STIGMA

With a lollipop propped in her mouth, Harper Chu opened her toolbox skillfully and said to her colleague, Diego Guo, "This one is going to be a bit difficult. I am still trying to figure out the best way to cut it open for further examination."

"Harper, you are a forensic expert. Can't you behave more professionally by avoiding eating anything while examining the corpse?" Diego Guo requested and continued to look at Harper Chu expectantly. This was something he had always wanted to say.

Harper Chu was a very beautiful woman. But in spite of her beauty, she was still single at the age of twenty-eight. Men were pulled towards her instantly when they saw her. However, all of them fled away when they became aware of her passion for dissecting corpses.

"Diego, don't you know that sweet sugar is good for activating brain cells? I believe it helps me in doing my work more proficiently. In fact, I think you should try one," Harper Chu suggested and rummaged through her bag to find a lollipop for Diego Guo. With a cute smile, she handed it over to him.

When he saw that, Diego Guo's face darkened. "No! Forget this and let us get back to work. I heard this corpse belonged to a high-ranking official. It's said that he has managed to gain a lot of confidential information. Considering all this, it seems obvious that his murder was committed so as to stop him from leaking that information. I don't understand what our leader was thinking. Why did he send us here to examine this corpse? I am pretty sure he knew this was a dangerous job..."

"Stop talking!" Harper Chu interrupted him. Quickly, she ripped off the dead man's belly and found a key in his stomach. "See! Here is a key."

"What key?" Diego Guo asked curiously and leaned forward to get a closer look.

Harper Chu cleaned the key, looked at it carefully and said, "It's a key to some bank custody. The victim must have swallowed the key before being attacked."

"I heard that his house was turned upside down. Could it be that the murderer was looking for this key?" Diego Guo asked, sinking deep in thoughts.

"Diego, you should immediately inform our leader about this discovery. But make sure nobody else gets to know anything about this," warned Harper Chu, grinding her teeth.

"Okay." Diego Guo immediately turned around and went away, leaving Harper Chu alone with the key and corpse. In his absence, she continued the examination as if nothing had happened. Just when she was about to sew the corpse, a cold gun was pointed toward her head.

"Give it to me," a familiar voice said, trying to stop her from what she was doing.

"What? Why does it sound like you are involved in this matter, Diego?" asked Harper Chu. She had instantly recognized that this voice belonged to her college Diego Guo.

"Harper, I don't want to kill you. Make it easy for me by giving me the key." Diego Guo's hand, which was holding the gun, began to tremble. "I am dead serious. If you hand over the key to me, you will be safe. We can go around pretending as if nothing has happened..."

Before Diego Guo could finish his words, Harper Chu moved. She used her scalpel to cut his wrist and knocked off the gun in his hand. But before she could yell out for help, she felt a sharp pain course through her chest. Blood began to ooze out of her body, slowly turning her white uniform into red.

"You promised me you wouldn't kill her!" Diego Guo shouted at the guard who was shooting at Harper Chu with rage. He grabbed her limp body before she fell to the floor. She felt a chill creep over her. Then she closed her eyes and could no longer hear what her colleague was trying to say.

When Harper Chu opened her eyes again, she saw a ruthless executioner holding a machete. The scene happening before her was akin to that of ancient times where a prisoner's head was about to be chopped. Realizing she was about to be beheaded, she panicked and was about to struggle. However, her neck was sore and her head was about to explode. Numerous memories rushed into her mind and she almost passed out once again.

At a distance, not far away from her, her sister began to let out a cry. She screamed, "Harper, don't leave us..."

Now Harper Chu carefully and slowly recalled her current situation. She came to realize she had traveled the time and space. Her identity was completely changed. Instead of the modern-day forensic expert, she was a daughter of the head of Chu Clan from the Bright Dynasty in ancient times. Moreover, she got into trouble while delivering a baby for the concubine of Maxwell Jiang, a general. She was framed and slandered for having killed the unborn son of the general.

And her sister, who was desperately crying in front of her, was one of the accomplices who had set her up.

Maxwell Jiang was furious. The emperor had intended to kill her to soothe his anger. Meanwhile, the Chu Clan had abandoned her. And her sister had come here to witness this cold-blooded execution with her own eyes.

"It's noon! Execute the death sentence now!" On the stage, Matthew Jun, the younger brother of the emperor, gave out the order. He was the officer in charge of the execution. The executioner held up his machete. Seeing the crisis, Harper Chu cried out immediately.