Chapter 37 Strange Things Happen Frequently, Telling You to Eat Less Salt, Why Is Your Mouth So Idle...
After finally managing to wake the person up, they suddenly fainted again.
"Look at you, so pathetic." Cen Ying said to him, but her hands didn't stop applying acupuncture to him.
Cui Mingcan paused for a moment, then said with a look of utter despair, "Am I going to die?"
"Pah! Pah! Pah! What unlucky things are you saying?!" Cen Ying pressed down on a certain acupoint, and Cui Mingcan cried out in pain, "What are you doing?!"
"Hmph, I'm not doing anything."
"Don't you know that it's better for the patient? What kind of doctor are you?!"
"Speak again?" Cen Ying raised the gleaming silver needle in her hand and sneered, "If you say another word, I'll pierce your mute acupoint and make sure you can never speak again for the rest of your life!"
"What a vicious woman!"
Cui Mingcan groaned, noticing the spot where the kitten had scratched him, and asked, "Do you think this cat is sick? Will it kill me if it scratches me?"
Cen Ying rolled her eyes at him, and Bai Yuheng couldn't help but roll her eyes back as well, hugging the kitten in her arms: "Don't worry, you won't die."
"So what exactly happened last night?" Cui Mingcan asked. "Why are there ghosts in Anping County?"
Are they here to arrest me?
Am I going to die?
My uncle said I'll live to be a hundred!?
"I don't want to die!!!"
"You still have the energy to howl, so you seem to be almost fully recovered." Cen Ying put away the needles, ignoring his rapid-fire questions, and said calmly.
"Tell me quickly, what exactly happened?"
“Those ghost messengers lured Xiao Kuo away, probably because they were after you…” Bai Yuheng guessed, resting her chin on her hand.
"And it disappeared before Xiao Kuo found you, but what is certain is that there are fragments of the Four Directions Mirror here, and something has materialized and can command the ghost messengers."
"Aren't ghost messengers supposed to work for the underworld? Why can they command ordinary demons?" Cen Ying asked, puzzled.
"Proper ghost messengers naturally work for the underworld, but some who are disobedient or without a master may not."
Cui Mingcan pondered for a while and then said, "Are you saying that those ghost messengers are likely either independent or bribed to take orders from others?"
“Hmm.” Bai Yuheng placed the cat on the table, poured it a glass of water, and continued, “Moreover, the person behind this must be someone who possesses a fragment of the Four Directions Mirror. This person uses the power of the Four Directions Mirror to control the ghost messengers and make them work for them.”
Bai Yuheng pondered, recalling some kind of evil magic: "However, there is another possibility: those are not real ghost messengers, but living dead created by humans using some kind of evil magic."
"A living dead!?" Cui Mingcan shuddered involuntarily.
“Hmm, peel off the human skin, use resentment and fear as the soul, and use the skin as the form. This allows one to communicate between the human and ghost realms, but is not subject to their control. But this kind of evil magic is hundreds of years old. It was eradicated by the monarchs of the human world a hundred years ago. Logically speaking, it should no longer exist…” Bai Yuheng muttered to herself, at a loss for a moment.
“I heard the noise too. It seemed like they lingered outside each room for a moment. What did they come to the inn for last night? Just to kidnap Cui Mingcan?” Cen Ying glanced at the half-dead man, unable to figure out what use he was.
Bai Yuheng frowned, unable to guess the reason, and guessed, "Maybe they are patrolling the territory? We need to find out their hideout before we know."
Li Tiankuo said, "They already knew about us last night, and they'll probably be coming for us soon."
Bai Yuheng nodded in agreement: "We just arrived yesterday and came to the inn last night. We went straight to Xiao Can's place. Let's not look for them yet and wait for them to come to us."
Cen Ying nodded, while Cui Mingcan looked distressed.
Cen Ying said, "Hey, do you think the Liang family case, the Chen family village case, and those kidnapped grooms were all committed by the same person?"
Li Tiankuo put down his teacup and said, "We'll have to check the files at the government office to find out if the two are related."
Cen Ying tapped Cui Mingcan's head and asked, "Are you feeling better? If you're not feeling well, rest at the inn first. I'll go by myself."
"No, no!" Cui Mingcan grabbed her arm, refusing to let go. "Don't leave me here! I'm really scared!"
Cen Ying teased him, "Who told you to be so greedy and eat so many drunken shrimp last night? Otherwise, how could this have happened?"
Cui Mingcan's face instantly turned red, and he said defiantly, "That's not true at all!"
"Keep being stubborn!"
Cen Ying packed her things and went out with Bai Yuheng first. Li Tiankuo was about to get up when Cui Mingcan frowned and asked, "Brother Tian, why did you run away last night?"
