Chapter 37 : A Broken Heart Reveals the Killer
37: A Broken Heart Reveals the Killer
Jiang‑shi and Yue Qing, along with the others, hurried over. "Ning'er, are you alright?"
Yue Ning supported herself with one hand on the railing of the corridor outside, vomiting until tears streamed from her eyes. Her mouth was filled with bitterness, and she felt as if all her strength had been drained. Since childhood, when had she ever been in such a wretched state?
Yue Ning felt utterly ashamed. If that inner room was a battlefield, then at this moment, she was a deserter!
Thinking this, Yue Ning turned to look back. Through a corner of the window lattice, she could still see Qin Wan's focused profile.
Yue Ning's face flushed with heat. She suddenly felt her previous underestimation of Qin Wan had been extremely disrespectful!
"Quickly, Lüyun, fetch some water!" Jiang‑shi was heartbroken. "You child, you shouldn't have pushed yourself. Even I, watching from outside, couldn't bear it, let alone you being inside. Drink some water quickly to get rid of the taste…"
While wiping the corner of Yue Ning's mouth, Jiang‑shi instructed Lüyun to clean up the mess on the ground. Yue Qing and Yue Jia helped Yue Ning to sit down nearby. Yue Qiong and Huo Huaixin stood watching, their expressions grave.
Not to mention Yue Ning being unable to endure it, even the two of them felt some discomfort in their stomachs.
Killing on the battlefield and performing an autopsy were ultimately different. Watching prisoners be executed from an observation platform was also different. Watching Qin Wan slowly dissect the deceased's internal organs before everyone's eyes that prolonged, detailed visual experience almost made their scalps tingle.
Only Yan Chi and Xu He remained standing at the window, watching Qin Wan.
Yue Ning's commotion didn't disturb her. Her gaze remained focused, her body bent at a fixed angle. Her hands were extremely steady, cutting upward from the abdomen one stroke at a time. From Yan Chi's perspective, Lin Daxing had been disemboweled by Qin Wan. The scene was extremely horrifying and gruesome. Even Yan Chi didn't want to look for long, yet Qin Wan remained calm and composed.
Was it only because she was a physician?
She was so young. Even as a physician, the number of lives she had likely saved wouldn't exceed a hundred. Moreover, not every physician could determine the cause of injury just by looking at wounds. That was something only coroners with profound skill and extensive experience could do. Otherwise, why didn't official autopsies simply hire outside physicians?
Time passed bit by bit. The smell of blood and decay overflowed from the inner room. Xu He, smelling it, gradually began to pale. At a certain point, he finally couldn't bear it and retreated to the doorway, taking deep breaths of fresh air from outside.
Qin Wan's posture finally paused slightly. Being watched by everyone was different from being completely alone. After all, she wasn't as detached from the world as her father. The sound of Xu He's departing footsteps allowed her to fully relax and focus.
Qin Wan instinctively moved her sore neck. But this movement made her freeze.
She had thought the window would be empty by now, but unexpectedly, Yan Chi was still standing there.
And at this moment, his originally highly perceptible gaze held not a trace of oppressive force. Infused with the ink-like darkness of the night outside, like the pure, gentle moonlight, like the warm, dim lamplight, it rested upon her leisurely.
With a focus that held no intention of disturbing her, a kind, silent attention in almost an instant, it made Qin Wan's heart skip a beat.
Today was only the second time Qin Wan had met this "Demon King."
Whether it was her previous knowledge of him from hearsay or her impressions upon meeting him in person, they all made her clearly understand that this Young Lord stood aloof, held great power, perhaps had a loyal and upright nature, but his methods and schemes were certainly not those of a benevolent person.
She respected his lofty status, revered his achievements in protecting the nation, but felt no particular curiosity or closeness toward him. In her view, their meeting now was merely because they happened to be at the Anyang Marquis's residence. There would definitely not be further intersection.
