Ten in Beijing
"Tell me, why are you here?"
After briefly describing her experiences over the past two days, Aruo crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows as she looked at the woman whose beauty could not be concealed even in men's clothing.
"I was worried about you. You spent two days and one night collecting herbs. I also heard that someone died in Lingshan and the government was there. I was worried that something might have happened to you, so I couldn't help but come out to look for you. And you're blaming me for not knowing that I was worried about you?"
Cai Xin glanced at Su Zirui who was not far away, and whispered in Aruo's ear, "Could those people be related to you? You promised that person not to cause trouble."
"Didn't I tell you that those people have nothing to do with me, but rather with that person?" Aruo moved his chin towards the side, his eyes landing on the smiling man. "Hey, who's that guy with that lustful smile on his face?"
Cai Xin looked back and smiled foolishly. She waved her hand nonchalantly, "I don't know, and it doesn't matter. Auntie is very worried about you. If you didn't come back last night, she would have gone up the mountain to look for you if Lao Cai and I hadn't pulled her back. Let's go back quickly. You've lost weight. Let's go back and give you some nourishment."
Su Zirui glanced at the girl after hearing this. How could she lose weight in just one night? Not to mention that she spent a lot of money on a New Year's Eve dinner that, according to her, was nothing special.
"Ahem, little Caixin, it's not nice to burn your bridges like this." The man whose smile was disdained touched his cheek, feeling quite aggrieved. "Didn't you come to me and ask for help in finding someone?"
"Thank you, Master Lin." Cai Xin turned around neatly, bowed, and waved her handkerchief. "We've found the person. Please go back. I will repay you for your kindness in my next life."
After saying that, without waiting for his reaction, she turned around and hugged Aruo's arm, saying affectionately, "Aruo, let's go back. Oh, by the way, Master Su, thank you. I'll treat you to breakfast another day."
"Hey, that's not right. I was the one who accompanied you to find someone. You are thanking him? What did he do to deserve your thanks?" The man shook his fan and smiled with a very good temper.
Cai Xin glanced at him and said nothing. If her acquaintances in the Ministry of Justice hadn't been out on business, she wouldn't have rushed to seek help from this pervert.
Aruo looked at her curiously. Although they were not ladies from wealthy families, it was rare to see her being so rude.
Cai Xin pursed her lips and said reluctantly, "This is Lin Ziyan, the Junior Official of the Dali Temple. I heard he's the third child in his family. Last time at the entrance of Furong Tower, it was he who stopped me and nearly caused trouble. I went to look for Beili and the others early this morning and found out they were all in Lingshan to handle a case. I was worried about you and planned to come find you. I just happened to run into him and insisted on following him."
After hearing what she said, Aruo remembered. No wonder she felt that this person looked familiar. He was the one who listened to Ruxian playing the piano with Su Zirui that day, another high-level silver player.
She immediately felt that this person was not very good. When she looked more closely, she saw that the other person's eyes were looking disapprovingly at Cai Xin's hand that was holding her.
Humph, another scoundrel who covets her little Caixin's beauty. Aruo raised an eyebrow. In such a comparison, Su Zirui, who was observing his surroundings inconspicuously, looked like a gentleman.
Aruo chuckled, rested his chin on Caixin's shoulder, and rubbed it lazily.
Seeing this, Lin Ziyan quickly opened his folding fan and fanned himself, not bothering with the two women. "Master Su, are you guys free? Don't the Ministry of Justice have any interesting cases lately?"
"I'm not as busy as Lord Lin. He even has to personally handle small cases like finding people." Su Zirui smiled faintly, with a cold look in his eyes.
Aruluo watched the two of them speaking to each other in silence. They even quoted scriptures to mock each other. Are all officials so boring and talkative?
They were now at the back door of a large house, some distance away from the bustling street. Sitting on the stone steps with Cai Xin, after not sleeping all night and strolling for some time, Aruo was now a little sleepy.
Suddenly, a burst of children's laughter came from behind the door. Aruo felt an inexplicable chill down his spine and couldn't help but look up and ask, "Did you all hear it?"
"What?" Cai Xin was thinking about how to get rid of Lin Ziyan's favor, and replied casually.
"Didn't you hear the children's laughter?" The sleepiness disappeared instantly, and Aruo subconsciously looked at Su Zirui.
Listening carefully, Su Zirui shook his head at her.
Aruo stood up in confusion, but her knees suddenly went weak and she couldn't stand steadily. She quickly leaned against the wooden door behind her, but unexpectedly the door was not locked, and she fell backwards.
