Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Chapter 169 Dirty Peach
Before the carriage set off for Dali Temple, Lin Jiang first instructed the driver to detour to Liang Mansion.

Although the guard did not understand what he meant, he still nodded to signal the coachman to turn around.

Lin Jiang entered the mansion, presented the small ginseng, and then came out.

As he got into the carriage, he could clearly see the guards looking at him with curious eyes, and Lin Jiang chuckled.

Anyway, if the guard doesn't ask, he definitely won't say.

Lin Jiang could clearly see that the guard's face was flushed red, and he had a lot of questions stuck in his throat. Perhaps due to his personality, the man did not speak.

When the carriage arrived at the Dali Temple, the guards remained as silent as stones.

When we got off the bus, it felt like we had just gone through a major battle.

After passing through the familiar corridor, the two arrived at Gao Xuan's study.

The old man was busy at his desk as usual, and only looked up from his documents when he heard footsteps.

When he saw Lin Jiang and Gong Xuan, a smile appeared on his previously stiff face.

However, neither of them knew whether the smile was just polite or genuine happiness.

"You two must be tired from your journey, please sit down and rest."

After exchanging pleasantries and sitting down, Gao Xuan immediately got to the point:
"Liu Shuwen died in the imperial prison yesterday."

"How did you die?"

Lin Jiang was quite curious after hearing this.

He had never actually met Minister Liu. He knew that someone in the capital was trying to harm him, but the fighting and killing in the capital was still far removed from Lin Jiang's life. He only knew the surface of most things and was not very clear about the details.

"After the Ministry of Justice conducted a preliminary investigation, he was imprisoned pending trial. This morning, the prison guards discovered that his abdominal cavity was open and his internal organs were missing."

After saying this, Gao Xuan paused for a moment:
"The place that should have been filled with internal organs has now been stuffed with peaches."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jiang's brows furrowed slowly.

This sounds...

This doesn't seem like the kind of thing a good person would do.

"Perhaps someone doesn't want him to reveal too much information while in prison."

Gong Xuan, standing next to him, naturally started thinking in the direction of conspiracy theories.

"We have naturally investigated this matter as well. After all, Liu Shuwen has been in office for a long time, and the network of forces behind him is intricate and complex. We can't say for sure what secrets are hidden in the organs he lost."

"Then why did they ask us to come here?" Lin Jiang thought of this question.

This seems like something that should be outsourced.

After all, it involves the secrets of the imperial court. If outsiders investigate and touch upon taboos, how should Gao Xuan deal with it?
“This case is indeed related to you two,” Gao Xuan said. “After Liu Shuwen died, a lot of blood flowed out of his disemboweled abdomen, and this blood flowed out of the prison cell and towards the residence where you two live.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Jiang was slightly taken aback.

Bloodstains suddenly appeared before my eyes in the morning.

"Last night there was a torrential downpour, and the roads were flooded. How did the Dali Temple confirm the bloodstains?" Gong Xuan asked, puzzled.

“The prison has its own secret tracking techniques,” Gao Xuan said. “One reason is to invite you two to help with the investigation, and the other is to hear if you know any hidden details.”

Based on what I've heard so far, it's possible that I'm asking them for help, but it's definitely true that I'm asking them about something.

Minister Liu died in prison, and his internal organs were suspected to have been removed. The person who removed Minister Liu's internal organs took advantage of the stormy night to come to the gate of Minister Liu's former son-in-law.

It sounds incredibly eerie.

However, Lin Jiang really didn't know anything.

So he shook his head:
"I'm not really sure."

Gao Xuan stared at the two of them for a while, and finally nodded.

"I see."

Another sigh escaped:
"I was the one who recommended this house to you, young master. Please forgive my routine inquiry."

"It's alright." Lin Jiang then asked, "Are there any other clues now?"

"According to the blood-tracing technique, the bloodstains extended all the way to the outside of the capital city gates, and then headed eastward towards the capital. It would be difficult to find anything further down there, and we would need to consult the fortune tellers in the capital." Gao Xuan said this, and then turned to look at Gong Xuan, "I wonder if you are interested in this matter, Master."

Gong Xuan did not answer, but only glanced at Lin Jiang.

Recalling what Gong Xuan had told him before, Lin Jiang roughly understood the meaning behind Gong Xuan's look.

You must never agree to any business that makes money, otherwise his barren fate will start to cause trouble, and the gold and silver he earns will disappear in no time.

This matter still requires Lin Jiang's approval.

"What would the pay be if I took this job as an unofficial employee?"

Hearing Lin Jiang's question, Gao Xuan was taken aback, so he stroked his beard and smiled, saying:

"If you two are willing to help, this matter will be easy to accomplish, and giving each of you a hundred taels of silver is not difficult."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jiang's eyes lit up immediately.

As expected of the Dali Temple in the capital!
Even in Cangsong, it would be impossible for Wen Xiangyi's water-farming skills to raise a hundred taels of silver in a short time, while the capital could obtain so much from a single engagement fee.

They really are rich.

After listening to Gao Xuan's words, Gong Xuan shook his head slightly and added, "Just give my share of the silver to you, young master."

Although he didn't understand the reason, Gao Xuan nodded in agreement. After the group finished discussing, Gao Xuan summoned his guard and asked him to take Lin Jiang and Gong Xuan towards the dungeon.

