Chapter 14 He died (Bug fix) "What illness? Tell me in detail..."

With a whoosh, the man stared in disbelief as the tip of the leech's tail completely disappeared into the pustules.

He neither panicked nor struggled or resisted, knowing he couldn't escape, so he could only resign himself to his fate until he heard someone nearby ask, "Is it a blood leech kept inside your body?"

The man looked up, his face streaked with tears, and stared blankly for a long time before weakly raising his hand, covered in festering sores, and slowly reaching it toward Zhou Yaren, choking out, "Save...save me..."

Zhou Yaren did not flinch and reached out her hand to him.

The man stared wide-eyed in terror at the outstretched hand, palm up, long and slender knuckles, a tiny scratch on the tip of the pale index finger. His pupils constricted and trembled several times, for this was the only person who neither flinched nor flinched at him, nor showed the slightest disgust.

The moment their fingertips touched, the man abruptly withdrew his hand, shrinking back in fear and shaking his head incoherently: "No...no, don't, don't come near me, don't come near me, go...go away, go away quickly."

As she spoke, she kicked her legs backward, trying to get away from the stranger in front of her, looking very timid and fearful.

Zhou Yaren stepped forward, as if afraid of startling the other person, and asked in a very soft voice, "Who is keeping you inside your body?"

The man panicked even more when he saw him approaching. He scrambled open the door behind him, muttering "Don't come any closer." In his haste, he kicked the threshold and fell into the room. He then slammed the door shut, bolted it, and hid himself, keeping Zhou Yaren out.

"Go, go, they're hungry, they'll come out and eat people, they'll eat you all up."

A low, husky voice drifted from under the door, causing Zhou Yaren to frown. He didn't rush forward to disturb the person inside, but turned to Lu Bing: "Ask the Shen family who he is?"

Shen Yuanwen.

It was the eldest young master of the Shen family who had disappeared. He suddenly returned last night. At first, the gatekeeper didn't recognize him and chased him away several times, mistaking him for a beggar.

Fortunately, the butler, who was returning from running errands, bumped into them. He felt that the figure looked somewhat familiar, so he went up to take a closer look and was greatly surprised.

For the past two weeks, no one knows where Shen Yuanwen has gone or what he has experienced outside. His neck and arms are covered with malignant sores, which frightens the servants who used to serve him so much that they dare not approach him, fearing that it is some kind of terrible and contagious disease.

Now that it was past dawn and daylight had broken, the arriving officials dispersed the crowd of onlookers to prevent them from approaching the Shen family.

"Another death has occurred."

"Many people from the Shen family died. I saw the officials carrying out several corpses."

"Did Master Shen and Madam Shen also perish?"

"The bodies were all covered with white cloths, so you couldn't see their faces."

"The night watchman said that he was just about to finish his shift and go home to sleep when he heard screams."

Unable to get close and unwilling to leave, the people gathered in small groups at a distance, speculating and discussing the matter.

Lu Bing and the others stood under the corridor, questioning a maid from the Shen family who knew the situation.

She was a servant in the young master's courtyard, her face pale with fright, still unable to regain any color. She spoke tremblingly, her shoulders shaking: "Sir, I was really scared, so I didn't dare get too close. I went to the kitchen to boil water for the young master. Only the madam and the master dared to stay in the room with him, so I don't know what he said when he was conscious. When I went back in, he had already fainted. Later, the steward invited an old doctor to examine the young master, but his wrists were covered with raised sores, and they couldn't even find a place to take his pulse."

Lu Bing couldn't help but recall the hand Shen Yuanwen had grabbed, and a wave of unease washed over him.

The maid trembled, "The old doctor examined the young master in the room for a long time, but he still couldn't figure out what kind of terrible illness the young master had. When the doctor took off his robe, he saw that the young master's body was covered with sores, as big as apricots, not a single one of them was unscathed, and they were all oozing pus and blood. They had been tucked inside his coat for who knows how long, and there was a strong, foul stench. Even the old doctor was shocked, let alone us."

Zhou Yaren pressed further: "And then?"

The maid glanced at him timidly, then immediately lowered her eyelids, as if she dared not look him in the eye.

Lu Bingdao: "What illness do you have? Tell me in detail."

The maid stammered, "Then, after much deliberation, the old doctor diagnosed it as a carbuncle, caused by evil toxins that had led to flesh rotting, which then turned into pus. The pus and blood accumulated, causing the carbuncle to rupture. The doctor seemed to... seemed to say that."

