Chapter 5 chapter Five

Di Gong, Hong Liang, and Ma Rong came to the side hall of the Hou Yamen, where Shen San's body was temporarily housed. Hong Liang took out the key and opened the door, and there was a musty and cold air rushing toward his face.There is only one long table in the hall, which is regarded as a corpse bed.The body was covered with a large reed mat, and a bamboo basket was placed under the legs of the table, which was covered with linoleum. Di Gong said: "Let me take a look at that head first." Ma Rong bent down and lifted the bamboo basket to the side of the long table, and gently lifted the linoleum.

The head is face down.Holding his breath, Ma Rong flicked a piece of blood-stained ear, turning his face upside down. Duke Di looked at the severed head silently.Shen San's dark face was swollen watery and bulging, with a scar on his left cheek and right forehead.Two black beads shattered, covered with blood stains, and one or two bloodshots splashed out of the eye sockets.The thick lips are crooked and deformed, and the jagged big yellow teeth are exposed, which seems to be smiling.The flesh at the base of his neck was torn and rotten, and there were pea-sized drops of blood coagulating on his beard.

Di Gong frowned and said: "This Shen San can tell at a glance that he is not a good person, and the wicked have been fighting each other until today. Ma Rong, remove the mat again." Ma Rong put the bamboo basket on the side of the table leg and covered it with linoleum again.Gently remove the reed mat covering the corpse. The body is naked. ——The shape is well-proportioned, the skin is delicate, the shoulders are round, and the brachial thighs are compact. Ma Rong said again: "A good figure! In terms of strength, it is more than enough to surpass Ah Niu. Master, you can see that there is a bruise on the base of his neck. Needless to say, it must have been strangled to death with a rope. ——A Niu strangled him first, Then use the ax to chop off his head."

Duke Di nodded, while pressing his palms flat on the corpse's chest, and then bent the dead corpse's legs, hips, knees, and elbows. "Lieutenant Fang made a good judgment. It turned out that he was killed in the middle of the night." Di Gong said to himself, while gently lowering his still stiff arm, he opened the dead man's tightly clenched right fist with his hand. ——The palm was smooth and soft, and he looked at his fingers carefully.Di Gong couldn't help but frowned, feeling a chill in his heart. —— Putting down his palm, he examined the dead man's feet carefully.

"Hong Liang, the blood-stained bundle in the corner must be the bloody clothes of the dead, come and spread it with me." Duke Di took out a pair of trousers from his bag and compared them to the corpse's legs, he couldn't help saying: "The head and the corpse don't belong to the same person!" Hong Liang and Ma Rong were taken aback. Seeing Di Gong's angry expression, they were dumbstruck. Di Gong took a look at Hong Liang and Ma Rong, and explained: "It is not only Shen San who was killed, but two people. Here is Shen San's head and another person's body. The murderer deliberately exchanged the heads of the two dead people." Now, hide Shen San's body and the other head!"

Just as Hong Canjun was in shock, he hurriedly asked, "Where does the master start with this conclusion?" Di Gongdao: "The head is of course Shen San's, Fang Xiaowei can recognize it, and Zuo Zuo is not suspicious. However, the corpse is thin-skinned and white-fleshed, with a well-proportioned body, no navel calluses on the palms and feet. This corpse is obviously taller than Shen San's. It turns out that the bloody clothes were not originally worn on the corpse. The murderer had some tricks and managed to hide it from us. It seems that the circumstances of this case are confusing and far from being the result of a brawl between rascals."

Hong Liang woke up like a dream: "Master, what should we do?" "We must not panic, and we have the right not to know. We only believe that Shen San was the one who was killed. Fengcuo's body is investigated secretly." "Then, how to find Shen San's body and the other head?" Ma Rong was puzzled. Di Gong smiled faintly: "This is exactly what I want to think about. But what is more important is to find out the motive of the murderer, why did he exchange the heads of the two dead bodies. ——We still have to ask Ah Niu .” There is only a wall between the prison and the Houya side hall, and it is on the way.Ah Niu had already put on iron chains, and sat in the prison moaning.