"Aruo!" Cai Xin was startled and only had time to grab her flying clothes. "Are you okay?"
Aruo rolled down two steps and lay on the ground, staring blankly at the dilapidated yard and fallen leaves. Su Zirui looked up and saw that there was no plaque on the house and the doorway did not look dilapidated, which was out of place inside.
"Master Su, this lock..." Lin Ziyan squatted by the door and picked up the fallen chain, his face slightly gloomy.
The black chain was slightly rusty, but the lock was still new, as if someone had broken it open with great effort. Su Zirui shook his head slightly, stepped into the door, and went forward to check on the person Cai Xin had helped up. "Are you okay?"
"No, it's true that I was scared." Aruo stood obediently and let Caixin bend over to help her brush off the dust, then looked around.
"Lord Su is right, you are just reckless." Cai Xin poked her forehead with her finger and said unhappily.
"Did you really not hear the child's voice just now?" Aruo still did not give up. She really heard the child's laughter just now, and it was quite close to her, as clear as if it was passing by behind her.
To avoid the villagers, they had gone to a remote place, which was why Aruo felt so awkward. Normally, children wouldn't play in such a remote place.
Cai Xin thought about it carefully and shook her head blankly. She really didn't hear any strange noises. But she didn't refute Aruo. She had been thinking about reasons to get rid of Lin Ziyan's favor, so it was possible that she didn't notice it.
Su Zirui and Lin Ziyan checked the yard as usual, looked at each other, and both felt strange.
The yard's dilapidated appearance hadn't occurred overnight. The window frames of the house were covered in dust and spider silk. It was only the beginning of summer, and the accumulation of fallen leaves suggested no one had been here for a long time. So why hadn't the outer walls looked worn just now? Furthermore, the lock also puzzled them; it had broken so unexpectedly.
"What do you think?" Lin Ziyan tapped his chin with the handle of his fan and asked with interest.
A gentle breeze blew, and Su Zirui noticed a difference. The wind outside was gentle and cool just now, but now it was clear and cold, as if they were in a world completely different from the outside.
"There are many strange things in the world, and there are many cases involving formations or strange things in the files of the Ministry of Justice." Su Zirui is not very old, but he has been in the Ministry of Justice for several years. He has already read and memorized the files in it, and knows some private matters better than outsiders.
"There aren't many files of this type in the Dali Temple, but there are many records of secret techniques in the Royal Secrets. However, Da Qi has been banning witchcraft for a long time." Lin Ziyan glanced at the sky, which was no different from before, and he couldn't figure it out for a moment.
Su Zirui pondered for a moment, reviewing the courtyard's furnishings. "Any formation has a triggering point, like a bell, a musical instrument, or something else that makes a sound, or a dazzling person or object, to lure people into an illusory realm through hearing or vision. But since we accidentally entered this courtyard, and everything we've seen here, we haven't seen anything special."
Because it was so ordinary, he couldn't be sure whether he had entered the formation. Apart from this possibility, could it be that the courtyard was so gloomy that he felt something was wrong?
"If you want to say it's unusual, it's probably..." Lin Ziyan's eyes fell on Aruo, who was looking around. He was just taking a day off and happened to meet the little beauty who wanted to ask for help, so he just wanted to kill time. He didn't expect to encounter such an interesting thing.
"What do you want to do?" Su Zirui naturally thought of the child's laughter that Aruo had just mentioned. Seeing Aruo and Cai Xin were about to enter the house, he couldn't help but pull them back.
"Since we're here, let's go in and take a look." Aruo said as a matter of course, "Didn't you give me an excuse to stay here just because you wanted to continue investigating this village?"
Based on her understanding of this man, if it wasn't an urgent matter, he would most likely send her back to the city first to avoid being a drag, but today he actually agreed to borrow her to cover up his stay in the village, which showed that this matter was quite important.
"Don't do anything rash. This yard is a bit weird. If you don't understand the situation, you might not be able to protect yourself with your skills if something unexpected happens." Su Zirui frowned and said disapprovingly. Even the two of them didn't dare to act rashly, and she wanted to go straight in?
"Aren't you here?" Aruo was quite puzzled by his actions. Her black eyes were bright and clear, with a hint of smile and trust. "A minister of the Ministry of Justice, known as the living Yama, and a junior official of the Dali Temple, known as the Jade-faced Guanyin. Both of us, the judges of our dynasty, are here. You two must be full of righteousness. I guess no evil spirits would dare to approach you. What are we afraid of?"
