Chapter 2656 - 2655: Black Scale
Ling Feng’s Shadowless Needle swiftly cut through the clothes on the corpse, and with a flash of silver light, the robes were completely shredded.
Ling Feng used the Shadowless Needle to open the chest cavity, finding that the lungs were also decayed, and more shockingly, the heart was missing, leaving only a vague mass of flesh and blood vessels at its location.
Seeing the missing heart, Ling Feng was momentarily stunned, his confusion and surprise growing.
He continued to lightly touch the face of the entire town with the Shadowless Needle, but this time he didn’t dissect the face, only using the Shadowless Needle to sense the condition of the town’s face.
The Shadowless Needle trembled slightly, and Ling Feng sensed something amiss, leaning close to inspect the town’s face.
Ling Feng discovered that the blood vessels in the nose and mouth were somewhat swollen. When the Shadowless Needle touched the ear, it fell off directly. Ling Feng kept inspecting the town’s face, almost lying on the ground.
Wei Dong and Li Feng saw Ling Feng’s diligence in solving the case and looked at him with admiration. Regardless of whether the murderer could be found ultimately, Ling Feng’s attitude alone justified the populace’s previous call of "King Shoulder to Shoulder" on the street.
Ling Feng suspended the Shadowless Needle above the town’s eyes. Upon closer inspection, he found the eyes seemed different from those of ordinary people, protruding as if about to be dug out. Not just the eyes, but every feature on the town’s face seemed out of place, as if the features didn’t belong on that face, almost ready to escape.
𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
Ling Feng further inspected the town’s limbs, finding swollen blood vessels as well. However, after using the Shadowless Needle to puncture them, blood unexpectedly didn’t flow out. Instead, Ling Feng saw traces of black mist escaping into the air from inside the vessels.
The black mist was exceptionally subtle, causing Ling Feng to doubt his sight initially. But after puncturing several more vessels and witnessing the same black mist, Ling Feng confirmed he wasn’t mistaken, simultaneously forming a preliminary judgment on the cause of death:
It seemed the body deteriorated from the inside out, losing all blood, resulting in loss of vitality and a painful death. However, Ling Feng couldn’t yet confirm the exact cause but tentatively inferred it could be related to the previously dispersing black mist.
Ling Feng stood up, stored the Shadowless Needle, contemplated for a moment, then turned to Li Feng and asked, "When General Quan entered the bedroom to rest, where was he? What was he doing?"
Li Feng immediately responded, "That day General Quan just returned from the frontline. He initially wanted to inspect the disaster victims’ shelter situation, but I thought the General had been busy all day. He should either rest or eat something. So, I insisted he not go out again. I went to inspect the disaster victims’ situation in his place, and I remember the General promised me he’d rest but would first check some books in the study."
"That day, seeing the General’s smiling face, I didn’t think much and left. Now I think if I hadn’t stopped him or if I had stayed with him, perhaps this tragedy wouldn’t have happened." Saying this, Li Feng lowered his head, feeling quite guilty.
Ling Feng shook his head and said, "This isn’t your fault. You acted with good intentions. Don’t feel excessively guilty; none of us wanted to see General Quan die."
Ling Feng patted Li Feng’s shoulder, offered some comfort, then exited the room, approaching the family members of the town.
He crouched down to meet the eyes of the town’s wife, who was slumped on the ground, and said, "Sister-in-law, my condolences."
The town’s wife, Su Hua, raised her tear-stained face, looked at Ling Feng, then immediately remembered, dropped her head onto the ground, and cried, "King Shoulder to Shoulder! I beg you to seek justice for my husband. He died so unjustly! Please catch the murderer!"
Ling Feng quickly helped Su Hua up: "Sister-in-law, there’s no need for such a formal gesture. I came at the King’s orders to investigate General Quan’s cause of death and catch the murderer, seeking justice for General Quan. I also promise you, I will identify the murderer and enforce justice on the spot!"
"There are some things I need to ask you, just answer truthfully."
Su Hua nodded.
"In recent days, has General Quan exhibited any unusual behavior, or has anything been different from usual?"
Su Hua’s face showed a look of recollection, then she shook her head, saying, "My husband has been busy dealing with disaster relief and settling victims; he rarely comes home. Every night he sleeps in the command center. I only get a few chances to see him here. I previously urged him to come home to rest; it’s not lacking for time. But he said if something urgent happens, even a little time can be crucial, even saving someone’s life. So no matter what I say, he wouldn’t return home to sleep."
Su Hua thought for a while and continued, "If there’s something different, perhaps it’s that I noticed his white hair increased. Initially, he had some, but not so much like now, almost half a head. I feel sorry for him, but dare not say much. He cares for the Royal City’s commoners even more than family."
Listening to Su Hua’s account, Ling Feng suddenly recalled that during the autopsy, he indeed noticed a significant increase in the town’s white hair, more than he saw at the King Shoulder to Shoulder’s inauguration ceremony, with the temples completely white, even the back of the head full of white hair, the facial wrinkles also increased, almost as if he’d aged by over ten years.
Ling Feng nodded thoughtfully, said little more, but offered Su Hua some words of comfort, then instructed Li Feng to take care of the town’s family. He then proceeded directly towards the command center.
Wei Dong and Li Feng exchanged glances, unsure of Ling Feng’s insights, only quickly following.
Ling Feng entered the command center, saw the wooden chair where the town often sat pondering things, sat down, and immediately activated the Divine Sense, scanning the entire Royal City Guard Division.
After exploring for a quarter-hour, a discordant aura finally revealed itself under Ling Feng’s Divine Sense. He immediately rose and returned to the town’s bedroom, looking at the scattered objects on the ground, finally locking onto a piece in the far corner.
Ling Feng walked over, picked it up, and examined it carefully in his palm.
It was a scale, a black scale, with some yellow patterns on it. Wei Dong and Li Feng came over and saw this scale, their faces showing shock.
Ling Feng said nothing, only frowned and activated the Divine Sense again, soon discovering another indication. He approached the town’s corpse, forcibly opened the already stiff hand, finding another scale.
However, these two scales were slightly different; the one tightly held before death by the town had a mass of green flesh attached to it.