Chapter 110
Chapter 110
Ren Fengjue truly had no idea what to make of Yu Lang suddenly showing up at his door.
And when he saw Xia Ximo behind him, he was even more startled.
Why had they come to the Marquis Mansion at a time like this?
Lord Ren’s feelings were complicated.
Originally, once he exposed Mu Tingting’s identity, told his parents the truth, and then brought up breaking off the engagement, everything should have followed naturally.
But now, looking back, he realized he had made a mistake he should never have made-delay invited disaster.
He should have anticipated it. Since Mu Zheng had already been to Fu Tower, how could Mu Tingting possibly know nothing?
Perhaps she was the key to this entire matter.
“You…”
The moment he saw the two of them, Ren Fengjue’s tangled thoughts gradually settled instead.
Yu Lang, however, could not afford to waste a second. “My lord, may we speak somewhere private?”
Ren Fengjue immediately understood what he meant. He dismissed the maids on either side, led the two of them to a side hall, and closed the door.
Only then did he ask, “You came to the Marquis Mansion for me. Is it urgent?”
Yu Lang nodded vigorously, then lowered his voice and said, “Daoist Yan used the Soul-Seeking Spell to calculate the whereabouts of the ghost from Fu Tower. It is very likely… inside the Marquis Mansion.”
Ren Fengjue’s expression changed. He immediately thought of Mu Tingting again.
As expected…
As Yu Lang spoke, he handed him the bell and yellow talisman Yan Zhengchu had given him. “Daoist Yan said this Soul-Collision Bell will ring the moment a ghost comes near. And this yellow talisman can serve as a means of attachment.”
Ren Fengjue did not doubt him. He took them in passing and asked, “Where is Daoist Yan now?”
“He…”
Yu Lang scratched his head helplessly. “He said that when he came down the mountain, his master instructed him not to enter the Marquis Mansion. As for the reason, he refused to say.”
“Right now, he’s outside the Marquis Mansion gates. He told me and Miss Xia to come in and force the ghost from Fu Tower out.”
A strange look flickered across Ren Fengjue’s face.
But in his heart, he knew that Yan Zhengchu’s refusal to enter the Marquis Mansion had to have something to do with Little Uncle.
He asked in a low voice, “By what method?”
Yu Lang handed over another small, delicate bottle. “This ash can force the ghost out…”
Ren Fengjue nodded in understanding, but said, “Leave this matter to me. You and Miss Xia should leave as soon as possible.”
“Absolutely not!”
“No.”
Yu Lang was slightly stunned when he heard Xia Ximo speak almost in unison with him.
He glanced at her, then indignantly added, “At a time like this, I, Yu Lang, will of course stand with the Marquis Mansion through thick and thin. I can’t leave!”
Xia Ximo had always been a woman of few words, so naturally, she offered no addition.
But she asked Ren Fengjue, “Why did you suddenly return to the Marquis Mansion?”
Only then did Yu Lang, standing to the side, realize something as well.
Lord Ren’s expression at the moment seemed somewhat off.
In the past, no matter how thorny a situation he encountered, it was rare to see him wear such a heavy look.
He must be hiding something…
After Xia Ximo’s question, Ren Fengjue realized that he had not yet emerged from the tension of what had just happened.
When it involved his closest kin, even he found it difficult to remain calm.
“My mother is ill…”
Yu Lang was shocked. “What happened to the Marquise?”
Ren Fengjue paused briefly, then told the two of them everything that had happened after he returned to the residence.
Yu Lang felt a chill run down his spine as he listened. “Don’t tell me that woman has already colluded with the ghost from Fu Tower?”
He suggested, “For the safety of the Marquise and the Marquis, why don’t we send them out of the residence first? Once we’ve forced the ghost out, we can bring them back.”
Of course Ren Fengjue had considered doing exactly that.
But given Lady Rong’s current condition, as well as the Marquis’s stubborn temper, persuading the two of them to leave the residence would not be so easy.
He had to talk everything through with them first.
Xia Ximo suddenly asked, “Where is Mu Tingting?”