After all, she had been in the capital for almost a year, and she had heard of the Four Princes of the Capital. Now that two of the Four Princes had arrived, any one of them could beat the smart one. What was she afraid of? At worst, they could just run away first.
Su Zirui was so angry at her trusting look that he laughed, "Should I be grateful for your trust?"
"You're welcome." Aruo smiled with a smile that left him speechless.
Lin Ziyan watched the two with considerable amusement. He knew that Caixin and the other two came from the common people, mingling in the marketplace and tending to be more spontaneous than the average secluded woman. However, Su Zirui, compared to him for many years, and a young man personally trained by Su Qing, rarely spoke to a woman like this unless the case required it. Compared to his easygoing nature, Su Zirui was known for his brutality and arrogance, which was why he wasn't very popular with the women of Beijing.
"I think Miss Qi is right. Now that we are here, we should make the best of it." Lin Ziyan fanned himself and obediently put away the fan under Cai Xin's contemptuous gaze. "Master Su, don't you agree?"
Su Zirui glanced at Lin Ziyan. It was rumored that the new Shaoqing of the Dali Temple was afraid that the world would not be in chaos. He didn't expect it to be true.
"Let's go. Besides, if it's really some kind of formation, we have to find the center of the formation." Aruo has always been easy-going. Since she heard the sound and came here, there must be a reason. Just let nature take its course.
……………… …………………… …………
Pushing open the door, the stench of incense nearly choked the four of them. The room was sparsely furnished, looking like a place for ancestor worship. The chairs were covered in dust, the hanging fabrics black and moldy, and a pile of tablets lay scattered about the innermost wall.
"It looks like a clan meeting place, or perhaps an ancestral hall." Su Zirui recalled the general directions of the village streets. The place where the clan leader was preparing the wedding banquet wasn't far from here, but this shabby appearance didn't seem like the ancestral hall they were talking about. Seeing the two girls rummaging around in the place with such familiarity, he was once again speechless. They acted more like detectives... or thieves.
"Ah——" Suddenly, Cai Xin rushed over from the side of the hall and hugged Lin Ziyan who walked in slowly.
Inexplicably, he was hugged by the beautiful woman. Lin Ziyan patted her frightened back and said, "It's okay, it's okay. I'm here."
Seeing through his smugness, Su Zirui sneered disdainfully. He turned around and saw that Aruo didn't look afraid at all. Instead, he went in the direction Cai Xin came out.
Su Zirui sighed helplessly, shook his head and followed.
"Ah! Why is it you?" Cai Xin came back to her senses and looked up to see a handsome face that couldn't help laughing. She quickly pushed him away and turned back hastily, "Where's Aruo? She's there... Don't go over there!"
Cai Xin was horrified to see that Aruo had squatted down and opened the secret compartment of the cabinet underneath the messy ancestral tablets.
"child?"
Three little children in festive red clothes were huddled side by side with their knees hugged. Their round and slightly pale faces were all tied up in ponytails, regardless of gender. They had their eyes closed as if they were asleep.
"Don't touch it!" Su Zirui grabbed Aruo's wrist and tried to touch them. His face was cold and his black eyes flashed with deep thought.
The three children had pale skin, which still had a hint of color against the backdrop of their somewhat worn red clothes. However, there was a finger-sized hole on the side of the root of their braid, and the tips of their little fingers resting on their knees had turned black.
"They... are not living people. And these clothes are poisonous." Su Zirui's eyes flashed with pity, and he said in a deep voice.
"Eh?" Aruo looked at him in shock, and was pulled behind him as he stood up. Before she could stand still, Caixin rushed over and hugged her from behind.
"Aruo, aren't you afraid?" Cai Xin hid behind her, not daring to look over. Hearing Cai Xin's words, Su Zirui also turned around and looked at the girl who had a shocked expression but not too much fear.
"I didn't kill him, so I'm honest and upright. What do I have to be afraid of?" After so many years of materialistic education, Aruo still felt that human hearts were scarier than ghosts. He turned to Caixin and smiled, "But you, did you do something wrong? You're holding this."
"Oh, isn't that where I thought you were?" Cai Xin nudged Aruo's shoulder sheepishly. She was caught off guard and frightened, so she just grabbed whatever she came across. It wasn't intentional. She was also upset. It was all Aruo's fault for wearing a moon-colored dress, so she made the mistake.
"Lord Su, what's going on with them?" Aruo asked the two of them.