She glanced uncertainly at the old steward beside her. The old steward was a learned man and remembered the doctor's words more clearly, so he replied, "Yes, I remember Doctor He saying that the young master had excessive heat, that his tendons and marrow were withered, that his internal organs were connected to his body, that his blood and energy were exhausted, and that... that there was nothing left of his bones and flesh..."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yaren frowned almost imperceptibly.

The maid continued, "This illness requires a two-hour medicinal bath first, followed by acupuncture and the use of Bian stones to drain the pus. The doctor prescribed a formula, and the master immediately ordered someone to fetch the medicine so I could brew it and give the young master a medicinal bath. I was busy almost all night."

After the gongs and drums sounded at dawn, I went to the kitchen to boil the last pot of medicinal soup for the young master to soak in.

Seeing the old doctor take a Bian stone from his box to drain the pus from the young master, and then, incredibly, the Bian stone scraped out a red worm from the abscess—

The maidservant's eyes widened in terror, her shoulders trembling even more violently as she spoke: "It was terrifying! So many insects! So many insects crawled out of the young master's body, red insects! They burrowed into the master's body, and then the master—"

What happened next was witnessed by Lu Bing and the others who arrived at the scene, and they were all still shaken.

At this moment, a yamen runner came over and reported to Lu Bing that a total of seven people from the Shen family had died in this incident, including the old master and the old lady of the Shen family.

Lu Bing asked, "Where is Young Master Shen's wife?"

The old butler wiped his forehead; despite the freezing weather, he was sweating profusely. Still shaken and weak, he replied, "The young mistress fainted just now and hasn't woken up yet in the side room."

Zhou Yaren asked, "Wasn't she taking care of Young Master Shen in his room last night?"

After all, they were husband and wife. Logically speaking, if the husband returned from his disappearance and then fell seriously ill, the wife should be by his bedside to take care of him.

The butler said, "The young mistress is pregnant. The master and mistress don't know what strange illness the young master has contracted outside. They are afraid that the illness will pass on to the young mistress and harm the baby in her womb, so they asked her to stay away for the time being."

Hei Zi made a last-minute trip to Baohetang and returned panting with the clothes he had left at the pharmacy.

Lu Bing gestured with his chin: "Take a look at Butler Liu. Is this the clothes Young Master Shen wore before he left home?"

What Hei Zi handed over was the pale yellow robe that had been searched in the back courtyard of the Ghost Government Office.

The butler took it and unfolded it, his expression instantly changing: "This...?"

He thought it looked very similar, but he wasn't quite sure, so he asked the maid who had always served the young master to come and take a closer look.

This maid has been in the young master's courtyard for many years, and she personally takes care of his daily life. Naturally, she can recognize his clothes and accessories at a glance.

The maid nodded repeatedly: "It belongs to the young master."

The butler asked in surprise, "Officer Lu, where did you find these clothes?"

Lu Bing had no intention of hiding anything: "The Ghost Government Office."

Upon hearing this, the old steward's expression changed drastically, his eyes widening in shock: "What? Young Master, how... how could Young Master be in the Ghostly Court?!"

Lu Bing was also curious about how Young Master Shen ended up in the Ghostly Yamen. Recalling the signs of being tied up at the scene in the back office, Lu Bing had reason to suspect that Young Master Shen had most likely been kidnapped.

As for who did it, he had a rough guess in his mind, so he asked the old steward, "Does the steward know Sun Xiuniang?"

The old butler, still reeling from the shock of Young Master Shen's encounter at the Ghostly Government Office, didn't immediately catch up with Lu Bing's sudden change of topic: "What?"

"That's Qin Lao Er's first wife."

The old butler was taken aback.

Lu Bing also noticed that the trembling maid beside him suddenly changed her expression, so he turned to the maid who served Young Master Shen and asked, "You should recognize this Sun Xiuniang, right?"

The maid opened her mouth, her face pale, but couldn't utter a sound. The old steward chimed in, "I recognize her. She's good at embroidery. She used to do some embroidery work at the Shen family's silk shop. Because her needlework was quite unique, the young mistress especially liked the patterns she embroidered, so she invited her to our house a few times."

Lu Bing automatically skipped over the mention of the young mistress in the old butler's words: "Is that so? But I've recently heard some rumors about Young Master Shen and this Sun Xiuniang. Butler, could you tell us if they're close in private?"

"This..." The old steward was at a loss for a moment, tears welling up in his eyes. "Officer Lu, the Shen family has suffered a death. So many people have died, and the remains of the master and mistress are still lying there uncollected. How do you still have the time to ask me about these things?"

The next moment, the Taoist priest Fang, who had been assigned to the Ghost Bureau to assist in collecting the corpses, confirmed Lu Bing's guess.

