Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?-Chapter 60 - Time to Showcase the Technology_1

Chapter 60: Chapter 60 Time to Showcase the Technology_1

Chapter 60: Chapter 60 Time to Showcase the Technology_1

The assembly speed at Mingyou City was quick, gathering over fifty people in just a matter of minutes. Under the leadership of Commander Jiang Hanyun, they rushed out of Zhuque Hall in their bright attire and spirited steeds.

At this time, Huoya City’s Commander Lei Yun was just preparing to go out. Seeing this impressive group of people, he raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s all this commotion about? Do you know what’s going on?”

His question was directed at his assistant, a twenty-something woman in silver armor who also seemed a bit perplexed, “I’m not sure. Our people in Huoya City have been treated like thieves. But I guess it might have something to do with the blood-ritual case at Jiangjun Mountain. After your ridicule, Jiang Hanyun probably wouldn’t be so concerned about anything else.”

She looked at her boss with a wry smile, “Are you interested? Do you want to go and have a look?”

“Those evil cultivators are almost caught in the net, what’s there to watch? Want to be ridiculed by Jiang Hanyun?”

Lei Yun chuckled dismissively and waved his hand, “I know what kind of woman Jiang Hanyun is! She only handles cases with the help of her fox. If she finds any useful clues this time, I will eat this whole stone lion!”

He pointed at the stone lion nearby, which was one or two people high, with a definitive expression.

At that very moment, an elderly man in a Daoist robe suddenly appeared at the entrance of Zhuque Hall. He had pale eyes without pupils, “Swallow the stone lion whole? I’m intrigued by such an audacious eating method. The question is, can you manage the stone?”

Lei Yun was taken aback and promptly bowed to the old man in respect, “I pay my respects to the head manager!”

“Rise, no need for formalities!” The elder waved leisurely before asking, “Do you feel confident about today’s operation, Colonel Lei?”

“We’re about eighty to ninety percent sure, they will not escape.” Lei Yun’s expression was self-assured, “My men have been keeping an eye on them for several days. We will catch them all today.”

“Then proceed.”

The elder glanced at the horizon, his face filled with anticipation, “The case at Jiangjun Mountain must be resolved quickly. We must first solve one of the three major cases in Nanjing City. You all in Huoya City, don’t let me down.”

※※※※

Li Xuan, along with the people of Mingyou City, raced for over twenty miles before finally stopping in front of a small hill.

“Dushan Temple!”

Without having to look up to the mountain, Li Xuan knew the name of this place. As a local of Nanjing City, he was quite familiar with the city. Dushan Temple, famous for its unique scenery, was favored by the nobles of Nanjing. Young Li Xuan had been there twice with his elders.

As Ma Chenggong was allocating manpower to seal off the large and small roads around the temple, Jiang Hanyun’s gaze was fixed on Li Xuan, “Li Xuan, you lead a team with me into the temple later!”

Behind Li Xuan, Peng Fulai and Zhang Yue exchanged glances, both surprised by this demoness’s interest in Li Xuan.

Those who entered the temple with Jiang Hanyun weren’t just from Li Xuan’s team. A total of twenty-four people from six teams, including Six Paths Bureau Colonel Si Qianhui, stormed into the Taoist temple from two directions.

Once they had entered the temple, their faces turned ashen.

“Did they all die?”

Looking at the corpses in front of Sanqing Temple, Peng Fulai turned pale, “Who in the world is responsible for the blood sacrifice on Jiangjun Mountain? They’re ruthless!”

In front of him, a total of twenty-five Taoists were dead on their meditation cushions.

Li Xuan didn’t speak. He walked up to a body, checking the pulse and looking at the person’s eyes. Then, confusion flickered in his eyes.

He began to carefully examine the body starting from the dead person’s hair.

But just as Li Xuan was halfway through his examination, a young man dressed in Youjiao clothing stood up from the pile of corpses and said, “Colonel, there are no external wounds on the bodies. Their mouths and noses are purple, indicating they died from poisoning. Judging from the livor mortis, they’ve been dead for about three to four hours, maybe even more. What I’m not sure about, is whether these people committed suicide or were poisoned.”

The atmosphere in front of Sanqing Temple suddenly turned cold, and everyone’s breathing became heavy.

Jiang Hanyun’s aura also became particularly chilling, her eyes showing a spectrum of emotions.

