Vermilion Bird Street, Pine Crane Inn.
“Seal off the scene! No one is allowed in or out!” Wei Feng, the inspector from the Dali Temple, barked his orders.
The inn had already been heavily surrounded.
The windows on the second floor were tightly shut, and the entrance was crowded with onlookers, their murmurs buzzing incessantly.
“I said, this area is sealed off! All bystanders, disperse immediately!” Constable Wang Sheng shouted as he tried to shoo away the gawkers.
Yet the crowd showed no signs of thinning-if anything, it only grew larger.
Whispers rippled through the masses:
“Is it really that foreign merchant who died?”
“I heard it was a gruesome death…”
“Could it be revenge from that Painted Skin Demon?”
“Shh… don’t say that! What if it hears you?”
“Stop pushing!”
Just as Wang Sheng was about to continue dispersing the crowd, a fellow officer rushed over and whispered something in his ear.
His expression changed instantly, and he immediately turned to call out to the figure standing inside the gate, “Sir! The officials from the Imperial Astrology Bureau have arrived!”
Hearing this, Wei Feng quickly stepped out and craned his neck to look toward the end of the street.
A stir ran through the crowd as several officials from the Imperial Astrology Bureau cleared the way.
Soon, the onlookers parted to either side, revealing a wide path.
“It’s Lady Su!”
The newcomer was none other than Su Fu, followed by Jiang Qingyu and Lin Mingxi.
“Director Su!” Wei Feng hurried forward to greet her.
“I am Wei Feng, inspector of the Dali Temple. The crime scene has been secured. Please follow me.”
The crowd erupted in astonishment.
“Is that the newly appointed Director Su who just became the Grand Astrologer’s disciple yesterday?”
“Exactly! That golden light that shot into the sky last night-they say it was her exorcism talisman. Her talent is extraordinary!”
“Word is she’s already helped the Dali Temple crack several major cases recently…”
Amid the whispers, a few examinees mixed in the crowd exchanged bewildered glances.
Wait, we all just arrived yesterday-how did you suddenly become Director Su?
Even the Dali Temple officials treat you with such deference?
How is that fair?!
Are you cheating or something?
Just as Su Fu and her companions were about to enter the inn, a sudden shout rang out-
“Director Su, please wait!”
The voice boomed from the end of the street, startling the onlookers, who turned to see who it was.
A group of Imperial Astrology Bureau disciples clad in black robes approached from the distance.
The crowd gasped-wow, that’s a lot of people!
Moreover, the group moved in perfect formation, clearly well-trained.
At their head was a middle-aged man who, upon reaching the inn, first bowed respectfully to Su Fu.
“Director Su,” he said, clasping his hands in salute.
“This humble official, Zheng Zhong, has come under orders from the Grand Astrologer.”
His tone was deferential, “The Grand Astrologer, having learned that this case may involve the Painted Skin Demon, has dispatched us to assist. He instructed us to ensure your safety above all else.”
The crowd was genuinely stunned.
The Imperial Astrology Bureau, an institution of such prestige, had sent such a formidable escort for a young official?
Su Fu’s expression remained calm as she gave a slight nod.
“Thank you for your assistance, colleagues.”
She swept her gaze across the surroundings, her voice clear and steady.
“It is the duty of the Imperial Astrology Bureau to serve the people of Chang’an. We ask for your understanding as our investigation may restrict movement. Rest assured, once we uncover the truth, we will provide the public with answers.”
Her words were impeccably diplomatic, emphasizing service to the people, which left many in the crowd feeling reassured.
Now this is what a true public servant looks like!
But among the crowd, many examinees’ gazes grew complicated simply put, they were green with envy.
“Su Fu has already risen to this level in just one day?” grumbled one examinee who worked as a teahouse waiter, still carrying trays.
“Here I am serving tea, while she’s become the Supervisor’s disciple? Even the elite from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau are protecting her?”
“Tsk, what incredible luck…” Another examinee’s eyes flashed with jealousy.
“If only I had such an opportunity.”
Some were even tempted:
“Do you think Su Fu is still taking followers?”
