Chapter 79 Quite vengeful
Achan and Bai Xiuming arrived a little late. By the time they entered the courtyard, Granny Tian was already kneeling there in shackles.
As soon as Achan entered the courtyard, she saw this withered and emaciated old woman. Her body was hunched over, as if she was unable to straighten up due to the weight of heavy shackles.
Feng Yang saw Bai Xiuming enter and then reported, "Sir, the men have been found. They were being kept in a water vat in the house by that old woman, but they were already dead when we found them."
"How did he die?"
"No external injuries were found; the cause of death is currently unknown."
Bai Xiuming looked at Achan beside him, but Achan turned her head away, avoiding his gaze. What was he looking at her for? She knew nothing about it.
After withdrawing his gaze, Bai Xiuming continued, "Is there anything else?"
"There is also a bone sculpture in the house, but we haven't found anything unusual about it yet."
After listening to Feng Yang's words, Bai Xiuming strode towards the house. The room, which was not large to begin with, seemed even more cramped after he entered.
The furnishings in the room are immediately visible, the most eye-catching of which is the statue whose black cloth has been lifted.
It was a pure white statue, carved with a dragon. The dragon's body was coiled on a stele like a snake, with its four claws gripping the edge of the stele. The dragon looked similar to a dragon, but it had no horns on its head, which made it look a little strange.
The eyes of this dragon are carved so realistically that at first glance it seems as if something is really staring at you.
Just as Bai Xiuming approached the statue, the entire statue suddenly emitted a cracking sound as it shattered.
He glanced down at the ring on his hand; the black ring emitted a faint halo.
To elicit a reaction from the dragon's soul, this statue is actually connected to a dragon; quite a grand gesture. One wonders which family has such resources, daring to privately raise a dragon and use it to absorb the power of incense offerings?
This bone carving seemed to have some connection with Granny Tian. Cracks appeared on it, and Granny Tian outside the house screamed, "Sir, please don't! Please don't destroy it!"
Bai Xiuming did not step forward. He turned the ring on his hand and asked the Mingjing Guard standing beside him, "Is there anything else in the room?"
The guard from the Mingjing Division quickly replied, "We found several small cloth bags containing things like hair, purses, and fingernails, along with some ordinary items like incense, candles, and red cloth. We also found three thousand taels of silver notes. Oh, and some rotten pieces of meat, it's venison, probably used to feed that centaur."
Bai Xiuming waved his hand: "Go out first, then bring the person in."
"Yes." After completing the search, the Mingjing Guard left the room and stood guard outside the door.
Feng Yang then grabbed Granny Tian by the collar and dragged her into the house.
Achan followed Feng Yang in. Bai Xiuming glanced at her, and seeing that she had found a stool and sat down obediently, he looked away.
At this moment, Granny Tian was lying on the ground, and could only see the official boots and the hem of the vermilion official robe of the person standing in front of her.
She knew perfectly well that this was the person who had nearly caused the Dragon King's statue to shatter simply by getting close to it. She was connected to the statue by soul; if anything happened to the statue, she feared she would die on the spot.
Even knowing that they would likely not have a good end if they were captured by the Mingjing Division, who would want to die now if they could live another day?
"Where did the bone carving come from?" Bai Xiuming asked, but instead of asking about the curse, he inquired about the statue.
"It was brought from the Dragon King Temple in my hometown," Granny Tian replied quickly.
Bai Xiuming gave Feng Yang a look, and Feng Yang drew his knife and severed Granny Tian's Achilles tendon with a single stroke.
She let out a wail and collapsed to the ground, crying out, "My lord, spare me! Spare me!"
"I will ask you one more time, where did the statue come from?"
"It was bought through someone from Xiling for five thousand taels of silver."
"Which company in Xiling? What will you use it for?"
"The Shen family, they said this statue can control water spirits, and they also sold the horse and rider to me for three thousand taels." Granny Tian looked trembling, and before they could ask any further questions, she took the initiative to explain her identity and background.
She said, "Back in my hometown, I originally used water spirits to find bodies of drowned people. Later, business became difficult and I couldn't earn much money, so I came to the capital to make a living."
"How did you make a living after you came to the capital?" Bai Xiuming asked.
Granny Tian suddenly fell silent.
Feng Yang clicked his tongue, impatiently picked up his knife, and as the blade flashed before her eyes, Granny Tian immediately shrieked, "Curse! Making a living by cursing others!"
