Book 11: Chapter 58: The Corpse

In the dim firelight, the cellar looked almost like a slaughterhouse. The walls and floor were splattered with dark brown, mottled bloodstains. In the center of the cellar stood a large wooden table, its thick surface resembling a butcher’s block from a meat market. A skinned man lay face-up on it.

The man had likely been dead for some time, the blood drained long ago from his peeled flesh. Perhaps because the cellar temperature wasn’t too high, the corpse remained well-preserved. Pink muscles mixed with pale yellow fat created a shocking sight at first glance.

“Urgh!” Idria covered her mouth and rushed to a corner, retching. The Female Knight had killed before, but this brutal scene still proved hard for her to bear.

“If there’s no danger, I’m heading up first.” However, the follower of Loviatar quickly recovered, wiped her mouth, and walked outside with a grim expression.

Compared to Idria, Qin Lun and Hill remained calm, their heart rates unchanged as they looked at the corpse. One was a Dissector, the other often handled ingredients with his own hands; both had done things that crossed human psychological boundaries. This scene wasn’t enough to faze them.

“He’s been dead less than three days. The body convulsed violently before death. Judging by the muscle reaction, he died in extreme pain.” After examining the corpse, Hill said in surprise, “He was skinned alive. Whoever did this truly had a heart of stone.”

“The person used a very narrow, thin, short blade. They were very skilled, hardly damaging the subcutaneous muscle tissue.” Qin Lun raised his eyebrows slightly as he looked at the corpse. “If this weren’t a magical world without what we’d call surgery, I’d say this person was a highly skilled surgeon.”

Hill and Qin Lun analyzed the corpse from their respective perspectives. Though not coroners, they had more authority in such matters than professional forensics experts.

“Why would the Zhentarim do something like this?” Qin Lun rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought. “Or rather, why would they take the risk of exposure to do this near Silverymoon?”

“Unless they had no choice but to act here!” A glint flashed in Hill’s eyes. “This man might be connected to their upcoming assassination plot. Could they have been trying to extract information?”

“Unlikely. There are many interrogation methods; no need for such bloodshed. Experienced interrogators usually use gradual methods, applying continuous psychological pressure. Most importantly, they make captives feel there’s still hope of survival—that makes them talk more easily.”

Qin Lun shook his head faintly. “Look, aside from being skinned, this corpse has almost no other external injuries to the muscle tissue. That means the perpetrator started skinning right from the initial stage. They never intended to extract any information.”

“So skinning was their ultimate goal, not torture. Then why do it while he was still alive?” Hill’s eyes flickered as a spark of insight flashed through his mind.

“Disguise!” Qin Lun and Hill said in unison. A dead person’s skin was clearly different from a living one’s. Keeping the man alive while skinning him meant the skin stayed viable, increasing the success rate of the disguise.

“The Zhentarim skinned this man to disguise themselves as him.” Qin Lun showed a faint smile. “It seems we’ve discovered how the Zhentarim plan to infiltrate the Palace of the High.”

“Hmm, and this man’s identity probably isn’t too simple. Since they took such a big risk, they must want more than just infiltrating the Palace of the High—they need to get close to Elastor and the other alliance city lords.” Hill nodded in agreement.

“Too bad we don’t know the men around Lady Hope. I heard Elastor Silverhand has many lovers. Plus, they’ll hire many male attendants during the Celebration. Even knowing the Zhentarim’s method, we can’t identify the imposter.” Qin Lun sounded regretful.

“There’s another possibility: could this man be one of the city lords who arrived early for the Celebration?” Hill speculated. “If a Silver Marches lord himself attacks Elastor, wouldn’t that more easily cause division or civil war?”

“That possibility is low. Lords are too prominent, with many guards around them. Even if the impostor managed to kidnap him without alerting others, spending too much time around him afterward would raise suspicion. Too many variables—not suitable for their plan.” After a moment’s thought, Qin Lun refuted this view.

Hill didn’t mind. Trying to deduce the Zhentarim’s plan directly from a few clues was clearly unrealistic.

“Then what about the lords’ guards… No, following your reasoning, that possibility is also quite low. Other guards would notice.” Hill murmured to himself.

Qin Lun walked around the butcher’s table, then suddenly brightened and picked up a pile of tattered clothing from the cellar corner.

“Are these the victim’s clothes?” Hill moved closer with interest to look. “The Zhentarim didn’t even dispose of these things, and the corpse too…”

“Yes, something must have happened, forcing them to evacuate this place in a hurry.” Qin Lun sorted through the pile of rags without looking up.

It was clear the shreds had been cut by the skinner’s knife, casually tossed into the corner during the skinning.

Qin Lun slowly pieced together the scraps for a while, his face gradually turning grim. This was a red robe. Many mages wore only robes, as their robes often had instant-cast arrays for cleaning, protection, and other effects.