Their eyes met. In that one glance, countless thoughts raced through Qin Wan's heart. It was as if she had glimpsed another, unseen side of this Young Lord like a glance that felt bright and gentle in the cold depths of winter.
Qin Wan quickly averted her gaze. Her lips pressed tightly together. The knife in her hand fell swift and precise.
The smell of blood and decay grew stronger. The corner of Yan Chi's mouth curved slightly upward.
This glance just now seemed different from all the exchanges of looks throughout the day.
The vast Anyang Marquis's residence and the Yue family faded away. Only he and she remained, under the evening breeze and dim lamplight, as if alone. Like two inadvertent touches of ink, though only a light brush, her spirit and essence spread slowly and deeply through his entire being like ink, instantly stirring within him a powerful desire to understand her to the very core.
By the time Yue Ning recovered, the time it took for a cup of tea had passed. She felt listless, none of her earlier vigor remaining. Jiang‑shi's face was full of concern. She looked back toward the window. "Even Ning'er, with her temperament, couldn't endure it. I truly don't know how Wan'er…"
Huo Huaixin had calmed down. He glanced at the water clock beside him. "It's been nearly half an hour. I wonder if Ninth Young Miss can find the cause. If after all this, it really is as Xu He said, that the ribs pierced the internal organs…"
He glanced at Yue Qing. "I'm afraid the Second Young Master will be even more disappointed."
Yue Qing, however, shook his head. "I've already written my confession and pressed my seal. My current situation is the worst it can be. Even if Ninth Young Miss's final result doesn't change anything, it will at least let me accept my fate with conviction."
Huo Huaixin couldn't help feeling flustered again. He didn't want to prosecute the son of the Anyang Marquis's household. Even though Yue Qiong was an upright person, he feared creating a rift with the Anyang Marquis's residence. But things had reached this point. Could he still admit he had misjudged the case?
If so, not only would he be unable to hold his head up before the Anyang Marquis's household, but even before a sixteen-year-old girl like Qin Wan, he would be an incompetent official who nearly caused a wrongful conviction and spouted nonsense…
"That's exactly the reasoning. Today's matter must not be spoken of carelessly!"
Jiang‑shi instructed, then glanced at the people in the room. Qin Wan's identity already carried talk of being a jinx who overcame her parents. If she became associated with autopsy work, even more unpleasant rumors might spread…
Besides Huo Huaixin and Xu He, the only people in the room were the Yue family masters, and then only Lüyun and Wei Yanzhi.
Wei Yanzhi hurriedly nodded. "This humble junior understands. Madam, please rest assured."
Jiang‑shi asked further, "Where is Wan'er's maid?"
Lüyun quickly replied, "Waiting outside."
Jiang‑shi nodded, then looked nervously toward the window lattice. The result of Qin Wan's autopsy would determine Yue Qing's future. Naturally, she hoped the outcome would be favorable to Yue Qing.
Just then, from inside the side room, Qin Wan straightened up. "May I trouble His Highness to summon Prefect Huo and the Marquis."
Since they weren't far away, Huo Huaixin and the others immediately heard Qin Wan's words.
Knowing the result was ready, the group hurried back to the window lattice.
As soon as Huo Huaixin stood still, he fixed his gaze intently on Qin Wan. "Well?"
As he spoke, Qin Wan reached into Lin Daxing's chest. When she withdrew her hand, a bloody, mangled mass of crimson flesh lay in her palm. Huo Huaixin instinctively asked, "What is that?"
As Huo Huaixin asked, everyone else also looked at the object in Qin Wan's palm.
It looked very much like a lump of rotting flesh. Yue Ning, seeing it, felt her stomach churn again.
"This is the deceased's heart. As the Prefect can see, it has been shattered like this…"
Ignoring Huo Huaixin and the others, whose faces had instantly turned ashen, Qin Wan said gravely, "Among the deceased's five viscera, only the heart is ruptured. The deceased died from this single heavy blow from a blunt object to the chest. The killer… is not the Second Young Master."