Free Web NovelChapter 711: Chapter 303: Riddled with Doubts
Hong Ban quietly watched as Meng Po and the others surrounded Hong Yan’s corpse and began their examination, and Li Xin also observed silently.
Hong Yan’s body was generally well-preserved, his clothes freshly changed, and his complexion showed the pallor of death.
"We need to undress him," Old Tuo said stiffly.
Hong Ban opened his mouth as if to retort, but then gritted his teeth and held back, cautiously saying, "Hurry up, you can look, but there must not be any damage."
Patir took a few steps back; this was something she couldn’t watch. Standing beside Hong Ban, after so many years together, even without romantic feelings, there was definitely some friendship between them.
"If anyone in Dragon Capital truly wants to help you and has the capability, Li Xin is one of them," Patir comforted.
Hong Ban knew this well. He wasn’t blinded by love, nor did he agree solely because of Patir’s face. With Patir around, he could calm down, which was a sort of relief.
Old Tuo’s stiff face didn’t change, his pupils turned pale as he carefully examined Hong Yan’s corpse. In such situations, an autopsy would be best, but that was clearly impossible here.
Meng Po took out a pendulum and stood on the other side, starting to swing it over Hong Yan’s body. Initially, the pendulum swung normally, but as Meng Po infused it with spiritual ability, the pendulum suddenly started to shiver. The once vertical line twisted wildly as if it had its own consciousness.
Meng Po’s pupils turned completely pale, her entire body gathering spiritual power to control the pendulum. The pendulum steadied slightly but then trembled more violently. Meng Po bit her left finger, drawing red light in the air, setting up a spiritual array. Just as the pendulum stabilized, it spun mid-air and exploded.
A nearby drunkard immediately pulled out his flask, and the shards shooting out like bullets were all absorbed into it, along with the dispersed spiritual energy.
Meng Po’s expression was very grim; her wrinkles deepened. She knew what this case meant to Li Xin and Shadow Owl. As a Life Master, she sensed something strange within the corpse, inexplicable but related to the Life Master path. She merely wanted to trace her intuition to make some judgments.
The result almost caused her own spiritual foundation to collapse.
On the other side, Old Tuo seemed unaware, still focused on examining the body. His hands meticulously touched Hong Yan’s body, including private areas, in his eyes there were no human considerations, only evidence.
Meng Po swallowed back the blood that had risen to her throat and silently waved her hand, signaling the others not to disturb Old Tuo. At this moment, Old Tuo was in his own zone, completely detached from external changes, and this state must not be broken.
Meng Po herself took out a coin, stepped back a few paces, and formed a seal with her right hand, seemingly whispering something. However, the coin in her hand trembled incessantly, as if unwilling to obey. Meng Po had to grasp her right wrist with her left hand, straining to stabilize it. Her pupils protruded, her face’s wrinkles deepening, and she fiercely clasped the coin.
She wanted to toss the coin, but it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. A nearby drunkard hesitated, taking a step forward before stopping again. Meng Po gritted her teeth, unable to throw it away, settled for opening her right hand. The coin began to spin. However, within moments, Meng Po’s right hand became a bloody mess, as if the coin was drilling through it.
Crack...
The coin suddenly stopped, standing upright in her palm. Then, with a cracking sound, a fissure appeared on the coin, which stood bizarrely despite the crack. Meanwhile, blood began to flow from the top of Meng Po’s head as if it had split open.
Hong Ban’s face showed a peculiar expression. Clergy had been here before, with various professions among them, but nothing like this had occurred. Could it be that the Night Patrol exerted their skills to the limits, risking their lives?
Yet seeing the serious demeanor of the Night Patrol, the annoyance in Hong Ban’s heart also dissipated.
No one spoke; everyone silently watched as Old Tuo continued his examination. After a while, Old Tuo finished his meticulous inspection of Hong Yan’s body, nodding silently.
"Old Tuo, you speak first," Meng Po said.
"The body has no obvious wounds, not injured by external forces, no traces of spells or poisoning," Old Tuo’s cold voice echoed.
"What is the cause of death?"
"The inside of the body is entirely ruined, lifeless."
"Poisoned?"
"Not poisoned, it’s a more terrifying destruction of life force than poisoning. I’ve never seen a corpse like this; even now, the destructive power still lingers within it," Old Tuo said.
Hong Ban frowned; this matched the Church Court’s judgment. It seemed he had expected too much. If even the Church Court couldn’t find out, what could the Night Patrol do?
"Is there anything else?"
"Before death, there was a high frequency of sexual activity, even using some exhausting stimulants," Old Tuo said.
