Wen Mingtang also fell silent after hearing this confession, and looked down at Tangyuan, whose eyes were red from crying.

Tang Yuan raised her head, crying so pitifully. She met Wen Mingtang’s eyes and defended: “It’s true, Master Wen, I saw a painted-skinned monster!”

Liu Yuan and the other guards couldn’t help but shake their heads when they saw Tangyuan like this. He was afraid that she couldn’t help much. He was investigating the case, and there was a little girl crying. This gave him a headache, so he said to Wen Mingtang: “Master Wen, take the Tangyuan away first! She is alwaysin Dali Temple, so if I need anything later, I’ll ask Tangyuan.”

Right now, the little girl was shouting about “painted skin monster”, but he couldn’t ask anything. Maybe she would calm down later and stop shouting about monsters, so that she could remember some details.

Hearing this, Wen Mingtang nodded and left with the Tangyuan.

After Wen Mingtang and Tangyuan left, Liu Yuan and his men squatted down and looked at the man who Tangyuan called a “painted-skin monster”.

Because of the weird makeup on his face, it was difficult to see the man’s specific appearance for a moment. However, looking at his body shape, he was tall and thin, with his face turned aside. Wearing this long-sleeved robe from the Wei and Jin Dynasties, he looked a bit like an “immortal” who had ascended to immortality.

But right now, this person was lying there like a corpse, with a ghost-like makeup on his face. The feeling of “fairy” had directly become the feeling of “ghost”. In broad daylight, it was also strange.

Now that Wu Zuo had not arrived, officer Liu Yuan did not touch the man’s body. He just stood aside and looked at the man’s body. He did not see any external injuries.

Although there was a thick layer of powder on the neck, it was still possible to see clearly whether there were any strangulation marks.

There were no external injuries such as strangulation marks, nor was it drowning. So… the most likely cause of death was poisoning.

However, this man’s lips were painted with bright red lipstick. Before wiping it off, it was impossible to tell whether his lips were purple or poisoned.

Liu Yuan lowered his head and looked at the “painted skin monster” lying on the ground for a moment. Soon, the exclamation of Wu Bucai, the medical examinar, came from the entrance of the alley.

“Zhao You, you’re a jerk, walk slower, your legs will break!”

Zhao You dragged Wu Bucai three steps at a time to the entrance of the alley, let go of Wu Bucai’s clothes, and glanced behind him Lin Fei said with disdain: “You are walking too slowly!”

Walking too slowly can’t be so “destroying”! Looking at the worn soles, Wu Bucai pointed at Zhao Youqi and trembled his fingers, turned around and snorted, and followed Lin Fei in front.

When he saw the “painted-skinned monster” on the ground, Wu Bucai couldn’t help but exclaimed. He touched the goose bumps on his arms and said, “This corpse is too scary. If you see it at night, you will be frightened to death!”

Liu Yuan glanced at Wu Butai who exclaimed with a subtle look in his eyes: “…It was indeed seen late at night.”

Wu Butai: “…”

Looking at Liu Yuan’s subtle look in his eyes, he couldn’t help but ask : “Which unlucky guy did see this?”

Liu Yuan: “The little handyman Tangyuan under Master Wen, the public chef.”

Wu Butai: “…that little girl who looks quite smart?”

Liu Yuan nodded and said, “Yes.” Seeing Wu Bucai looking around for Tangyuan, he added: “I asked Master Wen to take him away first. She was incoherent and insisted that the one lying on the ground was a painted-skinned monster!”

Wu Bucai said: “…”

Before he could speak, he Lin Fei’s voice sounded.

“Painted skin monster?” Lin Fei tilted his head and asked Liu Yuan.

Liu Yuan nodded and told the story about the crying monster walking down from the painting.

After hearing this, Wu Bucai twitched the corner of his mouth and couldn’t help but said: “I heard this story when I passed by the public kitchen that day. Master Wen told her. As an old man, I was shocked when I heard it, not to mention Ah Bing. I’m afraid I’ll have nightmares for several days when I went back with those two kids!!”

Lin Fei didn’t say anything when he heard this, he just stretched out his hand towards Liu Yuan and said, “Where’s the blank scroll?”

Liu Yuan The blank scroll was handed over from the guard.

Lin Fei took the scroll, glanced at the blank scroll, and touched the folded edge of the scroll with footprints on it. After pausing for a moment, he pointed at the messy footprints on the curled edge and asked Liu Yuan with a frown. : “Did you step on it?”

Liu Yuan: “…”

It was not that he stepped on it. He came late and only came here this morning, but it was probably stepped on by the tall and powerful guards in the row behind him.

Seeing Liu Yuan turn around and glance at the tall guard, Lin Fei said nothing, but touched the edge of the folded scroll and asked Liu Yuan: “When you came here, was this scroll scattered on the ground?”

Liu Yuan nodded and said “Yes.” After a pause, he added, “That little girl Tangyuan was so frightened that she thought she had seen a painted-skinned monster and didn’t dare to approach it at all, so she pretended that she had not damaged the scene.”

When Wu Butai heard this, he poured cold water on him: “She didn’t destroy it, but she is responsible for destroying it!

Liu Yuan and the other officers said: “…”

After a moment of pause, he looked back at the embarrassed officers.

Liu Yuan explained: “When Tangyuan passed by last night, she saw the corpse and screamed out in fright, attracting many people to watch. By the time the enthusiastic people went to Dali Temple to beat drums and report to the officials, it was already nearly midnight. There are not many people in the government office except the night guards…”

“A few of them are still novices and have little experience. When they rushed over, they first dispersed the group of people watching, and they got into a fight with the people on the way. After a few pushes, it was still foggy in the middle of the night, so they couldn’t see clearly…”

He had already gone back early at that time, not in the yamen. When he rushed over this morning, he was shocked to see footprints all over the ground, scattered vegetable leaves, and two broken raw eggs at the alley entrance.

Only the corpse and the scroll were not trampled! Then the Yamen officers who came over early in the morning was walking in a hurry and stepped on the curled edge of the scroll.

The whole scene was in a mess.

The little girl Tangyuan was frightened and cried all night after her family took her home. She was still crying when she was brought here this morning, and all she could do was talk about a monster. Liu Yuan was stunned by this scene.

Dali Temple was trying to solve a murder case involving a monster, which might make them the entire city of Chang’an a laughing stock.

After hearing this, Lin Fei fell silent. After a moment of pause, he stood up and looked around.

The body fell at the entrance of the alley, which was common alley in Chang’an City. It had a bluestone floor and courtyard walls of houses on both sides. There were two poles standing at the entrance of the alley. When the wind blew, the lanterns on the poles swayed.

Lin Fei raised his head, looked at the lantern for a moment, and then looked at the body lying on his back again.

After a long while, he said to Wu Bucai who was already prepared: “Let’s do the autopsy!”

Wu Bucai nodded, put the box he was carrying on the ground, squatted down and took a wet wipe to wipe the makeup on the deceased’s face.

Lin Fei suddenly said, “Wait a minute!”

Wu Bucai’s movement in his hand stopped instinctively, and then Lin Fei pointed at the deceased’s bright red lips and said, “There’s something special about this red color.”

(End of chapter)

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