Chapter 305: Karma's Retribution (Three-in-One)

Nan Hu had originally thought that if he simply avoided Xu Yuan in the future, the worst that could happen was they would never meet again.

He never expected the case to erupt within his own home, with the victim being his only son.

Nan Hu had eight wives and concubines and bore fourteen children, yet he had only one son.

He was not incapable of fathering children; he simply did not know why they were all daughters.

His cousins and brothers from the collateral branches each had several sons.

He was aware of the case concerning the widow Zhou.

Moreover, he was a key figure.

Without his approval as a county official, the case of the widow Zhou could not have been merged into the "Evil Spirit Suicide Case."

Now that his only son had suddenly died, Nan Hu, upon waking, lay in bed staring at the ceiling, as if he could already see the cousins and brothers from the collateral branches secretly eyeing his family's property, their eyes glowing red!

How could this be?

Nowadays, when evil spirits run rampant across the land, the retribution of good and evil has long since vanished!

Xu Yuan had already inspected the scene and then ordered the coroner he brought from the Zhan Cheng Office to examine the body.

Before arriving, Xu Yuan had anticipated that there were likely no coroners in the county town who cultivated the "Resting Method," so he had specifically brought one along.

Only after questioning the people around Nan Hu's son did Xu Yuan come to find Nan Hu.

Regardless, the man had lost a son, so Xu Yuan had given him some extra time to calm his emotions.

When Xu Yuan arrived, many people were standing outside Nan Hu's house.

Meng Sanlang glanced at these people and then whispered into my lord's ear: "They are all of Nan Hu's cousins."

Xu Yuan's expression darkened: So eager, are they?

His son has just died, and you all have pounced upon him?

The actual situation was much as Xu Yuan had guessed.

In the half hour just passed, Nan Hu's wives and concubines had wailed in a mass, while these cousins had rushed over one by one to "comfort" Nan Hu.

Inside and outside the house, chaos reigned; everyone's mouths were full of words of concern, while their bellies were full of schemes to devour the heirless estate.

Nan Hu's head throbbed with pain; he was irritable and furious, cursing as he drove them all out.

But these cousins refused to leave, waiting outside the house.

They feared that if they left, someone else would seize the opportunity first.

Seeing these people, Xu Yuan felt equally disgusted; he raised a finger pointing at them and ordered Qin Ze: "Register all of these people, interrogate them carefully, and find out where they were when the incident occurred, and whether anyone can vouch for them!"

The cousins were greatly dissatisfied: "What do you mean? Are you treating us as suspects?"

"Do you not care about justice? We came to comfort Nan Hu."

"The Evil Spirit Purification Bureau is indeed tyrannical! Could it be that because you cannot solve the case, you want to arrest us innocent people to take the blame?"

Xu Yuan said coldly: "The deceased was murdered; you could all benefit from it, so naturally, you are all suspects!"

"Ah... this..." Suddenly having their thoughts exposed to their faces, everyone stammered for a moment.

Xu Yuan, however, was too lazy to deal with them; he waved his hand to order Qin Ze to take them away, then entered Nan Hu's room alone.

Nan Hu lay in bed with a hot towel draped over his forehead.

He looked weak and haggard; all his spirit and vitality had drained away by seven or eight tenths.

He heard Xu Yuan drive the cousins outside away; after a moment of silence, he slowly spoke: "My lord has been thoughtful. Thank you."

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "A bunch of blood-sucking parasites."

Nan Hu sighed, feeling he should no longer be stubborn, yet he could not help himself: "My lord must feel gratified at this moment. I turned a blind eye to the widow Zhou's injustice, and now I have met with retribution."

Xu Yuan shook his head: "I felt gratified long ago. If I were happy merely because you met with misfortune, that would not be gratification; that would simply be schadenfreude.

My gratification is something I created myself."

Nan Hu looked at him speechlessly: "My lord's tongue is unyielding."

