Chapter 25 The Truth (Part 1) My Wife is the Most Important

The person is gone so quickly?

There is no way to verify the truth since the dead are dead.

The case suddenly became tricky; before all the clues could be found, the suspect died.

Bai Yan was about to send someone to Zhang Yun's family home to look for her.

In this world, I wonder if her family still exists. She hasn't returned to Zuo Huai yet. Could it be...?

Zhu Xuanwei got off easy. He did so many filthy things, and he just died a simple, violent death. He deserved to pay off his debts of evil deeds in a living hell before being allowed to die.

"Don't go yet, let me talk to Mingze first."

The constable hesitated and stopped, but Bai Yan nodded before returning to his post.

"Why did you come out? Are you still feeling unwell?"

Bai Yan's cold expression changed, and even his voice became gentle.

After returning home last night, Jiang Yuzhi realized that Zhu Xuanwei's sudden death in prison would likely arouse suspicion. After some consideration, she decided to explain to Bai Yan.

"It's not a good place to talk."

At the bustling main gate of the prefectural government, Jiang Yuzhi feared that anything she said casually might shock the mortals who happened to overhear.

The small courtyard allocated to Jiang Yuzhi was quiet and deserted. The bedroom was decorated like the boudoir of an ordinary young lady, beautiful and elegant.

Unfortunately, its owner has not used it since yesterday, except for standing outside and talking for a while.

Four weavers lived in the two side rooms. Seeing that the young lady had returned with Young Master Bai, they tacitly served tea and snacks and then went down to watch the courtyard gate to prevent others from accidentally entering.

Jiang Yuzhi: "Last night, my brothers and I went to the prison. Zhu Xuanwei shouldn't be alive now."

Bai Yan: "Why are you going out at night? Will you recover faster if you rest more?"

Jiang Yuzhi: "It's all over now."

Bai Yan: "That's good. Yu Zhi, just tell me what you need to do, and I'll help you."

As they spoke, Bai Yan casually poured the freshly brewed tea and handed it to Jiang Yuzhi, who then moistened her lips.

"Don't you have any other questions?" For example, Zhu Xuanwei.

She really couldn't understand why Bai Yan always focused on the most unimportant things.

"Zhu Xuanwei deserved to die. It was best for Yuzhi to take him away. If something like this happens again, and I am by your side, could you please let me know so I can make some arrangements? There's no need to rush at night. I read in a book that ghosts can absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from the moonlight. Yuzhi should bask in the moonlight more often."

Jiang Yuzhi was so confused by what she heard that she stared intently at Bai Yan's lips, which opened and closed repeatedly, making it impossible to understand what he was saying.

Bai Yan knew that his wife was staring blankly at him without blinking, and she probably hadn't listened to him.

Bai Yan had noticed Jiang Yuzhi's recent change in attitude, but he assumed that his wife had been moved by him.

This is certainly one of the reasons. Jiang Yuzhi herself did not resist Bai Yan, and naturally became close to him following the pull of the remaining power. In addition, she withdrew a little bit last night.

"Yuzhi? Are you listening?" He waved his well-defined hand in front of Jiang Yuzhi's eyes a few times, trying to attract her attention.

"Um……"

Her red eyes met Bai Yan's.

"The thing that prolongs Zhu Xuanwei's lifespan comes from the same source as the power within you and me. I retrieved it last night, and he couldn't hold on any longer."

Jiang Yuzhi picked up a pastry to cover her embarrassment at being distracted.

Bai Yan remained silent, pondering the case of Wang Zhiyong and his wife. Perhaps by leveraging his wife's status, he could piece together some clues.

"Zhu Xuanwei has an unsolved missing person case involving a man named Wang Zhiyong. Does Yuzhi have any leads?"

The delicate hand holding the snack paused for a moment.

Those once bright eyes dimmed, and she even put down the half-eaten pastry.

Jiang Yuzhi lowered her head, staring at the table, and said, "Wang Zhiyong was my mother-in-law's son-in-law. He... is gone, and so is my mother-in-law's daughter..."

Grandma? It must be the old woman buried under the loquat tree.

The old woman passed away in Jiang Yuzhi's arms. At that time, Bai Yan was checking the luggage at the back of the convoy and did not know what they had said.

Bai Yan felt annoyed and his heart tightened. He cursed himself for causing his wife sadness for no reason.