Without any delays on the way, the group quickly arrived at the dungeon. As soon as they reached the entrance, Lin Jiang noticed that a large number of people had already gathered there.

They all appeared to be officials from the Court of Judicial Review. They were gathered around the prison gate, looking quite busy, presumably because the death of Minister Liu yesterday had given them a major headache.

The guard explained the situation to the jailer on duty. The jailer glanced at Lin Jiang and Gong Xuan, but his face showed a hint of distrust.
"The Dali Temple always likes to find outside help. Can street thugs really be better than legitimate coroners?"

Although his voice was soft, it reached the ears of Lin Jiang and Gong Xuan. Upon hearing this, Gong Xuan smiled helplessly:

"In terms of examining corpses, I am ashamed to admit that I am not as good as a professional coroner."

However, as Gao Xuan's guards stood still in front of the jailer, the jailer immediately shrank back and retreated to the wall.

As Lin Jiang passed through the dark passage, a thick stench of blood instantly enveloped his mouth and nose. Looking ahead, he saw a pair of people dressed in black standing in the cell.

The couple, a man and a woman, were around forty years old. They carried a paulownia wood medical box slung across their shoulders, and the box was filled with neatly arranged instruments.

They weren't wearing official robes, but rather what looked like professional attire.

Gong Xuan glanced at it and immediately recognized it:

"These two must be the coroners."

During the Daxing Dynasty, coroners were responsible for investigating the cause of death, similar to forensic doctors in later times.

Unfortunately, the corpse in front of them was too bizarre, and the two coroners didn't know how to proceed.

Hearing footsteps outside, the two of them turned their heads and saw the guard. They both stood up and bowed to him.

"Shiro Seiji".

Lin Jiang turned his head to look at the guard in front of him; this was the first time he had heard the guard's surname.

Seeing that the two coroners had set their sights on Lin Jiang and Gong Xuan, the man surnamed Bai, Cheng Si, gave a brief introduction of the two.

Upon hearing that an outside coroner had arrived, the two coroners seemed relieved and made way for him.

The jailer outside was full of discontented sarcasm, but the two coroners inside didn't share that sentiment.

After entering the cell, Lin Jiang finally got a clear look at the corpse.

The old man with a weathered face lay on his back on the ground, his abdomen split open, revealing a chest cavity and spine filled with peaches the size of fists.

The pungent, sweet smell of blood, along with the grotesque corpse, rushed towards him, causing Lin Jiang to frown slightly.

Minister Liu's withered face showed no sign of pain or fear, but rather appeared as serene as someone taking a nap in the afternoon.

Lin Jiang, who was in the chest cavity, had just examined the peaches carefully.

There are eleven in total.

"Have you two made any new discoveries?" Shiro asked.

The male coroner shook his head: "We've tried quite a few methods, but the person with the entrails has obviously escaped the city. Apart from the east, we can't be sure of anything else."

Turning back to the wine cup again:

"Does this Taoist priest have any good methods?"

After a moment's thought, Gong Xuan said, "This humble Taoist needs to try setting up an altar. I would appreciate it if you could prepare some materials for the altar."

Shiro immediately went out to handle the matter.

Only the two coroners and Lin Jiang and Gong Xuan remained together. Both of them looked visibly uneasy. Gong Xuan was frowning, crouching down to examine the corpse, while the woman lowered her voice and asked:
"Sir, have you found anything?"

"I am not much of an adult, and my skills in autopsy are far inferior to yours."

"You wouldn't dare say that. We've only learned a very basic thing..."

In the general public, they are not well-regarded. After all, death is a taboo subject, and talking about it will always be disliked. Coroners deal with corpses every day, and sometimes they even have to use knives to check the internal condition of the corpse, which will naturally make those who lack knowledge feel fear.

This resulted in a generally low status for coroners. They were relatively better off in the Dali Temple, but their situation would have been even worse in other government offices.

"Have you two noticed anything else?"

Upon hearing Gong Xuan's question, both coroners remained silent for a long while before the older man finally lowered his voice and said:
"Although Minister Liu has lost all his internal organs, there is no sign of his soul dissipating from his body. Either a master of soul-stealing directly took Minister Liu's soul, or Minister Liu was never dead at all."

Lin Jiang glanced at the corpse on the ground and thought it was unlikely that the person was still alive.

Then there's only one option left: someone would use a soul-stealing sorcery to take away his internal organs along with him.

Before long, Bai Chengsi returned to the dungeon with the items he needed.

Gong Xuan first placed the live fish on the ground, took a string of five-zhu coins, lit a talisman, took blood from the corpse, and smeared it on the coins. Then he threw the coins into the flames. After the flames licked away, the inscriptions on the coins had turned dark red, and he stuffed them into the fish's mouth.

He carried the fish to a body of water, threw it in, and then spread a map of the entire Liang region on the water's surface. The live fish that had swallowed the copper coin thrashed twice on the map, then suddenly darted to the bottom.

Then there was a loud bang.

The fish floated to the surface, its belly ripped open, clearly dead.

The copper coin, defying common sense, floated on the water and landed on the bottom of the map.

Bai Chengsi immediately had someone retrieve the map and examine it closely to see exactly where the marked locations were.

After a moment, he said to Lin Jiang and Gong Xuan:

"This place is Qingniwa in Northeast China."

(End of this chapter)