Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 325 Horrifying Scene

Han Ze followed Zhou Zhao, listening intently and scratching his head in frustration.

"Does it necessarily have to be a restaurant? What if he hired a cook to prepare a banquet and then sent the person away?"

Zhou Zhao shook his head. "Don't forget, there wasn't just one corpse at his banquet, but a whole room full of them. And some of them have been dead for quite some time."

Han Ze paused, feeling a strange weakness in his legs.

In that instant, he felt that his wise and infallible father might have really made a mistake this time.

The most suitable place for him, Young Master Han, is the gentle embrace of the Shaofu (Imperial Household Department). He, a spoiled brat, wouldn't dare venture into the Yama's Palace of the Northern Army and the Court of Justice.

The room was full of corpses; he felt that his mind and his vision were now filled with nothing but corpses!
"Even in winter, a corpse left out for too long will inevitably develop an unpleasant odor. That's why he wouldn't allow anyone else in his residence. The restaurant regularly delivers food and wine to various residences, which is the most convenient option. Why bother finding a cook and leaving a strange impression?"
However, the people at the restaurant must still remember the birthday banquets they sent.

The elegantly dressed young master personally came to fetch the food and wine; this long-abandoned mansion was suddenly hosting a birthday banquet… There were no gatekeepers, no servants.

As they spoke, they arrived at the entrance of the alley. Su Changying leaned against the wall and waited there. When Zhou Zhao came over, he reached out and touched her hand, taking the cold hand warmer from her.

"Corpses have an unpleasant odor, so I've instructed the night patrol to be extra vigilant. If there are no leads at the restaurant, we can try to find a middleman nearby; they're the best at knowing which houses have been vacant all this time."

Zhou Zhao nodded, his gaze towards Su Changying filled with admiration.

She knew that although Su Changying didn't talk much, he was quick to understand and could handle many things without her having to tell him.

The four hadn't walked far when the soldier named Cai Yan came running up, panting heavily. His face was filled with terror, and when the lantern shone on him, everyone could see the dense goosebumps on his neck.

"General, we've found it... we've found it..."

As Cai Yan spoke, he couldn't help but stammer; what they had witnessed was truly, truly…

Even though he had served in the Northern Army for several years and had recently followed Su Changying in suppressing rebellions and killing enemies, and was used to seeing dead people, he had never seen such a bizarre scene before.

Just one glance at it is enough to give you nightmares while you're awake.

As Cai Yan thought about it, his gaze towards Zhou Zhao changed. Their general's wife was truly formidable; her audacity surpassed even that of the imperial city.

Zhou Zhao, unaware of Cai Yan's inner thoughts, gestured for him to lead the way, and the group immediately followed.

Su Changying reached out and lifted Zhou Zhao onto the horse's back. With effortless grace, he covered her with the hood, then held her in his arms before spurring his horse forward to follow Cai Yan.

The once quiet cobblestone path was suddenly filled with the sound of horses' hooves.

……

After walking for a short while, the group arrived at a house.

Zhou Zhao looked up at the lanterns hanging in front of the door; they were faded and not lit at this time.

The door had already been opened by the Northern Army who had broken in first. All that could be seen was darkness; the trees, artificial rocks, and winding corridors looked like ghostly figures, sending chills down one's spine. Zhou Zhao followed Cai Yan's footsteps and stopped in front of a flower hall. The door to the flower hall wasn't closed tightly, revealing a crack, and a lamp was lit inside, its flame flickering.

Several Northern Army soldiers stood pale-faced in front of the door, none of them daring to go in. When they saw Su Changying and Zhou Zhao arrive, they immediately made way for them.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zhou Zhao noticed a snakeskin that had shed itself in the bushes in front of the flower hall.

Without pausing, she pushed her hand directly towards the door, which creaked open.

The moment the door opened, the candlelight inside was blown about wildly, and the shadows of the people inside began to flicker and become mottled, as if they had stepped into a menacing ghost cave.

Min Cangzhi nearly shoved the sachet in her hand into her nose as she smelled the stench of the corpse in the room.

Han Ze hunched his shoulders and followed Su Changying inside, raising his hands to shield his eyes and squinting them into narrow slits, not daring to look around.

A banquet is being held in the flower hall.

Four tables were set up on each side, with food that had gone cold on them. The "guests" held chopsticks and wine cups, but did not eat a single bite.

As Han Ze was walking, he felt something bump against his foot. He jumped up abruptly and saw a finger bone inexplicably protruding from the spot where he had stepped. His pupils contracted sharply, and he cried out, losing his balance and falling onto the nearest table.

He subconsciously turned around and was met with a somewhat swollen face.

Han Ze screamed again, and a piece of flesh just fell off the man's face.

"Heavens!" Han Ze suddenly sprang up, rushed out without looking back, and squatted down by the bushes to vomit.

Seeing his terrified expression, Zhou Zhao remembered there was still a snakeskin there, but before she could warn him, she heard Han Ze's fourth scream since entering the room!
"General Su, are you sure your Northern Army can really go to the battlefield?" Min Zangzhi looked on, curled his lip, and said with a hint of schadenfreude, "It seems that it's not entirely our Court of Justice that's losing face."

Su Changying glanced at him indifferently and uttered a single word, "dog."

Min Zangzhi's face darkened. He shouldn't have led the Northern Army to search for the cart that was emptying the night soil by smelling the scent tonight; it was an utter disgrace.

Zhou Zhao, thinking that Han Ze was already terrified, didn't mention the snakeskin again and said directly, "There are nine corpses. Including Meng Yannian tonight, the murderer killed a total of ten people. Among them, seven people's bodies are obviously mutilated at a glance."

Two other bodies were unidentifiable. Judging from the state of decomposition, the first victim had likely been dead for about two weeks.

The banquet was brightly lit and decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations.

The guests were all dressed neatly, seemingly having been deliberately made up, and incense was burning in the bronze cauldron. But even so, it couldn't mask the strong stench of corpses in the room, nor the horrifying faces with exposed white bones.

Anyone who glances at it will feel a chill run down their spine.

"I simply can't imagine how the murderer could celebrate his birthday and drink with these corpses. They were all born of parents, how could there be such an inhuman beast?" Min Zangzhi said softly.

Zhou Zhao hummed in agreement. "Ah Huang, let's begin the autopsy."

Ah Huang, carrying a chest on his back and covering his face with a veil, walked toward the first corpse closest to the master's table.