There is a god in the sky

Chapter 213 Ghosts or Monsters 6

"Be serious." Xiao Ji glanced at Sui Feng.

He picked up Shen Lan's sketch and looked at it for a while, and also saw the numbers that Shen Lan had written on the side.

But he didn't recognize any of them, so he asked, "What are these?"

"Oh, some notes that only I can understand. I want to figure out how much their bodies were processed."

Judging by weight, they were completely dehydrated, but their muscles and bones remained intact, making them look more like they had been baked.

Moreover, it's baked at a low temperature.

The murderer not only came up with this method, but also possesses such advanced skills. Unless he hides it very well, it shouldn't be difficult to find him, right?

Constable Xing arrived with his men and reported, "Sir, we have compiled a list of everyone who has left the academy these past few days. Most of them are purchasing or odd jobs."

"Okay, bring it here."

Officer Xing glanced inside the room and, seeing that the two guards were also there, entered with peace of mind.

"My lord, the people in the academy are in a state of panic. Some have come to us, asking you to plead with them to let them leave the mountain."

Xiao Ji refused outright, "No, the murderer might be hiding in the academy. We can't let anyone down the mountain."

"But... we probably can't defend against it with just our manpower."

Yishan Academy is very large, and this mountain is even larger. If someone is determined to go out, it's impossible to guard against them.

Shen Lan suddenly realized that perhaps the person did not leave through the main entrance, but there must be other hidden entrances and exits.

"I would like to trouble Constable Xing to take my official seal back to the yamen to request the arrest of the officers."

Xiao Ji handed his official seal to Constable Xing.

"Okay, how many people do we need to deploy?"

"Fifty, we need manpower to search the mountain."

Constable Xing hesitated before reminding him, "Sir, the constables in the yamen each have their own duties. I'm afraid you can't mobilize that many people. You need the approval of the Chief Justice."

That high-ranking official, who is on sick leave year-round, probably won't even show his face.

Xiao Ji took a piece of paper from the side, wrote a letter, and handed it to him, saying, "Take this letter to the Marquis of Pingyang's residence and personally deliver it to the Marquis of Pingyang."

Officer Xing suddenly remembered his connection with the Marquis of Pingyang's residence and immediately perked up.

"I will certainly do it! My lord, you are waiting for my good news on the mountain."

Shen Lan waited until he left before asking, "The dignified Capital Judicial Commissioner can't even muster fifty constables?"

"It's not that I can't gather the necessary funds, but rather that I, as the newly appointed judge, don't have that much authority."

Xiao Ji could understand. He used to be in charge of the entire Provincial Judicial Office in the local area, and his subordinates were at his disposal.

Now that we've moved to a different location and have higher-ups keeping things under control, it's definitely not as convenient as before.

A servant came to invite Xiao Ji, saying that the headmaster wanted to play chess with him.

Xiao Ji also had something to discuss with him, so he left with the servant.

Before leaving, he told Shen Lan, "Get some rest tonight and don't think about the case."

Xiao Ji knew very well that this young lady might not sleep all night once she got involved in a case.

If all coroners in the world were like her, what unsolved cases would there be?

Shen Lan felt that his instructions were somewhat unnecessary.

There are currently no leads in the case, and she can't think of any clues.

Once she lay down on the bed, she looked at the cabinet opposite the bed and suddenly sat up.

She walked over barefoot, opened the wardrobe, and squeezed herself inside.

At the time, Go Doon-nam's body was also hung in a wardrobe with a belt, but the wardrobe was only about the height of an adult male, so why would he go to such lengths?

He seemed to have a particular fondness for hanging people, or rather, hanging corpses.

Shen Lan can deduce the murder process as follows: He first lured the victim out of the academy under some pretext, intercepted and killed him halfway, then took him to his secret base to refine the body before disposing of it.

The location where the body was disposed of was also carefully chosen, as if they were afraid that others would not find out.

His purpose in doing this, besides amplifying the demonic influence, was likely to instill fear in people.

Does that mean he has a grudge against the entire Yishan Academy?

Will the serial killer hiding in the mountains continue his rampage?

Before dark, the officials who went to investigate returned.

The remaining three students who went down the mountain are all safe and sound at home; none of them are missing.

Then Qian An and Gao Dounan were not targets he chose randomly.

Did these two have any reason to die?

Xiao Ji was playing chess with Tong Shanzhang.

He certainly didn't expect that Shen Lan would quickly forget his words of advice.

"Hehe, I knew it. It's more interesting to play chess with smart people."

"You flatter me, Headmaster. Actually, I'm not good at chess."

"You're too modest. At your age, your skill level is enough to make you stand out among your peers."

Xiao Ji held a chess piece in his right hand, hesitating over which position to place it, and then looked up and asked Headmaster Tong, "Sir, you spend most of your time at the academy and seem to pay little attention to matters at home."

On the day of Madam Tong's birthday celebration, Headmaster Tong didn't even go home.

Many people went to offer their birthday greetings specifically to Elder Tong.

Headmaster Tong tossed down the chess piece, a smirk playing on his lips. "You're trying to talk about my grandson's death, aren't you?"

Such a big matter had naturally been reported to him by the Tong family.

"Yes and no. The Ministry of Justice is investigating the Second Young Master's case, and they will definitely catch the murderer soon. I'm just curious, don't you care about your family?"

Master Tong proudly said, "I have countless disciples, many of whom respect me like a father. I am not saddened by the death of a good-for-nothing grandson."

Perhaps because they rarely spend time together, he is not close to his grandchildren.

“You may think I’m indifferent, after all, he’s my own grandson, but Juntao was spoiled by his mother and aunt since he was a child, so I’m not surprised by his ending.”

It seems this person also knows what Tong Juntao has done.

But I've never heard of him disciplining his grandson.

"You oversee so many students at the academy, why don't you discipline your grandson more?"

Did you see the couplets on the archway when you went up the mountain?

"I have seen it; it establishes a heart for heaven and earth, and establishes a destiny for the people."

"You can call me hypocritical, but I do value the greater good more than my own family."

Xiao Ji was filled with respect, but he also felt a slight disapproval in his heart.

If you can't even manage your own family, how can you manage the larger family?

"You should also check on your own home sometimes, just in case things get out of hand," Xiao Ji said half-jokingly.

But given his seniority and position, it was a bit much for him to say such a thing in front of Headmaster Tong.

Tong Shanzhang wasn't angry at all; he even joked, "It seems you're quite dissatisfied with the Tong family."

"Junior dare not."

“Few people dare to complain to me, you have a lot of guts.” Headmaster Tong stood up, took a piece of paper from the table and handed it to him.

"This is……"

"Take a look. These are the hundred family rules I just wrote. With the eyes of the Chief Justice, are there any omissions?"

Xiao Ji quickly closed the paper and handed it back to him with both hands.

"Since it is a family rule of the Tong family, it is not appropriate for a junior, an outsider, to comment on it."

Tong Shanzhang did not answer.

"I have read the Xiao family rules, which are more than three hundred articles long. They are indeed much better than those of the Tong family. It's a pity that I understood them too late."

For some reason, Xiao Ji felt a sense of guilt.

But it was clearly the Tong family who did something wrong.

“I have been in charge of this academy and have revised dozens of new rules for it, but I have never taken care of my children and grandchildren. This is my dereliction of duty.”

He changed the subject, his brow furrowing sternly, and said, "But my grandson's wrongdoings are for the government to punish; it's not the assassin's place to punish evil! The murderer must pay the price!"