Teng Yu had expected Lin Chengyou to refuse to teach her swordsmanship, so his response came as no surprise. She merely said coldly, “Venerable Daoists, if we keep dawdling, it will be dark soon.”

The Five Daoists had already noticed that Lin Chengyou wasn’t easy to manipulate – unless he was willing, no one could command him. Teng Yu wasn’t someone to be trifled with either. Playing mind games would only offend them both, and given their temperaments, offending either would be unwise. Seeing the sky darkening, Jian Tian gave a resigned grunt and waved at Jian Le and Jian Xi behind him: “Go ahead and teach her.”

Jian Le and Jian Xi grumbled as they drew their swords: “Young Master Wang, watch the third move carefully!”

Jian Tian remained where he was and said with a snicker to Lin Chengyou: “Earlier when that yamen runner said we would be confined too, this poor Daoist was quite startled. Fortunately, the Young Master had other arrangements.”

Lin Chengyou replied: “When I said there were other arrangements, I didn’t mean you wouldn’t be confined to your rooms – rather, I meant you’d be confined somewhere else.”

The Five Daoists exploded at once: “Young Master, what do you mean by this? Do you suspect us of being the murderer? Don’t forget that you temporarily recruited us to catch demons!”

Lin Chengyou, rubbed his ears – it was too noisy. He usually found Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi annoying, but compared to these old Daoists, Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi were practically mutes.

He calmly replied: “Could you at least let someone finish speaking? Everyone who was in the building last night is a suspect. The confinement is both to quickly clear up clues and to protect you venerable Daoists.”

The Five Daoists were half-skeptical: “Protect us?”

Lin Chengyou glanced at Teng Yu in the distance: “Didn’t Young Master Wang just analyze it thoroughly? The killer might still murder people in the building. If everyone could move about freely, the killer could also move freely. Without confinement, who knows who would be the next victim?”

The Five Daoists remembered Yao Huang’s manner of death and couldn’t help but shudder: “We have no past grievances or recent feuds with the killer. There must be some reason for murder.”

Lin Chengyou drawled: “The confinement will only last these two days. At the latest, tomorrow evening I’ll have the people from Cai Feng Tower sent to the Beitian Infirmary at Dayin Temple. Magistrate Yan will personally bring people to guard them. By then, only we few will remain in Cai Feng Tower, and naturally, we can move about freely. Once we’ve caught the demon here, I’ll have them move back.”

Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi exclaimed in surprise: “Senior Brother, why is this necessary?”

Jian Tian explained: “It seems Cai Feng Tower will soon be in chaos. Once your Senior Brother is busy catching demons, he won’t be able to spare attention to watch for suspicious behavior among the tower’s inhabitants. He doesn’t want the killer to take advantage of the chaos to harm more people, so he can only send the courtesans away first.”

“Then why not send Young Master Wang and the others away? The Corpse Demon only has three targets, but Cai Feng Tower has over a hundred people. It would be simpler to move those three, and we would only need to protect them as they travel.”

Lin Chengyou tilted his head to study the sky: “Arrays have been laid inside and outside Cai Feng Tower, including ready-made array focal points to suppress the two demons. Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi have already cleaned once last night – where else could we find such an ideal place for demon-catching? Besides, General Teng and the Du family are currently taking refuge at Dayin Temple anyway. We might as well send the courtesans from Cai Feng Tower there too. With the temple monks helping to care for them, we won’t have to divide our attention.”

“Having the courtesans move tomorrow evening – isn’t that too rushed?”

“If it weren’t for the difficulty of finding accommodation for over a hundred people at once, I’d want them to move tonight.” Lin Chengyou pointed at the sky above. “Venerable ones, please look at the celestial phenomena.”

The Five Daoists looked up and their faces immediately stiffened. Out of curiosity, Teng Yu also cast her gaze upward. Though it should have been bright daylight, a solitary star was slowly rising on the horizon, with dense clouds stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see. Though she didn’t understand celestial phenomena, even she felt that the star’s appearance was abrupt. The clouds were rimmed with dazzling golden edges, creeping inch by inch toward the lone star.

Jian Xian stared fixedly at the sky: “Look at those clouds, don’t they look like—”

Lin Chengyou: “You’re not wrong, it’s the Nine Three Line.”

All Five Daoists’ faces flashed with panic: “The Nine Three Line? This line is a yang line yet surrounded by yin clouds – it’s an omen of great calamity. Oh, this old Daoist understands now – that’s no solitary star, it’s demon qi. But how could such a powerful demon appear out of nowhere?”

Lin Chengyou’s expression grew slightly grave: “The reason the inner and outer city of Chang’an have been peaceful these past few days is because the two demons were in seclusion recovering from their injuries. Now they’ve emerged, so naturally there are celestial anomalies. Moreover, after these few days of recovery, their demon qi can reach the heavens – it seems the Golden-Robed Master’s power has increased considerably.”

Jian Xian trembled with fear: “That’s not right – the Corpse Demon being undying and immortal is one thing, but the Beast Demon doesn’t have that ability. Last time when Senior Brother’s golden arrow struck the Golden-Robed Master, he was bleeding profusely. By all rights, even if he survived, his power should have been completely drained.”

Jian Xi anxiously tugged at his beard: “This proves our earlier guess wasn’t wrong – the two demons were indeed practicing some secret art together. The Golden-Robed Master can borrow the Corpse Demon’s evil power, and the Corpse Demon also relies on the Golden-Robed Master for something. That’s why after the Golden-Robed Master was severely injured, his demon power didn’t weaken but instead increased significantly.”

Lin Chengyou glanced left and right: “Do the venerable ones understand now? There’s no time now for drinking and entertainment. Earlier I thought the Golden-Robed Master was useless, so when laying the arrays I focused on dealing with the Corpse Demon. Now it seems the Nine Heavens Demon Subduing Array is far from sufficient because while this array counters evil, it doesn’t restrain demons.”

Having heard this far, the Daoists had completely forgotten about teaching Teng Yu swordsmanship. They hurriedly surrounded Lin Chengyou, all talking at once as they discussed solutions.

Seeing she wouldn’t be learning anymore, Teng Yu could only return to the pavilion to wait patiently. She had thought Lin Chengyou’s side already had victory in hand, but who knew there would be another twist? She poured herself a cup of wine and quietly waited for the Five Daoists to argue a solution. However, the more she listened, the more chaotic her thoughts became. Just thinking about being the Corpse Demon’s prey meant she couldn’t stay uninvolved.

The Five Daoists were consistently unreliable, and Lin Chengyou – Teng Yu admitted his demon-catching abilities were first-rate, but for some reason, he remained silent this time. Who knew what crooked scheme he was plotting now? If something went wrong, she would be the first to suffer.

She quietly observed everyone over the rim of her cup. Though she remained silent, her eyes gleamed brightly. Finally, she blinked her long lashes and set down her wine cup: “I understand now. The current array can only trap the Corpse Demon but can’t prevent the Golden-Robed Master’s wings from flying. If that’s the case, why not divide and conquer?”

All the Daoists turned their gazes to her: “Divide and conquer?”

Teng Yu spoke seriously: “Though the two demons are in cahoots, their harmful natures haven’t changed. When they encounter what they want, the two demons will inevitably split their attention. For instance, the Corpse Demon is fixated on gouging out its prey’s hearts, and the Golden-Robed Master reportedly has his preferences when harming people. Since that’s the case, why not use the prey to lure them apart when they enter Cai Feng Tower? If we can eliminate one demon first, the other will be much easier to deal with.”

Jian Tian nodded thoughtfully: “Though that makes sense, there’s one flaw – we would need to split our forces into two groups, one to trap the Corpse Demon and another to surround the Golden-Robed Master. But once we split up, our Dao power will be correspondingly weakened. At that point, forget about defeating the demons separately – we’ll just die faster.”

Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi hurriedly asked: “Senior Brother, can we bring in more people from other Daoist temples?”

Lin Chengyou replied: “We can’t. To prevent the two demons from harming civilians, Daoists from various temples and monks from Dayin Temple have been patrolling the streets day and night, but they can only cover the city proper, not the outskirts. If we pull more people here, the city will be even more overwhelmed.”

It seemed this plan wouldn’t work, but Teng Yu spoke again: “I haven’t finished speaking. To divide and conquer doesn’t necessarily mean splitting into two groups. You’ve forgotten – though the Corpse Demon’s evil power is boundless, it also has a fatal weakness. If we use this weakness to trap the Corpse Demon first, wouldn’t we then be free to focus on dealing with the Golden-Robed Master?”

Lin Chengyou finally raised his eyes to look at Teng Yu.

He asked with a smile: “According to Young Master Wang’s view, how should we trap the Corpse Demon?”

Teng Yu said: “Last time the venerable ones mentioned that the Corpse Demon likes to destroy both person and soul together, often making its prey suffer unbearably before gouging out their hearts. When confusing Juan’er Li, it disguised itself as her dead father. When targeting me, it again disguised itself as my mother… Now there are three prey in total. When it breaks into Cai Feng Tower, even though it won’t be able to predict who it will encounter first, it won’t give up this trick of tormenting people. Can you guess what it will do?”

Qi Zhi started: “It will change its appearance on the spot?”

Teng Yu slowly shook her head: “Last time when it wanted to harm me, it specifically went to the main house first to steal my mother’s clothes. This shows it can’t change its appearance – it only disturbs the prey’s mind. Sometimes to make the prey feel truly present in the illusion, it even needs to make changes to its attire. Perhaps for this reason, it stole several of my mother’s garments.”

Jian Le’s face brightened: “Young Master Wang, I understand your meaning now. If the Corpse Demon isn’t properly prepared, it can’t use illusions to torture its prey into mental collapse, which is something it absolutely cannot tolerate. So this time, for the sake of authenticity, it might bring along these stolen clothes.”

Teng Yu gave an affirmative sound: “I guess it will dress up in advance to ensure success in one strike. As for who it plans to harm first, we’ll know from how the Corpse Demon is dressed when it appears. If it’s dressed as a Hu person, it’s probably going after Juan’er Li first. If it’s disguised as my mother, then it’s coming for me—”

Lin Chengyou listened quite attentively. Teng Yu usually wasn’t eager to offer suggestions, but today she had changed her usual manner. Could it be she was worried he couldn’t handle the two demons? Heh, were there any demons in this world he couldn’t subdue?

Jian Xi excitedly rubbed his hands: “Young Master Wang makes sense. Knowing who it will harm first makes things easier. We have the ‘Evil-Suppressing Great Curse’ – if we have that person wait in the array beforehand, it won’t be difficult to lure the Corpse Demon in. Once we’ve trapped the Corpse Demon, we can focus on dealing with the Golden-Robed Master. Then we can end this quickly without giving the two demons a chance to join forces.”

Qi Zhi scratched his head: “But this isn’t right either. The Corpse Demon moves incredibly fast – even if we can see its disguise, we won’t be able to relay the message in time. If we’re a step too late, we won’t be able to get the first prey to the Evil-Suppressing Great Curse in time for the Corpse Demon to take the bait.”

