Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 134 - 130 Purple Illusory (Four changes request for subscription, request for monthly ticket) _1

Chapter 134: Chapter 130 Purple Illusory (Four changes request for subscription, request for monthly ticket) _1

When Li Xuan arrived, Sima Tianyuan had already started questioning people here: "How did the old lady get hurt? Who was the first to discover her body? Why was there nobody around her before the incident? And, where did the knife in the old lady’s hand come from?"

All the servants and maids here, including the steward aunt who was by old Lady Cui’s side, were all in a state of panic and confusion, none of them could answer coherently.

In the end, it was a woman about twenty who spoke: "In response to your question, the old lady was taking a nap at the time, so we were all on the second floor. The first to discover the old lady’s suicide was Aunt Lin."

The steward aunt finally composed herself: "I went up to the third floor because I felt something was wrong. Our lady has a nasal condition, she snores when she falls into a deep sleep, but it was quiet upstairs at the time. As for the knife in the old lady’s hand, it’s a tailoring knife, it seems every courtyard of the Marquis of Zhendong’s mansion has one."

Sima Tianyuan squinted his eyes and asked, "At her advanced age, why was there nobody to take care of her during her nap?"

The steward aunt shook her head: "It’s a rule set by the old lady herself. She doesn’t like to be disturbed. However, a month ago, our master hired a skilled woman to guard the old lady. I heard that she is a talented Spellcaster who has opened The Third Door and reached the ninth house level."

"So where is this woman?" Jiang Hanyun asked with concentration, "Why did your master suddenly hire such a skilled person to guard the old lady? Have there been any enemies recently?"

"The skilled woman left early this morning, the old lady somehow received a message last night and asked this woman to do something for her. She initially refused and argued with the old lady for a while. In the end, the old lady threatened by banging her head on the wall. She also said that nobody can hurt her in the Marquis of Zhendong’s mansion, so that skilled woman could not argue against the old lady."

The steward aunt said with some doubt: "As for our enemies, there are too many. I am not sure about the details, but our master has offended many people during his three terms as Imperial Censor. Without intending to keep anything from you, our master has been suspecting that some enemies are aiming at him recently. He even suspects that the death of our second young master at Lanyue House may be related to this."

Sima Tianyuan was startled and exchanged a glance with Jiang Hanyun. Both of them saw some ripples in each other’s eyes.

Especially Jiang Hanyun, who was familiar with the case at Lanyue House, couldn’t help but furrow her brow and her mind was agitated. She then diverted some of her attention to Li Xuan, who was performing an autopsy.

The latter was fully absorbed, inspecting the dead woman’s hair, oblivious to the questions Sima Tianyuan was asking.

It was obvious that his technique was proficient and his examination was meticulous, he carefully searched through each inch, not missing any details. Next, he checked the dead woman’s face, fingers — the sequence was similar to Zhang Lingjie’s. But Jiang Hanyun could see that Li Xuan was even more careful and meticulous.

Zhang Lingjie was very focused and meticulous, but Li Xuan even surpassed him. Often, if something seemed amiss, he would return to the previous steps, thorough and exacting to the point of being strict.

It was just that his techniques were somewhat raw and far inferior to Zhang Xu’s.

Staring intently, Jiang Hanyun’s eyes gradually filled with an unusual brightness. She felt that Li Xuan at this moment, his spirit and demeanor were completely different from his usual self.

"Jiang Xiaowei, are you so absorbed in watching?"

Sima Tianyuan suddenly spoke, startling Jiang Hanyun who was entranced. He asked jokingly, "I am quite curious, are you looking at Li Qianzhi? Or are you looking at the body? Your look is a bit peculiar."

Jiang Hanyun’s face turned slightly red when she returned to her senses, and then she glared at Sima Tianyuan in a slightly annoyed manner: "I don’t know what you’re talking about! Have you finished questioning those people?"

"Yes, I’ve finished. There’s no significant clue. Only the enemies mentioned by the steward aunt, I am a bit concerned about."

Sima Tianyuan shook his head, saying ponderously: "Cui Hongshu, who died at Lanyue House that day, was certainly a notorious fool, who deserved to die thousands of times. But his father Cui Chengyou, is an exceptional upright official, esteemed by His Majesty. Although he has been refused promotion due to his marriage to the Commandery Princess, he has been transferred around in the 7th-rank Jiancha Yushi for ten years. Yet, each term he is noted for his tough and selfless approach, which local officials respect and fear."

"I’ve also heard of Yushi Cui." Jiang Hanyun frowned: "But if it was Yushi Cui’s old enemies who did it, then why was Old Madame Duan also killed by the same method? Just because they were sisters-in-law?"

Sima Tianyuan folded his arms across his chest: "I’m not sure about that, but it’s something we have to find out. By the way, has your Four-Tailed Spirit Fox sniffed anything?"

"No, it hasn’t detected any scent or spiritual fluctuation other than the people here, not within thirty feet."

Jiang Hanyun continued to watch Li Xuan performing the autopsy as she spoke.

He had already rolled up the old lady’s sleeves, he focused on observing the bruise on the right elbow for a while.

A tea table was also near the dead woman, this bruise on the right elbow was most likely due to a collision. But Li Xuan carefully observed it closely for about thirty breaths, lifting the old lady’s arm up and down, flexing it back and forth.

