“To confirm someone’s identity, you don’t necessarily have to look at their head.” Zuan picked up a wooden stick and examined the skeleton. “This person has at least thirty wounds all over their body. Even if their head hadn’t been cut off, they wouldn’t have survived with this much blood loss.”

"It was obviously a fierce battle before he died, and the curves of these wounds were strange, completely different from the weapons of the cultivators of the Great Zhou Dynasty. They were more like the curved swords commonly used by the demon race."

"Could it be that some hidden force is using these curved blades to forge the identities of the demon race?" Pei Mianman questioned.

“That’s certainly possible, but look here.” Zuan pointed to the web between the thumb and index finger of the skeleton’s left hand. “Although the callus is no longer visible, the knuckles are clearly larger than those on the right hand, indicating that he was left-handed when it came to knives.”

"It matches the intelligence my subordinates have gathered; Cheng Ba is indeed left-handed."

"If so many knife wounds from a fierce fight, and details like being left-handed, are all intentional, the probability is extremely small. So this shouldn't be the person I'm looking for."

“That’s true…” Pei Mianman nodded repeatedly, then suddenly remembered what he meant, “Who is the person you’re looking for?”

“There was once a loyal guard of the Duke of Yunzhong who traveled thousands of miles to the capital to deliver a message, but he was killed on the way.” Zu’an looked at the graves, his tone full of respect. “I’m here to confirm his identity and see if there are any new clues.”

"He is indeed a loyal and righteous man." Pei Mianman also sighed with emotion. "By the way, I already told you that I came to help Prince Qi's son gather intelligence. Why did you tell me everything? Aren't you afraid that I will turn around and tell everyone?"

Zuan smiled and said, "What kind of relationship do we have? How could I not trust you?"

Although Pei Mianman was overjoyed to hear this, she still deliberately put on a stern face and scolded, "You rascal, you'll be deceived by a woman sooner or later."

"I'm willing to be lied to by you," Zu'an said, gazing at her affectionately.

"So cheesy~" Pei Mianman couldn't stop smiling. "Let's get down to business. I don't want to stay here any longer."

Zuan nodded, covered Cheng Ba's coffin again, and then pushed the burial mound back in.

He came to investigate a case, and it was already wrong of him to disturb the person's rest. How could he really leave the person's body exposed in the wilderness?

Soon they opened the second tomb. Pei Mianman was eager to help him burn away the corpse energy accumulated in the coffin, but after seeing what was inside, her expression changed drastically, and she ran to the side and started retching.

Inside the coffin lay a charred, blackened corpse, its body cracked in many places, revealing the flesh beneath.

Whether it was because the corpse had been there for too long or for some other reason, the color and texture of the flesh were truly indescribable.

Zuan waved his hand to dispel the smell from the coffin, then explained, "This man was called Shen Zhou. He was investigating a smuggling case, and when he came across a suspicious warehouse, the warehouse suddenly caught fire and burned him to death inside."

“Most likely, those smugglers destroyed the body and burned it.” Pei Mianman frowned.

“We need to check to be sure.” As he spoke, Zuan took out the gloves he had prepared, put them on, and slowly cut open the charred corpse’s chest cavity with a dagger.

"What are you doing?" Pei Mianman's eyes widened at the sight, unable to understand why he would do such a thing.

As Zuan carefully cut through the disgusting rotting flesh, he explained, "To see if he was really burned to death, there will be soot residue in his trachea and burn marks. If he was silenced before being burned, there won't be any of these."

"Ah Zu, how do you know so much?" Pei Mianman was a little surprised. These principles were easy to understand, but she had never heard anyone say them before, so she really didn't know that he could make such judgments.

Zuan smiled and said, "You'll understand if you watch more TV dramas."

"What?" Pei Mianman was somewhat bewildered, clearly not understanding the meaning behind his words.

At this moment, Zuan frowned: "He was indeed burned to death."

Although the body is now somewhat decomposed, traces of soot can still be found in the trachea.

"Then his death is not suspicious?" Pei Mianman asked.

Zuan nodded slightly, then opened the third grave.

As the coffin was opened, a mummy with a grotesque and twisted face was revealed inside.

However, Pei Mianman remained very calm this time, because she had seen many similar cases before, including many times when she was in Yinxu.

"This man is called Yu Li. According to the case file, he died after his life essence was drained by an unknown evil creature." Looking at the distorted face of the mummified corpse, Zu An could imagine the kind of pain he had endured before his death.

"Could it be a kind of person like Mosquito Taoist?" Mosquito Taoist had left a great shadow on Pei Mianman back then.

Zuan shook his head: "The number of vampires is small, and if they really made a move, it would have spread like wildfire throughout the city. There couldn't have been only one victim."

As he spoke, he began to examine the body, and soon his expression turned strange: "I know how he died?"

Pei Mianman blinked, looking at him curiously. "You just casually touched it a couple of times, and you can tell just like that?"

"He must have had his life essence drained by the Thick-browed Taoist..." she said, recounting how she had encountered the Thick-browed Taoist in Yi County and fought with him.

Having fought before, he immediately sensed the lingering aura on the other party, which was none other than the evil technique of the Thick-browed Taoist.

Pei Mianman couldn't help but sigh, "I've also heard of the fearsome reputation of the Thick-browed Taoist. He's highly skilled and his techniques are bizarre. Even those stronger than him would be wary of his evil arts and hold their breath. But meeting you is just bad luck."

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