Chapter 78 Tired of hearing it? Let's try a different word next time.
Since she had decided to report the incident to the authorities, she needed to leave some evidence for the Mingjing Division. So, instead of cleaning up the water stains in the room, Achan moved to another room and continued sleeping.
With the water monster gone, she was finally able to get a good night's sleep.
Ah Chan slept until the end of Chen Shi (7-9 AM) before finally opening her eyes with satisfaction.
She opened the door, and bright sunlight streamed into the room. She stretched lazily in the sunlight. The weather was nice today, perfect for doing naughty things.
After washing up, Achan ran to the kitchen and found the rolled pancakes Chen Hui had made for her. The pancakes were about the length of a finger, with a skin as thin as a cicada's wing. Some pancakes were filled with shredded meat, while others were filled with crisp shredded vegetables.
Ah Chan squatted by the stove, head down, eating like a little mouse stealing oil. Only after finishing the plate of wraps did she go to the front.
Chen Hui had just seen off two customers who came to buy perfume when she saw A Chan come out of the back door. She turned to her and asked, "Do you want me to take you to the yamen?"
"No need." Ah Chan waved her hand. "You stay in the shop. I'll be back in a bit."
"Alright, be careful on the road."
Mingjing Division is not close to Changpingfang. Recently, Achan has gotten used to being picked up and dropped off by car. She hadn't even walked halfway when she got a little lazy and slowed down.
Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats and loud shouts came from not far away: "Make way! Make way, all of you!"
What followed was the cracking sound of whips lashing through the air.
Pedestrians on the street, unaware of what had happened, quickly moved aside. Ah Chan, who was already walking in the shade by the street, didn't rush to move to the side. She simply stopped and looked around like the others.
Before long, a long line appeared on the street.
The guards leading the way on horseback at the head of the procession were all elite soldiers; judging from their imposing presence, they must all possess cultivation.
Behind the dozen or so guards were several spacious and luxurious carriages, each bearing the same emblem. Achan didn't recognize which carriage belonged to which company, but the onlookers on the street seemed to recognize the origin of the convoy.
She heard someone in the crowd ask, "Where did this convoy come from? They're so arrogant!"
"It's been a few years since I've seen anyone from the Xiling Prince's Mansion."
At this moment, the curtain on the window of one of the carriages was lifted, and a young girl was looking out curiously through the window. Beside her sat a young man with an elegant demeanor. He did not turn his head, but judging from his profile, Achan felt inexplicably familiar with him.
Soon, the convoy drove through the street, and the passersby who had watched the excitement dispersed. Achan still had to go to the Mingjing Division.
After walking for about half an hour, she finally arrived at the entrance of the Mingjing Bureau.
When the guards of the Mingjing Division saw Achan approaching, they said in a deep voice, "This is a restricted area of the Mingjing Division. Do not linger without permission."
Achan smiled and said to the guard who had spoken, "Sir, I'm here to report to the authorities."
The guard looked her up and down before asking, "What happened? If it's a common case, go to the Jingzhao Prefecture government office."
"I might have encountered a sea monster."
Upon hearing that she had encountered a water monster, the guard's expression changed slightly: "Wait a moment."
After saying that, he turned around and went inside to report.
A short while later, the guard came out and said to Achan, "Come with me."
Achan followed the other person into the Mingjing Division's yamen. Seeing that he was not leading her to the inner hall of the yamen, she couldn't help but ask, "Sir, who are we going to see?"
The guard glanced at her and replied, "Go see the commander on duty today."
"Can't you take me to Lord Bai? Or is he not here today?"
"You know Lord Bai?" The guard stopped in his tracks and turned around in surprise.
"I have had some dealings with Lord Bai a few times, and we have a slight relationship."
"I see..." The guard hesitated for a moment before saying, seeing that Achan didn't seem to be making things up. "Lord Bai has been in a bad mood these past two days. I can take you to see him, but if you upset him, no one can help you."
"Thank you for reminding me, sir. Please take me to Lord Bai."
"Alright." Seeing that Achan was so determined, the guard led her into the inner hall.
At this time, the inner hall door was tightly closed, and there were no guards on duty outside.
Standing at the door, the guard licked his dry lips and knocked.
After a long while, there was no response from inside the door.
The guard looked at Achan and began to regret bringing her along.
Ah Chan didn't care whether the person inside was angry or not. She lifted her skirt with one hand and stepped up the stairs, slamming her other hand on the door: "Lord Bai?"
There was no movement from inside the door.
Ah Chan listened intently but heard nothing. She pounded on the door twice more, but still received no response.
After a moment of silence, under the guard's astonished gaze, A-Chan's voice suddenly broke into a sob: "Lord Bai, are you there? A monster has entered my house, I'm so scared..."
Before he could finish speaking, the door opened.
Bai Xiuming stood inside the door, expressionless, with a cold gaze, exuding a chilling aura.
