Chapter 3: Traces of the Ghost Doctor
"...It's too late..." The sigh dissipated outside the door, and the cold air faded with it. Chu Yun stood quietly against the door for a long time, not opening it to chase. Without knowing the other party's background and purpose, any rash move could expose himself. He returned to the table, picked up a pen, dipped it in ink, and quickly drew a complete "Anonymous Talisman" on yellow talisman paper. Once the talisman was finished, he carefully folded it and put it close to his chest. Only then did he pick up the cold food and devour it bite by bite. The next day, before dawn, the door of the town hall was banged on. "Mayor! Mayor! Something terrible has happened!" It was the voice of Wu, the tailor from West Street, his voice completely hoarse and tinged with tears. Chu Yun walked out of the archives room and encountered the mayor and several yamen runners hurriedly running out of the backyard. "Tailor Wu, what happened? Why are you yelling so early in the morning?" the mayor asked impatiently. "My daughter... my daughter is missing!" Tailor Wu fell to his knees on the ground with a plop, tears streaming down his face. "She was fine last night, but when I went to wake her up this morning, there was no one in the room! The window was even open!" As soon as these words came out, the faces of everyone present changed instantly. The nursery rhyme "Little brother, can't be found" really came true. "Quick! Go and have a look!" The mayor shouted with a pale face. A group of people immediately followed Tailor Wu and ran towards his home. Chu Yun mixed in the crowd, saying nothing. On West Street, the door of Tailor Wu's house was surrounded by townspeople who had heard the news. Everyone's face was filled with panic and fear. "I told you, that ballad is incredibly sinister and shouldn't be sung! Now, something's really wrong!" "It's terrifying! My son sings it every day too! I'll make sure to shut his mouth when I get back!" "Are the authorities doing anything about this? If this continues, will Qingxi Town still be habitable?" The bailiffs struggled to disperse the crowd. Chu Yun followed the mayor into Tailor Wu's home. The missing girl's room was small and simply furnished: a small bed and a table. The quilt was neatly folded, as if the child had simply gotten up early and gone out. But the wide-open window filled the room with an ominous aura. The mayor and bailiffs searched inside and out, hoping for some clue. Chu Yun didn't move. He simply stood in the middle of the room, eyes closed. The dormant power within his chest stirred once more, and he focused all his senses on the small room. Countless odors flooded in...
“…It’s too late…”
The sigh dissipated outside the door, and the cold air faded with it. Chu Yun stood quietly against the door for a long time, not opening it to chase. Before knowing the other party's background and purpose, any rash move could expose himself.
He returned to the table, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and quickly drew a complete "Hidden Breath Talisman" on the yellow talisman paper. Once the talisman was finished, he carefully folded it and placed it close to his chest. Only then did he pick up the now-cold food and devour it bite by bite.
The next day, before daybreak, the door of the town hall was banged on.
"Mayor! Mayor! Something big has happened!" It was the voice of Wu the tailor from West Street. His voice was completely hoarse and filled with tears.
Chu Yun walked out of the archive room and ran into the mayor and several yamen runners running out of the backyard in a hurry.
"Tailor Wu, what happened? Why are you yelling so early in the morning?" the mayor asked impatiently.
"My daughter... my daughter is missing!" Tailor Wu fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "She was fine last night, but when I went to wake her up this morning, no one was in the room! The window was even open!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expression changed instantly. The nursery rhyme, "Little Prince, I can't find him," had truly come true.
"Hurry! Go check it out!" the mayor shouted, his face pale. A group of people immediately followed Tailor Wu and ran towards his home. Chu Yun blended into the crowd, saying nothing.
On West Street, the doorway to Tailor Wu's house was already packed with townspeople who had heard the news. Panic and fear were written all over everyone's face.
"I told you, that ballad is incredibly weird and shouldn't be sung! Now, something's really wrong!"
"That's too scary! My kid sings every day too! I'm going to seal his mouth when I get home!"
"Will the government do anything about this? If this continues, will Qingxi Town still be habitable?"
The yamen runners had to work very hard to disperse the crowd.
Chu Yun followed the mayor into Tailor Wu's home. The missing girl's room was small and simply furnished, consisting of a small bed and a table. The quilt on the bed was neatly folded, as if the child had simply left early. However, the wide-open window filled the room with an ominous aura. The mayor and his officers searched the house, inside and out, hoping to find any clues.
Chu Yun didn't move. He simply stood in the center of the room, eyes closed. The dormant power within his chest stirred once more, and he focused all his senses on the small room. Countless odors flooded his mind: the scent of wood, fabric, and the faint lingering fragrance of the girl. He patiently discerned and peeled away, finally catching a faint but unmistakable scent—the scent of the red-clad figure from last night! It was cold, sinister, and filled with malice towards the living.
The smell stretched like an invisible thread from the open window to the outside. Sure enough, it was this one that did it.
