"What is this?"

  Wen Chaoshen picked up the small bottle, took out a few pieces of firewood, and sat down by the fire, adding some wood to it.

  "Intestinal poison."

  A Shui's voice was calm as she gently turned the horse meat skewered on a stick. Under the heat of the fmes, golden oil dripped from the meat, sizzling, and the once raw smell transformed into a fragrant aroma.

  The horse meat was torn into strips, and the clear muscle fibers were enough to whet one's appetite.

  "That stuff is Wangchuan's signature poison, concocted by 'Immortal Taozhu.' It's colorless and tasteless, and an ordinary person would die immediately upon drinking it, with their intestines rupturing and organs dissolving."

  "This poison acts quickly and only affects humans. Other animals show no abnormal reaction after ingesting it, making it extremely difficult to detect once mixed into food or water."

  Listening to A Shui's description, Wen Chaoshen couldn't help but be curious:

  "If that's the case, how can you be so sure it's poison?"

  A Shui gnced at him, picked up the bottle of poison from the ground, and shook it gently, a sloshing sound coming from inside.

  "Half of it is gone."

  Wen Chaoshen's breath caught. He had imagined that A Shui had some special method for identifying poison. Although he didn't know her well, her sharp eyes suggested she was no ordinary person.

  But he hadn't expected A Shui's method of confirming the poison to be so... straightforward.

  "…"

  The two of them exchanged gnces for a moment. Wen Chaoshen felt his mouth go dry as he struggled to respond to A Shui's unanswerable reply:

  "…What does it taste like?"

  A Shui's right eyebrow slowly arched upward.

  "Terrible."

  "I've eaten many awful things in my life, including raw meat and poisonous insects, but none of them tasted as disgusting as this."

  Wen Chaoshen leaned against the fire for warmth. As more wood was added, the fire grew rger, its warmth warding off the strong wind blowing outside the abandoned temple.

  "Life is unpredictable. After three years, I didn't die, but Liu Jinshi did."

  "Who could have imagined this three years ago?"

  As he spoke, his tone suddenly shifted:

  "However... Liu Jinshi's death is indeed suspicious."

  "According to the new Magistrate of Kuhai County, Chun Qiong, Liu Jinshi should have been promoted and wealthy, with no reason to commit suicide."

  "Unless Chun Qiong lied, and Liu Jinshi wasn't promoted, but as the new magistrate, Chun Qiong had no reason to lie, whether Liu Jinshi committed a crime or was dismissed for other reasons. He holds absolute authority in Kuhai County."

  "So, this analysis leads to two possibilities."

  "—Either Liu Jinshi was murdered due to a personal vendetta, and Chun Qiong had nothing to do with it."

  "—Or, Liu Jinshi's death was orchestrated by Chun Qiong and his team."

  Listening to Wen Chaoshen's calm analysis, A Shui's gaze towards him subtly changed.

  "Wen Chaoshen, I didn't realize you could investigate cases."

  Wen Chaoshen shook his head:

  "This isn't investigating a case, just simple analysis."

  A Shui sat up straight, her voice seemingly more serious as she addressed Wen Chaoshen:

  "Which scenario do you think is more likely?"

  Without hesitation, Wen Chaoshen replied:

  "The tter."

  A Shui:

  "Why?"

  The firelight in Wen Chaoshen's eyes emitted a dangerous glow.

  "The timing is too coincidental."

  "One dies, and another arrives."

  "Of course... that's just my wishful thinking. I have no evidence to prove it."

  "You lingered at Liu Jinshi's residence for so long this morning because you noticed something, didn't you?"

  A Shui's gaze shifted to the corner of the abandoned temple, where a pile of weapons y.

  "Actually, I went to Liu Jinshi's residence st night."

  "Some reckless assassins, driven mad by greed, came after me. I buried them in the snow behind the temple. One female assassin had her heart on the right side; I pierced her lung with a sword, and she didn't die immediately, so I chased her into the county city and killed eleven more."

  "Later, someone came with a ntern. He didn't attack, so I didn't kill him."

  "This morning, Liu Jinshi was dead."

  "I suspected it was reted to Wangchuan but wasn't sure, so I investigated the scene. What I can confirm is that Liu Jinshi did indeed commit suicide."

  "But the truth aligns with your specution; his suicide wasn't his own decision but was forced upon him."