“What’s going on?” Zhang Yue looked around in confusion, “Why do I feel the atmosphere is suddenly off?”

“Shut up!”

Peng Fulai reprimanded in a low voice, his expression becoming unusually serious, “Just watch from the side.”

At this point, what everyone was concerned about was no longer the case of silencing witnesses at Dushan Temple, but the time of these people’s deaths.

If it was within three to four hours, it would imply that there might be a traitor among them in Mingyou City.

“Are you sure it was within four hours?” Jiang Hanyun turned to look at the Lingwu officer with the title of Youjiao, “Have you conducted a spell check?”

“Checks have been done!” The Lingwu officer’s demeanor was certain, “In addition, I’ve performed a summoning spell but could only collect some soul fragments.”

At this moment, Ma Chenggong also came over, “Colonel, no bodies were found elsewhere. Everyone in Dushan Temple was gathered here. Our people are still searching for any signs or clues. But, I doubt we’ll find anything, I have checked everywhere, each room was cleaned thoroughly, and almost all the cabinets bear signs of being searched.”

His expression was quite despondent. The clue they had finally discovered had now been cut off again.

Jiang Hanyun clenched her jaw, not saying a word. Her gaze quickly focused on Li Xuan.

Looking at Li Xuan’s focused and meticulous state, a spark of anticipation appeared in Jiang Hanyun’s eyes, “Li Xuan, have you found anything from the corpses?”

“I’m not sure at the moment.” Li Xuan said hesitantly, “I don’t know how long ago exactly the victims died, but it’s definitely not three to four hours ago. I currently believe it was within the past hour or even just before.”

“How is that possible?”

The Lingwu officer holding the Youjiao post laughed incredulously, “Who taught you your autopsy skills? Was it Liu Sanjie?”

Ma Chenggong and the others looked doubtful.

This Youjiao officer, named Xu Gushan, was currently one of the most reliable Lingwu in Mingyou City.

Xu Gushan paced over to Li Xuan’s side and looked down at the body, “Judging by the corpse’s lividity, the time of death is clearly around four hours. I pressed on the lividity and it only faded a little. After turning the body over, the lividity didn’t quickly disappear, nor were there any new lividity marks. When I cast a spell earlier, their blood was not fresh anymore, and this body would be no exception. Furthermore, the body’s temperature has matched the outside ambiance.”

“Officer Xu, under normal circumstances, it would be so, but there are many abnormalities with this body.”

Li Xuan shook his head, he knew these indeed were characteristics of lividity after eight hours of death, but he had found otherwise through his inspection earlier.

Lividity has its early stage divided into pooling and spreading phases.

After death, the blood flows down to the vessels at the lower part of the body, causing lividity to appear. If you press your finger on it at this time, the blood in the pressed capillaries will flow to the surrounding areas, temporarily disappearing the lividity. Moreover, if the body’s position is changed, the original lividity gradually fades and even disappears, while new lividity appears at the new lower part of the body. This is the pooling phase which generally happens within 2-4 hours after death.

The spreading phase is when lividity occurs 8-10 hours after death. At this time, the blood spreads out of the vessels and whether the body is pressed or its position is changed, the original lividity doesn’t easily disappear, exactly matching the characteristics of the body.

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“The problem here is the color of the lividity. It is unusually bright.” Li Xuan pointed at the back of the corpse as he spoke, “The normal color should be purplish-red.”

This actually shows insufficient dissimilation of oxyhemoglobin—

“Rigor mortis has set in, but the victim’s facial muscles, lower jaw, toe joints, and so on have not contracted in stiffness, or it is very slight.”

Rigor mortis usually begins 10 minutes to 7 hours after death. It develops in descending and ascending orders, the former starting from the masseter and neck muscles, then to the facial muscles, followed by the trunk and limbs; the latter starting from the lower limbs and gradually progressing upwards.

“The body temperature isn’t normal either. If you discern carefully, you’ll find that the temperature of these victims is lower than the outside temperature. The pupils have not fully dilated, and there’s a blue sheen at the bottom, suspected to have been affected by some sort of poison. There’s also no bloating in the abdominal region.”

In summer, the abdomen of a person usually swells due to decay 4-5 hours after death. Therefore, the time of death doesn’t match the characteristics of lividity in this case.