Princess Zhao’an’s fetus had a problem — but what did that have to do with Qisi’s death?
Gong Qi and Shen Qinghe exchanged a glance, then both looked at Lang Jiuchuan. Gong Qi said, “Even if Princess Zhao’an’s fetus carries heavy Yin energy, why would you think it’s a lead? The two things have no apparent connection.”
“Intuition,” Lang Jiuchuan replied.
The corner of Gong Qi’s mouth twitched. “Heavy Yin energy could mean she has some Yin entity attached to her, or that she’s been wearing a cursed artifact imbued with malevolent force — both would cause Yin energy to accumulate around her. She is royalty; it’s entirely possible she’s been harmed by someone without even knowing it.”
“That’s not an unreasonable point.” Shen Qinghe also began to recount Princess Zhao’an’s background: “Princess Zhao’an’s birth mother, Noble Lady Zhou, held a low rank — her maternal family had no prominence to speak of. When she entered the palace, she was only given the title of Noble Lady. Her father was a mere seventh-rank magistrate; from what I’ve heard, he and his entire family perished in a flood, unable to flee in time. When the news reached Noble Lady Zhou, the shock caused her to go into premature labor. After that, she fell into a deep, lingering depression and eventually died. So Princess Zhao’an was placed in the care of Noble Consort Li, and once Noble Consort Li had a princess of her own, Zhao’an’s position became rather awkward — she was never particularly favored.” He continued: “Not being favored means having few reliable people around you. If something happened to her and she didn’t know about it — that’s not surprising at all.”
Lang Jiuchuan didn’t argue — because that was indeed a very plausible possibility. And yet, Cong Jingling’s reaction told a different story.
“You said the Cong Family has served in the Imperial Astronomical Bureau for generations, and many of their members train within the Xuan Clan. What about Prince Consort Cong himself?”
Shen Qinghe said, “The prince consort holds a position in the Imperial Clan Court. I’ve never heard anything about him practicing Daoist arts.”
“He does.”
Gong Qi looked at her, a hint of quiet interrogation in his eyes. This certain? How does she know?
“He has a rather formidable artifact on his person — and without cultivating Daoist arts, one cannot activate such a thing.” Lang Jiuchuan spoke plainly, meeting Gong Qi’s gaze. “If he can activate that artifact, then he practices Daoist arts — even if his level of cultivation is not deep. By that logic, someone who cultivates and carries an artifact of that caliber should not possibly have failed to detect the excessive Yin energy on Princess Zhao’an.”
Gong Qi slowly sat up straighter.
“Furthermore,” Lang Jiuchuan continued, “I’ve heard that Princess Zhao’an failed to conceive for many years after her marriage. She came to Huguo Temple last year to be the first to burn the new year’s incense — and only after that did she become pregnant. That means this child should be of tremendous importance to both of them. And yet the reality is: Princess Zhao’an is nearly full term, and on the first day of the new year she still came to Huguo Temple to burn incense. Perhaps we could accept that as seeking a blessing for a smooth delivery — but if the child means so much to them, then the Yin energy on her is something Cong Bingling had absolutely no reason to miss entirely and simply not act on.”
Gong Qi tapped the table lightly, his tone even: “And how, exactly, did you come to observe all this?”
“I happened to run into the princess as she was leaving the temple,” Lang Jiuchuan replied vaguely. “I felt something was a little off. Maybe I’m overthinking it — with the demonic entity situation on my mind, I’m probably seeing everything with twice the suspicion.”
Gong Qi said, “There’s also the matter of you simply thinking too much. Don’t forget — Qisi’s death was very likely caused by a jiangshi or a demonic beast biting her. That has nothing to do with Princess Zhao’an’s child.”
Lang Jiuchuan was quiet for a moment, then said, “Then I suppose I was overthinking. The most immediate lead is still with Zhuo Yu. His legal wife is on the missing persons list, and he was clearly conducting some kind of covert transaction — one that implicated his own father-in-law — likely all connected to the matter of Ding Suqiu. If we can trace who he was dealing with, we’ll eventually work our way back to the person behind all of this. Because abducting women with pure Yin birth dates this precisely — that’s an organized human effort. A jiangshi or a demonic beast wouldn’t know the exact birth dates and astrological charts of any of these women.”