The jailer opened the cell door, Di Gong went in, Hong Liang and Ma Rong waited outside the cell door. "Master, the villain is really wronged. The villain and Shen San have been together for many years. Although they often quarrel, they still share the same temperament. How could they kill him? The villain has never seen that big axe." Di Gong picked a stone bench and sat down, and asked with a pleasant face: "I came here just because I felt that the case was strange, and I still have a few questions to ask you. ——If you really weren't the one who killed Shen San, then who could it be? , where did the blood on your clothes come from?"

A Niu looked at the ragged clothes on his body, and there were a few bloodstains. "My lord is high above me. I really don't know why this villain has blood on my body. I remember that I didn't see it when I was in the hotel. ——Shen San is a villain. Naturally, some people hate him, but hating him is not enough to chop him off with an axe." Come on. Who else would do such a cruel thing?" A Niu scratched his scalp, Wu Zhugu turned around, and suddenly froze. "Master, could it be...Could it be that Shen San has met..." A Niu's eyes shone with terror. "Who did Shen San meet?" Duke Di asked urgently.

"My lord, there is a ghost in the Ziguang Temple that often haunts. On the night of the third and fifth moons, she must come out to wander around, with disheveled hair and a long snow-white dress. It is said that Pingxi hid in the tomb at the bottom of the wall at the west end of the meditation room. It used to be a garden, but because it was occupied by this ghost, no one dared to take a step closer. People said that the ghost wanted to cut off the head and suck all the blood. ——The villain in the lobby just now was confused and forgot about it Thinking about it now, when the master came to ask again, it must have been caused by that ghost, otherwise how could he really cut off Shen San's head."

Di Gong stood up angrily: "Stop talking nonsense and fooling the official. Let me ask you again, who has Shen San quarreled with recently? It's not because of drinking and messing around, but because of some real feud, such as the rich woman... ..." "The master reminded the villain that Shen San had a big fight with his brother Shen Wu last month. That Shen Wu is really a deceitful bastard. With a few filthy money, he managed to marry Shen San Shen San swore to kill his brother, and Shen Wu was so frightened that he took the fan and hid in Qiemo Town, never daring to show his face again. Shen San also had to admit that he was unlucky and blamed the woman for being ruthless. Who really has the ability to rush to Qiemo Town to hunt him down." Di Gong asked again: "Among Shen San's acquaintances, there is a man with a plump body, thin skin and white flesh." A Niu frowned, thought for a while, and then replied: "The villain once saw him whispering with a tall and strong man. He has a beard, looks like a broker, wears a woolen blue gown with a collar, and a black hat, and looks handsome." "If you saw this person, would you still recognize him?" "My lord, it's hard to say. I remember they were standing behind the corner of Ziguang Temple talking, and the villain only glanced at them when they passed by. Later, the villain asked Shen San, and Shen San told the villain not to meddle in many other's affairs." Di Gong said: "A Niu, the more you remember, the sooner you will be released. Hurry up and search your stomach today, and get back to work in the lobby tomorrow." A Niu kowtowed like garlic: "The villain knows something, I dare not hide it, I just ask the master to forgive the details and spare my life." Di Gong walked out of the prison door and said to Hong Liang and Ma Rong: "A Niu Guo was set up to top the vat by someone, and this case will have to be examined in detail tomorrow." The three of them crossed the wall, and Duke Di smiled and said, "Today is a happy day, and the birthday banquet in the mansion has already been held. I have to rush to have a few drinks with my family members. In the afternoon, Hong Liang and I went to the Ziguang Temple to inspect the site, and Ma Rong went to the city. Get to know each other in various places in the shop, carefully ask about the mechanism of the crank axe. If you meet temple priests, wild monks, and witches, you must especially pester them, and you must ask some inside information."