Immortalis

Yin Residence 8

Yang Wujian, who had just sobered up and returned to his female form, came back to the annex and saw over a dozen servants with a dog surrounding Zhou Huai's brightly lit room, sealing it tightly.

He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had drunk too much, when a pitiful-looking Zhou Huai approached, wearing almost every exorcism charm available on his person.

"Miss Yang, there's something in my room."

Zhou Huai said with a tearful face, almost on the verge of hugging her and crying.

Yang Wujian felt a headache coming on but thought to himself that Zhou Huai's birth chart might genuinely have some issues.

He had long heard that Zhou Jinglei had a fate that harmed his wives—first killing his wife Qi Zhongrui, then his father-in-law Qi Yanbai. Unexpectedly, now even his son was being affected like this.

Rubbing his temples helplessly, he said, "Young Master Zhou, you are after all the successor of the White Rainbow Sword, having won the martial arts competition at Immeasurable Manor. When encountering such things, couldn't you have just given it a couple of strikes first?"

Hearing this, Zhou Huai seemed to feel somewhat embarrassed and whispered, "But that thing didn't look human... What if it possessed me? Then you'd have to save me again."

At least he had some self-awareness.

Yang Wujian sighed and asked, "Where's Young Master Shen?"

Zhou Huai pointed into the room, "He went in and hasn't come out."

Yang Wujian thought that with Shen Qingshi's temperament, if there were any Yin evil presence, it would have likely been sliced in half by now. Since there was no sign of fighting inside, probably nothing serious had happened. So, ignoring the servants at the door who were all on high alert, he pushed the door open and entered.

Inside the guest room, Shen Qingshi was confronting someone curled up in the corner, who turned out to be none other than the young disciple brought by One-Eyed Daoist.

"How did he end up here?"

Yang Wujian had recently learned from Baihe about these children's backgrounds—knowing they were no older than fifteen or sixteen, mostly abandoned by their parents. If Baihe hadn't taken them in, they would have likely starved to death on the streets.

Shen Qingshi glanced at the broken window nearby and added, "He refuses to say a word."

With that, she stepped aside for Yang Wujian, implying he should try to coax the child. Left with no choice, Yang Wujian crouched down and gently asked the child, "Weren't you with One-Eyed Daoist? How did you end up here with us?"

He tried to keep his tone as soft as possible, but the child just lay there, covering his head without uttering a word. It then dawned on Yang Wujian—the window was at least four or five feet off the ground. With half of his lower body paralyzed, how had he managed to crash through it?

Before he could figure it out, the dog in the courtyard barked again, causing the young disciple to tremble all over and curl into a ball, instinctively trying to crawl under the bed.

"What's going on?"

Just then, Baihe, who had returned right after Yang Wujian, finally heard the commotion in the annex and hurried over.

Seeing his own person in Zhou Huai's room, Baihe rushed forward to pick up the young disciple, explaining, "Before I found him, this child was chased by a vicious dog. Since his lower body is paralyzed and he couldn't run away, he was bitten for a long time. Ever since, the sound of barking terrifies him, and he flees in panic."

"So he ended up in my room?"

Zhou Huai said irritably.

"My apologies, Young Master Zhou."

Baihe smiled wryly, "Your room was brightly lit with candles, and in his fear, he ran without thinking. I hope you won't hold it against him."After saying this, he hurriedly carried the young Daoist apprentice back inside. Returning after a while, his tone had become less polite: "How could there suddenly be a dog? If this beast damages the altar, who will save your master's life then?"

Hearing this, the steward hurriedly apologized, explaining it was unavoidable—the Tongueless Ghost had been causing serious trouble, and the servants grew drowsy at midnight, fearing it would seize an opportunity, so they temporarily brought a dog to guard the house.

Now, worried about angering the Daoist, the steward had no choice but to have the dog taken away. He also had someone repair Zhou Huai's window before everyone dispersed.

"Did you go drinking?"

As soon as the people left the annex, Shen Qingshi and Yang Wujian spoke almost simultaneously, having clearly detected the scent of alcohol on each other early on.

Yang Wujian, prepared for this, smiled and said, "They say Jingyang City is a must-pass place after crossing the frontier, with a tavern every three steps." How could I come here without trying the wine from beyond the frontier?"

"So you both went drinking separately, and neither of you invited me?"

Zhou Huai couldn't detect their mutual probing; he just grew angrier the more he thought about it. After all, if he had gone out drinking tonight, he wouldn't have encountered the nuisance of someone breaking into his room.

"If you pay, we'll go drinking."

Unwilling to engage further, Shen Qingshi tossed out this remark and returned to his room, leaving the fuming young master standing there: "One after another, everyone just wants to take advantage of me."

"Young Master Shen helped you catch the ghost—what's wrong with treating him to a drink?"

Meanwhile, Yang Wujian was still pondering who Shen Qingshi had gone drinking with. Hearing this, he patted the young master's head like a puppy and, with his dwindling buzz, headed back to his room.

The next morning, just after 7 a.m., the One-Eyed Daoist's ritual began.

Watching the former Elder Baihe, who could once take on ten men alone, now burning talismans and brandishing a sword, Yang Wujian couldn't hold back his laughter. Yet Baihe was fully immersed in his role, occasionally having his young apprentice crawl around scattering flowers and sprinkling water, thoroughly intimidating Xue Mingchang, who knelt on a cushion nearby, not daring to move.

