“What?! You want me to go to the Dali Court with you again?” Qing Xuzi choked on a mouthful of tea in his shock and hastily set down his teacup.

Qin Yao hurried to pat her Master’s back. She said with a cheeky grin, “Didn’t I just explain every bit of it to you? This case is getting stranger and stranger — it doesn’t look like the work of an ordinary person by any reckoning. Please come with me one more time. Who knows, we might discover something this time.”

“Have you forgotten how we ran about fruitlessly at the Dali Court all night long the last time?” Qing Xuzi said with disdain. “And besides, the Dali Court is not the kind of place we can simply walk into whenever we like.”

He suddenly looked at Qin Yao with sharp, penetrating eyes. “You’re not thinking of asking Prince Lan’s Young Lord for help again, are you?!”

The Master’s gaze was like candlelight in the darkness, seemingly able to see into the very depths of a person’s heart. Qin Yao felt a pang of guilt for no particular reason and quickly protested, “I’m not asking him for help. My brother has a fellow student who holds the position of chief administrator at the Dali Court and is directly involved in this case. I was thinking we might ask him to take us to examine the body.”

“A mere Dali Court chief administrator — would he have the means to bring outsiders in to examine the body in a case of this importance?” Qing Xuzi was unconvinced. “Not everyone has the ability to move the Dali Court Magistrate.”

Qin Yao couldn’t help but deflate. Elder Brother Feng had only just entered officialdom and lacked influence; to abruptly ask him for a favor like this was indeed not very appropriate. But Lin Xiao was currently on duty in the palace, occupied with official business every day. If she put him to the trouble of being up for an entire night again the way she had done last time, she truly felt bad about it. After thinking it over, she decided she would simply have to swallow her pride and press Feng Boyu.

“How do you know if you don’t try…” Qin Yao murmured. “Three women have already died. If it truly is an evil spirit at work, won’t more people fall victim in the future? And don’t forget — Magistrate Liu has seen us before. He might agree to let us examine the body again this time.”

Qing Xuzi’s expression showed his displeasure. With a heavy, pointed cough, he acknowledged that no matter how much the matter was circled, it still meant relying on Prince Lan’s Young Lord.

Seeing that her Master seemed slightly on the verge of relenting, Qin Yao pressed further: “Do you remember the time you were talking to us about the Compendium of Demons, and you specifically mentioned those creatures that gouge out people’s facial features — Junior Brother, what exactly did Master say at the time?”

A’Han gave a start as if waking from a dream, sat up straight and thought carefully. “Master said that in the previous dynasty there were demons who — in order to resurrect dead comrades — went around gouging out people’s facial features, to rebuild the seven orifices of the face. Come to think of it, it does bear some resemblance to these few cases.”

Qing Xuzi mused: “But that night at the Dali Court we already used the Boundless Mirror to examine the bodies, and both victims showed no trace of demonic energy…”

“There’s always an exception to every rule. We found nothing the last time — perhaps we’ll notice something this time. Master, think about it: if we truly missed something through our own negligence, and some demon really did escape our notice, would those poor women not have died for nothing?”

Ever since Feng Boyu had been appointed chief administrator at the Dali Court, he had moved out of the Zhaochao Hostel and rented a modest residence nearby. He shared the property with a fellow townsman who was serving at the Hanlin Academy; the two split the rent and each had their own quarters. Feng Boyu lived in the three western wing rooms.

When Qin Yao arrived with her brother and her Master to look for Feng Boyu, he was crouching in front of a flower bed in the courtyard, watering the plants. The small courtyard he had put in order was quiet and elegant, without a trace of carelessness. Seeing Qin Yao and the others enter, Feng Boyu quickly invited them inside. Once all parties were seated, Qu Ziyu introduced Qing Xuzi and A’Han to Feng Boyu.

The revelation was a surprise to Feng Boyu — so that was it. No wonder Qin Yao had an assortment of strange and unusual skills at such a young age; it all came from this white-bearded and white-haired Daoist elder.

Qin Yao explained her purpose in a few words. She said sincerely: “Elder Brother Feng, the reason I want to look into these few cases is that I believe there is much about them that is inexplicable, and I feel compelled to investigate. But if this puts you in a difficult position, you needn’t hold anything back on my account — please speak frankly.”

Feng Boyu furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, then said candidly: “A’Yao, I won’t deceive you — because these cases have already alarmed the Ministry of Punishments, all the bodies have been placed under the watch of assigned personnel. Without Magistrate Liu’s approval, no one is permitted to approach the mortuary. As a mere Dali Court chief administrator, it would be very difficult for me to smuggle anyone in to examine the bodies without anyone knowing.”

