Chapter 15: Uniting with ghosts and spirits to control the wind and regulate the Qi, thus connecting the Five Elements and the Eight Directions. ...

The body was laid out and burned in a secluded backyard, and no one except Zhou Yaren was allowed to enter.

However, Master Fang was unwilling to leave. He hunched over and peered through the half-open door. Lu Bing politely tugged at him a few times, but Master Fang waved his hand away each time: "Let me see Constable Lu. I'll just watch from here. Let me broaden my horizons."

"It's just burning a corpse," Lu Bing said, bewildered. "What kind of knowledge do you have?"

Master Fang's gaze never left the crack in the door: "I've heard that this blind master in Chang'an can hear the wind and understand things; he's incredibly perceptive."

Lu Bing's face was already pale, and he hadn't recovered at all. He caught a chilling key word in the other person's words: "Ghost?"

Master Fang stared intently at Zhou Yaren's figure in the courtyard, not paying any attention to Constable Lu's pale face, and continued, "I see that Ting Fengzhi seems to be drawing a talisman array on the ground. He must be preparing to perform such a ritual."

Having just experienced a nightmare last night, Lu Bing stared wide-eyed at the figure that flashed past through the crack in the door: "You mean he's going to summon a ghost?"

Master Fang completely ignored him and continued, "Look at the formation he drew, Qian, Kun, Xun—wait, why does it look a bit like the Bagua formation to me..."

Master Fang strained his eyes but could only catch a glimpse of a corner, wishing he could squeeze his round head through the crack in the door to get a better look.

“Riding the wind with the laws of nature, connecting the five elements and the eight directions of Qi.” Listen to Zhou Yaren standing in the Xun position, murmuring, “The Qi of Heaven and Earth combine to generate wind.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a gust of wind suddenly swept through the courtyard.

Master Fang didn't see Zhou Yaren's movements clearly. He only felt a cold wind seeping out from the crack in the door, which made him blink involuntarily. He said with a dazed expression, "Qian is heaven, Kun is earth, and Xun is wind. The Qi of heaven and earth combine to generate wind."

Then Zhou Yaren held the musical instrument and slowly lifted it into the air.

Master Fang certainly knew that it was a device that could detect the presence of the wind and its surroundings. He had also heard that Master Fang used a pitch pipe to observe the qi of heaven and earth, thus he could hear the pitch pipe and understand the heaven and earth and be in harmony with the divine.

However, in Master Fang's view, this moment was one of communion with heaven and earth and the spirits.

The source of the wind seemed to be the array in the courtyard, or more precisely, the corpse within the array. Wisps of gray-black energy emanated from the small holes in each boil, swirling in the void and turning into wind, which then blew the wind-telling pipe.

“That is…” Master Fang stared in disbelief, “…a malevolent aura.”

The wisps of malevolent energy extracted from Shen Yuanwen's corpse caused the wind to blow and sound the musical pipes. Then he saw Tingfengzhi's ears twitch imperceptibly.

Master Fang was eager to know what he had heard. Was it a ghostly voice? What kind of ghostly voice?

Lu Bing was completely baffled and couldn't make heads or tails of it. He felt a chill seeping through the crack in the door and couldn't help but ask, "Is it that Young Master Shen's spirit is about to arrive?"

As soon as Lu Bing finished speaking, the wooden door in front of them slammed shut, making the two of them shiver.

Master Fang was stunned and wondered: Does this mean they won't let me see it?

A faint melody could be heard through the wooden door, but it wasn't the kind of pleasant, melodious music. Instead, it sounded dull and oppressive, more like the howling wind blowing into a cave, carrying a low growl of resentment.

To Zhou Yaren, the chaotic, arrhythmic sounds of the pipes seemed like a magnified cacophony of noises, growing louder and louder, like a tidal wave sweeping in, almost deafening.

"injustice--"

He managed to discern a "wrongful conviction" amidst the overwhelming chaos of conflicting opinions.

Zhou Yaren frowned, completely immersed in the clamor of the evil wind playing the pipes...

Shen Yuanwen's body burned for more than an hour. Lu Bing and Master Fang stood guard outside the courtyard, only able to see the reflected firelight and the rising thick smoke.

Zhou Yaren's face turned somewhat pale when the courtyard gate was opened.

Lu Bing nervously went up to her: "Ya Ren, how are you?"

Zhou Yaren: "It's burned clean. Let someone clean it up."

Master Fang also approached him and bowed respectfully: "I am Fang Zheng'an. I have long heard of your great name. It is truly an honor to meet you today."

Zhou Yaren: "Master Fang is too kind; it's just empty fame."

Unwilling to listen to their polite back-and-forth, Lu Bing changed the subject, asking, "Did Shen Yuanwen say anything to you when he came back?"

Zhou Yaren asked in confusion, "What?"

