There is a god in the sky

Chapter 212 Ghosts or Monsters 5

Shen Lan examined the mummified corpse thoroughly, this time focusing on the nooks and crannies such as the deceased's mouth and ear canals.

The murderer went to great lengths to disguise the body after killing the person, even dressing it in the clothes the victim wore before death, all in an attempt to make people associate it with ghosts and monsters.

It must be said that the murderer she encountered this time was the most cautious murderer she had ever seen in this era.

Compared to the princess who committed murder in Tanzhou City, this murderer seems to be very knowledgeable about the details of investigation, and has cleaned up the clues very thoroughly.

"Sir, the body is in the same condition as Qian An."

Based on what they just said, Gao Dounan only took leave three days ago. Even if he was murdered that day, his body could not have turned into this state in just three days.

Therefore, there must be a place to dispose of the bodies.

But ordinary people don't think that way.

"It must be a mountain ghost that killed him!" Tao Cheng shouted, sitting on the ground!

He was completely stunned for a moment, but now that he's come to his senses, he scrambles away and runs away.

Those students who had heard of Gao Dounan's murder were stopped outside by the officials and had not seen the gruesome state of the body. When they saw Tao Cheng, they asked in bewilderment, "How exactly did Gao Dounan die?"

"I don't know. How could he have died in his own room? Didn't his roommate, Li Bing, notice?"

"Could it be..."

"It's all thanks to Master Sun for coming to find him today, otherwise he would have rotted in the house and no one would have known."

Li Bing snapped out of his daze, quickly covered his crotch with the hem of his robe, and stood up excitedly, saying, "I didn't kill him! Brother Gao and I have no grudge against each other, why would I kill him?"

Xiao Ji called him in and asked, "Was there anything unusual about Gao Dounan before he left? Did he tell you where he was going?"

"He said he had a stomachache and asked Master Sun for leave to go down the mountain for a few days. I thought it was serious and offered to take him down the mountain, but he refused."

"Because there's a doctor at the academy, minor illnesses can usually be cured. His eagerness to go down the mountain means he must be seriously ill!"

Xiao Ji stroked his chin and nodded. It seemed that both of them had been lured down the mountain by the murderer using some means, and then killed on the way.

But to know how someone died, the crime scene needs to be located.

The question is, who is the murderous demon hiding in the mountains?

When Li Bing saw the female coroner carrying the body out, he couldn't help but vomit again, trembling as he said, "The ghosts from the mountains have come out to kill again!"

"Again? Has this kind of murder happened before?"

Master Sun sighed and replied, "About three years ago, there was indeed a similar murder case. The victim was Kong Tongcheng, who was the most talented student at the time. You should have heard of him."

Xiao Ji recalled this person; this was his biggest rival when he took the imperial examination.

But for some reason, he failed the exam. Later, he became the top scholar in the imperial examination and naturally didn't pay attention to someone who had failed.

So he was dead.

Didn't the authorities investigate the cause of death at the time?

"No, we searched the entire mountain but couldn't find the murderer. Before that, there were rumors in the academy that ghosts appeared in the mountains, and several students saw them."

Xiao Ji asked with interest, "What kind of ghost? Now that you've seen it, what does it look like?"

Li Bing hugged himself tightly in fear and whispered, "It's a will-o'-the-wisp, blue and flickering."

"Have you met Young Master Li?"

Li Bing nodded and recalled, "That day was the day the results were announced. A few friends and I were depressed because we had failed the exam, so we went to Tingfeng Cliff to drink. We ended up drinking too much and didn't return until late at night. When we passed through a forest, we saw that ghost..."

"Wait a minute..." Shen Lan asked carefully, "Is that mountain forest far from Listening Wind Cliff? Or is it closer to the academy?"

"I can't remember clearly. We had drunk too much at the time. I only remember that the ghost circled around me twice and then flew into the mountains. A few days later, Brother Kong's incident happened, and we guessed that the ghost had come to kill him."

People were terrified at the time. The academy gave all the students a holiday and sent them home for half a month. They also invited a Taoist priest to exorcise the ghost. After that, such incidents never happened again.

Shen Lan didn't know how to explain to him that will-o'-the-wisps were actually the appearance of burning white phosphorus.

The so-called "flying around" was probably just dizziness caused by their drunkenness.

As for ghosts killing people, that's even more absurd.

But it's useless for her to say these things now. Only by finding the real culprit and figuring out his methods of killing can people be convinced.

Two identical murders have occurred at once, and there may even be a third. Xiao Ji ordered Master Sun to investigate whether any students at the academy are still missing. It would be best to give instructions to others not to go down the mountain unless it is important.

The students at the academy were filled with anxiety.

Headmaster Tong also arrived, and after glancing at the corpse, he nearly fainted.

"Investigate! We must find this brutal criminal!"

It seems that Master Tong also believes it was caused by human intervention, rather than by ghosts.

He arranged accommodations for Xiao Ji and the others, and instructed the entire academy to cooperate with the Criminal Investigation Department in investigating the case.

Xiao Ji received the list of students who went out to study that afternoon; there were five people in total.

Apart from the two who had already died, he sent people down the mountain to the homes of the remaining three to verify their identities.

Fortunately, all three of them lived in Bianjing (Kaifeng).

Shen Lan is sketching under the lamp.

She asked about the two people's height and build before they died, and compared them with their mummified bodies after death, trying to figure out how they turned into mummies in such a short time.

Rumors of ghostly murders spread like wildfire throughout the academy, frightening many students so much that they wanted to leave the mountain.

In their view, the academy was no longer safe.

They believed that Gao Dounan had died in his room.

Qian An's body was found by a stream halfway up the mountain, so it's normal that no one witnessed the body being moved.

But how did he manage to hide Go Doon-nam's body in the closet in his room?

Xiao Ji knocked on the door and came in, bringing with him the data he had recorded throughout the day to discuss with Shen Lan.

Shen Lan quickly opened the door, letting Sui Feng and Sui Ying also join in the discussion.

"Both of the deceased were relatively quiet and didn't talk much, but they were both academically outstanding."

"Being quiet means having few friends, preferring to be alone, and making them easier to target."

Her outstanding academic performance... perhaps it's just a coincidence.

Xiao Ji nodded and added a few more points.

For example, many students who came to study would bring a page or servant to take care of their daily needs.

Both of the deceased came from ordinary families and lived alone most of the time.

Did Li Bing mention who went to their room today?

"Besides the two classmates who borrowed books from him, there was no one else. These two have always been in the school and have never left the academy. There are witnesses to confirm this."

The murderer killed two people, went to the trouble of mummifying the bodies, and then disposed of them, so it's unlikely that the perpetrator was a student attending classes at the academy normally.

"The two had a simple relationship and had no enemies. Their motive for killing them is still unknown."

"Both of them have a good relationship with Tao Cheng. Your Excellency can investigate Tao Cheng further."

Generally speaking, there is an 80% chance that the murderer is someone close to the victim.

"Okay, I'll check."

"Also, regarding the motive for the murder, they were all outstanding students, so could someone have killed them out of jealousy of their talent?"

Sui Feng joked, "If there really were such a person, wouldn't it be us adults who should be in danger?"

After all, when it comes to talent, who can surpass the youngest top scholar?