Roaring Dragon-Chapter 26: Ghost-Wife Microscope

At the break of dawn, the county hall was bustling with a noisy crowd.

Since the person involved was the nephew of Li Gongpu, the county magistrate handling the case had been so shocked he hadn’t slept all night. Though officially presiding, the interrogation was basically just listening to the Li family’s lawyer and Law Officer Yang Ting argue back and forth:

"Young Master Li owns countless properties. Just one Spring Screen Building in Taoxian Ward rakes in gold by the day — why would he stoop to smuggling banned drugs for a pittance?"

"The ledger found at Sanhe Tower shows ninety percent of profits turned over to the owner..."

"That ledger was from the gambling house. The private account for Dengxiansan doesn’t indicate who the proceeds went to, and Young Master Li had no knowledge of it at all..."

Xie Jinhuan passed by the side of the main hall and saw the implicated Li family’s young master kneeling with a cangue around his neck.

The Li family had the powerful Yellow Gate Officer Li Gongpu backing them — a single fart from him near the Emperor could scare a county magistrate to death. For the county yamen to make the young master kneel and even prepare for punishment was already doing their utmost, but obviously, it wasn’t enough to shake the Li family.

Yang Dabiao, having sat through the night, was now leading the way ahead, sighing deeply:

"This is a flaming hot potato. If we really dig something up, it’s fine. If not, my father and I are definitely going to get sidelined..."

Xie Jinhuan, who was practically staring death in the face these days, knew that even if the Li family had no real dirt, he still had to find something. It would sap the Prince’s manpower and attention. Hearing this, he comforted:

"Local magnates, untouched by filth? No way. If they dare to sell Dengxiansan, they’re bound to have other shady dealings too. Forced prostitution, violent debt collection, land grabs..."

"Hey hey!"

Yang Dabiao quickly raised his hand: "If we can just clear up this one thing, I’ll be ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ satisfied. One bite at a time. We’ll take it step by step..."

As they spoke, the three men and one bird arrived at a shaded house with a sign on the door: "Morgue."

Yang Dabiao pinched his nose and warned:

"I’ve been staring at this corpse for two nights and still haven’t recovered. You better brace yourself. You’ve probably seen plenty of dead bodies, but not one this disgusting..."

Xie Jinhuan walked behind him. As the door opened, the stench of decay hit him square in the face.

Yang Dabiao pointed toward the center slab:

"There, that one. You lift the cloth yourself. I’m done."

Xie Jinhuan approached and saw a white sheet covering the body, stained and filthy.

Using the handle of his mace, he lifted the cloth — and the fat black hawk, Meiqiu, who had been perched idly on his shoulder, immediately flapped over to Linghu Qingmo’s shoulder, looking at him with wide, alarmed eyes — What the hell is that?!

The corpse was already severely decayed, swollen grotesquely, and had been dissected. It was basically a hunk of human-shaped rotten meat now.

Yang Dabiao, who had been grossed out for days, could only marvel seeing Xie Jinhuan calmly studying the body:

"Jinhuan, your nerves sure got tougher over the years. I heard from Xie Daren that the first time you watched an autopsy, you puked and fainted."

Xie Jinhuan had been three years old when his father first carried him to an autopsy. Surviving that was already a miracle:

"Not bad. At least it still resembles a person. This body is full of holes... Not like from decomposition or dissection. Couldn't figure out the cause of death?"

Linghu Qingmo, having just eaten breakfast, now frowned and covered Meiqiu’s eyes:

"The coroner said it was poison, but they couldn't identify which kind. As for the holes, they guessed it might be from soaking in the river and bugs eating the flesh. Many seniors have examined the body but found no real clues."

The rot was too advanced; Xie Jinhuan couldn't tell either. As he pondered, the ghost in the red dress, Ye Hongshang, suddenly popped up behind him, poking her head over his shoulder:

"Ew~ what a miserable death."

Startled, Xie Jinhuan quickly realized neither Dabiao nor Linghu Qingmo noticed anything. He had to play it cool:

"You see anything?"

"Me?"

Yang Dabiao, standing nearby, scratched his head, confused:

"If I had a clue, I wouldn’t have spent the whole night at the yamen. Didn’t even get home, my wife’s gonna skin me alive..." freёnovelkiss.com

Not that Xie Jinhuan expected much from Dabiao anyway.

Ye Hongshang was incorporeal, her true form sealed inside the sword. She perceived with her spirit, not eyes — her appearance was just a projection of Xie Jinhuan’s mind.

After examining the corpse carefully, Ye Hongshang raised her hand and pointed to the abdomen:

"His vital energy was drained before death, but not by any evil arts. It was from a parasitic insect that feeds on vitality."

"The bug had been incubating inside him for a long time, leaving eggs that are hard to see with the naked eye. Some kind of special fly."

Xie Jinhuan looked closer where she pointed. It was just a lump of unidentifiable organs, no visible eggs.

Seeing this, Ye Hongshang raised her white palm, conjuring a glowing orb.

Inside the orb, the flesh was magnified, layer by layer, until a tiny egg came into clear view.

The egg, blown up to the size of a soccer ball, showed its structure and fluid membrane in stunning detail...

Holy shit?

Xie Jinhuan hadn’t expected his ghost-wife could double as a "ghost-brand microscope." He stared hard at the egg...

But he still couldn’t recognize it!

Thinking about flies that sucked away human vitality, he racked his brain, then turned to the others:

"You ever hear of ‘corpse flies’?"

Yang Dabiao looked blank, clearly clueless.

