Chapter 30
Chapter 30
At dusk, the carriage came to a halt at the entrance of East Fourth Street.
Xia Ximo stepped out immediately. Following Ren Fengjue’s directions, she quickly located a residence at the end of the street.
Meng Residence.
The place was thick with yin energy and devoid of any signs of life. Even the neighboring residents had mostly moved away.
As night fell, not a single spark of light could be seen in the vicinity.
Xia Ximo pushed open the gate. The house wasn’t particularly dilapidated; it seemed the occupants had moved out in a hurry following the “self-immolation” incident.
The estate wasn’t large, and its overall layout was actually quite similar to the Ren Residence, though it had an extra courtyard.
From the moment Xia Ximo stepped inside, gusts of yin wind swirled through the property from time to time, making sobbing sounds that resembled the wailing of ghosts.
Strangely, however, she didn’t see a single ghostly figure even after walking all the way to the door of the scorched study.
The Soul-Ferrying Lantern trembled incessantly, which was proof enough that a soul who had died a wrongful death was nearby.
“Come out.”
Xia Ximo held the Soul-Ferrying Lantern in her palm, but she was calling to the lantern-guarding spirit within.
Wuyou poked half a head out reluctantly, grumbling, “Didn’t you tell me to shut up?”
“You may speak now.”
“…”
“Can you find its location?”
Faced with the unreasonable Nine Abyss Soul Prisoner, Wuyou didn’t have much of a temper left. He replied lazily, “I can feel it nearby, but I can’t see it.”
This particular soul was indeed very peculiar.
Normally, when a person died and became a ghost, that ghost possessed three hun-souls and seven po-souls. If the three hun were incomplete or the seven po were fragmented, they could not be ferried to the Underworld.
Those who died wrongful deaths usually refused to enter the Bureau of Hades due to their grievances and obsessions.
However, it usually took forty-nine days before the three hun would separate and the seven po would dissipate. From that point on, if they weren’t guided, they could only exist as wandering spirits in the mortal realm.
Yet Meng Zhiyuan had been dead for barely a month, and his soul had already fragmented. This was highly suspicious.
Could it be that a mortal sorcerer had interfered?
Xia Ximo speculated, “Did someone forcibly scatter his soul?”
Wuyou shook his head but couldn’t help launching into a lecture. “Based on my centuries of experience, souls scattered by sorcery are usually sealed away.”
“This high official’s scattered soul, though unconscious, still retains a powerful obsession. It can even enter and leave the place of its death and visit that bridge.”
“If it wasn’t man-made, then he either offended a Soul Reaper or encountered a vengeful ghost with higher cultivation.”
As they spoke, the sky turned pitch black, and another gust of yin wind brushed past.
At that moment, the ashes on the ground slowly condensed into a dark shadow, manifesting as a ghostly soul wreathed in phantom flames.
Wuyou exclaimed, “It’s out!”
Xia Ximo focused her gaze and realized this was yet another unconscious scattered soul.
And just as Wuyou had said, this scattered soul clearly retained its obsession, re-enacting the events of its life. It sat before a non-existent “desk,” grinding ink, putting brush to paper, and trimming the lamp wick…
Its eyes were dull, but its mouth moved as it muttered something under its breath.
“Can you hear what it’s saying?”
Wuyou had no choice but to lean in close to listen. “It seems to be repeating only one sentence: ‘This official is willing to share His Majesty’s burdens.'”
Xia Ximo listened in silence, a thought forming in her mind.
If even a scattered soul was preoccupied with state affairs, then his Primary Soul was very likely…
***
Watching Xia Ximo’s figure completely disappear at the street entrance, Ren Fengjue finally boarded his carriage.
Axia asked, “Young Master, are we going back?”
“No.”
Ren Fengjue stretched his body and leaned against the carriage wall, instructing, “There are a few tails following us. Go catch one and bring him here. I want to do some interrogation.”
“Yes.”
Axia acknowledged the order and leaped lightly off the carriage.
In a small alley not far from the East Street intersection, four disguised men were waiting for orders.
“As soon as that carriage leaves, we charge in!” one of them whispered.
“Understood,” the other three replied.
Just as the words left his mouth, a figure appeared behind them without warning.
Before the four could even react, the newcomer drifted in front of them with incredibly swift footwork and struck the pressure points of three of them, paralyzing them instantly.
A snow-bright dagger was pressed against the leader’s neck. “Come with me.”
“…”
Inside the carriage, Ren Fengjue sat with his eyes closed, resting his mind. His long, slender fingers tapped rhythmically against the small side table.
Calculating the time, footsteps soon sounded outside as expected.
Axia spoke, “Young Master, the man has been brought here.”
Only then did Ren Fengjue lift a corner of the carriage curtain. “Explain yourselves. Who sent you? You actually had the audacity to tail me?”
The man outside collapsed to his knees with a heavy thud, trembling as he stared at the pristine official boots. “Young Marquis, spare me! This lowly one wasn’t tailing you. How would I ever dare to tail you?”
“Oh?” Ren Fengjue sneered. “So you know who I am.”
“If you weren’t tailing me, then who were you tailing?”
The man on the ground immediately confessed, “This lowly one was acting on the orders of Vice Minister Mu to… to pick up that young lady from just now!”
Ren Fengjue’s brow furrowed slightly. “Mu Zheng, the Vice Director of the Secretariat?”
“Yes!”
When Mu Zheng first arrived in the capital to take up his post years ago, he had visited the Renxuan Marquis Manor several times.
At that time, Ren Fengjue had seen him in his father’s study.
He was a man nearing forty whose hair had already turned grey. Despite having been promoted to Vice Director of the Secretariat, he still dressed like a destitute scholar.
He seemed to have a mild temperament, but he spoke gently and with clear logic.
In his father’s words, he was a decent civil official.
Ren Fengjue’s memories of the man were limited to those impressions.
Connecting that man to this situation now felt somewhat surreal.
“If he sent you to ‘pick her up,’ why not do so openly? Why all the sneaking around?”
Knowing that Ren Fengjue was not someone easily fooled, the man on the ground shivered, not daring to answer.
“Think carefully before you answer me. If you dare hide a single thing, you know the consequences.”
Terrified, the man kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead hitting the ground with loud thuds.
“Young Marquis, I wouldn’t dare hide anything!”
“Vice Minister Mu’s exact words were that we must bring that young lady to see him, no matter what.”
“We were just following orders. As for anything else, we truly don’t know!”
Hearing this, Ren Fengjue had a general idea of the situation.
Even if this Mu Zheng didn’t have malicious intent, he was definitely hiding something.
Regardless of whether this “Xia Ximo” was the real Xia Ximo, the Vice Minister’s actions were highly suspicious.
With that in mind, Ren Fengjue made a decision.
“In that case, go back and tell Vice Minister Mu that this lady is doing very well with me, so he needn’t trouble himself.”
“If he absolutely must see her, then please invite him to meet at the Ren Residence.”
“If I find out he is secretly causing trouble for this lady again, don’t blame me, Ren Fengjue, for disregarding etiquette.”
After hearing these words, the man on the ground stammered out his agreement repeatedly.
“Let him go.”
The sky had turned completely dark. Axia hung two lanterns on the front of the carriage.
At that moment, a slender figure slowly emerged from the direction of the street intersection.
Ren Fengjue looked over, appearing somewhat surprised.
Xia Ximo also hadn’t expected him to still be there waiting for her.
Their gazes met across the darkness of the night until finally, Ren Fengjue spoke first.
“I’m hungry. Miss Xia, shall we have dinner together?”