Cutting the throat does not result in instant death. The killer was skilled and did not use a throat-cutting tube, but instead directly cut the carotid artery on the side.

It was clear that the killer was experienced.

In Xu Qi'an's past life, cutting the carotid artery was a fatal wound that even immortals couldn't save. However, it did not cause instant death in this case.

The small flag officer simply died face down on his desk without struggling or causing blood to spatter everywhere. From this, it can be inferred that the cause of death was not throat-cutting.

What really killed him instantly was a fatal injury to the brain, leaving him with no chance to react or struggle before dying on the spot.

The killer smashed his forehead and then cut his throat in one swift motion... As they stared at the shallow pit on the victim's forehead, the scene played out in everyone's minds.

Xu Qi'an touched the victim's body and carefully observed it before saying, "Rigor mortis has spread throughout the body, the livor mortis has not shifted, the corneas are quite cloudy, and the time of death was more than 17 hours ago. In other words, the killer killed him at night."

After a long silence, Lv Qing and the others looked at him in astonishment.

Is this it?

He gave us direction?

In such a short time, he made a clear inference and, based on it, pointed the investigation in the right direction.

Although they knew Xu Qi'an was a master detective, everyone still felt it was too fast.

Lv Qing thought for a moment and said, "Let's have the coroners check first."

Usually, when there's a homicide case, the catchers would bring the coroners along for preliminary examination. This would help them better combine the clues at the scene to make inferences.

The results of the coroner's examination were similar to Xu Qi'an's judgment, and even less detailed.

Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao were fine, but Lv Qing and the other catchers at the yamen were full of admiration for Xu Qi'an.

"It's a pity he's just a Nightwatcher. The yamen won't take him..." Lv Qing sighed in her heart.

If there was such an outstanding colleague who could help her catch criminals and solve cases, it would be a great joy in life.

Lv Qing called in the catchers who had questioned the witnesses outside and asked about their findings.

The conclusion was that the victim had not made any enemies recently, no guests had visited last night, and the victim had been in good spirits lately.

Lv Qing, who was at a loss for a moment, furrowed her brow.

"The victim was just a small flag officer, and we've ruled out revenge. What could be the reason for the killer to break into his house at night and commit murder?" Xu Qi'an whispered beside her.

With her wealth of criminal investigation experience, Lv Qing's eyes lit up at his words and she immediately called in the victim's wife and asked, "Did you suddenly come into a lot of money recently? Or did Liu Han say anything to you?"

The beautiful woman on the other side tried hard to remember for a long time and said sadly, "A few days ago, my husband did say that he wanted to take us out of the capital and live a carefree life outside."Lv Qing and Xu Qi'an exchanged a glance. "How many days ago was it exactly?"

"About ten days ago," the woman couldn't quite remember.

...

On the way out of the courtyard, Lv Qing said in a low voice, "He took a bribe and was silenced."

Xu Qi'an nodded. It was a very reasonable speculation, and he had thought the same thing.

Song Tingfeng frowned. "But why would a small flag officer be silenced?"

After thinking for a moment, Xu Qi'an seemed to have caught something and asked, "If I remember correctly, the Jinwu Guard is responsible for the East City Gate of the inner city and the East City Gate of the imperial palace."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed slightly.

Xu Qi'an said, "Perhaps we should go see Liu Han's immediate superior, report to the yamen first, and then ask for permission to investigate."

Liu Han's superior was a Baihu of the Jinwu Guard. Although they were both Baihus, the Jinwu Guard's status was much higher than that of the Yudao Guard. The latter was a security unit, while the former was a bodyguard for leaders.

For Xu Qi'an and the others to investigate, they needed a yamen-issued permit, similar to a search warrant in their past life.

Back at the Nightwatcher yamen, they reported the matter to Li Yuchun, who took it very seriously and said thoughtfully, "This matter is very suspicious, but the imperial palace is heavily guarded. A small flag officer can't cause much trouble. We should just ask some questions. The Jinwu Guard will investigate on their own. Also, the emperor's ancestral sacrifice is coming up soon, and we should focus on that."

They were immediately given a permit.

After waiting for a while at the Nightwatcher yamen, Lv Qing and the other fast hands from the prefectural yamen arrived, and the group went to the East Gate of the imperial palace.

Zhou Baihu was patrolling with his men, and it took an hour for him to return. Upon learning that the Nightwatchers and prefectural yamen had come to see him, he immediately came to meet them.

Zhou Baihu had a thick beard, triangular eyes, and a face full of muscles. He didn't look like an easy person to get along with.

Song Tingfeng asked, "Zhou Baihu, do you have a flag officer named Liu Han under your command?"

