Chapter 24
“Head Constable Zuo, you’re back so soon?!”
“Head Constable Zuo, how’s the investigation into the Chen family matter going? Is it really a case of a malevolent ghost?”
Zuo Zhengyang returned to the county yamen in haste. Along the way, the officials and constables who encountered him all tried to inquire about the situation, but he politely declined to answer. After asking where the county magistrate was, he went straight to the inner hall.
The inner hall door opened to the west. Min Changwen, dressed in official robes, was stroking his beard and looking at a piece of paper, enjoying the rising steam from a cup of tea. When he heard the footsteps, he turned to look and put down the document with a smile.
“Zhengyang is back.”
Crossing the threshold, Zuo Zhengyang cupped his hands and greeted: “Zuo Zhengyang pays respects to the County Magistrate.”
“Sit down and talk.” Min Changwen gestured for him to sit beside him, called for a servant to bring another cup of tea, and after exchanging a few pleasantries, they got down to business.
“Did you find anything over at the Chen Residence?”
Zuo Zhengyang, having removed the two long sabers from his back, sat down and took a sip of tea. “Some findings!” He said as a constable waiting outside presented a blood-stained small knife and a folded bed sheet in the hall.
He stood up and pointed to the sharp object on the tray.
“Lord Magistrate, please look. This is the weapon used to disembowel Chen Yaoke. The previous deceased had ruptured livers and gallbladders, with withered blood and flesh. The methods of death are vastly different.”
Min Changwen put down his teacup, stood up, and walked over to examine the small knife carefully.
“Head Constable Zuo, are you suggesting that Chen Yaoke was not killed by a female ghost but rather by someone who used this weapon to slash open his belly?”
“That is exactly the case!”
Zuo Zhengyang nodded and then pointed to the gray bed sheet in the other tray.
“That night when the haunting occurred, a demon in a gray cloak confronted the ghost. This bed sheet was found by me, Zuo, in a corner of the Chen Residence. There was more than one set of footprints on the ground. The small knife used to kill Chen Yaoke was confirmed by Landlord Chen to be an amulet given by that mysterious being!”
Min Changwen pressed his lips together, stroking his beard as he paced a few steps. After a moment of thought, he stopped at the threshold and turned to look at Head Constable Zuo.
“… But what if the malevolent ghost, enraged by the fact that the mysterious man protected Chen Yaoke, used the very item he gave as a means to kill the person he was protecting?”
“What the County Magistrate says is not without merit.” Head Constable Zuo lowered his gaze and clasped his hands. “I will continue to investigate this case, but for now, I can confidently say that Chen Yaoke’s death was definitely not caused by a ghost.”
“But this Magistrate wants to close the case as soon as possible.”
“Lord Magistrate, human lives are at stake!”
“Not necessarily. If the person deserved to die, then it has nothing to do with heaven!”
Meanwhile, in a scene vaguely connected to the matter at hand, a group of people hustled around the shops in Fushui County, purchasing two donkey carts filled with supplies, including grains, cloth, and even a few piglets and lambs tied to the carts.
Lu Liangsheng had changed into new attire, a clear blue robe, and shoes, with his hair neatly tied up with a silk ribbon. He had also bought a wolf hair brush, an inkstone, and several blank notebooks. At first glance, he truly looked like a young scholar.
However, after several purchases, they had spent quite a bit of silver, which alarmed Lu Pan and the others. They quickly restrained their spending, mindful that the five hundred taels of silver were hard-earned by Lu Liangsheng.
As they traversed the bustling main street and left the city, collecting their old donkey, it was already nearing dusk.
To avoid any potential trouble or suspicion, they drove the donkey carts loaded with pigs and sheep back on the road through the night. Having encountered ghosts and strange beings before, the eight of them felt that traveling at night was not a big deal.
Moreover, they have a talented nephew by their side, and even the officials in the yamen … what were they called … all admire him.
Before long, the illuminated county city was left far behind, disappearing around a bend in the mountain path. By late into the night, after the excitement of spending the five hundred taels had worn off, Lu Liangsheng also began to feel fatigued.
“Uncle Pan, let’s rest nearby.”
“Good!”
Lu Pan handed over a bag of water and called for the others to bring the donkey carts closer and tend to the pigs and sheep. Eager to rest, everyone quickly finished their tasks, started a campfire, and began preparing a meal.
As the earthen pot boiled, Lu Qing ladled out a bowl of thin porridge made from dried food, and seeing his nephew hold it, he chuckled.
“Liangsheng, eat it while it’s hot. I’ve added some meat, it’s really flavorful and hearty.”
