Chapter 40 Seeking Justice: These sorcerers were also wronged and framed by their master back then...
Zhou Yaren remained unconscious until the evening of the next day, when she was awakened by a series of heavy breathing sounds near her bed.
Lu Binggang returned home from the yamen, went straight to the stove in the kitchen and swept around for a while, then carried a large ceramic bowl full of noodles into the room, plopped down on the low stool in front of the sickbed, and began to wolf down the noodles like a starving ghost.
He was tall and strong, and he was always running around inside and outside the Beiqu government office. So he had a big appetite and could eat the food of two people in one meal. But he didn't have an inch of extra fat on his body. He was all lean and muscular.
Lu Bing was never a refined person, nor could he be called a roughneck. He had a natural air of nonchalance, neither fussy nor vulgar. He was used to being casual, and when he chewed, the muscles in his jaw bulged, and his face was almost buried in the earthenware bowl.
Zhou Yaren couldn't help but remind her, "Eat slowly." Her voice was weak and hoarse.
Lu Bing immediately lifted his head from the earthenware bowl and mumbled, "You're awake. How are you feeling?"
Zhou Yaren felt dizzy, his throat was dry, and his bandaged wounds were throbbing. He felt weak all over and really didn't feel well. He said in a hoarse voice, "Pour me a glass of water."
“Okay.” Lu Bing immediately got up, put down the bowl of soup noodles he was eating halfway through, turned around and poured Zhou Yaren a glass of warm water, helped her sit up and fed her a little half a glass, “Are you hungry? My dad cooked some porridge and has been keeping it warm in the pot.”
Zhou Yaren was so hungry that her stomach was practically sticking to her back. She nodded and said, "Of course I'm hungry."
"Wait here, I'll go get it for you right away."
Old Man Lu specially cooked minced meat porridge, which contained several Chinese herbs that nourish blood and qi, making it very suitable for keeping half-dead wounded alive.
"Eat your porridge first, then take your medicine later. My dad is in the kitchen watching the fire as the medicine is being cooked."
After drinking a bowl of minced meat porridge mixed with tonics, Zhou Yaren finally regained some energy. Her drowsy mind began to clear and become active, and the story of Sun Xiuniang and Shen Yuanwen that Lu Bing had talked about incessantly last night automatically came to mind. He had listened to most of it, but had not had time to analyze it carefully before he fainted.
Looking back now, Zhou Yaren felt it was necessary to tell Lu Bing the truth: "Actually, Sun Xiuniang and the Shen family have a deep-seated grudge."
Lu Bing stopped eating and swallowed the noodles in his mouth: "What other grudges are there?"
"The man who died unjustly in prison twelve years ago, whose body was dumped in the wilderness, and who returned to the Ghost Palace at midnight to beat the grievance drum, was none other than Sun Xiuniang's father."
Lu Bing stared in disbelief, completely dumbfounded.
"Master Shen's youngest son drowned in the river, and he insisted that the man who was present at the time had killed him. The officials and jailers in the yamen took money from the Shen family and tortured him in prison, trying to force a confession out of him," Zhou Yaren said calmly. "Master Shen refused to accept the pain of losing his son, and he was even less willing to believe that his youngest son might have accidentally fallen while playing. So he insisted that he was killed by a villain and wanted his youngest son to pay with his life. The muddle-headed officials in the yamen took money to investigate the case, and they didn't distinguish right from wrong at all. They just went along with it and convicted him, which was just enough to give Master Shen an explanation."
“That…” Lu Bing finally came to his senses, “That was actually Sun Xiuniang’s father?!”
"Didn't you check her background?"
"Of course I checked." There was still a little bit of noodles left, and Lu Bing didn't bother to eat it. He just put it on the table. "But this Sun Xiuniang was brought by Qin Da from the countryside half a year ago. She originally lived with an old man with mobility issues in an underground cave across the river. Later, when the old man went out to collect firewood, he was knocked into a ditch by a goat grazing by the roadside and fell and was injured. Qin Da happened to be passing by and took her to get her bones set. He also helped pay for her medicine. Later, Qin Da carried two bags of white rice and flour and brought Sun Xiuniang back to Beiqu to be Qin Er's new wife."
