Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 166 Dismemberment
Jia Chuan asked, "Since several people have already died in the courtyard, didn't these medicine workers ask them to move out after they returned?"

"It is said that the herb-gathering bureau had no spare courtyards. After everyone who lived there died, Zhou Cheng stopped putting people in there, and the courtyard was abandoned. But the more abandoned it was, the less people dared to approach it. It is said that someone got up in the middle of the night and vaguely heard screams coming from the direction of that courtyard. It was said that the sound was not something a human could make, and it was extremely terrifying. However, most of the herb workers and servants lived nearby."

Jia Chuan looked at Chen Mo eagerly, but Chen Mo quickly said, "It will be dawn in a few hours. Let's go when it's light. You should give them some face."

"Whose face are we giving face to?" Jia Chuan asked, puzzled.

Old Zheng said, "Never mind whether it's real or fake, whether it's a ghost or a demon, you should have some respect for it. Go when it's light, a few hours won't make a difference."

Jia Chuan thought for a moment, then got up and left the room. He walked to the window of the east wing and, amidst Dong Yuanyuan's intermittent snoring, softly called out "Duoduo" a few times.

A moment later, Gao Yunduo responded. Jia Chuan waited a while longer, and Gao Yunduo dressed and tidied her hair before opening the door and coming out. Jia Chuan gestured for her to follow, and the two entered the main hall.

"Has Mu Lian made any unusual moves tonight?" Jia Chuan asked softly after closing the door.

"You woke me up just to ask this?" Gao Yunduo was a little annoyed: "Do you know how hard it is to fall asleep listening to Yuanyuan's snoring?"

Shunzi cleared his throat.

Jia Chuan hurriedly explained, "I'm just... worried. Right now, it's only Mu Lian talking, and I have no way of verifying whether what she says is true or false. I was just thinking that if it's false... I'm starting to worry."

Gao Yunduo breathed a sigh of relief, her expression softening considerably. She said, "She's alright. We chatted for a while before bed. She felt she definitely wouldn't survive this time, and said she wanted to teach me everything she had learned over the years in the next couple of days. She also said she was actually quite happy to see her mother again, but she couldn't let go of her younger brother. She also said that she had met some Dai doctors with her mother, and those doctors all said they were afraid that bad people would learn how to use poison, and who knows how many people would suffer. When her mother was alive, she only taught her how to detoxify, also because she was afraid that she would be used by someone with ulterior motives. She said that if she could catch the person behind the scenes this time, her death wouldn't have been in vain."

After listening, Chen Mo said, "Just take what she says with a grain of salt for now. Keep an eye out tonight, don't sleep too soundly, if there's any noise..."

Gao Yunduo pointed at Jia Chuan and said, "If she really has that kind of ability, it would be more useful to kill him than to kill me."

Jia Chuan suddenly understood. Mu Lian had many opportunities to be in close contact with him. If she really had the ability to poison from a distance, she could just kill him. Why bother killing Gao Yunduo first? He smiled and realized that he had just been too concerned.

Gao Yunduo walked to the door without turning around and said, "Sleep for a while."

"Oh," Jia Chuan replied.

"My sister was giving me instructions, why are you answering?" Gao Yuntian came back to life.

Jia Chuan grunted "Hmm?" and said, "I was thinking of taking your advice and going to that courtyard tomorrow morning, but how about we go now?"

……

As dawn broke, the group of a dozen or so people headed straight for the secluded, haunted courtyard. Most of them were members of the Imperial Guards, but Lu Baihu was not among them. Jia Chuan had no idea that such a person existed; at this moment, he was filled with longing for that little courtyard.

Because they didn't know what they might find in this place, Jia Chuan didn't let Gao Yunduo, Dong Yuanyuan, and Old Zheng come along.

Gao Yuntian said, "It's not like we're going to fight, why are we calling the two of them?"
As for Old Zheng, a courtyard where someone has died is not a courtyard where someone has died, so Old Zheng is useless to follow along.

After walking for a while, Jia Chuan looked in this direction and realized that it was the same direction as the North Gate and the courtyard where Mu Lian lived. Jia Chuan thought about it and realized that it made sense. Where could a medicine maker and a handyman live? But he wondered why Mu Lian had never mentioned this legend since it was so terrifying.

Mu Lian was also in the group. Jia Chuan remembered this and quickly turned around to ask her about it.

Mu Lian said:
“I know, I even went to that courtyard. I don’t believe in ghosts, but the courtyard is a bit dilapidated. I also recognize the pharmacist who fell and got injured. He must have contracted a disease while collecting herbs, and then passed it on to the handymen. There are pharmacists in the herb-collecting bureau, but who cares about their lives? When the pharmacists who went out came back, they all fell ill one after another. This time, a doctor came to see them, but didn’t say anything. But in the end, these people still died. Even if they knew they died from the disease, no one would want to live here anymore. Gradually, it became rumored to be haunted. The people who lived there before thought it was bad luck and wouldn’t come. The people who came later believed it and wouldn’t come either. So the courtyard naturally became deserted.”

