Chapter 181 - 179: This Is Clearly Torture! (Two Updates)

Chapter 181: Chapter 179: This Is Clearly Torture! (Two Updates)

"Hmm."

Xiao Yi nodded, "This case has indeed been delayed for too long. It’s obvious that the Ministry of Justice has no way to deal with it. The Holy Emperor sent someone to ask me if I wanted to take it over, so I agreed. Just as well, I’ve had time to recover from my injuries recently."

Xu Jing remained silent.

What’s this about recovering? Isn’t this just working with an injury?

Suddenly, Xiao Yi raised his eyes and looked at Xu Jing, "However, the fact that this case hasn’t been solved in five years indicates some difficulty. I wonder if Miss Xu is willing to lend me a hand? I will pay you as before."

He was referring to the previously agreed payment when they were in Anping County, one tael of silver for each autopsy.

To be honest, for Xu Jing now, one tael of silver held no attraction. Yesterday, after helping Young Madam Jiang sort out her troubles, the red envelope given to her contained one hundred taels. Not to mention, Xu Jing had already made a considerable amount of money from diagnosing and selling medicines. It was no exaggeration to say she was a little rich lady now.

However, this one tael of silver held meaning beyond mere money for her. Xu Jing raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "I have no issue with the autopsy, but I can’t guarantee the investigation. I’ve heard that the Smiling Killer hasn’t killed anyone for six months now. Even if Vice Minister Xiao wants me to do an autopsy, there might not be a body for me to examine."

A well-preserved body like that of Wang Wuniang’s is an extremely rare phenomenon.

"Although there are no bodies for Miss Xu to examine now, the Ministry of Justice has sent the records of the previous victims to my residence. I believe that you can discern more than I can."

While speaking, Xiao Yi gestured for an attendant to bring over all the records sent by the Ministry of Justice.

After finishing this task, he continued, "The Smiling Killer first killed five years ago, and to this day, five people have died at his hands. The victims are all young women between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four, and they all reside in or near the Western Capital.

Originally, the heinous nature of his crimes should have drawn the attention of higher authorities. However, because the victims were daughters of ordinary families, with only two girls from minor official families, and because of the considerable time between each case, it was not as significant compared to other major cases handled by the Ministry of Justice.

If it weren’t for Wang Wuniang’s case being connected to the Smiling Killer, it wouldn’t have attracted the Holy Emperor’s attention."

Xu Jing frowned slightly, "But Wang Wuniang died six months ago. Why didn’t the Holy Emperor take it seriously at that time?"

After a moment of silence, Xiao Yi replied, "Because the matter never reached the Holy Emperor’s ears. The Wang Family was intent on downplaying Wang Wuniang’s death, hoping it would disappear completely. Therefore, neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Shangjing Prefecture reported it. It was only this time, because Mrs. Yu made such a big commotion, that it caught the Holy Emperor’s attention.

If someone doesn’t speak up for an individual with grave grievances, people around them won’t know."

Indeed, that was the logic.

The victims of the Smiling Killer case were predominantly girls from ordinary families, which didn’t draw attention from higher authorities, let alone the overlooked Wang Wuniang of the Wang Family.

This era, unlike the modern age, doesn’t have advanced public opinion media, where a serious case would prompt citizens across the country to pressure law enforcement for resolution. In ancient times, whether a case received attention depended entirely on the weight of the victim and the conscience of the officials.

Xu Jing felt a heaviness in her heart, exhaling slowly, and said, "Vice Minister Xiao, could you please tell me in detail about the cases committed by the Smiling Killer?"

Xiao Yi glanced at her and said, "The origin of the name ’Smiling Killer,’ Miss Xu should know, is because each lady killed by him had the corners of their mouths sewn into an upward arc with red thread, as if they were smiling. That’s why the public gave him the name Smiling Killer.

He committed his first crime in the second year of Tianxi, which was five years ago. The victim was a lady from a cloth shop residing northeast of the Western Capital, named Fan. She had just turned sixteen. When discovered, her clothes were in tatters, with numerous pinches, scratches, and bite marks on her body, showing signs of violation.

His second crime was in the third year of Tianxi, around a year after the previous case. The victim was also a lady living northeast of the Western Capital. Her family ran a breakfast shop, and her surname was Zeng. She was nineteen. Her condition when found was similar to the previous victim.

Just when the authorities thought the killer had a pattern of killing one person a year, he didn’t commit another crime for an entire year after that."

Xu Jing was taken aback; this was unexpected, and she couldn’t help but ask, "If he didn’t commit a crime in the fourth year of Tianxi, how did he manage to kill five people to date? Why didn’t he commit a crime that year?"

Initially, upon hearing that the Smiling Killer killed five people over five years, and learning that he murdered one person each in the first two years, she had subconsciously assumed these five victims were killed annually at his consistent frequency.

"Because he reemerged after a year’s silence and changed his killing pattern, turning into committing a murder every six months."

Xiao Yi said solemnly, "Why he didn’t commit a crime in the fourth year of Tianxi remains a mystery to the authorities. He reappeared in January of the fifth year of Tianxi. The victim was the daughter of a rural family living on the outskirts of the Western Capital, named Chen, and she was twenty-two years old.

In July of the same year, he reappeared once more. The victim was the wife of a scholar living southwest of the Western Capital, named Qian, aged twenty-four.

Then came January of the sixth year of Tianxi. Initially, there were rumors that he killed two women. One was the wife of an assistant teacher of law living on the outskirts of the Western Capital, named Sun, who had just turned twenty, and the other was Wang Wuniang. However, it’s now been confirmed that the one who killed Wang Wuniang was not the Smiling Killer."

What Xiao Yi explained was very thorough, yet Xu Jing immediately noticed something amiss and was quick to ask, "Why didn’t you mention the state of the bodies for the last three victims? Is there something dubious about it?"

Xiao Yi’s eyebrows raised slightly, and he chuckled lightly, "Miss Xu indeed has exceptional acuity in investigating cases. Yes, the conditions of the last three victims differed from the first two.

When found, their clothes were equally tattered, showing signs of violation, their mouths sewn into an upward arc with red thread. However, the injuries on their bodies were vastly different from the first two victims, extremely... unbearable to look at.

In addition to the pinches, scratches, and bite marks seen on the bodies of the first two victims, the last three victims had clear burn marks, had their nails removed, and had over ten places with stick, whip, and fist and kick injuries. The victims... had skin on their private regions also forcibly removed..."

Xu Jing felt a slight tremor in her heart.

This was not merely a case of rape and murder; it was outright inhumane torture and slaughter!

After observing Xu Jing’s expression for a moment, Xiao Yi continued, "These details were told to me by the Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Reportedly, because the bodies of the last three victims were so appallingly mangled, the families of the deceased could not accept it and were unwilling to acknowledge their identities. To know more specific details, one would need to consult the files sent by the Ministry of Justice."

Suddenly, Xu Jing said, "Something... isn’t quite right."