"Zhu Xuanwei is dead, and Wang Zhiyong's case is still listed as missing. Now is not the time to be sad. He has not been convicted yet. Let's work together to find the bodies of the couple, which will be a way to comfort my mother-in-law's soul in heaven, okay?"

"Grandma, she didn't go to heaven; she was taken away by the ghost messengers."

Bai Yan, who had forgotten that his wife was a ghost and had some connections in the underworld, was speechless.

Now that we know that Wang Zhiyong and his wife are dead, the most urgent task is to find their bodies.

Wang Zhiyong is most likely at sea. As for Zhang Yun, we'll have to ask the soldiers guarding the city.

Today's duty officer happened to be the officer who brought them into the city, Chief Song.

He manages dozens of people.

They went to the city gate alone, without anyone else in their party.

They still stand out; you can tell from their clothes and appearance that they are not ordinary people.

Song, the head constable, spotted the two approaching. He turned to instruct his soldiers to keep an eye on the people in the shed before going to meet them alone.

"Young master, Miss Jiang, do the chairman and the prefect have any instructions? Why have you two come in person?"

Bai Yan said, "A month ago, a woman named Zhang Yun left the city under the pretext of visiting relatives. Do you remember who registered her?"

Zuohuai was more prosperous than other prefectures and counties. Even in years of famine, the people in the city were better off than those in other prefectures and counties. Therefore, there were always more people entering the city than leaving it.

After Bai Wulan arrived, he immediately issued an order forbidding people from leaving the city at will, in order to prevent people with ill intentions from wandering around.

In this way, people who left a month ago should still have some memory of them.

Chief Song jogged over to look through the booklets on the table at the city gate. After a quick glance, he found Zhang Yun's name.

This booklet is mostly empty; finding someone to help you is a piece of cake.

If you look down the page with the names, you'll see the names of the people who registered that day.

They happened to be people under his jurisdiction.

"Chen Lei!"

"Here you are, Captain."

The young soldier stood nervously beside Chief Song.

"Young master, it's him. Should I leave?"

"No need."

Chen Lei thought he had made a mistake, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.

Less than a year after he enlisted, his father was busy with all sorts of matters in the prefecture and was unaware that he had accepted the recruitment notice and run away.

Could it be that Father has discovered him? No, that wouldn't allow Young Master Bai to arrest him.

Chen Lei breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Young Master Bai ask about Zhang Yun.

Think carefully back to what happened that day.

He did have some recollection of the woman; she seemed to be in a hurry and said she was going back to her parents' home to visit relatives. Chen Lei saw that she hadn't committed any crimes, and since there was no ban in the city at that time, he let her go.

Bai Yan: "Did she bring anything?"

Chen Lei: "It seems like there isn't anyone, just one person."

A person who has been away visiting relatives for a month and hasn't returned home, without even bringing a single bundle?

Bai Yan: "Is there a record of her returning in the register?"

When Chief Song looked at the register, he saw that the last name on it was Zhang Yun, and there was no record of his return date.

Chen Lei realized what had happened, his face turned pale, and his knees buckled as he knelt down. "Young Master! It was my oversight. Has something happened to Madam Zhang?"

"It's not your fault, get up."

Bai Yan waved his hand, saying that if he hadn't specifically asked, ordinary people wouldn't have noticed the issue of whether or not to bring a bag.

Clearly, Zhang Yun was lured out of the city.

“Let’s go to Zhang Yun’s house and find some of her everyday items. I’ll summon Di Ting and have it ask around to find them.”

Jiang Yuzhi leaned close to Bai Yan's ear and whispered.

Although there was no scent of a living person on his ear, Bai Yan felt an itch on the side of his ear where his wife was closest.

He lowered his voice and said, "Okay."

Zhang Yun's house looked exactly the same as when Bai Yan left.

This time they pushed open the door and went inside.

The rusty copper lock was snapped in two by Jiang Yuzhi's ghostly power and thrown to the ground.

On the dining table directly opposite the door, there were still moldy leftovers.

This is extremely rare in years of food scarcity and famine.

They searched the house and found cobwebs everywhere, and the leftover rice in the pot had fermented.

The couple's clothes were neatly arranged in the trunk by the bed. Jiang Yuzhi picked out an old piece of Zhang Yun's clothing and put the rest back in the trunk.

