Chapter 63

Looking again, he realized that the "wailing" sound from just now was just the strange noise made by the night wind passing through the window cracks.

His heart calmed slightly; he put on his shoes and went over to close the window tightly, so as not to disturb his peace of mind.

But just at this moment, a pale hand suddenly broke through the window and grabbed at him.

"Ah—" Gu Huai screamed, so scared he fell to the ground.

At the same time, a chilling voice entered his ears: "Daddy, why don't you come to see Daughter! Daddy, Daughter is in so much pain, so much pain; come and see Daughter. Daddy, Daddy—"

That voice was hoarse and low at first, but later it was screaming "Daddy" at the top of its lungs.

Gu Huai was so scared his face turned deathly pale, and he crawled out of the guest room using his hands and feet.

"Master, Abbot! Is anyone there? Come here! Come here!"

But the monks who had accompanied him during the day, for some reason, were not coming out at all.

The entire temple seemed empty, with only him left.

How could this be?

Why could a ghost enter the temple?

Thinking of the Guo woman he saw this morning, the tragic scene of her being disemboweled and having her heart dug out, his whole body was trembling.

No, this Marquis cannot sit and wait for death!

"I can't stay in the temple; I have to get out, get out!"

"Find the people from the Xuanjing Division, find Deputy Envoy Lin!"

He scrambled up and was about to rush out.

Just as he was about to step out of the temple gate, a sharp arrow was quietly aiming at him.

With a "swish," the arrow carried a whistling sound as it tore through the wind, shooting toward his vital points.

Gu Huai also knew a little martial arts; hearing the movement behind him, he dodged to the side.

At the same time, he shouted loudly: "Men, take him down!"

At his command, the guards lurking around all rushed out and pinned the person who had just shot the arrow to the ground.

And Gu Huai also shed his previous terrified expression, stood with his hands behind his back, walked in front of that person, and snorted coldly: "Playing god and acting like a ghost, this Marquis has finally caught you—raise your head, let this Marquis see exactly who you are!"

"The Marquis orders you to raise your head, did you hear me!" A guard grabbed the assassin's hair viciously, forcing him to raise his head.

Under the light of the torches, it was a man of about 20 years old, wearing white clothes, his face painted a greenish-gray, his hair disheveled, his eyes full of resentment as he looked at Gu Huai.

"What a pity, I almost killed you!" After being caught, he had no fear, only regret. Regret that he hadn't been able to kill Gu Huai.

"Hmph, you dare to show off your petty tricks in front of this Marquis? You were the one who snuck into the Gu house to kill people yesterday, right?"

Although Gu Huai wasn't at the scene yesterday, how could someone as calculating as him be scared by those things?

After investigation, it wasn't hard to find that the three people who died in the mansion—Madam Guo, Steward Gu, and Li Tiansheng—had all been murdered.

However, the murderer was extremely cunning, merely disguising himself as a ghost to kill.

In order to catch the murderer and to paralyze the other party, Gu Huai didn't expose him, and even personally went to the Xuanjing Division to invite Lin Qingyue to come and investigate.

And he himself stayed in the temple, waiting for the murderer to come to the door, to catch a turtle in a jar.

"You look like a stranger; this Marquis should have no grudges against you. Why do you want to kill this Marquis? Or is it that someone else instigated you? Who is it, speak!"

"What a 'stranger'." The young assassin suddenly laughed, tears vaguely appearing in his eyes, "I just can't stand your hypocritical appearance; I just want to kill you! Gu Huai, you deserve to die, you deserve to die!"

He roared like a mad beast, the look in his eyes as he stared at Gu Huai wishing he could eat him alive.

"You want this Marquis to die? Hmph, I'm afraid you'll be the first to die!"

Gu Huai said as he took the knife from the guard's hand, his voice cold and ruthless, "You have a lot of nerve to sneak into the Gu house to kill; this Marquis will break your two hands first, then slowly torture you to death!"

After saying this, he swung the knife down, but heard a "Clang!", and the knife was deflected into two pieces by something.

"Who is it!" Gu Huai turned his head to look, and saw outside the temple, below the stone steps, Lin Qingyue wearing a black floating-light brocade, holding a blood-red nether umbrella, the Soul-Guiding Bell hanging from the tip of the umbrella ribs ringing "ding-ding-dang-dang."

Stepping on the stone steps, she crossed into the temple gate step by step, walking into this solemn temple.

The surrounding lights and torches were brilliant, casting a patch of flickering shadows on her black skirt.

She lifted the umbrella slightly, revealing a bright and moving face. Her lips parted slightly, and she questioned coldly: "Is Marquis Gu using private lynching?"

Gu Huai still had to give some face to the people of the Xuanjing Division, so he put away his knife and said:

"This Marquis was also angered to the point of losing his head! It was this person who just now was playing god and acting like a ghost to assassinate this Marquis. Fortunately, I was prepared, otherwise, my life would have been buried in this person's hands!"

"And the several murder cases in the house last night should also be this person's doing! This Marquis will order people to send him to the Tingwei Yamen to await sentencing!"

Lin Qingyue, however, suddenly asked: "Do you really not recognize him? Gu Nian'an, the eldest legitimate son of the Wen Shang Hou Mansion."

"What?" Gu Huai was first startled, then couldn't believe it, "How is that possible? My eldest legitimate son, Nian'an... he died in an accident more than ten years ago!"

"Don't believe it? Then look closely at the birthmark behind his ear; is it the same as Gu Nian'an's? Marquis Gu, you shouldn't have forgotten your eldest son's birthmark, right?"

Gu Huai hurriedly went to look, but the assassin struggled and resisted desperately, roaring angrily: "I am not your son! How can someone as heartless as you deserve to have a son?"

However, Gu Huai still saw the birthmark behind his ear clearly.

"Nian'an, you really are Nian'an, really my son? But why don't you recognize your father, and why do you want to kill your own biological father?"

Gu Nian'an still had a face full of hatred; if he weren't being held by the guards, he would definitely have attacked again.

Gu Huai asked Lin Qingyue again: "Deputy Envoy Lin, how did you know all this?"

Lin Qingyue said: "Miss Gu told me just now."

"What did you say?" The one speaking was Gu Nian'an.

Gu Nian'an, who had been fierce and vicious just a moment ago, now retracted all his thorns and begged Lin Qingyue: "You are from the Xuanjing Division; you can see my sister, right? Where is my sister? Can you let me see her again?"

"This is a clean place of the temple, not suitable for disturbance. Let's go, let's go to the grave of the 'Nameless Person'."

After saying this, Lin Qingyue held her umbrella and walked out of the temple. Her black dress blended into the deep night, and the Soul-Guiding Bell continued to ring "ding-ding-dang-dang."