"Judging from the wound on the head, someone made a hole in their head and injected mercury. Mercury is also known as cinnabar. In previous dynasties, high-ranking officials had a system of burying people alive. The scalps of these people would be opened and mercury would be injected to prevent their bodies from decaying." Su Zirui's eyes were dim. From the fingers and insteps of the three children exposed outside their clothes, it could be seen that they must have been injected while they were alive, so the mercury could flow through the blood to other parts of the body.
"But I've read in historical records that usually palace maids or eunuchs were used as human sacrifices. This child..." Aruo couldn't continue. Those three children looked no more than two or three years old. Who could be so cruel?
"In the eyes of the ancients, these children were immortal children banished to the mortal world. Their masters buried them alive so that the children could take their masters to heaven and become immortals."
The Dali Temple had many records of cases involving the powerful and the royal family, and Lin Ziyan had also witnessed these chilling customs. Fortunately, the founding emperor and empress of the Great Qi Dynasty both hated this system and explicitly banned it, even issuing a nationwide ban on all witchcraft. This kind of thing has become very rare.
"Just for these people's delusions, they have to sacrifice the lives of young children. It's simply outrageous." Cai Xin said with disdain.
"Is it really for burial alive? Didn't the previous dynasty abolish these systems hundreds of years ago?" Aruo saw the three children's faces, which looked like normal people falling asleep. She felt something was wrong. Suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind. She looked at Su Zirui and said, "Master Su, do the two children who disappeared earlier have anything in common?"
Su Zirui secretly thought that her intuition was indeed sharp. "The children of those two families were born on the same day and at the same time. The grandson of Master Liu that you found at the Wang family was also born at that time."
"What does that have to do with this village?" Aruo remembered that he came to this village in the first place just to investigate this case.
"I've looked through the files from recent years. There have been many cases of child abduction in recent years, but the ones that have been recorded by the Ministry of Justice and have this commonality... There were several cases around four years ago. Although they occurred in different places, they all centered around Niujiazhuang Village." Su Zirui didn't hide anything at this time. After a pause, he said with a hint of doubt, "Someone secretly provided a clue and directed me to investigate here."
At first, he'd thought the clues were suspicious, perhaps a trap. But now, considering the situation and the events of that night in Lingshan, Su Zirui suddenly had a strange thought. It felt more like a deliberate trap than a trap. However, there was no way to verify this, and why would that person do this?
"Four years ago..." Aruo's expression was a little strange, "Were those cases also during the Yin period?"
"Is it such a coincidence?" Cai Xin pulled Aruo's sleeve, her face a little grim. "Aruo, do you remember the legend Qin Shuang told me in Yangzhou?"
As expected of sisters, she also remembered this. Aruo nodded and said to the two officials, "We've heard from people in the ghost market before that there is a folk art of returning to the living. At a specific time, using a baby born during a yin hour and yin month as a guide, it is possible to recall the deceased ghost. With the right container, the ghost can be brought back to the human world."
"Resurrection?"
"Reincarnation is better. Unfortunately, it's not the case. The so-called container is not a corpse, but a living person." Aruo felt a little creepy when she thought about it. No wonder she always felt that people were more terrifying than ghosts.
"Using a living person to resurrect a dead person?" Lin Ziyan considered himself knowledgeable, but this was the first time he had heard of such a bizarre folk tale. "What about the container itself?"
"I don't know." Aru said simply, "I haven't heard of anyone succeeding."
Lin Ziyan was furious. This kind of half-told story was the most annoying, but the expressions of these two people were too innocent, so he couldn't even say a sarcastic word.
"I still remember that all of these require some mysterious formations or magical instruments. Something like that, one can revive the dead body and gain eternal life, or something like that, some kind of soul-calling banner." Cai Xin has also traveled all over the country and heard all kinds of rumors.
Aruo was also interested when she mentioned this. "Not only that, I also heard there is a lock that can lock the soul and calm the spirit. The actor Zhang also said that there are sky burials in the northwest, and people use human bones to make lanterns and so on."
Lin Ziyan's words became more and more outrageous, and he quickly interrupted them, "Enough, stop talking about this, let's take a look at these children first."
Are these two people even considering the situation? Is this the time to discuss these secret techniques and magical instruments? Lin Ziyan was speechless at these two careless girls and could not help but look at the calm and composed man.
"The living souls are the guide, the living are the tools?" Su Zirui calculated that the missing children of the two families, along with the grandson of Master Liu, were indeed from the Yin period. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying to the three, "Let's leave first. This case is shrouded in mystery, and it would be too slow for the two of us to investigate privately. I've already sent word, and we'll act once the people arrive."