Ah Chan secretly glanced at him; his face was so pale, it seemed he was really in a bad mood today.
"What case can't the commander of the Mingjing Division handle, that you have to come to me?"
He looked at the guard beside him, who trembled and didn't dare to explain. He immediately knelt down and admitted his mistake: "It was my fault, please punish me, sir."
"Lord Bai, I asked him to bring me here to find you," Achan quickly said.
"He listens to you quite a bit."
Bai Xiuming's cold gaze fell on A Chan's face. When those beautiful peach blossom eyes lost their smile, they were quite frightening.
Achan slightly averted her gaze from him and said, "I don't trust anyone else with matters of life and death."
Looking at the lively and energetic Achan in front of him, Bai Xiuming sneered: "Then tell me in detail what kind of life-or-death matter this is?"
Achan ignored the sarcasm in his words and said, "These past few days I've suddenly started having nightmares. I dream that something crawled out of the well in the yard, but on the first night I couldn't see what it looked like, I could only hear its footsteps."
Before she could finish speaking, Bai Xiuming's nonchalant expression vanished.
This situation could originate from a demon that haunts dreams, or it could be a curse cast through dreams. Given that the former is extremely rare, the latter is more likely.
Seeing him lost in thought, Achan subtly curled the corners of her lips upward and continued, "In my dream the next day, I saw the monster's appearance. It was a fish with arms and legs, and it looked particularly frightening. When I woke up, it had already reached my door."
"Is today the third day?" Bai Xiuming asked.
Curses take varying lengths of time to take effect. Judging from the speed described by Achan, the curse would probably take effect on the third day, which is why he asked that question.
To his surprise, Achan smiled at him and replied, "No, today is the fourth day."
"You only came to report to the authorities on the fourth day?" Bai Xiuming frowned.
Ah Chan looked completely innocent: "But I heard that Lord Bai has been in a bad mood lately and should not be disturbed unless it is a matter of life and death."
The words she had just spoken were swallowed back, but Bai Xiuming only gave her a deep look and said, "Let's go."
Where to?
"Let's go see how to break the curse you're under." With that, he stepped out of the room.
"What if we can't solve it?" Achan immediately followed.
The Mingjing Division's office was very large, and Bai Xiuming didn't walk very fast. After hearing her question, he said coldly, "Then go home and wait to die."
"Adults wouldn't be that cruel."
Achan casually offered a compliment, but when she glanced up, she suddenly realized why the profile of the man sitting in the carriage she had seen earlier looked familiar; the man's features seemed somewhat similar to Bai Xiuming's.
Thinking about the origin of that convoy, Achan had a guess in her mind. Could the one she met be Bai Xiuming's brother?
Considering his original identity and his recent bad mood, it might be related to that team.
Achan's eyes darted around, and she tentatively asked, "Has something unpleasant happened to you lately, sir?"
You can tell her, just to cheer her up.
"The most unpleasant thing for me is being called out to investigate cases during my rest time."
Achan pretended not to understand and praised, "Your Excellency is truly a good official who loves the people like his own children."
Bai Xiuming snorted lightly, looking like he couldn't be bothered to pay her any attention.
The two arrived at a pavilion. He led Achan inside, pushed open a door, and saw an old man in a black robe standing in front of a corpse, studying something intently.
Hearing the door open, the old man said unhappily, "Didn't I say that people are not allowed to disturb us... Why are you here, sir?"
Upon turning his head and seeing that it was Bai Xiuming, the old man immediately changed his expression, his face filled with smiles.
"Check her out and see what kind of curse she's under," Bai Xiuming said, stepping aside to let Achan pass.
The old man glanced at Achan, leaned closer to smell her, circled around her once, and then stepped back two steps, saying, "She smells of water, like a water curse."
Then he asked, "Have you been having nightmares lately, young lady? Have you been having nightmares for several days in a row? What do the things in your dreams look like?"
Achan thought to herself that the people from the Mingjing Division were indeed quite capable. She said, "I've had nightmares for three days in a row. The monsters in my dreams have the bodies of fish, but they have hands and feet, and they even have human facial features."
The old man immediately recognized the water monster from Achan's description and said, "It's a centaur. These things are not common."
Then he said to Achan, "Come with me, young lady."
He led Achan into the inner room and used a black mirror to look her up and down. The mirror occasionally emitted a white light. He then asked her if she had been injured recently, and whether the people and horses had left any traces in her house, etc.
After Achan answered her questions, the old man examined the wound on her hand and, seeing that it had begun to heal, led her out.
Stepping out of the inner room, the old man said to Bai Xiuming, "The water curse on this young lady is still there, but I don't know what happened, the curse doesn't seem to have taken effect."
Bai Xiuming looked at A Chan, and A Chan immediately put on a surprised expression.
The water monster is dead, but the curse remains; it's truly tenacious.
He looked away and asked the old man, "How can the curse be broken?"
