"If you have something to say, just say it!"

"General Flag, among those ten experts, the leader is named Chen Sheng. He claims to be familiar with all kinds of magic, and he volunteered to help us examine the scene—maybe he knows the background of those who did it."

"Oh? Come on, let’s see what insights this Chen Sheng has."

They took a turn and slipped into the room next to the Interrogation Chamber where Wen Renhai was locked up. Inside was a large hall, previously occupied by Tang Qingyuan’s Hundred Households’ Personal Soldiers. Now that they were reassigned, the room was guarded by ten of the Thousand Households Personal Guards who had just arrived in Li City.

No one really knew just how high Jiang Cheng’s cultivation was. There were rumors outside saying Jiang Cheng was at Primordial Pill Realm Fourth Layer. Whether true or not, the Fourth Layer in Jingxi—even among those Cultivation Families—was enough to hold his own. So the soldiers who became Jiang Cheng’s Personal Guards certainly wouldn’t have weak cultivation.

"I am Chen Sheng, a Trial Hundred Household under Lord Jiang’s command, and Personal Guard. I’ve brought nine experts this time, under orders to follow the dispatches of Shen Zongqi."

The speaker was a sturdy man, not tall, with dark skin, about forty years old. Considering that cultivators rarely age, his real age might be greater. He kept his hair very short, which was rare in this world, as most people wore topknots.

Shen Hao couldn’t gauge the other’s cultivation, only felt that the aura was strong, well above his own.

"Brother Chen, good to meet you. We’ve taken a heavy hit and have to rely on you and your brothers." Shen Hao said as he waved his hand, and Wang Jian behind him promptly took out a stack of silver notes from his chest, each a thousand taels. Chen Sheng got two, the other nine one each.

Straight off, that was ten thousand taels in silver—not stingy at all. But Chen Sheng wasn’t some local official; his standards were much higher, knowing money was secondary and that Shen Hao’s attitude was what really made him comfortable. Calling him "Brother Chen" without mentioning rank was treating him as a friend, and not talking about orders from above was respecting his feelings.

After all, a Thousand Households Guard with a Trial Hundred Household rank, wherever he goes, he’s a big shot. Now he’s here just to "follow orders"—naturally that doesn’t feel good. But Shen Hao’s gesture eased those awkward feelings for Chen Sheng.

"Shen Zongqi, you’re too courteous."

"Haha, come on now. Just you being here is the biggest support for us. This money is just something to welcome all of you brothers, nothing more."

After a few words of polite conversation, Shen Hao realized Chen Sheng knew quite a lot about the situation, even that Wen Renhai was still alive. Seems Jiang Cheng must have given him a heads-up in advance.

"Shen Zongqi, I’ll leave my brothers here to keep watch. I’ll go to the scene with you?"

"Alright, I’ll trouble you then, Brother Chen."

Shen Hao left Wang Jian behind, and led Chen Sheng over to the prison ruins.

By the ruins’ edge, many people were already gathered. Shen Hao had arranged this, planning to dig up the fallen brothers buried below tonight.

The powerful crushing by the Mountain Stone Array had collapsed the prison and killed everyone inside. The digging now was hard to watch; mixed with earth and rock, it was hard to even tell which were bodies—they’d been flattened into mud.

"Dig up everything you can. Even a shred of cloth, don’t miss it. These are our own brothers; don’t mind the trouble." Shen Hao frowned and barked an order.

He turned and saw Chen Sheng already walking straight to the edge, crouching beside a patch of fighting traces and examining carefully.

Shen Hao followed over. He had some knowledge of traces too, though not deep, and had never met any real expert. But seeing Chen Sheng so focused, he seemed truly confident—wasn’t here just to show off as "martial support."

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Chen Sheng finally stood up, pointed at traces on the ground, and said to Shen Hao, "There should have been three deaths, right? See the traces: there were eight people in total, all Gathering Spirit Realm experts. Five used swords, one used dual swords. The first to die was likely here—judging by the blood, seems he was dismembered..."

At first Shen Hao didn’t pay it much mind, but the more he listened, the more stunned he became. He hadn’t expected Chen Sheng to actually reconstruct the entire scene just by reading the fighting traces, and even state firmly that eight people had attacked the prison last night.

This guy’s got skills!

"From the scene, two groups came, and started fighting. The smaller group was wiped out. The ones who destroyed the prison were the ones killing."

"How do you know one group was wiped out?"

"When they left, they dispersed. There are few footprints, but steady—not like fleeing—so I think one side must have been killed, for the others to leave so calmly."

What else can you say? He can even tell how calm the footprints are—no way not to be convinced.

"What about the bodies? If we could see them, the wounds should show the killers’ methods."

"They’re here—please follow me."

Shen Hao and Chen Sheng hurried to the storage room behind the small building. Three corpses were still laid out on boards inside, a bit discolored, not as fresh as in the morning.

Chen Sheng’s manner reminded Shen Hao of forensic specialists he’d seen on TV before. Though not actually dissecting, his aura and actions were strikingly similar. His hands moved around on the corpses without a hint of distaste—sometimes even putting fingers into wounds, though Shen Hao had no idea what he was looking for.

Finally, Shen Hao watched as Chen Sheng leaned in close to sniff at the position of He Dongsheng’s left eye, then stuck his hand in, squeezed a bit, and brought it to his nose to sniff again. It gave Shen Hao goosebumps.

"There’s a burnt smell. The brain matter inside was all boiled... Five Elements Fire Technique... and there’s some Five Elements Metal mixed in—looks like a Hybrid Attack Skill..."

This... he can even see this? No, he can even smell this?! As for Hybrid Attack Skill, Shen Hao had only ever heard the term in passing—he didn’t really know what it meant.

He wanted to ask, but seeing Chen Sheng frowning in deep thought, he kept quiet, not daring to interrupt. After a while, Chen Sheng finally looked up a bit hesitantly.

"Nearly all wounds on these three are sword wounds—clean edges, with some True Qi residue. I can confirm they were caused by Sword Aura. This matches my earlier judgment that the killers’ cultivation was Gathering Spirit Realm. This one, whose head’s split in two, was killed by sneak attack—instant kill. He had no chance to fight back, so all his wounds are fatal."

This one resisted somewhat, but the difference in strength was too great—three sword strikes took him down. From the damage to his magical armor, the killer must have wielded a Middle-Grade Magical Artifact Long Sword, and cultivation at Gathering Spirit Realm Sixth Layer at least."

What a pro!

Shen Hao felt a bit itching—he wished he could learn Chen Sheng’s body-examination skills for the job. Really a walking Otherworld version of "CSI"!

Of course, Chen Sheng had no idea Shen Hao was eyeing him, and continued, "The most valuable is this one with the pierced head—ten wounds or more, probably the highest cultivation among the three. Otherwise he wouldn’t last so long; judging from wound locations, he was beset by three opponents at the same time..."