Chаpter 317: The Fire Mоth Рartу 49
In the еnd, hе withdrеw his hаnd that hаd bееn hоvеring in the аir. Seeing Zhu Yan wiре awаy her surging teаrs and cаlm down, Pаn Сhi smilеd аgаin.
Оnlу this time, his smile wаsn’t thе delibеrаtеly сarеfrеe onе frоm befоre—it was forсed, even sоmеwhаt helрless.
“You’ve trulу fаllеn for him.”
Раn Сhi stаtеd thе faсt hе found hаrdest tо acсeрt sinсе waking uр in thе mоst indiffеrent tone.
Zhu Yаn looked at him cаlmly and said, “Нe is my husbаnd.”
Thе аtmosрhere in the room grew heavy and oppressive. Pressured by her gaze, Pan Chi turned his eyes to the window, hoping to distract himself, but it was no use.
Even though he had spent half his life laughing and joking, this time he had genuinely fallen in love. Yet, once his heart was given, he couldn’t take it back—how unwilling he felt.
“Even if you’ve fallen for him, there’s nothing you can do. You’ll just have to become a widow,” Pan Chi said deliberately, sighing with feigned regret, only to receive a glare.
“Shen Du will not die,” Zhu Yan declared firmly.
Seeing that Zhu Yan finally showed an expression other than sorrow, he let out a long sigh of relief. Yet the sadness in his heart remained uncontrollable. Giving himself a hard pinch, Pan Chi forced all his emotions back and said provocatively:
“Even if he dies, it’s fine. Out of gratitude for Shen Du saving my life, I’ll take good care of you and make sure you don’t become a widow.”
Receiving no response, he stole a glance at Zhu Yan.
She seemed to be gathering her strength.
“Shen Du is poisoned and unconscious, his fate unknown, yet here you are cursing him to die.”
“Even when you were poisoned, he never cursed you like this.”
“For someone who’s both the top scholar and martial champion, you’re surprisingly uncultured and ungrateful.”
“All these years, you’ve only known to travel and indulge in pleasure. The romantic debts you’ve accumulated probably can’t be repaid in your next lifetime. Can you even compare to a single finger of Shen Du’s?”
Pan Chi wasn’t angered. Instead, he grinned as he watched Zhu Yan, her face flushed red, point at his nose and scold him. Only when she glared at him furiously did he rein in his smile and rub his nose.
“It’s not that bad, is it?” he muttered softly.
“Oh?” Zhu Yan retorted. “Then tell me, Young Master Pan, in what way are you comparable to my husband?”
Pan Chi pretended to think, pondering for a long time before a sudden idea struck him. He looked at Zhu Yan with a sincere expression.
“It’s not like I have no advantages,” Pan Chi said, glancing sideways at Zhu Yan with a roguish look. “At least I’m lucky and live long. In the future, I’ll be able to take care of you more.”
This Pan Chi—his mouth was asking for a beating, and he himself was asking for a thrashing.
Zhu Yan was already worried about Shen Du. Pan Chi’s words frightened her into thinking Shen Du was about to die, while Pan Chi remained alive and kicking. In that moment, her tears burst forth like a breached dam.
Pan Chi was completely at a loss and had no choice but to patiently coax her:
“Don’t cry. Look, with me, the top scholar and martial champion, and you, the skilled official in charge of solving cases and examining corpses, how could he just die like that?”
These words didn’t stop Zhu Yan’s tears; instead, she cried even harder.
Choked by her tears, Zhu Yan couldn’t utter a single complete sentence. Otherwise, she would have given him a thorough scolding.
Seeing that he had made Zhu Yan cry again, Pan Chi felt somewhat deflated. “There must be a way.”
He thought for a long time, unfolded the crumpled letter and read it, then walked over to examine the map of Gannan Circuit. After pondering several times, he furrowed his brows and finally managed to say, “You mentioned earlier that Shen Du might have been poisoned by a toxin from the Western Regions. Come and look—why is it that everything related to the Fire Moth Party seems connected to the Western Regions?”
This was probably the most sensible thing Pan Chi had said since waking up. Zhu Yan immediately stopped crying, wiped the tear stains from her face, walked over to look, and frowned along with him."Are you sure?"