Xu Yuan stated plainly: My gratification comes from a single sentence stripping you of your post as a county official, and from casually leveraging some connections to have the Li family step forward, pressuring the other three families in Xuan Guang County to abandon their former ally, the Nan family, and obediently cooperate with me.

This is my lord's "great momentum."

This great momentum is not considered "remarkable" within Zhan Cheng, but in a county town below, it is truly like Mount Tai pressing down!

Xu Yuan added: "If you think I am merely feeling schadenfreude right now, you underestimate me; I would not be so unable to distinguish right from wrong.

Evil spirits commit evil, and you have lost your only son; I truly sympathize with you."

Nan Hu painfully closed his eyes.

He had once been so arrogant that he openly told the Zhan Cheng Office not to meddle in Xuan Guang County, yet now he was being pitied.

"But do you truly believe this is the so-called 'retribution'?"

Nan Hu suddenly opened his eyes: "Has my lord already made a discovery?"

Xu Yuan did not answer; instead, he asked: "I do not quite understand why you acted so impulsively. Previously, you strictly guarded against letting the Zhan Cheng Office interfere in Xuan Guang County, and after I arrived, you refused to cooperate properly in investigating the case."

Nan Hu's eyes clouded for a moment; finally, he slowly said: "It was merely stubbornness in my heart."

Xu Yuan nodded, understanding: It was the behavior of a local tyrant.

He simply felt that Xuan Guang County was his territory.

The voice of the coroner sounded from outside the door: "My lord, this subordinate has made a discovery."

"Come in."

After the coroner entered and closed the door, he said: "As my lord predicted, there are indeed discoveries on the corpse."

Nan Hu could not help but sit up in bed.

"What is it?" Xu Yuan asked.

"From the deceased's earlobe to his brain, there are traces of Yin Qi erosion—there must have been an evil spirit whispering temptations in his ear, causing him to lose his mind and disembowel himself in suicide."

Nan Hu collapsed back onto the bed, wailing to the heavens: "My poor child..."

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "Very well, you may withdraw."

Nan Hu ground his teeth: "My lord, ask whatever you wish; I will hold nothing back! As long as you help me avenge my son!"

Xu Yuan said nothing, merely watching Nan Hu in silence.

Nan Hu suddenly noticed that Xu Yuan's gaze was somewhat strange.

"Lord Xu!" Nan Hu raised his voice: "This matter has indeed struck me hard, but it has not truly broken me! Lord Xu, what do you wish to know? Please ask!"

Xu Yuan shook his head and said: "Actually, there is no need to ask anything. Lord Nan, where do you think this evil spirit came from?"

Nan Hu: "How would I know? Did it run out of Ghost Wushan? Was it born from the evil thoughts of human hearts? Did it crawl out of a sewer? Until it is found, who can say clearly?"

Xu Yuan said: "It came from the Grand Canal."

"Eh?" Nan Hu was stunned, sat up once more, and looked at Xu Yuan in confusion: "How did Lord Xu know?"

"Lord Nan accepted silver from the late husband's family of the Widow Zhou, so you tampered with the case files. In this case, the first to die was Widow Zhou, correct?"

Nan Hu fell silent; this was an admission.

If Xu Yuan could see through the case of Widow Zhou, then uncovering that he had deliberately reversed the order of death of several victims was hardly surprising.

"The butcher Hu Heizi, who bullied the market and committed many evils, forcibly defiled Widow Zhou; for the sake of her reputation, Widow Zhou dared not speak out."

"The old gentleman Tian Zongxiang was the ringleader who petitioned for a chastity arch for Widow Zhou and forcibly compelled her to remain a widow."

"Widow Zhou's husband's family promised Tian Zongxiang a shop on Xijie in the county town and twenty mu of fertile farmland in the countryside."

Hearing this, Nan Hu could not help but frown.

Xu Yuan continued: "The next person who should have committed suicide, who do you guess it was?"

