Little Constable immediately rushed forward a few steps, completely disregarding the sweet dreams of those inside, and banged on the door with all his might! Instantly, there was a loud ‘boom’—the courtyard gate didn’t open, but the yard inside was thrown into utter chaos. At least thirty dogs, twenty ducks, and fifteen chickens all started barking, quacking, and clucking at once, mixed with the flapping of wings and the clatter of cats and dogs bumping into flowerpots... Young Constable was startled and almost drew his blade, but his superior was already used to this, shaking his head with a smile: “You’re new here, so you don’t know. At Coroner Sullivan’s house, there are over a hundred animals—cats, dogs, chickens, ducks. He’s an odd one, so be careful how you speak to him in a moment.”

Little Constable widened his eyes. “Keeping so many animals—aren’t you afraid of disturbing the neighbors?”

At this moment, a voice sounded from the courtyard, with a hint of laughter: “When it comes to disturbing the neighbors, how can cats and dogs compare to officers carrying blades?” At the same time, the hinges creaked, the courtyard gate opened, and a young man in a blue robe appeared, about fourteen or fifteen years old, with delicate features and bright eyes.

The young man who opened the door sized up Little Constable and continued, “I haven’t seen you before. Are you new here?”

Little Constable, still with a child’s temperament, had just been teased and now pouted, pretending not to hear.

The middle-aged man coughed and looked at the young man in blue. “Yang kid, where’s your uncle? There’s official business—have him get up and come with us.”

Yang kid was Brian Carter... Physician Sullivan had found his ‘person of the right heart’ and simply left the borders of Great Yan, taking Brian Carter into Nanli, and eventually settling here, living a semi-reclusive life.

Yan Ziping was far from Yan, and Physician Sullivan hadn’t changed his name, but he no longer practiced medicine openly. Not long after settling down, he got a job at the yamen as a coroner. After all, he was a doctor—he used to treat the living every day, and now he occasionally examined the dead, handling it with ease.

The two addressed each other as uncle and nephew. Physician Sullivan had never even thought of giving Brian Carter a name; he usually just called him ‘Little Treasure’, which always gave him goosebumps. When Brian Carter was five, he went up to his ‘uncle’ and ‘volunteered’: “I think ‘Song Yang’ is a good name.” Physician Sullivan was tending to some homegrown herbs in the backyard at the time, absentmindedly nodding, “Alright, then you’ll be called Brian Carter from now on. Little Treasure, bring me the hoe.”

Fifteen years passed in a flash. The once perpetually scowling Physician Sullivan, who had glared at the entire court of Great Yan, had become the coroner of a remote small town; and Brian Carter had grown from a swaddled infant into a young man.

Brian Carter closed the courtyard gate, and while his back was turned, slipped an inconspicuous blade of grass into the lock. Then he said to the middle-aged constable, “I’ll go with you.” In the past, whenever Physician Sullivan went to examine a body, he would usually take Brian Carter along. The latter seemed to have a real talent for the work, learning quickly. In the past year or two, for ordinary cases, there was no need for ‘uncle’ to go—Brian Carter could handle them alone. And the town was peaceful; for decades, there had never been an ‘unusual’ case. All deaths were from old age, illness, or natural causes, and the coroner just had to go to the scene to confirm, making the job very easy.

As he spoke, Brian Carter made a ‘please lead the way’ gesture to the two constables.

Unexpectedly, this time the middle-aged constable frowned. “Yang kid, better call your uncle. This case is different—a lot of people have died.”

Brian Carter was slightly taken aback. “Were the victims locals?” Seeing the constable shake his head, Brian Carter relaxed and continued, “It’s not that uncle is unwilling to get up—he’s not home. He left two days ago and hasn’t returned yet.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Little Constable scolded, “A coroner is an official too! How can he leave his jurisdiction without reporting to the yamen?” As he spoke, he shook the saber at his waist, as if he couldn’t wait to arrest the negligent Coroner Sullivan on the spot.

Brian Carter immediately nodded vigorously, looking serious. “Yes, yes, you’re right. I’ll tell him when he gets back.” Then he turned to the middle-aged constable. “Patrick, let’s go.”

The middle-aged officer was the head of the third squad of Yan Ziping’s yamen, surname Pan. Pan is not a Han surname, but a Yao one. No need to ask—Patrick was also a Yao.

Yan Ziping was located in the western part of Nanli, mainly inhabited by Han and Yao people. But the Yao here were ‘plains Yao’, gentle in temperament, having lived alongside the Han for generations, long since integrated and living in harmony.

With uncle not at home, there was no use worrying, so the nephew had to step up. Patrick said no more, leading Brian Carter toward the scene of the crime. Little Constable followed closely behind Brian Carter, and after a while, asked curiously, “Why don’t you ask what kind of case it is?”

Brian Carter answered honestly, “We’ll see for ourselves soon enough—no need to ask now. Besides, if I ask now, I might form a preconceived notion, which could affect my judgment.”

Little Constable hadn’t expected him to have his own reasoning, and twitched his mouth. “You sound pretty convincing—just don’t get flustered when the time comes!”