-

Although it was almost early in the morning when he went to bed, Mo Shi still got up at the original breakfast time.

He wanted to go to the kitchen, but Duna had already brought him food.

Duna is a child rescued by Moshi from a border village, and perhaps out of gratitude, she is very diligent and seems willing to trust him. Mo Shi was happy to talk to her and take her around—Mo Shi was really unaccompanied, lonely and lonely in this world.

After breakfast, Mo Shi wanted to go to the prayer hall to see if there were any clues that he had missed last night.

There was light snow in the morning.

Because of last night's snowstorm, thick snow has accumulated in the courtyard and corridors. The attendants are sweeping.

It seems that the footprints will never be included in the scope of the survey. However, when I checked last night, I did not find any traces outside the window. For the time being, the possibility of the prisoner escaping from the window can be ruled out.

The prayer hall is located in the east wing of the entire red sand castle and is a spired hut wrapped in the courtyard.

The red sand castle is made of brown bricks and stones, while the prayer hall is made of blue-black stone blocks with a towering roof, which is steep and cold although it does not occupy a large ground and is not high.

Walk out of the corridor, step through the snow-covered stone path, and step up a dozen steps to reach the door of the prayer hall.

The surrounding promenade is patrolled by guards.

- The Duke promised not to move the body for the time being, and sealed off the prayer room.

There is a clasp lock under the door to prevent the door from being blown open by the wind.

Moshi bent down and pulled up the lock. He forgot to separate his sleeves with a layer, and as a result, he almost stuck the skin off his fingertips. The orcs here have hairy claws on their hands, and they are not in the habit of wearing gloves, so Mo Shi cannot get gloves. He considered sewing a pair himself in the future.

He walked into the prayer hall.

There was no fire in the prayer hall all night, but it was still warmer than outside because the doors and windows were closed.

Pamu Crow's body lies in place.

In the cold of winter, the corpse does not decompose, which facilitates the investigation and alleviates the psychological discomfort. But to be honest, Mo Shi felt that he still felt fear and disgust.

Duna was still standing in front of the door very well-behaved.

Mo Shi told her to come inside the door and close the door.

"It's too cold outside. He said.

Duna walked in. She stood by the door and seemed to smile (Mo Shi was not quite able to distinguish the expression of the dog-headed orc): "This kind of weather must be difficult for Lord Mo Shi. ”

"It's not easy. Mo Shi sighed, "Fortunately, the corpse is not easy to decay because of this. Would you be afraid? Indeed, you didn't have to follow me—"

"What are you afraid of?" asked Duna, confused.

“...... It's nothing. ”

-

Mo Shi crouched down next to the corpse.

Although the body had been touched by a number of people, he hoped to find some traces.

He had apparently fought fiercely with the prisoners, and there were numerous scars on his exposed face and hands alone. His lips were open, already blue and purple, and there was a small amount of blood on his teeth.

If it is in the era of advanced technology and the scope of criminals is limited to ancient castles, in fact, as long as you investigate the hair tissue between your fingers and the blood stains on your teeth, you can easily get the results by comparing them with the gene pool.

It's just a pity that this is not the way to solve the murder case of the Middle Ages.

Mo Shi tried to pry open the deceased's mouth with the top of his cane, and the muscles of the corpse were already very stiff.

Mo Shi could feel the blue bird's unhappiness, but he was also very embarrassed, and he really didn't want to pry the teeth of such a sharp orc with his fingers. He examined the deceased's mouth with some difficulty.

From outside the door came the sound of shaking robes and dusting off snowflakes, and after a few moments, the door was pushed open.

The person who walked in was Sheka Hawthorn.

"Well, you're already here. ”

He muttered, then greeted Moshi.

"I thought I would be the first. On the way here, I met Lady Norwin Tsui, who said that he was on official business and wanted to hear what we had come to say. Their ministers are really busy all day. I don't know what I'm writing about. ”

Mo Shi stood up and saluted.

"Mr. Shekha, it's a pleasure to have you here. I need your help. ”

"Need my help?"

