Chapter 151

151. Headless Corpse (1)

****

This isn’t the usual footstep.

It’s not Amy, Istina, or any of the regular visitors… who could it be? I squinted slightly and looked at the lab door.

“Come in.”

The door opened to reveal a uniformed soldier with a baton strapped to their waist. Or maybe they’re closer to a police officer.

“Who are you?”

“Good day! I’m Officer Scipio Gracia from the Capital Security Management Team. Pleased to meet you.”

I sighed.

“Does labor law apply to grad students? Because for medical professionals—”

The officer shook their head.

“What does that even mean…? Is this Professor Asterix?”

“Yeah.”

“Nearby suspects have been quarantined due to an unknown plague. We’d like you to treat them.”

Phew. For a second, I thought I was getting arrested. If it’s just treating suspects, shouldn’t be too hard.

This happens sometimes at university hospitals.

When prisoners get illnesses that can’t be handled in the prison infirmary, correctional officers bring them over. Sometimes they even come in handcuffs.

Occasionally, detectives will bring in suspects injured during arrest straight to the hospital.

“What kind of people are they, and what’s their condition? Can we bring the patients here instead?”

“We can’t.”

“Alright, take a seat then.”

The officer handed me a folded piece of paper. I glanced through it.

“So… these people are currently quarantined in a temple and aren’t fit for questioning yet, correct?”

“Yes.”

“This doesn’t seem like standard procedure. Not sure why you specifically came to me.”

Well, let me rephrase: they don’t usually send for the nation’s top doctor just to treat suspects. Something feels off.

Scipio scratched his head.

“It’s quite the scandal in Chang’an. They’re a well-liked noble family with imperial ties. Best to handle it quietly until there’s resolution.”

“If those guys had money, wouldn’t they try bribing someone first? That’s what I’d do.”

If I were stuck in quarantine, I’d probably try bribing the cops to get a better doctor. That’s what I’d do.

Scipio hesitated.

“Yes, they did show some… appreciation.”

“Separate fees for treatment? Or lumped together with bringing me here?”

The officer glanced around nervously. Why is he so jittery? Just seems cautious, I guess.

“Oh, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of too, Professor.”

“Thanks.”

Not that I really care if this cop took a bribe or not. The real question is: what’s wrong with these patients? Bringing them here would’ve been ideal.

“Tell me about these patients. What happened? Any unusual details?”

“Can’t share specifics until you agree to take the case.”

I nodded.

“I’ll see them. If you have any medical records or summaries, please provide them.”

****

Nobles often request house calls, but most are refused. It’s safer and more effective for them to come to the hospital.

House calls only happen in special cases. Like last time when the House of Serulice offered a hefty sum because their entire family fell ill simultaneously.

And today…

Amy and I rode in a carriage provided by the Security Management Team. The officer gave us a concise patient record.

Amy skimmed through it.

“Amy, what do you think?”

“Just regular pneumonia, right?”

Hmm, not sure.

“True, Dad has deep coughs, phlegm, and fever, so pneumonia is likely.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s valid, but the rest is tricky. All four have different symptoms. Mom has severe rashes, the boy has intermittent respiratory distress, and the girl has swollen eyes.”

“Hmm… Could it be fake illness?”

“If it were fake, they wouldn’t bother bribing anyone to find a doctor. They’d just rely on the police.”

“How can one disease cause such varied symptoms among four people? Should we assume they all have different illnesses?”

That does feel like an odd coincidence. Unless there’s a common factor causing separate diseases.

“Diseases occur for three reasons.”

“Oh?”

“One: spontaneous occurrence. Two: infection. Three: environmental factors.”

“What about trauma?”

Good point. Maybe I should add that as a fourth category.

“Anyway, which of these four applies to our patients?”

“No idea.”

“They all got sick suddenly, so it’s likely either infection or environment. But if no one else nearby has similar symptoms, environmental causes are more probable.”

“In that case, aside from pneumonia, we should look for infectious diseases that cause skin rash, eye irritation, and intermittent respiratory distress…”

“Why exclude pneumonia?”

These symptoms aren’t particularly unique. Even heavy pollen exposure could cause something like this. We’ll need to examine the patients directly to figure it out.

It doesn’t make sense to ignore major symptoms. If we did that, we might as well diagnose cancer deaths as simple colds.

“We’ll check once we arrive.”

****

This incident happened inside the capital city walls. We reached our destination quickly—it was just an ordinary small temple.

An officer dressed similarly to Scipio stood lazily next to the temple entrance, clearly bored.

We approached. The sleeping officer snapped to attention upon seeing Scipio.

“Good day.”

“Hey. Everything alright?”

“Yes.”

“Murder case?”

“I have no idea. Never heard anything about a murder.”

“Go back to your post. We’ve brought a healer to treat the suspects. You’ll be stuck here a few more days.”

We entered the temple. I put on my mask. Where are my patients?

Scipio confidently led us to a corner of the temple where four beds were set up. These must be the four patients from the records.

The officer nodded.

“Alright. Go ahead and examine them. Let either me or that guy outside know if you need anything.”

****

Amy and I entered the room.

– Treating Alard Family

What an unusual name.

The ward wasn’t quiet. Coughs and voices filled the air, though the latter faded as we entered.

I moved to the bed nearest the door. First patient: the father. We peeked behind the curtain.

“Hack, ah, good day.”

This patient looked rather gloomy.

Consciousness seemed fine. His eyes appeared tired, but nothing abnormal. No spots on hands or feet.

He coughed several times. This wasn’t normal coughing. While throat-related coughs come from higher up, this sounded deep—like it originated from the bronchus or deeper lungs.

Definitely pneumonia based on sound alone.

Now, what type of pneumonia?

“Is this the renowned healer I requested? Earlier, the Security Management Team—”

“Yes.”

Upon hearing that, the patient let out a small sigh of relief. Amy pulled out her notebook.

“Oh, thank goodness.”

“When did your symptoms start?”

“A few days ago. Hard to pinpoint exactly, but the cough gradually worsened—”

The patient couldn’t continue due to another bout of coughing. As I waited for it to subside, I pondered. What kind of pneumonia? And are the other family members suffering from the same thing?

“Recently, have you encountered anyone with coughs or cold-like symptoms? If so, where?”

“Not at all… Haven’t seen anyone besides family. I don’t understand why I’m so sick.”

“Did the rest of your family fall ill around the same time?”

“Yes, pretty much.”

Amy scribbled notes.

****

Pneumonia comes in many forms. Various bacteria can cause it—pneumococcus, tuberculosis, mycoplasma, etc.

Examining sputum under a microscope is possible, but how useful would that be?

Sputum exits through the mouth, which contains countless harmless bacteria. There’s a high chance of finding irrelevant germs.

So how do we diagnose this?

Mycoplasma seems unlikely. The symptoms appear too severe for that.

“Anything unusual recently? Bee sting? Mosquitoes at home?”

After thinking for a while, the patient replied.

“There was talk of a headless corpse found in the house. Hack, hack. Honestly, I don’t understand what’s going on. Doctor, could you explain?”

Why is the patient confessing to murder after I asked about bee stings? Though it might be related to their illness—

“What exactly do you mean?”

“I didn’t kill anyone or hide decapitated bodies, I swear!”

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