How many deals have you done?
Granny Tian shook her head: "I can't remember."
"Who are these people who come to see you?" Bai Xiuming asked again.
“They’re all from wealthy families,” Granny Tian said with a bitter face. “Sir, those who come to me are usually either fighting in their own backyards, killing each other within their own clan, or trying to steal my business. They’re all people I can’t afford to offend, so how could I dare to inquire about their identities?”
"What was the purpose of that most recent business deal?"
Granny Tian swallowed hard: "I don't know."
"Don't know?" Bai Xiuming raised an eyebrow, seemingly not very satisfied with the answer.
"My lord, this old woman dares not lie. The lady who came to see me had an extraordinary air about her and was not from an ordinary family. She only said that she wanted someone to die, but did not say why. I was worried that asking too many questions would cause trouble, so I simply did not ask anything."
"Don't you even know the other person's name?"
Granny Tian hurriedly shook her head: "She was introduced by one of my old customers. She didn't say what her surname was, she just told me to call her Madam."
After asking the questions, Granny Tian lay motionless on the ground. Bai Xiuming looked down at her, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
She's stubborn, but she hasn't told a single truth. Hopefully, she'll stay stubborn even after she's in jail.
After a moment, Bai Xiuming spoke again: "Can the curse you cast be broken?"
"Yes, I can solve it," Granny Tian quickly replied.
Bai Xiuming beckoned to A Chan: "Come here."
When Achan walked to his side, he finally spoke, "Remove the curse from her."
Granny Tian raised her head and looked at Achan.
When Achan saw her looking over, she gave her a smile.
A hint of doubt flashed in Granny Tian's eyes. She looked like an ordinary woman, so why did the centaur suddenly die on the last day of the curse?
Granny Tian dared not think too much and said to Bai Xiuming, "I dare not disobey your orders, sir, but..."
"Just what?"
"However, breaking the curse still requires the cooperation of the bone carving. Your imposing aura is terrifying. If you remain in the room, I'm afraid the bone carving will refuse to help. Please, please... please all leave." Granny Tian finished speaking with a forced smile.
Bai Xiuming looked at Achan, who immediately said, "Don't worry, Lord Bai, nothing will happen."
Since she had agreed, Bai Xiuming didn't say anything more, turned around and left the house, and Feng Yang followed him out.
Finally, only Ah Chan and Granny Tian were left in the house.
After the person left, Granny Tian finally breathed a sigh of relief. She struggled to get up from the ground, her injured foot throbbing with pain as soon as it touched the ground, but she still limped toward the offering table.
She reached for a pair of scissors beside the offering table, used the tips to cut her palm, and dripped the blood from her palm onto the white bone carving. The blood was absorbed as soon as it touched the surface, leaving no trace on the pristine white bone carving.
Just then, someone behind her suddenly spoke: "Offering your own blood to the bone carving and asking it to withdraw the curse is a simple method, but there is a prerequisite: the dragon you are offering to must still be alive, and you must have some kind of connection with it. You wouldn't offer your own soul as a sacrifice to it, would you?"
Granny Tian was startled and turned around abruptly, only to see Achan standing not far behind her, staring at the bone carving with great interest.
"What is the young lady saying? This old woman can't understand it."
Granny Tian wanted to deny it, but then she heard Achan say, "How many of the questions you answered just now were true?"
"Young lady, you are joking. How could this old woman dare to deceive the officials of the Mingjing Division?"
"That's hard to say." A-Chan's beautiful almond-shaped eyes narrowed slightly. "For example, do you really not know who the person who cast the curse on me is?"
"Of course I don't know," Granny Tian insisted.
Ah Chan clicked her tongue and said, "You still know to keep your customers' information confidential. No wonder your business is so booming. Even the Xue family can find you here."
"Who is the young lady talking about?" Granny Tian asked, looking puzzled.
Achan raised the corners of her lips: "Grandma seems like a smart person, courageous and resourceful, but unfortunately she's not flexible enough. You don't really think you can get away with it by keeping these things from others, do you?"
Granny Tian turned her head away, seemingly no longer wanting to pay attention to Achan.
"Does your mother-in-law know who interrogated you just now?"
Without waiting for her answer, Achan told her the answer: "He is the Commander of the Mingjing Division, and he is in charge of all strange cases in the capital. Originally, this case should not have been handled by him."
