At this moment.
The owner of the lamb soup shop came over with two vegetarian dishes, a fawning smile on his face: "Gentlemen, this is a complimentary dish from our humble establishment. Please don't find it lacking."
The common folk do not contend with officials.
Even though these individuals were all constables from the county yamen.
The owner knew well that they were the lowest rung of the yamen.
It was precisely their existence.
That allowed him to operate and earn money late into the night.
"Thank you," Chen Nan said gratefully, then asked, "May I know your name, Uncle?"
The owner quickly replied, "You can just call me Old Sun."
Chen Nan said, "Thank you, Uncle. You mentioned that Tongcheng's rat eradication efforts have achieved a significant victory, yet why are there still so many rats on the street corners?"
Old Sun sighed, "How can it be so easy to completely eradicate rats? Over the years, not only have the rats not been wiped out, but they've even become more numerous."
"It's just that these rats don't dare to go to prosperous areas, but hide in remote alleys like ours."
Song Yunfei queried, "That's not right. The county yamen spends a significant amount of money every year to purchase rat poison, which is spread throughout the streets and alleys of Tongcheng. Can't those rat poisons eliminate these rats?"
They were constables from the county yamen and had participated in the distribution of rat poison.
Old Sun hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "You might not believe me if I told you, but all the rat poison that was distributed was eaten by the rats."
"After eating it, not only did those rats not die out, but they even reproduced more and more."
Chen Nan looked utterly incredulous, "Such a thing exists?"
"Old Sun, you're clearly talking nonsense," Song Yunfei retorted. "We captured rats before and fed them rat poison, but those few rats died soon after. How could they reproduce more after eating rat poison?"
In his opinion.
Old Sun's words were not to be believed.
Old Sun smiled awkwardly, "I just thought you gentlemen seemed bored and wanted to tell a joke to amuse you. Well, please eat first. If you need anything, just call out."
"Alright, you may attend to your business." Chen Nan didn't press the matter further. After Old Sun left, he voiced his thoughts, "Regardless, the presence of so many rats in the city is very peculiar."
"Perhaps it's related to the floating corpse discovered during the day."
"By the way."
"Did the previously discovered corpses have any scratch marks from rats on them?"
Chen Nan was at a loss, so he could only search for clues slowly.
"All corpses are placed in the morgue for examination by the coroner. They have detailed records there," Song Yunfei said with a hint of embarrassment.
It wasn't that they were negligent in their duties, but rather that many floating corpses were found by the moat every year.
Moreover, they often lacked fatal injuries.
Generally speaking, they would send the bodies back to the morgue for the coroner to examine, and would not waste too much energy on a single corpse.
"Understood. After dinner, we'll return to the yamen to review the case files."
After the meal.
Chen Nan paid an additional thirty copper coins.
After all, everyone had a difficult life.
Even though Old Sun had served them two extra vegetarian dishes, they couldn't just eat his food for free.
It was already nine o'clock in the evening when they returned to the county yamen.
Chen Nan said to Song Yunfei, "You guys go prepare some rat poison first and wait for me in the front hall. I'll go review the case files and will be there shortly."
Song Yunfei readily agreed.
Chen Nan went to the morgue.
He asked the coroner to bring him the case files.
Then he began to carefully examine them by the entrance of the morgue.
Although Chen Nan was new.
The coroner had heard about him killing Liu Yu on the street and executing Wen Bohou and his son in court.
They treated him with great reverence.
"Old Deng, are you the only coroner in the yamen?" Chen Nan asked while flipping through the case files.
Old Deng was hunched over.
He was only about 1.2 meters tall.
He looked like a child, but his hair was white, his face was covered in wrinkles, and he appeared somewhat ferocious.
Especially his mouthful of yellow teeth, which gave him the appearance of a malevolent ghost escaped from hell.
He puffed on his water pipe, his voice hoarse, "Yes, I am the only coroner in the entire yamen."
"Although people came in previous years, they were all scared witless and dared not work here."
As he spoke, he grinned.
It was as if his ability to establish himself here was a source of great pride.
Chen Nan asked with a smile, "Aren't you afraid?"
Old Deng sighed softly, looking up at the night sky, "Compared to malevolent ghosts, what's truly terrifying is the human heart!"
Chen Nan was taken aback for a moment, then nodded seriously, "That's reasonable."
Old Deng gave a meaningful look, "Young man, you are a person of great courage. I also hope you can bring justice to those who died unjustly."
Chen Nan frowned.
It was clear.
Old Deng knew something.
Old Deng murmured, "The case files hold the answers you seek."
Chen Nan looked intently at the case files.
The files recorded the physical characteristics of the deceased and the time of their deaths.
As a coroner.
It was not unusual for him to deduce the time of death.
"It is indeed as I suspected. The previous corpses all bore scratch marks left by rodents."
"And bite marks."
Chen Nan found the answer he was looking for.
However.
He also keenly noticed something else.
The time of death for all the deceased was Zi Shi (the hour of the rat, 11 PM to 1 AM).
This sent a chill down his spine.
Those who died during Zi Shi had the heaviest Yin energy.
If it were just one person dying at Zi Shi, it would be understandable.
But with so many people dying at Zi Shi.
This was no coincidence.
He quickly flipped through the thick case files.
After reading, he couldn't help but gasp, "So, the corpse in the morgue is the hundredth victim to die at Zi Shi."
Old Deng nodded, his voice low and hoarse, "If you have the courage, you can come here tomorrow night and stand watch for me."
Chen Nan knew.
Old Deng definitely knew something.
He just couldn't say it out loud.
By suggesting he stand watch for him, he was undoubtedly hinting at something.
And this could very well be the key to solving the cause of death for those hundred victims.
And the conspiracy being brewed by the mastermind.
"Alright, I will stand watch for you tomorrow night, junior." Chen Nan readily accepted Old Deng's proposal.
As a living person and the ruler of the immortal realm, spending a night in the morgue was nothing to him.
Moreover.
Even if he felt fear, he had to overcome it.
Only by doing so could he approach the truth.
And seek justice for those hundred tragically deceased individuals.
Hoo!
Hoo!
Old Deng leaned against the morgue doorframe and began to snore.
Chen Nan looked astonished.
This was truly a case of great skill and great courage.
He didn't wake the old man, but got up and left the morgue.
He went to the front courtyard of the county yamen and looked at Song Yunfei, "Is everything prepared?"
Song Yunfei grinned, "Not much, just about fifty kilograms of rat poison."
"Good. Let's find a place to verify what Old Sun from the lamb soup shop said." A cold glint flashed in Chen Nan's eyes, "If those rats don't die after eating the rat poison, the mastermind should reveal themselves by then, right?"