TGCFNM -Chapter 128 My Name is Taoniang

“Sir!” Su He shouted, hurrying forward, his face pale as he pulled her back a step. “I’ll go in first.”

Chu Ling shook her head. “Together.”

Wan Sanjin exhaled lightly, and the group stepped inside. The thick, metallic smell of blood hit them immediately, and then they saw a scene that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

“Ugh—”

Chu Ling’s face drained of color, and she immediately stepped back.

Wan Sanjin’s knees went weak, his expression one of utter shock.

After regaining some composure, Su He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Chu Ling, pale and gasping, her eyes rimmed in red, tried to straighten up but nearly fell as her knees buckled.

A hand grabbed her and helped her up.

Chu Ling pressed a hand to her forehead and murmured, “Thank you. Master Wan, how are you?”

Wan Sanjin gasped, his face ashen, and wailed, “I—I’m not well.”

Chu Ling’s heart skipped a beat. She looked at the pair of pale hands supporting her, then slowly lifted her gaze.

A thin, somewhat haggard woman stood there, without makeup, looking timidly at her. A clear ligature mark encircled her neck.

Chu Ling silently thought: Thank goodness… thank goodness, not too frightening.

She then looked up at the three ghosts standing at some distance. Frowning in confusion, she silently asked them with her eyes, What’s going on?

Cui Xi clung pitifully to her dog, Wangcai, who whimpered softly in response.

“Miss, we’re scared.”

Chu Ling straightened up, helping Wan Sanjin to do the same. Looking at his pale, miserable face, she patted his back. “How are you holding up? Can you manage?”

Wan Sanjin, still dazed, nodded faintly.

Chu Ling exhaled and turned her attention to the female ghost standing nervously to the side, who had already released her grip.

Her hair was loose, wearing only a simple robe, feet bare. Apart from the mark around her neck, no other wounds were visible. But what drew Chu Ling most was the ghost’s face. Despite her haggard, thin appearance, her refined and elegant features were unmistakable.

The Ghost Scholar stepped forward and asked, “Are you the woman who died in this room? What is your name? Do you know who killed you?”

“Yes… my name is Taoniang,” the woman replied softly. “I don’t know who killed me. The person wore a mask… it was dark… I couldn’t see clearly.”

“Did you… um… were you…” The Ghost Scholar hesitated, unsure how to phrase the question.

The woman’s eyes widened as she realized, shaking her head vigorously. “I—I just lived here. It was cheap… I—I don’t do that kind of business.”

Chu Ling turned to Wan Sanjin. “Take them and go door to door, ask if any strangers have been around recently, or if anyone heard anything last night.”

“Understood.” Wan Sanjin exhaled and led the others out.

Meanwhile, Su He slowly opened the room’s door and looked at Chu Ling. “I’ve finished the autopsy report, and the body has been sewn up.”

Chu Ling gave a hum of acknowledgment, steeling herself, then stepped into the room.

The woman’s corpse still lay in a pool of blood, but now it looked mostly intact, far less horrifying than before.

Taoniang bowed deeply to Su He, tears brimming in her eyes. “Thank you, young sir.”

Chu Ling stepped over the corpse and began examining the room. She moved to the window and crouched slightly, studying the footprints on the floor.

“The person today probably snuck in quietly, then got scared, stepped in the blood, rushed out the door, and ran onto the street…” Chu Ling compared the prints carefully, then went outside to inspect the trail of blood. Her eyes sharpened.

“Coroner Su, lend me some charcoal and paper,” Chu Ling said.

Su He immediately handed her a sheet of paper and a stick of charcoal.

Chu Ling returned to the window with the materials and carefully compared the prints. She made a rubbing of a single shoe print on the paper and then compared it with the bloody trail outside. “As expected, they’re different.”

So much for the idea that evil spirits leave no traces—they still left footprints.

“Sir, nothing in the room was stolen. The jewelry box is still on the dressing table,” Su He called out.

Chu Ling put away the paper and turned back, glancing at the open jewelry box, then at the fallen round stool. Following the direction it had toppled, she looked toward the outside.

Chu Ling speculated, “The deceased probably took out the jewelry box and was about to tidy it when she heard a sound outside. She stood up, accidentally knocking over the stool… the noise outside then stopped. Gathering her courage, she stepped outside to look, reached this spot, and was grabbed by the neck.”

“Sir, you haven’t even seen the coroner’s report yet. How can you know she died of asphyxiation?” Su He asked.

Chu Ling cleared her throat. “She must have been smothered or strangled, which explains what happened afterward.”

Su He nodded. “You’re right, sir. After death, the body was opened up, but it shouldn’t have been the work of a coroner—the technique was crude, like venting anger. And there are no signs of sexual assault, so this could be a case of revenge.”

“Who would hold a grudge against someone living here?” Chu Ling couldn’t figure it out.

Taoniang was equally puzzled. Her clientele had gradually dwindled, she was getting older, but thankfully her savings were enough to redeem herself and live the rest of her life in peace. She couldn’t imagine anyone she might have offended.

Chu Ling looked up at the beams above, grasped the doorframe, and leapt up. Sure enough, she found a shoe print on the crossbeam. On the beams and pillars, she also noticed fingerprints.

“There’s a lot of dust on the beams. The person must have held the pillar, leaving these fingerprints. They are long, and the overall palm is large—male. He probably arrived earlier and was lying in ambush here, perhaps even observing beforehand.”

After speaking, Chu Ling jumped down from the beam.

Taoniang shook her head. “Since I moved here, no one has come inside except my family… and they only stay outside, never entering.”

Chu Ling spoke softly, “She may have no enemies, but maybe her family does. We need to check with them…” She reached up and touched her own neck.

Taoniang revealed wide red marks on her neck, as if a cloth had been used to strangle her, with a deeper crease running through the middle.

“Coroner Su, let’s go. Notify the public mortuary to collect the body, and wait for her family to come and lay her to rest,” Chu Ling said with a sigh, leading Su He outside.

Cui Xi waved at Taoniang, grabbing her sleeve and guiding her out.

Outside, a woman hadn’t left yet. Seeing Chu Ling’s hem stained with blood, she fearfully pulled her aside. “Sir, the person who lived here… is dead?”

Chu Ling sensed something off in her expression and asked in surprise, “Do you know her?”

The woman licked her dry lips and hesitated before nodding. “I used to wash clothes with her sister-in-law for some copper coins.”