Such a background and origin were unremarkable and without any suspicion: "When I sent someone to inquire, the old man had already passed away. At this age, the old man's body was getting weaker and weaker, and he was also suffering from many illnesses. He could not withstand the cold. I heard from the villagers that he passed away on the first night of the first snowfall in winter. After that, Sun Xiuniang rushed back alone to handle the funeral arrangements."
"She went back alone? Qin Er didn't go with her?"
“I reckon that at that time, Sun Xiuniang had just been forced into a relationship by Shen Yuanwen. Qin Er not only didn’t help her get justice, but also accepted Shen Yuanwen’s silver notes. Naturally, the couple couldn’t get along. She even harbored a deep resentment towards Qin Er, wanting to tear him to pieces. How could she possibly let Qin Er go with her to handle her relative’s funeral?” Lu Bing said. “The villagers who helped with the funeral said that she stayed by the grave for a day and a night, crying her heart out, heartbroken. Everyone who saw her couldn’t help but shed tears. They all praised the lame old woman for not raising this girl she picked up in vain, for having a conscience, and for knowing to come back to see her off even after she got married. So we learned that the old woman picked up Sun Xiuniang by the alkali bank, but how could she be…”
Lu Bing still found it hard to believe: "Did she always know about her background? Did she know that her biological father died unjustly in Bei Qu, which is why she came to the Shen family?"
Zhou Yaren had also thought about this question at first: "Twelve years ago, Sun Xiuniang was already old enough to remember things. She should know her background, at least who her biological father was, but she might not know his whereabouts. Otherwise, she would have found him long ago, since they are only separated by the Yellow River. There would be no need to wait until today, twelve years later."
Although the case of the Ghost Office caused quite a stir, what was circulated was that a person who died unjustly in prison came back to life in the middle of the night, rather than revealing his full name. He was portrayed as a pitiful creature with no relatives or even a name.
An unknown nobody, his life was worthless, and no one cared whether he lived or died. The only people who might remember or know his name were probably the group of wicked officials, jailers, and the Shen family.
When people bring it up again later, they usually start the story with the tale of someone who died unjustly in prison. The storyteller and listener may be amazed and sigh, but it doesn't really matter.
Even Zhou Yaren didn't know her name, so Sun Xiuniang was likely brought to Beiqu by Qin Da, and after being forcibly taken and bullied by Shen Yuanwen, she inadvertently heard the name of the wronged person who died twelve years ago.
For example, Mr. and Mrs. Shen were still deeply saddened by the death of their youngest son, and often talked about him with sorrow and reminiscence, inadvertently revealing the name of the deceased, which was overheard by Sun Xiuniang...
For example, at some point, Shen Yuanwen mentioned to Sun Xiuniang that he actually had a younger brother who tragically drowned in a river twelve years ago. This led him to mention the person who killed his younger brother, the one who had risen from the dead in the underworld and banged the drum of grievance...
If she investigates further, she will be able to find out who the wrongfully killed person was.
"So, after Sun Xiuniang was forced by Shen Yuanwen, she changed from resisting to obeying. It is very likely that during this period she learned that her biological father had been wrongfully killed in prison by the Shen family twelve years ago."
Lu Bing immediately understood and followed Zhou Yaren's train of thought: "That's why she tied Shen Yuanwen up in the Ghost Office, to torture the Shen family in the place where her father was wrongfully killed, in order to seek justice?!"
"Probably." Unfortunately, Sun Xiuniang and Shen Yuanwen are dead, and no one involved can come forward to recount the events and their origins.
Lu Bing thought for a moment and then asked, "But how did you come to know that Sun Xiuniang is the daughter of the man who died unjustly twelve years ago?"
“I…” Zhou Yaren did not intend to reveal the injustice. She paused for a moment, then put on a profound and inscrutable expression and said calmly, “At that time, in front of the courtroom of the Ghost Bureau, I heard the sound of death.”
"A deathly sound? Oh right," Lu Bing recalled the scene that had occurred in the Ghost Bureau, his neck still feeling cold and the back of his head tingling. "You are a 'Hearing the Wind' type, able to communicate with spirits through your ears and understand things by sound. But what kind of deathly sound was it? Her last words? What else did she say?"
Zhou Yaren really didn't know how to explain that this "seeing the spirit through hearing" and "knowing what is heard" was not the kind of communication with ghosts and gods that Lu Bing thought, so she could only answer dryly, "...No."
"So she kept worms in Shen Yuanwen's body to persecute the Shen family and avenge her father?"
"uncertain."
