PFC Chapter 190: Voice before Death
Chapter 190: Voice before Death
At Qin Miaoxi's command, the yamen runners poured out like a tide and marched towards the stone mountain in the south.
Qin Miaoxi quickly arrived at the scene with the large group. It was already sunset and the biting mountain wind was howling past, bringing a hint of chill.
Shi Xinzhe was seen running towards them breathlessly from a distance. When he saw Qin Miaoxi, he hurried forward, his eyes full of anticipation and eagerness, and asked loudly, "Coroner Qin, have you found the murderer?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Miaoxi calmly turned around and asked, "Master Shi, didn't you go investigate Qian Baiwan's competitors? How is the investigation going?"
Shi Xinzhe sighed helplessly, shook his head, and said, "It's really strange. Whether it's those who work closely with Qian Baiwan on a daily basis or those merchants who compete with him openly or secretly, they all have an unusually high opinion of him. Judging from their words and attitudes, it doesn't seem like they have any grudge against Qian Baiwan at all."
Qin Miaoxi did not refute, and it seemed that there was no hatred, but who knew what those people really thought?
"Then can you find out why he is so anxious to sell the grain?" Qin Miaoxi narrowed her eyes slightly, with a hint of inquiry in her eyes.
"The servant at Qian's rice shop said that Qian Baiwan's cash flow was tight and he urgently needed to cash out to buy new goods. This was a plan that had been made long ago, not a sudden decision." Shi Xinzhe said as he spread his hands helplessly. It seemed that Qian Baiwan's unusual behavior had little to do with the case.
Qin Miaoxi couldn't help but frown when she heard this, thinking to herself: Is this true? But she always felt that things were far from that simple.
As soon as Shi Xinzhe finished speaking, he heard the sound of "clang clang clang" of gongs. He looked up and saw the yamen runners, each holding a gong, quickly dispersing in all directions.
The huge noise echoed in the empty mountains, making people's eardrums hurt.
Shi Xinzhe's face was filled with even more confusion. Unable to suppress his curiosity, he couldn't help but ask, "This doesn't seem like a normal way to catch a murderer. Making such a big commotion, won't it alert the murderer and allow him to escape?"
Qin Miaoxi raised the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing an unfathomable smile, and said in a low but confident voice: "Yes, I just want to alarm him."
? ?
At this time, the trees on the stone mountain rustled in the cold wind. As the sound of the gong continued, there was gradually movement in the forest, and some frightened birds flapped their wings and flew up from the branches.
Qin Miaoxi looked up at the azure night sky, took a deep breath, and murmured to herself, "It should be almost time."
After she finished speaking, she walked towards the direction where the yamen runners dispersed. Shi Xinzhe's expression froze. He smelled a burning smell coming from the front. Could it be... he followed closely behind and caught up.
After a while, a yamen runner came running over and said, "Sir, Qin the coroner, we found a bonfire ahead."
Qin Miaoxi showed a look of astonishment, and Shi Xinzhe hurriedly ordered: "Gather the men and have them surround this place. Don't let anyone escape."
"Yes."
When everyone gathered on the flat stone ground near the campfire, they found that there was no one there. The ground was full of messy footprints, and it was roughly estimated that there were more than ten people there.
Shi Xinzhe strode forward and bent over to carefully examine the flames of the bonfire.
Suddenly, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, his expression brightened, and he said loudly: "The fire inside has not been extinguished yet, those people will definitely not be able to get far, chase them!" Everyone immediately took action and chased in three other directions.
Amidst the chaos, Qin Miaoxi keenly noticed an unknown liquid in the cracks of the rocks.
She immediately shouted, "Give me the torch!"
In the light of the fire, she could see that it was sticky red blood, with torn pieces of cloth mixed in the cracks.
Qin Miaoxi was extremely anxious and urged loudly, "Everyone, hurry up and speed up the investigation!"
She knew in her heart that the blood was most likely from the so-called tribute. If someone could not be found to stop the bleeding as soon as possible, his life would be in danger.
