Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
“I think this is not just an ordinary murder case.” Yuan Ming’s tone deepened as they exited the underground palace.
“Why do you say so?” Helian Wei Wei stopped in her tracks.
“Do you remember the fog we saw at Green Dragon Lake last night?” Yuan Ming continued with a lowered voice, “That was formed by the entanglement of resentful Qi. The other party had intended to tarnish the auspicious atmosphere of the White Academy although that would be extremely difficult to achieve unless they managed to produce sufficient resentful Qi in a short period of time. Obviously, today’s murder was only the beginning, more people would be killed following this…”
The magistrate arrived with vigor as Yuan Ming was speaking, bowing and greeting the students of the Superior Compound.
However, he was not happy to see the corpse.
He was in charge of the safety and security of the White Academy, after all, even the higher-ups had discussed such matters with him from time to time.
Now that a murder had taken place here, all he wanted was to settle things quickly and keep as much of it under wraps as possible.
However, clearly, the magistrate had miscalculated. There was no way that the students would not be bothered by the fact that a case of murder had occurred within their living quarters. With varied expressions, every one of them was demanding for the magistrate to give an explanation.
The magistrate could not afford to offend the students from the Superior Compound. “Since everyone would like to know, then inform them about the findings from your investigation,” the magistrate said to the coroner.
“Certainly.” The coroner saluted with his hands folded as he advanced over. They were merely a bunch of silly students, making something up could not get any easier. Posing himself like a figure of authority, the coroner smiled briefly as he began, “The victim could be estimated to be around 17 to 19 years of age, the cause of death was determined as excessive blood loss, and the time of death was between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. yesterday…”
There was nothing wrong with what he had said, but his following words caused Helian Wei Wei to raise her eyebrows.
“The victim had fine features, hence, it was likely that the assailant’s motive to kill was due to an unrequited sexual advance.”
Helian Wei Wei said nothing, judging by his actions, that lowly official was definitely spewing bullsh*t.
The coroner had no intention to stop. After circling the surroundings with his eyes, he said thoughtfully, “Every night, access to the White Academy would be locked. Apart from the students that live here, it would be difficult for others to sneak in…”
There were gasps from the crowd upon hearing the coroner’s words. One student could not help but ask aloud, “Master, that would mean that the murderer is among us!”
The thought that a study mate could simply be the perverted attacker made all the young ladies in the Superior Compound restless with fear as they stared at one another, their faces drained of color.
They could not believe that something like this would happen just as the selection of secondary consort was nearing.
The coroner had no idea that his words could incite such a huge reaction. Waving his hand, he continued, “This is just my deduction, further investigation is needed to find out the overall cause of death, but the assailant is definitely male.”
Helian Wei Wei had no intention of intervening, however, the impact of this case was tremendous. If the coroner’s wrongful deductions resulted in students being misled into believing that they only had to be vigilant around males, and not females, the students could fall prey to a terrible misunderstanding.
So, she smiled faintly, “Sir, what you’re saying is that this schoolmate was murdered because of her beautiful appearance?”
The coroner did not think that anyone would still say something at this point. Shooting Helian Wei Wei a glance, he replied with a hint of impatience, “Absolutely.”
“Sir, you are so certain about it but there’s something that’s baffling me.” Helian Wei Wei continued calmly, “If the attacker had initiated a physical advance, why were the clothes worn by the victim untouched?”
The coroner was stunned just as he realized the details mentioned by Helian Wei Wei. Usually, he would not overlook such a thing, but this time, he did not look further into it seeing how the old master’s only intention was to quickly settle things.
The coroner did not know Helian Wei Wei.
He was simply discomfited with the fact that a female had pointed out his mistake publicly.
The students were not merely ignorant common folk. Upon hearing Helian Wei Wei’s analysis, their gazes fell upon the coroner as if they were pending for a reasonable explanation.
Calming his nerves, the coroner said to Helian Wei Wei, “There’s no need for any debate, the truth will prevail after I’m done with inspecting the body! Surely, the murderer is among you all!”
Finishing his words with a heavy sweep of his sleeves, he walked to the side of the magistrate. Again, he saluted with folded hands, “My Lord, I humbly request that more officers should be allocated to guard the academy. Not only can they protect the students and examinees, but they can also prevent the assailant from escaping.”
“As you requested.” The magistrate waved his hand, pleased. He had bigger visions than the coroner, with the Prince’s order for him to monitor the happenings within the White Academy, it was a good opportunity to bring more officers and soldiers into the academy. Truthfully, he was not too concerned about capturing the murderer.
