Chapter 11: It Must Be the Work of Demons

Yu Linlang leaned on Jiujin's hand and stepped down from the carriage once more, staring with an unreadable expression at a person lying in front of the vehicle.

To be precise, it was a corpse with its abdomen hollowed out, lying there quite brazenly and steadily in front of the carriage.

The curious onlookers surrounding them were now covering their mouths and stepping aside to vomit.

The state of the corpse was truly horrific, enough to make anyone turn pale at the sight.

Yu Linlang looked up at the three-story small building directly opposite, then lowered her brows to look at the corpse's grayish-blue, square-shaped face.

Hearing the commotion, Yu Shoudao arrived quickly with a group of people. When he saw the corpse sprawled on the ground, he nearly collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

What on earth was happening?

The Heir of Marquis Xuanping from the capital and the official from the Criminal Investigation Bureau had just arrived, and two murder cases had already broken out one after another on the streets of Weizhou Prefecture.

"What is it? What is it? Let me see!" Mu Feng pushed aside the guards blocking his way and ran over excitedly to take a look.

He quickly retreated, one hand clutching his chest, his expression shifting through several different shades.

Quick-witted, a guard hurriedly fetched a jade basin from the carriage and handed it to his young master to vomit into.

Jiujin cast a glance at him, her eyes filled with such disdain they nearly flew to the heavens.

Mu Zhao felt helpless. He instructed the guards to assist his brother to the side for care, while he followed the grief-stricken Yu Shoudao forward to investigate.

Soon, Yu Shoudao also retreated to the back to vomit...

Beside the corpse, only Heir Mu Zhao and the official from the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Lord Lu, stood there calmly, conversing in low voices.

Yu Shoudao desperately wanted to warn the Heir and Lord Lu not to stand so close to that eerie corpse, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he began to dry heave repeatedly, vomiting until he was completely disoriented.

"Greetings, Heir, and Lord."

The coroner, Old Man Li, was a gaunt old man with a slight limp in his left leg, making his gait somewhat uneven and very slow.

Lu Qian turned to look at him and nodded. "Old Li, perform a preliminary examination of the body first, then send it to the Governor's Office for a detailed re-examination."

"Yes."

Since it was a preliminary examination on a main street, Old Man Li did not burn mugwort; he merely put on a pair of professional protective gloves and slowly crouched beside the corpse to inspect it.

Nearby, several bailiffs were questioning passersby, but almost everyone was vomiting. Consequently, the master and servant duo of Yu Linlang, who appeared not to be vomiting at all, stood out remarkably...

Mu Zhao and Lu Qian naturally noticed this expressionless pair.

The two of them were unnervingly calm, unlike normal people.

Mu Zhao had a sudden thought: this Miss Yu had just examined an infant's corpse with such skill and without any hesitation; she was likely an expert in the field.

With this in mind, he decided to lead Lu Qian over to them.

Halfway there, perhaps feeling that approaching a young lady like this might seem somewhat abrupt, he had someone bring the still-vomiting Governor along to join the conversation.

"Lord Yu, please help us ask your daughter where this corpse came from and if she saw anyone suspicious just now."

Lu Qian had already heard from others that this Miss Yu had previously examined an infant's corpse. Aside from a few terms that were difficult to understand, her findings were almost identical to those of the coroner, Old Man Li.

She seemed to be a meticulous person who understood the art of examination.

Thus, following the Heir's gaze, he looked toward Lord Yu, who was still dry heaving.

Lord Yu was vomiting uncomfortably and felt that behaving this way in front of two nobles on a public street was quite unrefined.

However, being asked by Heir Mu Zhao, he almost forgot to vomit. He looked at them with a dazed expression. "Who? Heir, you... who are you talking about? Whose daughter?"

Holding the jade basin, Mu Feng shuffled toward Yu Shoudao. Suppressing the urge to gag, he blinked his eyes. "Lord Yu, you? You don't even recognize your own daughter!"

Yu Shoudao was stunned. He turned to look at the expressionless Yu Linlang, then hurriedly covered his face with his sleeve and dry heaved twice more.

Hearing him vomit, Mu Feng felt a wave of nausea in his chest as well. However, since he had already vomited almost everything, he followed the Governor's lead, clutching his basin and continuing to dry heave...

While dry heaving, he couldn't help being talkative. "Lord Yu, are you serious? Your daughter just announced her identity on the street—she's the young lady of the Governor's Manor! *Gag*... You actually don't recognize her? What kind of father-daughter relationship is this? *Gag*..."

Lu Qian cast a helpless glance at Heir Mu.

The latter was even more helpless. He gave his mischievous younger brother a frustrated yet amused pat on the head. "Stop fooling around. Changqing, take the Young Master to the carriage to rest."

As Yu Shoudao fought back the urge to vomit, a sudden moment of clarity struck him, and his eyes lit up.

"You... you are Linlang, aren't you? Ah, Linlang is back, *gag*..."

Yu Shoudao truly could not hold it in any longer. Before he could exchange even a few words of greeting with his daughter, he rushed to the side to vomit again.

Yu Linlang gave him a cold glance, then withdrew her gaze and offered a perfunctory bow to Mu Zhao and his companion.

"I was in the carriage with my maid just now and did not see how the corpse appeared. I only heard a heavy thud, and then the body fell there."

Yu Linlang pointed toward the building opposite. "So, it is highly likely it was thrown from there, though I am not certain of the exact circumstances."

The two men looked in the direction she pointed. Seeing the third-floor window wide open, they hurriedly summoned guards to investigate the building across the street.

Feeling somewhat fatigued, Yu Linlang left Jiujin to guard the outside and went back to the carriage to rest.

Once the sounds of vomiting from the crowd subsided, many fearful whispers began to emerge. "It must be a demon causing trouble."

"Exactly, otherwise how could it be so terrifying, with the heart, lungs, and liver all gouged out and eaten?"

"Mother, are there really demons in this world?"

"Don't talk nonsense, child, or you'll attract unclean things."

Yu Linlang pressed a hand to her head and lifted a corner of the curtain. "Jiujin, go ask when we can leave."

After making inquiries, Jiujin quickly replied, "Miss, they say we can leave immediately. After the preliminary examination, the corpse has already been transported to the Governor's Office."

"They likely need to conduct a second examination. It is said the deceased was around forty years old, and their identity has not yet been confirmed. The authorities should send people to conduct inquiries later."

Seeing that Yu Linlang's expression remained indifferent, as if she had no desire to listen further, Jiujin fell silent. He lowered the curtain and urged the driver, "We should be able to go now. Let's head back to the manor; the Young Lady is likely tired."

At that moment, Yu Shoudao hurried forward again, lifting the curtain to catch his daughter's eye.

"Does the Lord have more business?" Yu Linlang asked with a raised eyebrow, her mood quite poor.

Hearing her cold tone—she wouldn't even call him "Father"—Yu Shoudao couldn't help but sigh lamentably. "Linlang, go back to the manor first with Mother Hu and the others."

"The family thought you would arrive at the city two days ago, so everything has already been prepared for you."

"Your mother has been waiting for you at home for a long time. Go back first."

Yu Shoudao felt he was providing affectionate care, but he received not a single word in response from his daughter.

Seeing only her cold, clear eyes staring at him and a slight nod, Yu Shoudao found himself momentarily at a loss for words.

Feeling a small pang of guilt, Yu Shoudao sighed. "Go on, then."