I'm just an ornamental fish in the water.

"What did you say?!"

Pang Jun threw down the fishing rod in his hand, stood up abruptly, and stared intently at his grandson. Although he was certain that his grandson would not lie about such a matter, he still scolded him.

"To curse a county magistrate and to believe rumors—do you know what kind of crime that is?"

The man finally caught his breath and said with difficulty, "How could your grandson dare to lie about such an important matter? As you know, the county magistrate is a member of the Xu family, and we have always been close friends. The head of the Xu family has already gone to the county government office, and before he went, he instructed his grandson to invite you over!"

Upon hearing this, Pang Jun could no longer sit still, but he had not forgotten Jiang Li. He turned around and said, "Young Master Jiang, things have happened suddenly, please forgive me for not being able to talk to you."

"Master Pang, you flatter me. I have a request that I may make."

Jiang Li also stood up and said, "The magistrate of Yanshi County is from the Chen family. My family has some connection with the Chen family. Having heard such bad news, and being in Yanshi, it is really against the rules not to go and pay respects."

"Please, Master Pang, could you please take me with you?"

Upon hearing this, Pang Jun, being from a prominent family, naturally understood that Jiang Li's request was not inappropriate, and immediately nodded.

"In that case, Young Master Jiang, please come with me in my carriage!"

"Thank you, Master Pang."

As Jiang Li spoke, she stepped forward and, together with the Pang family man, helped Pang Jun to the carriage. "Don't be hasty in times of trouble. Walk along the ridges of the field and don't trample the seedlings."

After his initial shock, Pang Jun regained his mature and composed demeanor, and his voice softened.

"Yes, Grandfather."

Only then did the Pang family man notice Jiang Li standing to the side. He glanced at her clothes but didn't ask any further questions.

Jiang Li boarded the carriage with Pang Jun, and the driver cracked his whip, sending the carriage speeding towards the county town.

As one of the three great families in Yanshi County, the Pang family's carriage was naturally not stopped at the city gate. It entered the city without stopping and headed straight for the county government office.

Upon arriving at the county government office, before even getting out of the car, we heard a series of noises.

Pang Jun got off the carriage somewhat anxiously, and Jiang Li naturally followed.

Although it was only early morning, as the news spread, at least all the prominent families in Yanshi County sent people over.

The three great puppet master families, Xi, Pang, and Xu, even mobilized their patriarchs.

In an instant, the county government office was filled with commotion as everyone discussed this unexpected situation.

Pang Jun strode directly into the county government office. The people there naturally recognized the old man from the Pang family and came forward to pay their respects. Pang Jun, however, paid no attention to them, merely nodded hastily, and went straight to the backyard, where he found that the backyard gate was also surrounded by people.

When Pang Jun arrived, they all quieted down.

Xu Zhongda met with Master Pang.

A middle-aged man stepped forward and said in a low voice, "You've finally arrived. The incident happened so suddenly that everything is in chaos and rumors are spreading everywhere. I'm afraid it won't be long before the whole of Yanshi County knows about it."

"We are waiting for you to take charge."

Pang Jun nodded slowly and asked, "Zhongda, how are the arrangements going? Where are the County Magistrate and the County Commandant?"

"A messenger has been sent to Luoyang, but even at the fastest pace, it will take at least until tomorrow to arrive."

Xu Zhongda said in a serious tone, "The county magistrate is currently arranging the bodies of the county magistrate and his family in the courtyard and setting up a mourning hall. The coroner is also waiting, but without Lord Chen from Luoyang's permission, he dares not conduct an autopsy."

"The county magistrate has already led men to investigate, but there was a heavy rain last night. If the thieves committed the murders before the rain, it will be difficult to find any trace of them."

Pang Jun closed his eyes briefly and said in a deep voice, "We can't wait any longer. Let the coroner examine the body first. The incident happened so suddenly; if we don't find some clues in time, it might be too late!"

"Yes, I will go and tell them right away."

Xu Zhongda secretly breathed a sigh of relief; it was certainly good to have a tall guy to back him up. "Alright, let me go inside and talk."

Pang Jun stopped the other party, thought for a moment, and turned to Jiang Li, saying, "Young Master Jiang, come with me. You should also offer incense."