“You didn’t run away. You were lured away after you realized something was wrong.” Li Tiankuo’s expression was grave as he recalled what had happened last night. “When I came back, I found you lying downstairs, having been frightened unconscious.”
"They didn't take me with them?" Cui Mingcan asked in surprise.
“There’s something on you, and they’re afraid of you.”
Upon hearing this, Cui Mingcan remembered the jade pendant his mother had obtained from a temple and blessed by a master. He quickly took it out to examine it: "Hehe, it seems my mother was right, the master really is a master!"
He was so disgusted with it back then, refusing to wear it, and almost suffered the consequences for not listening to the elders! This time in Huaizhou, I must find an opportunity to go back to Jiangzhou to see his mother and have a good talk with her. If it weren't for the precious jade pendant she begged for, her eldest son would have almost been gone!
Li Tiankuo lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Hurry up and pack, we need to get ready to leave."
"Hey hey hey! Okay!" Cui Mingcan carefully put the jade pendant on her body like a precious treasure, then sprang up and got dressed and washed up.
The four of them parted ways at the entrance of the inn.
Bai Yuheng and Li Tiankuo went to the local government office, while Cui Mingcan and Cen Ying inquired about information at the market.
Bai Yuheng entrusted the kitten to the care of the shop assistant.
The situation did not improve on the second day; people still looked at them with a mixture of wariness and fear.
Everywhere there were faint, almost imperceptible gazes.
Li Tiankuo frowned, clearly disliking the feeling of being watched in a gloomy manner.
In particular, there was a cold, burning, and hateful gaze, like a slippery, dark snake, that slithered across the body, coiled around the neck and shoulders, and slowly wrapped around and suffocated the person with each breath.
Bai Yuheng noticed Li Tiankuo turning back frequently, so she moved closer and asked in a low voice, "You felt it too?"
Li Tiankuo nodded, but suddenly felt that gaze become even more dangerous and scorching, as if it wanted to tear him to pieces.
Who do you think it is?
Li Tiankuo shook his head and moved closer: "Could it be those people from last night? Secretly following us?"
"Possibly."
The two stared at each other for a few moments.
Bai Yuheng could feel that gaze growing colder and more urgent, as if it was about to burst. She suddenly turned her head, but found nothing. Then the gaze moved to another spot.
"Forget it, let's not worry about it. We'll talk about it after we've reviewed the files."
"good."
The two quickened their pace and headed towards the county government office.
With the prince's gold medal, the two not only entered the county government office smoothly, but were also warmly received by the county magistrate.
"Your Highness, I was unaware of your arrival. I have failed to greet you properly and deserve to die."
"Get up, and do not tell anyone about my coming here."
"Yes." The magistrate's face beamed with joy, and he asked in surprise, "May I ask what brings Your Highness to our county?"
"We want to see the case files."
The magistrate hesitated, his smile fading considerably: "Oh? I wonder which file Your Highness wishes to see?"
Although I had a vague idea of which one it was, I still held onto a sliver of hope.
"The Liang family."
"..."
"Chenjia Village".
Li Tiankuo frowned and looked down at him: "There's also the case of the missing groom."
"Your Highness, please forgive us!" The county magistrate and the men behind him knelt down in a rush.
"What crime have you committed?"
Li Tiankuo sat high in the main seat, poured Bai Yuheng a cup of tea, and displayed the imposing manner of a prince. He was dignified without being angry, and the kneeling people trembled.
"Your Majesty, Your ... has failed in your duties and deserves to die ten thousand times."
The county magistrate kowtowed deeply.
"It seems that the massacre of the Liang family and Chen family village was not the work of bandits."
Li Tiankuo put down his teacup, and the tea bowl slammed onto the saucer with a crisp sound, causing the magistrate and his men to hallucinate that their heads had fallen to the ground.
"Yes, yes, Your Highness is right. The case involving the Liang family and Chenjia Village was indeed not the work of bandits!" The magistrate's voice trembled with tears. "It was simply not the work of a human being! I only said that to reassure the people. I beg Your Highness's forgiveness!"
After saying that, he kowtowed sincerely again.
"Why do you say that?" Bai Yuheng asked, her brows furrowing slightly.
The magistrate dared not look at her too long for fear of offending the noblewoman. He merely glanced at her respectfully before quickly lowering his eyes again, and replied humbly, "Your Excellency, the Liang family residence is located in the most prosperous area of our county. If it were the work of robbers, how could no one have known? Moreover, the Liang family members died a gruesome death, skinned, dismembered, and bled... How could anyone, with a breath left, silently kill an entire household of over a hundred people? Even the guard dog was killed! That's one point. Secondly, the night watchman passed by the Liang residence every watch and did not notice anything unusual until after dawn, when he struck the last watch and the blood of the Liang family members overflowed from the gate, which finally caught his attention..."
