Chapter 24 Disappearance Case and Murder Case
Zhu Xuanwei didn't sleep; he couldn't sleep.
After being brutally beaten, his mouth was sore, and his internal organs felt as if they had been twisted into a knot.
He sat with his knees drawn up in a dark corner, staring intently at the men sleeping soundly on the haystack with resentful eyes.
And those meddlesome yamen runners—if he hadn't told them his identity, he wouldn't have been beaten.
They're just a bunch of ants; once they get out of here, they'll be in for a beating.
Zhu Xuanwei was plotting in his mind how to get revenge.
However, there was probably no chance now. By the moonlight, one could clearly see that his forehead was dark and his face was bluish-purple, a typical dead man's appearance.
He will likely die suddenly before dawn.
Jiang Yuzhi led the way closer to him, bringing with her a gust of cold wind that instantly gave Zhu Xuanwei goosebumps.
Just as she was about to give him a good scare, a golden thread, identical to the one around Zhou Quan's neck, shot out swiftly from Zhu Xuanwei's hair and hurtled straight toward Jiang Yuzhi's face.
Startled, she took two steps back, only to be supported by the approaching Black and White Impermanence.
The golden thread rubbed against her brow with a pitiful expression before disappearing into it.
So that's how it is. The reason I was able to live for four more years was because of the tiny bit of residual power of the Sheji Tu (a map of the state).
I thought of He Ji again. His physical body was so fragmented; how much pain must he have felt when his consciousness was still intact?
Zhu Xuanwei lost his life in an instant. His eyes, wide open in anger, were filled with terror and his eyeballs turned gray. In the moment of his death, he saw Jiang Yuzhi in her ghostly form, as well as the Black and White Impermanence dressed in official uniforms.
After the soul leaves the body, it is easy to tell whether it has accumulated any merit.
Take Zhu Xuanwei, for example. His soul was pitch black, and he not only had no merits but also accumulated a lot of sins.
At Xie Bi'an's instruction, no additional ghost messengers were arranged to be sent to the Book of Life and Death.
Jiang Yuzhi was still processing the remaining strength from her return when she felt a hand push her on the shoulder.
She turned around and found it was her two older brothers. They pointed to her still bewildered soul, waved at her, and turned their backs to her.
If I understand correctly, is it to let her vent her anger?
Hmph, fine. It's not too outrageous to give them a little preferential treatment before the judge makes his decision.
Jiang Yuzhi stepped forward and slapped him several times with both hands, then punched him hard in the chin.
Zhu Xuanwei, in a state of confusion, was completely stunned. He was knocked to the ground, and his soul passed through his own corpse, curling up in pain and emitting ghostly howls.
That wasn't all. Once he relaxed a little, Jiang Yuzhi stepped on Zhu Xuanwei's lower body and ground her foot down hard a few times.
The ghost beneath his feet immediately let out a bloodcurdling scream like a pig being slaughtered.
The female ghost who could lift a grown man like Bai Yan with both hands was naturally incredibly strong. With the enhancement of her ghostly power, the souls that made up that place scattered like stars.
What Bai Yan couldn't do, he finally accomplished with his wife.
Hearing the noise, the Black and White Impermanence thought it was about time and turned around to pack up their stall.
Zhu Xuanwei, whose leg was missing, inexplicably clenched his legs.
Xiaozhi's abilities seem to have indeed exceeded their expectations.
"Cough, let's go back to the underworld. We can watch him be interrogated." Xie Bi'an forced himself to ignore that part and urged Fan Wujiu to use the Soul-Hooking Lock to bind him up.
Fan Wujiu's original lock was still on Zhao Qingyun's body. The one in his hand was the one used by ordinary ghost messengers, and he wasn't very skilled at it. He had to throw it twice before he could tie Zhu Xuanwei up.
The three ghosts and one half-crippled ghost rushed back to the underworld. They had to return to the courtyard before dawn.
Fortunately, the judge, who had been on leave for many days, happened to be here today.
Jiang Yuzhi then realized that her contact in the human world was actually Lu Zhidao from the underworld.
When Xie Bi'an called him Judge Lu, Jiang Yuzhi assumed that his full name was Judge Lu.