"When did you go to see it?" Jia Chuan asked.

Mu Lian thought for a moment and said, "It seems like it was almost a year ago, I can't remember exactly, but I went to see it, and it was at night, and it was very quiet."

"Was the old prince still alive then?"

"Of course, this has been going on for at least three or four years. You don't think those bodies were transported out of that courtyard, do you? No, that courtyard is very small, just two small rooms, which together aren't even as big as the hall in the east wing. It simply couldn't hold that many corpses. What I mean is that the old locust tree in the courtyard almost filled the entire courtyard. There were quite a few people transporting the bodies, and they couldn't all get in, it's just..."

“I understand what you mean. They couldn’t possibly be testing drugs in such a small place,” Jia Chuan said.

Mu Lian nodded and said, "I heard that these two small houses were originally for the people who built the herb garden. There was no courtyard wall. Later, after the herb garden was completed, more and more people came to the herb-gathering bureau, so people were arranged to live there, and a wall was built around them... We're here. Let me go in and take a look. Let me tell you, if there really are ghosts in this world, those who have done bad things should be afraid. What's there to be afraid of for good people? Look how dilapidated and small it is!"

It was very small; more than a dozen people couldn't all enter the courtyard, and most of them stayed outside.

It was also very dilapidated, with broken doors and windows. The old locust tree in the yard seemed to have died, with not a single withered leaf on the ground, and not even a single branch or twig.

Jia Chuan frowned and wanted to go inside to take a look, but Chen Mo stopped him, saying in a low voice, "Something's not right here."

Jia Chuan hummed in agreement and asked, "You figured it out?"

Chen Mo said, "There's still snow left in the Prince's Palace, but it's too clean here."

Gao Yuntian took a step back and said, "It's been warm these past two days, so perhaps it's melted."

Shunzi said, "It's just a bit warmer; there should still be some remnants in the nooks and crannies."

Jia Chuan frowned. He thought he smelled blood, but even if there was something in this place, it would be rotting corpses. He should smell the stench of corpses, not blood.

“People often come here, quite a few people. It’s a pity we didn’t find this place a couple of days ago, otherwise we would have seen more traces.” Jia Chuan said, picking up a small stone from the ground and throwing it into the house through the broken window.

With a 'thud,' the stone should have hit the ground.

"That's accurate! You threw it in through such a small hole," Shunzi praised. Jia Chuan frowned even more. Logically speaking, the floor in this house should be earthen, not paved with blue bricks. How could the stone make a sound when it landed?
In the blink of an eye, a dark creature suddenly flew out of the house through the window. The group retreated hastily. Chen Mo had already drawn his knife and stood in front of Jia Chuan. The creature flew to a dead tree branch and rested for a moment, as if looking down to see who had disturbed it. Then it spread its wings and flew into the air. The group, still in shock, all looked up at it.

"Is it an eagle?" Gao Yuntian asked, his voice trembling. "It looks quite big to me."

Shunzi wasn't much better off; if he hadn't been leaning against the doorframe, he would have collapsed by now: "It seems like he has no hair on his neck."

“There’s rotting flesh inside.” Jia Chuan stared at the door and smelled an even stronger stench of blood than before. He quickly added, “Let’s get out of here first.”

……

Jia Chuan couldn't understand it. If those corpses had all been taken to the garden and buried, how could there still be rotting flesh in the house? But the smell of blood wasn't mixed with the stench of corpses. That thing was a vulture. How could there be such a thing in this place? Or... was someone deliberately raising them?
Gao Yuntian leaned close to Jia Chuan and whispered, "Did you notice something was wrong? I also felt that even in broad daylight, there was a kind of eerie feeling in that courtyard, something was off."

Jia Chuan ignored Gao Yuntian, while Chen Mo said, "First, send a few Imperial Guards in to take a look. If that doesn't work, then bring in dog blood before noon."

"I'm not afraid of ghosts, I'm afraid of poison!" Jia Chuan said helplessly.

Mu Lian said, "As long as there's ventilation, nothing will happen. Don't touch anything. Let's go in and take a look. I'm going!"

Jia Chuan tried to stop him, but it was too late, because he mistook "I'll go" for "I'll go!"

In the blink of an eye, Mu Lian had entered the courtyard and strode toward the door.

Watching Mu Lian forcefully open the door, Jia Chuan shook his head, trying to comfort himself. Putting gender aside, Mu Lian was a college student, which was better than them, who were novices. But he did admire Mu Lian's courage.