"Thirdly, when we arrived," the magistrate said, then couldn't help but shudder as he recalled that unforgettable scene, "The gates of the Liang mansion were wide open, and all the corpses were piled on a huge frame, their deaths gruesome. As soon as we arrived, the wooden frame spontaneously combusted, and flames filled the sky, burning for days and nights, and no matter how hard we tried to put it out, we couldn't extinguish it!"
The strong smell of burning corpses permeated the entire Anping County, blotting out the sun.
"It even rained during the fire, but it couldn't extinguish the raging flames, until the entire Liang mansion was burned to the ground!" The magistrate shuddered. "Strangely, the Liang mansion was right next to the Huang mansion, the second richest in Anping County, yet the fire couldn't burn through the walls separating the two houses..."
As the magistrate handed the relevant case files that had just been brought over to Li Tiankuo, he said, "These are the case files for the Liang family, Chen family village, and the missing groom. All the details are recorded in the files."
When did the groom go missing?
"At the beginning of this year..."
Bai Yuheng frowned. "The beginning of the month? Isn't that close to when the Four Directions Mirror was stolen?"
"Any clues?"
Li Tiankuo asked questions one by one.
The county magistrate was drenched in sweat.
"No, not yet... but according to folklore, it's a ghost, a ghost master taking a bride..." His voice trailed off as he cautiously observed Li Tiankuo's expression.
"Then what about Chenjia Village?" Li Tiankuo didn't speak, flipping through the files, when Bai Yuheng asked him.
Seeing that Li Tiankuo didn't say anything, the magistrate said respectfully, "This Chenjia Village is also strange. Even before the Liang family was wiped out, strange things happened frequently!"
Li Tiankuo handed the dossier to Bai Yuheng, his expression grave, and said in a cold voice, "Tell me the details!"
Yes, yes.
*
"That Chenjia Village deserves it even more!"
Cui Mingcan's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Oh? Why do you say that?"
The old woman selling vegetables waved her hand in disgust and said, "Everyone in that village is a scoundrel! They not only bully orphans and widows, but they also forcibly take wives, seize property, and ruin people's reputations!"
"I say, Granny Zhang, that woman is clearly unfaithful, seducing brothers to kill each other, ruining their families and bringing misfortune to their husbands. She's a scourge!"
Cen Ying frowned and looked over. It was a middle-aged man holding a wine jar, his face flushed. He must have come over because he saw the commotion on their side.
"Ask me anything you want to know! I'm the most knowledgeable person in Anping County!"
Granny Zhang spat, "She's a girl who often comes to my stall to sell vegetables. She's just an honest and well-behaved young lady, and you have to pin this kind of accusation on her!"
"Hey! You old hag, if you care so much about her, why didn't you save her when she was burning to death? All you do is blabber on and on!" The man spat and sneered, "She deserves it! A woman like that who doesn't live up to her virtue should be hung on Broken Arm Cliff and carried off by an eagle! Then burned to a crisp!"
Cen Ying shuddered upon hearing this, glared at the foul-mouthed man, and cursed, "I told you to eat less salt, why is your mouth so idle? Did someone bring you bad luck or steal your rice?! Did you drink sewage with your filthy mouth? Did the old lady pour all the water she used to water your vegetables onto you? Your dog eyes see only shit!"
Not only was the man stunned, but even Cui Mingcan was dumbfounded. He had no idea that Cen Ying was so powerful! It seems her usual scolding of him was actually quite kind...
Cui Mingcan was instantly moved.
The man was furious. Looking at the brightly dressed woman before him, and comparing her words to her own, he was momentarily speechless. Pointing at her, he stammered, "You...you...you..."
Cui Mingcan, hands on hips, joined in the cursing: "An old man who doesn't die is a thief! You shameless pig who only knows how to mock women! Calling you a pig is dirtying the pig!"
After he finished cursing, he looked at Cen Ying as if seeking praise: "How was that?"
Cen Ying snorted, "Not bad."
"How come you're so good at swearing?" After the two finished swearing, they huddled together and whispered to each other, which made the man even angrier.
"I learned it all from my uncle!" Her uncle may not be good at anything else, but he is exceptionally good at arguing, and he is one of the best in the village.
The man was so angry he felt dizzy and his wine tasted bland. He threw the wine jug on the ground, cursing, "Damn it! I'll beat you all to death!"
Just as the man rolled up his sleeves, ready to throw a punch, a golden ribbon bound him from head to toe, and a sword was placed across his neck.
Who do you want to hit?
A cold female voice rang in my ear, accompanied by a sharp, piercing pain.
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Author's Note: Thursday's ranking day! [Let me see][Milk tea]
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