Qin Yao was taken aback, then quickly smiled. “In that case, Elder Brother Feng need not put yourself in a difficult position. The official authorities are taking this case so seriously — an arrest is surely imminent. We would only be getting in the way.” As she spoke, she showed a fleeting trace of disappointment — after all, she was still young — but caught herself quickly and disguised it by looking around the room as if taking it in.

Feng Boyu saw this and felt a faint bitterness in his mouth. He cast about urgently in his mind for a solution, then offered tentatively: “Although I cannot access the bodies, the personal effects found on the victims have been set aside separately and happen to be in my charge. I wonder — would those items be of use to you in detecting any malevolent energy?”

Qin Yao’s face lit up with delight and she nodded repeatedly. “They would absolutely be of use. Whenever someone is harmed by an evil spirit, malevolent energy clings to the victim’s clothing and belongings. We need only look through the Boundless Mirror to know for certain.”

Feng Boyu’s expression relaxed visibly, and he smiled. “In that case, the daytime is too conspicuous — I’m afraid it would attract attention. I’ll take out the victims’ effects for you to look at once it’s late and there are fewer people about.”

Outside Qinghao Gate, Lin Xiao stood with a furrowed brow listening to Chang Rong’s report.

“Miss Qu came out of the residence and went to Qingyun Temple. After about an hour at Qingyun Temple, she left again with Daoist Master Qing Xuzi and Young Master Qu and went to a house near the Dali Court. That house is currently occupied by a fellow student of Young Master Qu’s named Feng. I took a careful look from outside — he was the same Young Master Feng we saw at Donglai House the last time.”

In truth, the Young Lord had not required Chang Rong to report Miss Qu’s movements in such minute detail, but his years of training had sunk in too deeply; without realizing it, he had applied the same methods to Qin Yao.

Lin Xiao only needed a brief moment’s thought to piece together the whole story. That Feng Boyu evidently kept close company with Qu Ziyu as a matter of course, and had lately been in frequent contact with the Qu residence. Now, having just been appointed as fifth-rank chief administrator at the Dali Court, if Qin Yao had brought Qing Xuzi to find him, it was most likely still about that previous case at the Dali Court.

And yet the more he thought about it, the less it seemed right. To dig for information, a simple meeting and a few questions would suffice — there was no need to bring her Master along. And why would she rather go to Feng Boyu than come to him for help? He brooded on this, and his expression turned rather sour.

Chang Rong saw his expression and said helplessly: “Young Lord, Young Master Feng has already gone to the Dali Court. Miss Qu is now also waiting outside the Dali Court with Qing Xuzi. The way things look, they’re most likely going to sneak into the Dali Court at night again, the same way they did last time. Should I go and smooth things over with Magistrate Liu?”

“No need,” Lin Xiao said in a flat, smothered tone. She had always had a very decided mind of her own — if he inserted himself without being asked, it might well irritate her. Better to wait until she was willing to come to him first.

“Keep watch. Don’t let her get hurt. If anything seems off, handle it as you see fit.”

By the time midnight had come around, the carriage from Qingyun Temple was parked quietly in a narrow alley beside the Dali Court. Qing Xuzi sat with his eyes closed, meditating in a cross-legged position. Qin Yao sat against A’Han, talking intermittently, while outside the carriage it was perfectly still.

Suddenly a light, hurried set of footsteps came toward them, heading straight for the carriage. Qin Yao immediately sat up straight and said in a low voice: “He’s here.”

It was indeed Feng Boyu. He arrived at the carriage, looked carefully in every direction, then lifted the curtain and climbed in.

Whether from nerves or from walking so quickly, Feng Boyu was breathing a little hard. He drew out a small parcel from inside his robe and handed it to Qin Yao. “These are the ornaments from the head and face of last night’s victim.”

Qin Yao knew these items of evidence were of the utmost importance, that they must be returned as quickly as possible once examined. She took them from Feng Boyu’s hands with care and nodded. “We’ll begin the ritual now.” She opened the parcel and found a pair of pearl-tipped hairpins and a forehead ornament — neither was particularly valuable jewelry, the kind easily found in any jewelry shop. But the eardrops were a pair of white glass beads carved in the shape of raindrops — a strikingly novel design.