"Yes. Moshi nodded, "I want to see all the details of Lord Pamu's body carefully, so I need witnesses and recorders. If we can complete the examination as soon as possible, Pamu-sama's body can be placed in a more proper place. ”

"That's just as well. ”

Shekka scratched a brownish-blonde curl with his paw and walked towards him.

"But do you have any medical experience?"

"Yes, but not enough. "So I hope that after the examination is completed, the body can be sent to the medical doctor of Chisha Fort to listen to the professional opinion." ”

-

Shekha Hawthorn crouched down next to him.

The two stared at the body.

His host once showed his strength and alcohol at the dinner party, and was a lively and bold aristocratic young master.

And now he is lying here, just a corpse with traces of life.

"What can you smell on Lord Pamu?"

Moshi asked Sheka.

- Moshi knows that orcs have a night vision and sense of smell far superior to that of humans. There were some details that he couldn't spot, but maybe he could change to any snowwalker.

Sheka Hawthorn squinted at him.

Mo Shi then explained: "My health is not good, I have probably been sick in the past. So not only do I have poor eyesight, but my sense of smell is also inferior to that of ordinary people. ”

"O God, why did you create such a useless creature as you!" he sighed, but his face looked a little proud, "My nose has been known for its sharpness since I was a child, let me help you...... What do you want me to smell? Poison, or?"

"All the details. "Herbs, food, people." Tell me as much as you can find. ”

"But it's not easy to smell a dead man with blood on his chest. ”

"Do you like to drink?" asked Moshi, "perhaps I can treat you to a few drinks in the evening." ”

"Will you drink?" Shekka looked him up and down, "I thought you scholars were trying to resist temptation. ”

Mo Shi shrugged: "It seems that this is not the case. ”

Regardless, Sheka was persuaded and agreed to help Moshi check the smell of the corpse.

He frowned and sniffed near the corpse's mouth.

"Wine, and the meat of the giant lamb, stewed. as well as some ...... I can't tell the taste, maybe it's herbs, some nobles like to smoke herbal cigarettes, I don't know if Lord Pamu likes it or not. ”

Shekka avoided the bloodstained chest of the corpse, sniffed his shoulder, his arm, and then lifted one of his hands up and sniffed his palm and fingers.

"Wine, barbecue, a little herb. And ......"

"What else?"

"It seems to be the smell of a woman, I don't quite know. Some fats, some others. Of course, there were many, many other people's scents, the people he had hugged and the people who had hugged him - after all, he was the popular Pamu Crow. ”

He walked around to the other side of the corpse and leaned closer to his right arm to sniff it.

"It's pretty much the same as the one on the left, just a little more metallic and inky. Master Pamu is right-handed. ”

Shekka straightened up and looked at Moshi.

Mo Shi also looked at him.

"That's it?" Mo Shi asked.

Shekka glared at him, "What else?"

"A wound on the chest. and the wound on his head. ”

Shekha covered his nose and let out a canine-like sigh from his throat.

"Okay, okay. ”

After some reluctant sniffing, Shekha told Mo Shi: "The wound on the chest also smells of metal, not blood, which I can distinguish, and the wound on the head, there are scratches and wounds caused by knocking on the walls and floors. It's been too long to smell anything. But if I had been asked to smell it yesterday, and the smell of blood and body odor was too strong, I'm afraid there would have been no better results. ”

They called in two guards and took the body to the room where the medical specialist was.

-

In the afternoon, Moshi and Sheka Hawthorn explained their discovery to Norwen Tsui.

Now Mo Shi can be said to have formed some kind of wonderful friendship with this swordsmanship instructor.

Although the three of them were not actually familiar with each other, there was no need to hide the details of this matter for the time being, so Mo Shi felt that they could exchange the details they knew about each other.

In addition, Norwin Cui was the marquis's vassal, and for them it was a more noble Heyar nobleman.

Since it was at the behest of the duke, perhaps there was no need to be too vigilant.

