Corpse, Identify the Killer

[Standalone Cases] [Mystery] [Two Female Leads]

A female coroner who can revive the dead with a touch + a female county lieutenant with lofty ambitions

Legend has it that inside the Temple of Extremes, deep in the forests of Nan Province, the Holy Mother possesses the divine ability to revive the dead with a touch. Aside from offerings of flowers, lanterns, and fruit, a stick of incense must also be lit.

When the incense burns, the soul returns;

When it goes out, the soul vanishes.

Faced with the rumors, Mu Ran nodded and said they were basically true. But she didn't consider herself a god, only a poor soul under a curse.

A light touch of her finger could bring the dead back to life, but these "miracles" came at a price!

After her mother passed away, Mu Ran used all her savings to buy a plot of land and plant fruit trees, hoping to fund her younger sister's imperial exams.

Her peaceful life was disrupted by the arrival of the new county lieutenant.

Lin Qi had placed second in the imperial examinations as a woman, so her prospects should have been bright.

Instead, she was assigned to a remote backwater as an eighth-rank county lieutenant. The county magistrate then sent her to live in an abandoned charitable burial ground, under the same roof as Mu Ran, the coroner.

She was curious about the woman who wore gloves every waking moment.

She had never met anyone so cold-faced and cold-hearted;

She had never met anyone so hardworking;

She had never met anyone so fond of money;

She had never met anyone who loved buns... braised pork... pig's trotters... chicken feet so much…

But Lin Qi was no mere glutton. She had come to Honggu County to investigate an old case from eighteen years ago.

She hadn't even begun looking into it when one new case after another piled up.

Investigating the cases and questioning witnesses is this county lieutenant's job. Leave the autopsies to Miss Mu.

Mu Ran stared at the fresh corpse the constables had brought in and nearly blacked out. She couldn't help grumbling, "Before Lin Qi arrived, the county was so quiet and peaceful. Why are there so many murders now that she's here? She must be carrying some bad luck!"

Notes: 1. The setting is a fictional ancient world where women may take the imperial examinations and serve as officials. The story will explain how this works.

2. The female leads are not perfect or invincible.

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