I'd like to trouble the brothers of the Northern Army to transport the body back to the Court of Justice first, so that Ah Huang can examine it carefully. I'll go ask about Bao Chun'an. Isn't it strange? She was attacked twice in just a few months."

"The first time, she was released. The second time, however, she was brutally murdered and turned into a ghost bride."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his voice softened slightly, "If the murderer is the same person, then why did the two attacks change? If it's not the same person, why would Bao Chun'an, a young lady who has only recently arrived in Chang'an, suffer two misfortunes in a row?"

Su Changying nodded and glanced at Zhu Li. Just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly sounded behind them.

"Shut up!"

A carriage stopped in front of the barricades set up by the Northern Army not far away.

Zhou Zhao turned around and saw three people getting off the carriage. The one in the lead raised the token in his hand and said, "I am Li Mu, the scribe of the Court of Justice."

Li Mu and Zhou Zhao knew each other; they had entered the Court of Justice on the same day. However, she, Zhou Cheng'an, and Chen Yuzhao were all minor officials, while Li Mu was a newly appointed court clerk transferred from the provinces to Chang'an. There were six court clerks in total, divided into the left and right sections.

Zhou Zhao was in the left courtyard, while Li Mu was in the right courtyard. Apart from meeting him briefly on the day he arrived, they hadn't seen each other much since.

“Lord Zhou, could this case be handed over to me, Li Mu? I have a similar case on my hands,” Li Mu said, pausing before looking intently at Bao Chun’an, who was kneeling in the carriage. “This could be a serial murder case.”

As Li Mu spoke, his gaze darkened, "Moreover, the murderer is very likely to continue to commit sexual assault and murder."

Zhou Zhao's expression turned serious. She glanced at Su Changying, who then raised his hand, and the Northern Army soldiers pulled aside the barricades, letting Li Mu in.

Behind Li Mu followed a young man in his early twenties. He looked arrogant and merely nodded slightly when he saw Zhou Zhao. Next to this young man was an old acquaintance, Wen Shuwu in green robes.

"Li Tingshi".

Zhou Zhao bowed in greeting. Li Mu held a higher official rank than her and was her superior.

Seeing that Zhou Zhao had no intention of relinquishing the case, Li Mu did not bring it up again, but said in a deep voice, "Just yesterday morning, the night watchman Zhang Dahai came to the Court of Justice and said that a female corpse was found in Jingyi Lane in Zhaoxingfang. The woman was about seventeen years old."

As Li Mu spoke, he looked up at the carriage, "The scene was almost identical to this one. They were dressed in wedding attire, but covered in mourning clothes, with blood and tears in the corners of their eyes, marks on the back of their heads, and strangulation marks on their necks..."

"The deceased's identity is currently unknown, and no one has come to report that a young lady has gone missing. However, Qin Lang discovered marks on the carriage."

"We investigated and found that it was the carriage of a merchant from out of town, parked at a nearby inn, that was stolen yesterday. We have no other leads. We just learned that a second similar case has occurred in Zhaoxingfang, so we rushed over immediately..."

Zhou Zhao looked at Li Mu. He was clear-headed and serious in his actions, clearly a person with real skills.

The Qin Lang he mentioned should be the arrogant and talented young man beside him.

Seeing Zhou Zhao looking at him, Qin Lang raised his chin and said, "It's only fair to return the favor. Our Li Tingshi has already told us everything about the case we have. Now, isn't it the turn of Lord Zhou? Or is it that Lord Zhou can't make the decision and needs to ask Li Youdao's opinion first?"

Zhou Zhao raised an eyebrow at Qin Lang, "Lord Qin, as a subordinate official, how can you address our Imperial Historian by his given name? This is not the manners of a gentleman."

Qin Lang's expression changed slightly, and he reluctantly changed his words, saying, "Li Youdao Tingshi."

As he spoke, a complex look flashed in his eyes as he looked at Zhou Zhao. Everyone knew that the right courtyard was full of talented people, while the left courtyard was full of eccentric and incompetent individuals.

Li Youdao was the first person to embezzle rations and pay. Does such a person deserve to be called a court official?

Zhou Zhao ignored him and instead took out the token Li Youdao had given her. "Zhao can make the decision. The deceased's name is Bao Chun'an..."

Zhou Zhao did not hide anything and told her everything she knew about Bao Chun'an.

"If it is indeed a serial murder, judging from the timing of the two cases, the killer is very likely to commit another crime tonight! If we cannot stop it, there will be a third victim."