Empress Reincarnation
Mystery of the Death of Soldiers

After some deliberation, the Jin prince called the general to meet with Nerfia and listen to his plan.

"I will follow the orders of Prince Jin" said the general.

"alright. We follow Ner's plan" replied prince Jin.

"Then, I will go to the high country to meet my brother. I'll be right back" said Ner, then he left. The general left the tent of Prince Jin.

"Prince, why do you trust Ner?" ask Liu Li.

"I've heard of the expulsion of the daughter of the Tartars. Had he lied, I would have nothing to lose. The Tartars cannot underestimate my soldiers" said Prince Jin.

Liu Li smiled at him, he did not know the matter of war. But he believed in the judgment of prince Jin.

"Prince Jin." Wei Hong came to report.

"What's the problem?" prince Jin asked as he looked at Wei Hong's tense face.

"Three of our soldiers died in the tent" Wei Hong replied.

"How did it happen?"

"Tabib still checks it. It is suspected because of poisoning. They had a fever a few days earlier" Wei Hong explained.

"I saw it" said Prince Jin.

"I'm coming, '" cried Liu Li.

Then the three of them saw the bodies of the three dead soldiers.

Liu Li observed the corpse lying down. All three have the same characteristics, his body turns blue like poisoning, and ear holes and nose bleed.

"But, his fingers are not blackened" Liu Li murmured.

"Did you find anything?" ask prince Jin.

"Yet," Liu Li replied, "prince, Liu Li wants to check something."

"What's that?"

"I want to open their heads to check the cause of death" Liu Li explained.

Liu Li's request sounded absurd. Prince Jin had never heard of such a thing, "Liu Li, are you sure?"

"Prince Jin, forgive the general's boldness," said the general who had been standing near the corpse of his soldier, "they are soldiers under my command. They have fallen on the battlefield, let them die with honor. I'll give them a proper funeral."

"General, I don't mean anything bad" Liu Li said, "I feel that there is something strange about their deaths. I suspect there's a creature or something in their heads. They still fell with honor, I never changed them," Liu Li explained, "even after they fell, they are still meritorious for helping us to find the cause of death. It does not rule out the possibility that other soldiers are in danger."

"Daughter, forgive my stupidity. The princess has a noble heart, how can this foolish general be so narrow-minded," said the general regretting his prejudice to Liu Li.

"General, I understand what you mean," Liu Li replied, "now I'm going to have surgery on his head. If you can't see it, you can get out."

"Wei Hong will be standing guard outside" Wei Hong said.

"I will accompany you here" said Prince Jin.

"The general stays here?" ask Liu Li.

General nodded. He was used to seeing blood, he thought seeing the surgery was not a big thing for him. Moreover, he wanted to see for himself what had happened to his soldiers.

"All right, let's get started." Liu Li took a deep breath. He has prepared the necessary equipment.

He took a sharp-edged knife, then sliced his cranium until it split. The warrior's brain was clearly visible, Liu Li was watching him closely, there was something strange inside. Liu Li took it out carefully and placed it on the table.

"This is an insect shell," Liu Li pointed to the small object he had just discovered, "if this is the shell, where are the insects?" Liu Li asked a question.

No one could answer Liu Li's question.

Then Liu Li bowed and saw the ear hole of the dead soldier, he put something thin and long and pulled it out, something was pulled out.

It was a small insect that had died.

"Somehow the insect larvae got into the brains of soldiers and lived in them. The larvae live by eating the brains of their hosts until they turn into insects by removing their shells. When the host dies, the insect then tries to exit through the ear cavity. But it looks like this insect can't live long without its host, it's dead, too" Liu Li explained at length.

It didn't make any sense, but Liu Li had read an ancient book that told him about witchcraft that can send insects into the human body. At that time he read it to spend time alone, unexpected such events experienced by people around him.

Liu Li reunited the separate cranium. He sewed it up quickly, "whether it's the soldiers who have insect larvae on their bodies, I'm afraid those larvae ..."

"Bad! Who would dare to attack our soldiers in such a devious manner!" furious general.

"Calm down, general" Liu Li said, "at this time all we need is a way to save the other soldiers. We don't know if the larvae are embedded in their bodies or not." Liu Li thought for a moment, "didn't they have a fever before? Prince, look for the soldier who now has a fever," Liu Li asked.

"Wei Hong," call prince Jin.

Wei Hong walked into the tent, "me, prince."

"Bring here the soldier who now has a fever" the prince ordered.

"Prince and princess, general please leave. I have to take care of a few things" said the general then left the tent.

A short while later Wei Hong returned to the tent with four soldiers who were having a fever.

"Wei Hong, help me move the bodies of the soldiers. I will conduct an examination here," Liu Li asked.

"Good, princess." Aided by several others, Wei Hong moved the corpses out of the tent.

"Who are your names?" ask Liu Li.

They mentioned their names, "Jang, An, Bay, and Eum."

"What do you feel right now?" liu asked the four soldiers before him.

"My head hurts and my bones ache" replied one of the soldiers.

"Princess calm down, these are just the traits of the common cold" replied the other.

"You know? The three friends of yours who just died also experienced the same characteristics as you," Liu Li explained, "do you want to die?"

"No, princess," they answered in unison with fear.

"Prince, do you believe me?" ask Liu Li.

"Yes," replied Prince Jin quickly.

"I have to dissect their heads" Liu Li said.

Whahuh? Dissecting the heads of living humans? I can still accept that Liu Li dissected the corpses, but they are still alive, inner prince Jin.

The four soldiers who heard it were so shocked that their legs trembled, "heads dissected? Meaning sliced like slicing a watermelon?"

Liu Li took a deep breath, "this thing must be done. I can't study a dead insect. I have to get the insect alive to look for its weakness" Liu Li explained.

Prince Jin clasped Liu Li's hand, "i believe you."

Liu Li was delighted to have the support of the prince.

"Relax, I will find the cure and save your lives" Liu Li said.

"It makes no difference, in the end we will die if not treated immediately," replied Jang, and the others agreed.

"Well, who wants to be first?" ask Liu Li.

Jang came forward confidently, "me, princess."

"Jang, you are so brave. Calm down, it won't hurt" Liu Li said with a smile, "everything out. Leave both of us alone" Liu Li asked.