Ye Qi breathed a sigh of relief.
"What the hell is that? A zombie?"
Mo Yunhan also came to Jiang Qingwan's side, took her hand, and looked down at her.
"Are you injured? It seems we'll need to send more people to protect you."
Jiang Qingwan gave him a reproachful look.
"Give me all the guards of the Ninth Prince's mansion. From now on, when we travel, two teams will clear the way. It will be very impressive."
The surrounding people had also come to their senses.
"It was the Ninth Prince's wife and the Ninth Prince who saved us."
They all knelt on the ground and kowtowed in gratitude.
Mo Yunhan raised his hand.
"Get up. I just happened to be passing by and did it on the spur of the moment."
His casual manner made the people feel a sense of closeness.
Someone mustered up the courage to ask, "Your Highness, Your Highness, is this really a zombie? Did it come from that mass grave nearby? Will they appear again in the future?"
Everyone looked anxious.
They live nearby and have always avoided this area.
If zombies really do appear, then no matter how cheap the location is, it's definitely not a place to live anymore.
Although this place is some distance from the bustling capital and there aren't many people coming and going, it is, after all, located behind the palace. If rumors of zombies were to spread, they would likely quickly reach the entire capital.
These are already turbulent times, and Jiang Qingwan did not want to stir up any more trouble.
He said calmly, "It's not a zombie. Perhaps the person just died and was struck by something, which is why they are possessed."
Someone exclaimed in surprise, realizing what was happening.
"It must be that black cat. The old folks all say that black cats are unlucky and that bumping into a coffin will cause the corpse to turn into a zombie. I wonder who kept it, that they would keep such an unlucky creature."
Mo Yunhan's eyes darkened.
But he didn't say anything.
The people knelt on the ground again.
"Please, Your Highness and Princess, exorcise evil spirits and ward off disaster for us."
Jiang Qingwan knew what they were worried about.
"I'll go take a look at the mass grave. You may all leave now."
Upon hearing this, the people knelt down again to express their gratitude, and then dispersed, discussing amongst themselves.
Mo Yunhan looked down at her, "Wan'er, will a black cat really turn into a zombie if it bumps into a coffin?"
Jiang Qingwan squatted down, examining the body as she explained.
"It is true that black cats causing corpses to turn into zombies does happen from time to time. The reason is that the scent on the cat happens to attract the last bit of yang energy left after a person dies. It looks like a zombie turning into a zombie, but in reality, the corpse will only stand up or jump stiffly as the cat moves. It will not attack the living like it did today, nor will it make that sharp cry."
Mo Yunhan also squatted down.
He raised his hand and grasped her wrist.
"What do you need to investigate? I'll do it. Don't get your hands dirty."
Although the corpse was fresh, it already smelled of decay.
Jiang Qingwan glanced at him.
He withdrew his small hand and pointed to the lower half of the female corpse.
"Take their pants off."
Mo Yunhan stood there dumbfounded.
Ye Qi almost burst out laughing.
He quickly turned his back, his shoulders twitching as he clearly laughed.
Aoho scratched her head awkwardly, and like Yoruichi, turned her back and took two steps away.
Mo Yunhan pursed his thin lips.
"Are you really going to take your clothes off?"
Jiang Qingwan raised the corner of her beautiful eye.
"Um."
But just as Mo Yunhan reached out, she slapped his hand away.
"These two women have very weak yin energy, so you should stay away from them."
Mo Yunhan nodded seriously, a smile playing on his lips.
She obediently stepped back, deliberately turning her body away from looking.
"Alright, I'll do whatever Wan'er tells me to do. You don't need to explain further, as if you're jealous."
Jiang Qingwan was just teasing him, but she didn't expect to be teased by him instead.
He immediately rolled his eyes at him and ran his fingers across the lower half of the female corpse.
He withdrew his hand after a moment, his brow furrowing slightly.
"These two must have died from having their life essence drained while practicing dual cultivation with someone."
"Dual cultivation?"
Night Seven and Ao Sui turned their heads at the same time.
"Is there really such a strange skill?" Ye Qi asked with curiosity.
Qing Sui spoke coolly.
"You men have little skill, you only think of crooked and evil methods, it's simply shameless and despicable."
Ye Qi was scolded for no reason, and looked completely innocent.
"Your Highness is also a man; how can you generalize and condemn an entire group of people?"
Mo Yunhan was wiping Jiang Qingwan's hands with a handkerchief.
Suddenly, I smelled a very faint scent of ambergris.
It was just masked by the stench of a corpse, and only now has it been detected.
He turned his gaze back to the female corpse. Although her outer garment had been removed when she was abandoned, the style of her inner trousers still revealed that they were not made of ordinary fabric.
"They are people from the palace."
Jiang Qingwan was stunned.
Are you sure?
Mo Yunhan nodded.
"Today, a black cat crashed into a coffin in Kunning Palace, but I didn't witness it myself. The Emperor sent the Imperial Guards to surround the palace gates, and when he came out, there was no movement inside. Now, a palace maid has turned into a zombie and is harming people; there must be a connection between these events."
Jiang Qingwan thought for a moment.
“All the women in the palace should be recorded. Judging from the freshness of this corpse, it has been dead for no more than two days. We should be able to find out which palace it came from. If we follow this lead, we should find some clues.”
Mo Yunhan, however, was not so optimistic.
"If these two people died at the hands of the Emperor, the record book would not leave anything that could be traced."
"Was it killed by the Emperor?"
Jiang Qingwan recalled that Mo Yunhan had mentioned Mo Yunzhao as being somewhat unusual.
"Could it be that the Emperor's change is due to his dual cultivation with palace maids?"
Mo Yunhan's expression darkened further.
"Besides the stench of decay, there was also a faint scent of ambergris on the two female corpses. This fragrance is used only by the Emperor in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty. Our conjecture should be true."
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