This aroused Sima Tianyuan’s curiosity, and he asked: "Is there a problem with this?"

"Maybe there is, the ligament——"

Li Xuan remembered that in ancient times, words such as ligaments and tendons did not exist, so he paused briefly before speaking: "The deceased had ruptured tendons and strained fascia, there could even be bone fractures."

"Ruptured tendons? Strained fascia?"

Sima Tianyuan looked confused: "And even bone fractures? Could it be due to a severe impact?"

"I don’t think so, this situation is very odd." Li Xuan’s expression was also odd: "It’s unbelievable. These injuries seem to have been caused by opposing forces exerted on the bones and muscles. However, I cannot be certain unless I open up the body for further examination."

One’s bones cannot move on their own, they can only be moved by the muscles. But it seemed as if the deceased’s bones had their own will and strength.

Before he could finish speaking, the old maid cried out, "No dissection! Absolutely no dissection. Do you want my old lady to have no peace even in death? If you want to cut open the body, you’ll have to kill me first!"

Li Xuan furrowed his brows, continuing to examine the body according to the autopsy procedure.

The situation he faced next was exactly the same as Zhang Xu’s. The chest had contusions and scale-like markings, minor burns were found in the lower edge of the chest near the liver, and the burns towards the inner edge of the thigh were even more severe.

All these parts of the clothing had burn marks.

"What’s the situation?" The concern in Jiang Hanyun’s look was evident. "What’s the cause of death?"

Li Xuan, deep in thought, stood up and answered, "All the features resemble those of Demoness Zidie’s ’Purple Illusory Fire.’ It seems like she had manipulated the victim with this fire, leading to the victim cutting their own throat."

"Zidie?" Jiang Hanyun looked startled. "Are you sure? But why would Demoness Zidie attack old Lady Cui without any reason? She usually does not harm others without justification."

Sima Tianyuan had a thoughtful look on his face. "Indeed, these are the characteristics of ’Purple Illusory Fire.’ When I saw the scale-like marks on the old lady’s chest, I had the same suspicion. The marks are extremely familiar, and the reason for Demoness Zidie’s potential motivation to kill, or whether this victim was an old enemy of Yushi Cui remains unclear. It is a shame that we still do not know her true identity."

At this point, Li Xuan interjected, "Xiaowei, I believe the injuries on the old lady’s arm raise substantial questions. It would be best if we could examine the body internally."

Jiang Hanyun looked at the maidservant, who was wide-eyed in horror, and the other maids standing behind her. She then scratched her head in discomfort and said, "I want to as well, but it’s not possible right now. I will have someone contact Yushi Cui to get his opinion, but don’t get your hopes up."

Upon hearing this, Li Xuan felt helpless. He knew that such a request would be frowned upon among the nobility.

The people of this era believe that the body is given by their parents, and also that the spirit resides in various parts of the human body. If the body is not whole, then it is believed that the spirit is incomplete.

Therefore, regardless of how open-minded Yushi Cui might be, he would probably be unwilling to allow someone to mutilate his mother’s body.

By the time they returned to the left-wing courtyard, Zhang Xu had already completed his own autopsy.

As soon as Li Xuan walked into the hall, Zhang Xu glanced at him and asked, "Li Youjiao, are there scale-like markings and burns on Old Lady Cui’s body that are similar to those on Old Madame Duan?"

Li Xuan furrowed his brows and answered honestly, "The body of Old Lady Cui has contusions and scale-like impressions on her chest that are similar to those on Old Madame Duan. Mild burns were found at the lower edge of her chest, near the liver causing the areas around her thighs. But the elbow of the old lady—"

Before he could continue, Zhang Xu bowed to the Marquess and the three Xiaoweis present, "Your Lordship, gentlemen, we should have all the evidence we need. This kind of mark, I have only seen it in several burglary cases involving Demoness Zidie. All the victims had been manipulated by her ’Purple Illusory Fire’ and left completely out of control."

"That is the ’Purple Illusory Fire.’ I have seen it three times. What left the deepest impression on me was when a warrior from the sixth house level of a salt merchant’s family was bewitched by Zidie. He not only opened his own family’s treasury for her, but also rammed his head into a wall, rendering himself unconscious."

Lei Yun said while gnawing on a piece of dark rock, "The principle mechanism of this ’Purple Illusory Fire’ remains a mystery. Liu Sanjie and Liu Dachu from our Liudao Division speculate that these victims had taken some medication beforehand, causing hallucinations when the demonic spell of Demoness Zidie acted upon it. However, this is just a guess. So far, we have not found any unusual medicinal components in the victims’ bodies."

"But one thing is certain, there isn’t a second person in this world who has the ability to create the ’Purple Illusory Fire.’ And today, Demoness Zidie was spotted in this mansion. Therefore, she is a major suspect."

"Although Demoness Zidie never harms innocent people and her actions are always measured. Despite my hatred for her, I have to admit that she truly is a principled thief. However, the manner in which the two old ladies were killed today was excessively cruel, which does not fit her usual style."

Looking doubtful, Sima Tianyuan then turned to the Marquess and asked, "Your Lordship, has there been any grudges or grievances between your mansion and Demoness Zidie?"