"But," Aruo knew he was right, but she still felt a little unwilling. Sister Xian's child hadn't been born yet, so it certainly wasn't born at the same time as the other two. Why did they take her unborn child? There must be some connection between the two cases that she didn't know about.
"Don't do anything rash, or you might alert the enemy and ruin the situation." Su Zirui said seriously and firmly, then turned and left.
After he said that, Aruo didn't want to insist, so she pulled Caixin to follow them and walked towards the door.
Just a few steps out of the house, the hem of her clothes was pulled. Aruo lowered her head to straighten it. The sound of children's laughter came from behind her. She turned around and saw a small red figure retreating from the corner of the wall.
The air around him shook slightly, almost imperceptibly, like gravel falling into a lake.
"Look, there really is a child." Aruo turned around, but where was the door? Behind her was a winding mountain road, deserted and uninhabited. She paused, then raised her voice and called out, "Little Caixin, Master Su, Master Lin?"
The surroundings were completely silent, with only the shadows of the trees swaying heavily. Could she really be trapped in the formation? Aruo raised her hands helplessly, "Su Feng, you can't say I'm restless now..."
After standing there and thinking for a while, Aruo took a step to catch up with the little red figure.
After turning a few corners, Aruo entered a small courtyard. Beneath a blossoming peach tree, a little girl in red twirled softly, reaching out her chubby little hands to catch falling petals, her clear laughter a joyful laugh. Suddenly, her steps crossed while spinning, and she lost her balance and fell to the ground.
"Be careful!" Aruo ran over and picked up the little girl.
"It hurts..." The little girl had a round face and her big eyes were tearful with pain. She stretched out her scraped palm in grievance.
"It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, sister." Aruo held her soft little hand and blew gently.
The little girl burst into laughter and tilted her head to look at her. Her cute look made people's hearts soften. Her soft hands coquettishly tugged at Aruo's clothes and she leaned into her arms.
"Did you bring me here?" Aruo was not afraid. He touched her head and asked softly. The little girl in his arms looked lively and her smiling face was very pleasing.
The chubby finger tapped her chest and the little girl nodded.
"What's wrong?" Aruo felt a little hot in his heart and was about to look down when Cai Xin's voice came from far and near.
The little girl looked up, her big eyes a little scared. Aruo quickly patted her on the back, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, they are my sister's friends, not bad people."
Another child in red clothes, wearing anklets, ran up to them. The little girl in Aruo's arms struggled to get out of her arms and stumbled over. Aruo quickly stood up and said, "Wait, don't leave."
"Go home..." The little girl pulled another child, and the two of them walked around hand in hand, singing a ballad in a soft voice.
"Go home? Do you want me to take you out?" The two figures began to blur, and Aruo asked anxiously, "What should I do? Where are you?"
"Aruo!" Cai Xin's voice suddenly became clear and loud.
Suddenly, her arm was grabbed. Aruo turned around to see Cai Xin's anxious face. The surroundings suddenly changed, and she was now in a corner of the old house. "Cai... Xin?"
"You scared me to death! How could you suddenly disappear?" Cai Xin's face turned pale. Her panicked heartbeat only slowed down when she saw that she was okay. "You're really reckless. Don't you know how worried others are?"
"I'm fine. The situation just now was beyond my control." Aruo patted her helplessly. "By the way, why are you the only one here? Where are they?"
"They are all looking for you." Cai Xin shouted to the side, "They are here, Master Su, Lin, ah——"
The calls suddenly turned into screams.
After a while, Su Zirui and Lin Ziyan jumped down from the roof at the same time, but saw Cai Xin alone lying unconscious on the ground.
"Little Caixin!" Lin Ziyan quickly helped her up and felt the pulse at the edge of her neck with his fingertips. "It's okay, she just fainted."
"Miss Qi has been taken away." Su Zirui looked around carefully, squatted down and lightly tapped the wet shoe prints on the ground. There was more than one person coming, but two girls. Why did they only take her away?
From the time they heard the call to the time they arrived, they were able to take the person away in such a short time. How did they do that? His cold eyes remained unchanged, but a sharp determination flashed in his eyes. "Let's go."
"Where are you going?" Lin Ziyan picked up Cai Xin and followed him.
"Drinking at a wedding." Su Zirui looked up at the sky and gave a gentle smile, which was inexplicably eerie and strange.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