Master Fang rushed back, panting, and said, "Officer Lu, it's confirmed. The woman who died in the 'Hall of Hell' last night was indeed Sun Xiuniang."

As expected, Lu Bing said, "So, it's highly likely that Sun Xiuniang kidnapped Young Master Shen and then hid him in the haunted government office that no one dared to enter."

Recalling the scene that unfolded in the 'Hall of Hell' last night, a chill ran down Lu Bing's spine.

The old steward stood there in disbelief, stunned: "...Officer Lu, what's going on here?"

Lu Bing banished those chilling thoughts and forced himself to calm down: "I was just about to ask you, what grudges and affections exist between Sun Xiuniang and Young Master Shen?"

"I...I'm not sure either..."

Before the old steward could finish speaking, a noise came from the east room, like a chair or stool falling over. That was the room where Young Master Shen was, and all the servants of the Shen family turned to look as if they were startled birds.

Zhou Yaren's ears twitched, and she casually pulled out the dagger that Lu Bing had tucked into his waistband and threw it, piercing the window paper and cutting the white silk hanging from the beam.

Then, with a thud, no one knew what had happened inside the room.

Zhou Yaren walked forward, instructing Lu Bing as she did so: "Have everyone evacuate. I'm going to take a look."

"What's wrong?"

"Young Master Shen has attempted suicide." Zhou Yaren took a few steps up the stairs and used some force to break the door latch.

Lu Bing followed closely behind and saw Shen Yuanwen lying on the ground, half-dead and convulsing, with a severed white silk ribbon wrapped around his neck.

"Don't come in." Zhou Yaren said, then stepped into the room, squatted down in front of Shen Yuanwen, and checked his pulse.

Shen Yuanwen's pulse was disordered, his whole body was convulsing, his face was flushed red and purple, blood was gushing from his seven orifices, and a "gurgling" sound came from his throat.

Lu Bing stared warily at Shen Yuanwen: "What's wrong with him? How could this happen? Why is he bleeding from all seven orifices after hanging himself? Did he take poison?"

The voice of Master Fang sounded beside him. He observed and said, "It should be the blood leeches in the body turning against the host."

"Backlash?" Lu Bing said with a chill. "Those disgusting insects? What happens if they backlash against the host?"

Master Fang said, "You will die."

Lu Bing's expression changed, fearing that he might die at any moment, and he asked anxiously, "Young Master Chen, were you tied up in the Ghost Bureau by Sun Xiuniang?"

Shen Yuanwen felt as if he had a mouthful of thick blood stuck in his throat. His face was contorted as he stared with bloodshot eyes, trying his best to open his mouth wide, but he couldn't answer at all.

Zhou Yaren pressed hard on his neck acupoint and asked in a deep voice, "Was it Sun Xiuniang who planted the blood leech on you?"

Because he was blind, he didn't see that there were several blood-red worms wriggling in Shen Yuanwen's open mouth, already biting through the base of Shen Yuanwen's tongue.

A strong, pungent stench hit them, and at the same time, a stream of blood shot out from Shen Yuanwen's mouth, heading straight for Zhou Yaren's face. The latter tilted her head slightly and caught the leech with her fingers.

Lu Bing gasped, staring at the blood leech wriggling between Zhou Yaren's two fingers, his scalp tingling with fear.

How could he dare to grab such a disgusting and dangerous thing?!

With a slight exertion, Zhou Yaren caused the thing to explode and die, turning into a pool of blood at his fingertips that dripped onto Shen Yuanwen's clothes.

Zhou Yaren pressed down on her finger, and the pulse she was pressing on suddenly stopped: "She's dead."

Lu Bing asked in astonishment, "Dead?"

Master Fang was also somewhat surprised: "He died just like that, then..."

Before the other party could say anything more, Zhou Yaren suddenly raised her head: "Lu Bing, give me the dagger."

Lu Bing immediately drew his dagger and threw it at him: "What are you trying to do?"

Zhou Yaren caught it steadily, and while the body was still warm, he quickly stripped Shen Yuanwen of his clothes: "Cut it open and take a look."

Upon seeing the body covered in pustules, Lu Bing and Master Fang nearly vomited while leaning against the doorframe.

It was truly riddled with holes; each festering sore had a small hole at the top where an insect had drilled through.

Lu Bing gagged a few times, the sight was utterly appalling: "This is hardly a carbuncle!!"

Zhou Yaren held the dagger, pressed the tip against Shen Yuanwen's abdomen, cut open a festering sore, and killed a leech inside the sore.

