Clang!
The golden hammer and golden mace landed simultaneously.
They landed on either side of Wei Ming, who had a calm and composed expression.
Lu Ling Feng, as if he had seen something terrifying and unbelievable, stopped mid-air in a dive, almost twisting his waist.
“What?!”
Bang! Bang!
The two You Li Monsters collapsed limply to the ground. A closer look revealed that they were already dead, their breaths gone.
Shi Yi Niang's pupils constricted, her expression filled with horror. She took a few steps back, as if she had seen a ghost.
Seeing Wei Ming's gaze fall upon her, Shi Yi Niang trembled, quickly waving her hand and giving an order.
The next moment, a barrage of arrows was fired, and Shi Yi Niang, without looking back, ran away.
Wei Ming did not underestimate the situation. Facing the rain of arrows, he frowned and retreated behind Zhong Lang Jiang Lu Ling Feng.
Lu Ling Feng: “…”
After blocking a wave of arrows, Lu Ling Feng had a thousand words he wanted to ask.
First, he had mysteriously blocked the arrows at Yin Shi Lang's place, and now this.
This time, he had hardly seen Wei Ming make any move. He simply walked in front of the You Li Monsters, waved his hand, and then…
Instant kill?!
It was absurd!
Even witnessing it with his own eyes, it was still hard to believe.
Behind him, Guo Zhuang's small group and the Chang'an County constables were all awestruck, their admiration for Wei Ming like the surging waters of a great river, endless and unending.
Wei Ming, however, said: “Alright, save your questions for when we catch the culprit.”
“But Shi Yi Niang has already run away…”
Before Lu Ling Feng could finish his sentence, a sound came from a floor tile beneath his feet.
With a crack, Fei Ji Shi emerged.
“Old Fei?”
“How come it’s you?”
Fei Ji Shi grumbled: “If it weren’t for Wei Ming promising me a chicken every day, I wouldn’t be willing to guide you guys.”
“Come with me, I’ll take you to Shi Yi Niang’s lair.”
“Shi Yi Niang said that tonight there will be high-quality Chang’an red tea, and the ingredients of the Chang’an red tea, besides the Western Region Fantasy Grass, also include human blood!”
“In other words, they’re going to kill someone tonight!”
“If we’re too late, that person might be killed.”
“I have to remind you, they’ve set up an ambush in the secret passage, with archers.”
…
In the dark chamber of the stone cave.
Su Wu Ming, his hands and feet bound, lay flat on the stone bed, his face covered in blood.
Yuan Lai, wearing a Fang Xiang mask, opened the tool kit used for drawing blood from the top of the head, taking out a hammer and a golden mallet.
At this moment, Shi Yi Niang rushed back, looking flustered.
“Immortal Master, Wei Ming killed Mo Hai and Mo Shou.”
Upon hearing this, Yuan Lai was stunned: “You said who killed them? Are you sure it wasn’t Lu Ling Feng?”
“No, Immortal Master, it was Wei Ming. I don’t know what method he used, he just waved his hand in front of Mo Hai and Mo Shou, and the two of them died on the spot.”
Yuan Lai’s breath quickened, and he was completely baffled.
“Isn’t that kid just a scholar?”
Just then, Su Wu Ming, lying on the bed, suddenly spoke: “Chang’an County Lieutenant Su Wu Ming, greets County Magistrate Yuan!”
Both Yuan Lai and Shi Yi Niang were startled. When they turned around and saw Su Wu Ming’s playful look, they knew they had been tricked.
Having been exposed, Yuan Lai simply took off his Fang Xiang mask and coldly questioned: “Su Wu Ming, you don’t actually faint at the sight of blood!”
“I have been faint of blood since I was a child, but later, following my master in solving cases and learning the skills of a coroner and adjudicator, I gradually got better.”
“Then what about your extreme Yin constitution?”
Su Wu Ming chuckled: “Fifteen years ago, an assassin poisoned Di Gong. The assassin didn’t succeed because every day I tasted medicine for my master. Later, I was bathed in a soup made with Heavenly Mountain Qi Lan to break the poison. Therefore, today, the person with the heaviest Yin energy in the world is me…”
“My senior brother, of course, lied to you. Otherwise, how could he lure you in, County Magistrate Yuan!”
From outside the stone chamber, Wei Ming’s voice echoed.
As soon as his words fell, the stone door of the chamber suddenly opened.
Wei Ming’s figure walked in.
Yuan Lai and Shi Yi Niang exchanged bewildered glances. They couldn’t understand how Wei Ming and the others could open the stone door from the outside, since there was only one mechanism inside the chamber.
Wei Ming glanced at Dou Cong, who was at the mechanism control.
You have people above, hey, I have ghosts below!
“Wei Ming, it’s you again!”
Shi Yi Niang raised her twin swords and was about to attack.
Wei Ming remained calm, a disdainful smile on his lips: “Are you sure you can kill me?”