Nan Hu understood Xu Yuan's meaning: "Is it truly the vengeful spirit of Widow Zhou? Then she should have taken revenge on her husband's family; the next target should have been her eldest uncle."

Xu Yuan shook his head: "Incorrect. I guess Widow Zhou would first kill all the other accomplices, saving the greatest enemy for last."

Nan Hu instinctively said: "But Widow Zhou had no connection with my son..."

Suddenly, a sharp light flashed in Nan Hu's eyes; with a "Wa!" he let out a loud cry, clutched his chest, and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

"You have figured it out too?" Xu Yuan said slowly: "The next to die was originally supposed to be you, and you happened not to be at home."

Nan Hu's son died in place of Nan Hu.

"This official investigated the previous crime scenes; you investigated those places as well, yet you saw nothing."

"However, in Widow Zhou's home, this official discovered an account book."

"Inside was a very strange expenditure: a full fifty taels of silver."

"Widow Zhou was meticulous in her affairs; the account book recorded all income and expenditures, clearly stating where the silver was spent."

"Only this one entry showed an expenditure but did not specify what it was for."

"This official summoned Widow Zhou's accountant, Mr., and asked about the whereabouts of this silver; then, following the trail, it was discovered that Widow Zhou used this money to purchase an item from the Fish Gang at the Champa Canal wharf."

And Lord Xu happened to know that the Fish Gang secretly sold evil spirits.

The corroboration just provided by the coroner confirmed to Xu Yuan that what was purchased must have been a "Confusing Ghost."

"The accountant and the handlers were all brought by Widow Zhou from her maiden family."

"Before Widow Zhou could act, her husband's family could not wait and forced her to throw herself down a well."

"This evil spirit may be a 'Confusing Ghost.' If controlled by Widow Zhou, your two assistants might not have died."

Nan Hu's two assistants were likely killed because they investigated the case and provoked the Confusing Ghost.

They had nothing to do with Widow Zhou's tragic fate.

"And if you had cooperated with this official yesterday, your son might not have died either."

Nan Hu lay quietly on the bed, staring straight at the ceiling, with not a trace of life in his two eyes.

Ultimately, it was his "local tyrant" habits that led to today's outcome.

There was one thing Xu Yuan did not know: Widow Zhou's husband's family first bribed the two assistants before they could get through to Nan Hu—the two assistants were involved in this matter and were not innocent.

But none of that mattered anymore.

After a long while, Nan Hu's body moved; he took a deep breath and said slowly: "Lord, speak plainly; what must I do?"

"That Confusing Ghost accepted Widow Zhou's command and will certainly come again to kill you."

"You can serve as bait to avenge your young master."

"Of course, if you are unwilling, this official has other methods."

"This official arrested the entire husband's family for this very purpose."

Nan Hu said indifferently: "You arrested them, which is to protect them, is it not? Lord, you sympathize with Widow Zhou in your heart; why not deliberately let them go, allowing the Confusing Ghost to kill them?"

Xu Yuan said: "I am an inspector of the Evil-Exorcising Bureau, and Widow Zhou ultimately purchased an evil spirit and used it to commit evil deeds. Moreover, those people of the husband's family have not escaped punishment."

Today, Yao Qingyuan presided over the trial and announced in court that the chief culprit, the eldest uncle, would be executed after the autumn harvest.

The remaining accomplices were either exiled or conscripted into the army.

None would meet a good end.

Nan Hu: "Very well, Lord, please make your arrangements."

Xu Yuan then called out to the outside: "Lang Xiao Ba, come in."

After Lang Xiao Ba entered, Xu Yuan instructed: "Explain the characteristics of the Confusing Ghost to him."

"Yes."

After night fell, the Nan household grew quiet.

The people of the Evil-Exorcising Bureau withdrew before dark.

They cremated the young master's corpse with Fu Zhong Huo.

Nan Hu did not eat dinner and sent away the several concubines who had been by his side: "Let me be alone and quiet for a while."

Not until the Hour of the Rat did a black shadow suddenly appear in an alley outside.