Qin Yao could not help taking the eardrops in hand and examining them with great curiosity. The more she looked, the more familiar they seemed. Feng Boyu glanced at them and remarked: “These eardrops are truly unusual — from a distance they look exactly like a pair of perfectly rendered large raindrops. If worn in someone’s ears, they would create a rather striking and alluring effect. The craftsman who made these showed real artistry.”

It was as if something thundered and resonated through Qin Yao’s mind. She exclaimed: “I have seen these eardrops before! At the night banquet at the Wei Duke’s estate last time, I happened to come across a man and a woman meeting in secret in the rear corridor. The woman was wearing these very eardrops. I noticed them because I found them charming and looked twice — but unfortunately it was too dark then to make out their faces clearly.”

Feng Boyu’s expression tightened. “Are you certain?”

Qin Yao thought it over, then nodded. “A design like this is so rare. I couldn’t have been mistaken. The only question is which jewelry shop these eardrops came from — are there only this one pair, or can they be found anywhere? Elder Brother Feng, why not take these eardrops and make inquiries at the various jewelry shops in the city? If this truly is a one-of-a-kind pair, then the woman I saw that night must have been the victim.”

“We needn’t go to so much trouble,” Feng Boyu said, thinking it through. “The victim who died last night was a dancer from Small Chongshan. A place like the Wei Duke’s estate is only open to those who are personally invited — one need only find out whether the Wei Duke’s estate had invited dancers from Small Chongshan to perform that night, and that will settle it.”

He thought further and looked up at Qin Yao: “A’Yao, can you still recall the man’s height and appearance?”

Qin Yao tilted her head and tried hard to remember. “I only recall that he was very tall and his voice was low and deep. The fabric of his clothes seemed to be of fine quality, but I couldn’t make out the color in the dark.”

Feng Boyu nodded. “Indeed. Most of the guests invited to the Wei Duke’s estate that night were prominent figures of Chang’an. Based on what you’ve described, the man was most likely a young man of noble birth. But with so many people at that gathering, finding one particular person from over a hundred would be exceedingly difficult.”

At this point, Qing Xuzi interjected from the side: “Moreover, even if we find that person, he isn’t necessarily the killer. Never mind that the night banquet at the Wei Duke’s estate was over half a month ago and the victim was only killed last night — even setting aside the victim’s identity: she was a woman of the pleasure quarters, with many men in her life. That man could simply have been one of her patrons.”

Qin Yao sighed and slumped. “True enough,” she agreed.

Feng Boyu comforted her: “Whatever the case, what you’ve described isn’t without its use. I’ll look into it with these eardrops tomorrow — who knows, we might turn up something unexpected.”

There was nothing else to be done. As it was late and they should not linger, Qin Yao placed the eardrops carefully back in the parcel and set it on the floor of the carriage, inviting her Master to perform the ritual. Since the carriage was cramped, Qing Xuzi simply instructed A’Han to hold the Boundless Mirror in his hands, then began waving his horsehair whisk and chanting the incantation.

In moments the Boundless Mirror illuminated everything in the parcel with crystalline clarity. But just as with the first two victims, no matter how Qing Xuzi channeled his power, the mirror showed not the slightest indication that any evil spirit had been at work.

Qin Yao finally gave up. “Could it truly not be the work of demons or evil spirits? But then why would the killer be so brutal, again and again gouging out people’s facial features?”

Qing Xuzi steadied his breathing and settled back down. “There are too many wickedly vicious people in this world. People kill and harm others for any number of reasons — perhaps for amusement, perhaps in a moment of drunken depravity. After all, in the eyes of these powerful men, women of the debased castes are all lives as cheap as grass.”

Feng Boyu took the parcel back from Qin Yao and looked at her. “Tonight wasn’t completely without gain. We’ve picked up two more leads at least: one is the guest list from the Wei Duke’s estate, and the other is the victim’s eardrops. I’ll start with both of these tomorrow and dig further.”

After seeing Feng Boyu off, Qing Xuzi saw that Qin Yao was still staring out the window, brow furrowed in thought, and gave a deep, heavy sigh. “Have you had enough of this mischief? All three victims show no signs of being killed by any demon or evil spirit — surely your Master can wash his hands of this now? It’s the middle of the night, and I’m utterly exhausted. No more of these adventures from now on.”

Qin Yao murmured quietly: “But there’s still one more victim’s body that hasn’t been examined.”

Qing Xuzi hadn’t heard clearly. “What’s that?”

A’Han, however, had heard every word. He asked curiously: “Whose body hasn’t been examined yet?”

“Wen Niang’s — the one who hanged herself in the prison cell,” Qin Yao said, still staring out the window, without turning her head.