MTLNOVEL Chapter 41 Homicide Case
Li Nuo had been in the Chang'an County Government for several days, and today was the first time he saw the County Magistrate and the County Captain.
In any given county, the County Magistrate was the chief officer, with the County Governor and County Captain serving as assistant officers. Their duty was to assist the County Magistrate in handling administrative affairs. The County Governor could be viewed as the Deputy County Magistrate, temporarily taking over the County Magistrate's duties in their absence. The County Captain, on the other hand, was specifically in charge of capturing and arresting thieves, equivalent to the Chief of Public Security in modern times.
Li Nuo remembered that in ancient times, the ranks of the County Governor and the County Magistrate were often drastically different, with the County Captain ranking even lower, considered a minor official just entering the bureaucratic system. However, in Daxia of this world, it seemed that in order to balance the power of the County Magistrate, the ranks of both the County Governor and the County Captain were not low.
The Chang'an County Magistrate was of the Standard Fifth Rank, the County Governor of the Standard Sixth Rank, and the County Captain of the Standard Seventh Rank. All were directly appointed or dismissed by the court. As the head of the county, County Magistrate Pei could not cover the sky with one hand inside the County Government Office.
But judging from their groveling attitudes toward County Magistrate Pei, although Lord Pei was extremely timid in front of his wife, he seemed pretty adept at managing those below him. Whether it was County Magistrate Zhang or County Captain Wang, both were exceedingly respectful toward him.
With the presence of both a County Governor and a County Captain, Pei Zhe no longer needed to do everything himself.
Encouraging agriculture, collecting taxes, fostering education, caring for orphans and widows—these kinds of affairs could be managed by County Magistrate Zhang. Capturing thieves and handling the dirty, exhausting work fell enthusiastically to County Captain Wang, while the responsibility of judging cases and handling disputes was entirely given to Li Nuo. As the County Magistrate, he only needed to drink tea and catch up on sleep in the back hall, or under the pretext of patrolling incognito, visit Fengqi Building to aid those pitiable women…
As an official, what more could he ask for?
Alas, all gifts of fate had their price marked in secret.
The reason County Magistrate Zhang and County Captain Wang had become so obedient was not because they feared him but because they feared the Minister of Justice behind him.
Wait, since when was the Minister of Justice behind him?
Yet, everyone seemed to believe so. It was like having mud smeared on his pants—indisputable.
Pei Zhe sighed. For over a decade, he had been extremely cautious in all his actions, aiming not to get entangled in the strife of officialdom. Nonetheless, he had still failed to keep out of it in the end.
He could only comfort himself that even though he had been forced to take sides, it was with the Minister of Justice, whose power was immense. At least until the Minister fell from grace, his own safety was absolutely guaranteed. Not only was he safe, but he could also strut through the Daxia bureaucracy. Should King Chun ascend the throne later on, he would be credited with supporting a sovereign, and the seat beneath his bottom might even rise a little higher…
Pei Zhe had just changed his clothes, preparing to go out to observe the people's conditions, but before he could step out of his room, he saw County Captain Wang rushing in, his voice grave, "Trouble, Lord Pei, a major case has occurred!"
Judging by County Captain Wang's expression, the case must be a significant one. Pei Zhe didn't care about going out anymore; he hurried to the front hall of the County Government Office.
Just as he reached the front hall and saw the two corpses on the ground, Pei Zhe turned to the wall and vomited violently, spewing out the breakfast he had only recently eaten.
A little farther away, by the wall, Li Nuo was also having a hard time.
He had just finished vomiting.
Originally, he was mediating a marital dispute when he heard about the homicide. He didn't bother to finish the case he was judging and rushed out immediately.
After all, for such minor cases, he could judge ten of them and only extend his life by one day. However, solving a murder case would grant him at least a ten-day extension—it would take a hundred minor cases to match the lifespan extension of one homicide.