Both of them went still.
What she was saying, in essence, was this: the true source of this terror was not some wandering supernatural creature. It was a living person — and not an ordinary one. Someone who walked the Daoist path.
To cultivate and sustain a jiangshi — that was the work of demonic heretics.
Gong Qi’s expression turned somber.
Shen Qinghe, perhaps thinking of the case of the malevolent god his son had been entangled in, also looked deeply unsettled.
This only confirmed the old truth: the human heart is more terrifying than any ghost — because it is more greedy, and its hunger is never filled.
Lang Jiuchuan said nothing further. Investigating cases was their business. She had only offered up her suspicions; only boredom would drive her to personally take it on.
She stood, gave both men a slight inclination of her head, and departed.
Gong Qi followed her out and asked, “Summoning that maid’s spirit — truly, can’t you help with that, Miss Nine?”
“What summoning of spirits — my cultivation is low, my body is frail, and I need to tend carefully to my health, or my lifespan will be affected. If you need someone to summon spirits, the Xuan Clan is full of capable people. Farewell.” Lang Jiuchuan turned and walked away. Did summoning spirits not cost cultivation, essence, and spiritual energy? If she had the energy to spend, she’d rather use it to refine a few more medicinal pills to nourish her own soul.
Gong Qi watched her leave and gave a faint snort — but thinking over what she had said, the faint smile faded from his face, replaced by something heavier.
Whether or not Princess Zhao’an’s fetus had any connection to the missing pure Yin women could be set aside for now — but Lang Jiuchuan had said one thing correctly: there was a cultivator involved, someone who was feeding and sustaining a jiangshi or some other creature of Yin and corruption.
Within her spiritual platform, Jiangche said to Lang Jiuchuan, “I also can’t think of what connection Princess Zhao’an’s belly could have to the missing pure Yin women. Isn’t it possible you’re just overthinking?”
Lang Jiuchuan replied evenly, “I can only hope I am overthinking. If the Yin energy on her is only caused by some external object, that’s the simpler problem. If it truly is connected to this affair — now that’s trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“If I could work it out, do you think I’d be here speculating blindly? I’d have already told Gong Qi so he could go catch the culprit and eliminate the evil.” Lang Jiuchuan said, a little sharply. “It’s precisely because I can’t see how the pieces connect that I mentioned it to them — to see if they might come up with something. And there’s also that divination reading. When I have a quiet moment, I need to cast a full augury.”
Jiangche drifted out of the pagoda and said in a rush: “You’re not thinking of using that Great Yarrow Divination, are you?”
“Why not?”
“Miss Nine — let Little Tiger tell you something plainly. Your soul is still incomplete. Right now, you’re surviving on the shielding of accumulated merit. Your body looks intact to outsiders, but even that is only maintained through the constant application of numerology techniques. You’ve been exorcising evil and contending with hostile forces and those are one thing — but now you want to spend additional merit to use the Great Yarrow Divination for augury? Do you have such a big heart that you’ve decided you no longer care whether your soul remains stable?” Using such a major technique was equivalent to peering into the workings of Heaven’s will. It would invite the five misfortunes and three deficiencies to fall upon her, along with a karmic backlash — and in her current state, she might not survive it.
“How will I know how far I can go without trying?” Lang Jiuchuan said.
“I think you’re trying to get yourself killed,” Jiangche muttered coldly. “Just moments ago you were putting on a fine act about how your body is frail and needs careful tending, or your lifespan will suffer — and now you’re saying you want to use the Great Yarrow Divination. Your mouth and your heart say very different things.”
“They’re not paying me a thing. Why would I perform a spirit summoning just because they asked? Do I look that foolish?” Lang Jiuchuan laughed coldly. “What I do in private is my own business. And if I do get a reading worth something — I might even act on it before they do and claim the merit for myself.”
Jiangche thought to itself: Go on, be stubborn. Whatever happened to the whole ‘lurk in the background and deliver the killing blow at the crucial moment’ strategy?