C2 The Faceless Female Corpse

"Father, where's the body?" Wan'er had never seen her father so terrified before. Coupled with Chen's odd behavior earlier, she feared this case was particularly tricky.

"This way, follow me." Tang Zhong led her toward the center of the crowd, suddenly realizing someone was missing. "Where's Chen?"

"By the carriage."

"That coward, probably too scared to come over," Tang Zhong muttered under his breath, though a hint of envy flickered in his eyes.

Wan'er was used to her father's timidity, but she was even more curious now. "What kind of body is it?"

Tang Zhong's face turned pale with fear and confusion as he stammered, "It's... hard to explain in just a few words."

"I can see for myself," Wan'er said, moving forward.

But she had barely taken two steps when Tang Zhong, visibly shaken, pulled her back. "No, you can't. It's not something a young lady should see."

Wan'er looked at him intently. "Father, if I can't see the body, why did you call me here?"

Tang Zhong was momentarily speechless. "But..."

"Do you think I haven't seen enough bodies already?"

"This one is different."

Hearing the same thing twice only piqued Wan'er's curiosity further. She whispered something in Tang Zhong's ear, causing him to freeze in place.

After a brief hesitation, he exhaled deeply and said, "Well, take a look for yourself!"

As they spoke, they arrived at the crime scene. Tang Wan'er frowned as she approached, the air heavy with a foul, earthy stench. A body knelt with its back to her, long black hair cascading down to the waist, dressed in a white mourning outfit.

Moving closer, Tang Wan'er's eyes widened in shock. The skin on the face of the corpse had been completely removed, exposing the raw, bloody flesh beneath. On the ground lay an unidentifiable mass connected to the abdomen, which upon closer inspection, turned out to be the victim's entrails, now entirely exposed. The brutality of the crime was appalling.

Tang Zhong joined Tang Wan'er, unable to look directly at the scene. "Whoever did this is a monster. It's unbelievably vicious."

Tang Wan'er nodded silently. "Do we know who the victim is?"

Tang Zhong shook his head regretfully. "With the face gone, there's no way to tell who she is."

Tang Wan'er nodded again, realizing they would have to rely on identifying features to find out more.

She surveyed the surroundings. The body lay in a small patch of flat, overgrown grass now covered by a thin layer of snow. The pristine snow showed no footprints, making it seem as if the body had appeared out of nowhere. Identifying the perpetrator through footprints was out of the question.

Surrounded by various sizes of rocks, a stone hill stood in the distance, dotted with a few dozen bare trees. The scene was a somber gray, evoking a sense of oppressive decay.

Tang Wan'er opened a wooden box and took out a pair of gloves to examine the body. Suddenly, she noticed someone was missing and asked, "Where's Uncle Zhong?"

Uncle Zhong was the deputy governor at the office, having worked with Tang Wan'er on many cases. He was an experienced and respected elder.

"Uncle Zhong retired and returned home a few days ago. A new deputy governor will be arriving soon," Tang Zhong replied.

Just as he finished speaking, a yamen runner approached with a refined and handsome man in tow.

"Ma'am, Deputy Governor Lee has arrived."