Fortunately, Zhou Yaren was blind and could not see this scene. He appeared particularly calm and composed: "Doctor He's diagnosis is correct. This is indeed a carbuncle, but..." He cut into Shen Yuanwen's abdomen with a knife, and the fresh blood that had not yet congealed slowly flowed out, "but someone planted a blood leech when he had a carbuncle."

Lu Bing was confused: "What the hell is that?"

Zhou Yaren cut open the belly covered with boils and carbuncles: "It is said that this is a kind of evil magic originating from southern Yunnan, called Gu Shu."

Master Fang said in surprise, "I thought it was a Gu worm, but I didn't expect it to be a Gu technique?"

It's different from witchcraft. Zhou Yaren turned her head and asked, "Does Daoist Fang know about this?"

Master Fang waved his hand and said, "I don't know, I don't know. I've only heard of the three great evil arts of Yunnan: Gu poison, black magic, and Gu magic. They are all harmful, but Gu magic is especially mysterious and rarely passed down."

"I thought Master Fang was knowledgeable about this evil art, and I would like to ask him for some guidance."

"I am ashamed to say that I have only heard rumors that the ancient Dian Kingdom used the Gu technique to turn slaves into demons to rule the surrounding small countries. That is all."

Zhou Yaren nodded. This Gu technique was indeed little known: "I have only heard of it. The difference between it and raising Gu worms is that Gu technique involves putting many poisonous insects in a container and making them kill each other. The poisonous insects that survive in the end are Gu."

The art of Gu poison involves planting a Gu-inducing agent, which is essentially an insect egg, into a living person. The person is then tortured to death in the most cruel way, causing them to develop immense resentment. This resentment is then transferred to the living through the spirit of the deceased.

As she spoke, Zhou Yaren completely cut open Shen Yuanwen's stomach.

Lu Bing and Master Fang, who were standing at the entrance, saw it from afar, felt their stomachs churn, and immediately vomited.

Furthermore, Zhou Yaren noticed that Shen Yuanwen's abdominal cavity and internal organs were covered with a dense mass of carbuncles, like small fleshy tumors. Zhou Yaren couldn't see them, so he could only feel them with his hands. As he touched the inner wall, he said, "Just as Dr. He said, the tendons and marrow are withered, the internal organs are connected, the blood and qi are exhausted, and there is no good flesh left in the shins."

Therefore, he believed that the carbuncle was not only on the surface, but Shen Yuanwen was very likely to have internal carbuncles as well, so he decided to open him up.

Lu Binggang had just finished vomiting when, as luck would have it, he looked up and saw Zhou Yaren carefully touching the boils and carbuncles. He couldn't help but bend over and vomit again.

Zhou Yaren paid no attention to the two people outside the door who were vomiting. She continued to grope around and said, "Internal abscesses are caused by internal organs. Sores and swellings can occur in the heart, liver, lungs, spleen, muscles and bones. However, unlike external abscesses, these internal abscesses have not yet ruptured. But what is wrapped inside the pustules should be unformed worm eggs."

"Insects, insect eggs..." Lu Bing couldn't bear the stimulation any longer, and after saying that, he started vomiting again, almost bringing up bile.

Zhou Yaren pondered, "The saying goes, 'Rotting flesh breeds worms, and dried fish breeds weevils.' Someone planted a 'Gu' technique when he had a boil. After the boil had been infected for a long time, it would fester and rot, and then these blood worms would grow. I think the 'Gu' technique on Young Master Shen's body should be based on such a principle."

“Rotting flesh breeds maggots,” Master Fang murmured, instantly recalling the maggots that grow on rotting corpses. Combined with the scene before him, these were living maggots! He immediately pressed his hand to his stomach, desperately suppressing the nausea rising in his throat. “How…how can you be so sure…”

"Are you sure about what? Insect eggs? You'll know as soon as you touch them."

Lu Bing really wanted to say, "Brother, please stop touching me." But he was too nauseous to say it.

Master Fang managed to squeeze out a complete sentence: "How can you be sure it's a Gu technique?"

Because "the wind stirs and insects are born," because he can tell by the wind, he has his own judgment, and also because—Zhou Yaren felt that there was no need to explain it this way, and finally said: "Because those blood leeches carry the resentment of the dead."

Zhou Yaren stared at Master Fang with her unfocused eyes and said, word by word, "It is the resentment from the bottom of the Ghost Yamen's death row."

Master Fang froze, staring dumbfounded at Zhou Yaren, who had already turned her head and said, "Lu Bing, find some lamp oil. I must burn the body before the host cools down."

This is to prevent the blood in Shen Yuanwen's body from completely freezing, which would cause the leeches to swarm out without a warm bed.

A note from the author:

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