Lin Chengyou took out several items that looked like command arrows from his robe: “These two command arrows make different sounds. If it rings once, it means the Corpse Demon is wearing Hu clothing – don’t delay, immediately take Juan’er Li to the center of the Evil-Suppressing Great Curse array. If it rings twice, it means the Corpse Demon is wearing Madam Teng’s clothes that it stole from the Teng residence last time – then you should lead Miss Teng to the Evil-Suppressing Great Curse. As long as you can lure the Corpse Demon in, this array will be enough for you to hold it off for a while. When that happens, I’ll handle the Golden-Robed Master.”

The Daoists snatched the firecrackers: “Aiyoyo, so the Young Master had countermeasures ready all along – why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Lin Chengyou showed no shame: “There were some unexpected developments last night, so the original plan had to change. Let’s not discuss that now. Over ten Golden Spider Nets have been buried inside and outside the walls. These won’t trap the Corpse Demon, but they can make it suffer flesh wounds. To avoid pain, it will avoid places where Golden Spider Nets are buried. The only place inside and outside Cai Feng Tower where no Golden Spider Net is buried is under this tree—”

Lin Chengyou pointed forward. Teng Yu followed his gesture to look – it was the locust tree where Lin Chengyou had been lying when she was practicing last night. It seemed his suspicious skulking in the tree last night wasn’t just to track Ge Jin.

Lin Chengyou walked to the tree’s base and gazed upward with his hands behind his back. Pale golden spring light filtered through the leaves, casting a soft glow over his features. “The Corpse Demon will break into Cai Feng Tower from here. I’ll wait in the tree beforehand – as soon as it appears, I’ll release the command arrow.”

Qi Zhi was always attentive to detail. Seeing only two firecrackers, he couldn’t help asking: “Senior Brother, is a firecracker missing? What about Miss Ge Jin – will it be three rings?”

The brat was showing some progress – he’d noticed one was missing. Lin Chengyou patted Qi Zhi’s head encouragingly and took out another firecracker from his robe to show the Five Daoists: “This is the unexpected development I mentioned. Originally it was three rings for Ge Jin, but that won’t work now. If you hear three rings, don’t move Ge Jin – take both Juan’er Li and Miss Teng to the Evil-Suppressing Great Curse.”

Jue Sheng asked curiously: “Why is that?”

Lin Chengyou knocked on Jue Sheng’s head: “Think about it – whatever Ge Jin’s past demon of the heart was, after last night’s events, it’s been replaced by the Yao Huang and Qing Zhi sisters who disfigured her. The Corpse Demon hasn’t seen Ge Jin for a while and doesn’t know this yet, but with its ability to peer into people’s hearts, it will realize the original illusion won’t work as soon as it encounters Ge Jin. Unless it hurriedly disguises itself as Yao Huang or Qing Zhi whom Ge Jin now hates most – but insufficient preparation makes it easy to fail, far less convenient than simply switching targets.”

Jian Tian’s eyebrow twitched: “Then will it switch to attacking Miss Teng or go after Juan’er Li?”

“I can’t guess that, so we might as well take both of them into the array.”

The Five Daoists were stunned: “Both together? The Corpse Demon will immediately know we’re setting a trap and won’t enter the array at all.”

Lin Chengyou answered with certainty: “No, the Corpse Demon will fall for it.”

Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi were full of surprise: “Why?”

“You’ve faced the Corpse Demon several times – don’t you know its habits by now? It loves toying with people’s hearts and loves controlling everything. It couldn’t predict Ge Jin’s change this time, so it will surely be extremely frustrating. Once truly angered, it will struggle to focus its evil power.”

“I understand now.” Jian Xi turned his head to look at his fellow disciples. “It can’t peer into people’s hearts when its evil power is weak. When that happens, if Miss Teng and Juan’er Li pretend to flee in panic into the array, the Corpse Demon won’t be able to tell the truth from falsehood and can only take the bait. If we activate the array while its evil power hasn’t recovered, how could it escape?”

Everyone’s dejection vanished: “This is using its methods against it.”

As they spoke, the Five Daoists had become completely convinced by this youth who looked down upon all things. Unconsciously, they had formed a tight circle with Lin Chengyou at its center.

Teng Yu secretly pursed her lips – earlier Lin Chengyou had been too lazy to say a single word, so why was he suddenly so talkative?

However, she had to admit that after hearing these arrangements, she felt much more at ease. Though Lin Chengyou always wore an expression of “I’m number one under heaven,” in unguarded moments, he could make one mistakenly believe he could hold up the sky and span the seas.

After being happy for a while, Jian Tian suddenly said: “Young Master, we’ve talked all this time only about how to lure the Corpse Demon away from the Golden-Robed Master – but what about the Golden-Robed Master?”

Lin Chengyou smiled at the question: “Him? No need to make it too complicated – we just need to roast this bird well done.”

“Roast it?!”

“The Beast Demon is of the metal element – fire conquers metal. Those wings of his aren’t afraid of anything else, but they fear fire most.”

Jian Tian suddenly understood: “Young Master means to use the Nine Heavens Fire-Drawing Ring to scorch the Golden-Robed Master?”

Jian Xi and the others exchanged glances. The Nine Heavens Fire-Drawing Ring wasn’t an array, but rather a ritual requesting True Samadhi Fire talismans from the Fire Refining Sovereign. The ritual required collaboration between highly skilled Daoists – one to perform the ceremony, another to protect the ritual. With good luck, one hour would suffice; with bad luck, it would take at least seven or eight hours.

No wonder Lin Chengyou spoke of changing their place of confinement – he meant the garden. The two people setting up the ritual would have to stay there the whole time, with no chance to wander about.

The Five Daoists were dazed for a moment before suddenly remembering about teaching Teng Yu swordsmanship. With two gone, wouldn’t the remaining three work themselves to death?

“Young Master Wang, well, you see…”

But Teng Yu counted on her fingers: “With two gone, only three venerable ones remain to teach me swordsmanship. Alas, this makes it even more difficult – I’ve only learned two moves, with thirty-four remaining. Though I’ve drunk the Fire Jade Spirit Root Soup and won’t tire, I fear the three Daoist masters won’t be able to endure.”

At this point, the Five Daoists couldn’t squeeze out a single word, as both heat and shame choked back whatever they might have said.

Their martial arts were all excellent, while Teng Yu had never trained a day, yet they could take turns resting while Teng Yu had to learn from start to finish alone. If Teng Yu didn’t complain of tiredness, how could they refuse because they found it tiring? Should they admit to being incompetent, or to going back on their word?

Jian Tian, as the senior among the five, was the first to put on a stern face: “What are you saying, Young Master Wang? It’s just the Brown Robe Sword technique – just watch, even if only one person teaches you, we can still make you learn it.”

Teng Yu nodded with a smile – that was more like it.

She glanced at Lin Chengyou from the corner of her eye and found him watching her with an amused smile. She studied him searchingly for a moment, only relaxing when she confirmed he had no intention of interfering.

“Jian Xi, Jian Le, you go perform the ritual.” Jian Tian drew his sword. “Young Master Wang, there’s no time to teach the remaining moves slowly – you’ll need to learn them in one go. This old Daoist will demonstrate two moves first, watch carefully!”

Teng Yu responded brightly, but before she’d learned even half a move, two yamen runners came over. After arriving, they didn’t speak but stood at a distance.

Butler Cheng went forward with a smile to chat with them, returning after a moment: “They say they’re here on the Young Master’s orders to protect the people in the garden.”

Jian Xi couldn’t contain his anger: “See that? See that? That brat Lin Chengyou, his mouth says he wants to protect us, but in his heart, he’s still suspicious – he’s treating us as criminals!”

Jian Tian waved his hand: “We can’t blame him. I’d be suspicious too – the day Qing Zhi’s corpse was discovered, something was wrong around that well. If Qing Zhi was killed by someone using unorthodox evil arts, who else in this building besides us knows how to perform rituals?”

***

Lin Chengyou didn’t return directly to the front building, but first made a round of Yi Yu Pavilion and Red Fragrance Court. Seeing that the courtesans and their madams had all shut their doors tightly, with two yamen runners guarding each corridor, he went straight to Qing Zhi’s room.

Qing Zhi lived in an unremarkable side room on the west side of Yi Yu Pavilion, with four maids sharing one room. After Qing Zhi’s incident, the other three had moved elsewhere.

Lin Chengyou had Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi wait outside while he entered the room. He had already searched here several times before – by now he could describe the room’s layout with his eyes closed.

Besides four wooden beds, there was no decent furniture. Qing Zhi’s bed was against the south wall furthest in, with dusty coarse cloth curtains separating the beds. With no windows, the corners were rather dark.

Lin Chengyou crouched down to feel under the bed frame, then after a while lit a match to examine the boards in its light.

Outside, Jue Sheng peered in curiously: “Senior Brother, when you suddenly used the bathing vessel to test the entertainers in the building, it was because you realized Qing Zhi was killed by evil arts, right? Senior Brother, did you initially think it was the Corpse Demon’s puppet?”

Lin Chengyou’s gaze moved under the bed: “I did think that, but firstly, we tested all the entertainers in the building and no one showed signs of being possessed. Secondly, judging from Yao Huang’s death, Qing Zhi was deliberately killed by someone. This has nothing to do with the Corpse Demon – the killer is a living person who knows evil arts.”

Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi’s backs went cold.

Jue Sheng said with a pale face: “I and Qi Zhi would rather believe it was the Corpse Demon controlling a puppet than believe the killer is someone from Cai Feng Tower. Senior Brother, we’ve lived here for some time now – the courtesans and temple visitors are all kind. Just looking at daily interactions, it’s impossible to connect them with a murderer.”

Lin Chengyou gave an “oh”: “Do bad people write it on their faces? In all your time training in the world, haven’t you seen enough people with kind faces but evil hearts? Misplacing kindness and good intentions can harm both others and yourself. When I had you clean the array focal points thoroughly last night, did you discover anything?”

Qi Zhi tensed: “We swept every corner – the focal points must have been carefully chosen by that Patriarch from East Ming Temple a hundred years ago. Even two niches were dug below. Unfortunately, the only silk nirvana banner was also reduced to powder by the Golden-Robed Master last time. Now there’s no trace left in the focal points – we don’t even know how Daoist East Yang finally drove the two demons into them.”

Lin Chengyou said: “I already know all this. When I told you to thoroughly clean the focal points, I didn’t just mean the ground – that Lotus Pure Youth statue and the surrounding pillars couldn’t be missed either. After cleaning all night, didn’t you find anything else?”

Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi hurriedly said: “We were just about to tell Senior Brother – first, the area around the statue and incense table was unusually clean, someone must regularly clean there—”

Lin Chengyou’s mind stirred: “How clean?”

“Not even a layer of dust.”

Lin Chengyou hesitated for a moment. Judging from the several pools in the garden, the servants responsible for cleaning weren’t diligent, otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many fallen branches and leaves floating in the water. With such negligence outside, logically a cold and secluded small temple wouldn’t be cleaned frequently either.

However, with Cai Feng Tower often having mysterious events, people there might regularly clean out of reverence for the divine.