"Weren't you just drawing talismans in the courtyard to summon Young Master Chen..." Before Lu Bing could finish his question, Master Fang impatiently interrupted him. He felt that Chief Constable Lu's question was both unprofessional and lacked sophistication, so he humbly said to Tingfeng Zhi, "Just now you were riding the wind with the laws of nature, communicating with the five elements and the eight directions, connecting with heaven and earth and uniting with spirits. You must have heard something, right?"

Zhou Yaren lowered his eyes, his ears still ringing. He remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke as the other person waited expectantly: "I heard—a deep injustice."

Master Fang was puzzled: "What?"

Lu Bing also expressed his doubts: "A long-standing injustice?"

What kind of injustice could the pampered young master of the Shen family have? He has never even spent a day in jail.

Oh, do you feel you died unjustly?!

"Have you two forgotten? The Gu technique uses the spirits of the dead as a medium to attach the resentment of the deceased to the living, that is, to the Gu worms. Those blood leeches, carrying the resentment of the spirits, were planted in Young Master Shen's body, which is why I heard countless grievances."

Lu Bing reacted somewhat slowly, still troubled by what had just happened: "Wasn't that Young Master Shen's ghost?"

Master Fang suddenly remembered what the other party had said before: it was resentment from the bottom of the death row of the Ghost Government.

“But…” Master Fang hesitated, “How could this be? Someone must be… Yes! It’s that Sun Xiuniang!”

But Sun Xiuniang was already dead.

Zhou Yaren turned to Lu Bing: "Have you questioned those people? Do they know what grudge Sun Xiuniang and Young Master Shen have?"

Lu Bing shook his head: "I was afraid something might happen to you, so I didn't dare leave." After all, what they really needed to burn were those terrifying blood leeches, and Zhou Yaren was the only one guarding the courtyard, so he was really worried.

“Go ask now.” Zhou Yaren raised her hand, but before she could touch him, Lu Bing instinctively dodged her. The two spoke almost simultaneously.

Lu Bing: What are you doing?

Zhou Yaren: "Why are you hiding?"

Lu Bing asked, "Why did you suddenly reach out your hand?"

Zhou Yaren: "My ears are ringing right now, and I can't hear very well. I was just asking you to lend me a hand and show me the way, why are you hiding from me?!"

Lu Bing said honestly, "You just touched that thing, it was really disgusting."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yaren faced him in silence, her expression clearly saying: Oh, so that's how it is.

Master Fang quickly stepped forward to offer his services: "Let me take it, let me take it, please put your hand on my shoulder."

Lu Bing shoved Master Fang aside, saying, "Don't get in my way." Then he grabbed Zhou Yaren's sleeve and left.

Zhou Yaren let him pull her along: "Isn't it annoying?"

Lu Bing said irritably, "Stop talking nonsense."

He really didn't want to talk.

Before the authorities had dealt with the situation properly, no one in the Shen family dared to stay there, and the once large mansion was instantly left empty.

Madam Shen and the old steward, along with several servants, temporarily settled in the inn. When Zhou Yaren and the others went to find her, Madam Shen was leaning against the bed, weeping. She looked pale and haggard, with only her eyes red from crying.

As soon as Lu Bing asked a question, the woman began to sob uncontrollably, lamenting, "The Shen family has suffered such a calamity. I am just a weak woman, a married woman, and I am pregnant. What am I going to do? How am I going to live? Father, Mother, Husband, how could you abandon me and the child in my womb..."

The more she cried, the more miserable she became; the more she spoke, the more desolate she became. In the end, she almost contemplated suicide, wanting to take her unborn child and follow her deceased husband.

In such a situation, even if Lu Bing were incredibly stubborn, he would never dare to ask someone such a despicable question as, "Does your husband have a mistress outside?"

Lu Bing wanted to ask the servants behind his master's back, but the old steward and the servants all gave the same answer: "I don't know" or "I don't know." He couldn't get any information out of them at all.

Lu Bing was at his wit's end: "These people eat the Shen family's food, so naturally they have to keep quiet about the Shen family. Now that Master Shen and Young Master Shen are both dead, it's time for Madam Shen to take charge. Who among these servants would dare to gossip about her? They might as well ask the neighbors."

The neighbors knew all sorts of things. They went to Sun Xiuniang's place to inquire, and some lecherous men jumped in to chime in: "Sun Xiuniang? That young woman is incredibly beautiful, so lovely, a rare beauty for miles around. It's a pity she married Qin Lao Er." What a waste of a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung! Of course, they kept the last part to themselves.

The woman sat on the stone step in front of the door, sewing shoe soles. With each stitch, her voice was as soft as the tip of a needle: "What's the pity? It's a pity I didn't marry you."

The squinty-eyed man retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

"Then you'll be the one hacked to death today."

"Get lost, are you cursing me?"

"That old lecher is bound to die young. He's always staring at other people's young wives, drooling over them. Has he no shame?"

The squinty-eyed man blushed and said, "Don't talk nonsense. I was just going to see the two of them fighting inside the house."

Lu Bing had only asked the squinty-eyed man if he knew Sun Xiuniang, and the two of them started arguing non-stop. He quickly changed the subject, asking, "Don't they have a good relationship?"