The shadow observed for a while, then deliberately picked up a stone, tossed it up, and smashed it against the Nan family's courtyard wall.

The surroundings remained utterly silent; no one from the Purification Bureau lay in ambush.

The shadow used a grappling hook and rope to scale the wall and enter the Nan residence.

His movements were ordinary; he did not seem to be a cultivator.

The shadow groped his way to the outside of Nan Hu's bedroom, pried open the window with a sharp knife, pushed it ajar, then took out a leather pouch, opened it, and poured its contents into the window.

A ghostly figure fell into the room, drifting closer to Nan Hu's bedside.

Then it opened its mouth wide, thrust out a thin, long tongue, and was about to lick Nan Hu's ear.

But suddenly, a flame dropped from the roof beam.

Whoosh—

The flame condensed into a single line, accurately striking the top of the ghost's head and spreading down to cover its entire body.

Yet it burned nothing else besides the ghost.

This control over fire was nothing short of miraculous.

"Squeak—"

The Confusing Ghost shrieked and flew backward; that thin, long tongue caught fire as well.

The tongues of flame danced wildly, the shriek capable of piercing human eardrums.

On the bed, Nan Hu's two earlobes exploded with a sharp crack amidst the screaming!

Fresh blood and shredded flesh splattered all over the bed.

A pot of hydrangeas sat on the table in the room; polluted by the shriek, it instantly twisted into a man-eating flower!

Stems, leaves, and roots grew wildly; the main stalk became thick and short like a water vat, roots wrapped around the entire wooden table below, drilled through the brick floor, and plunged into the earth beneath.

Several flowers transformed into fleshy lips with serrated, gaping maws.

Each was the size of a wooden basin, opening and closing; the stamens inside shot out with a swish—three coiled toward Nan Hu on the bed, three shot toward Xu Yuan on the roof beam.

Xu Yuan, sitting cross-legged on the roof beam, had a paper talisman stuck to each ear.

Thus, the Confusing Ghost's voice could not affect him.

Xu Yuan curled his fingers and flicked them several times.

Several sparks of Stomach Fire flew out.

One landed on the man-eating flower, exploding with a boom into a massive, roaring blaze of Xiong Xiong flames.

The man-eating flower immediately twisted and writhed in the fire, forgetting all about eating people.

The other two sparks ignited the candles in the room.

The Confusing Ghost, summoning all its strength, lunged for the window, trying to escape through the crack.

But the fire was terrifying; it had only fled seven chi from the bedside when it was entirely burned to ash!

The instant the room lit up with firelight, Di Youzhi and Qin Ze, lying in ambush outside, surged forward.

Every Purification Bureau officer participating in tonight's operation had a paper talisman stuck to both ears.

Otherwise, they would have suffered the same fate as Nan Hu, their earlobes exploding directly into minced meat.

Qin Ze waved his hand, casting out a fishing net that immediately enveloped the black shadow.

He then stepped forward and grabbed the shadow by the neck.

The shadow struggled fiercely: "Let me go!"

"Nan Hu treated human lives like weeds; I seek revenge for the Young Lady!"

Inside the room, the man-eating flower had also burned down to a pile of plant ash.

This evil spirit had just undergone its twisted transformation; its power level was not high.

Nan Hu, face covered in blood, let out a roar and grabbed a chair, rushing out in a frenzy: "You damn thing, give me back my son's life—"

As he raised the chair to smash the shadow, a beast-tendon rope suddenly rose from beneath his feet, swiftly binding him tightly.

Xu Yuan said calmly, "Nan Hu, you accepted bribes and forged case files. Wait for the Imperial Court's judgment and sentencing!"

Xu Yuan pointed at the two of them: "Take them all away!"

When the Confusing Ghost employs its mind-bewitching, deceptive techniques, it requires an "isolated" environment.

It forces the Confusing Ghost and the target to be alone together.

Otherwise, the target is easily awakened by others nearby.

