Chapter 199
Chapter 199
The needle on the compass suddenly stopped jumping.
Yan Zhengchu halted in surprise.
Before he could speak, Yu Lang called, “My lord, Young Master Zhong is coming out.”
Ren Fengjue looked downstream and saw Zhong Dingyan leading a group through the lanes.
Behind him, two runners carried a stretcher. Clearly, there was another corpse.
“Is that Minister… Zhong on the stretcher?”
Yu Lang ventured the question cautiously.
Ren Fengjue’s expression darkened, and he strode over.
“Young Master Zhong.”
Zhong Dingyan appeared surprised to see him. After hesitating, he asked, “Shouldn’t you be resting at the residence, Lord Ren? Why are you here?”
Ren Fengjue explained, “We could not rest easy without finding Minister Zhong, so we came to look…”
He glanced at the stretcher. “Is that…?”
Zhong Dingyan lowered his eyes, pain covering his face. “We found him. Father… has passed away.”
Duty compelled Yu Lang to step forward and gently lift the shroud.
After examining the body, he turned and nodded to Lord Ren.
Ren Fengjue’s heart sank. “What happened?”
Fighting tears, Zhong Dingyan choked out, “For some reason, Father entered a commoner’s home. He died not long after I arrived.”
“He admitted… that he killed Second Brother.”
“What?”
Yan Zhengchu was puzzled. He stepped forward to examine Zhong Ming’s corpse.
While no one was watching, he secretly drew a Soul-Gathering Talisman and cast it toward the body.
But after a moment, nothing happened.
He urgently asked Zhong Dingyan, “Please tell me which household Minister Zhong entered.”
Zhong Dingyan turned and pointed to one of the houses.
Without another word, Yan Zhengchu ran over at once.
Xia Ximo silently followed.
Yu Lang made a preliminary examination of Zhong Ming’s corpse. Given his condition, it did appear that illness had killed him.
But there were suspicious details…
The body was far too cold for someone newly dead. Instead… it seemed he had died days ago.
Several livid patches had also appeared on his arms and neck.
Yu Lang quietly relayed his observations to Ren Fengjue.
Understanding, Lord Ren asked Zhong Dingyan, “Did Minister Zhong say anything before he died?”
Zhong Dingyan looked grief-stricken. “He blamed himself. He said he lived honestly all his life but failed to teach his son and indulged him until he became a thief…”
“He… only meant to discipline Second Brother, but accidentally killed him…”
After a pause, he continued, “Once he said that, Father died.”
Ren Fengjue asked no more. He gently patted Zhong Dingyan’s shoulder.
“Please accept my condolences.”
Elsewhere, Yan Zhengchu searched the blind woman’s house for Zhong Ming’s soul.
The result was the same as in the Zhong residence.
There was no trace of Yin-Sha Qi.
“This is far too strange…”
If Zhong Ming had not been possessed by a Vengeful Ghost, where had his and Zhong Junyue’s souls gone?
As he pondered, a voice came from behind him. “Did you find anything?”
Yan Zhengchu spun around in fright and saw Xia Ximo.
She still made no sound when she walked…
He pressed a hand to his chest. “Nothing… It is the same as the Zhong residence.”
Xia Ximo passed him, circled the room, and shook the Soul-Ferrying Lantern.
Wuyou gave the same answer. “I found nothing either.”
Yan Zhengchu surveyed the dilapidated house, deeply puzzled. “What connection did Minister Zhong have to this house?”
The woman standing quietly in the doorway suddenly spoke. “My husband once told me that the former owner of this house was surnamed Zhong…”
“He was a young scholar. Sadly, he encountered bandits and died while traveling to Shangjing for the examinations.”
Xia Ximo looked back at her. “He was also surnamed Zhong?”
“Yes…”
The blind woman answered with certainty. “I cannot read, but the scholar left behind a book of poetry. My husband knew a few characters and said the man was surnamed Zhong.”
Yan Zhengchu asked, “Where is the book?”
“My husband sold it for two copper coins.”
“…”
Ren Fengjue and Yu Lang entered from outside and first exchanged a few courteous words with the woman.
They learned that the blind woman was Madam Wu, whose husband had died of illness two years ago, leaving her to live alone.
She had never imagined that such an important man would suddenly enter her home…
“Madam, when did Minister Zhong arrive?”
Madam Wu thought before answering, “Around last night, I believe. He knocked shortly after nightfall, said his surname was Zhong, and asked to look at the house…”
Last night, shortly after dark.
When the first knock sounded, Madam Wu assumed it came from a neighbor’s house.
Since losing her sight, her hearing had become exceptionally sharp.
She paid it no attention and was about to retire when a second knock came, more urgent than the first.
Startled, Madam Wu approached and asked, “Who is it? What business do you have at this hour?”
An elderly-sounding voice answered from outside, punctuated by coughing.
“My surname is Zhong. I wish to… look at this house. I can pay you.”
He wanted to inspect a house at night and offered money?
Madam Wu was puzzled, then remembered her husband’s claim that the former owner had been a scholar surnamed Zhong.
The thought frightened her. “Why don’t you come back during the day? It is not convenient at night.”
After speaking, she secured the door and returned to her room.
But unease remained in her heart.
After an unknown length of time, she heard coughing in the main room.
Alarmed, she gripped her cane in one hand, felt beneath the bed for a kitchen knife with the other, and opened her door.
Everything was silent. Then a voice abruptly asked, “Why haven’t you lit a lamp?”
Madam Wu dropped the knife in terror.
She asked shakily, “How did you get inside? Didn’t I lock the door?”
The man did not answer and walked around the main room.
“So you cannot see…”
“…”
“Do not be afraid. I only came to look.”
As he spoke, he placed something on the table. “This is payment.”
Madam Wu could tell it was not the sound of copper coins, but of a solid silver ingot…
“After paying me, he said nothing else. He sat in the main room all night. I wanted to drive him out, but I did not dare. I could only endure until morning.”
“Then… the government searchers arrived…”
After hearing Madam Wu’s account, Yu Lang examined the doors and windows.
The door bolt was a thick jujube-wood bar and could not easily be forced once secured.
Though the window was broken, its sill was not low…
“Could a man that sick truly have climbed through the window?”