Seeing how things had unfolded, Yuan Ming’s eyes shone, “Woman, would you consider leaving this place?”
“Now?” Helian Wei Wei knew that Yuan Ming would not suggest her to leave without any reason. “Why?” She questioned, her eyebrows raised.
“It’s possible that this could be the dead men mound created by Old Master Tang,” Yuan Ming said in a lowered voice.
Helian Wei Wei frowned when she heard Yuan Ming’s words. In ancient times, mounds typically referred to large scale clusters of graves, which also meant that it was not as simple as just a couple of graves. It would require at least the death of an entire family clan in order to be counted as a mound.
“Once the dead men mound begins, it will continue until every last person in the formation dies, thus completing it. There’s still time if you leave now, the effect of resentful Qi on you right now is huge.” Yuan Ming swept a glance in the direction of the magistrate who just left, a hint of mockery in the corners of his eyes. “I doubt that these people can find out the source in two days and the moon would be full within two nights. You definitely would not be able to withstand it.”
Helian Wei Wei knew that Yuan Ming was right, although she felt that she could not just leave. “Why don’t we let the students evacuate first?”
“For the dead men mound, it doesn’t matter where one escapes to, they will still be a part of this mound.” Yuan Ming looked at her and continued in a calm tone, “I can hide your aura using magic, but not the others. Even if they leave this place, they will still die eventually.”
Helian Wei Wei lowered her gaze, deep in thought, “So, we must find out the location of the source if we want to live?”
“Yep.” Yuan Ming revealed an evil smile. “Do you want to investigate?”
Helian Wei Wei agreed with a lazy tone, “It’s been a while since I last use so much of my brain energy. As you said, letting the students stay in the academy would be better as it reduces the area of investigation, right?”
“Correct.” Yuan Ming found that she was smarter than expected and was not disappointed by his own choice of prey.
Helian Wei Wei pondered about all the information that she had obtained. Passing by the rear mountains, her gaze rested momentarily in the direction of the Green Dragon Lake. Raindrops fell upon its surface, yet the effect was not crisp. In fact, the light over it appeared to be blurred and obscured, as if it was seen through a veil of gauze…
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Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
“I think this is not just an ordinary murder case.” Yuan Ming’s tone deepened as they exited the underground palace.
“Why do you say so?” Helian Wei Wei stopped in her tracks.
“Do you remember the fog we saw at Green Dragon Lake last night?” Yuan Ming continued with a lowered voice, “That was formed by the entanglement of resentful Qi. The other party had intended to tarnish the auspicious atmosphere of the White Academy although that would be extremely difficult to achieve unless they managed to produce sufficient resentful Qi in a short period of time. Obviously, today’s murder was only the beginning, more people would be killed following this…”
The magistrate arrived with vigor as Yuan Ming was speaking, bowing and greeting the students of the Superior Compound.
However, he was not happy to see the corpse.
He was in charge of the safety and security of the White Academy, after all, even the higher-ups had discussed such matters with him from time to time.
Now that a murder had taken place here, all he wanted was to settle things quickly and keep as much of it under wraps as possible.
However, clearly, the magistrate had miscalculated. There was no way that the students would not be bothered by the fact that a case of murder had occurred within their living quarters. With varied expressions, every one of them was demanding for the magistrate to give an explanation.
The magistrate could not afford to offend the students from the Superior Compound. “Since everyone would like to know, then inform them about the findings from your investigation,” the magistrate said to the coroner.
“Certainly.” The coroner saluted with his hands folded as he advanced over. They were merely a bunch of silly students, making something up could not get any easier. Posing himself like a figure of authority, the coroner smiled briefly as he began, “The victim could be estimated to be around 17 to 19 years of age, the cause of death was determined as excessive blood loss, and the time of death was between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. yesterday…”
There was nothing wrong with what he had said, but his following words caused Helian Wei Wei to raise her eyebrows.
“The victim had fine features, hence, it was likely that the assailant’s motive to kill was due to an unrequited sexual advance.”
Helian Wei Wei said nothing, judging by his actions, that lowly official was definitely spewing bullsh*t.
The coroner had no intention to stop. After circling the surroundings with his eyes, he said thoughtfully, “Every night, access to the White Academy would be locked. Apart from the students that live here, it would be difficult for others to sneak in…”
There were gasps from the crowd upon hearing the coroner’s words. One student could not help but ask aloud, “Master, that would mean that the murderer is among us!”