The light of the torches flickered in the thick, inky night, like a burning sea of stars, sinking into the rocky forest one after another. Every time the flames went out, it was like a heart suddenly tightening.
Half an hour passed in a flash, but the people who were sent out disappeared without a trace.
Dead silence, chilling dead silence.
Shi Xinzhe's brows were furrowed as deep as a mountain, his original confidence in victory completely gone, and he couldn't stop muttering, "What the hell is going on? It's such a small place, how is it possible that there's not even a single person to be found? This is a hell of a lot!"
Qin Miaoxi's face was solemn, her eyebrows were tightly twisted into the shape of the Chinese character "川", and her eyes swept back and forth in the stone forest.
After a moment's hesitation, she said calmly, "Everyone, calm down. Look carefully for any hidden passages nearby. They're carrying wounded soldiers, so they can't move fast or far."
Having said that, she still had no idea.
Just as everyone fell into a brief silence, the barking of wild dogs came from a distance.
Qin Miaoxi's already tense nerves were instantly pulled violently, a sharp light flashed in her eyes, and she shouted without hesitation: "Go and take a look!"
After she finished speaking, she took the lead and ran towards the direction where the sound came from.
As they got closer, the faint smell of blood in the air became stronger and penetrated into their nostrils.
A determined smile flashed across Shi Xinzhe's face, which was originally gloomy, and he shouted in a low voice: "The person is in front, chase him!" Before he finished speaking, he quickened his pace and rushed out like an arrow. The person behind him followed closely, and his figure quickly disappeared into the night.
About three hundred meters away, a vague black shadow was looming in the darkness.
"The person is there!" A shout instantly broke the silence, and then three or five figures rushed towards the direction of the black shadow like arrows.
When everyone got closer, they saw a young man lying on the cold stone. His limbs were intact, but there was a shocking hole in his chest. Blood was constantly flowing out. The scene was filled with a strange and terrifying atmosphere.
Shi Xinzhe pounded the ground in frustration, gritting his teeth and saying, "Damn it, I'm still a step too late!"
"It's not too late!" Qin Miaoxi rushed forward and quickly squatted beside the man. She placed her finger on his pulse and said with a stern expression, "The heart is still there, and the pulse is there. Hurry and get some cloth to stop the bleeding!"
Upon hearing this, Shi Xinzhe took off his outer robe without hesitation and handed it over, shouting urgently: "Here! You must save this person!"
Qin Miaoxi was slightly stunned, as if she had not expected him to be so straightforward and without any airs of an official at all. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.
However, she quickly came to her senses, nodded solemnly, and said in a deep voice: "I will do my best."
As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly opened the medicine bottle and sprinkled the white powder in the bottle evenly on the wound. The bleeding slowed down at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Then, she raised her delicate hand and pulled out a crystal-clear silk thread from her sleeve. Her hands hovered in mid-air, pausing for a brief moment before vanishing into thin air, becoming mere afterimages.
The shocking gash on the man's chest was quickly stitched up and healed in the blink of an eye.
Shi Xinzhe looked at it in shock and sighed in his heart: What a good trick.
"Aren't you a coroner?"
"An autopsy and a doctor have different paths but the same goal."
Shi Xinzhe sighed, "It turns out that good coroners are all good doctors."
After a while, the seriously injured man gradually regained consciousness. He opened his eyes with difficulty and heard the question in his ear: "Who hurt you like this?"
The man stared blankly ahead, and after a long while he spoke: "Lao Tong..."
"what?"
Shi Xinzhe just put his head closer to hear more clearly, when he saw the man's head tilt and he was out of breath.
Shi Xinzhe panicked, shaking the man's shoulders vigorously with both hands, shouting, "Wake up! Don't sleep! Qin the coroner, come over and see if he can be saved?"
Qin Miaoxi had already been shocked by the voice she heard and was unable to move.
Just now, the man muttered in his heart: [We were all deceived and came here. They used our flesh and blood for sacrifice, but in reality... they were eaten.]