This judge only handles official business in the underworld after nightfall in the mortal realm; he cannot be seen at other times.
There was no need to consult the judge unless absolutely necessary, and Jiang Yuzhi had never encountered him.
I've heard other ghosts mention it.
Lord Lu's resentment is heavier than that of the ghosts in hell. Lord Lu has taken leave again today. Lord Lu has also made several new ghost messengers cry.
And according to Di Ting's jokes, if you encounter Lu Zhidao on the road, it's best to stay away from him, lest you be transformed into a vengeful ghost by his resentment.
After saying that, he laughed and ran away.
"Zhu Xuanwei, for his grave sins, is now sentenced to serve a thousand years of rotation in the eighteen levels of hell, and to be castrated as a pig in the animal realm."
With just a few words, Zhu Xuanwei's next life was decided.
The pigs used in sacrifices were castrated by the heavens, making them perfect as they had no fishy or gamey smell.
He was stunned by the beating and before he could recover, several ghost messengers escorted him to hell.
"Alright, that's enough for today. We'll deal with the rest of the ghosts tomorrow." Lu Zhidao waved his hand, indicating that he had other things to do.
The young man acting as his advisor was in a dilemma, "Judge Lu, you've already accumulated a lot, if you don't proceed soon..."
"What do you mean I collected them? I'm a military judge, do you think those are my job? Huh?"
The somber question frightened the poor little devil into silence.
“Judge Lu, it’s only right that he urges you, why bother…” Xie Bi’an, unusually, had a change of heart and spoke up for the little devil.
Lu Zhidao: "Why are you still here?"
Xie Bi'an: "I was just about to leave when I saw you scolding him, so I said a few words."
Lu Zhidao said, "Instead of wasting time on this, you might as well hurry up and find the Emperor to arrange a civil judge for me so I can go do my own work."
Xie Bi'an: "Isn't it because there aren't any good candidates? Why don't you go and talk to the Emperor yourself?"
Lu Zhidao: "I told him, he won't see me at all now."
His face was expressionless, with heavy dark circles under his eyes and a haggard, gloomy expression.
Jiang Yuzhi finally understood why Lu Zhidao harbored such resentment.
"Doesn't the Emperor like you very much? Go and tell him." Lu Zhidao floated leisurely in front of Jiang Yuzhi, his voice completely calm.
The death stare.
Fan Wujiu stopped his sister behind him, "Isn't Judge Lu busy? We should go back to the surface too."
The mountain of official duties made Lu Zhidao dizzy just thinking about it. He snorted coldly and stormed off.
The sun had just risen in the mortal realm when the group of ghosts returned to the courtyard.
Bai Yan got up early, intending to visit his wife before attending to his father's instructions from the previous night.
The courtyard gate was tightly closed; it seemed unlikely that they would be able to see him.
He had no choice but to go to the prefectural government alone, accompanied by a few yamen runners, and head towards the sea.
While reviewing case files over the past few months, Bai Wulan stumbled upon a strange detail: a missing person case from a month prior.
He was a fisherman who went out to sea to fish. He set off in the morning and did not return until evening. He was missing for several days.
Two days later, his wife also left Zuo Huai under the pretext of visiting her parents.
He has not returned to this day.
The person who reported the disappearance was Feng Dahai, the couple's neighbor. In addition, there was a familiar name in the confession - Zhu Bin, Zhu Xuanwei's alias.
The fishermen are likely in grave danger; if they disappear at sea, their remains may never be found.
His wife went home to visit her family at this time, which made it hard not to suspect something.
Bai Wulan couldn't spare the time; the state government had too many backlogged cases and files, so she had to instruct her son to investigate.
It had rained the day before, and the people's faces were filled with joy.
Bai Yan found the fisherman's home recorded in the dossier.
A thick layer of dust had accumulated on the wooden door, indicating that no one had been back for a long time.
He did not open the door rashly, but ordered the yamen runners to bring all the neighbors over, especially the one who had reported the case.
The house has a small front yard with a wooden rack on which hangs dried salted fish and bits and pieces of dried vegetables.
It doesn't seem like the host family has gone on a long trip.