“Additionally, we found a mark on a floor tile under the incense table. The mark was very faint, hidden behind the table – forget about you all normally discovering it, even when we lay on the ground to look we couldn’t see it. If Qi Zhi hadn’t accidentally nudged aside a corner of the felt rug while coming out of the focal point, we might have missed it.”

“What kind of mark?”

Jue Sheng took out a talisman paper from his robe: “About the size of a pea – the shape is hard to describe, somewhat like a star’s rays, somewhat like the pearl flowers women wear.”

Lin Chengyou took it for a look and suddenly stood up.

Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi exchanged surprised glances.

Lin Chengyou’s expression was strange: “No wonder you don’t recognize it – this is called the Seven-Rayed Guide Mark, a very unorthodox soul-summoning technique. Besides questioning matters of the netherworld, it often involves torturing the summoned souls. Speaking of which, it harms karmic merit and has always been despised by righteous masters.”

Qi Zhi shuddered: “Once someone’s dead, even the greatest grudge should be settled – why still torture their ghost?”

Jue Sheng let out an “ah”: “I’ve heard that ever since that couple from the Colored Silk Shop, the Tian family, died, this building has often been haunted – no, it’s been unsettled ever since Tian Yunde’s concubine was driven to death by the Qi family. That person knows the building is full of haunts – aren’t they afraid of summoning a vengeful ghost? When vengeful ghosts are tortured severely, they very easily turn on the ritualist!”

“Someone who dares use such evil arts must be confident nothing will go wrong.” Lin Chengyou gave a cold laugh. “You found this under the felt rug?”

The two nodded.

“Probably burned it accidentally during the ritual and didn’t have time to replace the tile. Unfortunately, it happened to coincide with me and the East Ming Temple Daoists moving into the small temple, so that person didn’t dare act rashly anymore.” Lin Chengyou gave another cold laugh.

This was getting more and more interesting – it seemed someone had been stirring up trouble in Cai Feng Tower long before the two murders.

Jue Sheng suddenly had a thought: “Senior Brother, Qing Zhi was also killed by evil arts – could she have been killed because she discovered something?”

Lin Chengyou didn’t respond but bent down to carefully examine under the bed one more time. Finding nothing, he could only pat the dust off his hands and stand up.

Afterward, he still didn’t go to the front building but turned toward Red Fragrance Court. A yamen runner was guarding Yao Huang’s door – Lin Chengyou nodded to him and went around him into the room.

Yao Huang’s room had the same layout as Ge Jin’s room, but slightly different furnishings. A six-panel landscape screen stood before the bed, and on the low table sat a gold-plated silver vase with eight handles – at first glance, it seemed full of precious things, but there were few truly valuable items.

There had been a cosmetics case at the dressing table, but it had been sent to the Ministry of Justice this morning.

Boxes, bookshelves, bed legs… all possible hiding places had been searched. He hadn’t expected to find anything new, but Lin Chengyou wasn’t looking at things in plain sight, but rather for traces in hidden places.

When evil arts are performed in a room, traces inevitably remain – nail marks, burn marks, or scratches from daggers. Strange that both Yao Huang and Qing Zhi’s rooms were spotlessly clean. Yao Huang’s case was explainable since she died from Heart-Rotting Grass poison, but Qing Zhi had been having nightmares for seven or eight days before her death. If someone had used evil arts against her, where had they done it?

Lin Chengyou turned around in the center of the room, then twisted to look at the moon-shaped window by the wooden bed. Seeing the rippling light outside, something suddenly stirred in his mind.

Across the way was Yi Yu Pavilion where Ge Jin and others lived, with an emerald-green pond between the two rows of buildings.

The sun had begun to slant westward, its orange rays falling on the water’s surface and refracting into countless tiny sparkles. The surrounding light was blindingly bright, like an enormous golden mirror. Never mind knife marks or burn marks – even the thickness of dust would be visible.

Lin Chengyou’s gaze moved up along the window lattice. Finding nothing unusual inside or outside the window, he gripped the windowsill with both arms and leaned half his body out to look up, feeling all along the top of the window frame, but didn’t find even a single hair.

Lin Chengyou had to pull back, accidentally bumping his arm against the right window edge with a very faint “click.” With his exceptional hearing, he immediately turned to look and suddenly discovered that one spot on the right windowsill was slightly brighter in color than the surrounding area, as if the red lacquer had faded and been repainted.

He bent down for a closer look. On the surface, that spot seemed to blend perfectly with the window edge, only slightly different in color. At night or on an overcast day, it might not be noticeable – no wonder several search parties yesterday night and this morning hadn’t discovered anything wrong with this spot.

Lin Chengyou’s lips curved in a slight smirk: “Hidden deep enough.” He touched it with his hand – the wooden panel could move up and down. Taking out the dagger from his jade belt and prying, with a “ka-chi” sound the wooden panel fell onto the windowsill.

Behind it was hidden a small niche containing a small colored basket. With the wooden panel covering it, no one could have discovered anything amiss.

Lin Chengyou took out the basket and saw it contained several taels of gold and some pearl and jade trinkets.

He’d heard that the courtesans of Pingkang Ward were strictly controlled – whatever gifts they received had to be handed over to their madams and masters like He Mingsheng. If they dared keep anything private, they couldn’t escape a beating and scolding. To prepare for their futures, the courtesans inevitably had to engage in some outward compliance while secretly defying orders.

From this hidden niche, it was clear that in her years here, Yao Huang had become quite experienced at hiding things.

The trinkets in the colored basket were far more precious than those displayed in the room – jade ruyi scepters, coral strings, moonlight pearl cups, and even mushy love poems… everything imaginable.

Among the gleaming treasures, only one brown item was particularly unremarkable.

In the dazzling sunlight from the window, he saw it was a walnut ornament only the size of a fist. From the back it looked like an ordinary walnut shell, but turned over it revealed another world – half the shell had been carved away, and inside sat a boat complete with gunwales, window lattices, and masts. The window shutters could open, the long oars could move, like a miniature of a real boat with real people.

Two young girls sat on the boat’s axis – one slightly older, one slightly younger, wearing identical clothes and leaning intimately against each other. Judging from their appearances and expressions, they were sisters.

Lin Chengyou studied the figurines’ expressions. Though their features weren’t clear, their closeness was vivid and lifelike.

It seemed not only did Qing Zhi miss her sister, but Yao Huang also deeply missed her sister. Who knew where she’d gotten this half walnut – not only had she treasured it enough to hide it away, but she must have often taken it out to caress and play with in private.

Lin Chengyou turned it over and around for examination and discovered a line of characters carved on the bottom of the walnut.

It read: Yuezhou, Year of Dingyou, Taozhi Ferry.

Lin Chengyou started – Yuezhou was Yao Huang and Qing Zhi’s hometown. Was this Taozhi Ferry also in Yuezhou?

As he was pondering this, a yamen runner hurriedly came looking for him outside: “Evaluator Lin, Magistrate Yan has returned and says he has urgent matters to discuss. He asks where you are.”

“I understand.” Lin Chengyou tucked the walnut into his sleeve and strode out of the room.

Arriving at the main hall, he saw Magistrate Yan gulping down tea. This man was usually refined and proper, rarely drinking like this – he must have had an exhausting afternoon.

“Magistrate Yan.”

Yan Wangchun put down his teacup and caught his breath: “Young Master, you were right – that Lady Tuo in the palace is remarkable.”

Lin Chengyou coughed once, signaling Yan to be quiet, then said loudly: “Let’s talk outside.”

Yan Wangchun collected himself and rose to follow Lin Chengyou to the courtyard. Finding a relatively secluded corner, he spoke again: “Lady Tuo looked at the killer’s sachet and said it was the handiwork of a weaver from Yuezhou.”

Lin Chengyou’s smile vanished.

Yuezhou again.

The killer was also connected to Yuezhou?

“Could Lady Tuo recognize which embroidery workshop in Yuezhou it came from?”

Yan Wangchun: “Lady Tuo said Yuezhou produces silk, and there are many skilled embroiderers in its wards and alleys. But the sachet uses a technique called Flowing Cloud Rolling Embroidery – the flower petals and leaves embroidered with this method look like flowing waves, truly an innovative technique. However, this isn’t a unique skill – there are hundreds of embroiderers in Yuezhou who excel at this method. Just from this sachet, Lady Tuo couldn’t tell which workshop it came from.”

“Lady Tuo should at least know which embroidery workshops exist in Yuezhou.”

Yan Wangchun took out a roll of paper from his sleeve: “I wrote this down – Yuezhou has no fewer than twenty embroidery workshops, with three most famous ones. The first is called Little Mountain Emerald Embroidery Workshop, the second is Taozhi Embroidery Workshop, and the third is called Yueju Embroidery Workshop—”

Lin Chengyou started: “Wait, what was the second one called?”

“Taozhi Embroidery Workshop.”

Lin Chengyou swiftly pulled the paper from Magistrate Yan’s hand and compared it with the “Taozhi Ferry” on the walnut, then suddenly looked up: “Did Lady Tuo know where in Yuezhou this second workshop was located?”

Yan Wangchun was stunned: “Lady Tuo didn’t mention this, and I forgot to ask earlier.”

“This is what I just found in Yao Huang’s room – look at this line of characters.”

Yan Wangchun took the walnut and squinted to look, then let out a surprised “ah.”

“This is too much of a coincidence – both Yuezhou, both having the characters for ‘Taozhi.'”

Lin Chengyou said coldly: “Coincidence? When are there such coincidences in this world? One is the killer’s sachet, one is an item from seven years ago, yet both sisters died at another’s hands.”

Yan Wangchun’s brows drew tighter and tighter: “Could the killer have known the sisters seven years ago? Last night when the killer risked everything to hide this sachet, was it because they feared we would discover their connection to Yuezhou? No, seven years ago Yao Huang was already ten years old – she should have had some impression of the killer. When her sister suddenly died, Yao Huang should have remembered something.”

Lin Chengyou said meaningfully: “We’ll find out what’s going on once we investigate.”

As he spoke, he headed toward the hall.

Magistrate Yan started in surprise and hurriedly lifted his robes to follow.

In the hall, Lin Chengyou said to the yamen runners: “Tell He Mingsheng to bring all the indenture contracts of everyone in the building immediately. Also, have the madams and temple visitors come over – I have questions for them.”

The yamen runners hurriedly complied. This young master usually maintained an attitude of indifference even if the sky were falling, but rarely showed such a stern expression – something major must have happened.

Before long, He Mingsheng and the others arrived one after another.

He Mingsheng was also under confinement and thus had to do everything personally. Usually, wherever he went he was surrounded by attendants, but now he carried a dragon sandalwood box. He must have spent considerable effort finding the courtesans’ indenture contracts – his head was covered in oily sweat.

E Ji, Wo Ji, and the others appeared to have just risen from bed, adjusting their clothes as they walked.

These people didn’t dare speak when they reached the hall, their eyes anxiously stealing glances at Lin Chengyou.