Should the murderer be a Martial Artist from the High Realm, the lifespan gain could exponentially multiply based on those ten days and skyrocket.
Therefore, Li Nuo rushed out in a hurry.
The quicker he burst in, the faster he retreated.
The two bodies laid out in front of the hall looked as if they had been burned by fire and then soaked in water for who knows how long. The sight was so gruesome it was indescribable. Li Nuo had handled quite a few criminal cases, but he was only responsible for the sentencing and had never been to the scene of the crime. This horrific sight struck him with a tremendous visual shock, nearly making him vomit out his dinner from the night before.
Most of the people present had to lean against the wall to vomit, and only County Captain Wang and a group of constables, who were accustomed to rushing to crime scenes, were able to stand normally, although most of their faces were very pale.
Pei Zhe ordered someone to move the corpses to the morgue, and it took a while before he looked somewhat better.
He looked at County Captain Wang and asked, "What happened?"
County Captain Wang walked over, clasped his hands in respect, and began, "The reporters were two fishermen. They went to fish by the river early this morning and found these two bodies in a bend of the water. I have inspected the area, and it should not be the primary crime scene. The bodies had been burnt and then soaked in the water for a long time. The forensic doctor could not determine the exact time of death, but according to the fishermen, on July 11th, they were fishing in that very spot all day long, and the bodies were not there at that time. Judging by the appearance of the bodies, we estimate that the victims were a man and a woman, and the time of death was between July 12th and July 15th..."
Li Nuo had a deep memory of July 12th because that was the day he had traveled through time to this place.
Today is July 19th, which means that the murder took place about seven days ago, almost exactly when he had traveled through time.
County Captain Wang continued his report, "The two charred corpses showed that the woman had a fatal wound on her chest, whereas the man was missing his head, with a neatly cut neck. It seems that he had been decapitated with a sharp weapon before death. We conjecture that the murderer must be a Martial Artist above the Inner Breath Realm. I have already sent people to visit the nearby villages to see if there have been any recent disappearances..."
In matters of investigating crimes and hunting down criminals, County Captain Wang was undoubtedly professional.
To solve a murder case, the first and most crucial step is to identify the victims.
Only by determining the victims' identities can one scrutinize their relationships and decide on the next direction for investigation.
Once the victims' identities are confirmed, finding the murderer becomes much simpler for Li Nuo.
Looking at the clean cut on the man's neck, the murderer could very well be a skilled fighter. If Li Nuo could capture them, it would at least add a month to his lifespan, and he was filled with anticipation for this.
This anticipation lasted seven days.
During these seven days, the constables from the County Magistrate's Office visited many places but did not even ascertain the two victims' identities. The case had reached an impasse with no progress whatsoever.
Li Nuo was somewhat disappointed, but he couldn't blame them.
The two corpses not only had been burnt but also soaked, and one was headless. Without DNA testing technology, even their relatives would likely be unable to recognize them.
According to County Magistrate Pei, out of ten murder cases within the boundaries of Daxia, solving even one was considered good. Most cases ended without resolution.
Although this highly anticipated murder case remained unsolved, Li Nuo had still accomplished much in these seven days. After the previous case involving the son of the Minister of the Examination Bureau, the credibility of the Chang'an County Government among the populace had greatly improved. Over these days, Li Nuo had personally handled over a hundred cases, accumulating a total of ninety-three days to his lifespan.
Compared to the three-day countdown, he had half a month ago, three months' worth of time finally allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.
Tomorrow was his day off, and Li Nuo planned to give everyone at the office, including Lord Pei, a break, as well as take a day off for himself without going to the County Magistrate's Office.
For the past half month, he hadn't taken a single day of rest.
He would get up at dawn to go to the office, working all day without sometimes even having time for lunch, and after returning home at night and teaching Mumu some Mathematics, he would read books late into the night. His days were incredibly fulfilling.
Yet, he felt life lacked meaning.
So he decided to take a day off to regain some balance.