The only person An Xin could think of as a ghost was Yu Xian, the leader of the Holy Moon Sect. His martial arts skills were so high that his figure was as elusive as a ghost!
The elusive figure before us is probably just someone playing tricks.
“Squeak—” An Xin suddenly heard a sharp sound, her gaze turned sharply in that direction, and then her face turned pale and stiffened instantly. On the misty tree, a corpse was hanging upside down. The corpse seemed to have been torn apart by sharp claws, and its internal organs were spilled all over the ground. It was terrifying and outrageous!
"Ah!" A scream suddenly came from behind. An Xin was startled and turned around to see the villagers who had rushed over. They screamed in shock at the sight, and then everyone vomited and dared not come any closer.
Startled, An Xin snapped out of her daze and said coldly with a grim expression, "Send someone to report to the authorities, immediately!" As she spoke, she walked forward, the mist slightly cool, as if tinged with a faint bloodstain.
An Xin had seen countless murders, but never one so brutal. Her gaze fell coldly on the corpse's face. Though covered in blood, it was still clear that it was a man, his eyes bulging, obviously terribly frightened.
As for the injury, it must have been torn apart by a sharp claw, with bits of flesh flying everywhere. One can imagine how deep the resentment of the person who did it was.
The man was bound hand and foot and hung upside down from a tree. His private parts were a mess, his intestines were torn apart and pulled out in chunks.
Why would a female ghost resort to such a method to kill someone?
"Father of the child!" came a cry of alarm, followed by a woman staggering over and bursting into tears.
An Xin frowned slightly, her gaze falling on the woman's face. The woman's grief and fear were genuine, clearly she had just come to her senses after being struck by this unexpected disaster.
An Xin's eyelashes trembled slightly as she asked, "When was the last time you saw him?"
The woman cried out, “Last night, after having dinner with Qinglin, I went to rest. Late at night, I woke up from a nightmare and Qinglin was gone. I thought he had gone to the outhouse and didn’t think much of it. I went back to sleep, but when I woke up this morning, he hadn’t come back. Then I heard screams coming from the woods. I ran over and found that Qinglin was dead.”
An Xin frowned slightly: "Do you have any enemies?"
The woman cried, “Qinglin is an honest man, how could he have any enemies? He usually cuts firewood and goes to the county town to sell it, and then he comes back. He doesn’t drink or gamble, and he would never make any enemies. Even if he did, I would know.”
An Xin's heart sank slightly. Her gaze swept carefully over the tree trunk, sensing something amiss, but what exactly was it? Her eyes then fell on the woman's feet, and she suddenly trembled, asking, "Which village are you from?"
The woman cried out, "Huaxi Village is just beyond this grove."
An Xin instantly understood that this forest connected four villages: South China, West China, East China, and Central China. This meant that the murderer could be anyone from any of the four villages!
This is tricky. Murder cases without a specific target are the hardest to solve, especially since the victim, Qinglin, had no enemies—that's impossible! Murders without a cause are rare; most murders have a fatal element!
As the crowd grew, about an hour later, the county yamen's officials arrived, led by Yang Hu. Wang Baishi also rushed over. One murder after another had occurred in Yi'an County, making his job as the county magistrate quite miserable.
Having not seen An Xin for a long time, Yang Hu was both surprised and delighted, but it was clearly not the time to be happy.
An Xin smiled slightly and asked, "Brother Yang, what do you think?"
Wang Baishi, with his hands behind his back, interjected, "Is there even a need to look? This is clearly the work of a female ghost! Haven't many people witnessed female ghosts?! Besides, this wound was obviously torn by the female ghost's sharp claws!"
"Since the female ghost is so powerful, why hang him up? Even if he can resist, can he really defeat the female ghost?" An Xin retorted lazily.
Wang Baishi's eyes widened, and the words caught in his throat.
Yang Hu whispered, "Miss An, what do you think?" After those two cases, even Yang Hu had to admit An Xin's intelligence.
"This is a murder. In short, all the villagers in the nearby villages are suspects, so we need to conduct a thorough investigation in the next few days." An Xin also felt a bit of a headache; these kinds of cases are the most brain-draining!
Yang Hu said with a solemn expression, "If this is a murder, the killer is extremely cruel."
An Xin nodded, and looking up, she saw Lu Zhu and Jin Qiao waving at her from the crowd. An Xin paused for a moment and then walked over.
Dewdrop, pale-faced, said, "Miss, has another murder occurred inside? Could there really be a female ghost?"
Jinqiao's face also paled slightly, but he was calmer than Luzhu. He frowned and said, "There are no ghosts in the world. Maybe someone is just pretending to be a ghost."
An Xin nodded and said, "Sister Jinqiao is right. Whether she's a human or a ghost, I will find her!"
Dewdrop's eyes immediately lit up as she said, "This servant trusts Miss the most. Miss will definitely catch the murderer!"
Jinqiao sighed, "Xin'er, you must be careful. Since the murderer dared to kill, he is probably capable of anything."
An Xin smiled slightly and said, "I actually hope he shows up. Did you encounter any suspicious people on your way here?"
Dewdrop thought for a moment and said, "I was guarding the door at home when Sister Jinqiao came to ask me to draw patterns. We talked for a while and then I heard a scream. I am usually terrified of ghosts. I was very scared to be alone at home when Sister Jinqiao came over, so I went with her. Along the way, apart from everyone talking about the murder case, I didn't see anyone suspicious."
Jinqiao nodded in agreement, saying, "I didn't notice anyone suspicious either, but Liu Ergou, who ran out of the woods, was more suspicious."
An Xin frowned slightly and said, "Before we have any clues, anyone is a potential suspect. I just checked the body, and it has been dead for about an hour. If we can identify the people who have been active within that time, we can narrow down the possibilities."
Dewdrop, who was initially frightened, suddenly exclaimed with delight when her gaze fell into the distance, "Miss, it's Young Master Feng!"
An Xin glanced back and, sure enough, saw Feng Yi standing tall and handsome, his striking appearance immediately drawing everyone's attention. In this kind of setting, anyone who enjoys solving cases and deductions would likely be there, so it wasn't surprising.
An Xin looked away and smiled at Jin Qiao, "Sister Jin Qiao has always been afraid of people, but she's much better now. You see, these people aren't so scary after all."
Jinqiao smiled shyly and said, "I have to thank Xin'er for all of this. Of all the people in this world, I only trust you."
Dewdrop said jealously, "Don't you believe me, Sister Jinqiao? I'm truly sincere towards you too!"
Jinqiao chuckled, "Of course they believe in us dewdrops too!"
Dewdrop then smiled smugly, her eyes lighting up as she said, "Oh, Miss, Young Master Feng is here! I think he's very kind to you."
An Xin glanced at her and said, "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!"
Dewdrop shrank her neck, stuck out her tongue, and muttered softly, "This servant thinks Miss and Young Master Feng are a good match."
Feng Yi, who was walking over, happened to hear this muttering. A faint blush suddenly appeared on his face, and he immediately stepped forward and asked with concern, "Is the injury on your arm any better?"
An Xin nodded, then glanced at Lu Zhu and Jin Qiao tiptoeing away. She couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. This girl was quick-witted when she should have been, but quick-witted when she shouldn't have been.
"Did you learn anything from this case?" An Xin changed the subject. Her arm recovered extremely quickly, and she had to admit that Yan Zhen's ointment was truly effective. As expected of the Right Prime Minister, the ointment he used was top-notch.