“The one who cast the spell needs to take the initiative to dispel it. If the other party refuses... the one who cast the spell will die.” After the old man finished speaking, he reminded her, “This young lady said there are still traces of people and horses left in the house. If we act quickly, we should be able to find the one who cast the spell before the aura dissipates.”
Achan's eyes immediately lit up: "My lord, let's set off quickly."
Bai Xiuming's deep gaze swept over A Chan's delicate face: "Are you in a hurry?"
“Someone wants my life, so of course I’m anxious to know who it is,” Achan replied matter-of-factly.
Bai Xiuming didn't say anything more. After leaving the pavilion, he led Achan back to the front and called out as they passed one of the rooms: "Feng Yang."
"Your subordinate is here." Feng Yang pushed open the door and came out of the room, bowing his head and cautiously asking, "What are your orders, sir?"
"Gather a few people and go to Changpingfang."
"What happened in Changpingfang..." Before he could finish speaking, Feng Yang looked up and saw Achan standing behind Bai Xiuming.
He couldn't help but ask, "Miss Ji, what are you doing here? Have you run into some trouble again?"
“Yes,” Achan replied, “I was accidentally cursed.”
"What? Who did this?" Feng Yang genuinely felt that A Chan was unlucky, as she seemed to run into trouble every few days.
"Who knows?" Achan sighed. "Maybe someone dislikes Lord Bai and wants to kill me."
After she finished speaking, she deliberately glanced at Bai Xiuming.
Feng Yang couldn't help but look at his master, not quite understanding the logic of his words. Why would someone who disliked his master want to harm Miss Ji?
However, he wisely refrained from asking.
Soon, Achan led the people from the Mingjing Division back to her residence in Changpingfang. There were no customers in the shop at this time, only Chen Hui was guarding it, and a group of Mingjing Division guards filed in.
Seeing this, Chen Hui closed the shop door and went back to the backyard.
Under Chen Hui's guidance, the Mingjing Guards quickly retrieved the water stains left by the men and horses the previous night from the well and Achan's room.
The traces left by spirits can remain for most of the day unless they are specifically removed.
However, by the time the cursed person sensed something was wrong, it was too late, and they wouldn't pay any special attention to it, making it very difficult for them to find any trace of it.
The guard from the Mingjing Division absorbed the water stains with a piece of red paper, then placed the paper on a bare compass. Soon, the compass needle pointed in a direction.
Having obtained the exact location of the troops, the Mingjing Guards were ready to set off. Just as Bai Xiuming was about to mount his horse, Achan suddenly reached out and grabbed his sleeve.
Bai Xiuming lowered his eyes, watching the slender white fingers gripping his crimson official robe, before finally asking, "Is there anything else?"
"Sir, could you take me with you?"
What are you going to do?
"I want to ask that person myself, why did you want to harm me?"
"Do you think the Mingjing Division won't get the truth out of us?"
Ah Chan wouldn't answer such a question. She gently waved her hand and said, "Sir, please take me with you. I'm a living victim. The murderer might be willing to say a few more words to me. I promise I won't cause you any trouble."
Bai Xiuming stared at her quietly for a while, then broke free from her grasp and mounted his horse.
Achan stood beside the tall dragon-blood horse, looking up at him with slightly reddened eyes and downturned lips, as if she were angry or had suffered a great injustice.
The Mingjing Division's procession had already set off. Achan slowly lowered her head. At that moment, Bai Xiuming suddenly bent down and grabbed her arm. Achan felt her feet slip, and a hand supported her waist. The next moment, she was sitting on the horse.
The Dragonblood Horse neighed and began to trot.
Achan sat leaning against Bai Xiuming, making her figure appear exceptionally petite, with the back of her head resting only on his shoulder.
She turned her head slightly, only able to catch a glimpse of the man's chin behind her, but this did not affect her performance at all. She sincerely praised, "My lord, you are so kind."
Bai Xiuming gripped the reins with one hand and snorted after hearing her words: "I'm tired of hearing that. Try a different word next time."
"oh."
They're really hard to please.
Soon, the Mingjing Division's troops appeared in Kaimingfang and silently surrounded the courtyard that the compass was pointing to.
Inside the house, Granny Tian was frowning as she lifted the horse-like figures from the water vat, but to her surprise, the figures didn't move at all.
She was startled and before she could think any further, she suddenly heard the sound of the door being kicked open. She hurriedly dropped the men she was carrying, and before she had even taken two steps out of the room, a knife was held to her neck.
Seeing the Mingjing Guards suddenly appear before her, panic flashed in her eyes, and she stammered, "M-Sir, have you found the wrong person?"
Feng Yang looked at the trembling Granny Tian and sneered, "Don't you know what you've done?"
"My lord, I didn't..."
Before he could finish speaking, Feng Yang waved to someone behind him: "Put on the shackles."
Immediately, someone stepped forward and put a heavy shackle on Granny Tian's body, locking her hands and feet. Granny Tian's face immediately turned ashen.
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