“Uncle Qing, you should eat and rest as well.”
After sending Lu Qing off, the young man turned to the books given by the old man from the yamen. As he read by the firelight while drinking the meat porridge, he found the content dry and difficult to understand, which made his head ache.
Once the eight burly men had finished eating and fallen asleep around the fire, Lu Liangsheng quietly retrieved a package and opened a seam.
“Master?”
The Purple Star Daoist crawled out of the bag and let out a long sigh of relief.
“ Only now do you remember that your master is still here? I almost suffocated in there.”
After releasing a breath, he shuffled over to the earthen bowl on the ground and peeked inside.
“There’s even meat…”
“It was specifically saved for you.”
Lu Liangsheng sat down next to him and waved the book in his hand.
“Master, could you transmit the contents of this book to me?”
The toad, sitting on a rock with the earthen bowl, turned its head to glance at the book title before turning back and concentrating on chewing the pieces of meat.
“If I knew how to do that, I wouldn’t be here eating leftover food… Instead of practicing the Dao properly, you’re aiming to become an official.”
The surroundings grew quiet. In the midst of the grass, the chirping of insects echoed intermittently. By the light of the campfire, Lu Liangsheng set aside his book and glanced at the eight burly men who were sound asleep. He spoke softly.
“Master, do you think what I did that night was the right thing?”
The Toad Daoist, having seemingly eaten his fill, pushed the earthen bowl away, lay down with his head resting on a small stone, and propped his webbed feet on another bent leg.
“A hopelessly good person.”
Beside him, the young man also lay down, resting his head, and stared unblinkingly at the half-moon in the night sky.
“… Her parents and younger brother are all dead. She’s lived so strong all by herself, yet she has to suffer such torment. I couldn’t bear to see it… I just feel that heaven shouldn’t treat her like that.”
The Toad Daoist remained silent. In his hazy memory, there was a girl who lived with strength but was eventually drowned in the river. After so many years, he almost forgot what she looked like.
His thoughts wandered for a moment, shaking his head before repeating the earlier remark.
“A hopelessly good person!”
Lu Liangsheng looked at the moon and laughed. Suddenly, he got up, ran over to the donkey cart, and rummaged through it until he found a roll of blank painting scrolls. The toad watched as he set up an easel by the fire.
“What are you planning to do?”
“Paint…”
Lu Liangsheng unrolled the scroll and prepared the ink he had used before, picking up the brush. Looking at the blank canvas, he recalled the figure of the woman in the white dress from that misty night in his mind.
The brush lightly touched the canvas…
The Toad Daoist yawned and watched the young man, whose focused gaze and occasional smiles as he painted made the toad shake his head in amusement. He then lay back down.
In the distance, the mournful howl of wolves echoed from the mountain slopes.
As the fire gradually dwindled, the figure painting in the weak light continued for a long while before finally stopping. In the dim glow, the blank canvas now depicted a delicate beauty draped in flowing silk, vividly brought to life.
Finally, in the lower left corner, the characters “Honglian” were inscribed in red.
Lu Liangsheng put down his brush, satisfied with the painting. After admiring it for a moment, fatigue overcame him. He lay back down beside the Toad Daoist and soon fell into a deep sleep.
The half-moon in the night sky was slowly obscured by clouds.
The wind rustled through the forest, producing a faint sound, while the flames from the burnt-out branches flickered with a faint blue hue before dying down, and a thin mist began to rise around them.
A figure drifted through the mist.
Among the eight who were sound asleep, someone was jolted awake by the cold. Lu Qing rubbed his eyes and sat up, seeing the ghostly figure made his face turn ashen. He quickly lay back down and nudged Lu Pan beside him.
“Old Pan, the evil ghost is here!”
Lu Pan was startled awake by the nudge, propped himself up on one side, and squinted in the direction Lu Qing was pointing.
“What ghost… Oh!”
His words abruptly changed as he quickly shut up, grumbling and turning back to lie down. “Don’t look, go back to sleep.”
“How can I sleep? Will it absorb our yang energy?”
“Who knows what ghosts do!”
Lu Pan felt something drifting above his head, his eyes tightly shut in fear. He grabbed Lu Qing’s face and forcefully pushed him away.
“Old Pan, you bastard.” Lu Qing refused to show weakness and also tried to push him back.
However, a wave of drowsiness soon overcame them. After a few struggles, both fell back into a deep sleep.
The mist stirred and then settled. The graceful figure gently landed without making a sound and moved toward the sleeping Lu Liangsheng. She gracefully bowed before him.
“… I am Nie Honglian, and I thank you, sir, for your assistance.”
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