These past two days, the Government Office's forensic room has received a new specimen, a supposedly non-decaying human head.
Upon hearing this, Xu Qing was like a cat that smelled fish; a head belongs to a body, and if there's a head, the body can't be far behind, can it?
"Sir, I'm well-versed in this! Preserving a corpse from decay is the basic skill of our mortuary craft. It's quite possible that this corpse passed through the hands of someone in my trade. Why not let me have a look? I might just find some clues!"
Chen Guangrui was very relieved to see Shopkeeper Xu willing to step forward and contribute to the case.
"Very well! Xu Qing, this county permits you to go to the forensic room with the forensic doctor. If you find any clues, there will be a substantial reward!"
Then Chen Guangrui instructed those around him: "There is reason in what Xu Qing says. The ability to preserve a corpse may not necessarily be supernatural. Chief Zhao, take the government officials tomorrow and visit the various funeral businesses to investigate."
Just as Chief Zhao was about to respond, Xu Qing, who was on his way out, helpfully reminded, "Sir, besides my Xu Family's funeral chain in Linjiang County, there are no other funeral businesses, and those that exist are in the villages outside of town. If Chief Zhao wishes to investigate, he should visit outside the city."
Chen Guangrui frowned and said, "I recall there is still a Shi Family Funeral House in town..."
"That Shi Family Funeral House went out of business and is now owned by me, rebranded as Xu Family Funeral House."
"..."
Is it possible to go out of business dealing with the dead these days?
Chen Guangrui waved his hand, letting Xu Qing follow Song Tu out. When he saw Shang Shaoyang also wanting to follow, Magistrate Chen frowned but ultimately didn't stop him.
Letting this heir help solve the case is better than having him out of sight making trouble; he didn't believe anything could go wrong right under his nose.
After watching them leave, Chen Guangrui suddenly tapped his forehead: "How could I have forgotten this matter."
"What matter?" the teacher asked curiously.
"Hmm! What else could it be? Someone swapped my study's Master's Chair for a small stool. Who do you think did it?"
Chen Guangrui snorted coldly and turned away in a huff.
...
In the forensic room, after Song Tu had settled the little girl's corpse, he led Xu Qing to the human head caught by a fishing guest.
"Uncle Xu, this person died a terrifying death. From the looks, they must have been greatly frightened before dying, possibly killed in front of the murderer!"
Song Tu lifted the white shroud covering the corpse, revealing the true face of the headless body.
But when Xu Qing saw the face of the head, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
He recognized this person; half a month ago, someone with this appearance ordered a small narrow coffin from his funeral shop and hadn't been heard from since.
Xu Qing didn't conceal the truth and spoke up in front of Shang Shaoyang and others, then added, "This person said the weather was hot, and his child drowned while playing by the river, thus needing a coffin for burial."
"Song Tu, you can inform Chief Zhao tomorrow to investigate according to these clues; there might be something to gain."
Although the case was yet to be solved, the reason for the customer's absence seemed clear enough now.
The customer died, so naturally, no one came to collect the coffin—an act of God, and Xu Qing didn't overthink it.
He reached out to touch the cold table's head; the Sutra of Salvation had no response.
Indeed, a corpse too incomplete couldn't be properly exorcised.
This head, like the corpse with it, did not decay; if it wasn't deliberately destroyed, then its body must still be somewhere.
"Song Tu, did the Government Office search for the body after this head was discovered?"
Song Tu nodded and said, "We searched. Jiang Empty Basket often fishes in front of Tanggu Bridge on the Tanggu River..."
Fearing Xu Qing and the others might not understand, Song Tu added, "Jiang Empty Basket, whose real name is Jiang Maocai, also called Jiang Empty Basket because he always returns from fishing with an empty basket, hence the nickname. This Jiang Empty Basket has some tricks; he never catches fish but often catches other things."
"I heard he even caught a cow a couple of years ago..."
Recalling Jiang Empty Basket's past, Song Tu couldn't help but add a few more words. Then he got to the point: "After catching the head, Jiang Empty Basket didn't immediately report it to the authorities; instead, he placed the head beside his basket and continued fishing because earlier that day, he had visited a fortune teller by the Tanggu Bridge who foretold that he wouldn't return with an empty basket and would catch something big."
"It wasn't until nearly noon that Jiang Empty Basket realized this head might be the 'big catch' the fortune teller spoke of."
Song Tu sighed, "When Jiang Empty Basket reported the head to the authorities, it was already afternoon. If the body was washed down from upstream of the Tanggu River, it might have washed into Baisha River by then, making it much harder to find."
"Later, a group of government officials searched the river for half a day but couldn't find the body, and the matter remained unresolved."
Having heard the whole story, Xu Qing had made a decision and said, "This is how I'll do it—Shang Gongzi and I will take a walk by the river to see if we can find the body..."
"The body is hard to find, and it's already late. Uncle Xu, if you insist on searching, perhaps you should wait till tomorrow when you can have a government official accompany you." Although Wang Lingyuan often said Uncle Xu's skills in examining corpses were extraordinary, Song Tu didn't think Xu Qing could find the body.
This was beyond his comprehension. Could Uncle Xu ask the head where the body was?
Even if the head could talk, it might not know where the body was.