Hearing that the old coroner who had conducted the autopsy last night was dead, Si Hongxi quickly brought Mu Qing with him and rushed to the morgue.
The scene had already been sealed off.
As soon as the two of them entered the door, they saw the old coroner who had been fine just yesterday. Now his body was stiff as he knelt on the ground. His face was deathly pale, completely bloodless, and his skin was shriveled, as if all the moisture had been sucked out of him.
One could still vaguely make out the look of terror on his face, as if he had been scared to death.
There were no external wounds or fatal injuries on his body, and there were no signs of a struggle at the scene. It was truly bizarre!
"This is so eerie. It must be a vengeful spirit seeking revenge!" came the whispered comments of the guards outside the door.
"You're right. It's so scary!"
At this moment, Si Hongxi had the guards who had been on night duty last night called in and questioned them about the situation last night. Had they noticed anything strange?
Both guards said that there had been nothing out of the ordinary and that they hadn't heard any sounds of a struggle. Now that they thought about it, it had been eerily quiet at that time!
It was only when they came in for the shift change this morning and did an inspection that they had discovered the body.
At this moment, Si Hongxi thought of someone. For such a tricky case, it might not work to handle it using normal methods.
So Si Hongxi immediately went to Shan'an Fang.
"Miss Ruo Ruo, the Prince of Pingnan requests an audience!" a servant announced.
At this time, Wan Ruo, Bai Chen, and the others were still sitting together discussing the evil spirit from last night.
As soon as they heard that someone was looking for Wan Ruo, the three of them all looked at her in unison, which made Wan Ruo feel a bit embarrassed.
Especially Bai Chen's look, which seemed as if it could kill.
"Okay! I'll come right away!" Wan Ruo took advantage of their momentary inattention and quickly escaped. Otherwise, she would surely be scared to death by Bai Chen's look.
Bai Chen: "..."
Wan Ruo quickly rushed towards Si Hongxi and ran to the private room where he was being entertained.
"Miss Ruo Ruo! Long time no see!" Si Hongxi said gently.
It didn't seem like that long since they last met.
"Your Highness, is there something you need from me today?" Wan Ruo asked directly.
"Please sit down first. Let's talk slowly!"
Wan Ruo directly sat down next to Si Hongxi, with an empty stool between them.
Si Hongxi personally poured a cup of tea for Wan Ruo and explained, "It's like this. Some bizarre death cases have occurred recently. I suspect they may not be man - made... Because of what happened to the Princess Dowager before, I suddenly thought of you. You seem to be quite good at dealing with such things. You know, I can only trust you. So I'd like to ask you to help me investigate this case. Although you got injured because of the incident with the Princess Dowager last time, I have some concerns and am afraid of putting you in danger. But this is related to the safety of all the people in the city, so I have no choice but to do this. If you want to refuse, I won't force you!"
With his words like this, since he said it was related to the safety of all the people in the city, wouldn't it seem so heartless of me if I didn't help?
"It seems that Your Highness is really a good official who cares about the common people! You've even touched me a bit!"
"Tap, tap, tap." The sound of footsteps came from the door. Si Hongxi looked up and saw that it was Bai Chen.
Bai Chen walked up to Wan Ruo, gently stroked her head, and continued, "But even if you were to exchange her life for the lives of all the people in the city, it wouldn't help! With her skills, I'm afraid she would have a hard time protecting herself, let alone being of any use!"
Hearing this, not only did Si Hongxi's face turn ugly, but even Wan Ruo couldn't stand it.
Wan Ruo forced a smile and said, "Your Highness, you really think too highly of me. But since it's for the safety of all the people in the city, as long as you need me, I'm naturally willing to do my bit!"
She deliberately glanced at Bai Chen, looking full of defiance. Who was he saying was useless!
Bai Chen: "..."
When Si Hongxi heard that Wan Ruo had agreed, he was very grateful.
For this kind of thing, if he were to look for an exorcist Taoist priest or a mage, where would the dignity of the court be? At present, Wan Ruo was the most suitable candidate.
"Your Highness, if you want to ask her for help, you might as well ask me... After all, you saw what happened in the case of the Princess Dowager. I was the one who did all the work!" Bai Chen said confidently.
Si Hongxi recalled the scene at that time. It was indeed Bai Chen who had carried the unconscious Wan Ruo out. It showed that he really had the strength. And he really didn't want Wan Ruo to take risks, because he wasn't sure what they were up against.
"Okay! Then it's a deal!" Si Hongxi stood up and said.
"I can help, but I have one condition!"
"Go ahead!"
"I won't be responsible for your safety. After all, I don't have the energy to save each and every one of you. As for the evil spirits or non - human forces you're talking about, just leave them to me!" Bai Chen said coldly.
Hearing him say this, it always felt as if he thought they were incompetent. I'm the Prince after all. I have wealth, power, and manpower. Do I still need your protection?
"Okay, I'll agree to that... The situation is urgent. Shall we go now?" Si Hongxi said firmly.
Wan Ruo wasn't happy when she heard this. She frowned slightly and said unhappily, "Hey, why are you changing your minds so quickly! I want to go too! I can also be of some help!"
Looking at He Wan Ruo's stubborn look, Bai Chen said helplessly and lovingly, "Okay, but if there's any danger, you must hide behind me! If you don't listen, just stay here obediently!"
"Okay! Sure!" Wan Ruo readily agreed, but in her heart she thought, Hmph! I'll never be obedient!
After getting Bai Chen's permission, Wan Ruo happily followed behind Si Hongxi.
Bai Chen looked at her funny appearance, feeling both helpless and unable to do anything about it. With her curious and nosy nature, it seemed that he had to speed up the process of teaching her magic arts.
The three of them came to the morgue in the yamen. Si Hongxi prepared handkerchiefs for them to cover their noses.
As soon as Wan Ruo entered the morgue, she smelled a strong stench of decay. Even with her nose covered, it was still so pungent that she almost vomited.
"Miss Ruo Ruo, are you okay?" Si Hongxi asked with concern.
Wan Ruo endured it and shook her head to indicate that she was fine.
She looked at Bai Chen and nodded to show that she was okay and they could start.
Only then did Bai Chen feel relieved and began to examine the body at the door, which was that of the coroner. Since Si Hongxi had given the order not to move the scene for the time being, the old man's body was still kneeling at the door.
"He's the coroner in the yamen. He's been doing this for many years. His body was discovered by the guards this morning. We were still doing an autopsy together last night. I never thought..." Si Hongxi briefly introduced the situation.
As soon as Bai Chen saw the state of the dead man, he could tell that this was no ordinary death.
"This! He looks like a mummy!" Wan Ruo exclaimed in surprise.
"It seems like he was scared and his essence was absorbed. There are no signs of a struggle and no external wounds. I initially conclude that it wasn't man - made!" After a careful examination, Bai Chen made an undoubted judgment.
Hearing Bai Chen's words, Si Hongxi's suspicion was confirmed. It really wasn't something a human could do!
"Oh, right. There are also these two bodies! Take a look... Is there anything wrong with them?" Si Hongxi led Bai Chen to the other two bodies.
Bai Chen lifted the white cloth covering them. His eyes immediately became sharp. Why did this person look so familiar?