Lin Chengyou lifted his robes and sat behind the bench, first looking at He Mingsheng. He Mingsheng’s lips trembled as he smiled and presented the box: “All the indenture contracts and travel permits are here – one hundred and seven people in total. Please examine them, Young Master.”

Lin Chengyou nodded with a smile: “Good, I and Magistrate Yan will look them over and return them to Manager He.”

How could He Mingsheng dare provoke Lin Chengyou? “Young Master, examine them as you wish. With such events occurring at Cai Feng Tower, He hopes Young Master and Magistrate Yan can quickly find the culprit.”

Lin Chengyou naturally took up the thread of conversation: “Then please have Manager He arranges a private room for us on the second floor. I Magistrate Yan would like to inquire about some matters, starting with—”

He casually pointed at Wo Ji in the crowd: “Madam Wo. The rest of you wait briefly in the hall – after we’re done with Madam Wo it will be your turn.”

“There are plenty of elegant rooms on the second floor.” He Mingsheng turned his head to wave at Wo Ji. “Wo Ji, take the Young Master and Magistrate Yan upstairs.”

Yan Wangchun ordered two yamen runners to stay and watch over everyone while he went upstairs with Lin Chengyou.

Wo Ji led the two men to a room and stood nervously to one side after entering.

Lin Chengyou and Yan Wangchun ignored Wo Ji, busying themselves with examining everyone’s indenture contracts. After waiting anxiously for a while, Wo Ji grew increasingly worried. She swallowed and said: “This slave risks asking – what does the Young Master wish to inquire about?”

Lin Chengyou remained unmoved, quickly finishing his examination of the last indenture contract before shifting his gaze from the table. Besides Yao Huang and Qing Zhi, not a single person’s registered birthplace was Yuezhou. However, this wasn’t surprising – even Qing Zhi’s contract listed her as “from Xingyang,” probably made up by the human trafficker when bringing her to Chang’an to sell.

If Qing Zhi’s indenture contract could be forged, naturally others could be too.

“When you bought Qing Zhi back then, didn’t you notice her indenture contract was fake?”

Wo Ji’s face showed annoyance: “Speaking of this makes me angry. This slave bought five children at once back then – Qing Zhi was the least remarkable one. She hadn’t caused any trouble all these years – how could we have expected someone would dare forge travel permits to commit fraud?”

Lin Chengyou said mockingly: “The accents of Xingyang and Yuezhou are vastly different. Indenture contracts can be forged, but accents can’t be faked – didn’t you notice Qing Zhi didn’t have a Xingyang accent?”

Wo Ji sighed: “We bought so many children at the time – how could this slave pay attention to such things? If not for what happened, this slave wouldn’t even have noticed where Qing Zhi was from. Children learn quickly – when a big group lives together, they forget their hometown speech in just a few days.”

Lin Chengyou: “After buying Qing Zhi, did you always live in Pingkang Ward? Before Cai Feng Tower opened, where did you make your living?”

Wo Ji gave a dry laugh: “This slave rented a house in the ward, planning to raise several children and attract customers ourselves. But soon after, the South Quarter opened several famous brothels one after another. The courtesans there were all accomplished in both beauty and arts – all the noble young masters of Chang’an were drawn to them. Who would notice a small establishment in the corner?”

“With no business to do, this slave heard the South Quarter was opening Cai Feng Tower, to be the largest in Chang’an, so I brought the children to seek refuge here. When we came, we made arrangements with Manager He – he would provide lodging and meals, the children would be under his management, and in the future no matter how much or little these children earned, this slave would only take ten percent. Moreover, this slave was unparalleled in musical arts when young, more than capable of training entertainers. Manager He initially wouldn’t agree, but at the time Cai Feng Tower couldn’t recruit enough instructing courtesans at once. Seeing this slave willing to help teach music, he agreed. Oh yes, E Ji and the others came the same way.”

Lin Chengyou closed the box lid: “Cai Feng Tower has been open for over half a year. Living here day and night, have you heard of anyone being from Yuezhou?”

“Yuezhou?” Wo Ji shrank back slightly. “Wasn’t that Yao Huang?”

“No one else besides her?”

Wo Ji answered very definitely: “No one.”

Lin Chengyou sneered: “The killer is in this building. If you know something but don’t speak up, the next unlucky one might be you.”

Wo Ji’s voice trembled: “Let this slave think carefully, think carefully.”

She nervously wrung her hands together until her knuckles turned somewhat white. Finally, she shook her head helplessly: “This slave has dealt with everyone for quite some time – truly never heard of anyone being from Yuezhou. Yao Huang would occasionally mention Yuezhou, but I never saw anyone pick up the topic.”

Lin Chengyou exchanged a glance with Yan Wangchun and simply tried a different approach: “Qing Zhi often went out – have you heard if she recently met any fellow townspeople outside?”

Wo Ji was stunned: “This… Qing Zhi only went out to buy food each time. Never heard of her meeting fellow townspeople—”

At this point, a strange expression suddenly appeared on Wo Ji’s face. She peered at Lin Chengyou: “No, no, speaking of fellow townspeople, that day Qing Zhi suddenly said she and the front shop owner’s concubine were from the same hometown. This slave mentioned this to Young Master before – Young Master should still remember—”

Lin Chengyou fell silent – he certainly remembered. If not for seizing on this point, he would never have discovered that Qing Zhi was actually from Yuezhou. Without following this clue, he might never have uncovered the true relationship between Qing Zhi and Yao Huang.

But that Rong family concubine had been dead for over a year—

Not only was the concubine dead, but the Tian couple had died one after another.

He just wanted to know who else in the building was from Yuezhou, and why it now involved the Colored Silk Shop. How could three people who died a year ago possibly be connected to murders that happened a year later?

Lin Chengyou suppressed his confusion: “Very well, then let me ask again – how exactly did Qing Zhi tell you about this?”

Wo Ji said: “She didn’t tell me directly – I learned about it when hearing people complain about Qing Zhi, saying she was always talking nonsense, openly claiming she and that dead concubine were from the same hometown, not caring about taboos.”

Lin Chengyou gave a slight laugh: “But now we know Qing Zhi wasn’t talking nonsense – she was from Yuezhou. Had Qing Zhi met Lady Rong before? How did she know they were from the same hometown?”

Wo Ji’s expression grew somewhat uneasy as if pondering something.

Lin Chengyou exchanged a glance with Magistrate Yan, the mysteries in his mind growing larger and larger.

Lin Chengyou said: “The Colored Silk Shop has long been famous here. Living in Pingkang Ward all these years, even if you never bought anything there, you must have heard of its reputation. Think carefully – did Qing Zhi ever mention Lady Rong?”

Wo Ji said anxiously: “The child never mentioned Lady Rong, but I think she must have seen her.”

Magistrate Yan started – he had thought Qing Zhi said such things just to attract attention, but she had actually met Lady Rong.

He hurriedly asked: “When did she see her? Where?”

Wo Ji pressed her hand to her temple: “When the Colored Silk Shop was still around, this slave often patronized it. The shop was a large business with many employees, but the Tian couple were habitually stingy and liked to handle everything personally. Master Tian was handsome and spoke pleasantly. But Madam Qi’s eyes were like hidden daggers – one look at you and she could tell your worth. At that time this slave was short on money – seeing how I always asked much but bought little, Madam Qi’s face would grow cold. This slave disliked her mean-spirited attitude and often brought Qing Zhi and others to cause trouble in the shop.”

“Once when Madam Qi was ill, Lady Rong came out in her place to receive female customers. I remember Lady Rong had only married Master Tian recently then – she was beautiful and kind. That day there were especially many people visiting the shop. Master Tian was overjoyed, but Lady Rong had only been out receiving guests for a short while when Madam Qi started smashing things in the back, sounding like she was cursing Lady Rong – every word was awful. Master Tian didn’t dare defend Lady Rong, just quietly comforted her with a few words before urging her to go in and attend to Madam Qi—”

Wo Ji paused: “After returning, my children were saying, with Master Tian’s vast wealth, why was he so afraid of his wife? Qing Zhi was among those children speaking – this slave guesses that’s when she learned Lady Rong was from Yuezhou. Later this slave saw Lady Rong on the street several more times, but she had grown much more haggard. I heard Madam Qi often beat and cursed her, and Master Tian wasn’t in Chang’an. Not long after that, Lady Rong jumped into a well and died.”

Lin Chengyou pondered for a moment: “Qing Zhi must have recognized Lady Rong’s Yuezhou accent. After that, did Qing Zhi ever mention Lady Rong to you? Such as running into her somewhere, or speaking with her?”

Wo Ji thought very carefully: “Never mentioned it. After Lady Rong died, all kinds of rumors circulated in the neighborhood – everyone said she was killed by Madam Qi, and that the Colored Silk Shop was haunted. Even when these street rumors reached my small establishment, I didn’t see anything special from Qing Zhi.”

***

After Wo Ji left, Lin Chengyou stared abstractedly at the table.

Cai Feng Tower seemed to have no connection to the Colored Silk Shop, but whenever they found new clues, the Colored Silk Shop would appear like a craggy island in the fog, suddenly revealing a corner at some unexpected moment.

So Qing Zhi had met Lady Rong over a year ago.

And Lady Rong happened to be from Yuezhou.

Coincidentally, the killer’s sachet also came from a Yuezhou embroidery workshop.

Could there be some connection between Cai Feng Tower and the Colored Silk Shop?

Did the killer know Lady Rong?

Could their murder of the Yao Huang sisters be related to Lady Rong?

Lin Chengyou looked at the sachet in his hand, then took out the walnut and placed both items before him, thoughtfully running his fingers over them.

“Magistrate Yan, Evaluator Lin.” A yamen runner poked his head in. “E Ji has arrived.”

E Ji entered the room and bowed with a lowered head. Seeing Lin Chengyou’s expression was still fairly mild, she gathered her courage to ask: “Young Master, this slave heard from the master that tomorrow we must move to the Compassion Infirmary at Dayin Temple – is this true?”

“Does Madam E have something to say?”

E Ji covered her mouth with a handkerchief and smiled: “Young Master’s arrangements must be thoroughly considered. This slave just wanted to ask approximately how many days we’ll be staying. If it’s only one or two days that’s fine, but if it’s longer, this slave needs to remind the children to bring more changes of clothes.”

Lin Chengyou replied unhurriedly: “Madam E loves to inquire about everything, so you must know quite a bit about the people in the building. Do you remember who is from Yuezhou?”

E Ji blinked: “This slave only knows Yao Huang is from Yuezhou – don’t know about anyone else.”

Lin Chengyou snorted: “Madam E has an excellent memory – better think carefully again.”

Excellent memory… what did he mean by that? E Ji’s eyes showed panic for an instant before she gave a dry laugh: “Forgive this slave’s stupidity – please speak plainly, Young Master.”

Lin Chengyou studied E Ji impassively. Among the madams, E Ji was several years younger than Wo Ji and more clever and sophisticated. He’d heard He Mingsheng quite valued E Ji, even entrusting her with handling some of Cai Feng Tower’s daily affairs. E Ji must know quite a bit about the people and events in the building.

