Autopsy

A chill beyond words seized everyone’s heart.

“Talk is cheap. Seeing is believing.”

At that moment, An Changqing’s clear, powerful voice shattered the suffocating silence.

He walked up to Liu Feiyu, his gaze calm and steady, carrying a force that inspired confidence.

“We can speculate a thousand or ten thousand times here, but none of it will compare to seeing the truth with our own eyes.”

An Changqing’s words cut through the chaos in everyone’s minds.

“The video could be fake. The corpse could be fake too.”

“But anything forged will eventually reveal a flaw.”

He paused, then fixed his eyes on Liu Feiyu’s already-dulled gaze.

“Mr. Liu, you must at least know where the body is being kept.”

An Changqing’s suggestion rang out like a hammer in the deathly silent room.

Liu Feiyu nodded. “Of course I know. I’ll take you there.”

This absurd paradox was something he had to solve himself, no matter how cruel the answer might be.

Long Ao glanced at Liu Feiyu as he rose, then looked at Chen Guan, who remained silent in the corner. Without saying a word, he followed behind An Changqing.

Hong Yuan hoisted her massive axe onto her shoulder. She felt that tonight’s events were more complicated than all the ferocious beasts she had ever cut down combined.

On the western side of the Liu estate stood a separate white building. It was the Liu family’s private morgue, temporarily used to store corpses until an auspicious day could be chosen for burial.

The building had no windows at all, only a thick alloy door. The cold lights outside illuminated everything, leaving nowhere to hide.

As the group approached, several figures suddenly stepped out from the side and blocked their path.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a hard expression. He wore the specially made uniform of Liu Chengjun’s personal guard unit, the flame insignia on his chest gleaming with a metallic sheen beneath the lights.

“Third Young Master, I’m sorry.”

The captain’s voice was as cold as his face.

“The eldest young master has ordered that no one is allowed near this place.”

Even the air seemed to stop moving.

“Get out of my way.”

Liu Feiyu showed no fear and confronted him head-on.

The captain’s expression did not change. He merely bowed slightly.

“Third Young Master, please don’t make things difficult for us.”

“I said, get out of my way!”

Liu Feiyu finally tore away every last bit of his disguise. The eyes that usually held a trace of amusement now contained nothing but naked fury.

The aura of a fifth-tier mage erupted without restraint. The surging power of the water element gathered around him, and the moisture in the air instantly condensed into visible, icy mist that enveloped his body.

“My second brother’s body—and I’m not even allowed to look at it?”

His voice echoed through the frozen mist, every word carrying a bone-chilling coldness.

“Or does my dear eldest brother have something to hide? Is he afraid we’ll discover something?”

The members of the personal guard all felt the tremendous pressure and immediately went on alert. A civil war was on the verge of breaking out.

“That’s all of them?”

A low voice broke the stalemate.

Long Ao stepped forward and stood beside Liu Feiyu, slowly cracking his fingers. A series of crisp pops rang through the air.

He grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and looked at the tense guards.

“Want me to clear a path for you?”

“Five seconds should be enough.”

The battle intent radiating openly from his body rose like a tide, and an invisible pressure settled over the hearts of everyone opposite him.

Cold sweat instantly broke out across the forehead of the guard captain.

Even if they could win, who would dare fight back? They were only paid so much—why risk their lives?

If anything happened, his son wouldn’t even be able to take the civil service exam. How would he ever face the people back home?

“That’s enough.”

A voice came from behind the guards.

Liu Chengjun slowly stepped forward. A layer of frost covered his handsome face, and his gaze was as sharp as a blade as it pierced Liu Feiyu.

His voice carried an overwhelming authority.

“Liu Feiyu, have you caused enough trouble?”

“Disturbing the peace of the dead is an act of grave disrespect. That is the Liu family’s rule.”

He tried to use family law and his status as the eldest brother to suppress the increasingly heated farce.

The chill around Liu Feiyu surged even more violently. He showed no intention of backing down.

“Eldest Young Master Liu.”

An Changqing stepped between the two brothers at precisely the right moment. He bowed slightly, his tone still gentle, yet his words went straight to the heart of the matter.

“We have no intention of disturbing the dead. We are only seeking the truth.”

He raised his head and met Liu Chengjun’s icy gaze.

“The real murderer is still at large, watching from the shadows as you brothers turn against one another.”

“If he was able to frame you once, he can frame you a second time.”

An Changqing’s voice was calm and unhurried, but each word struck precisely at what Liu Chengjun cared about most.

“Help us, and you’ll clear yourself of suspicion once and for all.”

Liu Chengjun’s expression shifted violently.

He was arrogant and domineering, but he was not a fool.

He knew perfectly well that An Changqing was telling the truth.

That curse-like dying message had always been lodged in his heart, leaving him unable to defend himself.

If they could not find the real murderer, he would likely be forced to carry this burden for the rest of his life.

After a long silence, Liu Chengjun’s chest rose and fell sharply. In the end, he waved his hand coldly.

“Let them in.”

He gave the order to the guard captain beside him.

The guards, as if granted a reprieve, immediately stepped aside and opened a path.

Liu Chengjun’s gaze swept over An Changqing and Liu Feiyu.

“I’d like to see what kind of tricks you think you can play with a corpse.”

With that, he did not leave. Instead, he followed the group inside, intending to personally supervise everything.

After verifying Liu Chengjun’s authorization, the heavy alloy doors let out a deep mechanical hum and slowly slid open to either side.

A bone-chilling draft smelling of disinfectant rushed out from within.

The morgue was bright as day. The temperature was extremely low, and both the walls and floor were made of special metal, spotless and immaculate.

At the very center of the morgue sat a metal autopsy table covered with a sterile white cloth.

Everyone stopped at the entrance.

Liu Feiyu stared at the table, his body beginning to tremble uncontrollably.

His breathing grew rapid as he walked forward one difficult step at a time.

Every step felt unbearably heavy.

An Changqing, Long Ao, and the others did not urge him on. They merely watched his back in silence.

At last, Liu Feiyu reached the table.

His hand hovered in midair, unable to come down.

He was afraid of lifting the cloth and seeing that familiar yet unfamiliar face.

But he was equally afraid that there would be nothing beneath it—or that the face underneath would belong to a complete stranger.

In the end, he summoned every ounce of strength he had, seized one corner of the white cloth, and pulled.

With trembling hands, he tore the cloth away.

A young face identical to Liu Xiao’s appeared before them.

His eyes were tightly shut. His complexion was pale, utterly devoid of color. The hideous wound in his chest was clearly visible, the flesh around it a bluish-purple from the freezing. He looked exactly like the real person.

Everything appeared flawlessly real.