To look upon the Heaven’s Son without express authorization meant death. The first thing that occurred to Cí was that the emperor wanted to watch him executed. He gritted his teeth and waited for it to come.
“Are you the one they call Corpse Reader?”
“That is what some call me, Your Highness.”
“Get to your feet and follow us.”
Cí was helped up. This couldn’t be happening…The emperor, and the Councilor for Punishments to his right, were immediately swallowed up by a coterie of attendants and guards. They went ahead down a dimly lit passageway, and Cí, escorted by two sentries, followed.
After crossing a narrow hallway, they came into a large, vaulted room, in the center of which were two pine coffins. A number of torches flickered in the darkness, casting a little light on the bodies inside. The guards and assistants departed, leaving Cí and his two escorts alone with Kan and the emperor. Kan nodded, and the escorts brought Cí closer to the coffins.
“His Imperial Highness requires your opinion,” said Kan, with more than a hint of a grudge in his tone.
Cí stole a glance at the emperor, noticing how emaciated the man was, and turned to the first coffin. The corpse was an elderly man, of thin build and long limbs. The face was entirely worm-eaten, and the belly—which had a gash that looked familiar—had also been devoured by worms. Cí estimated that the man had been dead for five days, but he didn’t say anything yet.
He turned to look at the second body, that of a younger man in a similar state of decomposition. Maggots spilled out of every orifice, and a wound above the heart teemed with them.
Cí had no doubt that both men had died at the hands of the eunuch’s killer. He began telling Kan this but was interrupted by the emperor.
“You may address me directly,” he said.
Cí turned toward him but was so overwhelmed that it took a moment for him to speak. When he was able, he managed to conjure a steady voice. His conclusion, he explained, was based on the unusual characteristics that were common among the three corpses.
“All three deaths were caused by a single type of wound made by the same weapon, a curved knife—and then a bloody excavation took place in an attempt to open up the torso and extract something. And the widths of each fissure, and the appearance of their edges, are very much alike.”
This was the part that didn’t make much sense to Cí. An arrowhead could snap off, but what was the likelihood of this happening twice, or three times, in exactly the same way?
Cí continued, “It is odd that none of the corpses show any sign of a struggle.” And the most unsettling thing, he added, was that all three, in spite of the smell of rotting flesh, also gave off a distinct scent of perfume.
He explained that there were also differences. “As with the eunuch, the murderer clearly tried to eliminate any identifying signs of the corpse in the first coffin, though here by multiple slashes to the face. But if you consider the third corpse, you’ll see that, despite all the worms, the face is still somewhat intact.”
The emperor turned his own cadaverous gaze to where Cí was pointing. He nodded and gestured for Cí to continue.
“In my opinion, this isn’t due to an oversight, nor has it come about because of some kind of improvisation. If we consider the hands, callused and dirty like those of a pauper, we also see that the fingernails are chipped, and the small scars all over the fingers suggest a lower-class working person. This is very much in contrast to the eunuch and the older man, whose hands were delicate and well cared for, which suggests their superior social status.”
“Hmm…Continue.”
Cí nodded. He took a moment to collect his thoughts before gesturing to the younger of the corpses.
“I’d say the murderer was either surprised in the act or didn’t care about the possibility of some poor laborer being identified. But clearly, the murderer went to great lengths to make it difficult to identify the other two. If we could figure out who they were, there would be a clear link to the murderer.”
“Your verdict, then?”
“I wish I had one,” lamented Cí.
“I told you, Your Majesty!” said Kan. “He can’t really read corpses!”
The emperor didn’t react. He seemed entirely devoid of emotion.
“What would be your conclusion, if you had to make one?” he asked Cí.
“I wouldn’t want to mislead Your Majesty. I suppose your experts said the murders were committed by some sect. If I had my normal materials and equipment, I might be able to comment more fully. But not having my tongs, my vinegar, my saw, or chemicals, I’d be loath to confirm or deny what has already been suggested. The only thing I can say for certain, given the level of decomposition, is that the murders occurred in the last five days, and that the older man was the first of all three to be killed.”
The emperor stood preening his long whiskers, deep in thought. Eventually he motioned to Kan to come nearer and whispered something in his ear. Kan shot Cí a baleful glance and then withdrew, accompanied by an official.
“Very well, Corpse Reader,” whispered the emperor. “One more question. You mentioned my judges before. In your opinion, is there anything they missed?”
“Have they painted him?” Cí asked, gesturing to the younger corpse.
“Painted him?”
“Because of the maggots, in a couple of days all that will be left is the skull. I’d have a portrait done. It might be needed for a future identification.”
Cí was taken out of the dungeon and led to a nearby room. Before leaving, the emperor spoke briefly with a white-haired, sallow-skinned official who bowed repeatedly. Then everyone but Cí and the official departed.
“The Corpse Reader, eh?” said the official, circling Cí and looking him up and down. “Interesting name! Choose it yourself, did you?”
“No—no, sir.”
“Hmm.” The official’s eyes sparkled beneath his bushy eyebrows. “And tell me, what’s it supposed to mean?”
“I suppose it’s to do with my skills of observation when it comes to dead bodies. I was given it at the academy where I’m studying—where I used to study.”
“The Ming Academy, yes…” The official’s demeanor softened. “My name is Bo, and I’m going to be your liaison officer, it seems. Anything you need, but also anything you find out, from now on you’ll communicate it through me.”
Cí had no idea what the man was talking about. “Anything I find out?”
“Well, your performance impressed the emperor. It impressed everyone, in fact.”
“Councilor Kan doesn’t seem very impressed with me.”
“Kan is a good man. Very traditional, very strict—he served the emperor’s father—but he’s an upright person. The problem was that you broke the rule about touching women’s dead bodies, and you didn’t even ask his permission. If there’s one thing Kan doesn’t like, it’s rules being broken.”
“The corpse was a man. I meant no disrespect.”
“In any case,” continued Bo, “you discovered things not even the palace judges had. His Majesty thinks you might be of use. But first of all, I need to fill you in a bit. Remember, though, this is not for general consumption. What I’m about to tell you, you have to listen to as though you have no tongue. Understood?”
Cí nodded seriously.
“For a number of months now, there has been a great evil in Lin’an. Something that threatens to devour us all. It seems to have become weaker just recently, but it still represents an awful threat. Our sergeants have done what they can, but every time they establish a suspect, that suspect disappears or winds up dead in an alley. We’ve been running out of ideas, but your observations have been most valuable.”