Chapter 119: The Crime Scene

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Thanks to Bu Xiaojie for the sachet!
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Wen Jing followed Ji Changge to the Lingyun Hall, where Abbess Feng resided, and found Dongsheng standing outside the hall with his hands behind his back, his face noticeably pale.

"Seventh Young Lady, you... perhaps you shouldn't go in," Ji Changge mused.

"It is fine," Wen Jing replied. Ji Changge had underestimated her tolerance. She had visited far bloodier and more horrific scenes than this; compared to the palace, those filthy sewers and garbage dumps were far more repulsive.

Dongsheng cast a faint, sidelong glance at Wen Jing, then at Ji Changge, his eyes betraying a hint of disdain.

Despite having prepared herself mentally, Wen Jing felt a bone-chilling terror upon seeing Abbess Feng’s corpse. Her body instinctively recoiled a step. She now understood why Dongsheng’s face was so pale; without looking, she knew her own complexion could not be any better than his.

"Seventh Young Lady, are you alright?" Ji Changge asked, supporting her from behind.

A sea of blood lay before them. The floor and walls were covered in bloody handprints. Two corpses lay on the ground, their eyeballs bulging. Their facial skin had been sliced open with a blade, revealing raw, red muscle tissue. Their mouths were agape, but their tongues were missing. The two bodies lay side-by-side, facing each other.

Seeing the blood-soaked floor, Qingliu screamed, then quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, too afraid to look again.

Dongsheng glanced at Qingliu, then back at Wen Jing, whose complexion was only slightly pale. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes. In the face of such carnage, an ordinary young lady would typically react like Qingliu; this young lady, who had dared to defy him, was indeed an anomaly.

Blood was everywhere, and the floor was covered in chaotic footprints of little value. Ding Wu was busy collecting evidence in the room. Wen Jing cautiously approached the bodies and began a preliminary examination.

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"The identities of the two corpses have been confirmed: Abbess Feng and Mingxi, the Daoist nun who served her," Ji Changge stated.

"The veins and arteries at the victims' wrists were severed; they died of blood loss. Their eyelids and tongues were cut off, and their facial skin was sliced open. Both victims had their hand and foot tendons severed—this is likely why they could neither escape nor cry out." Wen Jing examined the wounds. She had not brought her toolkit, but the cause of death was obvious and did not require an autopsy.

Dongsheng looked at Wen Jing with astonishment. Regardless of whether her assessment was correct, her sheer courage in touching those gruesome corpses was enough to shock him. Observing Ji Changge listening so intently, he wondered if this young lady was truly a coroner.

"Since the victims were already dead, severing their tendons and cutting out their tongues is understandable, but why cut off their eyelids? Why slice open their faces?"

Wen Jing pondered for a moment. "The eyelids and facial skin were likely not removed after death, but while they were still alive. Perhaps... the killer simply did not want them to close their eyes, forcing them to watch each other die in such a horrific state..."

Dongsheng and Ji Changge looked horrified. While Wen Jing’s theory involved some speculation, it was the most plausible explanation. What kind of hatred could the killer have harbored to torture these two to death in such a brutal manner?

"Judging by the rigor mortis and body temperature, the time of death was between the hours of the Pig and the Ox last night," Wen Jing added.

Dongsheng glanced at her with a hint of skepticism. He found it hard to believe that she could determine the time of death after merely touching the bodies a few times.

"Who discovered the bodies?" Ji Changge asked.

"I did," Mingqing stepped forward. Her gaze flickered, but she did not seem overly panicked, appearing to have recovered from the initial shock.

"Tell us what happened."

Mingqing looked up at Wen Jing. "I was waiting for the Abbess this morning alongside the young lady here to help Seventh Young Lady Wen with her hair. But when the auspicious hour passed and we still hadn't seen the Abbess, Young Lady Wen can bear witness—after she left, I went inside with my junior sister Mingxiu to see if the Abbess was unwell. The moment I pushed the door open, I saw that the Abbess and Sister Mingxi were dead..."

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"Has anyone had conflicts with the Abbess in recent days? Have any strangers been seen entering or leaving?" Ji Changge stared at Mingqing.

Mingqing glanced at Wen Jing and replied, "No. The Abbess was always generous and kind, and never once argued with anyone. As for strangers, there were only Young Lady Wen and Maid Qingliu."

Wen Jing looked up at Mingqing but remained silent.

"How many people are in this Daoist temple in total?" Ji Changge continued.

Mingqing thought for a moment. "Excluding Young Lady Wen, who has yet to have her hair pinned, there are two hundred and twelve Daoist nuns."

Two hundred people. The killer must be hiding among them, someone with a deep-seated grudge against the Abbess, Ji Changge mused.

"Sir, we haven't found any useful evidence," Ding Wu reported.

"Search the entire temple."

With so much blood on the floor, it was impossible for the killer not to have gotten any on themselves. Unfortunately, so much time had passed that even if there had been blood, it would have been washed away. Still, a search was necessary; they might find something yet.