Zhou Baihu's face darkened, about to answer, when he suddenly saw one of the copper gongs take out a piece of paper from his pocket and ignite it with his qi.

In the next moment, his pupils were covered in a layer of clear light.

Divination? Zhou Baihu calmly suppressed the anger in his eyebrows. "Yes."

"He's dead," Song Tingfeng said.

"What?" Zhou Baihu couldn't hide his surprise.

Lv Qing asked, "Did Liu Han have any abnormalities recently?"

"No."

"Did anyone or anything suspicious enter or leave the imperial palace while he was on duty at the East City Gate?"

"No." Zhou Baihu shook his head. "There are many soldiers guarding the imperial palace. Bribing one person alone wouldn't work unless they bribed them all, which is impossible."

"If we bribed you?" Zhu Guangxiao asked.

Zhou Baihu's face changed, and his suppressed anger surged up again. "What do you mean?"

Song Tingfeng laughed. "Just routine questioning. Zhou Baihu, there's no need to get angry. The emperor's ancestral sacrifice is coming up soon, and we don't want any problems at a critical time."

They asked a few more questions, and because there was a copper gong using divination nearby, Zhou Baihu answered every question and suppressed his explosive temper.Until the duration of Xu Qi'an's divination ended, Song Tingfeng smiled and said, "Thank you for your cooperation. We'll take our leave now."

On the way back with Lv Qing and the others, Xu Qi'an said, "He didn't lie."

Song Tingfeng squinted his eyes. "Perhaps Liu Han was silenced because of other unknown reasons."

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Zhu Guangxiao said in a deep voice, "Let's put this case aside for now. The ancestral ceremony is more important."

Tomorrow is the day of the emperor's ancestral ceremony, and everything must be postponed.

After bidding farewell to Lv Qing and the others, Xu Qi'an pondered the whole process in the side hall, but to no avail, so he put Liu Han's matter aside.

....

Year Gengzi, October 15th, Day Jiazi.

It is suitable to pray for blessings, perform religious rituals, and worship ancestors.

Soon, it was time for the imperial ancestral ceremony. Xu Qi'an was not unfamiliar with this. Every year at this time, the gates of the inner city would be closed. His uncle, who was a captain of the Imperial Guards, would be deployed to the inner city for martial law, and the people of the inner city were required to stay at home and not go out.

There is a similar ceremony at the beginning of spring, which is the Worship of Heaven, praying for good weather and peace.

Starting from yesterday, the inns in the inner city have been checked one by one, and all the guests from the martial world have been driven out to the outer city. The taverns have closed, and the inns are not allowed to stay.

As a Nightwatcher, Xu Qi'an was arranged to stand guard in Sangbo, a small lake adjacent to the imperial city. There are rows of willow trees planted along the lakeside, and the willow leaves have not yet sprouted this season.

A winding corridor is built on the water surface, connecting to the Han Baiyu high platform in the center of the lake. There is a temple on the platform, with four golden characters on the plaque:

Eternal Control of Mountains and Rivers!

This is where the ancestral ceremony is held.

Sangbo is not an ordinary lake. It has a fascinating history related to the founding emperor of the Great Feng.

Legend has it that Sangbo was formerly called Xuanwu Lake, and there was a divine beast Xuanwu living in the lake.

Once, when the founding emperor of the Great Feng failed in his uprising, he fled to Sangbo with his remaining troops and ran out of ammunition and food.

Just when he was desperate, the lake boiled, and Xuanwu came, wielding a divine sword that could cut through the heavens and destroy immortals.

Xuanwu said that it had been waiting here for hundreds of years, waiting for a person with a heavenly destiny.

After finishing speaking, it offered the divine sword and left on the waves.

The founding emperor received the divine sword, meditated in the lake for three years, broke through the barrier, and reorganized his army. From then on, he won every battle and overthrew the corrupt former dynasty.

After unifying the Central Plains, the Great Feng established its capital in Sangbo.

Sangbo is the place where the founding emperor of the Great Feng proved his Dao, and has extraordinary symbolic significance. Therefore, the Great Feng imperial family holds the ancestral ceremony in Sangbo every year.

The temple on the lake houses the Dharma image of the founding emperor.

"Liu Bang also quelled the White Snake Rebellion, I don't know how much of this legend is true..." Xu Qi'an looked at the high platform in the lake and muttered to himself.

PS: Other authors copy book reviews to write their books, and they get stuck. When I opened this chapter, I laughed and said, "These guys are too funny."

But I still have to write how I should write, because I dare not copy... Hey, be civilized, how can I have readers like you!I can do anything but x is the best, there is no meaning to learn from this chapter. ㄟ(▔,▔)ㄏ