PCA Chapter 146

The village where Su Cen and his companions were staying was called Jinghe Village. The mountain behind the village had no proper name; passed down through generations, it was unclear whether it was called Mount Meng or Horsefly Mountain.

 

The incident occurred on this mountain.

 

The cause was simple: villagers from Jinghe went up the mountain to collect firewood and found the path destroyed by a flash flood. By chance, they spotted a long object covered by mud by the roadside. Initially thinking it was a piece of dried firewood, they picked it up only to discover it was a human bone!

 

The person was terrified and ran back to the village to tell others, but was ridiculed. Some suggested it might be the remains of a mountain animal washed out by the flood, calling him an alarmist.

 

The person wouldn’t let it go and gathered several brave villagers to go back up the mountain. Near where they found the bone, they discovered a human head, finally realizing the severity of the situation and immediately reporting it to the authorities.

 

When the yamen officials arrived, intending to find the complete corpse, they found many human bones along the flash flood’s path. When assembled, they discovered the remains belonged to multiple people. As evening approached, and wanting to collect all the remains quickly, the officials called on Jinghe villagers to help.

 

Liu Mazi, whom Su Cen stopped, was on his way to assist.

 

Going from flood inspection to a murder case seemed to be fate. Su Cen naturally felt obligated to help and asked Liu Mazi to take them along up the mountain.

 

When they arrived, they found officials and villagers gathered in front of a cave halfway up the mountain, all looking disturbed.

 

“What’s happening?” Su Cen asked someone dressed as a yamen official.

 

The official looked at Su Cen, then at Qu Ling’er, and waved dismissively: “Child, go play somewhere else.”

 

Qu Ling’er: “…”

 

Su Cen forgot that they were currently disguised as commoners, and no one knew their identities. Naturally, no one treated him with the respect due to an imperial envoy.

 

“We are traveling physicians, and we also know a bit about coroner techniques,” Su Cen explained politely to the officer, not wanting to reveal their identities. “Wasn’t there a discovery of a corpse? We can help examine it.”

 

Although he wasn’t as proficient as Prince Ning, he understood some basic techniques and could manage to fool those who weren’t professionals.

 

The officer gave Su Cen a dubious look, perhaps questioning Su Cen’s age, and finally said, “Wait here, I’ll go ask our magistrate for instructions.”

 

Su Cen cupped his hands in gratitude.

 

Shortly after, the officer returned, beckoning Su Cen to come over.

 

Jinghe Village was located in Chuanling County, and the one who had arrived was the Chuanling County magistrate, a middle-aged man with a small mustache, standing at the entrance of the cave. The officers addressed him as Magistrate Ma.

 

Su Cen bowed to Magistrate Ma, who twisted his mustache while looking Su Cen up and down, then asked, “You know how to examine corpses?”

 

Su Cen: “I know a thing or two.”

 

Magistrate Ma smiled with narrowed eyes, “That’s perfect timing. The bodies are all in the cave. Go and examine them quickly.”

 

Su Cen spread his hands helplessly: “Since we’re examining corpses, we naturally need tools. May I ask if your yamen has brought the necessary tools?”

 

“Yes, yes,” Magistrate Ma turned to a person vomiting violently under a tree and said, “Coroner, quickly bring the tools over. There are two youngsters here to examine the corpses for you.”

 

Su Cen: “…”

 

Besides getting the tools, Su Cen also requested two torches before entering the cave with Qu Ling’er.

 

Outside the cave, it was still bright daylight, but inside it was pitch black. After walking about ten steps, they relied completely on the torches for illumination. The air in the cave was somewhat murky, and the torches weren’t very bright. Su Cen took a moment to adjust before continuing forward. Despite it being summer, the cave was unusually cold, with the temperature dropping rapidly the deeper they went. A gust of chilly wind made both of them shiver involuntarily.

 

“Su, Brother Su…” Qu Ling’er’s hand holding the torch was already trembling, making the dark cave even more frightening as the light flickered. “Wait for me, I, I’m a little scared…”

 

“Why don’t you go out first, and I’ll go in and take a look by myself,” the cave was quite deep, and Su Cen said as he walked in. Though his words were dismissive, he still slowed his pace to wait for Qu Ling’er to catch up.

 

Qu Ling’er held Su Cen’s hand, shaking his head like a rattle drum, “I don’t dare go back alone, I’ll follow you.”

 

Su Cen grasped Qu Ling’er’s hand in return, “Stay close.”

 

After walking about a hundred meters, they heard a crunch under their feet. Su Cen raised his torch and saw that he had stepped on several finger bones.

 

“We’re here,” said Su Cen.

 

A male skeleton lay prostrate, appearing to have been there for some time. The body had completely turned to white bones, and the clothes hanging on it were tattered. This person had been dead for at least over ten years.

 

Su Cen crouched down, about to turn the body over to examine the cause of death, when he heard Qu Ling’er let out a scream that echoed throughout the cave.

 

“Su, Su… Brother Su!” Qu Ling’er jumped as if he had stepped on a firecracker, scrambling to hide behind Su Cen, tightly clutching his arm. “Brother Su… you, you… look!”

 

Su Cen frowned as Qu Ling’er pinched him, then took a few steps forward and raised his torch higher.