“Dream on. She’s the Imperial Astronomical Bureau’s rising star now-why would she bother with the likes of us?”
As envy and resentment swirled through the crowd, from the second floor of a teahouse opposite the tavern, a pair of eyes remained fixed intently on Su Fu.
The teacup in that person’s hand had long gone cold, unnoticed.
Just as Su Fu was about to enter the inn, she glanced at Wei Feng.
“I’ll need you to clear the area, Commander.”
Wei Feng acknowledged and signaled Wang Sheng behind him.
Wang Sheng immediately bellowed with authority, “All bystanders disperse immediately! Violators will be dealt with according to the law!”
The other constables swiftly moved to scatter the crowd.
Many examinees wanted to linger, but were pushed away regardless.
“Hmph, putting on airs…” muttered one disgruntled examinee.
“Afraid we’ll see something, obviously! This is Elai we’re talking about! The chief of Xuandu Province dead-something big must be happening!”
“How stingy of her! Hope she comes in last place!”
Su Fu ignored them completely and entered the inn.
At the crime scene, the floor was littered with shreds of human skin, the overwhelming stench of decay nearly suffocating.
Elai’s corpse lay beside the desk, an unnatural blackish-purple hue.
Most disturbingly, his face… seemed to have merged with the unlit lantern on the table.
“Light it,” Su Fu ordered.
Someone tremblingly brought a flint and lit the lantern.
In the dim glow, a familiar face gradually materialized on the lantern’s surface-Elai’s visage!
“Another human-skin lantern,” Wang Sheng said grimly.
“The skin-shedding demon has come to claim a life.”
Besides the body, shattered bone bells lay scattered, their surfaces smeared with black blood-likely some protective charm against the demon.
Clearly, it hadn’t worked.
Wei Feng gestured for Wang Sheng to bring forward a witness, a man who appeared to be a shopkeeper.
“Investigator Su, this is Shopkeeper Zhang from the teahouse across the way. He claims to have witnessed the incident.”
Su Fu raised an eyebrow.
An eyewitness?
She turned to Shopkeeper Zhang.
“Tell me, what did you see?”
The shopkeeper still looked shaken.
“Last night during my watch, I saw… saw a shadowy figure in that room. Its form… its appearance… was just a single layer of skin!”
“It was the skin-shedding demon that killed this foreign merchant!”
Su Fu pondered this.
So Elai’s case was indeed a human-skin lantern incident, but… was the skin-shedding demon truly the killer?
Surveying the scene before her, she found it hard to believe.
The Ministry of Education had lost all credibility in her eyes.
She turned to Wei Feng.
“Give me the full details of the human-skin lantern cases, from the beginning.”
She strongly suspected-was the skin-shedding demon really the culprit?
Or was it Elai himself?
Just like their heart-extraction case, the fox spirit was the mastermind, but not the actual murderer-the culprits turned out to be the victims themselves.
Wei Feng nodded solemnly and explained, “This case began last month. Every midnight, a blood-red lantern would inexplicably appear in the western market of Vermilion Bird Street.”
“That lantern… At first glance, it seemed as thin as a cicada’s wing, its surface uneven. Upon closer inspection, it was covered in eerily lifelike human faces.”
The most horrifying part was that when the lantern lit up, those faces would contort and sob, emitting bone-chilling wails-“Peel my skin…”
“Fill the oil…”
The group couldn’t help but shiver.
With the corpse right beside them and the lantern still burning, the atmosphere was all too fitting.
“Every time the lantern appeared, a body would be discovered the next day,” Wei Feng continued.
“The victims… had their skin completely stripped away, leaving only a bloody, mangled torso.”
“And scattered near the bodies were always pieces of skin inscribed with curse symbols.”
He handed Su Fu a piece of paper.
“When pieced together, they formed a blood-written phrase: ‘The lantern burns, the soul returns; the skin unravels, the scroll opens.”
Lin Mingxi was already holding her breath by this point.
Damn, Elai’s case is this terrifying?
Compared to this, their heart-extraction case, though difficult to solve, at least wasn’t horrifying.