“Cai Feng Tower has four madams,” he began. “Each madam is only responsible for teaching her own ‘daughters’ – you’re not Wei Zi and Yao Huang’s madam, so logically you shouldn’t be familiar with their private possessions. But that night you immediately recognized both Wei Zi’s Mohe treasure and Yao Huang’s silver-winged butterfly hairpin. None of these details about the courtesans escape your eye.”

E Ji’s expression changed several times: “This slave didn’t intentionally inquire about these things – it’s just that Yao Huang and Wei Zi aren’t like the others. They’re Cai Feng Tower’s most outstanding leading courtesans – never mind receiving valuable gifts, their smallest actions are watched by others. Even if this slave didn’t investigate, I would hear others talking about it.”

“‘Hearing about’ something is quite different from ‘matching details,'” Lin Chengyou said with an ambiguous smile. “You could even explain the background of those items. You have quite a few leading courtesans under your supervision – without paying special attention, how could you remember so clearly?”

E Ji opened her mouth hurriedly to defend herself, but Lin Chengyou smiled: “Why are you so anxious? I’m praising Madam E’s good memory.”

He picked up the sachet from the table and asked: “Has Madam E seen this sachet before?”

Those few sentences had frightened E Ji into a cold sweat. She instinctively suppressed her usual clever manner and honestly leaned forward for a look. Recognizing it as the one found in the main hall that morning, she immediately stammered: “Th-this isn’t—”

“It is.” Lin Chengyou stared directly at E Ji, his eyes black as lacquer as if trying to see into her very bones. “This belongs to the killer. To quickly find the killer, this is the most crucial clue. Think carefully – have you ever seen anyone use this item before?”

“To be honest with Young Master.” E Ji took out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from her brow. “This slave does have a good memory – with such distinctive patterns on this sachet, if anyone in the building had used it, this slave would certainly remember. But this slave can guarantee, I’ve never seen this sachet before.”

Lin Chengyou reminded her: “Not just the entertainers in the building – guests and neighbors count too.”

E Ji thought for a moment, then shook her head again: “This slave truly hasn’t seen it. This slave knows what’s at stake – at a time like this, I wouldn’t dare speak a single false word.”

Lin Chengyou felt somewhat disappointed. Wo Ji said she hadn’t seen it, and E Ji also said she hadn’t seen it – even if one of them was lying, surely they wouldn’t both be telling falsehoods.

The sachet wasn’t newly made, and its pattern was eye-catching. If even the sharp-eyed, detail-oriented madams hadn’t seen it, it meant the killer rarely used this sachet in front of others.

This was interesting – Cai Feng Tower had been open for over half a year, with the courtesans living as neighbors. Even the most careful person would show flaws sometimes, yet the killer had hidden so long, so deeply…

Lin Chengyou paused: “I remember your master saying that a small temple in the back garden was built after a master from Luoyang examined the site?”

E Ji answered honestly: “Yes.”

“Do you all usually go burn incense at the small temple?”

E Ji’s head shook like a rattle drum: “This slave has never gone, and others rarely wander near the small temple.”

“Why is that?”

E Ji placed her hand over her chest: “It’s strange to say – that small temple was supposedly built to suppress evil, but even in daytime, let alone at night, it’s ice cold. At night, even with incense and candles fully lit, the hall remains dim and damp. As soon as anyone enters they feel uncomfortable all over. The courtesans don’t dare walk near the small temple, and even our masters are afraid – when they occasionally go there, they must bring along over ten temple visitors. Over time, everyone stopped going.”

Lin Chengyou pondered silently. Though called a Buddhist temple, it used the Daoist As-You-Wish Demon Subduing Array. The person who laid the array was highly skilled, and the array was properly structured – if the craftsmen hadn’t accidentally damaged the foundation stone of the array focal point while building the temple, it would have been enough to keep the building safe.

The problem was that damaging the focal point that had suppressed the two demons for a hundred years caused large amounts of yin energy to leak out. Nearby wandering ghosts sensed this and inevitably came to roam about – of course, people would feel an eerie atmosphere when walking nearby. And once the two demons had absorbed enough evil energy, they soon broke out of the array.

At this point, the person who set the array probably hadn’t anticipated it.

“Have you seen that master from Luoyang?”

“Never seen him. When the master came to Chang’an, others were responsible for receiving him. This slave only knows he was called the Carefree Wanderer.”

Lin Chengyou gave a derisive laugh: “But I’ve already had people check – there’s no master called the Carefree Wanderer in Luoyang.”

E Ji didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Young Master, please don’t mention this – our master is sick with regret. After the small temple was built, Cai Feng Tower was peaceful for only a short while before the hauntings started again. Master had no choice but to personally go to Luoyang to find that Carefree Wanderer, but after two consecutive trips came back empty-handed. Master was furious, saying this Daoist was a fraud – otherwise, how could he disappear as soon as he got the money?”

Magistrate Yan asked curiously: “If you suspected he was a fraud, why didn’t your master report it to the authorities?”

“Master already reported it and asked the legal officials in the county – since that Daoist was from Luoyang but committed fraud in Chang’an, did this matter fall under Chang’an Wannian County’s jurisdiction or Luoyang’s? But before Master could get a clear answer, great demons appeared in the back garden, and then the entire building was sealed off, so the matter was set aside.”

Lin Chengyou fell into silent contemplation. Judging from the small temple’s layout, that Daoist didn’t seem like a fraud. Even though the craftsmen accidentally broke through the ground during construction, with his skill level it wouldn’t have been difficult to come make some repairs – why did he never show his face again?

Because the Carefree Wanderer never reappeared, no one discovered that the array focal point below had been broken through. The craftsmen dared not tell He Mingsheng about their mistake, and He Mingsheng didn’t understand Daoist arts so couldn’t spot the problem. Therefore, Cai Feng Tower continued its nightly revelry until the two demons had escaped.

The small temple… the small temple… Lin Chengyou pondered. While everyone avoided this eerie small temple, someone took advantage of this to perform evil arts inside.

His thoughts focused on the Seven-Rayed Guide Mark found under the incense table in the small temple.

The Seven-Rayed Guide Mark was extremely sinister and could only be used at night. The ritual required complete freedom from disturbance – the small temple was the perfect location.

The killer didn’t want anyone to witness their actions and was glad everyone was too afraid to visit the small temple… but to ensure absolute safety, just being “eerie” wasn’t enough – logically they should have done something else.

A thought struck Lin Chengyou: “Madam E, have you heard anyone say they encountered a ghost in the small temple?”

E Ji nodded nervously: “Yes, yes, yes – people started talking about it several months ago. After that, people kept running into ghosts one after another. This slave seems… seems to have seen one too.”

Magistrate Yan asked strangely: “Either you saw it or you didn’t – what do you mean by ‘seems to have seen’ one?”

E Ji flicked her handkerchief: “Because this slave couldn’t tell if that thing was human or a ghost!”

Lin Chengyou asked with deep interest: “What did the thing you saw look like?”

E Ji fearfully swallowed. Though that incident had happened quite some time ago, remembering it still made her shudder.

“About two months ago, I remember it was the fifteenth night of the month. Several young scholars who had come from other regions to take the examinations visited the tower to drink wine and compose poetry. They specifically requested to hear music. This slave saw they seemed refined enough, so I called Juan’er Li and Bao Zhu to serve them, making it clear they would only perform music, recite poetry, and play drinking games – nothing else. The young masters all agreed, but who knew that by midnight, one of them in his drunkenness forcefully tried to embrace Juan’er Li. Bao Zhu couldn’t pull him away, and seeing the situation was about to turn bad, she had to run out to find me.

“By the time this slave rushed over, Juan’er Li’s clothes had been torn. That dog was completely drunk and had a terrible temper – when we pulled him away, he angrily slapped Juan’er Li several times. Juan’er Li’s skin is as delicate as clear water – her face swelled up immediately.

“This slave was so angry my teeth nearly cracked. Between coaxing and pushing, we drove those dogs out. When we finally got free and turned back, we couldn’t find Juan’er Li. This slave knows this child doesn’t like to speak her mind but thinks deeply about things. Having suffered such an insult, who knows how terrible she must have felt? I hurriedly went with Bao Zhu to look for her, but when we found she wasn’t in her room, we had to search the garden.

“The garden is large, and it was deep night. This slave remembered there was a well in the back garden and feared Juan’er Li might try to end her life. Not caring anymore about ghosts, I went in and split up with Bao Zhu to search. There wasn’t a single person in the garden – the deeper we went, the more secluded it became. When we got near the small temple, this slave suddenly saw a shadow dart out from inside—”

At this point, E Ji’s voice suddenly trembled.

“This slave saw – this slave saw a female ghost in red clothing.”

“A female ghost in red clothing—” Magistrate Yan grew doubtful. “It was so late at night – were you very close? How could you see the color of the clothes so clearly?”

E Ji froze for a moment, as if not knowing how to respond.

A mocking smile appeared at the corner of Lin Chengyou’s mouth: “Didn’t Madam E just say it was the fifteenth night?”

E Ji nodded hurriedly: “Yes, yes, yes – the moon was full that night. The ground looked like it was covered in silver frost. This slave forgot to bring a lantern, but everything still seemed bright all around.”

“Did you see the ghost’s features?”

E Ji’s head shook like a rattle drum: “This slave didn’t dare look directly at it. The ghost also ran very fast – I only saw a red flash before my eyes, and in an instant, the ghost’s shadow disappeared.”

Lin Chengyou: “If you couldn’t see the features clearly, you must have some impression of the height and build. Did it look familiar or strange?”

E Ji thought for a moment before saying firmly: “If it had been someone familiar, this slave would have recognized them immediately. Besides, in all these slave years, I’ve never seen anyone who could fly that fast. That thing couldn’t have been human – it must have been a ghost.”

“The clothes, ornaments, fragrance… nothing at all seemed familiar?”

E Ji said with a bitter expression: “It was just a flash – this slave didn’t dare think about it afterward. I only know that thing wore a ru-skirt ensemble. Everything else this slave has long forgotten.”

Lin Chengyou stared motionlessly at E Ji. E Ji held his gaze, enduring for who knows how long. Just as she was shifting her feet uneasily, Lin Chengyou’s beautiful voice rang out: “The story’s not finished, is it? Did Bao Zhu find Juan’er Li?”

E Ji said with relief: “She was found. This slave was scared witless and turned to run back when face-to-face I saw a group of people coming to search. It turned out Bao Zhu had found Juan’er Li at the Green Butterfly Pavilion – the child was hiding there crying. The two of them came looking for me and met Wo Ji Wei Zi and others on the way, so they walked together. Seeing me so disturbed, they hurriedly asked what had happened. This slave saw Juan’er Li’s face was badly injured, so I just said I’d encountered a ghost. Not daring to linger, I immediately took them back to apply medicine.”

The room fell silent. Lin Chengyou’s index finger tapped rhythmically on the table as the faint sounds of yamen runners and courtesans talking drifted up from downstairs, accompanied by somewhat anxious footsteps.