Linghu Qingmo thought for a bit:

"I think corpse flies are some kind of witchcraft bug? My master mentioned it once or twice..."

Xie Jinhuan shook his head and patiently explained:

"Gu are the essence of poison, flowers are the essence of Gu. Shen Jiang, the former Vice Minister of Agriculture, compiled a book called The Classic of Plant Spirits. In the ‘Exotic Flowers’ chapter, it lists a dozen types of Gu flowers — six or seven of them require corpse flies."

"Corpse flies feed on vital energy. Sorcerers plant seeds inside them, nourished with human blood. When the insect dies, the flower blooms... I don’t remember all the details. Linghu, you should ask a senior expert."

Linghu Qingmo stared at him wide-eyed:

"You even read obscure books like that?"

Yang Dabiao chuckled:

"Jinhuan's always been hardworking. Xie Daren used to say he had to 'win at the starting line and crush the local yokels.' I didn’t really get it, but since he was three, he’s been chewing on books and dabbling in all kinds of weird skills. Wasn’t until a few years ago he straightened out and seriously practiced martial arts."

"Is that so?"

Linghu Qingmo still looked amazed.

Being a jack of all trades was normally an insult, but being top-notch in one field and passable in many made someone a genius.

She hadn't expected Xie Jinhuan, already outrageously skilled, to have time for reading strange books too.

Handsome, strong, and scholarly... how’s anyone supposed to compete...

Linghu Qingmo was about to leave but hesitated, crouching down to inspect the rotting mess:

"There are corpse flies here?"

Xie Jinhuan, who only spotted them thanks to his ghost-wife, casually replied:

"Seeing all those holes and maggots just reminded me. I'm not completely sure. Best to ask a senior."

"Oh..."

Having a lead, Linghu Qingmo didn’t delay. She turned to leave:

"I’ll check the Dan Prince’s Pavilion. Yang Dabiao, you stay with Young Master Xie."

"Got it."

Yang Dabiao covered the corpse with the sheet:

"Jinhuan, wanna see any more bodies? We've got all kinds of crazy deaths..."

But Xie Jinhuan, now with a lead on the demon problem, had no time for gawking at corpses.

Since Ye Hongshang could only tell it was a parasite, and he couldn't tell which kind, the best move was to find a witch cult expert. Scooping up Meiqiu, he said:

"I’ve got an appointment at the Lin Family Medical Hall. I’ll take my leave."

Yang Dabiao clapped his shoulder knowingly:

"Understood. Make good use of your youth. Once you're married, you'll realize — even the morgue has its charms. At least nobody's nagging you there..."

"Uh..."

...

Moments later.

Xie Jinhuan carried Meiqiu out of the yamen.

Ye Hongshang floated beside him, praising:

"Didn’t expect you to be so well-read."

Xie Jinhuan, proud in front of his ghost-wife, replied:

"I started studying at three. Not just books — chess, painting, music, you name it. I can chat with anyone."

"Is that so?"

Ye Hongshang teased:

"Sounds like training for a courtesan. A little of everything to entertain the guests. With that skillset, you’d make a fine male escort."

Truth be told, by fifteen or sixteen, Xie Jinhuan had realized all his talents were a bit shallow — except he’d be unbeatable as the King of Male Escorts.

Thankfully, he’d corrected course the last three years. Now, with formidable martial skills and a bunch of random talents, his childhood wasn’t completely wasted.

One man, one ghost, bantering as they walked toward Ning’an Street. Before they got far, the sound of galloping hooves approached.

Thump-thump-thump...

Xie Jinhuan looked up and saw three fast horses charging past.

The riders wore vivid red robes embroidered with qilin emblems and standard-issue officer swords. The leader even had a gold-trimmed gauze cap and a bronze badge.

The gatekeepers, upon seeing them, rushed forward in terror:

"Honorable sirs!"

"Zhou He of the Chilin Guard, here to assist in the Li family investigation. Where is the magistrate?"

"Greetings, Sir Zhou. Lord Zhang is interrogating inside..."

...

Having grown up in the capital, Xie Jinhuan was extremely familiar with the Chilin Guard.

They were the Emperor’s private enforcers, independent from the Six Ministries, tasked with monitoring officials, and authorized to arrest, interrogate, even execute. Absolute power.

One of Xie Jinhuan’s strongest memories: once, the Chilin Guard needed to question his father. It was late, the yamen was closed, so seven or eight guards just whoosh landed directly inside their courtyard!

His father had been mid-dinner and was so scared he stuttered for three days.

The Chilin Guard answered only to the Emperor, and Li Gongpu was a favorite at court. Now that they’d sent men, the Li family case was basically uninvestigable.

Fortunately, there was a breakthrough with the demon bandits.

If he could pin the supernatural incident on them, giving the Dan Prince some face-saving way to handle it, it would buy time — maybe even bury the Zhenyao Tomb mess.

With that thought, Xie Jinhuan didn’t linger and quickly left the yamen.

Meanwhile, outside the county office.

The three Chilin Guards ascended the steps, discussing the case.

Just as they reached the main gate, Zhou He suddenly paused and glanced toward the bustling street.

A nervous yamen runner, confused, also turned to look:

"Sir Zhou?"

Zhou He’s gaze followed the departing figure in white robes, frowning tightly:

"Who was that?"

"Oh, that's Young Master Xie Jinhuan. He's a brother to Law Officer Yang, just returned from studying at Fengling Valley, helping around the yamen. Very skilled. Does Sir Zhou know him?"

"Fengling Valley..."

Zhou He muttered thoughtfully, then resumed walking:

"A friend's son. No wonder he looked familiar."

"Oh..."