Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty Ⅲ: To Changan Episode 34 Recap
> Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty Ⅲ: To Changan Recap
Geng Wushang had long suspected his eldest disciple, Zhong Shizai, was the true culprit. The first time Geng saw Zhong, he was covered in blood with numerous wounds, clearly having survived a violent fight. As Geng's wife had passed away years ago, leaving him no children, he had treated Zhong Shizai, his first apprentice, as his own son, teaching him everything he knew.
However, Geng gradually realized Zhong was unsuitable for the coroner profession due to a past act of killing in his youth. Working constantly with corpses and murder weapons could easily trigger one's murderous intent. While Zhong Shizai's skills as a coroner were among the best in Chang'an, he was not guaranteed a top-three spot in the upcoming contest; he was, in fact, exceptionally cunning and adept at schemes.
Therefore, when the suspicious nature of Dong Yue's death came to light, Geng immediately suspected Zhong. Geng feigned an intention to participate in the contest and left a written statement declaring that if any harm befell him, Zhong Shizai would be the killer. Zhong Shizai, now incarcerated, confessed his dark past. He recounted being born into servitude, yet he surpassed his young master in both horsemanship and literary talent, which fueled his master's resentment. He was frequently beaten.
To continue his studies, Zhong endured years of mistreatment, narrowly escaping death multiple times. Unable to bear it any longer, he murdered his master's family of three, staging it as a bandit attack and inflicting wounds upon himself to deceive the authorities. Zhong acknowledged Geng's assessment that he had long grown weary of being a coroner; every corpse, weapon, and crime scene reminded him of his own past.
He realized with dismay that having embarked on a path of murder, his aspirations and ambitions were now unattainable, and there was no turning back. When news of a new murder case broke, Zhong instinctively offered his services as a coroner, only to be struck by the grim reality that he was now a prisoner, his right to perform autopsies a distant dream. With a need for a coroner, Su Wuming sent Captain Xu to request Geng Wushang's assistance.
However, Geng, citing old age and illness, declined, sending his daughter, Suchan, in his stead. Although Suchan initially expressed doubts about a woman becoming a coroner, Geng encouraged her, pointing out that a female coroner would be more convenient for examining female bodies and that Su Wuming, being a disciple of Master Di, would not be bound by tradition. Suchan, who had inherited Geng's profound knowledge, performed an autopsy on the decapitated female victim with remarkable precision.
She noted the contracted skin below the neck, protruding cervical vertebrae, and spatter-pattern bloodstains, indicating a hacking death by a sharp weapon in a single strike, likely between 9 PM and midnight. Impressed by Suchan's clear reasoning and accurate judgment, Su Wuming declared that she had examined the body thoroughly and would surely inherit Geng's legacy.
He authorized the highest autopsy fee for her and announced that Suchan would be the official female coroner for Wannian County, stating that the county office could request her services whenever needed. The victim's parents told Su Wuming that their daughter had found a red money pouch in the market. Su Wuming's subsequent inquiries among the locals, however, yielded no one who recognized the pouch. Meanwhile, Suchan visited Yin Yao, her fellow apprentice, bringing him a homemade Three-Fruit Bone Broth.
She mentioned her new role as a coroner and tried to persuade Yin Yao to return to the profession, believing his talent would ensure him first place in the upcoming contest. Yin Yao, however, had committed to being a mortician and gently refused. He explained that he would become the best mortician in Chang'an and would continue to visit their mentor. Yin Yao was then called to perform a mortuary makeup service for the recently deceased woman.
He conducted a solemn ritual, stepping the Yu gait and performing a funerary dance before meticulously applying powder and makeup to her face. When Su Wuming and Chu Yingtao arrived, they saw that Yin Yao had made the deceased appear serene and beautiful, for which he only accepted fifty coins to cover the cost of materials.
Witnessing this, Su Wuming was deeply moved by the importance of a mortician's duty and abandoned his intention to persuade Yin Yao to return to the coroner's trade. He also noted that based on the scene, the deceased had left her room voluntarily, as there were no signs of forced entry or struggle, despite the proximity to her parents' bedroom.
The case stalled, prompting Su Wuming to repeatedly examine the money pouch at the sushan shop, seeking input from Chicken Fei. Chicken Fei immediately recognized it as a "life-borrowing pouch," an arcane ritual from the Ghost Market. He explained that relatives of a dying person would place money in such a pouch and discard it in public places. If someone picked it up, their lifespan would be transferred to the ailing individual.
However, killing the person who picked up the pouch was an even more sinister method of "life-stealing," a rare act even in the Ghost Market. Pei Xijun, upon closer inspection of the note inside the pouch, which bore the character "one," observed that the handwriting was crude and forceful, suggesting the writer had never received formal education.
That night, Dong Yue's apprentice, while burning paper offerings outside the coffin shop for his deceased master, discovered a money pouch by the roadside and picked it up. The next day, he was found dead in the shop, a long sword piercing his chest. Captain Xu initially concluded it was suicide, but Su Wuming immediately challenged this, pointing to another "life-borrowing pouch" on the counter, containing a note with the character "three" and forty-nine copper coins.
Suchan was called to examine the body and confirmed it was a homicide. She noted that the deceased's hands bore no defensive wounds, and given the sword's dullness and the arm length, self-infliction was impossible. She also found the blood spatter pattern unusually strange, requiring further investigation. Suchan reported her findings to Geng Wushang at home.
Noticing a bag of strychnine by his bed, she learned that he had been using it in small, medicinal doses to alleviate the pain from chronic sores. Geng Wushang, despite his illness, later visited Su Wuming to examine the two "life-borrowing pouches." He recalled a similar case from twenty years prior in Chang'an, where a merchant, seeking to extend his father's life, killed four people using pouches marked "one," "three," "six," and "nine."
Geng Wushang's expression changed drastically when he saw the handwriting on the notes, realizing the grave implications. Geng Wushang then invited Yin Yao to his home for a meal. He confessed that over the past three years, he had dedicated himself to compiling his lifelong autopsy findings into "The Autopsy Chronicles." He asked Yin Yao to co-author the final chapter with him, with the book to be credited to both master and disciple.
Yin Yao was deeply honored and, to his surprise, learned the truth about Geng's recommendation of Zhong Shizai to the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review years ago. It wasn't a slight to Yin Yao but a deliberate choice by Geng, who cherished Yin Yao's talent and wanted him to stay by his side longer to help complete this important work. This revelation brought Yin Yao to tears, as he realized he had wrongly blamed his mentor.
Geng assured Yin Yao that his choice to be a mortician was honorable, for ensuring the deceased's dignity was as crucial as uncovering the truth of their death, and that his path did not affect his standing as a co-author. Geng Wushang produced a pre-written document to expel Zhong Shizai from their tutelage, explaining that it was to protect the integrity of the forthcoming "Autopsy Chronicles." As per the guild's rules, the document required the signatures of all disciples.
When Yin Yao signed his name and the date, June 23rd, Geng Wushang's face fell, as Yin Yao's handwriting was identical to that on the notes found in the "life-borrowing pouches." That same night, another beggar was found dead on the street, a "life-borrowing pouch" bearing the character "six" beside him, signaling that the killings were far from over. Suchan returned home from the autopsy to find her father, Geng Wushang, dead.