After a while, he spoke: “The small temple was built to suppress ghosts, and initially it did work for a time. If even the small temple started being haunted, the people in the building must have been extremely shocked. Who was the first person to say they encountered a ghost in the small temple? Madam E must have some impression.”

E Ji wiped the sweat from her forehead: “This slave wasn’t the only one who encountered ghosts near the small temple. This slave only heard about it – I really can’t remember who was the first to see one.”

As she spoke, she anxiously studied Lin Chengyou. Though she expected to be challenged again, unexpectedly Lin Chengyou helped smooth things over: “With rumors, by the time you hear them they’re already half-true and half-false. How could it be easy to find the source? It’s not strange that Madam E can’t remember.”

E Ji squeezed out a smile uglier than crying: “Young Master truly understands. This slave hopes Young Master catches the killer soon – I want to tell Young Master everything I know.”

Lin Chengyou looked at E Ji sincerely: “I’ve already felt Madam E’s sincerity. Let’s stop the questions here for today. When Madam E goes out, please tell the yamen runners to have Manager He come up to speak.”

E Ji felt deeply relieved. Just as she reached the doorway, she heard Lin Chengyou say: “I forgot to tell Madam E – that ‘female ghost’ you saw that night was very likely the killer. If you remember anything after returning to your room, immediately have the yamen runners relay the message to me.”

“The killer?” E Ji turned back in shock. “Wasn’t that a female ghost?”

Lin Chengyou gave a wicked smile but showed no intention of answering. E Ji stared at him for a moment before nodding unsteadily: “This slave will think carefully after returning to my room.”

After E Ji left, Magistrate Yan wrote while speaking: “Chengyou, don’t you think this E Ji’s story is full of holes? First, she says ‘this slave couldn’t tell if that thing was human or ghost,’ then changes to ‘humans couldn’t possibly fly that fast, it must have been a ghost.'”

Lin Chengyou said mockingly: “Elder Brother Yan, guess whether she was saying those words for us to hear, or for herself to hear?”

Magistrate Yan put down his brush: “Could it be she has some doubt in her mind and was trying to convince herself through these words?”

Lin Chengyou smiled: “I guess either she remembered who the female ghost looked like but doesn’t want to believe it, so she’s using this method to convince herself. Or—”

“She is the killer?” Magistrate Yan picked up the thread. “Indeed, at this point, who else but the killer would lie? Chengyou, why not test this E Ji with the Sese Pearl? The killer knows martial arts – whether it’s her or not, one test would tell us.”

Lin Chengyou shook his head: “We can’t test anymore. That method can only be used once. The killer knows I was deliberately testing her – they would rather have an eye destroyed than reveal themselves.”

Magistrate Yan wrung his hands: “Then we can only question them one by one. But we don’t even know what grudge the killer had against the Yao Huang sisters – how can we investigate without knowing the motive?”

“No matter how well hidden, there’s always a moment when the truth slips out.” Lin Chengyou lowered his gaze to look at the testimonies on the table. “If E Ji is the killer, that would be simpler – whether motive or origin, we could eventually discover it. But what if she wasn’t lying? When she spoke of that female ghost, she repeatedly showed signs of doubt – clearly, she remembered something.”

Magistrate Yan considered: “When life and safety are at stake, there’s no reason to protect the killer. Besides, E Ji is someone who takes great care to protect herself. To lie at this point – I’d rather believe she is the killer herself.”

Lin Chengyou thought for a moment, then said to the yamen runner outside: “Have Manager He wait downstairs a bit longer. First call Juan’er Li, Wei Zi, and Bao Zhu to answer some questions.”

Juan’er Li came first.

She seemed somewhat lacking in spirit. After entering the room, she didn’t speak but simply bowed to Lin Chengyou and Magistrate Yan before quietly retreating to one side.

Magistrate Yan studied Juan’er Li, feeling private regret. This Hu maiden was exceptionally beautiful, but her manner was somewhat dull – and once a person becomes dull, their beauty loses several degrees of charm.

This was the first time Lin Chengyou had properly looked at Juan’er Li. People said Teng Yu resembled Juan’er Li and Ge Jin somewhat, but he couldn’t see the resemblance.

If he had to compare, perhaps the eyes were slightly similar – they all had the same clear, almond-shaped eyes. But Teng Yu’s eyes were filled with a watery gleam. When her long lashes blinked, that gleam seemed to ripple outward. Her every expression was more spirited than Juan’er Li’s eyes – though unfortunately, those gleaming eyes were full of mischief.

He gave an internal snort and picked up the sachet to ask Juan’er Li: “Have you seen this sachet before?”

Juan’er Li shook her head gently: “This slave saw it for the first time last night.”

After questioning Juan’er Li, Lin Chengyou called in Bao Zhu and Wei Zi one by one.

As expected, none of the three had seen the sachet before.

As for what happened on the fifteenth night two months ago, Bao Zhu and Juan’er Li’s accounts matched E Ji’s. Wei Zi had been entertaining guests in the front building that night and didn’t know Juan’er Li had been molested, but her experience in the garden later also matched E Ji’s narrative.

Lin Chengyou continued asking: Had they ever seen anyone around the small temple at night? Who was the first to say they encountered a ghost in the small temple?

All three said they hadn’t seen anyone, but they all remembered that Madam E was the first to mention encountering a ghost in the small temple.

Finally, when asked about people from Yuezhou, Juan’er Li and the others knew nothing. Seeing he couldn’t learn anything more, Lin Chengyou had to let them return.

Magistrate Yan’s expression was complex: “After all that talk, the first person to say they saw a ghost in the small temple was E Ji herself. She’s clever indeed – hiding things about other matters but willing to tell the truth about Juan’er Li’s incident, probably knowing such things could be verified with one question.”

Lin Chengyou stroked his chin: “Whether it was the truth, we can’t conclude yet. Right now we can only confirm that those four were walking together that night, while E Ji only joined them later. During the time she was alone, whether she encountered a ghost or went to the small temple – currently we only have her word for it.”

Magistrate Yan gave a confused “eh”: “Chengyou, today you keep mentioning the ‘small temple’ – did you discover something there?”

Lin Chengyou slapped his forehead and turned with a smile: “I forgot to tell Elder Brother Yan – last night my two junior disciples discovered someone had performed evil arts in the small temple. Judging from the array of patterns, it was very likely the killer who killed Qing Zhi. I suspect someone deliberately spread rumors about the small temple being haunted, aiming to keep people from approaching it.”

Magistrate Yan was stunned: “In that case, wouldn’t E Ji be the prime suspect? But this is strange – the sachet came from the Taozhi Embroidery Workshop in Yuezhou, but E Ji is a native of Chang’an. When did she go to Yuezhou, and why would she kill the Yao Huang sisters?”

A thought occurred to Lin Chengyou. He called to the yamen runner outside: “Go to the Prince Cheng’s mansion for me. Tell Commander Chang there’s a bamboo basket under the bed in my room – please have him retrieve it and send it to me quickly.”

As the yamen runner left, Lin Chengyou also stood up. Magistrate Yan didn’t understand: “What is it?”

“I think we were looking at this wrong. Elder Brother Yan, you continue questioning the remaining people – I’m going to the small temple for a while.”

***

It had started raining outside – spring rain falling gently, fine as silk strands, showering down like wet gauze settling on one’s face.

Lin Chengyou returned to the small temple in the rain. From far away he could see the lamps blazing inside the hall. Two yamen runners stood at the door peering in through the windows. Seeing Lin Chengyou, they said in unison: “Everyone’s inside.”

Lin Chengyou nodded while quickly entering the small temple.

The hall was full of people. On the left sat four in awkward postures – Jian Tian, Jian Xian, Jian Le, and Jian Mei in sequence.

On the right sat three in slightly better postures – Jue Sheng, Qi Zhi, and Jian Xi.

Two more stood before the incense table – Butler Cheng with his hands behind his back, and Huo Qiu with folded arms.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the moving figure in the center of the hall. That person held a gleaming short sword of jasper green, stretching shoulders and arms, turning lightly, practicing with good form.

Teng Yu had learned the tenth move and was gradually getting the hang of it. The intervals between moves were becoming shorter, and her sword movements were no longer so clumsy.

Earlier, when learning Butler Cheng’s Overcoming Adversity sword technique, she felt the heat in her body stagnating and congealing. But this Brown Robe sword technique was different – the more she practiced, the more smoothly her true qi flowed.

Just as she was getting into the rhythm, she sensed a gaze sweep across her back. The back of Teng Yu’s head was already quite familiar with this gaze, automatically generating a feeling of displeasure. Glancing from the corner of her eye, she indeed saw a tall figure walk in from outside.

Lin Chengyou still wore the same jade-pin green round-collared changpao from this morning. Though this color was typically worn by women and particularly demanding of complexion, on Lin Chengyou it didn’t diminish his heroic air at all. The golden fish pouch at his waist made faint sounds with his steps, while the dark rhinoceros horn belt accentuated his fine waist.

Teng Yu calculated with an inward grin – this fellow was spoiled by wealth and privilege, always wearing that look of looking down on the world. If he were to add a bright red peony flower to his cap, he’d be just like a golden-bright red-crowned rooster from the cockfighting arena.

Lin Chengyou didn’t know Teng Yu had mentally compared him to a fighting cock, but that didn’t stop him from giving her a teasing look. Who knew how the Five Daoists were teaching – Teng Yu’s swordsmanship looked like a Hu person performing acrobatics.

He had a good internal laugh and was about to praise Teng Yu with empty words like “extraordinary talent,” “quite remarkable,” and “bound for greatness with such practice,” when Jian Tian suddenly sprang up from the ground: “Young Master, the Nine Heavens Fire-Drawing Ring is ready. You may not believe it, but we were lucky today – got the True Samadhi Fire talismans in just one hour. Perfect timing with the rain outside, we came in to take shelter.”

After speaking he felt something wasn’t right – why did he jump up like his bottom had exploded with flowers just from seeing Lin Chengyou?

But Lin Chengyou smiled: “I might not believe others, but I know the venerable ones’ abilities.”

The Five Daoists loved nothing more than flattery. Hearing this, they immediately felt warmed: “Quick, quick! While the two demons haven’t arrived, Young Master should rest over here.”

But Lin Chengyou walked straight to the incense table: “Young Master Wang, please make way.”

Teng Yu pretended to have just noticed Lin Chengyou. Without even turning her head, she flashed aside. The small temple was so large – for Lin Chengyou to come to bother her instead of going elsewhere, he must be deliberately trying to provoke her. She wouldn’t fall for it. To keep up with progress, she didn’t even dare drink water – arguing and fighting would only waste her time.

Lin Chengyou hadn’t expected Teng Yu to retreat so swiftly, feeling like he’d punched into soft cloth. But this suited his purpose – at least he wouldn’t have to waste words.

He crouched down to examine the felt rug under the incense table. The surface indeed showed no trace, and turning it over he couldn’t immediately find the mark. Qi Zhi ran to crouch beside Lin Chengyou, his chubby finger pointing: “Senior Brother, it’s here.”

