I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

"Mr. Kai, please."

The servant in the county government office led Kal'tsit and the others to a side room in the county government office.

"I have something to say to Mr. Kal'tsit. You may leave now."

Bai Zhi gave the lynx a look that said to call her if needed, then pulled Pei Jue and the clerk, Wolper, outside.

“Mr. Kal'tsit, please.”

Once inside, Lu Huaide dismissed everyone and then invited Kal'tsit to sit down.

"Thank you very much, sir."

Without hesitation, Kal'tsit thanked Lu Huaide and then chose a chair to sit down.

"Mr. Kal'tsit, is it really impossible to find anything out from Magistrate Gu's charred corpse?"

After Lu Huaide sat down, he asked Kal'tsit with a puzzled look.

"Lord Lu... what do you mean by that?"

Kal'tsit also responded with a question.

"Isn't there a single suspicious detail about that charred corpse?"

Lu Huaide asked the question, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“When Magistrate Gu first took office, it was already late when he passed through the suburbs, so he stayed at a post station in the suburbs, intending to take up his post the next day. This is understandable.”

"But this post station never catches fire, yet on the very night that Magistrate Gu stayed at the post station, a huge fire burned a grown man alive to death."

"Was this really an accidental fire?"

Disbelief was written all over Lu Huaide's face.

"Lord Lu."

Kal'tsit said:

"I have only come to mourn the passing of my friend. As for the cause of this fire, I dare not speak presumptuously, much less offer any comment."

Upon hearing this, Lu Huaide glanced slightly at the outside of the house, and after confirming that no one was eavesdropping, he turned back to Kal'tsit.

"I'll tell you the truth."

"I absolutely do not believe it was an accidental fire."

"Magistrate Gu was murdered and his body was then burned to death!"

Lu Huaide's assertive words caught Kelsey's attention.

"Does Lord Lu have any evidence?"

"Ugh……"

Lu Huaide shook his head and sighed.

"If I had even a shred of evidence, I would have punished those petty officials in the county government long ago."

“Mr. Kal'tsit, even if you don’t care about my reputation, please at least consider that Magistrate Gu was your colleague and colleague. Please investigate this case thoroughly and find out the truth so that Magistrate Gu’s spirit can rest in peace, and so that I can give an explanation to the court.”

Lu Huaide looked at Kal'tsit, his words clearly placing all his hopes for solving the case on her.

"...You flatter me, sir."

Kal'tsit's eyebrows twitched slightly, and then she said:

"However, in my opinion, Magistrate Gu did indeed die in the fire."

Lu Huaide frowned and asked:

“How come you see?”

"Because Magistrate Gu's mouth contained soot."

Kal'tsit's words made Lu Huayde even more puzzled.

"Does this prove that Magistrate Gu was burned alive in the fire?"

"My lord, you are unaware of this."

Kal'tsit began to explain to him:

"When a living person encounters fire and is forced to run and struggle, their mouth opens and their breath flows in and out, so the soot will inevitably enter their mouth."

"If it is cremation after death... since the mouth is closed and the vital energy has stopped, no soot will enter."

After hearing Kelsey's explanation, Lu Huaide nodded slightly, as if he understood.

"Now that Magistrate Gu's mouth is full of soot, it is enough to prove that he ran through the fire before he died."

“Mr. Kal'tsit is truly a man of great talent. His words have broadened my horizons considerably.”

Lu Huaide sighed with admiration, praising Kal'tsit.

"but……"

He then asked:

"Even if Magistrate Gu died in the fire, did no one kill him, set fire to the house, or deliberately dispose of the body in this way?"

“Magistrate Gu was an official appointed by the imperial court. Now that he has died an unnatural death, even if there are still some doubts that have not been proven, the case cannot be closed hastily.”

"I must get to the bottom of this. I will not rest until I have found out the truth!"

Seeing Lu Huaide's insistence, Kal'tsit nodded slightly and then said:

"Now that you've reminded me, I'm thinking of coming."

"May I go down to the fire scene to take a look?"

"Hey!"

Lu Huaide slapped his thigh, a look of joy on his face.

"You and I are thinking the same thing!"

Kal'tsit's eyes flickered slightly, and then she cupped her hands in a slight gesture of agreement.

■

[Ruins of a post station on the outskirts of Meicheng]

Standing beside the ruins, Lu Huaide pointed to a section of crumbling walls and said to Kal'tsit:

"That was the house where Magistrate Gu stayed."

The two stepped into the ruins one after the other, and all they could see was a scene of devastation caused by fire and smoke.

"Oh...it's a truly appalling sight."

Lu Huaide sighed deeply, and his words became sorrowful.

"This gives you an idea of ​​how tragic the death of Magistrate Gu must have been..."

The thought of that passionate young man dying tragically before he could realize his ambitions filled Lu Huaide with grief, and he couldn't help but shed tears.

"My lord, please accept my condolences."

"What we can do now is to find out the truth and restore Magistrate Gu's reputation... Sir, why are the people from the county government here?"

Before Kal'tsit could finish her persuasion, she saw Clerk Volper running over with four or five men.

"Don't worry."

Lu Huaide picked up his sleeve, wiped away his tears, and said loudly:

"With this old man here, they dare not act recklessly."

After saying that, Lu Huaide lifted his leg and walked towards them.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency."

Clerk Walper reached out to help Lu Huaide up, saying:

"Upon hearing that the Prefect had come to inspect the site, I was afraid that something unexpected might happen, so I rushed here."

Lu Huaide waved his hand away from Volper's hand and said coldly:

"Are you afraid something will happen to me, or are you afraid that Mr. Kal'tsit will find evidence?"

"Ok?"

A coincidence on the 27th?

Clerk Walper looked around, his face showing grievance, and said:

"If Mr. Kai can find out the truth about Magistrate Gu's death, we won't be suspected by others anymore. That would be exactly what we want!"

"What a silver tongue!"

Lu Huaide scolded:

"Regardless of whether Magistrate Gu was murdered or not, none of you can escape responsibility."

"Your Excellency, Prefect..."

Registrar Walper's expression showed even more grievance.

"If you suspect us of being the murderers, then... then you can lock us up in jail."

"Oh, so you're starting to complain now?"

Lu Huaide snorted lightly, pointed to the ground, and said coldly:

"Where is this place?"

"Uh……"

The three Walpers all stared at him.

"This is a suburban post station within the jurisdiction of Meicheng County."

Kal'tsit lowered her eyes slightly, moved her shoes aside, and squatted down to pick up a piece of charred charcoal.

"Magistrate Gu was burned alive in this fire. How can you escape responsibility?"