15 A Detailed Investigation (1/2)

As the cloth that covered a human outline was gently lifted, Xu Fei came face to face with the corpse of Ya Lei Tang for the first time.

Even he, who was once a seasoned veteran that guarded the borders of Qing Cheng and was accustomed to bloody battles was disgusted by the corpse of the eldest young master Yan.

Perhaps it had something to do with the unflattering orange brocade robes that had specks of dried blood from when his lungs were coughed up in pieces, staining his lips with dried blood that had darkened, perhaps it was those wide open bloodshot eyes that appeared to stare into the nothingness of one's soul or the veins that threatened to burst from his forehead, under the skin of a bluish and purple tint that made him look monstrous.

Yet, official Tong looked at the body without batting an eye, not even showing the slightest expression of being appalled by the scene. It seems that he was quite used to seeing such scenes.

”Constable Xu, come and see this.” Official Tong said as he slid a tin bucket out from under the table on which the corpse laid.

”What is that?” Xu Fei was about to ask when he saw the contents of the bucket, which were a bush of blood and pieces of flesh, he would most likely have the urge to retch if it were not for the smell of ginger that filled the room.

It seemed that he would never look at ground up meat the same way again.

”The contents that were found in eldest young master's stomach, he threw this up before his death. As you can see, this is what's left of his internal organs.” Official Tong told Xu Fei in a very informative manner.

”So, how did he die?” Xu Fei was unclear of what the thrown up mush of internal organs represented.

Was this something that could happen naturally, if so, then he only had himself to blame for this misfortune.

Official Tong was looking at him as if he was talking to an illiterate cow. ”No, this lowly official believes that eldest young master Yan was poisoned with something that turned his organs into mush, which is how he died. As for the type of poison, forgive this official for not knowing.” Official Tong said slowly, annunciating every single word as clear as day.

”Believes? What you don't have any confidence?” Xu Fei asked.

”Young master Yan is of noble descent, for a mere coroner of an eighth rank to mar his noble body, wouldn't that be akin to asking for death?” Official Tong asked. Although his tone was telling that he was afraid, yet the way he presented himself made one feel as if he did not fear what might happen if he carried on with the autopsy.