Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Yan Zhengchu had the household prepare yellow paper, then used his Vermilion Magic Brush to draw two Evil-Repelling Talismans on the spot.

He then said to Zhao Xing, “Keep one of these yellow talismans on you and place the other beneath your pillow. No evil spirit will dare come near you.”

Zhao Xing could not make sense of the markings on the paper, but he held them as if he had obtained priceless treasures.

“Many thanks, Daoist Yan.”

Yan Zhengchu smiled with an affable expression. “No need to thank me. His Highness pays, I do the work. A fair trade…”

As he spoke, he weighed the two ingots of gold in his arms, then walked straight out.

The people of the prince’s manor exchanged bewildered glances, and in the end, they simply watched him leave the main hall.

Ren Fengjue, who had not said a word the entire time, suddenly followed him out in silence.

“Daoist Master, please wait.”

At the gates of the prince’s manor, Ren Fengjue suddenly called out.

Yan Zhengchu, who had been walking ahead, paused. Narrowing his eyes, he turned back for a look.

Then his expression abruptly grew solemn, though he said, “This Young Master looks awfully familiar…”

Ren Fengjue stepped closer and said directly, “Just now, I heard Daoist Master mention Celestial Master Tianji of Yunhe Mountain…”

“Does such a place… truly exist in this world?”

When he asked the question, he was clearly suppressing his emotions, and even his voice trembled slightly.

Yan Zhengchu did not answer immediately. Instead, he extended his fingers and rapidly performed a divination.

After a long while, he revealed an inscrutable expression. “Naturally it exists. And it has quite a deep connection with you, Young Master…”

Ren Fengjue’s chest jolted.

He was standing under the sun, yet a chill ran all the way down his back.

If such a place truly existed in this world, then everything that had once happened to him must have been real…

Seeing his stunned and helpless expression, Yan Zhengchu merely inclined his head slightly. “Young Marquis, there is no need to ask further. I will not say anything more.”

“If fate allows, we will meet again.”

With that, he turned and left, his pace astonishingly swift.

By the time Ren Fengjue came back to his senses, there was no longer any sign of him on the broad road.

–

“Miss Xia, that’s the place!”

In the bustling market, Tianqing pointed at the flower shop where she had bought the flowers yesterday.

Xia Ximo looked over, but she did not see anything unusual.

She asked Wuyou in a low voice, “Anything?”

Wuyou sniffed around. “No…”

The air was filled with the fragrance of pollen. Forget Baleful Qi-there was not even the slightest trace of ghostly energy.

Xia Ximo asked Tianqing again, “Where else did you go?”

Though Tianqing was puzzled, she still pointed toward the alley beside them and said, “Yesterday, I got a little thirsty while walking around. After moving everything onto the carriage, I went to that teahouse over there and had a bowl of tea.”

“Let’s go take a look.”

Tianqing thought she wanted tea as well and was just about to suggest they choose another place when Xia Ximo had already walked toward the teahouse ahead of her.

At that moment, several porters were sitting at the entrance of the teahouse, basking in the sun and chatting.

One of them pointed toward the end of the alley and said, “I heard a girl died in her room at Hongxiu Pavilion this morning…”

“I heard that too. The Madam only found out when she brought a guest to the room.”

“I saw it this morning. Quite a few people from the yamen came…”

“Do they know how she died?”

“No idea… But they say it was very strange. Half her face had rotted away…”

Xia Ximo swept her gaze around and found nothing, but the porters’ conversation caught her attention.

Someone had died?

And the death was strange too.

Thinking this, she could not help looking toward the end of the alley.

The words “Hongxiu Pavilion” entered her sight.

“What kind of place is that?” she asked.

Beside her, Tianqing followed her line of sight. Her expression changed, and she hurriedly said, “That… is not a place for us to go.”
Xia Ximo seemed puzzled. “Why?”

“Because that place…”

Before Tianqing could think of how to explain, both of them saw a familiar figure appear at the entrance of Hongxiu Pavilion and walk straight in.

Tianqing’s eyes went wide. The words “Young Marquis” nearly burst out of her mouth, but she clapped a hand over it just in time.

“Miss Xia, we should leave!”

Xia Ximo said bluntly, “I saw Ren Fengjue go inside.”

“…”

There really was no explaining this.

Tianqing said guiltily, “Perhaps you saw wrong…”

“Let’s go.”

Xia Ximo did not listen at all and headed straight into Hongxiu Pavilion.

Tianqing watched her, wanting to stop her yet not knowing how. After stammering helplessly for a moment, she could only steel herself and follow.

On any ordinary day, there would have been guards or servants posted at the entrance, and strangers would not have been able to enter so easily.

But because a murder had taken place that morning, several groups of people had come and gone. Everyone inside the pavilion was in a panic, and for a moment, no one noticed two unfamiliar women walking in.

The moment they crossed the threshold, Tianqing nervously tugged at Xia Ximo’s sleeve and muttered in a low voice, “Miss, perhaps we shouldn’t go in after all. This place is… filthy and chaotic. Don’t let anything dirty your eyes.”

Xia Ximo’s gaze sharpened. She swept her eyes across the courtyard, and in an instant, saw Baleful Qi spreading through the corridor on the second floor. “There are indeed unclean things here.”

So frightened that she immediately covered her eyes and turned away, Tianqing said, “Then you shouldn’t look, Miss.”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

Not only did Xia Ximo intend to “look,” she even headed up the staircase nearby, only turning back to instruct, “Don’t go in. Wait for me outside.”

“…”

At the same time, the Manageress of Hongxiu Pavilion, Sister Fu, was being helped down from the second floor by two maidservants. Her face was as pale as paper, and she looked ghastly.

One hand on her waist and the other against her forehead, Sister Fu descended step by step, still shaken with lingering fear. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Xia Ximo on the opposite staircase and froze for a moment.

“Wait.”

At her call, the maidservants stopped, not quite understanding why.

But Xia Ximo had already gone up to the second floor alone.

Sister Fu asked suspiciously, “Was that one of the girls from the pavilion just now?”

The maidservants shook their heads blankly. “Madam, we didn’t see clearly. She should be, shouldn’t she? Who else could it be besides one of our girls?”

Sister Fu rubbed her eyes again, deciding that the events of the morning must have frightened her so badly that her mind was playing tricks on her.

Following the dense Baleful Qi, Xia Ximo went straight to a room. The door was half open, and Wuyou manifested beside her as well.

“The smells in here are so mixed. It does seem to carry the scent of that Yin Soul…”

“You should be careful. Something feels very strange.”

Xia Ximo pushed the door open and went in, only to nearly collide with the person inside.

Ren Fengjue quickly steadied the person in front of him, but was startled. “Miss Xia, why are you here?”

“It really is you?”

Xia Ximo’s response surprised Ren Fengjue as well. “What do you mean, ‘it really is me’?”

“I saw you walk in from the alley…”

“…”

Ren Fengjue realized what she meant and explained, “I came here… to investigate a case!”

“Mm.”

Xia Ximo gave a simple acknowledgment, but the understanding look on her face seemed rather ambiguous to Ren Fengjue.

He had no choice but to continue explaining, “A girl died here this morning. After the coroner examined the body, the yamen took it away. I thought of something afterward, so I came back to take another look.”

“And sure enough, I found something else.”

As he spoke, he opened his hand. Resting in his palm was a luminous pearl, identical to the one Prince Yu had given the princess yesterday.