The thought that a study mate could simply be the perverted attacker made all the young ladies in the Superior Compound restless with fear as they stared at one another, their faces drained of color.
They could not believe that something like this would happen just as the selection of secondary consort was nearing.
The coroner had no idea that his words could incite such a huge reaction. Waving his hand, he continued, “This is just my deduction, further investigation is needed to find out the overall cause of death, but the assailant is definitely male.”
Helian Wei Wei had no intention of intervening, however, the impact of this case was tremendous. If the coroner’s wrongful deductions resulted in students being misled into believing that they only had to be vigilant around males, and not females, the students could fall prey to a terrible misunderstanding.
So, she smiled faintly, “Sir, what you’re saying is that this schoolmate was murdered because of her beautiful appearance?”
The coroner did not think that anyone would still say something at this point. Shooting Helian Wei Wei a glance, he replied with a hint of impatience, “Absolutely.”
“Sir, you are so certain about it but there’s something that’s baffling me.” Helian Wei Wei continued calmly, “If the attacker had initiated a physical advance, why were the clothes worn by the victim untouched?”
The coroner was stunned just as he realized the details mentioned by Helian Wei Wei. Usually, he would not overlook such a thing, but this time, he did not look further into it seeing how the old master’s only intention was to quickly settle things.
The coroner did not know Helian Wei Wei.
He was simply discomfited with the fact that a female had pointed out his mistake publicly.
The students were not merely ignorant common folk. Upon hearing Helian Wei Wei’s analysis, their gazes fell upon the coroner as if they were pending for a reasonable explanation.
Calming his nerves, the coroner said to Helian Wei Wei, “There’s no need for any debate, the truth will prevail after I’m done with inspecting the body! Surely, the murderer is among you all!”
Finishing his words with a heavy sweep of his sleeves, he walked to the side of the magistrate. Again, he saluted with folded hands, “My Lord, I humbly request that more officers should be allocated to guard the academy. Not only can they protect the students and examinees, but they can also prevent the assailant from escaping.”
“As you requested.” The magistrate waved his hand, pleased. He had bigger visions than the coroner, with the Prince’s order for him to monitor the happenings within the White Academy, it was a good opportunity to bring more officers and soldiers into the academy. Truthfully, he was not too concerned about capturing the murderer.
Seeing how things had unfolded, Yuan Ming’s eyes shone, “Woman, would you consider leaving this place?”
“Now?” Helian Wei Wei knew that Yuan Ming would not suggest her to leave without any reason. “Why?” She questioned, her eyebrows raised.
“It’s possible that this could be the dead men mound created by Old Master Tang,” Yuan Ming said in a lowered voice.
Helian Wei Wei frowned when she heard Yuan Ming’s words. In ancient times, mounds typically referred to large scale clusters of graves, which also meant that it was not as simple as just a couple of graves. It would require at least the death of an entire family clan in order to be counted as a mound.
“Once the dead men mound begins, it will continue until every last person in the formation dies, thus completing it. There’s still time if you leave now, the effect of resentful Qi on you right now is huge.” Yuan Ming swept a glance in the direction of the magistrate who just left, a hint of mockery in the corners of his eyes. “I doubt that these people can find out the source in two days and the moon would be full within two nights. You definitely would not be able to withstand it.”
Helian Wei Wei knew that Yuan Ming was right, although she felt that she could not just leave. “Why don’t we let the students evacuate first?”
“For the dead men mound, it doesn’t matter where one escapes to, they will still be a part of this mound.” Yuan Ming looked at her and continued in a calm tone, “I can hide your aura using magic, but not the others. Even if they leave this place, they will still die eventually.”
Helian Wei Wei lowered her gaze, deep in thought, “So, we must find out the location of the source if we want to live?”
“Yep.” Yuan Ming revealed an evil smile. “Do you want to investigate?”
Helian Wei Wei agreed with a lazy tone, “It’s been a while since I last use so much of my brain energy. As you said, letting the students stay in the academy would be better as it reduces the area of investigation, right?”
“Correct.” Yuan Ming found that she was smarter than expected and was not disappointed by his own choice of prey.
Helian Wei Wei pondered about all the information that she had obtained. Passing by the rear mountains, her gaze rested momentarily in the direction of the Green Dragon Lake. Raindrops fell upon its surface, yet the effect was not crisp. In fact, the light over it appeared to be blurred and obscured, as if it was seen through a veil of gauze…
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.