After obtaining the item, the man and the ghost closed the door, found a secluded corner, and rang a bell to summon Di Ting.

Dusk was falling.

The effects of the Soul-Soothing Bell are increasing. The bell itself is a listener, and it is connected to the power of the Great Emperor, the power of the Sheji Tu (a mythical map) on Jiang Yuzhi's body, and also contains some power that flows with the Dragon Brocade.

The part of Long Jin was brought over when he still had some strength left.

The bell rang, and the first to arrive was not Di Ting, but Long Jin.

They hid behind a tall reef, facing the sea.

Jiang Yuzhi noticed the abnormal surging of the sea and quickly erected a barrier, forgetting that Long Jin could also hear the bell ringing.

The enormous dragon head peered out, its majesty gone. Only after seeing the barrier did it slowly sway its body, arching and undulating, and float to the shore near Jiang Yuzhi.

"What's up, glug glug?" Long Jin only showed half of his head. While speaking, he accidentally swallowed a few mouthfuls of seawater, spat twice, and raised his head a little.

Bai Yan wanted to say it was a misunderstanding, but when she tugged at Jiang Yuzhi's sleeve, she immediately understood.

"Excuse me, but I wanted to ask if you recall if a fisherman fell into the sea about a month ago?"

Long Jin was originally a fish with a bad memory. After transforming into a dragon, he no longer had this flaw, but he still didn't like to reminisce about the past.

There are always exceptions, such as this young woman in front of her who carries the aura of her benefactor.

The last time I met her, she didn't look like this. She had white hair and red eyes, and the color scheme was just like her fish body.

Since transforming into a dragon, all the younger generation in the family who were of the same color as her were afraid of her, and Long Jin couldn't help but feel a bit of affection for Jiang Yuzhi.

As an elder, helping the younger generation is not a big deal.

Long Jin fell into deep thought, its tail twisting and turning in a tangled mess.

It actually reminded her.

The fishermen are very cautious; even if someone falls into the water, their companions will pull them out.

While patrolling the sea, Tianlong Jin discovered a group of small fish gathered in a coral reef. Upon closer inspection, she found a decaying corpse.

The body was dressed in the kind of clothes that fishermen usually wear, and most of the carcass had been eaten by small fish.

She looked at it and left, not taking it to heart.

The reason I can still remember is because since Ouyang Guang took office, he has strictly prohibited solo sea voyages, and the fishermen have all complied. Longjin has not seen any human corpses in the nearby waters for almost a year.

So much time has passed, Wang Zhiyong is probably nothing but bones now.

If you want to salvage it, no one but Long Jin can do it.

But it's pointless now.

The human and the ghost thanked Long Jin and agreed that the bell would ring once to call her, and that she didn't need to pay attention to it at other times. They also agreed to bring Long Jin some mortal food to reward her next time they came.

Long Jin suppressed the upward curve of her lips and nodded. Although the faith that the mortal priests gave her was not bad, her appetite also needed to be satisfied.

Leaving the human and the ghost with a light and nimble silhouette, it swam back into the deep sea.

Di Ting hasn't arrived yet.

Sometimes, Jiang Yuzhi really wanted to know just how fun it was outside that kept it away all night from doing its business.

For Di Ting, anything that isn't serious is a lot of fun.

"Should we shake it again? Should we look for clues that could lead to a conviction?"

Jiang Yuzhi agreed, and then shook the bell several times in a fit of anger.

It was getting late, and Feng Dahai lived next door to Zhang Yun.

His house was still lit up, and Bai Yan knocked on the door.

After a rustling sound inside, Feng Dahai opened the door a crack and, seeing the adult he had seen during the day, left the door wide open.

Feng Dahai: "Sir, and this young lady, what brings you here so late?"

Bai Yan: "Where is the boat that Wang Zhiyong usually uses?"

Feng Dahai's dull mind suddenly cleared.

"Is there any news about Brother Wang?"

"Hmm," Bai Yan replied vaguely, not wanting to be direct.

"I, I'll take you there!"

Feng Dahai hastily put on his outdoor clothes, locked the door, and led the way with unsteady steps.

As he walked, he kept praising Wang Zhiyong and his wife.

The boat was small, able to hold at most three people, and was stuck in the sand, clearly indicating that it hadn't been used for some time.

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Author's Note: Two more chapters tomorrow.