“According to Records of the Bizarre,” Wei Feng explained, “there’s a legend about skin-shedding demons ‘eating the skin and leaving the bones.’ The curse symbols on these lanterns match the demon’s totems from the ancient texts down to the last detail.”
“But…” He hesitated.
“We’ve hit a snag. The bodies show no signs of struggle, and the incisions where the skin was removed are unnaturally smooth, as if cut by some special blade. Yet no murder weapon has ever been found at the scene.”
He gave a bitter smile.
“The public believes it’s the skin-shedding demon using the lantern to claim lives. The Ministry of Justice hasn’t cracked the case in months, and now…”
He trailed off, but the implication was clear.
Su Fu fell into thought.
Indeed, every detail pointed to the skin-shedding demon.
But something still felt off.
“What about the merchant from the lake region? Wasn’t he under your protection? Did he provide any leads?” Su Fu asked.
Wei Feng nodded.
“Right when we were at a dead end, Elai arrived and gave us a crucial lead.”
“According to Elai, not long ago, a high monk from the Western Regions commissioned his caravan to transport nine lanterns. Those lanterns had a peculiar texture-like skin, yet not leather.’ More importantly, that monk, now residing at Ci’en Temple, had been acting suspiciously.”
“The Ministry of Justice immediately raided Ci’en Temple,” Wei Feng said gravely.
“But… a sudden eerie wind arose inside, and scriptures began burning without fire.”
Lowering his voice, he added, “In a hidden compartment in the monk’s meditation room, we found half a human skin and curse papers identical to those at the crime scenes.”
“Where is the monk now?” Su Fu asked.
“Vanished,” Wei Feng shook his head.
“So we later speculated he was the skin-shedding demon in disguise, but he escaped.”
“And,” Wei Feng’s expression darkened, “soon after, Elai was attacked by an unknown figure. We later confirmed that the attacker wasn’t human at all-it was the skin-shedding demon in disguise.”
He sighed, his expression complicated.
“And now, here we are. In the end, we still failed to protect him.”
Su Fu looked again at the human-skin lantern.
What Elai had done these past few days was simple: the skin-peeling demon committed crimes, Elai became the key witness, was placed under protection, then died-becoming the new human-skin lantern.
Lin Mingxi suppressed his nausea, forcing his voice to remain calm.
“Judging by the modus operandi, it does match the characteristics of the skin-peeling demon. Plus, there were eyewitnesses…”
He swallowed hard.
“Could it really be the skin-peeling demon coming back for revenge?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt something was off.
He leaned closer to Su Fu and Jiang Qingyu, lowering his voice.
“But… Elai was the top figure in that position.”
The chief of Xuandu Province, the strongest among the four provinces.
“And,” Lin Mingxi cautiously glanced around, “didn’t he also have that… uh, that powerful ‘weapon’?”
He was referring to the B+-rank divine artifact, Terminus Spear.
“Could even a weapon like that not stop the skin-peeling demon?”
If that were the case, this demon was terrifyingly powerful.
This was practically an impossible test!
Lin Mingxi suddenly remembered something, shuddering.
“Wait, just like how that knife suddenly lunged at me in the archives earlier— could Elai have been ambushed by the skin-peeling demon?”
The thought alone made his blood run cold.
If not for their leader’s quick reflexes, he would have been instantly taken out!
So, it was entirely possible Elai had been caught off guard too.
Lin Mingxi’s expression turned strange.
Even someone as formidable as the chief of Xuandu Province could be caught unprepared?
Especially when he knew he was in the demon’s sights?
Hearing this, Wei Feng quickly added, “We’ve already conducted an autopsy. After being wounded by the skin-peeling demon, demonic poison spread through Elai’s bloodstream to his heart, drastically reducing his mobility. We suspect the final cause was an eruption of the poison.”
Lin Mingxi gasped.
There was demonic poison too?
“And…” Constable Wang Sheng chimed in, “Elai had been attacked by the skin-peeling demon before. That time, the injuries were severe- he never fully recovered.”