Ch 163: Nameless Male Corpse
Three days later
A constable hurried to Lin Manor.
“Lord! Constable Pang asks you to come over. A nameless male corpse has been found in the west of the city.”
Lin Tian frowned slightly upon hearing this and said in a deep voice, “Another person has died. How is the case investigation going? Do you have any leads on the murderer?”
The constable respectfully replied, “There are no clues yet, but Constable Pang and Lord Longyuan already have some ideas.”
Lin Tian lightly “Mmm”ed. Three days of calm; is it about to become turbulent again?
Calculating, Ling Hai and the others should be returning soon.
Without thinking further, Lin Tian got up, deciding to go to the west of the city to investigate.
The west of the city was now a scene of chaos.
A group of constables was working hard to maintain order, tightly surrounding the scene. The coroner was focused on examining the corpse.
“Disperse, disperse! All irrelevant people, disperse!” The constables shouted loudly, dispersing the onlookers.
The common people were whispering to each other on the side.
“I think this must be the work of ghosts and gods.”
“You came late and didn’t see the corpse. The person’s face was peeled off; it was terrifying.”
As soon as Lin Tian appeared, the government soldiers and constables saluted one after another, shouting in unison, “Lord!”
Lin Tian nodded in acknowledgment and then walked straight to the corpse.
The deceased was completely naked, his face completely peeled off, and his entire body had been frozen into an ice sculpture. His appearance was very miserable and terrifying.
“Brother Lin!” Pang Shan stepped forward to greet him.
Lin Tian frowned, his tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction: “Why has another person died? Longyuan, didn’t you say that the murderer wouldn’t commit another crime without hallucinogenic powder?”
“It’s been three days; haven’t you found any leads?”
Longyuan helplessly waved his hand, explaining, “The murderer indeed won’t commit another crime. This person died three days ago.”
“The time of death was even earlier than the third woman.”
“You also know that it snowed heavily a few days ago. The murderer randomly abandoned the corpse here, and it was covered by heavy snow overnight.”
“If it weren’t for the bright sun these past two days, we really wouldn’t have discovered it.”
Pang Shan had been working hard on this case for the past few days, his dark circles were heavy. He interjected, “Brother Longyuan is right, Brother Lin. You can’t blame Brother Longyuan for this.”
“Judging from the condition of the corpse, the age should be over fifty. The face was most likely peeled off by Thousand Faces to make a human skin mask.”
“In other words, Thousand Faces might be hiding in the crowd right now, coldly watching our every move.”
Longyuan: “Maybe he’s even laughing at our incompetence.”
Lin Tian’s heart was full of annoyance. So many days had passed, and they still had no information about the murderer. It was really troublesome.
“What about the first and second victims? Have you investigated them clearly?”
“Is there any connection between the deaths of these two people and Thousand Faces? If there is no connection, then it’s too coincidental, so coincidental that…” Lin Tian was momentarily speechless.
Longyuan said, “There shouldn’t be a connection. The first victim committed suicide.”
“That Councilor Chen’s daughter was arranged by her family to marry into the Lu family, marrying the Lu family’s young master, as dictated by her parents and matchmakers.”
“But that Lu family’s young master is an idiot. According to eyewitnesses, at their first meeting, the Lu family’s young master used a manure ladle to scoop up a spoonful of yellow water and directly gave the Chen family’s daughter a ‘golden face’.”
“Even so, Councilor Chen still didn’t give up on letting his daughter marry into the Lu family. This is related to the two families’ business.”
“So I guess the first victim has nothing to do with Thousand Faces.”
Lin Tian then asked, “What about the second one?”
Pang Shan said, “The second one probably doesn’t have anything to do with it either. The second victim is the daughter of the boss of the Jingrou Silk Shop in the south of the city.”
“His daughter was fond of a scholar. The two were in love, dry wood meeting a raging fire, and then it was out of control.”
“It’s just that the scholar’s family was not well-off. There was only an old mother at home. The silk shop owner didn’t agree to the marriage.”
“That scholar committed suicide. The time of death was a week ago.”
“I guess it’s related to himself. He wanted to study and take the imperial examinations but found that he couldn’t afford books at all. He wanted to marry a wife but found that he didn’t have a penny.”
“The scholar’s mother also died, most likely because she saw her son commit suicide, couldn’t accept it for a while, and was too old to withstand the blow.”
“This matter was discovered a week ago. It was investigated clearly and was not a homicide.”
“The silk shop owner’s daughter heard the news of the scholar’s death, was depressed all day long, and eventually followed the scholar, her fragrant soul disappearing.”
Lin Tian was still skeptical: “Really no connection? What if Thousand Faces did it on purpose, deliberately trying to trip you up?”
Longyuan nodded slightly: “I also think it’s suspicious, but there’s too little evidence to prove that it was Thousand Faces.”
Lin Tian only felt an unbearable headache at this time. This feeling was like his house being stolen, and he didn’t know who did it.
It was really frustrating, having power but no place to use it. He realized for the first time that breaking all laws with one force was not omnipotent.
At this time, a constable hurried over and whispered a few words in Pang Shan’s ear.
Pang Shan frowned, responded, and then turned to look at Lin Tian: “Brother Lin, should that school teacher be released?”
“He hasn’t closed his eyes for two days and two nights, and he’s been starved for three days. Now he’s fainted from hunger.”
“I’m afraid if we don’t let him go, he’s really going to die in prison.”
Lin Tian casually waved his hand: “Let him go. Since it’s not related to this case, you can handle it yourself.”
“Wait!” Longyuan hurriedly waved his hand to stop him and then asked, “What’s not related to this case?”
Pang Shan “Oh”ed: “Brother Longyuan, you don’t know about this.”
“That school teacher was the father of the second victim.”
“There was only one daughter in the family, but he didn’t care much about her. He basically lived in the school and didn’t go home.”
“When he heard the news of his daughter’s death, his expression didn’t fluctuate much, as if it was the death of an outsider.”
“Originally, it had nothing to do with this case, and there was no evidence to connect him to it, but Brother Lin thought that since he was a suspect, he should be locked up first…”
Longyuan fell into deep thought upon hearing this. He closed his eyes, and countless faces flashed quickly in his mind.
Suddenly, a strange face appeared in his mind, looking at him with a smile that was not a smile.
Pang Shan saw that Longyuan was not quite right and called out, “Brother Longyuan! Brother Longyuan!”
Longyuan slowly came back to his senses and then shook his head: “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I haven’t rested well these past two days.”
“My head hurts a little. I want to take my brain out to cool it down.”
Pang Shan laughed twice: “Brother Longyuan is really joking! How can you take your brain out?”
Lin Tian also suggested: “I think you should investigate the first and second victims again.”
“According to what you said, I think the scholar’s death is suspicious. Could it be that the silk shop owner forced the scholar to death!”
“Or is there another hidden story? It’s better to live badly than to die. If you lose a woman, you can find another one. If you lose money, you can beg for food.”
“Did this scholar read so many books of sages and worthies and read them all to the dogs? Even if the families are not well-matched and he can’t be with that woman, he can’t commit suicide, right?”
“Moreover, he has an old mother to support. How could he commit suicide casually?”
Pang Shan also responded: “Yes, I’ll call someone to investigate now, focusing on the silk shop owner.”
At the same time, a large horse carrying a person slowly came from outside Qingshui County Town.
But it looked a bit miserable. The person was lying on the horse’s back, his life or death unknown.
An arrow was also stuck in the horse’s butt. After walking a few steps, the person rolled off the horse’s back, and then the horse also fell to the ground.
