Chapter 388: Bitten (Requesting Monthly Votes)

The Village of the Ghost Gate will constantly tempt people from outside to come in.

In a way, the "Village of the Ghost Gate" is like a single, unified evil spirit.

Luring people in is equivalent to swallowing and eating them.

So although Lu Renxing and Jia Luojing are outside the village, they can see and hear everything inside.

After gathering all the villagers, the old village head raised his voice and shouted again; Jia Luojing heard it all clearly and became self-satisfied once more: Isn't this just searching for that young man's home?

It is simply the case-solving approach I just provided.

Jia Luojing then spoke loudly to Lu Renxing: "This Xu Yuan put on an air of a grandmaster and lectured me quite a bit, yet in the end he still has to use my suggestion, hmph."

Lu Renxing also nodded: "In my opinion as a general, this man can speak but cannot act; as the saying goes, he has high ambitions but low ability..."

Zhu Zhanmei could no longer bear it, turned his horse, and was about to leave with his two subordinates.

Jia Luojing immediately asked: "Where is Inspector Zhu going?"

Zhu Zhanmei said calmly: "Xu Yuan is working hard to find clues inside the village; shall we just sit outside and watch? This inspector will circle around the village; what if we discover something?"

Zhu Zhanmei's words were soft yet hard.

You will just sit quietly outside the village and wait for Xu Yuan to solve the case?

Shouldn't we do something as well?

Lu Renxing was completely unaware: "Regarding the strange case, this general is not skilled."

But Jia Luojing's face turned red; he felt a bit of dissatisfaction toward Zhu Zhanmei in his heart and secretly slandered: This dog couple must be having an affair!

I, the Chief of Discipline, merely lightly criticized Xu Yuan twice, yet this woman wants to confront me. She even wants to find ways to help Xu Yuan!

How can the Shanhe Office have such a traitor who eats from within but betrays from without?

This is because Miao Yu has not arrived; if Lord Miao had come, he would surely make Jia Luojing truly witness what it means to eat from within but betray from without.

After Xu Yuan announced the reward and waited a while seeing no one come out, he instructed the old village head: "Enough, disperse."

The old village head said: "My lord, please wait a little longer..."

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "No need."

Then Xu Yuan stood up and returned to the ancestral hall.

The old village head could only have the people disperse, complaining incessantly: "My lord gave you a chance; think carefully. I am old and my memory is failing; otherwise, I would have taken those five hundred taels of silver!"

The villagers' faces also showed a look of regret.

After everyone left, the old village head also returned to the ancestral hall.

Xu Yuan said to him: "Old sir, please make the effort to wait outside the ancestral hall. In a while, a villager will come to ask you if my reward of five hundred taels is still valid; just tell him that I keep my word and will never renege on a debt."

The old village head was puzzled: "Will someone come?"

Immediately he understood, slapped his forehead: "It has to be you, my lord! Very well, this old man will go out and wait."

He waited in the ancestral hall for a little over half an hour, then saw a villager in his thirties approaching furtively.

He looked around all along the way, seemingly afraid of being seen by the other villagers.

The old village head spoke a few words to him and then led the man inside.

Secretly, he gave a thumbs-up to the lord: His predictions are as accurate as a god's.

Xu Yuan said no more, first took out five hundred taels in silver notes and placed them on the table: "Speak."

That villager greedily glanced at the silver notes, then said: "That family originally lived by the withered well in the east of the village."

Xu Yuan pushed the silver notes over to him, then stood up and said: "Let's go see."

The villager stuffed the silver notes into his chest and left quickly.

As if someone were about to snatch his silver.

Xu Yuan led his men out of the ancestral hall, but then turned his head slightly and whispered to Lang Xiao Ba: "Switch places with me."

"Yes."

The Captains' figures crossed swiftly, surrounding the two in the middle and blocking the view of outsiders.

When they dispersed again, Xu Yuan was already dressed in the clothes of an ordinary Captain, pressed down his hat brim, and left the formation with his head down.

Lang Xiao Ba became Lord Xu, leading the formation toward that well.

Xu Yuan knew that Lang Xiao Ba would likely make some discovery upon going there.

But Lord Xu still felt that the root evil spirit of this "Village of the Ghost Gate" might not be the young man's family.

Jia Luojing thought Lord Xu was still solving the case according to his line of thinking, but in truth, he was not.

Xu Yuan deliberately sought the residence of that family from years ago to give the evil spirit lurking in the shadows an "opportunity."

Even the old village head could not remember exactly where that family lived; it is highly unlikely that anyone else in the village knew the specific location.

The one who knew was most likely that evil spirit!

That evil spirit would also be very willing to contribute this clue to mislead the members of the Quhui Office.

After Xu Yuan left the formation, he found a quiet place, spat out a "Dragon Spitting Mirage," and merged his own body with the surrounding environment.

Then he moved silently, following that villager.

The villager kept his head down all the way, returned home quickly, closed the courtyard gate firmly, took the silver notes out from his chest, and was beaming with joy.

Only then did he enter the house and, unable to contain his eagerness, hugged the wife inside: "Hehehe, that high official actually kept his word and really gave five hundred taels of silver."

He kissed his wife fiercely a few times, then said: "Wife, you are not a person of our village; how do you know about that well?"

Since the villager could remember anything, he knew there was such a withered well in the village.

Yet he did not know that place was originally the residence of the family involved in the massacre.

His wife was dazed: "I cannot explain it clearly, but it seems... I just know."

Five hundred taels of silver made the two extremely happy; unable to resist, they embraced each other in broad daylight, and soft moans quickly arose.

Xu Yuan frowned and stepped farther away.

Less than a stick of incense later, the room fell silent again; Xu Yuan slipped quietly into the courtyard and used "Wang Ming" to glance once more at the young wife.

Like the other villagers, her life contained a bundle of yin qi.

When he had gathered all the villagers earlier, Xu Yuan had already used "Wang Ming" to observe them once.

Seeing nothing unusual this time, Xu Yuan was not surprised.

If not these two, then… it might be something else in this courtyard.

Xu Yuan looked at each thing in turn.

His eyes ached from staring, yet he still found nothing abnormal.

Xu Yuan thought for a moment, then stepped directly into the room.

Hidden by the concealment of "Long Tu Shen," the two inside remained unaware.

Xu Yuan examined each object in the room one by one.

This family was not wealthy; there were few items in the house.

Soon, Xu the Lord had seen everything, yet still found nothing unusual.

"Strange…" Xu Yuan silently thought, then swept his gaze once more around the room—when suddenly he remembered something and looked up:

Above was the beam.

Farming families often hung things from the rafters.

But this room was where they slept.

Nothing hung from the beam, yet directly above the couple's bed, a rope was wrapped around it.

The rope was old, covered in dust; no one knew how long it had been there.

Perhaps even the homeowner had forgotten it.

Yet it was precisely this rope that was problematic.

Xu Yuan slipped out without a word.

The villager and the young wife lay side by side on the bed; the rope hung directly above the wife's head.

To make the wife perceive something, this position was ideal for "Ru Meng."

(End of Chapter)