Shi Yi Niang was startled and suddenly thought of the bizarre deaths of Mo Hai and Mo Shou, the two You Li Monsters.
For a moment, she hesitated, unable to act rashly.
“If I were you, I would stand still and listen to what we have to say first. Perhaps there is still a chance for you to live, otherwise… hehe.”
Yuan Lai waved his hand: “Alright Shi Yi Niang, retreat. At this point, arguing is pointless.”
Then he asked: “When did you and Su Wu Ming start to suspect me?”
“The former County Lieutenant, Wu Da Qi, died mysteriously in his residence, and the relevant case files went missing inexplicably.”
“If it weren’t for me retrieving the case files from the Three Departments, perhaps the bodies of those eight missing brides would still be undiscovered.”
“And your multiple attempts to probe me only confirmed that you have a guilty conscience!”
“Just the other day, for example, I used the art of Qi Men Dun Jia to deduce the location of the eight bodies. After they were dug up, you didn’t immediately order my senior brother to quickly solve the case, but instead, you praised and rewarded me.”
“That’s fine, but the key is that you also inquired about our trip to the Ghost Market.”
“We traveled day and night, and we only just returned from the Ghost Market. How did you, County Magistrate Yuan, know we went to the Ghost Market?”
After Wei Ming finished speaking, Su Wu Ming added: “County Magistrate Yuan later came to me and said that the Jin Wu Guard had arrested many merchants who were selling Chang’an red tea. The Jin Wu Guard prison couldn’t hold them all, so they sent some to the Chang’an County prison and asked me how to handle them.”
“Actually, you were just trying to probe me, to see if I had linked Chang’an red tea to the case of the missing brides!”
Yuan Lai was enlightened, a wry smile on his face: “Good, you two are indeed Di Ren Jie’s disciples. You can deduce my identity from a few appearances and words, truly admirable.”
“However, I still have one thing I don’t understand. You two worked together to deceive me and throw yourselves into my trap. Aren’t you afraid that I would kill Su Wu Ming before you, Wei Ming, arrived?”
Wei Ming shrugged: “I advised my senior brother, but he wouldn’t listen. There’s nothing I can do. As his junior brother, I can only do my best to help him. That’s all.”
Su Wu Ming explained: “Su has been following my master for many years, and I have long developed a habit. Whenever I encounter a strange case, I must investigate it to the end. For the sake of unraveling the mystery, even death is no regret!”
Yuan Lai sneered: “A fine ‘even death is no regret’, just like what Wu Da Qi said before he died.”
Wei Ming interrupted, his tone strange: “Was that Wu County Lieutenant really killed by you?”
Yuan Lai and Shi Yi Niang’s pupils contracted when they heard this, and they pretended to be calm: “Of course, who else would kill him but us.”
Shi Yi Niang quickly explained: “That Wu guy had some skills. He actually found out about me, so I had no choice but to kill him.”
Wei Ming smiled but said nothing, only his eyes became even more peculiar, making Yuan Lai and Shi Yi Niang extremely uncomfortable.
Yuan Lai changed the subject, picking up the hammer and golden mallet: “Today is the Middle Yuan Festival, although the moon is bright, it is the most yin day of the year.”
“With the blood of Di Gong’s disciple, combined with Western Region Fantasy Grass and many other procedures, meticulously crafted, it will surely make an excellent immortal tea.”
“Such Chang’an red tea, one tael of tea for one ingot of gold, is not expensive, is it?”
Wei Ming laughed: “Since I’m here, do you think you still have a chance to kill my senior brother?”
Yuan Lai held the golden mallet, pointing the tip at Su Wu Ming’s head: “Perhaps you, Wei Ming, have some tricks, but I can guarantee that I will definitely die after Su Wu Ming!”
Wei Ming ignored the threat, standing with his hands behind his back, and then continued: “The bodies were hidden in corresponding locations to prevent the spirits from gathering. The use of Returning Soul incense for skin care is to ensure that the masks can be worn for a long time. The reason for putting the Fang Xiang masks on the dead is to open a path for their souls?”
“Yes, I’ve thought things through for them, haven’t I?” Yuan Lai spread his hands, quite proud.
“I think you’re afraid of their souls coming back to haunt you, and besides…” Wei Ming’s expression was playful: “Do you really think the Fang Xiang mask can open a path for their wronged souls?”
“Maybe, right now, next to you, there is the wronged soul of a bride you killed in the past!”
Yuan Lai sneered: “Wei Ming, you, a scholar with profound knowledge, actually believe in ghosts and gods, it’s really laughable.”
“To tell you the truth, in a year and a half, all the officials of Chang’an, the royal family, the princes and ministers will all depend on my Chang’an red tea to stay alive. At that time, I will be the master of Chang’an!”
“Even if there are really ghosts and gods in the world, so what? By then, any ghost, god, or demon will bow down to me and kneel before me!”