At the mention of that person, Ren Fengjue’s expression grew even colder. “She has already been sent to the North Courtyard and locked up. First thing tomorrow morning, she will be sent directly to the Ministry of Justice.”
But Xia Ximo said, “I’m afraid this can’t wait until tomorrow morning. It has to be dealt with tonight.”
Then she added, “Take me to see her.”
Yu Lang couldn’t help asking, “Did you discover something, Miss Xia?”
Xia Ximo only glanced out the window. “You’ll know what isn’t right in a moment.”
For some reason, those words sent a chill crawling up Yu Lang’s spine.
Just then, a faint sound came from the windowsill, as if something had flashed past.
Ren Fengjue snapped, “Who’s there?”
No one answered. Instead, the silhouette of a cat appeared against the window lattice.
The Marquis Mansion had never kept cats, nor had any strays ever come here.
Just as he was finding it strange, the bell in his hand and the bell at Yu Lang’s waist rang at the same time.
Thinking of what Yan Zhengchu had said, Yu Lang could not help making a bold guess. “That cat couldn’t be…”
Before he finished speaking, the cat on the windowsill suddenly let out a shrill yowl and leaped away.
Sure enough, the ringing stopped.
“I knew it!”
Seeing this, Yu Lang pushed open the door and was about to give chase, but Xia Ximo stopped him with one hand.
“Tell me how to get to the North Courtyard.”
Her dark, fathomless eyes turned toward them, yet her words were an order. “The two of you go check on the Marquis and Madam as soon as possible. Don’t split up.”
Yu Lang and Ren Fengjue were both stunned.
At that moment, a cold, sinister wind swept through the courtyard, making the once orderly pavilions and towers look eerily haunted.
Ren Fengjue chose to trust her. Pointing to a side gate nearby, he said, “Go through that gate and keep walking. You’ll see it.”
Xia Ximo nodded once, then turned and left.
Watching her slender back, Yu Lang could not help asking, “My lord, you’re really comfortable letting Miss Xia go alone?”
Ren Fengjue did not answer. He only said, “Stay close to me.”
The two of them, one in front and one behind, hurried first toward the East Courtyard. Along the way, they discovered that the entire Marquis Mansion was unnervingly silent.
The maidservants, manservants, and even the guards had all vanished.
Yu Lang held the bell in one hand and a yellow talisman in the other. He was nervous and afraid, yet for some reason, also strangely excited.
Ren Fengjue walked extremely fast. After entering the East Courtyard, he saw that the main room was still lit, but there was no maidservant at the door.
His heart sank. He strode inside in a few quick steps, and in an instant, his heart plunged to the bottom.
They were gone.
Not a single person was there.
After Yu Lang followed him in, his expression darkened as well.
Ren Fengjue stood by the bed without saying a word, but then he caught sight of a plain brocade pouch beside the pillow.
He knew his mother had never liked placing such things by her bedside.
Suspicion rising in his heart, he picked it up and opened it. Inside, he found a Soul-Nurturing Pearl.
At that, Ren Fengjue understood.
His face turned ashen, his expression exceedingly grim. Then he rushed toward Ren Xuan’s study.
But it was the same there-empty, without a soul in sight.
How could everyone have disappeared in such a short instant?
Seeing neither the Marquis nor Madam, Yu Lang grew anxious as well. “My lord, what do we do now?”
“To the North Courtyard!”
Without the slightest hesitation, the two of them turned toward the North Courtyard.
After walking for a while, Yu Lang suddenly stopped. “Wait. That’s not right, Lord Ren.”
He looked up at the sky, and his scalp went numb. “How can there be two moons in the sky?”
Ren Fengjue had noticed it too.
Not only that, but they, standing on the ground, had no shadows at all.
Just then, the sounds of drums, horns, and gongs suddenly came from inside the North Courtyard. They should have sounded festive, but in this atmosphere, they were only bizarre.
The two exchanged a look. Neither spoke. Together, they stepped through the hanging-flower gate.
The moment they entered, a cloud of smoke billowed toward them.
Ren Fengjue instinctively turned his head aside and waved it away with his hand.
Yet in the next second, what he saw within the smoke made his entire body go rigid.