Immortalis

Yin Residence IV

This time, it was Zhou Huai who noticed that both Yang Wujian and Shen Qingshi had subtle expressions that morning.

Although Shen Qingshi's face had always been difficult to read, from the moment she stepped out of her room, her gaze remained fixed on Yang Wujian, which instinctively made Zhou Huai feel uneasy.

"You two, last night..."

Zhou Huai cursed himself for going to bed too early last night. Could it be that they had gone out again later?

Seeing Zhou Huai's thunderstruck expression, Yang Wujian knew exactly what he was imagining. Unfortunately, he wasn't in the mood to play the young lady and comfort the young master, as he had been plagued by nightmares all night and was still suffering from a splitting headache.

Could it be due to the medicine Gu Yun had given him?

Yang Wujian vaguely sensed something was wrong.

Before falling into a deep sleep last night, he seemed to have sensed someone entering the room. Over the years, Yang Wujian had grown so accustomed to Bone Shrinking in the martial world that even when unconscious, he instinctively shrank his body back into a female form in his drowsy state.

It couldn't be...

Yang Wujian had already searched the entire room in the morning but found no traces of an outsider. The only one who could have done something like this was probably her.

He looked at Shen Qingshi, who hadn't averted her gaze and was still staring at him as if money had sprouted on his face.

Why had Yang Wujian said that last night?

Shen Qingshi had pondered all night but still couldn't understand why Yang Wujian's barely audible sleep talk had felt so familiar to her.

After hearing those words, she had stood by the bed for half an incense stick's time before snapping back to reality and reaching out to lift the gauze curtain.

The woman on the bed was sleeping soundly, the Golden Rings neatly placed beside her, with a strong medicinal scent lingering around her.

Was she injured?

Shen Qingshi thought about the palm strike Yang Wujian had taken for her. She was equally puzzled as to why Yang Wujian had suddenly rushed forward.

Had they met before?

Looking at Yang Wujian's oblivious sleeping face, Shen Qingshi felt as if her memory was shrouded in a thick fog. Through the heavy mist, she vaguely saw a childish face speaking to her anxiously.

But thinking further only brought endless palpitations and headaches.

Due to the medicine, her memories were in disarray. Even before being taken into the Zhaoming Division by Cao Zhao, for about half a year, Shen Qingshi only remembered wandering aimlessly on the streets.

She was like a beggar, even worse than a beggar.

After all, she couldn't remember her parents, couldn't say where she came from, had no emotions, and didn't know how to laugh or cry.

The only thing etched in her heart back then was the feel of holding a knife... As long as she gripped a blade, she knew how to slit someone's throat.

Last night, Shen Qingshi stood by the bed, racking her brains but ultimately failed to recall where she had seen Yang Wujian before.

Yet she instinctively felt that she should know this person.

As her headache intensified, Shen Qingshi forced herself to withdraw from her chaotic memories. Not skilled in pulse reading, and remembering the purpose of her visit, she didn't hesitate and directly reached toward Yang Wujian's lower body, who was beginning to stir awake.

But there, she touched a cold, hard ring.

Snapping back to reality, Shen Qingshi felt unusually displeased and said coldly, "Let's go to the incense shop first."In the eerie atmosphere, the three headed straight to the largest incense and candle shop in Jingyang City, only to find the shopkeeper in the middle of a major transaction.

Several servants had just carried away several large crates of incense, candles, and spirit money, nearly emptying the shop.

After the group had gone far, Yang Wujian stepped forward and asked, "Which family is this? What major event has happened in their household that they need to buy so much?"

Although it was a big sale, the shopkeeper showed no joy on his face and merely sighed. "You're from out of town, aren't you? I advise you not to stay here long. This place has never been peaceful—every few years, that thing stirs up trouble. But this year, it's reached the county magistrate..."

"That thing?"

Zhou Huai couldn't help but tense up.

Although Yang Wujian had said last night that someone was pretending to be a ghost in that mansion, Zhou Huai still felt it must be because someone had died in that haunted house, leaving behind too much resentment, which was why he had inexplicably suffered from Evil Sickness again.

The old man selling incense and candles shook his head. "The county magistrate has forbidden us from speaking about it. I advise you not to ask too many questions either. After all, if this isn't handled properly, it could bring disaster upon yourselves... The county magistrate has wealth and influence—he can afford to hire the One-Eyed Immortal to perform rituals and exorcise evil. But if poor folks like us get involved with that thing, it'll be a tragedy."

With that, the old man refused to say more.

"The incense, candles, and spirit money sold here are the same as those in the haunted house—they must have been bought from this place."

The three stepped aside, and Shen Qingshi took out the spirit money they had found in the haunted house the previous night to compare with what the old man sold. They were indeed identical.

Yang Wujian thought for a moment. "The items those servants just bought were all seen in that mansion yesterday. And from what he said, the county magistrate has hired a great immortal... Yesterday, we also saw some yellow talismans in the mansion. Those without cultivation wouldn't dare draw such things."

After he finished speaking, the other two understood immediately and headed straight for the county office.