The old gentleman Tian Zongxiang only gathered his entire family after being "bewitched."

Once the deceptive technique was complete, no one else could wake them.

The butcher Hu Heizi, in the middle of the night, got up from his sleep and went out to cut his own throat by the pigsty.

And like most evil spirits, the Confusing Ghost could not enter a courtyard where door gods were pasted on the doors.

Therefore, Xu Yuan guessed that the widow Zhou's revenge plan had another executor.

The Confusing Ghost is merely a Ninth-Rank entity.

Nan Hu had investigated for several days himself, finding not the slightest clue.

Moreover, two assistant officials who had already entered the path were also strangely killed.

He concluded that this evil spirit was no trivial matter; without a Seventh-Rank cultivator, it would be difficult to subdue.

He had thought that without the cooperation of us local snakes, the group from Champa would hit a wall everywhere and fail to solve this case.

To put it in my lord Xu's words, they "lacked insight."

For instance, the coroner Xu Yuan brought, who had cultivated the Resting Method, could find crucial clues from the corpses.

For instance, the paper talismans specifically designed to guard against Confusing Ghosts.

The Purification Bureau has various pieces of equipment to deal with different types of evil spirits.

This is the Purification Bureau's advantage.

Every year, the number of ghostly cases handled by the entire Purification Bureau is too numerous to count.

Case files from all regions are eventually consolidated at the Northern Capital General Bureau.

The General Bureau will summarize the experience gained and distribute plans for dealing with different types of evil spirits to the local offices.

That is, Southern Jiaozhi is poor; if it were a Proper Province, the equipment for dealing with Confusion Ghosts would not be paper charms.

Instead, they would be specialized crafts that partially block hearing.

Such crafts can block the sounds of Confusion Ghosts, yet allow the officers to hear each other's shouts.

Take interrogations, for example; some people, for various reasons, are unwilling to speak what they know.

But they are witnesses, not criminals, so torture or soul interrogation cannot be directly applied.

In the Proper Provinces, there is a kind of "room"; once entered, one is compelled to answer all questions truthfully without control.

Nan Hu sat in a well in Xuan Guang County, viewing the world from a narrow perspective, not even realizing his own absurdity.

It was still night, so the Purification Bureau arranged guards while the others rested at the Nan family residence.

The entire Nan household stood silent as if frozen by a cicada in winter.

These "strongmen" had captured their master and now wanted to rest in their home... yet they dared not resist.

When their master served as a county official, he had not the slightest clue about this ghostly case.

Yet after these strongmen arrived, they solved it in just two days.

The Nan family operated a brothel business, and the guards in their home often had to handle "accidental" incidents.

They were all ruthless and cruel individuals.

By rights, even if they dared not fight the Purification Bureau head-on, they would still try to secretly set traps.

But facing Xu Yuan and the others, they did not dare.

It felt as though... if they made a move, this my lord would definitely discover it.

After dawn, the Purification Bureau personnel escorted the two prisoners away from the Nan residence.

No one from the Nan family appeared from beginning to end.

They hid behind door cracks, peering out quietly, hoping these strongmen would leave quickly.

Xu Yuan did not return to the county yamen; he left Xuan Guang County directly and returned to Champa.

Xu Yuan had no patience to deal with that county magistrate.

Regarding the death of Widow Zhou, Nan Hu had folded it into the ghostly case to help the husband's family escape responsibility.

Many in the county yamen had taken money and opened doors of convenience.

Yao Qingyuan must have been fully aware of this.

When holding court to interrogate the husband's family, Yao Qingyuan concluded the case hastily, thereby shielding these people and preventing them from being implicated.

It was a pity... that a certain Circuit Inspector, extremely useful in handling wrongful and false cases, had already died; otherwise, Xu Yuan would certainly have informed this upright my lord of the filth in Xuan Guang County.

