Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 326 Mule with Infant
"All nine victims were men. The first victim had a concave skull, indicating that he had been struck by heavy objects multiple times, which should be the cause of his death."

This method of killing continued until a third person was killed.

The fourth victim was noticeably short in stature. His skull was intact, indicating he had not suffered a severe blow. The cause of death was a slit throat. He had defensive wounds on his body and obvious fresh wounds on his hand bones, suggesting that the assailant failed to deliver a successful blow and the two engaged in a fight.

The next five victims were all killed with a single blow, in the same manner as Meng Yannian.

Zhou Zhao listened to Ah Huang's words without any surprise.

"The murderer had no martial arts skills and had probably never killed anyone before. When he killed the first few people, he was still testing and learning. He must have been hiding behind them and suddenly attacked the victims with a heavy object. Therefore, he did not actually fight anyone in the first three rounds."

The fourth death boosted his confidence.

He discovered something important: these people were all disabled, and even if he failed in a single blow and had to fight them head-on, they were no match for him.

As Zhou Zhao spoke, she suddenly stopped and looked at the wall behind the main seat in the flower hall. There, she saw a huge mural depicting a person's birthday banquet. The people in the painting were clinking glasses and exchanging toasts, but none of them had a face.

To be precise, it's not that they don't have faces, but rather that their original faces have been blackened.

Zhou Zhao carried the lantern and walked closer. As soon as he got close, he looked closely at the host of the banquet... to be precise, it could not be called a person.

Seated at the head of the banquet was not a human, but a mule with its mouth wide open.

The mouth was drawn in an extremely exaggerated way, looking bigger than the mule's head, as if it could swallow everything. In the mule's mouth was a bloody baby, which looked to be less than a month old, covered in blood, and as thin as a kitten.

The strangest thing was that the baby had bright black and white eyes, a sinister smile, and a mouth full of sharp teeth.

"The murderer may have been castrated. Mules cannot have offspring."

Hearing Su Changying's words, Zhou Zhao nodded. The others in the room were also drawn to the scene by the two of them.

"This painting clearly alludes to this birthday banquet, and the painter's intense anger is almost overflowing. You are right, he may have been castrated, so he painted himself as a mule, and he specializes in killing people with physical disabilities."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he thought of the birthday banquet token from before, and his fingers rubbed together involuntarily.

Suddenly, her fingers paused, staring at the bloodied baby in the mule's mouth.

"I saw someone ask before, whose house is this?"

Upon hearing Zhou Zhao's question, Cai Yan at the door swallowed hard. "Reporting to Lord Zhou, we have inquired. This residence belongs to an official surnamed Hu. Master Hu and his family moved south to serve as officials in other regions. They only return during festivals, and the residence is usually vacant."

Zhou Zhao understood immediately. He could tell from the snakeskin in the bushes in front of the door that no one had lived here for a long time and it was almost a snake den.

Her eyes flickered as she looked at Ah Huang, who was still carefully examining each corpse.

“Ah Huang, you examine the body. After you’re done, have Han Ze and the Northern Army brothers transport it back to the Court of Justice. Will Min Wenshu come with us to examine the body, or will he come with us to Taiping Lane in Yong’an Ward? I already have a vague idea of ​​who the murderer is.”

Min Zangzhi abruptly turned his head, averting his gaze from the mural, and looked at Zhou Zhao in disbelief.

"Do you know who the murderer is?"

Zhou Zhao shook his head. "I don't know his name, but I know where to find him."

Min Cangzhi looked at the blood-stained infant in the mule's mouth on the mural, then remembered that Zhou Zhao was going to Taiping Lane in Yong'an Ward. The lane keeper had already told him that the family who had asked him to transport the baby was surnamed Lin and lived in Taiping Lane in Yong'an Ward. He moved his lips and looked at Zhou Zhao with a complicated expression, "With you."

Zhou Zhao didn't say much, exchanged a glance with A Huang, and then left with Su Changying and Min Zangzhi.

She was still riding the same horse as Su Changying, with Min Cangzhi following on the side, urging the horse on.

As they passed through the village, the Northern Army soldiers, with their keen eyesight, immediately set up barricades, allowing them to proceed unimpeded, even faster than during the day.

At this hour, the Lin family had already retired for the night.

Zhou Zhao dismounted and went straight to knock on the door. The doorman, yawning and still sleepy, opened the door a crack. Upon seeing a beautiful young woman wearing a hood, he immediately snapped awake, exclaiming, "You vixen!"

The door slammed shut.

Zhou Zhao and the other two stood in front of the door, more silent than the night itself.

Min Cangzhi silently moved a little further away, standing closer to the corner of the wall. He chuckled softly, "I didn't expect that Lord Zhou would also be mistaken for a vixen."

Zhou Zhao snapped out of his shock; this was an utter disgrace.

The vixen is clearly Han Xincheng! She is upright and honest, and from any perspective, she has absolutely no connection with the vixen.

She thought to herself, then rolled her eyes at Min Cangzhi, “That can’t compare to Min Wenshu. Although I’m quite studious, I still can’t learn Min Wenshu’s ultimate skill, the Peacock Spreading its Tail.”

Min Zangzhi was speechless. They were from the Court of Justice, not the royal gardens! How come foxes and peacocks were here?
Seeing Zhou Zhao's sullen expression, Su Changying helplessly squeezed her hand and knocked on the door again, "The Court of Justice is handling a case. If you don't open the door, don't blame us..."

Upon hearing the words "Court of Justice," the gatekeeper immediately snapped out of his daze. He flung open the door and said with some concern, "Gentlemen, what brings you here so late at night? My lord has already retired for the night. Please follow me for a few steps."

I apologize for my previous ramblings and offense to you, Madam.

The Lin residence wasn't large, and in no time the main courtyard was brightly lit, and everyone in the house woke up.

The master of the Lin family was a middle-aged man in his forties, quite plump, especially his belly, which looked like that of a woman ten months pregnant. He hurriedly got up, and although he was wearing casual clothes, Zhou Zhao immediately noticed the imperial censor's badge hanging from his waist.

"I am Lin Changsheng. I wonder what brings Marquis Lu, Zhou Tingshi, and Min Wenshu here so late at night? Is my Lin family involved in some major case?"

Zhou Zhao did not exchange pleasantries with Imperial Censor Lin; her gaze swept over everyone present.

Lin Changsheng's wife was also kind-hearted and plump. She was fair-skinned and had a pair of very gentle eyes that seemed to hold a pool of water when she looked at people. To her left stood five young men who looked somewhat similar to her, who were probably her sons.

To her right was a slender young woman who looked almost exactly like Madam Lin; they were practically identical.

She looked somewhat weak and sickly, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"What is your son-in-law's name? Has he been castrated?"

As soon as Zhou Zhao finished speaking, the whole room fell silent.

The young woman swayed, her eyes filled with terror.