"Yes."

Jiang Li nodded; this was exactly what he wanted.

However, at this juncture, it would be somewhat illegitimate for him to go in, while old scholar Pang Jun seemed to have forgotten this.

Is the atmospheric transport system gaining momentum again?

Jiang Li, lost in thought, followed Pang Jun into the backyard.

In the backyard, white cloth had been tied to the main hall, a mourning tent had been set up, and white candles had been lit.

The magistrate of Yanshi County stood in front of the mourning hall, his brows furrowed, seemingly sorrowful, but deep in his eyes there was a hint of joy.

Given this strange turn of events, and the fact that the new emperor has just ascended the throne and will undoubtedly prioritize stability, my chances as his deputy have increased considerably.

"Lord Pang, you've finally arrived."

However, upon seeing Pang Jun, he skillfully concealed his joy. "Your Excellency, Magistrate."

Pang Jun nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "Let the coroner examine the body. I will take full responsibility."

"Alright, with your word, I can rest assured."

Without hesitation, the county magistrate waved his hand, and the coroner, who had been prepared in advance, walked to the mourning hall and quietly took away Magistrate Chen's body.

Jiang Li had left Pang Jun's side at some point and was standing in a corner, silently observing.

In the mourning hall, a straw mat was laid out, on which lay six corpses covered with white cloth.

As the coroner took Magistrate Chen's body away, Jiang Li looked around but didn't detect any ghostly aura. He figured that all the clues he could find on the body had already been investigated, and with so many people around, he stopped paying attention to the county government office.

Upon realizing this, Jiang Li's hand twitched slightly inside her sleeve.

Concealing Breath Talisman, Invisibility Talisman, Wall-Passing Talisman.

In an instant, three talismans were cast upon him, and no one noticed that Jiang Li had disappeared.

Jiang Li followed the coroner and went straight to the side room.

The coroner closed the door tightly, leaving only a notebook for recording information. He lit a candle and lifted the white sheet covering the body. Please remember the only official website for this novel: www.deqixs.org. This is the only website; other websites may be discontinued at any time.

He leaned closer and slowly reached out to press down on the corpse.

He frowned as he pressed the body, and sighed, "Oh no, judging from how fresh the body is, it must have died around midnight last night, before the rain. This is going to be difficult."

The book also looked distressed and silently began to record.

The coroner then continued to examine the body.

As he looked on, his expression grew increasingly puzzled.

"From the outside, the cause of death was not apparent; there were no wounds on the limbs, chest, abdomen, or heart, and no ligature marks on the neck..."

The coroner slowly pried open the corpse's mouth, frowning as he said, "No signs of poisoning..."

Jiang Li listened quietly from the shadows. This was an old coroner who could tell a lot about a body even without opening it.

"It's these eyes..."

The coroner focused his attention on the corpse's eyes and pondered, "The pupils have suddenly contracted and the eyelids are taut. The person must have been extremely frightened before death. To confirm this, we must cut open the chest and abdomen to examine the internal organs."

"When a person dies from fright, their internal organs will inevitably contract..." As he spoke, the coroner picked up a sharp ox-ear knife and slowly cut open the body's chest and abdomen.

However, something strange happened.

The body's chest and abdomen were opened, but not a single drop of blood flowed out!

It should be noted that even after a person dies, if the body is opened within six hours, it will still bleed.

Even if the body is stiff and blood has accumulated, at least blood clots will still flow out from the chest, abdomen, and back.

However, when Magistrate Chen's chest and abdomen were cut open, not only was there no blood, but his internal organs also appeared pale and bloodless.

The coroner frowned deeply, as if he had suddenly thought of something, and carefully made a cut on the thigh.

There was still no blood, but the coroner no longer paid attention to that. Instead, he reached inside and slowly groped for something.

The more the coroner explored, the more bizarre and horrified his expression became.

He didn't even care that this was the corpse of the county magistrate, and repeatedly swung his knife, making a cut on the thigh, calf, limbs, shoulder blade, back, and even neck.

Each time the coroner made a cut to open the wound, he would reach out and feel around.

"How is this possible..." The coroner stared blankly at the book, his expression one of shock and disbelief.

"All the veins and blood vessels in the magistrate's body have disappeared..."