Although Granny Tian didn't turn her head, she pricked up her ears. She also wanted to know why she had fallen into the hands of the Mingjing Division.
Ah Chan chuckled softly behind her: "Guess why he's here?"
Granny Tian finally couldn't hold back and asked, "Why?"
“Because I went to him and told him that someone wanted to harm me.” Achan fiddled with her slender, fair fingers. “Let me calculate, from the time I went to him to the time the Mingjing Division caught you, it was no more than two hours. Isn’t that fast?”
Granny Tian's heart sank, and she looked at Achan with apprehension.
"Aren't you worried about offending them, but not about offending me, the aggrieved party?" Achan leaned closer to her and whispered, "Even death has many forms. Some people die with a single blow, without any pain before they die, while others... You probably don't know what the Mingjing Division's prison is like, do you? The punishments there are bizarre and varied. If I were to say just one word to him, you'd probably be living a life worse than death inside."
"What do you want?" Finally, Granny Tian spoke. Just as Achan had said, she was indeed a clever woman.
"When you curse someone, you always have to leave some means behind. I bet someone as shrewd as you would have left some backup in case your guests kill you to silence you, right?"
"The girl is quite skilled in curses."
"I only know a little bit." Achan wasn't lying. She didn't really understand curses, but she did know a couple of ways to curse others.
After hesitating for a long time, Granny Tian finally said, "Her fingernails are here with me. There are still a few that I haven't used. You can take them."
As she spoke, she reached under the altar with her other hand and pulled out two fingernails, still covered in ash.
Achan began to admire Granny Tian. The most ingenious way to hide things was to put them away casually, so that even the Mirror Guards wouldn't notice.
She took out a handkerchief, put the two fingernails inside, and then said to Granny Tian, "Grandma, you wouldn't lie to me using someone else's fingernails, would you?"
"I wouldn't dare." She had already fallen to this state, and probably didn't have many days left to live. She just wanted to suffer less.
Even she had misjudged the woman in front of her.
She appears innocent and harmless, but in reality, she is a vicious snake. Perhaps the deaths of the men and horses were related to her. Rather than offending her, it would be better to sell Madam Xue.
If it weren't for Madam Xue, how could she have gotten herself into this mess?
Granny Tian dared not vent her anger on Achan, so she could only blame everything on Madam Xue. But she forgot that she had brought Madam Xue here with ulterior motives.
Soon, the blood that Granny Tian had dripped onto the bone carving stopped being absorbed. She withdrew her hand, respectfully offered incense to the bone carving, then bowed three times and kowtowed nine times, and began to chant prayers to the bone carving.
After chanting, the incense in the incense burner suddenly burned rapidly, and a faint wisp of smoke circled around Ah Chan. Then she felt as if something was leaving her body, but the feeling was very vague.
Granny Tian stared at the burning incense sticks. When she saw that the incense was no longer burning quickly, she said to Achan, "The Dragon King has lifted the curse on you."
"Thank you, Grandma." With the curse lifted, Achan turned and walked towards the door. She opened the door and saw Bai Xiuming standing in the courtyard with his hands behind his back.
Seeing that Achan had finally come out, Feng Yang waved his hand, and four Mingjing Guards rushed into the house and subdued Granny Tian.
Achan came to Bai Xiuming's side and sweetly called him, "Lord Bai."
"Is there anything else?"
"How about I tell you a secret to thank Lord Bai for saving my life?" Achan felt that she couldn't always take advantage of others and had to repay him appropriately so that she could speak more confidently in the future.
"Tell me about it?"
“Not a single word that old woman said to you was true. I suspect she is actually a member of the Shen family.”
Bai Xiuming seemed somewhat surprised, raising an eyebrow and asking, "How did you figure that out?"
"A dragon statue worth five thousand taels is probably unaffordable for most people, and she doesn't look like a wealthy person. Even if she could afford it, how could such a wondrous dragon statue be sold to her so easily?"
"Hmm, that makes sense. Anything else?"
Seeing that Bai Xiuming showed no surprise, Achan immediately guessed that he probably already knew that the old woman was full of lies.
She snorted twice: "Also, she's done so many bad things, you absolutely can't let her get away with it."
This old woman gave her nightmares for three days straight, and she still wants to live a peaceful life? Dream on!
Bai Xiuming's lips curled up: "You're quite vengeful."
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