The woman said, "What's so good about it? Just last month, that shrew scratched Qin Lao Er's face and neck, leaving several bloody marks. She's very fierce."

The old man selling tea added charcoal to the stove and chimed in, "Yes, that bloodstain on Qin Lao Er's face has been there for days, who didn't see it?!"

The squinting man made a sarcastic remark: "It's really pathetic for an old man to be bullied like this by a young woman."

The old man selling tea said, "You can't say that. Qin Lao Er is an honest man."

The woman had to speak up: "Honest people deserve to be bullied. Anyone can bully them. Take Wang Chuncai from the dock, for example. He made Qin Lao Er chop wood and carry water for him, promising to give him half a bushel of rice. But afterwards, he mixed half of the rice into the rice. He's a truly despicable scoundrel."

Everyone was talking non-stop, and Lu Bing wanted to chime in, but couldn't get a word in edgewise. Finally, he heard the squinty-eyed man say, "Isn't this a coward? No wonder his wife hooked up with Young Master Shen."

So Lu Bing pressed on, "Does Sun Xiuniang really have an affair with Young Master Shen?"

The man with the slanted eyes said, "Of course, everyone knows about it now."

Lu Bing: "How did they end up together?"

“Sir, you’re asking a pointless question. Sun Xiuniang works as an embroiderer in the Shen family’s silk shop. She’s beautiful and attractive to men, so she and Young Master Shen got together and fell in love.”

Lu Bing's face darkened, and he said solemnly, "Just because that Sun Xiuniang is pretty and happens to work at the Shen family's silk shop, you're making up stories behind her back about her having illicit affairs?"

“Oh dear, I wouldn’t dare make things up. Someone actually saw it with their own eyes. Little Xing’er from the silk shop bumped into Young Master Shen and Sun Xiuniang getting all tangled up, and Old Man Deng too,” the squinty-eyed man said, pointing to the old man selling tea soup. “You saw it once too, didn’t you?”

Old Deng quickly shook his head and waved his hands, disclaiming his claim: "I haven't seen it."

"How could I not have seen it? It was that night, was it the third day of the Lunar New Year or something? You even told us about it, saying you saw Qin Lao Er locked out late at night."

"I mean, I was passing by after packing up my stall when I bumped into Qin Lao Er standing outside his house. It was freezing cold, and he was shivering. His face was purple and blue from the cold. I kindly offered him a place to stay in my house to avoid the wind, but he didn't appreciate it. He just stood there like a wooden stake in front of his house as punishment. I didn't say anything else."

“Yes, that was the day. I heard that Qin Lao Er was going to work at someone’s house that day and wasn’t planning to come back, but he suddenly came back. But he didn’t go inside. What was he doing standing at the door in the freezing cold?!” The squinty-eyed man kept everyone in suspense and continued, “Because someone saw that Young Master Shen went to his house that night.”

Lu Bing was stunned, and his heart skipped a beat.

So it was Qin Lao Er, who suddenly returned home, who discovered it?

The squinting man said pointedly, "What kind of person is Young Master Shen? What is he doing running to Qin Lao Er's house at night? There's only Sun Xiuniang, a mere woman, at home."

The woman said, "I reckon it's because Qin Lao Er caught her having an affair with the eldest son of the Shen family when he went back that time. This woman simply stopped caring and wanted to get rid of Qin Lao Er but couldn't, so she decided to kill her husband. She's a ruthless and vicious woman!"

Suddenly another voice interrupted: "While Qin Er was away from home, it wasn't just Young Master Shen who went to her room."

Everyone turned around, and the man who had approached at some point, having already listened to the commotion for a while, couldn't help but join in: "I heard that she's also flirting with that mirror polisher in the West Market."

The woman suddenly straightened her back: "Oh dear, you know what, I saw it too."

"I've seen it several times. She goes to see that mirror polisher every few days, and even invites him into her house. The two of them don't leave the room for half a day." The woman curled her lip. "Tell me, how many dim mirrors does she have in her house that she needs to call that polisher every few days?"

"Oh dear, she's been cheating on Qin Er with plenty of men behind his back."

"Not only did she commit adultery with Young Master Shen, but she also had an affair with a mirror polisher."

Although everyone was talking about "male thieves and female prostitutes," Zhou Yaren's focus was not on romantic relationships.

"A bronze mirror?" He happened to have the bronze mirror that Sun Xiuniang had used for the sacrifice in his pocket. This bronze mirror was a funerary object, and it shouldn't be in Sun Xiuniang's hands. Where did she get it from? This matter is very strange. "May I ask where that mirror polisher is, and what his name is?"

The woman said, "That mirror polisher wanders the streets and alleys without a fixed place to stay. We don't know where he comes from. He stayed in the West Market for a while before, but we've never heard of his name."

Lu Bing turned his head and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhou Yaren couldn't quite put his finger on it either. He subconsciously touched the cold bronze mirror in his arms, vaguely sensing that the mirror polisher might know something: "Send someone to find this mirror polisher."

A note from the author:

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