Chapter 7
I rubbed my temples and suddenly remembered something:
“Xiao Zhang, go check the history of Su’s Old Courtyard again. Find out how each of its owners died.”
Xiao Zhang responded and left. Not long after, he returned holding a roll of case files, his face pale:
“Master, this courtyard is truly sinister! Ten years ago, the first owner was a salt merchant named Su. He moved in, and within three months, he and his concubine died together in the house. The doors and windows were locked, there were no external injuries or signs of poisoning. Even the Coroner at the time couldn’t determine the cause. In the end, it was ruled as accidental death… and the case was closed.”
“There’s something even stranger!” Xiao Zhang flipped through the files. “Five years ago, the second owner was a songstress. She bought the courtyard as a private residence, and after living there for half a year, she hanged herself.”
“This point is confirmed by testimonies from the neighbors, all recorded in the files. They said that ever since then, they’ve seen a woman in red standing by the second-floor window, combing her hair.”
“Three years ago, Wang Defa moved in. After less than two months, he started showing signs of mental instability, claiming he heard someone crying in the courtyard at night. He even came to our office to report it.”
After Xiao Zhang finished speaking, his hands trembled so much he could barely hold the files…
He kept muttering that this house was truly haunted.
Su’s Old Courtyard, also known as the Ghost Manor, got its name for this reason.
Captain Yin frowned deeply as he listened:
“There’s no such thing as ghosts in this world! Someone must be behind all this!”
I didn’t respond. For some reason, the image in my mind was of the Old Osmanthus Tree I saw in the courtyard this morning.
But what I murmured was:
Yes, if this really is a haunted house, why didn’t Wang Defa die?
President Cui was fine too, even though he only recently bought the place…
But Messenger Xu… why did he die after just one night?
Could it really be that Xu Kai, the coachman, is the problem?
Forget it, I’d better question Wang Defa first!
“Someone! Summon Wang Defa!”
Looking at it this way, the pattern of deaths
has nothing to do with who owns the house…
“Sir! Wang Defa is dead!!”
“Where did he die?!”
Captain Yin and I were both shocked,
almost speaking in unison as we turned to the reporting Constable.
“He… he died in a ruined temple outside the city…”