CHAPTER 11

It Must Be the Demon

Yu Linlang held Jiujin's hand and stepped out of the carriage again, staring at the inexplicable scene before her.

To be precise, it was a corpse—its abdomen hollowed out—lying right in front of the carriage.

The onlookers gasped, covering their mouths as they turned away to spit.

The sight was horrifying, making even the mere mention of it unbearable.

Yu Linlang looked up at the three-story building across the street, then back down at the corpse's blue-gray, rigid face, its brows tightly furrowed even in death.

Yu Shoudao, hearing the commotion, hurried over with a group of men. As soon as his eyes landed on the mutilated body sprawled across the ground, he nearly stumbled, his expression twisting with shock and grief.

What is going on here?

Barely had the heir of Xuanping Hou and the Zhengjue Sizhi arrived in the capital when two murders already took place on the streets of Weizhou Fu.

"What happened? Let me see."

Mu Feng pushed past the guards and rushed forward. But after taking one glance at the body, he recoiled, clutching his chest with one hand as his face turned pale.

A nearby guard reacted swiftly, retrieving a jade bucket from the carriage and handing it to his young master just in time for him to vomit.

Jiujin shot him a sidelong glance, his expression filled with undisguised contempt.

Mu Zhao sighed and signaled for the guards to assist his younger brother to the side while he himself, with a grim expression, stepped forward to join Yu Shoudao in examining the scene.

Moments later, Yu Shoudao staggered back, unable to suppress his own nausea.

Standing near the body were Mu Zhao, the only prince, and Lord Lu, the magistrate of Zhengzhou Prison. They spoke in hushed voices.

Yu Shoudao wanted to step forward to caution the prince about being so close to Lord Lu, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he gagged again, ultimately doubling over to retch.

"I've seen the prince, my lord," someone greeted.

The coroner, Lao Li, was a frail old man with a limp in his left leg. His gait was uneven, making his approach slow.

Lu Qian turned to him and nodded. "Old Li, examine the body first, then have it transported to the governor's yamen for a more detailed inspection."

"Yes, sir."

Since this was just an initial examination conducted on the street, Old Li did not burn any Atractylodes. Instead, he carefully wrapped his hands in cloth, crouched beside the corpse, and began his inspection.

Nearby, several yamen runners questioned passersby, but most were too busy vomiting to give coherent answers. This made Yu Linlang and her maid, Jiujin—both standing calmly amidst the chaos—particularly conspicuous.

Mu Zhao and Lu Qian both took note of their unperturbed demeanor.

These two… were unnaturally composed.

Mu Zhao recalled that Miss Yu had previously examined an infant's body with a practiced ease, her movements skillful and decisive. He suspected she was more knowledgeable than she let on.

With this thought in mind, he decided to approach her.

However, midway there, he realized it might seem inappropriate for the two of them to approach a young lady alone. So, he summoned the governor—who was still dry-heaving—and brought him along to serve as an intermediary.

"Lord Yu," Lu Qian said, "please ask your daughter where the body came from and whether she noticed any suspicious individuals earlier."

Lu Qian had overheard others mentioning that Miss Yu had examined the infant corpse and, although her words were unfamiliar to them, her conclusions had matched those of the coroner, Lao Li.

She was clearly someone meticulous and well-versed in such matters.

Yu Shoudao, still reeling from nausea, wiped his mouth and looked at the two nobles before him.

But when Prince Mu Zhao addressed him, he momentarily forgot his discomfort, his face going blank.

"Who? Prince, who are you talking about? Whose daughter?"

Mu Feng, still clutching the jade bucket, took a small step closer and blinked at him in disbelief.

"Lord Yu… you don't even recognize your own daughter?"

Yu Shoudao stiffened, his gaze shifting toward Yu Linlang, who remained impassive. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he hurriedly covered his face with his sleeve and gagged again.

Hearing him retch, Mu Feng felt his own stomach churn. But having already emptied it, all he could do was continue dry-heaving into the bucket…

Still, he managed to grumble between his retching, "Lord Yu, really? Your daughter literally introduced herself earlier as being from your household… and you don't even recognize her? What kind of family dynamic is this? Urgh…"

Lu Qian shot a helpless look at Prince Mu.

The latter, equally exasperated, smacked his younger brother lightly on the head. "Enough, don't cause trouble. Changqing, take the young master back to the carriage."

Yu Shoudao, swallowing back his nausea, finally managed to think clearly. Then, as if struck by lightning, realization dawned, and his eyes lit up.

"You… You are Linlang, aren't you?" His voice trembled. "Linlang, you've returned—"

And then, just like that, he doubled over again and vomited.

Yu Linlang remained indifferent, withdrawing her gaze as she calmly bowed to Prince Mu and the others.

"I was in the carriage with my maid and did not see how the body appeared," she stated flatly. "I only heard a loud noise, and when I looked, the corpse was already there."

She raised a hand and pointed toward a building across the street. "It's likely that he was thrown down from there. I can't be certain of the exact circumstances."

The two men followed her gaze and saw that the third-floor windows were wide open. Without hesitation, they ordered the guards to investigate.

Yu Linlang, feeling weary, left Jiujin to observe the situation outside and climbed back into the carriage to rest.

Meanwhile, as the initial shock subsided, whispers of fear rippled through the crowd.

"It must be a demon," someone murmured.

"Yes, yes! Who else could do something so gruesome—digging out the heart, lungs, and liver to eat them?"

"Mom… are demons real?" a frightened child asked.

"Hush! Be careful, or you might attract unclean things," a woman scolded.

Inside the carriage, Yu Linlang massaged her temples and lifted the curtain slightly.

"Jiujin," she called, "go ask when we can leave."

Jiujin made inquiries and soon returned. "Miss, they said we can leave shortly. The body has been preliminarily examined and is being transported to the governor's office for further investigation."

"The deceased is estimated to be around forty years old, but his identity remains unknown. Officials will conduct further inquiries."

Noticing Yu Linlang's indifferent expression, Jiujin fell silent and lowered the curtain.

"We should be able to leave soon," she said to the driver. "Miss must be exhausted. Let's return home."

Yu Shoudao, now somewhat composed, hurried forward and lifted the curtain to peer at his daughter.

"Linlang," he began hesitantly.

Yu Linlang arched a brow, unimpressed. "What is it, my lord?"

Yu Shoudao hesitated at her cold tone, then sighed.

"Your mother has been waiting for you at home for a long time," he said. "Go back with Madam Hu and the others first. We thought you would arrive two days ago, so everything has already been prepared for you."

He looked at her expectantly, but she merely stared back impassively before giving a small nod.

Seeing her lack of emotion, Yu Shoudao didn't know what else to say.

Finally, with a guilty sigh, he relented.

"Go."