Lin Chengyou narrowed his eyes. Qi Zhi’s drawing had been exact – this was indeed the Seven-Rayed Guide Mark. This evil art came from the same origin as the secret Soul-Binding technique used to harm Qing Zhi. Other sects couldn’t learn it even if they tried.

It must be the same person and one of considerable skill.

He coughed once, and two yamen runners silently entered, fixing their gazes on everyone present, carefully noting each person’s every movement.

The Daoists’ attention was completely drawn to the felt rug, not noticing the activity at the door as they swarmed around Lin Chengyou, curiously bending down.

Seeing the mark, Jian Tian exclaimed in shock: “Isn’t this the Seven-Rayed Guide Mark?”

Though Teng Yu had retreated to practice her sword, her ears remained perked. Hearing Jian Tian’s cry, she asked curiously: “Daoist Master, what is the Seven-Rayed Guide Mark?”

“It’s an evil art. Killing someone isn’t enough – it also summons the dead person’s soul to be tortured and humiliated with nether realm implements. It couldn’t be more evil or more vicious.”

Jian Tian was both excited and disgusted: “This old Daoist hasn’t seen this kind of evil art in many years. Could it be the same person who killed Yao Huang and Qing Zhi? Young Master, have you discovered who did it?”

Lin Chengyou continued searching nearby: “If only we had. This person’s cunning is rarely seen in life. Just take this Seven-Rayed Guide Mark – the ritual requires releasing seven Fire Mark lamps at once. If the practitioner’s attention wavers even slightly, sparks or ritual marks will fall. But as you can see, in this entire small temple, only one tiny mark remains.”

Jian Xi stared at the burn mark in confusion: “I remember this evil art had quite a few rules.”

“A whole bunch of rules.” Lin Chengyou looked up under the incense table. “The first three are: Don’t summon parents’ souls, don’t summon children’s souls, don’t summon souls from distant places.”

Teng Yu’s movements slowed. She could understand the first two – not harming parents or children showed that though the evil art practitioner was vicious, they hadn’t completely lost their conscience. But she didn’t understand the third rule.

Fortunately, besides her, two others in the small temple shared her curiosity.

Jue Sheng asked: “Senior Brother, does ‘don’t summon souls from distant places’ mean you can’t summon souls from too far away?”

Jian Le snorted laughter: “Foolish boy, it means this array isn’t freely usable – it can only summon souls of those who died in a particular place. For instance, performing the ritual in Cai Feng Tower means you can only summon souls of those who died in the tower—”

The words exploded in Teng Yu’s ears. Those who died in the tower? The Yao Huang sisters had only been killed recently, but the mark under the rug didn’t seem newly made. This meant the person’s evil art target wasn’t the Yao Huang sisters. But that was strange – the killer was someone from Cai Feng Tower, so why target previous dead people?

The Five Daoists also seemed shocked, looking around in confusion: “How many people have died in this place? Wait, wasn’t it said the building was only haunted before, with no actual deaths?”

Jian Le had heard many local rumors recently: “You don’t know? This place used to be the Colored Silk Shop – the shop owner’s couple and concubine died over a year ago.”

He changed tone: “Young Master, you couldn’t be suspecting—”

“Whoever this array was meant to target, it wasn’t Yao Huang and Qing Zhi.” Lin Chengyou looked up, then leaped onto a beam. “And Daoist Jian Xi guessed correctly – judging from how the killer harmed Qing Zhi, it must be the same person who set the Seven-Rayed Guide Mark. This shows the killer not only couldn’t tolerate the Yao Huang sisters but also deeply hated some previous deceased person.”

Jian Tian was extremely surprised: “Cai Feng Tower only opened half a year ago, but the previous Colored Silk Shop had already been closed for a year. Any shops before that had even less connection to Cai Feng Tower. Who could this person hate so much?”

Lin Chengyou’s voice resonated from the rafters: “We’ll know if we ask.”

The Five Daoists looked at each other: “Ask? Who should we ask?”

Lin Chengyou jumped down and dusted off his hands: “Hasn’t the killer already shown us a good method?”

Everyone was confused, but Teng Yu looked thoughtfully at the felt rug. Could Lin Chengyou be…

Just then, a yamen runner came from outside: “Young Master, Commander Chang has arrived.”

“So quick?” Lin Chengyou rose to go meet him, and steady footsteps were heard as Chang Rong ducked inside.

His shoulders were covered in fine, bright raindrops. His right hand held a brown bamboo basket, his left a large bundle.

“Uncle Chang.”

Chang Rong first examined Lin Chengyou. Seeing his young master unharmed, he seemed to relax, then looked around, bowing to the Five Daoists. When his gaze swept over Teng Yu, he was startled.

Teng Yu casually cupped her hands but inconspicuously hid behind Butler Cheng. Though she wore men’s clothes and had a large fake beard stuck on, Commander Chang had fought the Corpse Demon with her before – better to be cautious.

Fortunately, Chang Rong quickly shifted his gaze: “Fearing to delay Young Master’s business, I rode here at full speed. Luckily Shengye Ward isn’t far from Pingkang Ward – didn’t take long on the road. Young Master, you haven’t been at the mansion these past days. The palace sent people to check several times. When you have time, you should visit His Majesty and Her Majesty.”

Lin Chengyou smiled in acknowledgment: “Did Azhi send any message?”

“Yes, the little princess asks for her brother to visit the palace every couple of days. I told her brother was away on official business but would come to get her when free. The little princess then sent this out, instructing brother to wear it immediately.”

As he spoke, Chang Rong opened the bundle in his hand, revealing a neat stack of clean clothes. On top lay a small, colorful object.

Lin Chengyou picked up the item: “A longevity thread? Did Azhi make this? It’s not even the Dragon Boat Festival yet – why is she making these already?”

Chang Rong smiled kindly: “The little princess said this was her first time making a longevity thread. She eagerly sent it out, hoping for her brother’s praise. She also said she’ll make Brother an even better one for the Dragon Boat Festival.”

Lin Chengyou smiled and tied the thread around his wrist: “I understand.”

Chang Rong handed the bamboo basket to Lin Chengyou. After confirming he hadn’t brought the wrong items, he prepared to take his leave. At the door, he glanced again toward Teng Yu, but she had already turned her back to practice sword.

After leaving, Chang Rong realized – wasn’t that the young lady who had wielded a sword to drive back the Corpse Demon? He would never forget how dangerous that night in the flower hall had been. Thanks to this young lady’s strategies several times keeping the Corpse Demon outside.

Strange – Miss Teng was a general’s daughter, so why was she staying in a brothel? Young Master said he would be dealing with the Corpse Demon at Cai Feng Tower these days – could Miss Teng have come here to take refuge? As he walked and pondered, he suddenly remembered a matron coming to tell him that Young Master had once stopped Miss Teng to talk in the mansion’s plum blossom grove.

Connecting these two things, Chang Rong felt both joy and worry. Young Master was eighteen this year but still hadn’t shown interest in any young lady. If Young Master got along with General Teng’s daughter, could it mean the Heartless Poison was showing signs of weakening?

Should he send a letter to the Prince and Princess tonight? No, that would be too hasty. Better wait a few more days – youthful affection couldn’t be hidden. If Young Master liked Miss Teng, it would surely show before long. If nothing happened, it would prove he was overthinking.

Meanwhile, Lin Chengyou opened the bamboo basket and took out several strangely-shaped silver nails, placing them one by one from the temple door to the incense table, and deliberately arranging them crookedly like a chaotic path.

Then he took out a red rope and tested its elasticity by pulling it with both hands, before taking out seven small bowls and arranging them in a circle, filling them with lamp oil.

Though Teng Yu couldn’t understand these complicated arrangements, she had already guessed what Lin Chengyou planned to do. The killer had shown no flaws so far – in her view, this wasn’t a bad method. Besides, using this against the killer would be turning their methods back on them.

The Five Daoists were still confused until they saw the seven bowls and suddenly realized: “Young Master, are you setting up a Seven-Rayed Guide Mark?”

Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi urgently said: “Senior Brother, absolutely not – this is evil arts!”

“How narrow-minded.” Lin Chengyou blew out the candle in his hand. “When arts are used to harm people, of course, they’re evil arts. But if used to save people, what evil is there?”

He argued forcefully, while Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi scratched their heads in frustration: “But, but…”

Lin Chengyou dusted off his hands and turned to tell the two yamen runners: “I cannot be disturbed while performing the ritual. Please escort the Daoist masters and Young Master Wang’s group to the west side.”

By now Teng Yu had practiced to the eleventh move. Fearing to affect her progress, she had been wary of Lin Chengyou driving them out. Unexpectedly, he agreed to let everyone stay in the small temple – this was strange. The Five Daoists knew evil arts and couldn’t be ruled out as suspects. If Lin Chengyou wasn’t guarding against them, did it mean he no longer suspected the Five Daoists?

The next instant she saw the two yamen runners standing before everyone and suddenly understood: If someone wanted to cause trouble, they could take advantage of chaos outside too – better to keep people under direct watch where any disturbance could be immediately noticed. Besides the two yamen runners, there were also Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi to help Lin Chengyou protect the array.

The group retreated to the west side of the small temple. After settling in, Jian Xi and Jian Le continued instructing Teng Yu.

Lin Chengyou crouched before the felt rug, using a small knife to cut the candles into several sections, then compared them with the mark on the rug as he roughly carved the wax into fake “Golden Ray Marks.”

Jian Tian and the others were relatively free, wiping sweat while excitedly watching Lin Chengyou arrange the array: “Young Master, not to pour cold water, but I hear this array first requires knowing the deceased’s birth time. You don’t even know who the killer wants to target – how will you find out their birth time? Without the exact time, you can’t summon even half a soul.”

Jue Sheng had just written three people’s birth times on the talismans. Hearing this, he held up the talismans: “Senior Brother already found out the birth times of the Tian couple and Lady Rong, look!”

Lin Chengyou gave him a sideways glance: “Why are you rambling? Get to work.”

Jue Sheng meekly handed the three talismans to Lin Chengyou. Lin Chengyou dipped the fake Golden Ray Mark in cinnabar and pressed red seals onto each talisman, then cut them into human shapes and arranged the three paper figures before the incense table.

Jian Xian grinned: “But just knowing these three people’s birth times is useless. I don’t believe that besides the five deaths at the Colored Silk Shop and Cai Feng Tower, no one else has died here before. Just because we’ve ruled out Yao Huang and Qing Zhi doesn’t mean it must be connected to those three from the Colored Silk Shop.”

Qi Zhi couldn’t hide the worry in his eyes: “Yes, Senior Brother. What if it’s not those three – wouldn’t you be risking yourself for nothing? Master always said that evil arts that defy heaven’s principles all hide dangers. What if you harm yourself—”

Lin Chengyou gave the Five Daoists a light glance, then raised his hand to pat Qi Zhi’s head: “Senior Brother knows what he’s doing. You and Jue Sheng just focus on protecting the array. You take the Soul-Binding Beast and guard the door. The courtesans are confined to their rooms with yamen runners watching – no fear of them running out. Besides watching for trouble from outside, you also need to guard the inside of the hall.”