 

Even though Su Cen was accustomed to seeing corpses, he couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

 

Just a few steps away, one body after another, some lying face up, some prone, densely packed, all white bones!

 

Su Cen suddenly understood why the coroner had been so ecstatic when handing over the tools to him.

 

These white bones were laid out on the ground, with the torch light unable to see the end of them. This wasn’t just a few corpses, but dozens or even hundreds – it was a forest of the dead!

 

Qu Ling’er was scared out of his wits, pinching Su Cen’s arms painfully. Left with no choice, Su Cen first escorted Qu Ling’er out of the cave, then called for a few brave men to help carry the skeletons outside.

 

The skeletons brought out were laid in a row along the mountain path, stretching as far as the eye could see.

 

After Su Cen made several trips, the accompanying officers, seeing that although there were many bodies, they were thoroughly dead and posed no threat, finally pitched in to help.

 

With this arrangement, Su Cen was able to take a break, sitting on the steps waiting for the bodies to be completely moved while comforting Qu Ling’er’s traumatized little heart.

 

Seeing that Su Cen was useful, Magistrate Ma came over to be friendly and asked, “Young man, have you figured anything out?”

 

Su Cen shook his head: “There are too many bodies. I haven’t had a chance to examine them closely yet. We’ll have to wait until they’re all brought out before drawing any conclusions. Lord, I was also wondering, has your county ever reported missing people? How could there be so many bodies here?”

 

Magistrate Ma twisted his mustache and frowned, “It is indeed strange. Logically, with so many deaths, someone should have reported it, but I’ve been the magistrate of Chuanling County for over a decade and have never received any such reports. Could it be that these people aren’t from our county but migrated from somewhere else?”

 

“Long-distance travelers would certainly carry luggage, but I looked around in the cave just now and didn’t see any bundles or the like.”

 

“Could it be that this place is a burial ground, where they simply throw the dead into the cave and be done with it?”

 

“This is no burial ground; it’s clearly a potter’s field!” Qu Ling’er raised his head, his tone unfriendly. He was still angry that Magistrate Ma hadn’t been truthful with them earlier, giving him quite a scare. The cold sweat on his back hadn’t even dried yet.

 

Su Cen frowned and shook his head: “Look at the clothes on these bodies – they’re all thin summer fabrics. If this were truly a burial ground, it wouldn’t make sense for summer deaths to be thrown here while winter deaths are placed elsewhere, would it? Moreover, judging by the degree of skeletonization, these people probably all died around the same time.”

 

Magistrate Ma furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes, “Could it be… an epidemic? An entire village contracted a plague, fled here for refuge, and finally all perished, which is why no one reported it?”

 

Su Cen pursed his lips thoughtfully, neither confirming nor denying. Seeing that most of the bodies had been moved, he stood up and began examining them one by one down the steps.

 

The bodies were mostly similar, including men and women, old and young. Su Cen examined them all the way to the end, crouching down before the last corpse.

 

This skeleton still had traces of mud on it and was incomplete. Su Cen turned to ask the officer, “What happened here?”

 

The officer explained that this was the body initially found by the woodcutter from the village. Because it had been washed away by floods, many parts were missing.

 

Only after answering did the officer realize—who was this man, and why was he answering him so respectfully? Then he thought it must be because the man asked so naturally, as if such scenes were routine to him, that he unconsciously treated him like his own superior.

 

Su Cen turned back and picked up a piece of shin bone to examine it. This was likely the piece initially mistaken for firewood by the villager. There was an inconspicuous crack on the bone, and the entire bone wasn’t straight but unnaturally bent at the fracture point.

 

“How is it, Brother Su?” Qu Ling’er came over to ask. He didn’t want to stay alone with the cunning Magistrate Ma, so he had followed along, walking on weak legs with closed eyes, chanting “Amitabha” as he made his way through the various corpses.

 

“It wasn’t an epidemic,” Su Cen said. “All these people have broken hyoid bones. They were murdered by having their necks broken.”

 

“Murdered?!” Qu Ling’er exclaimed in shock. “So many people killed?!”

 

“Two hundred and eighty-seven people in total, if all the bodies are here. These people have no other external injuries besides broken throat bones,” Su Cen suddenly thrust the leg bone in front of Qu Ling’er, nearly causing him to collapse in fright.

 

“Except for this one,” Su Cen added.

 

“Brother Su!” Qu Ling’er recovered and grew annoyed. “Stop teasing me!”

 

Su Cen smiled and withdrew the bone, pointing out to Qu Ling’er, “This person must have injured his leg, and the wound didn’t heal properly—the bone grew crooked.”

 

Qu Ling’er looked and nodded, “Brother Su, you’re really amazing to notice that.”

 

Su Cen put the bone down, “But it could also have been from a fall while he was alive. It happened some time before he died, so it doesn’t tell us much.”

 

Su Cen stood up and reported his findings about the bodies to Magistrate Ma. As evening approached, there wasn’t much more to see, so Magistrate Ma decided to return first, leaving a few men to guard the bodies and the cave, with plans to make further arrangements the next day.

 

Su Cen followed the Jinghe villagers back to the village. Halfway down the mountain, on a wide platform, he suddenly noticed wisps of cooking smoke rising from the dense forest and casually asked a villager what place that was.

 

The villager looked for a while, then exclaimed, “Oh, that’s just—Lu Family Village!”

 

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