The neighbors were preparing to go out to sea to fish together, and they were gathered together now, saving the yamen runners from having to search for them one by one.
Bai Yan sized them up. "Who is Feng Dahai?"
The square-faced man nervously wiped his face and stepped forward.
"My lord, it is I."
Several days had passed since Feng Dahai's case was filed. As a small fisherman who had never spoken to anyone powerful or influential, he was inevitably nervous.
Bai Yan didn't waste any words and went straight to asking about the origins of the case.
The fishermen generally have good neighborly relations, and it's common for them to go out to sea to fish together. In years of disaster, they even pool their resources to try and make the food last longer.
Feng Dahai was not yet married, so he often shared more of his catch with Wang Zhiyong's family and they ate together.
Feng Dahai was sick for a day, so he told Wang Zhiyong to find someone to go out to sea with him that day.
It's really unsafe to be alone on a boat; if something happens, there's no one to lend a hand.
Late at night, Wang Zhiyong's wife, Zhang Yun, found him, and he learned that his brother Wang had not returned yet.
It's hard to find people at night, but Feng Dahai still called on a few people he was on good terms with to ask them one by one who Wang Zhiyong had gone out with during the day.
Unable to get any answers, the group searched the beach for a while, but to no avail.
Feng Dahai then split up with them and went to the prefectural government alone to report the case.
After daybreak, the prefectural government sent people to investigate and learned that someone had seen Zhu Bin and Wang Zhiyong talking together before boarding a fishing boat.
That is indeed what Zhu Xuanwei said in his confession.
He said he had made an appointment with Wang Zhiyong to go out to sea together and he would teach Wang Zhiyong how to fish.
Seeing that it was getting late, he went home first, and I never saw him again.
As for Zhang Yun, who went back to her parents' home to visit relatives, the soldiers guarding the city also confirmed that it was true.
Suspicious. Zhu Xuanwei is a cunning, lecherous, and pleasure-seeking man. Would he really take the initiative to learn a skill to make a living?
If he had truly cared, he wouldn't have met him at the shack outside the city.
Bai Yan pondered for a moment, then frowned and waved his hand, signaling the yamen runners to let the fishermen leave and record their work hours.
His intuition told him that this must be related to Zhu Xuanwei. After being missing at sea for more than a month, Wang Zhiyong was likely in grave danger.
The crowd dispersed, leaving only a child standing hesitantly in place.
The young woman, about six or seven years old, had her hair tied in pigtails. Her coarse cloth clothes had a few patches on them, but they were very clean.
Bai Yan noticed her, and the young lady, as if she had made up her mind, jogged a few steps.
Bai Yan squatted down accordingly. "What's wrong?"
"Sir, I'll tell you a secret, I don't think Uncle Zhu is a good person. He doesn't work, he smells bad, and he even stole the eggs my mother gave me."
The young woman's innocent and straightforward complaint made Bai Yan vaguely grasp something.
"Does Uncle Zhu bully you? Have you told your parents?"
"Mmm! Dad told me to avoid him. I always feel uncomfortable when he looks at me. And Zhang Niangzi, he looks at her like that too. But Zhang Niangzi is a good person. She gives me food and helps me comb my hair. Zhang Niangzi also told me to stay away from him, and I listened to her! It's just that I haven't seen Zhang Niangzi for a long time, and I miss her a little. Sir, could it be that Uncle Zhu kidnapped Zhang Niangzi because we don't play with him?"
Children are always innocent.
Bai Yan finally caught the fleeting inspiration.
Fortunately, that guy is still in jail; we'll have to give him a thorough interrogation.
He took his wife to the grain store and bought some rice and flour as a reward for her bravery.
The constables carried rice and flour, escorting her home happily.
Bai Yan had just entered the prefectural capital when he learned that Zhu Xuanwei had died suddenly the previous night.
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Author's Note: In case you forget, let me briefly mention the previous content covered in this chapter.
① In the first few chapters, Bai Yan comes to congratulate the opening of the funeral clothes shop, trips at the door, and is picked up by Yu Zhi.
② In the chapter where Zhu Xuanwei appears, it's mentioned that Bai Yan's eyes were stung by the spiciness, and he wanted to castrate him, but he found it too disgusting and didn't do it.
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