Chu Yun opened his eyes and his gaze fell on the window. At that moment, he sensed another scent—a completely different scent from the one he had smelled yesterday at the door of the archives room. This scent lingered on the windowsill, cold and with a hint of herbal odor, mingling with the evil aura.
Chu Yun's pupils suddenly shrank. Why was there this aura here? Could it be... that mysterious person was here last night as well? Who was he? Was he an accomplice of the evil spirit? Or... did he have other plans?
"Mr. Chu, have you noticed anything?" Seeing that he had been standing there motionless, the mayor couldn't help but walk over and ask in a low voice.
"This child didn't get lost on his own." Chu Yun spoke slowly.
"That's..." The mayor's voice was trembling.
"He was... kidnapped by something." Chu Yun didn't explain it clearly.
The mayor's face became even uglier. He opened his mouth but couldn't say anything. He just kept wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
Chu Yun ignored him, walked out of the room, and went around to the backyard. The backyard was a wasteland, overgrown with weeds half a man's height. He closed his eyes again, and the demonic aura became clearer here, extending all the way out of the town. The cold, herbal scent was also present, maintaining a distance from the demonic aura.
They...were traveling together? This discovery made Chu Yun's heart sink.
He opened his eyes and fished out a "tracking talisman" from his bosom. Using the blood from his fingertips, he quickly drew a complex symbol on the paper. The moment the talisman was completed, it didn't burn or glow. Instead, it seemed to come alive, pulling free from his fingertips and transforming into a nearly transparent butterfly. The butterfly circled in the air once before silently flying off in one direction.
Chu Yun immediately followed. He didn't take the main road, but instead walked through various remote alleys and rooftops. His body movements were as fast as a shadow, without alarming anyone.
The butterfly transformed from the talisman flew slowly, always keeping three feet above the ground. It passed through alleys, flew over rooftops, and finally came to rest at a mass grave on the edge of town. The butterfly circled several times, then with a puff, it transformed into tiny specks of light and dissipated into the air.
The evil aura stopped here.
Chu Yun frowned. He stood at the edge of the mass grave, not immediately entering. He closed his eyes again and carefully sensed the evil aura. Although the demonic aura had disappeared here, the cold, herbal scent had become stronger. It was as if... this was its destination.
Ghost doctor? The word instantly popped into Chu Yun's mind. He had read scattered accounts in the ancient books hidden away at home: there were people who were neither righteous nor evil, neither Taoist nor demonic. They specialized in the ways of life and death, could communicate with ghosts, use herbs from the netherworld to heal the living, and even use the yang energy of the living to prolong the life of ghosts. People called them "ghost doctors."
A deep sense of alarm welled up in Chu Yun's heart. If the Ghost Doctor was truly responsible, then things were far more complicated than he'd imagined. The demon's goal was clear: to abduct the child. But the Ghost Doctor's motives were unknown. Now it seemed they were likely accomplices! The demon was responsible for the abduction, while the Ghost Doctor... was responsible for handling the aftermath.
He took a deep breath and walked into the mass grave. The graves here were in disarray, and many did not even have tombstones. Chu Yun's steps were very light, and he carefully observed the ground as he walked. Suddenly, he stopped. On a new grave in front of him, the soil showed signs of being turned over. He squatted down, reached out and pushed away the loose soil on the surface. There was a small object buried underneath - a cloth tiger. The cloth tiger was covered in mud, but Chu Yun recognized it at a glance. When he heard people talking on the street during the day, someone mentioned that the little daughter of Tailor Wu loved to hold a cloth tiger.
Chu Yun picked up the cloth tiger; it felt cold to the touch. He brought it close to his nose and caught a faint scent of blood. He stood up and glanced around, spotting something beneath a dead tree not far away. He walked over to it. It was a small pool of dried, dark red blood. Next to it lay a few tattered pieces of clothing—the missing girl's clothes.
Chu Yun's eyes grew extremely solemn. He squatted down again and dipped his finger into the dried blood. The blood was no longer warm. He placed his finger under his nose. Besides the smell of blood, there was also a very faint...herbal scent, exactly the same as the one he had smelled at the entrance to the mass grave.
It’s really a ghost doctor!
The moment Chu Yun came to this conclusion, alarm bells rang in his heart! He suddenly looked up and looked towards the entrance of the mass grave.
There, a figure had appeared—a cloaked figure whose face was indistinct. It stood there quietly, seemingly watching him for a long time. The cold, eerie aura of the Ghost Doctor emanated from that figure.
Chu Yun slowly stood up, silently holding three pieces of talisman paper in his hands.
The figure moved. Instead of attacking, he slowly raised his hand and took off the cloak from his head.
Beneath the cloak lay a woman's face—a very young, very pale face. Her lips were devoid of any color, and her eyes were as cold as ice that hadn't melted for a thousand years.
Chu Yun's pupils shrank slightly. He had never expected that the legendary ghost doctor would be such a young woman.
The woman looked at him and spoke slowly. Her voice was as cold as her eyes:
"Someone from the Evil Suppression Department?"
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