Just as they were about to leave the city, Xu Yuan suddenly saw seven or eight people rushing toward him—Xu Yuan recognized them and soon remembered that one of them was precisely one of the "brothers" who had waited outside Nan Hu's room yesterday.

He had already received the news, so he hurried to the Nan residence.

Nan Hu's other brothers must have received the news as well; they were likely all on their way.

The Nan family still had a grand drama ahead!

Xu Yuan's lips could not help but curl upward.

Who says that in a world where evil spirits run rampant, there is no karma?

After leaving the city, Xu Yuan beckoned Meng Sanlang to his side: "This official keeps his word; go back and prepare. The appointment for the county official will be issued in a few days."

Meng Sanlang was overjoyed and knelt on the ground before my lord Xu's horse, bowing: "Thank you, my lord, for your patronage."

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "Rise. Let us part ways here."

Meng Sanlang stood up and stood by the roadside, watching my lord Xu's procession depart, his heart filled with uncontrollable excitement.

The title "First Hero of Xuan Guang County" sounds good, but what use is it?

Over these years, I, Meng Sanlang, have secretly done many things for the Tan family.

Finally, it has yielded today's result!

From now on, I, Meng Sanlang, shall have an official status!

Meng Sanlang's role in solving the case was actually not great.

But Xu Yuan still gave him the position of county official; it was actually Li Yichuan's personal attendant who acted as the intermediary.

The Tan family wanted to secure the position of "county official" for themselves.

They promised to hand over all Xuan Guang bamboo paper produced by the Tan family to the Li family for sales.

That attendant then asked Xu Yuan for this favor.

Xu Yuan sighed again; these great surnames and noble families are truly "clever."

Li Yichuan seemed to have helped Xu Yuan with a favor, yet he seized such an exclusive operating right in the process.

It was truly a good business deal.

"This fellow Li Yichuan is a waste if he doesn't study commercial law."

The group traveled for half a day and returned to Champa.

There were many loose ends to the case, which Di Youzhi and Lang Xiao Ba handled.

Xu Yuan did not need to worry about it.

The stepmother had only finished repairing the Hundred Treasures Box yesterday afternoon and handed it over to Li Yichuan.

Li Yichuan had waited an extra day specifically for Xu Yuan; upon meeting again, Li Yichuan smiled and said: "Brother Xu, prepare two hundred taels of silver."

Xu Yuan was puzzled: "What does 'propagate' mean?"

"For the Xuan Guang bamboo paper business, I have reserved a share for you, Brother Xu. These two hundred taels are the capital. I have calculated it; the annual dividends hereafter should range between one thousand and five thousand taels."

These two hundred taels of silver were to silence certain pure scholars.

And the range of annual dividends was extremely wide; at year's end, whether Xu Yuan received one thousand taels or five thousand taels

depended on Xu Yuan's own future development.

Giving Xu Yuan a share was first because the Li family had gained benefits and must give Xu Yuan some, lest Xu Yuan feel uncomfortable.

Second, Li Yichuan held high hopes for this young man.

He intended to deepen the entanglement between them.

"These great surnames and noble families... watertight!" Xu Yuan sighed inwardly, thought for a moment, and agreed: "Very well."

These dividends were not much for Xu Yuan at present.

But by participating in the Xuan Guang bamboo paper business, Xu Yuan would greatly benefit his cultivation of the "Merchant Arts."

Moreover, refusing would give Li Yichuan a feeling of "drawing a clear line," which was truly unnecessary.

Xu Yuan took a silver note for two hundred taels and handed it to Li Yichuan.

Li Yichuan very formally invited a broker to come, wrote a contract for joining the share, and filed it at the Zhan City Prefecture Office.

After handling these matters, Li Yichuan and Xu Yuan "parted with reluctance."

Li Yichuan set off for Luocheng, while Xu Yuan returned to the Nancheng Patrol Station. Upon arriving at the gate, he saw Third Lady and the Great Fire Master waiting anxiously at the entrance, hands clasped tightly, pacing back and forth incessantly.

(End of this chapter)