As soon as they arrived at the entrance, they overheard a woman anxiously saying, "Officer, my family's medicine shop has been plagued by strange occurrences lately, and my husband was so frightened he suddenly took to his bed. We must have been targeted by thieves... Please, could you report this and send someone to investigate?"

Upon hearing this, the officer only shook his head with a troubled expression. "I've already said, we're not accepting petitions these days. The clerk has taken leave and gone home. Even if you submit your petition, no one will look at it."

The woman pleaded repeatedly, but the officer steadfastly refused to accept it. Left with no choice, she reluctantly turned to leave. However, before she had gone more than a street corner, she was stopped by a young woman dressed entirely in red.

The woman looked haggard and asked, "Who are you...?"

Yang Wujian effortlessly spun a lie: "We happened to be passing through and encountered something strange outside the city. We came to report it too. Do you know why the county magistrate isn't accepting petitions?"

The woman sighed. "You're not locals, so you probably don't know. Our county magistrate hasn't accepted petitions for half a month now. Rumor has it, a Tongueless Ghost is haunting his home, and several people have already fallen ill from fright."

"Tongueless Ghost?"

Zhou Huai's face turned pale. He recalled the thing that had scurried rapidly toward him in the darkness yesterday, making no sound from start to finish.

And ten years ago, Chang San the Heroine and her lover had both been killed—their tongues cut out and their skins flayed.Yang Wujian observed the woman speaking of the Tongueless Ghost with a calm expression, as if it were not the first time she had heard of this entity causing trouble, and asked, "This Tongueless Ghost... has it appeared before?"

The woman nodded. "They all say it comes from that desolate house in the suburbs. Ten years ago, a newlywed couple had their tongues cut out and died tragically on their wedding night. After that, the Tongueless Ghost started haunting our area. It's been several years now... Now they say it's haunting the county magistrate's residence, and even my medicine shop has been plagued by strange occurrences. Not only do medicines often go missing, but two days ago, when my husband was taking inventory, he saw something and suddenly collapsed. These past two days, he's been lying in bed with wide eyes, constantly muttering something about snakes, snakes..."

After that, the woman returned home with a heavy heart, leaving the three of them at the roadside tea stall to discuss their next steps.

"It seems this is connected to the authorities again."

Yang Wujian, now aware that Shen Qingshi could not consume hot food, poured her tea to let it cool and added, "Let's sort this out. Ten years ago, Chang San the Heroine and her lover died tragically, their tongues cut out, skin flayed, and internal organs removed. Because of this, Lei Shuang, the leader of Jade Pavilion, insisted that Chang San must have had some private dealings with Longevity Palace, which clouded her judgment. Not only did she elope with a man, but she ended up having her internal organs and tongue cut out to be used as a Flesh Conduit."

"No matter how you look at it, this seems rather far-fetched."

Shen Qingshi said calmly, "I'm a bit worried that if we investigate and find this has nothing to do with Longevity Palace, the leader of Jade Pavilion might be very displeased."

Hearing this, the other two naturally understood.

Lei Shuang had an extreme personality; once she set her mind on something, not even eight horses could pull her back. Therefore, if they proved that Chang San the Heroine had no connection to Longevity Palace, it would be equivalent to undermining Lei Shuang's stance, and Jade Pavilion would likely not let them off easily.

"But no matter what, we're already in a difficult position. With the matter of the sword servant, we exposed Boundless Sword Manor's shortcomings. They probably also know that the connection between Chang San the Heroine and Longevity Palace back then was quite tenuous. Having us investigate is their way of dragging Jade Pavilion down with them, tarnishing their reputation just like theirs—unable to distinguish right from wrong, black from white."

Zhou Huai, having grown up in White Rainbow Tower, understood the stakes clearly.

That day, when Longyin Sword explicitly named them to investigate the cases of Medicine King Mountain and Jade Pavilion, it was clear they intended to share both glory and disgrace.

Upon hearing this, Yang Wujian sneered, "Isn't that their usual style? If they want us to investigate, we'll investigate. After all, we have their alliance document in hand. At worst, we can just cause another scene at Boundless Sword Manor. With the entire martial world as witnesses, for the sake of face, they'll have to let us into the Four Seas Alliance."

The other two had no objections to this.

Yang Wujian continued, "The top priority now is to figure out what's going on with this Tongueless Ghost—why it emerged from the desolate house and entered the county magistrate's residence. However, since the county magistrate is no longer accepting petitions, he probably won't receive visitors either. Young Master Shen, can you still use your connections with the authorities?"

Shen Qingshi thought it over. If she intervened using her identity as a Zhaoming Guard, she could make people talk, but it would not only risk scaring off that great immortal but also easily expose her identity in front of Yang Wujian and Zhou Huai.

In that case..."No need to pull strings anymore. Among the three of us, the one with the exceptionally light eight characters will serve as the spirit planchette, the one full of ghostly tales will be the chanter, and with me as the recorder, we make the perfect three talents."

Shen Qingshi said calmly, "Since we've invited the great immortal, whether we can truly exorcise the evil, let's perform spirit writing to ask on his behalf."