Chapter 200
Chapter 200
After speaking, Yu Lang found the idea unreasonable…
Madam Wu’s hearing was sharp enough to catch every cough. How could she have missed someone climbing through the window?
By that reasoning, only something supernatural could explain the incident.
They all knew there was something deeply wrong with Zhong Ming.
Unfortunately, he was already a corpse…
On the way back from the eastern district, everyone was lost in separate thoughts, and the atmosphere grew somber.
But when they passed a teahouse, Ren Fengjue suddenly stopped. “It is still early. Let us go up and have tea.”
Yu Lang felt stifled and immediately agreed.
The teahouse was nearly empty.
The attendant had been listless. At the sight of customers, he forced himself awake, smiled, and led them to a table.
Seeing that the establishment offered few varieties, Ren Fengjue ordered a pot of Shuangjing White Bud tea and one serving of every fruit and pastry in the shop.
Yu Lang immediately whispered to Yan Zhengchu, “When Lord Ren used to invite me for tea, he never ordered extra sweets. When was he ever this generous?”
“…”
Yan Zhengchu understood his meaning.
It was naturally because Miss Xia was here.
After serving the tea, the attendant asked whether they wished to hear a storyteller or a song.
Ren Fengjue handed him a tip. “Not a book. We want local stories.”
“We come from elsewhere and would like to learn more about Beiding County.”
The attendant understood at once and brought over an elderly storyteller.
“This gentleman is known as Know-It-All. There is nothing in Beiding County he does not know.”
The old man was advanced in years, with white hair and beard. His eyes could barely open, and he walked unsteadily…
Yu Lang looked him over. “Can you still hear clearly?”
The old man smiled. “My eyes are failing, but my ears remain sharp. Ask, and I will answer.”
Satisfied, Ren Fengjue invited him to sit nearby.
“What would you like to hear? This old man will tell you everything he knows.”
Ren Fengjue was direct. “We heard that a scholar surnamed Zhong from the eastern district was killed by bandits while traveling to Shangjing for the examinations. Do you know of him?”
“A scholar surnamed Zhong?”
The old man thought carefully and counted on his fingers. “That was thirty-three years ago.”
Yu Lang was surprised. “You remember so clearly?”
The old man smiled. “Because I happened to be thirty-three that year.”
“Two thirty-threes. What a coincidence.”
Yu Lang smiled as well.
“Thirty-three years ago was the third year of Great Qi, just after the court reinstated the civil examinations.”
“But that year, Beiding Academy produced only two successful provincial candidates, both surnamed Zhong.”
Yu Lang immediately understood why the old man remembered the year so clearly.
Ren Fengjue asked, “Was one of them the current Minister Zhong of the Ministry of Justice?”
“Indeed.”
The old man continued, “Both came from poor families. They had known each other since childhood and were exceptionally close, not brothers by blood, but closer than brothers.”
“People in the county said the Scholar Zhong from Liuhua Alley studied diligently and possessed extraordinary learning. If misfortune had not brought him into the path of bandits, he too could have served the court.”
Yu Lang frowned. “Both encountered the bandits. Why did only one survive?”
The old man’s ears were sharp. Hearing Yu Lang, he immediately replied, “Naturally, we cannot know the details, but there is another tale…”
His words drew everyone’s attention. Even Xia Ximo’s hand paused.
Yu Lang grew impatient when the old man seemed to be deliberately building suspense. “What tale?”
The old man forced his eyes open and swept his faint gaze across them, finally stopping on Yan Zhengchu.
Then he asked gravely, “Young Daoist Master, you appear quite young. Have you ever caught ghosts or expelled evil?”
Yan Zhengchu had not expected the question. He answered honestly, “I have, though not often…”
The old man nodded.
“Then that explains it. Had you been born thirty years earlier, you could have witnessed what it means for a hundred ghosts to walk at night.”
Not only Yan Zhengchu but even Ren Fengjue was startled.
Yu Lang straightened and leaned forward. “Was it truly so sinister? Did you witness it yourself?”
“I did not.”
Yu Lang was deeply disappointed. “So you only heard rumors too?”
The old man stroked his beard. “It happened in Shangjing. I was here in Beiding County. How could I have witnessed it?”
As a disciple of Mount Yunhe, Yan Zhengchu had not experienced the Yin-Yang Fiend, but he disliked anyone making a sensational tale of it.
Slightly displeased, he asked, “What does that have to do with the Scholar Zhong who died while traveling to Shangjing?”
The old man calmly continued, “Many strange events occurred in Beiding County then. Some people fell under evil influence, while others were harmed by Vengeful Ghosts…”
“Unfortunately, no local expert could catch ghosts and expel evil. Panic spread everywhere.”
“It was then that a Ghost God Temple suddenly appeared outside the eastern district.”
“A Ghost God Temple?”
The sinister name nearly made Yan Zhengchu slap the table and rise.
Anger covered his face. “A ghost is a ghost and a god is a god. How can they be confused?”
The old man had weathered great events and remained composed. “Gods can be wicked or evil. If a ghost protects people, why can it not be called a Ghost God?”
Yan Zhengchu was left speechless, his face flushing red.
Ren Fengjue hurriedly intervened. “Please tell us about this Ghost God Temple first.”
“After the temple appeared, many strange events in the county ceased. Gradually, people began going there to pray and make wishes.”
“The Ghost God was indeed responsive. Those who prayed sincerely generally received what they wished for.”
Yu Lang immediately asked, “So the Scholar Zhong went there?”
The old man nodded. “According to the story, the two planned to go together, but the scholar from Liuhua Alley changed his mind at the last moment.”
“So the other man went, the current Minister Zhong?”
The old man did not answer directly. “That is what the story says. No one knows the truth.”
Yu Lang connected the details. “Then the Scholar Zhong died because he did not worship the Ghost God?”
Yan Zhengchu could bear no more. “That is utterly absurd!”
The old man merely smiled without comment.
Xia Ximo, who had silently drunk tea and eaten pastries throughout, set down her cup and asked softly, “Where is the Ghost God Temple now?”
The old man sighed. “To tell you the truth, after the Marquis of Zhenbei took command of the Northern Border, the Ghost God Temple ceased to exist.”