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

Lu Huaide shouted loudly:

“I’m telling you. As long as Mr. Kal’tsit doesn’t close the case, I won’t give up.”

"..."

Volper's clerk's eyes lit up when he saw Kal'tsit examining the charcoal, and he quickly asked:

"I wonder what suspicious clues Mr. Kai discovered at the scene?"

This sentence immediately drew everyone's attention back to Kal'tsit.

Kal'tsit tossed aside the charcoal, stood up, glanced at the nearly identical dilapidated houses around her, and asked Clerk Volper:

"Which room is Magistrate Gu staying in?"

"Uh...that's the one."

After a few moments of contemplation, Clerk Volper raised his finger and pointed to the spot where Kal'tsit was.

"Lord Lu."

Having received the information, Kal'tsit didn't ask any further questions. She went to Luweid's side and said to him:

"The initial situation at the scene of the fire was completely unrecognizable. Unless someone witnessed it with their own eyes, no one would know what the situation was like at the time, let alone dare to make any rash judgments about the death of Magistrate Gu."

"I saw it with my own eyes..."

Lu Huaide frowned and began to think carefully.

"Correct!"

He clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"Yi Cheng! Yi Cheng!"

As he spoke, he looked at the county government officials who were still standing there, and scolded them with exasperation:

"What are you all standing there for! Go to the county office and interrogate the postmaster!"

■

Meicheng County Government Jail

"Not good! Not good!"

The constables who had been ordered to interrogate the postmaster ran out in a panic.

"The postmaster... the postmaster hanged himself! The postmaster hanged himself!"

"Your Excellency! He...he...he hanged himself!"

"What! Hanged!"

Upon hearing the sound, Lu Huaide shoved the constable aside and strode into the prison.

"Hanged? Lord Kai, this..."

Bai Zhi looked at Kal'tsit with a puzzled expression, her hand already gripping the sword at her waist.

Why did he have to die right when they were about to interrogate him?

Kal'tsit shook her head slightly, then followed Lu Huaide into the cell.

"Slow down, slow down, don't move around."

"Put it down, put it down slowly."

A group of constables, one after another, hurriedly untied the body from the white silk hanging from the beam and laid it flat on a straw mat.

"stand up!"

Clerk Walper shouted angrily, then approached the corpse, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to examine it.

"stop!"

Lu Huaide stopped him.

"With Mr. Kal'tsit here, why are you trying to teach me? Get out!"

Clerk Walper was taken aback, then glanced at the man who had been standing behind Lu Huaide, and silently got up and stepped aside.

Seeing that he wisely stepped aside, Lu Huaide turned his head to look at Kal'tsit, a smile on his face:

"Mr. Kal'tsit, please."

Kal'tsit bowed slightly, then knelt down to examine the body.

Lu Huaide's gaze slowly moved, and when he saw the three shifty-looking clerks gathered together again, the smile on his face vanished instantly, replaced by coldness.

Then he spoke up and scolded them:

"This postmaster was the only eyewitness to the fire. The prefectural government repeatedly instructed him to keep a close watch on the fire. And now such a terrible thing has happened! You have committed dereliction of duty!"

"Your Excellency, Prefect."

Clerk Wolper smiled ingratiatingly and quickly went to Lu Huaide's side to explain:

“When I came to check the prison last night, he kept saying… that he had let down Magistrate Gu in heaven.”

The registrar glanced at the corpse and said again:

"But who knew...who knew he...he committed suicide in the middle of the night out of guilt."

"Oh dear, it's really impossible to guard against."

Walper's face was filled with lingering fear.

"Suicide out of fear of punishment?"

Lu Huaide glanced at him, not believing a single word he said.

"Mr. Kal'tsit hasn't even finished the autopsy yet, and you're already saying it was suicide out of guilt?"

"Isn't it too early to say? Huh?"

After saying that, Lu Huaide looked at Kal'tsit, waiting for her to finish her sentence.

Kal'tsit reached out her right hand, pulled back the clothing covering the corpse's chest, and said:

"The body's skin was completely intact."

Press your fingertips against the corpse's head and gently rotate it.

"The forehead was lacerated and there were multiple signs of impact, but it was not a fatal injury."

"The corpse's face was reddish-purple, its eyes were closed and its mouth was open. Its tongue was sticking out of its teeth, and saliva was dripping from the corners of its mouth."

Kal'tsit moved her fingertips, pressed down on the corpse's jaw, turned its head, and showed everyone the ligature marks on its lower jaw.

"The rope was slightly tied below the throat, meeting behind the ear without crossing. The marks were deep and reddish-purple in color."

"It's watertight."

Listening to her explanation, Lu Huaide nodded in satisfaction.

"Such an autopsy is truly an eye-opener for me, and I am completely convinced."

"Lord Lu."

Kal'tsit slowly rose and said softly:

"It was suicide."

"Oh?"

Lu Huaide, however, was somewhat skeptical.

"Was it really suicide?"

"But it was suicide."

"There can't be any mistake?"

Kal'tsit nodded and affirmed:

"There can be no mistake."

"Could it be... that I'm being paranoid?"

Lu Huaide looked at the corpse, seemingly talking to himself.

"With the only eyewitness dead, how could we possibly know the cause of the fire?"

"That's not surprising."

Kal'tsit straightened her clothes, took a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe her hands, and said:

"There are many unsolved mysteries in the world."

"Sir, we can go now."

"Ah. Okay."

Lu Huaide glanced at the corpse with resentment, then waved his hand and said:

“Mr. Kal'tsit, please.”

Kal'tsit nodded slightly, straightened her handkerchief, and left the cell first.

"..."

After everyone else left, the three clerks finally left the prison cell.

"?"

Clerk Walper frowned, bent down, and picked up the piece of paper that had been left at the cell door by someone.

"Which temple does this monk belong to? Why does the prefect treat her like a Buddha?"

The skinny man looked in the direction Kal'tsit had left, and said with a mixture of confusion and disdain.

"Whether she's a monk or a Buddha, since no evidence of murder can be found, Lord Lu can only assume..."

A look of joy appeared on the fat man's face.

"shut up!"

"Wolper the Registrar!" Walper suddenly shouted.