Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 501 - 500: Dead or Alive

In the eyes of these people, Lu Qing is the disciple brother of the Divine Doctor, so naturally, he is also considered a Divine Doctor. Yan Daoxin intentionally misled people in front of King Fan, so they started calling Lu Qing "Divine Doctor" as well.

Upon hearing this, Lu Qing tilted his head and looked at Zhu Yu. Zhu Yu estimated the time and felt that with the area being open on all sides for a while, it should be about time. She nodded slightly, and only then did Lu Qing step forward, with Zhu Yu and the Fu Lu following behind.

The Fu Lu originally thought that upon entering, they would be hit with an overwhelming stench of rot. But to their surprise, once inside, there was no noticeable smell, causing a slight look of astonishment to cross their faces.

Zhu Yu, however, kept her expression unchanged; it was obvious that everything here was within her expectations.

The four of them followed the guard, parting layers of veils to reach the center of the room.

There, a place resembling an altar stood, surrounded by tables over half a person tall. No deities were enshrined on these tables; instead, a row of incense burners was placed, indicating who knows how much incense had been burned before, as ash had fallen onto the tables.

Zhu Yu approached and caught a faint trace of the lingering incense aroma. Although the incense had been burnt over a year ago, with the room sealed tight, the scent couldn’t escape. Even now, after some ventilation, one could still catch a whiff of it.

This familiar scent—if she couldn’t recognize it, she’d be doing a disservice to her extraordinary sense of smell—it was clearly the seductive fragrance used in the Immortal Castle!

Her attention was soon drawn away from the fragrance to something else.

Behind the four tables was a square area, and on the ground lay a gigantic stone slab, deep black, impeccably smooth, with star patterns identical to the moon portal outside carved into it.

At each corner of this glossy black stone slab sat a man in a black, narrow-sleeved robe. Their attire looked like Taoist robes but weren’t exactly the same, with their hair down, sitting in a meditative posture.

In the middle of the black stone slab, a person in a white robe sat cross-legged on a thin lotus cushion, their hair also loose, with hands placed on their knees.

The five of them sat there, motionless as if they were completely unaware that someone had broken through the fortess-like walls and doors to venture inside.

Of course, they didn’t perceive it, because although these five people maintained an upright posture, without exception, their faces were sallow, cheeks slightly sunken, and eye sockets deeply recessed.

Even though they sat in a posture akin to living people, from their appearance alone, it was obvious that they couldn’t possibly be living beings.

"Divine Doctor, could you take a look and determine whether... these are dead or alive?" The guard who brought them in hesitated as he asked.

To the uninformed, this question might lead them to wonder if the guard had lost his mind—their appearances were nothing like the living!

But who around King Fan wasn’t aware that this High Priest had been in seclusion for more than a year already?

Nobody alive should bear such a face, and nobody’s seen the dead look quite like this either.

Given the hot climate of Bhutan, bodies start decaying just a few days after death. A year or so later, there would only be a skeleton, not even that after a few months.

No one has likely witnessed such a scenario before.

"Are you certain this is your High Priest?" Lu Qing asked.

The guards nodded firmly: "There is no mistake! We see our High Priest every day. We know his appearance well!

Compared to before, he’s just a bit more waxy and shriveled. Look, the mole at the corner of his eye is still there. How could we not recognize him!

We got close up, called out to him, and when he didn’t respond and his face seemed off, that’s why we brought you in."

"Did your High Priest... practice Resurrection Techniques?" Zhu Yu asked from the side.

The guards weren’t keen to engage with an apprentice, but seeing that Lu Qing also appeared to be waiting for a response, they couldn’t ignore the question.

"We’ve only been at the Prince Mansion for about two years, and in that time, we haven’t heard of the High Priest practicing any Resurrection Technique," the elder guard said after some thought, shaking his head.

From their reactions, it was clear that the scene before them left them bewildered.

Zhu Yu looked at Lu Qing, who nodded at her and gestured: "Disciple, go observe on my behalf."

He then instructed the Fu Lu: "Go assist in setting up a screen."

The Fu Lu responded immediately, turning to pull down several veils from behind them, layering them until the once semi-transparent veils became a sufficient visual barrier. Moving forward, they each took a side of the veils, creating a "screen" between the High Priest and the others.

"Is this... appropriate?" the elder guard hesitated to ask.

Lu Qing signaled Zhu Yu to stop: "If you find it inappropriate, you can return to consult King Fan. If you want to determine if these individuals are dead or alive and what the situation is, then follow my method."

The guards hesitated, having seen pieces of King Fan’s temperament.

Before, when tasked with finding women, those who returned empty-handed for various reasons met with swift punishment, with no opportunity for explanation.

Running back without the High Priest now, unable to clarify if he is dead or alive, they might not even receive new instructions before feeling the brunt of King Fan’s impatience.

Seeing this, it seemed better to let these individuals inspect, because if this failed, the blame would fall on their own accord.

The elder guard exchanged a glance with his peers, and none continued to object.

With the "screen" in place, Zhu Yu relaxed, not having to worry about prying eyes.

She went through the motions, even though she knew the High Priest couldn’t possibly be alive. She checked his breath—of course, there was none.

Next, she carefully lifted his eyelid, which nearly lacked all elasticity, revealing beneath it an eye already shriveled.

Without a doubt, this was a corpse.