"Cause and effect—it's asking about cause and effect again."

After a while, Baihe suddenly pointed his sword at Xue Mingchang and asked coldly, "If the cause and effect aren't resolved, even if I save your life in seven days, it will return soon after."

"I... I..."

Xue Mingchang's face was bitter, as if he had aged several years in just half a month. He mumbled for a long time but couldn't utter a single word.

Baihe wouldn't tolerate his hesitation and immediately snapped, "It's here to claim your life! Do you want to die as miserably as those four before you?"

This provocation finally broke Xue Mingchang. He threw himself to the ground, pleading, "I investigated, I really did! All this time, I've been going through the records in the study every day. But the case of the desolate house outside the city happened ten years ago. No one reported it to the authorities then, and everyone said it was a revenge killing in the martial world..."

So, this was what he had been doing in his study every night.

Shen Qingshi narrowed her eyes.

She had seen early on that Xue Mingchang was being led by the nose. In other words, the one now seeking to investigate the cause and effect was likely not the Tongueless Ghost, but the One-Eyed Daoist before them.

Who was he really?

Why was he secretly helping them?

At that moment, the One-Eyed Daoist pressed further: "The Tongueless Ghost has already killed four people. It's asking you—why were those four killed? Have you investigated thoroughly?"

This time, Xue Mingchang trembled for a long while but still couldn't utter a word.Baihe snorted coldly and sheathed his sword: "If you can't investigate this, it will keep coming back. I can protect you temporarily, but not forever. Master Xue, I hope you'll consider this carefully."

After the ritual concluded, Madam Xue tried to help the exhausted Master Xue rest, but unexpectedly, One-Eyed Daoist claimed that although the Tongueless Ghost wouldn't haunt during daylight hours, the master bedroom remained inauspicious. If Xue Mingchang wanted to sleep for a while, he would have to stay in a side room.

At this point, even Zhou Huai could tell that this daoist was probably helping them. Therefore, as soon as Xue Mingchang left, the three immediately pulled Baihe aside to a secluded corner for questioning.

Shen Qingshi got straight to the point: "Is this daoist really a daoist?"

Baihe smiled bitterly. Ever since Yang Wujian mentioned yesterday that Shen Qingshi was from the Zhaoming Division, he knew he couldn't hide it from them. He said, "Just a poor soul trying to earn some silver."

Only when Zhou Huai heard he was fake did he relax: "You acted quite convincingly, even brought so many daoist children."

Baihe sighed helplessly: "They're all poor children, just following me to make a living. Having traveled the martial world for many years, I can see that you three young heroes possess extraordinary skills. You must have come to the Xue residence for important matters, right?"

This remark was meant for Yang Wujian to respond to, but clearly, Shen Qingshi hadn't completely dismissed his suspicions of Baihe. He asked again, "How do you know we're not here for money?"

"Young Hero Zhou here wears fine clothes and carries the White Rainbow Tower token at his waist. I presume you must be Young Master Zhou Huai, the only son of Tower Master Zhou of White Rainbow Tower."

Baihe smiled: "White Rainbow Tower is currently the wealthiest in the martial world. Even as a mere traveling craftsman, I've heard of its reputation. With Young Hero Zhou present, you three naturally wouldn't be here for money. That's why I guessed you must have other important business."

Baihe's explanation was flawless, leaving even Shen Qingshi unable to find fault. He immediately fell silent, while Yang Wujian deliberately asked: "Since One-Eyed Daoist guessed this, were you helping us earlier?"

Baihe said, "Master Xue doesn't know much about martial world affairs, but I know a little. That desolate house outside the city where the Tongueless Ghost appeared is where Chang San the Heroine met her tragic death ten years ago. It's said this matter is connected to Longevity Palace. I assume you three came because of this?"

Unlike the suspicious Shen Qingshi, Zhou Huai immediately wanted to cooperate when someone spoke to this extent. He asked further, "Since you know about this, do you have any clues?"

Baihe shook his head: "Actually, I previously asked Master Xue about the cause and effect of this matter, mainly curious why Chang San the Heroine would be connected to innocent commoners. I wanted to pressure him to investigate, thinking that if we could uncover the truth, we might truly resolve this injustice and do a good deed."

Yang Wujian asked again: "Did Xue Mingchang investigate?"

Baihe said, "He investigates every night, but for some reason, he only sent people out to look into some matters at the beginning. After that, he's been investigating alone in his study. I didn't want to endanger his life, so I gave him calming incense to let him sleep for an hour or two at night."

Hearing this, the three immediately understood why Baihe wanted Xue Mingchang to sleep in the side room.

"It seems this 'cause and effect' isn't outside, but within this residence."Yang Wujian smiled faintly, finally understanding what Baihe meant by "scaring Xue Mingchang again"—it was simply a way to buy them time to investigate the study.

But what could this "cause and effect" be, which Xue Mingchang refused to reveal even when facing death?

Without delay, after entrusting Baihe to detain Xue Mingchang, they took advantage of the servants following Xue Mingchang to the side room and slipped into the inner courtyard, heading straight for Xue Mingchang's study.

Initially, both Shen Qingshi and Yang Wujian assumed they would surely find some documents or records in Xue Mingchang's study that could help them investigate the previous four deaths.

However, contrary to expectations, there were no written records in Xue Mingchang's study. Instead, placed right in the center of the desk was a strangely shaped white bone carving.