“...... When Pamu's body was found, it was still warm and blood was still flowing, and at the beginning of the banquet, Pamu gave a speech and later spoke to many people. According to the medical officers' judgment, it is now known that Lord Pamu was killed between 8 and 9 o'clock in the evening. Mo Shi said.

The twelve-hour clock is used here, which is not difficult for Mo Shi to judge, and it is also a big benefit.

"I'm glad that the two of you have been for ...... A professional and efficient probing was carried out. Norwen Cui affirmed their investigation. He was an elderly Heyal with a tight, resolute wrinkle on his face, "May God bless the soul of Pamu, may God bless you." ”

He continued: "At the moment, I have so many things to deal with. I may not be able to help much, but I will have my attendants follow you, and the servants and guards from the Raven Castle can be sent and inquired about. ”

"Thank you, Lord Norwen. ”

"You're welcome. The Marquis's attendant sighed, "Do you two know how many days it will take for the messenger to get from here to the Autumn Crow Bluestone Castle?"

Mo Shi shook his head.

"The snow is so thick that it can hinder the progress, but it only takes about ten days to rotate the strongest two-wildebeest. ”

"Ten Days ......"

"Therefore I give you ten days. If you do not find the murderer and give everyone an answer within ten days, I am afraid that the Duke and I will have to discuss 'other means' to appease the wrath of the crows." ”

-

"What will they do? If we don't find out within 10 days. As he walked out of Norwen Tsui's room, Mo Shi muttered to himself.

"I'm afraid that in the end, I will still carry out 'divine plucking'. ”

Shekka Hawthorn also replied softly in a murmuring tone.

"Shenba, what's that?" asked Mo Shi.

"It is up to God to uproot sinners. After speaking briefly and solemnly, Sheka closed his mouth tightly, his expression revealing a kind of panic and disgust.

Mo Shi frowned, not understanding. He didn't know enough about the religion here.

"God is coming to uproot?

The man looked at him with a complicated expression.

Sure enough, forgiving a baby who doesn't know anything is a different thing from forgiving an ignorant adult. Shekha rubbed his back molars and said, "Shenpluck is to take all the suspects who may have committed a crime to the temple to accept the choice, and in the end, the holy water will know who the sinners are." ”

"Is it ......?"

Moshi shook his head in disbelief.

In the history of mankind, there have been many "divine judgments" in the form of judgments:

When there is an entanglement between people, and they cannot find out the truth and resolve the conflict by practical means, they will turn to the gods, hoping to use the will of the gods to determine the truth of black and white.

In essence, however, "divine judgment" is nothing more than an unreasonable test for the purpose of resolving conflicts.

It was recorded in ancient China. From Wang Chong's "On Balance" in the Eastern Han Dynasty: Gao Tao governs the prison, and the suspects of its crimes make the sheep touch it. If you are guilty, you will touch it, and if you are not guilty, you will not touch it.

"During the trial of the case, Gao Tao brought a sheep to the suspect, and if the man had really committed a crime, the sheep would hit him with his horns, but if he was innocent, the sheep would not have struck him. ”

The same trials have taken place all over the world.

It is clearly recorded in the ancient Babylonian Code of Hammurabi:

Articles 2 and 132 stipulate that those accused of witchcraft and adultery shall, in order to confess their innocence, be put to the test in the river, and those who are not drowned are innocent and those who are drowned are guilty.

Article 53 of the Frankish Salic Code refers to the test of a "pot of boiling water", in which the defendant or both parties put their hands into the pot of boiling water to get something, or let them walk for a distance with a red-hot iron in their hands to see if their hands were burned or whether they were healed after a period of burns and bandages, in order to determine whether they were guilty.

The judicial duel in the Middle Ages in Europe, in which the winner was innocent and the loser was guilty, was also a legacy of the god's judgment customs.

...... Mo Shi realized that this might be what Xie Ka meant by "Shen Ba".

Find a scapegoat to solve the problem, and use the "hand of God" to gag everyone's mouth.

This will not be what "civilization" allows.