Before she could think further, Pan Chi began to elaborate: "'Cocoon to Butterfly,' Illusion Art, and this poison—they all originate from the Western Regions."
"And the fire moth."
"Fire moth?" Zhu Yan didn't understand, her swollen eyes straining to open wide as she stared at Pan Chi, afraid of missing any information.
Pan Chi, unsettled by her expression, dared not say more and spoke plainly:
"Fire moth—remove the 'moth,' and only 'fire' remains. When I was in the Western Regions, I heard a legend."
"What legend?"
Pan Chi shook his head. He wasn’t certain either and decided not to mention it yet to avoid muddying the clues. "There’s another point of doubt."
"What?"
"Tracing back to the source, the leader of the Fire Moth Party doesn’t seem to have any connection to the Western Regions," Pan Chi said, referring to someone well-known to all. "As everyone knows, Lai Luozhi is from Lintong County in Yongzhou, just southeast of Chang’an, thousands of miles away from the Western Regions. How could he have so many ties to them?"
Zhu Yan, always sharp-witted, suddenly understood upon hearing this analysis.
Since Lai Luozhi had no connection to the Western Regions, that left only the Yingzhou region.
She immediately suggested checking the household registers at the county office. Pan Chi was naturally willing to accompany her, but added, "Perhaps you should stay here to care for Shen Du. I can go alone."
"It’s fine. The more people, the sooner we’ll find out." Zhu Yan waved her hand and walked out first.
Pan Chi had no choice but to quickly follow.
After checking the household registers, they went to interrogate the previously captured Half-Faced Ghosts.
They soon discovered that Wang Buzui was also a local of Yingzhou. Over the years, he and the Half-Faced Ghosts had been active in Gannan Circuit. The registered victims were mostly locals from the Gannan area or merchants traveling from the Jiangnan region, with no records linking them to the Western Regions.
"Neither the Fire Moth Party nor the Half-Faced Ghosts have any connection to the Western Regions."
Zhu Yan spread out her notebook, which listed all the information they had gathered. Her brow furrowed slightly as she couldn’t help but doubt: this organization, from start to finish, was composed entirely of Central Plains people, with no ties whatsoever to the Western Regions.
"But the physician said the poison Shen Du was exposed to is related to the Western Regions," Zhu Yan said.
Pan Chi was also puzzled: "And the curved dagger that appeared in the headless case, the knuckle duster in the bride case."
"How do we explain the Human Preserve used for resurrection at Guangchun Hall, the aura of death and Buddhist glutinous incense on Lai Luofu and Wang Buzui?"
Zhu Yan replied, "Buddhism cultivates the mind, Taoism cultivates the body. Buddhism seeks the afterlife, Taoism seeks this life. Deluded thoughts have no abode; only the true mind can settle. Such evil arts could never be tolerated by Buddhism. Even in Taoism, the practice of immortality focuses on cultivating oneself, harnessing innate Qi fortune to attain enlightenment and forge a golden body. How could there be those who absorb others’ Qi fortune to cultivate themselves? There is no such phenomenon anywhere in the Central Plains."
For a moment, the two found themselves at a dead end.
Seeing Zhu Yan’s troubled expression and lack of direction, Pan Chi picked up a brush and suggested, "Why don’t we start from the beginning and sort it all out?"
He then listed all the information they had gathered since entering Gannan Circuit on paper, connecting each piece one by one. Though this method was clumsy and inefficient, it had the advantage of yielding accurate results.
But despite their efforts, the clues still led nowhere. No matter how they tried, they couldn’t connect these people to the Western Regions.
Zhu Yan gathered the papers and stacked them neatly.
The person across from her glanced up slightly. "Giving up?"
Zhu Yan pressed her lips together, her jawline tightening. Without responding, she quietly tidied the desk.Pan Chi also fell silent, his gaze following the paper shifting positions in Zhu Yan's hands, not uttering a word.
She reached out to take the sheet in front of Pan Chi, but he picked it up and handed it to her.
Zhu Yan quietly accepted it, murmuring, "Thank you."
A dull ache throbbed in Pan Chi's heart. He lowered his head to help her tidy up, and soon the stone table, which had been left in disarray by them, became much neater.
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