"What do you mean? Didn't she do it?"
“I’m not sure if Sun Xiuniang is a Gu master, nor am I sure if the Gu leech in Shen Yuanwen’s body was planted by her,” Zhou Yaren said seriously. “But she is definitely involved. Even if she is not a Gu master, Gu masters are helping her achieve her goal.”
This makes the case even more complicated. Lu Bing scratched his head, thinking that the murderer was definitely Sun Xiuniang, so why did another Gu master suddenly appear? "In other words, I have to continue investigating."
"What was the matter with Shen Yuanwen's new bride that you mentioned yesterday?"
“Yes, the young mistress of the Shen family…” Lu Bing recounted the events of the day before in detail, including what the old butler said about the evil spirits associated with funerals, and that pregnant women should avoid the area before nightfall to prevent being affected by the evil energy.
But Old Man Lu saw the new bride carrying a lantern back to the Shen residence at 9 PM. Why would she knowingly break the taboo and go back at 9 PM? Isn't that strange?
On the very night she returned to the Shen residence, the Shen family members, whose flesh and blood had been drained by leeches, rose from the dead, including Qin Da and several others who had previously died unnatural deaths. When Lu Bing sent people to look for this young mistress of the Shen family again, she had inexplicably disappeared.
Lu Bing had been searching since yesterday, but still couldn't find her whereabouts. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it became, and he couldn't help but start to wonder, "How could a pregnant woman disappear without a word, and no one knows where she went?"
Zhou Yaren had little recollection of the sole survivor of the Shen family, but at this moment she suddenly remembered that the old steward of the Shen family had mentioned that the young mistress of the Shen family particularly liked the patterns embroidered by Sun Xiuniang, so she specially invited Sun Xiuniang to the Shen residence a few times.
Are these two women connected in some way?
Zhou Yaren said, "We must find Shen Yuanwen, this new bride, and also, what was her background before she married into the Shen family?"
"She seemed to have been traveling around and had no fixed abode before. About half a year ago, she followed a caravan from the Northwest to Beiqu, where she set up a stall on the street to sell rouge and face powder. After she met and fell in love with Shen Yuanwen, she stayed there."
“People who travel the world have very complicated backgrounds, and it’s hard to figure them out. Selling cosmetics might just be a facade, a way to avoid being seen and hide their identities,” Zhou Yaren asked. “What’s her name?”
"Hey, what's her name again?" Lu Bing's mind went blank for a moment, and he almost couldn't remember. "Chen... Ying, right, her name is Chen Ying."
Chen Ying.
Zhou Yaren silently repeated the name in her heart, her mind filled with many tangled thoughts.
Judging from what he encountered in Beiqu, the Ghost Office was built on the site of the Qin prison. The foundation was buried under the remains of Qin Dynasty sorcerers and a great formation, which forever sealed the Taiyin/Dao body under the Beiqu River. Through the grievances, the innocent imprisoned in the Taiyin/Dao body were bound with inescapable shackles.
There are also the Gu-inducing snake eggs buried in the filthy soil of the river mound, and the monstrous creature wearing human skin that enters the river mound to dig up the Gu-inducing snake. Behind all of this, there must be a Gu master hiding. First, the Gu-inducing blood leeches are planted in the northern part of the city to hollow out living people. The human skin skeleton then becomes the monstrous creature's place of refuge. All of this seems to be manipulated by this Gu master behind the scenes.
So, was Bai Yuan also sealed and imprisoned by the Gu Master?
The Qin Dynasty sorcerers' grievances point directly to the Gu-inducing snake eggs buried deep in the filthy soil of the river mound, perhaps even serving as evidence against the Gu master? Were these sorcerers also wronged and harmed by the Gu master back then?
If there really was an elixir of immortality back then, and it fell into the hands of a Gu master, would he still be alive today after taking it?
So, is this gu master who is now secretly contacting Sun Xiuniang the same one who framed Bai Yuan and the sorcerer back then? What does he want to do?
If you wanted to do something, you would have done it long ago. Why did it take a thousand years?
Could some unforeseen event have occurred during this time? Or was there no immortal master among them?!
Zhou Yaren knew far too little information; it was as if a hundred thousand unsolved mysteries flooded his mind, prompting him to ponder deeply.
Putting aside all unfounded speculation, the clue that has emerged now is Chen Ying, Shen Yuanwen's new wife. Could she be the Gu master?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com