Qi Zhi nodded. Lin Chengyou stood and walked to the west side, pasting two talismans on the backs of the yamen runners, instructing them to stand facing away from the array and not turn around no matter what they heard. This way they could watch the Daoists’ movements while avoiding being frightened into panic by whatever appeared.

After everything was arranged, the hall quickly fell silent. The Five Daoists stopped their chatter, focusing intently on the hall. Teng Yu sheathed her sword and sat cross-legged in a corner.

Lin Chengyou lifted his robes to sit in the array, taking out the red rope. He tied one end to his middle finger and the other to a Golden Ray Mark carved from wax, then threw the rope outside the door.

Next, he rested his left hand across his right arm. His right fingertip ignited a talisman, and with a flick, sent sparks toward the outermost oil lamp.

The flame burst forth, and a small ring of fire rippled in the lamp, strangely tinged with green light that cast an eerie color over everything in the Buddhist hall.

Then the second lamp, the third…

The more lamps lit, the darker the hall became. The ghostly green light surrounded Lin Chengyou, creating an illusion of the netherworld.

Though Teng Yu had Butler Cheng and Huo Qiu on either side, she still didn’t dare breathe, warily drawing the Small Cliff sword from her sleeve and fixing her unblinking gaze on the door.

Though there was no wind in the hall, an invisible current stirred in the shadows. The three paper figures before the incense table rustled as if something crouching on the ground was blowing on them.

Lin Chengyou closed his eyes and chanted incantations for a while, then suddenly jerked the red rope and called out in a low voice: “Rise.”

The paper figures had been lying prone, but suddenly two of them silently stood up. The red rope on Lin Chengyou’s middle finger instantly went taut, clearly weighted down at the other end.

A layer of cold sweat unconsciously formed on Teng Yu’s back. The oil lamps flickered, and the air in the hall suddenly grew colder. Her palm burned hot, and even the Small Cliff sword stirred.

A yin wind rose, swirling leaves at the doorway. Mixed with the sounds of wind and rain came subtle creeping sounds drawing near – at first it seemed like someone pacing outside the door, but listening carefully, it seemed only strange winds.

Lin Chengyou gripped the red rope tightly, calmly matching strength with whatever was on the other end. Whimpering sounds rose and fell as the strange force grew stronger. Though he had forcefully activated the Seven-Rayed Guide Mark, Lin Chengyou wasn’t familiar with this array, completely followed by rote with makeshift ritual implements and Golden Ray Marks.

In theory, once the array was activated, the souls would be tightly bound by the red rope. But perhaps his array was lacking something – though ghosts had been summoned, they refused to be dragged inside.

“Since you’ve come, why not sit a while?” After struggling with them briefly, sweat rolled down Lin Chengyou’s temples. Not daring to relax, the words almost squeezed through his teeth. “Do I look like a bad person to you? Don’t be afraid – I’m here to help you.”

The other side seemed to shudder, causing the red rope to slacken slightly. Lin Chengyou wouldn’t miss this chance – with a backward sweep, he yanked them inside.

The green flames in the oil lamps uniformly dimmed as a cold sensation swept over them. Teng Yu’s pupils contracted sharply as she made out the scene before her.

The red rope had come in, but its end thrashed desperately in mid-air, appearing to bind two invisible people who were trying to break free.

Lin Chengyou struggled to hold the rope: “I have no past grievances or recent feuds with you. Summoning you wasn’t to harm you. I know you’ve suffered much torment from that person. If you don’t want to suffer more, stop struggling.”

The rope’s end suddenly froze in mid-air but continued to quiver slightly, as if its captives were trembling in fear with nowhere to hide.

Lin Chengyou’s tone softened as he slowly tightened the rope while staring at the space where the ghost shadows hung: “I want to help you, so I’d like to ask you some things. Right now I can neither see nor hear you. In a moment I’ll sprinkle something on you – it won’t harm you but will reveal your forms and voices.”

The rope shook tremblingly in mid-air but no longer resisted. Lin Chengyou pulled them closer and tossed out a handful of gray powder.

The rope jerked but didn’t retreat far. The powder drifted down, outlining two hazy shadows.

Disordered breathing sounds suddenly rang in Teng Yu’s ears – the Five Daoists were also growing tense.

The shadows became clearer – one male, one female. The front ghost shadow was tall and imposing, while the one behind was a plump woman. But both their outlines were too blurred to make out their features.

Lin Chengyou quickly scattered a second handful of soul-revealing powder. This time their outlines finally became clear enough to barely make out their builds and face shapes, though their features remained completely indistinct.

Perhaps because of the soul-revealing powder, the two ghosts finally made sounds. They emitted intermittent strange cries – weird and harsh, somewhat like an owl’s call mixed with a child’s scream, each cry shriller than the last, piercing everyone’s souls.

Teng Yu felt the sound scraping at her heart. After just a moment her head throbbed unbearably. Though curious about what the ghosts would say next, she had to temporarily cover her ears.

Lin Chengyou calmly studied the taller ghost shadow: “Tian Yunde?”

The shrieking stopped abruptly as the male ghost shuddered.

“So it is.” Lin Chengyou smiled slightly, turning to the female ghost. “Lady Rong?”

The female ghost seemed to have thunder trapped in her throat, roaring and struggling with overwhelming fury compared to her earlier trepidation.

Lin Chengyou gave an “oh” with a smile: “My apologies – it’s Madam Tian.”

The female ghost finally calmed.

Teng Yu was dumbfounded – it was the Tian couple from the Colored Silk Shop. The killer was someone from Cai Feng Tower, yet these two had been dead for a year. What deep hatred must the killer harbor to still summon and torture their souls after a year?

But wait – something seemed wrong. Lin Chengyou had written down three people’s birth times, yet only two souls appeared. Where was the concubine Lady Rong? She had jumped into the well in the back garden – the array should have summoned her too.

“I’ll be brief.” Lin Chengyou cut straight to the point. “That person has bound your souls here to torture you with evil arts. Unless we expose them, you’ll never break free. Tell me who they are – why did they do this to you?”

The male and female ghosts’ cries suddenly stopped. The two seemed terrified, first wandering like headless flies before huddling together trembling.

Lin Chengyou said patiently: “Don’t be afraid. No matter how that person tortured you before if you reveal who they are tonight, I guarantee this will never happen again.”

The male and female ghosts quieted somewhat, then suddenly raised their arms to point at their mouths.

Lin Chengyou’s expression changed: “You can’t speak?”

The male ghost whimpered miserably while the female ghost let out several angry roars. But no matter how she struggled, she could only make muffled strange sounds.

Lin Chengyou was shocked and angry: “That person dug out your tongues?”

The two ghosts wailed while raising their arms to their chests, gesturing for Lin Chengyou to look.

Lin Chengyou seemed to freeze for a moment. Teng Yu was further away, but when she looked carefully, a strong sense of revulsion welled up in her chest.

The ends of the Tian couple’s arms were empty – their hands had been completely cut off.

Lin Chengyou’s expression grew strange. Earthly torture affected the flesh of the living, but the Seven-Rayed Guide Mark tormented souls. Removing tongues prevented speech, cutting off hands prevented writing – even if the Tian couple reincarnated, they would be born disabled.

This person was truly vicious to the extreme.

He nodded slowly: “Though you cannot speak, at least you can understand me. I’ll ask questions one by one – nod if correct, shake your head if wrong.”

The two ghosts nodded slightly to show they understood.

“Is the person who harmed you currently in Cai Feng Tower?”

Tian Yunde and Madam Tian nodded together.

“Are they in the small temple?”

This time they shook their heads.

“How many strokes are in their surname? One stroke? Two strokes?”

When he reached “twelve strokes,” the ghosts reacted strongly.

Lin Chengyou’s expression sharpened: “Twelve strokes?”

The two ghosts nodded frantically.

Teng Yu quickly searched her mind, but Cai Feng Tower had too many people – she couldn’t immediately recall whose surname had twelve strokes.

Lin Chengyou regretted not bringing a roster of everyone in the building. For all his calculations, he hadn’t anticipated the Tian couple being unable to speak a single word. Sending someone to the front building now would disrupt the array. Then he remembered the testimonies he’d recorded that afternoon – though the list wasn’t complete, perhaps the killer was among them.

With his right hand firmly gripping the red rope and his left hand maintaining ritual gestures, neither hand was free. He called to Jue Sheng: “There’s a list in my robe – quickly take it out for Madam Tian to identify the person.”

Jue Sheng wiped away cold sweat as he ran over. Knowing he absolutely couldn’t touch the oil lamps or silver nails, he crouched down and carefully reached toward Lin Chengyou’s front collar with his sword. After two unsuccessful attempts, he grew somewhat anxious.

Lin Chengyou glanced at Jue Sheng, signaling him not to rush.

Jue Sheng nodded. Fortunately, this time he succeeded in touching it. Keeping his composure, he gently pulled the small book outward.

Meanwhile, Lin Chengyou continued questioning: “Did that person do this to avenge Lady Rong?”

Tian Yunde seemed to freeze, while Madam Tian let out vengeful screams. Though their reactions differed, both ultimately shook their heads.

Lin Chengyou’s expression nearly cracked – not for Lady Rong?

Before starting the ritual, he had written down three people’s birth times but only summoned two souls. This suggested Lady Rong’s soul had already reincarnated, and that person had never intended to target her.

Actually, since discovering the connection between the Cai Feng Tower murders and the Colored Silk Shop, he had wondered if the killer might be avenging Lady Rong. After all, she had suffered much after marrying Tian Yunde – whether her well-jumping was suicide or Madam Qi’s doing remained a mystery. When tonight’s ritual summoned the Tian couple’s souls, he became even more convinced of this theory.

Yet upon questioning, it turned out that person wasn’t acting for Lady Rong at all.

Could the Tian couple have committed other unconscionable acts?

“How did you make an enemy of that person?”

Tian Yunde’s form shuddered. Madam Qi also seemed greatly affected, hunching over to clutch her head while spinning in circles.

“Did you harm them?”

The reaction was even stronger – even Tian Yunde’s ghost shadow began thrashing.

Lin Chengyou glanced at the oil lamps. After such long torment, the two ghosts’ souls were already incomplete. Never mind normal communication – the slightest stimulation sent them into a panic. The lamps wouldn’t last much longer – once they went out, the ghosts would surely break free of the array and flee.

He turned to look at Jue Sheng. Fortunately, Jue Sheng had gained some steadiness through his recent training. He successfully retrieved the small book and held it open before the two ghosts.

Lin Chengyou said to Tian Yunde: “If that person’s name is in the register, point it out to the young Daoist.”

Madam Qi seemed not to hear, still clutching her head and darting about like a headless fly.

But Tian Yunde tremblingly turned toward Jue Sheng. Seeing something, his form recoiled in terror as his severed wrist suddenly pointed to a spot in the book.

Author’s Note:

1. The hexagram analysis here comes from the I Ching

2. Considering the killer has already appeared and modern usage is simplified Chinese, the stroke count for the killer’s surname is based on simplified characters.