There is a god in the sky

Chapter 209 Ghosts or Monsters 2

Shen Lan approached the courtyard and saw the corpse that Qian Lao Er was holding tightly in his arms. Only then did she understand why he had said those words.

It was a mummified corpse.

Although he was wearing clothes, you could see that his body underneath was completely shriveled, and the exposed ankle was as dry as firewood.

The officials pushed their way forward, shouting, "Make way! All bystanders, please move to the outside of the courtyard!"

When the villagers saw the government officials, they all backed away and then peered over the wall of Qian Lao Er's house.

"The official who came this time is so young, can he investigate the case?"

"Who knows? He doesn't look even as old as Qian An."

"Do you think it was really a mountain spirit or monster that killed him?"

“Very likely, otherwise who would kill someone and then drain them dry? My mother-in-law fainted from fright when she went to give money for the burial and makeup.”

"Hurry up, hurry up, we need to tell the children at home not to go into the mountains recently."

Some villagers disagreed, saying, "There's a large academy on that mountain, with so many scholars living there, how could there be any monsters?"

Outsiders all say that Qianjia Village has good feng shui.

Sure enough, the villagers of Qianjia Village have been living better and better lives over the years, and even produced a great talent like Qian An, who passed the imperial examination and became a Juren (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). What a pity.

The officers snatched the body from Qian Lao's hands.

Even though they had seen all sorts of corpses, everyone's expression changed when they saw the body exposed under the cloth.

Shen Lan was already prepared and stepped forward with her suitcase.

"Please, just place the body on the flat ground to the side."

The body of a normal man is not too light, but this body could be lifted by one person.

With a practiced ease, Sui Feng and Sui Ying set up a small tent, blocking out the view from the outside.

Qian Lao Er was being held down by a government official, and he roared, "What are you going to do to my son?"

Xiao Ji walked up to him, waved to the official, and asked the old man, "Don't you want to know the cause of your son's death?"

"He...he died because the fox spirit drained his life force."

"Have you ever seen a fox spirit?"

"Of course not! If I had seen him, I wouldn't be alive today."

"Then how can you be so sure that it couldn't have been murdered?"

"How is that possible?" Qian Lao Er retorted, "How can a person drain another person's life force and flesh?"

Xiao Ji shook his head, "The cause of death can only be determined after the coroner performs an autopsy. Why don't you go inside and rest for a while, old man? We'll let you know when the results are available."

Shen Lan removed the corpse's outer clothing and untied the white cloth wrapped around his head.

Sui Feng whispered to Sui Ying, "Can you smell... can you smell the aroma of meat?"

Suiying pushed him away, enduring the discomfort in her stomach.

"If I had to describe it, it's somewhat like dried bacon," Shen Lan said calmly.

The body of the deceased had completely lost its moisture and blood, and the muscles were dried out, only slightly better than the skeleton.

Xiao Ji walked in and stood aside to watch.

The officials surrounded the small tent, all of them straining to listen.

Most of them were seeing Shen perform an autopsy for the first time, and coupled with the rumors circulating outside, they couldn't help but doubt her abilities.

"The deceased's bones were intact, the fatal wound could not be examined, and the time of death could not be determined."

Shen Lan knew that this case was getting tricky.

In modern times, there are other ways to determine the cause of death, but here, without finding a fatal wound and being unable to deduce the time of death from livor mortis, she finds it difficult to make a judgment.

This body must have been treated using special methods, and the time of death was probably not short.

She gently lifted the mummified corpse's hand, which was extremely stiff, as if it could be broken with the slightest force.

She really wanted to open the body to check the internal organs, but given Qian Lao Er's attitude towards his son, he definitely wouldn't agree.

"I just asked. The body was found last night in the back mountain. The last time Qian Lao Er saw Qian An was ten days ago."

Shen Lan turned to look at him and asked, "How was the identity of the deceased confirmed?"

The body's facial features were unrecognizable; even its own mother wouldn't recognize it.

"First, his clothes; he was wearing clothes from ten days ago. Second, the brass plaque around his neck, which every boy in Qianjia Village wears when he turns one month old."

"Please bring me the bronze medal; I'd like to see it."

Xiao Ji has already sent Qian Lao Er to fetch it.

When they saw the bronze plaque, Shen Lan and Xiao Ji were both quite surprised.

Because the bronze plaque was very clean, without any trace of smoke or fire.

Aside from the bronze plaque, the deceased's clothes showed no signs of damage, only some dirt.

Xiao Ji instructed the officials to put away the two pieces of evidence and said, "Have the villager who first discovered the body take us to see it."

Shen Lan put the clothes off the body back on, covered it with a white sheet, and walked out of the small tent.

Some of the officials looked at her with admiration.

Although it was impossible to discern the female coroner's abilities, her courage in the face of corpses surpassed that of many.

Qian Lao Er sat on the ground and cried.

Shen Lan hadn't seen anyone else from this family since entering the courtyard, so she asked curiously, "Where is the rest of the family?"

"There's no one else," Xiao Ji told her softly.

Shen Lan didn't ask any more questions and followed him up the mountain.

The body was found by a stream halfway up the mountain, hanging from an old locust tree, which terrified anyone who came into the mountains.

“This stream flows down from the mountain and is the drinking water for our village. After Qian An’s body was discovered, no one dared to drink the water here anymore.”

The villager who led the way was named Qian Qi, and he and Qian Lao Er were brothers.

"What's it suspended by? A rope?" Xiao Ji asked.

"No, it's a belt." Qian Qi shook his head and sighed. "It's Qian An's own belt."

If it weren't for the state of his body, we would have all thought he had hanged himself, sigh..."

Shen Lan looked up at the big tree and said, "This is not the primary crime scene. The body was moved after death. Otherwise, a normal person's weight wouldn't be able to be held up by a belt."

Xiao Ji nodded and walked around the area, but found no useful traces.

The officers dispersed but found nothing.

"What do you usually do here? There doesn't seem to be anything here."

Qian Qi replied, "It's a place to rest when you go up the mountain. Look at this big rock by the stream. Sometimes when I'm tired, I lie down here for a while."

"The murderer deliberately hung the body here so that someone would find it, right?"

Otherwise, if such a large area of ​​mountain were buried anywhere, it would probably not be discovered for decades.

Is the murderer so brazen because he thinks the authorities can't find him?

How far is it from here to the academy?

“It’s another half an hour uphill.” Qian Qi pointed upwards and said, “This is a small path. There’s a flatter mountain road to the academy that can be used by horse-drawn carriages. It’s the one to the right of our village entrance.”

Are there many people walking this path usually?

"Not many. People in our village either do business on the main road or do business with the academy. I am a hunter, so I often take this road. We usually take the main road."

Although few people have left, many people must know about it.