Common robe colors were usually white, red, and black. Red Robe Mages were often seen in Silverymoon. Though clothing styles varied slightly, it was hard to identify someone just from this.

Perhaps this was the main reason the skinner overlooked it and ultimately didn’t dispose of the rags.

For Qin Lun, however, it was different—he recognized this robe and knew whose it was.

“Hill, you still have a Flesh Golem, right?” Qin Lun took a deep breath and said calmly.

“Of course. Why?” Hill looked at Qin Lun’s expression, somewhat surprised.

“This corpse might be an acquaintance of mine. I need the Flesh Golem to cover its surface, to partially restore its appearance.” Qin Lun said expressionlessly.

“An acquaintance of yours?” Hill’s eyes flickered as he silently nodded and took a slowly pulsating meatball from his Storage Space, handing it to Qin Lun.

Once the Flesh Golem covered the corpse’s surface like a layer of skin, the victim’s original appearance was about sixty to seventy percent restored.

Of course, this level of restoration wasn’t enough for strangers to identify him, which was why Qin Lun hadn’t considered this method earlier. But for an acquaintance, sixty to seventy percent similarity was enough for confirmation.

“It’s him after all!” Qin Lun sighed with a bitter smile. “Mage Angelo, I never thought we’d meet again under such circumstances!”

Red Robe Mage Angelo—his magic apprentice was Emily Silverhand, also the daughter of Silverymoon’s lord, Elastor.

Last time Qin Lun entered the Toril World, the Sun Elf Diplomatic Mission joined Sif’s merchant caravan in the Amn region to avoid Zhentarim ambushes. That was where they first met Idria and the master-disciple pair Angelo.

Later, when they were in danger in the Valley of the Undead, Mage Angelo stayed behind to cover their escape so Qin Lun could take Emily away. Fortunately, the Red Robe Mage eventually escaped safely and returned to Baldur’s Gate with the few survivors from the Lost Team—Kelly, Robin, and others.

Qin Lun had no particular friendship with Mage Angelo, but he quite admired this devout, intelligent, and decisive young mage. Now, after so much time had passed, an old acquaintance had reappeared before him in such a tragic way.

The reason Qin Lun could recognize this robe as Angelo’s from the pile of rags was because this mage’s red robe had a rather distinctive style.

Angelo wasn’t very old, with mid-level power. Reaching mid-level at his age made him quite a talented magician. Because he was relatively young, he wasn’t as rigid as some older mages, and his clothing was more fashionable.

His red robe wasn’t the traditional hooded wide style but had been tailored into a form-fitting noble dress with a waist-cinching cut. It had two rows of copper buttons on the chest, and the cuffs had folded, embroidered turnbacks, looking stylish and trendy.

If he wasn’t holding a staff, anyone seeing Angelo for the first time would likely mistake him for a pleasure-seeking noble gentleman. Back then, the Fortress Team’s Divine Caster Nicole had teased their other mage companion Philip for being rustic by comparison.

Of course, Angelo might not have been the only mage who made his robe into noble dress style. But considering the Zhentarim wanted to use this corpse’s identity to infiltrate the Palace of the High, Qin Lun immediately thought of his old friend Angelo.

Angelo’s identity was somewhat special. As Emily Silverhand’s teacher, he would naturally be invited to the Silverymoon Celebration while not being strictly monitored.

However, Angelo wasn’t actually from the Silver Marches, so aside from Emily Silverhand, others weren’t familiar with his personality or background, reducing the chance of exposure. He was a very suitable disguise target.

After Hill heard the explanation about Angelo’s identity, the Shepherd’s expression turned serious.

Since Emily Silverhand had already been sent to her mother Elastor, Angelo’s imposter could easily make excuses to leave Emily for a few days, then reappear on the day of the Celebration, avoiding her suspicion.

“We assumed the Zhentarim’s target was Elastor, but their chosen entry point is even more clever.” Qin Lun said with a bitter smile.

With Qin Lun and Hill’s intelligence, they had roughly guessed the Zhentarim’s plan from Angelo’s identity.

Elastor was too powerful—assassinating her by any method had low success probability. But the other Silver Marches lords were different.

Perhaps the other Silver Marches lords didn’t know Mage Angelo, but if the Zhentarim member disguised as Angelo poisoned several alliance lords who opposed founding the nation four months ago, his identity would definitely be uncovered afterward.

Qin Lun could easily imagine what people would think: “Silverymoon Lord Elastor used her daughter’s magic teacher to assassinate opponents!” If the Toril World had newspapers, this would probably be the front-page headline.

If this really happened and Angelo couldn’t be found afterward for confrontation, even if civil war didn’t break out in the Silver Marches, the other lords would likely harbor suspicions, and the nation-founding process would be indefinitely suspended.

If the Zhentarim caused more trouble, even the Silver Marches’ original alliance system could disintegrate.