Chapter 1

In the village of Dahuang in the ancient state of Yue, inside a hall for the deceased,

【You touched the unnamed corpse and obtained a clue: the bruise on the neck.】

Fang Mu retracted his hand and looked at the bruise on the middle-aged woman’s neck, saying, "Village Chief, Aunt Wang must have committed suicide."

At that moment, the hall was filled with people, and a middle-aged man suddenly burst into tears.

"Xiao Sun, your wife has been ill for a long time. She probably didn’t want to be a burden to you," the village chief, leaning on a cane with white hair, sighed.

The hall was heavy with sorrow.

Fang Mu shook his head, slung a wooden box tied with a grass rope across his chest, and left the hall.

As a forensic examiner, he had become accustomed to the matters of life and death he encountered.

"Wait."

Just as he was about to leave, the village chief followed him out.

Fang Mu turned around, puzzled, and asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Another person has died in Jinglong County," the village chief, leaning on his cane, moved slowly to Fang Mu’s side and said, "The magistrate has asked you to investigate the cause of death."

Another death?

Fang Mu frowned and said, "In the past few days, including this one, it’s already the fifth."

"The world has changed," the village chief sighed. "I heard that in a village not long ago, the dead rose from their graves, impervious to weapons and fire, and would drink blood at night."

"And in the neighboring Zhangjia Village, a hunched figure would wander around at night, driving everyone who saw it to madness."

Being old, the village chief liked to chatter, recounting all sorts of bizarre stories.

For example, in some places, there were women’s wails, and in others, it rained paper money at midnight.

These stories made people’s hair stand on end, making them involuntarily turn around to see if there was a head grinning on their shoulder.

However, Fang Mu listened intently because his arrival in this world was itself a strange affair.

Not only did he come to this world, but he also became a forensic examiner, and not only that, he had a peculiar skill called the Corpse Touching Technique.

At first, he was quite curious, but as the clues he obtained were all strange and useless, he lost interest.

He was a forensic examiner, not a detective, and this skill was only useful for helping others solve cases.

Seeing Fang Mu lost in thought, the village chief began to chatter again, "How about this, why don’t you leave after you finish this task? Find a peaceful place. I always feel that our village isn’t safe."

Fang Mu smiled and said, "We’ll see. Village Chief, I’ll go back and prepare first."

With that, Fang Mu left the hall without another word.

Leaving would be a matter for the future. Since the magistrate had specifically sent someone to find him, he at least had to go and take a look.

After Fang Mu left, the village chief touched the handle of his cane and muttered to himself.

"This boy, he used to do this job often with his master and was quite skilled. But after his master died, he fainted and then woke up, and ever since, he seems to be very afraid of corpses."

"But he’s adaptable. Relying on the books left by his master, he became proficient after just a few times. It’s really strange... how could his personality change so much?"

...

Fang Mu returned to his small wooden house, sat on a three-legged stool, and took out a blue-covered book from a cabinet, sighing.

The cover of the blue book read in small letters: "The Self-Cultivation of a Forensic Examiner."

The reason he obtained the Corpse Touching Technique was because of this book. When the book emitted an invisible white light, he gained the skill.

"From what I understand, this world should be a low-magic world, where martial artists can only fight a dozen or so people. How could such strange things happen?"

Fang Mu flipped through "The Self-Cultivation of a Forensic Examiner" and thought about what the village chief had said.

Bodies undergoing changes, impervious to weapons and fond of drinking blood.

A hunched figure wandering at night, driving everyone who saw it to madness.

And those eerie little stories, all seemed terrifying.

Strange and bizarre things, at first glance, seemed very mystical, but Fang Mu kept an eye on them.

Since even the mystical Corpse Touching Technique had appeared, perhaps the world had a hidden side.

Moreover, recent events had occurred in Jinglong County, involving those who died one after another.

Previously, four people had died, and Fang Mu had examined the bodies without any issues.

But strangely, these four bodies were missing parts.

Some were missing hands, others feet.

This world had not advanced to the point of organ transplantation, nor did it have organ theft.

Yet the bodies were incomplete, which was perplexing.

"Let’s go and examine the body first..."

Fang Mu stood up, put "The Self-Cultivation of a Forensic Examiner" in his chest, and rearranged the wooden box slung across his shoulder, then left the house.

...

Jinglong County, a small and not very prosperous county, had become even more desolate due to the recent series of unfortunate events, casting a shadow over every villager.

At the county yamen, Fang Mu, carrying the wooden box, arrived at the entrance, just as the guard on duty noticed him.

"Hey, Fang, you finally made it," the guard approached, greeting him familiarly.

As the only forensic examiner in Jinglong County, the guards respected him, as this profession was rare.

"Recently, including this one, five people have died," Fang Mu stepped forward, shifting the wooden box to avoid bumping into anything. "I can’t find anything, and I don’t know what’s going on."

Mentioning this bizarre and inexplicable event, the guard’s face turned strange.

"Let’s not talk about it. Hurry inside," the guard looked back and said mysteriously, "A mysterious person has come to the county yamen today, and even the magistrate is being very respectful."

"Oh?" Fang Mu became interested and asked, "Who is it?"

The magistrate of Jinglong County was always clean and never fawned over anyone. Today, he was being very respectful to the newcomer, and with the recent strange deaths, this person... must have some ulterior motive.

The two guards didn’t seem to want to say more, just chatting to pass the time.

Lifting the wooden box, Fang Mu didn’t continue the idle chat and walked inside.

As soon as he entered the county yamen, he saw Magistrate Yu talking to a woman.

The woman was wearing a light gray official uniform, and Fang Mu couldn’t tell her rank, but from Magistrate Yu’s expression and actions, she must be... very high-ranking.

Seemingly hearing Fang Mu’s footsteps, the woman turned around and looked him over from head to toe.

Fang Mu also looked her over, then naturally withdrew his gaze.

She was very beautiful, especially the tear mole below her right eye, which added a touch of charm.

Indeed, she was very high-ranking, not just in rank.

Fang Mu’s expression remained unchanged, but he analyzed from a forensic examiner’s perspective.

This woman would be difficult to dissect because of the excess fat, especially in the front.

Hmm, the occupational disease seems to have flared up again, this damned occupational disease.