Hong Ban’s face looked a bit unpleasant, as though his secret had been revealed, "The Church Court also mentioned that the woman was a seductress, but since the cause of death wasn’t caused by her, it’s impossible to trace."
"The seductress was just an inducement; his body was already dead, yet strangely exuberant."
"My father is adept at the Knightly Path, although he never became an Angel, he existed at the peak of Four Lives, with an incredibly robust body, how could this happen!"
"The killer used a method unknown to us to ruin his body, and the seductress was the trigger, the time of death was chosen by them." Old Tuo said.
"Hong Ban, did you notice anything unusual about your father before his accident?" Li Xin asked.
Hong Ban remained silent for a while, carefully recalling, "Father was always busy with the election, and we rarely had opportunities to meet, but I felt his mental state was good, just occasionally coughing. He consulted doctors, and they all said it was nothing."
"He consulted the best doctors." Hong Ban added.
"Sister Meng, did you discover anything?" Li Xin asked the weary-looking Meng Po.
Meng Po smiled slightly, "I am not proficient in my skills, I noticed something unusual but when I tried to investigate, I encountered a backlash, unclear as to the power involved, but it’s certainly related to the Life Master path, and the other party’s level is high."
Hong Ban frowned, "How is that possible, people from the Church Court and Judicial Court have been there, including Life Masters, and they all examined and said there was no curse."
"It’s not a curse; it’s a strange power, Hong Yan’s luck has been taken away." Meng Po said.
"Luck? Taken away?" Everyone was stunned.
"The Life Master path is a vintage path, past cultivation methods and current ones are entirely different. In the past, it was about seizing others’ luck to continually enhance oneself, but this method now violates the Sixth Epoch’s law, thus gradually giving rise to the current Life Masters, who use sensing and auxiliary deduction to gain a bit of others’ luck enhancement." Meng Po said.
"Meng Po, why did you look like that earlier, the other Life Masters I have seen aren’t like this?" Patir curiously asked, having seen Life Masters who were all elegant and mysterious.
Meng Po grinned broadly, "Other Life Masters work for themselves, beneficial without harm. Our Night Patrol’s Life Masters work for case investigations, sometimes inevitably suffering a loss."
Hong Ban felt a chill in his heart; due to the path’s uniqueness, Life Masters especially value their lives. No wonder those Life Masters found nothing, if the gains don’t match the expenses, they won’t do it, even if they know, they won’t intervene.
"Thank you!" Hong Ban bowed.
Meng Po waved her hand, "No need for politeness, Young Master Hong, this is my job."
"Did the killer take Hong Yan’s luck to kill him, or did taking his luck result in the fatal injury?" Li Xin asked.
"Chief, the loss of luck is the result, not the cause of death, I can only sense this, but the cause of death is unclear to me." Meng Po said, "Councillor Hong had considerable luck."
Luck, seductress, connected to Tang Yinxiao, luck being taken is certainly related to the nun, meaning she came to reap Hong Yan’s luck. A Grand Governor candidate, undoubtedly a person of exceptional caliber, not the cause, so what is?
"So the seductress is key, can we find a lead on her?"
Meng Po shook her head, "I tried, but encountered backlash, the enemy’s level is much higher than mine."
"So besides the seductress, there’s also a highly skilled Life Master among the perpetrators?" Hong Ban asked.
"Yes, this Life Master is deeply hidden, if I hadn’t tried probing just now, I wouldn’t have even noticed him." Meng Po said, "Typically, a seductress takes luck but cannot grant it freely, but with a Life Master’s involvement, this part of luck can be bestowed upon a designated target."
Everyone’s expressions turned sober; how deep this scheme was, right from the start making the Hong Family the target.
"Hong Ban, the killer has been scheming against your family for a long time, not just for this election but also trying to seize your family’s luck through a Life Master," Li Xin said.
Hong Ban’s expression turned fierce, "I know, forcibly taking it; this is an old epoch’s technique. They want not only my father’s but our entire Hong family’s luck. Once luck is taken, it will form a bloodline curse, no wonder our family has been so unlucky recently, everything goes wrong, internal conflicts, external interests are also being cannibalized!"
Meng Po’s eyes showed a trace of astonishment; she knew this but didn’t say more, surprised that Hong Ban figured it out.
For a moment, the case fell into a deadlock again, despite more details, it remained unhelpful and only became more complex.
"Chief, there’s something odd on the body, after years of post-mortem exams, this is the first time encountering it," Old Tuo’s voice sounded, "The skin across the body is mostly normal, except for the area below the neck, this skin’s condition is entirely different from the rest, like it has been reborn many times."