In the blink of an eye, Mu Lian screamed and ran out of the house. Chen Mo instinctively stood in front of Jia Chuan, and Gao Yuntian not running away was already an improvement.

"Inside, inside are... dismembered bodies." Mu Lian ran to the courtyard gate, collapsed to the ground, and said, her face deathly pale.

Jia Chuan frowned and peeked out, asking, "Didn't you smell the stench of a corpse when you got to the door?"

"The smell of rust is stronger," Mu Lian said, her face pale.

"Send someone back to fetch Old Zheng," Jia Chuan said to Chen Mo. "Tear down this whole wall and remove the doors and windows."

……

When Old Zheng rushed over, the walls surrounding the courtyard had already collapsed. After the dust settled, the Imperial Guards dismantled the doors and windows outside. Those that couldn't be dismantled were smashed. During this process, the Imperial Guards who smashed the doors were alright, but the Imperial Guards who smashed the windows were changed three times. They didn't see anything, and no one dared to look inside. However, the smell alone was enough to make people feel terrified and want to vomit.

If it weren't for the fear of disturbing the scene, Jia Chuan would have preferred to demolish both rooms for better ventilation.

Upon hearing that there was a dismembered body, Old Zheng began to dress, panting, before Jia Chuan could say anything. Jia Chuan glanced at Mu Lian, who had already stood up but whose face was still deathly pale, and felt that it would be inhumane to ask her to come in with him.

So, Jia Chuan and Old Zheng got dressed and set off.

Before Old Zheng arrived, Chen Mo explained his plan: "I'll take some people in first, and you can come in if there are no problems."

Jia Chuan said, "If something happens, Mu Lian won't be able to get out, and the house isn't very big to begin with."

Chen Mo thought about it and realized it made sense, so Jia Chuan and Old Zheng went into the house without hesitation. He didn't move an inch; he was afraid too.

Jia Chuan's steps were still heavy. He knew that this trip was somewhat risky. Last night, he suddenly became suspicious of Mu Lian, but it turned out that nothing was wrong. But just now, he suddenly had another thought: What if Mu Lian was just acting all along?

Having already seen the vulture, he was mentally prepared for the presence of rotting flesh, even human flesh, in the house. So when Mu Lian panicked and said she had seen dismembered bodies, he didn't immediately suspect her. He simply asked if there was any stench of decay. Mu Lian's answer was reasonable. If it were a murder that happened yesterday or even this morning, there would indeed be no stench of decay at this temperature after a large amount of bleeding; there would only be a strong smell of blood.

But just now, when he looked at Mu Lian, he couldn't bear to ask her to come in with him, and Mu Lian didn't offer to come in with him either. Jia Chuan immediately thought of this possibility. He grabbed Old Zheng, who had already stepped over the threshold, and said, "I'll go in first."

……

Old Zheng had been leaning against the doorframe and vomiting for a while, still wearing a face towel smeared with vinegar. Mu Lian was quite the hero for not vomiting just now.

Jia Chuan also vomited. Fortunately, Old Zheng's toolbox had just been restocked and contained ginger. He put a few slices in his mouth and then instructed Chen Mo to find some larger bags.

Gao Yuntian and Shunzi were about ten feet apart. Gao Yuntian called out, "Let's go back first and let the smell dissipate before we come back."

Jia Chuan ignored him, not because of the smell, but because of the terrible scene inside.

Someone did this on purpose. Although the doors and windows were damaged, they were not serious. The yard was small to begin with, and there were walls around it to block the wind, making it difficult for the smell inside the house to dissipate. After he finished repairing the walls and doors and windows, the smell began to spread. When he and Old Zheng went in, it was a bit better than when Mu Lian went in, but the light was also a bit stronger.

The ground was littered with dismembered body parts, entrails scattered everywhere, and bloodstains covering the floor. Four heads with open eyes were neatly arranged in the corner.

The reason the eyes on the skull are open is not because the person died with their eyes open, but because their eyelids have been cut off.

It was a scene straight out of hell, and coupled with the overwhelming stench of blood that rushed into the nostrils, anyone who saw it would want to vomit.

Jia Chuan heard the noise when he threw the stones because there were many wooden planks inside the house, and most of the dismembered body parts and internal organs were on the planks. It's possible that the vultures had disturbed the original arrangement, and the stones Jia Chuan threw in happened to hit a gap in the planks...

Jia Chuan needed to piece together the bodies to at least prove that the rubble belonged to four people. Chen Mo asked why it was necessary to do this. Jia Chuan didn't know, or rather, his mind was a bit foggy at this moment. He only knew that, based on his previous life's experience with similar cases, the first thing to do was to determine whether the body parts belonged to those four heads, and then trace the source of the bodies...

At this moment, Jia Chuan forgot what use it was to search for the source of the corpse here.
(End of this chapter)