The layout of the Yin Family Inn was unusual, divided into two sections, front and back. The first section was completely empty, used only for spirit-offering rituals—no one lived there, nor were corpses kept. The second section had two levels: the upper level was an ordinary large room with beds and desks, serving as a resting place for corpse drivers; the lower level was a cellar covered in incense ash, specifically for storing corpses.

Brian Carter strode into the first section of the Yin Family Inn. It was spotlessly clean, with no victims present, but the mingled scents of ritual incense, faint corpse stench, and thick blood assaulted the nose! Following behind Brian Carter, the ever-aggressive Little Constable had barely stepped inside when he cried out “Aiyo!” like a quail struck by an arrow, spun around, and rushed out to vomit.

Brian Carter took a box of green ointment from the small leather pouch at his waist and tossed it to Little Constable: “Rub some under your nose, it’ll get rid of the corpse smell.” Little Constable did as told, and immediately felt a cool sensation spread through his breath, dispersing much of the strange odor in the inn. His mind and chest felt refreshed.

Little Constable re-entered the Yin Family Inn, returned the ointment to Brian Carter, thanked him, and then asked in puzzlement, “Aren’t you going to use it yourself?”

Brian Carter replied, “For ordinary cases, it’s fine to use some. But for a major case like this, my nose might be useful—I can’t let the ointment’s scent interfere.” As he spoke, the two of them passed through the front hall and entered the second section. The moment they stepped inside, both gasped sharply! Even though they knew a bloody crime had occurred here and were mentally prepared, they were still stunned.

A large stone room, shockingly dark red to the eye.

The floor, the four walls, the ceiling—everywhere was splattered with blood. There were no corpses in the room, only broken bones and torn flesh... countless body parts, each only the size of a fist, scattered messily about. It was impossible to tell which part belonged to which organ, or how many people had died.

Brian Carter’s eyes moved as he surveyed the large room. After a moment, he rolled up his pants and sleeves, walked to a corner, lifted the wooden plank leading to the corpse cellar, and looked down.

The cellar was completely empty, nothing stored inside.

A whole room of corpse drivers had died, but the corpses they brought were nowhere to be found... Brian Carter frowned, returned to the center of the room, took a pair of black scale-skin gloves from his pouch and put them on, then squatted down to start gathering the body parts. Little Constable, forcing down his nausea, asked, “What are you doing?”

“Piecing the corpses back together, to identify them. Besides, we need to know how many people are ‘mixed’ together here.” Brian Carter’s tone was calm: “That’s what a coroner does.”

Little Constable’s eye twitched repeatedly. He gritted his teeth again and again, and finally, steeling himself, stepped into the scene, hands trembling and legs weak, trying to help Brian Carter with the “puzzle.” Brian Carter chuckled and shook his head: “No need to help. This kind of thing is easier for one person—two people just make it messier. You can wait outside.”

In fact, from Lord Thompson and Patrick down to the ordinary yamen runners, not a single one wanted to spend another moment in this room. All of them, under the pretense of “searching for clues,” waited outside the Yin Family Inn. If Little Constable left, no one would blame him, but he was stubborn and responsible by nature. Hearing this, he shook his head, stopped helping Brian Carter sort the body parts, but refused to leave.

After about an hour, the other officers had searched the area around the Yin Family Inn thoroughly, but found nothing. Brian Carter’s work was meticulous and couldn’t be rushed, so there were no results for a while. County Magistrate, growing impatient and unwilling to linger in such an unlucky place, said, “There are still many urgent matters in town that require my attention,” and decided to return first.

There was no point in the other yamen runners staying, so they left with The Lord, but at least one officer had to stay with Brian Carter. Patrick was hesitating over whom to leave behind when Little Constable volunteered, much to Patrick’s relief.

After a noisy commotion, County Magistrate led the team back to Yanzi Ping with a sigh.

According to official protocol, Little Constable saw his colleagues off, then returned to the crime scene with a look of disdain: “I don’t get what The Lord is so worried about. Cases like this are headless and unavoidable, and have nothing to do with local governance. When the court evaluates an official’s performance, they don’t count cases like this.”

Brian Carter kept working as he replied casually, “This concerns the ‘Shanxi Barbarians’—of course The Lord is worried.”

Little Constable was puzzled: “What do you mean?”

Throughout the land, only the “Shanxi Barbarians” were skilled in the art of corpse driving. All corpse drivers were members of their tribe, and those who knew this secret art held high status among them.

The “Shanxi Barbarians” were a fierce, bloodthirsty, and extremely xenophobic people. They once regarded the Han as demons, and the two sides fought constantly. Over the past century, the Southern Li court had sent troops to suppress them many times, but the “Shanxi Barbarians” were exceptionally brave and entrenched deep in the mountains, so they could never be subdued. Only in recent years, when the court switched from suppression to appeasement, did they stop causing trouble.

After a brief explanation, Brian Carter paused, then continued: “There are at least a dozen corpse drivers dead here... With so many tribesmen killed, the Shanxi Barbarians are bound to make trouble. Headless murder cases aren’t counted in official evaluations, but failing to appease the barbarians will definitely ruin County Magistrate’s career. What’s more...” His tone grew heavier: “If the killer can’t be found and handed over, the Shanxi Barbarians will be the first to take revenge on Yanzi Ping.”