chapter 18

Wen Mu disappeared. Yan Qing requested leave from the Imperial College, leading his hyena to search for the missing person, and unearthed a ghastly pale thigh.

The palace attendants murmured among themselves. I squeezed into the crowd to watch the commotion, feeling rather disappointed: What’s so interesting about this?

It was the coroner who found it fascinating. He turned the thigh over and over, finally saying, “Your Highness, it is still impossible to determine the identity of the deceased.”

“Useless,” Yan Qing’s face darkened. “Then tell me, when will you be able to confirm the identity of the deceased?”

“Please, Your Highness, do not be angry. Once your beloved hound finds all the remains and we piece together the original appearance, I will be able to determine the identity of the deceased.”

“Come here and hold it,” Yan Qing turned and ordered the eunuch. “Dig three feet into the ground if you must, but dig it all out for me.”

The coroner accepted his reward, bowing obsequiously again and again: “Your Highness is wise. The day the remains see the light of day again will surely be the day the culprit pays with their life.”

Dusk deepened, and the horizon seemed ablaze. Brilliant fire clouds dyed the entire sky a mesmerizing orange.

The red walls and golden tiles of Yan Palace looked even more resplendent, gilded with beautiful red-gold. But no one was in the mood to admire such a splendid scene.

The onlooking palace attendants whispered to each other, faces anxious; some said it was the work of ghosts, others said it was the act of a villain.

I am not a ghost, so I must be the villain. People always say that evil will be punished by heaven, but I haven’t lived enough-I don’t want heaven to take me away.

Clothes can be burned, butcher’s knives can be sunk in ponds, but my bloodstained hands cannot be broken.

A hyena can smell the corpse of the dead, and it can also smell the lingering scent of blood on my hands. If the hyena bites me, will Yan Ci save me?

Or will he abandon me without hesitation, just as Yan Qing abandoned Wen Mu.