Chapter 842 Heavenly Master's Mansion (V)
After sending Huang Bin out to investigate the craftsmen, Sun Shaozong went straight to the autopsy table.
The autopsy table was made of local materials, using wood piled up in the backyard, and covered with a layer of old leather that was found from somewhere.
In addition, there were six pots of charcoal fire set up around the dissecting table, and it felt like being in a steamer when you got close to it.
This was because the body had been hanging outside the main hall door for most of the night and had long been frozen like stone. If one wanted to allow certain clues to emerge, it naturally had to be thawed first.
But Sun Shaozong came to the autopsy table, reached out and poked the corpse's calf, and seeing that the flesh had become soft again, he immediately started from the ankle and kneaded it upwards inch by inch.
The results of the examination were: the deceased's shin bones were slightly deformed, and the muscles at the knee joint felt significantly different from other parts of the body, which was suspected to be the result of repeated depression.
There are no signs of wear at the base of the thighs, which shows that these abnormalities are not caused by long-term riding.
Combined with the head and clothes taken away by the murderer, the possibility that the deceased was a Taoist priest who had been sitting cross-legged for many years has greatly increased.
If we assume that he is a Taoist priest, generally speaking, there are two possible inferences.
One type is the enemy of Tianshi Mansion, who, in order to provoke and discredit Tianshi Mansion, killed the Taoist priests of Tianshi Mansion, or the Taoist priests who had connections with Tianshi Mansion, and hung them outside the main hall door.
But in this case, it seems that there is no need for the murderer to take away the victim's head and clothes. Instead, he is eager to expose the victim's identity.
The other is internal strife. After killing the victim, the murderer fabricates the illusion that all this was done by the enemies of the Tianshi Mansion.
But this makes it even more difficult to explain his behavior of taking away the head and body of the deceased.
Could it be...
What evidence was left on the deceased’s head and clothes?
Or is it that the identity of the deceased is somehow related to the murderer?
As he was thinking about the case, one of the coroners came up and said cautiously, "Sir, we have checked the contents of the deceased's stomach. They are all light vegetarian food, without any meat or fish."
This is becoming more and more like a monk.
Of course, there are lay Buddhists who have not become monks and who meditate and eat vegetarian food for a long time - but generally speaking, there are very few lay Buddhists who practice Buddhism at home who start to devote themselves to the Tao in their teens.
"Besides that, have you discovered anything else?"
"And then..."
The coroner and his companion turned the body to its side at a 45-degree angle and pointed at the two bruises on the left shoulder blade and the back of the neck. They said, "After the body was thawed, two marks appeared on the back. It seems that someone had pressed hard on it before it died."
Sun Shaozong came forward and looked at it carefully for a while, frowned without comment, then lifted the deceased's left arm, swung it back and forth and observed it.
The two coroners standing by were puzzled, but due to their identities, they did not dare to ask any questions.
After putting down the deceased's left arm, Sun Shaozong asked again: "Did you find any signs of poisoning?"
The reason he asked this was that although there were signs of strong pressure on the deceased's body, there were no signs of struggle.
Especially the left arm of the deceased.
Normally, when someone holds down the shoulder blade, there will always be signs of struggle at the joints, but after careful observation just now, no such signs were found.
However, after hearing Sun Shaozong's question, the two coroners looked at each other and shook their heads together - this was not a denial, but they were not sure whether the deceased had been poisoned before his death.
There is no way. Without the assistance of various scientific instruments, many toxins are difficult to detect unless they reach the level that can damage organs.
Apart from those two traces, the coroners found nothing else.
However, Sun Shaozong himself discovered a faint mark on the deceased's collarbone.
The mark was a little blurry to begin with, and was not far from the iron nails on the chest, so it was mostly covered by blood. If Sun Shaozong had not had sharp eyes, he would have missed it.
After cleaning the blood, one could only vaguely make out a rectangular outline with a protruding edge - otherwise, even this shallow outline wouldn't be possible.
Sun Shaozong pondered for a while, asked two coroners to check it again carefully, and then he left the shed.
When he came out, he found that there was another young Taoist priest outside - but judging from his position, it was obvious that this new young Taoist priest was not an important person.
Sun Shaozong ignored the young Taoist priest and asked one of the middle-aged Taoist priests, "Are there any disciples of your Taoist temple in the capital missing now?"
"snort!"
Without waiting for the middle-aged Taoist to reply, the cold-faced Shao Tianshi sneered, then raised his chin to the young Taoist behind him: "Junior Brother Wang, explain it clearly to him!"
"yes."
The young Taoist responded respectfully, stepped out of the crowd and bowed to Sun Shaozong, saying, "I, the Taoist Wang Chuyi, greet Lord Sun. Ever since I heard that a murder occurred in the Tianshi Mansion, my master, Master Hongyuan, has ordered all the disciples in Beijing to join us, and then notified the Taoists of the Zhengyi Sect in Beijing."
"After half a day of investigation, we have confirmed that all the disciples of our Tianshi Mansion are safe and sound, and the rest of the Zhengyi Taoist priests in Beijing are also safe."
Sun Shaozong did not find this strange. If the identity of the deceased could be identified so easily, then what would be the point of the murderer taking away his head and clothes?
Just as he was hesitating whether to use the rectangular mark on the dead man's chest to test the Taoists, Wang Chuyi said again: "My master asked me to tell you something. He is now ordered to preside over the ritual of Master Jia and cannot get away. If you are free in the evening, please take the time to go to Ningguo Mansion to have a chat."
Unexpectedly, at this time, the emperor actually sent Zhenren Hongyuan to preside over the ritual to pray for Jia Jing's soul.
Speaking of this Master Hong Yuan, it is said that he is second to none in the contemporary Tianshi Mansion, and is proficient in magic and knows well about human nature. Last spring, as the pioneer of the Tianshi Mansion, he won the trust of the emperor soon after arriving in Beijing.
It was he who originally proposed to build this newly built Tianshi Mansion in order to pave the way for the contemporary Zhang Tianshi to gain fame.
The reason why Sun Shaozong had heard of his name was because the recent dispute between the Northern and Southern Taoist sects was said to have been first instigated by the disciples of Master Hongyuan.
Even though such a huge mistake has occurred in the Tianshi Mansion, the Emperor has appointed him to preside over the rituals in the Ningguo Mansion. This shows that this person is favored by the Emperor and is far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
To be honest, if Master Hongyuan invited Sun Shaozong to visit him, he would definitely refuse.
But going to Ningguo Mansion...
It can be considered as a home game, so I can just take the opportunity to talk to him about the case while I'm going to pick up You Erjie.
It's a good opportunity to take a look at who this legendary figure who can control ghosts and gods is.
Sun Shaozong nodded slightly and said, "After visiting Qingxu Temple, I will go to Ningguo Mansion."
Hearing the words "Qingxu Temple", the four Taoists on the opposite side were all stunned. Then the young Taoist priest became excited, pushed Wang Chuzhen aside, stared at Sun Shaozong and asked: "This thing was done by Qingxu Temple, right?!"
"No."
Sun Shaozong said calmly: "I just went to ask if any Taoist priests in Qingxu Temple are missing ."
