Chapter 1612

Moonlight shadows swayed.

As the night grew deeper, the townsfolk of West Mausoleum Town all shut their doors early and hid at home, praying that no omen would occur tonight.

But just after midnight, the moon hanging in the night sky vanished in an instant, and the whole town was shrouded in endless darkness.

Then, a red lantern gradually lit up before each household; as the cold wind of the pervasive mist swayed gently, thick red liquid poured out, and a procession of people clad in hemp garments walked beneath the lanterns, each casting no shadow.

They carried wooden coffins, wandering aimlessly down the street, accompanied by weeping and laughter from unknown sources, shrill and eerie.

Listening closely, the sound actually came from inside the coffins.

Suddenly, the procession stopped in front of a household's door.

The coffin-bearers stiffly knocked on the door hung with a red lantern, relentlessly, again and again.

……

The dark clouds dispersed, and at dawn, accompanied by the family's wails, a new day began in West Mausoleum Town.

After a few days of holiday, the Heaven's Mandate Seven and the imperial envoy sent by the court met in West Mausoleum Town.

The imperial envoy had arrived half a day earlier; when going to the main gate to greet them, he remained seated in his sedan chair, clearly intending not to get down.

The seven arrived at the town gate, and the onlooking townsfolk and yamen runners were all astonished; the long‑awaiting townsfolk even plucked up courage to question them.

"Is this the divine savior come to rescue us? Boasting..."

"Exactly, they look younger than my father!"

The government office clerk chuckled, bowing to the leader Rong Zixu: "You lot must be the masters who came from the mountains, huh… I never expected… you to be so young."

He stroked his beard, and before Rong Zixu could speak, he stood up first: "Come with us, everyone."

He then gave two laughs of unclear meaning.

Rong Zixu glanced at the sedan chair almost blocking their path, did not step aside to make way, and said calmly: "The emperor's edict states that wherever an imperial envoy goes, they shall be assisted and cooperate; Envoy Song, why do you not alight from your sedan?"

Jin Chen stood behind Rong Zixu, hearing this, he said to Gong Shiyue: "Third Senior Sister, does he look down on us?"

Gong Shiyue, wearing a tight red outfit, twirled the braid hanging to her chest with her fingers, and laughed at the words.

"It's totally obvious— isn't it said that court officials are good at superficial tricks? I think they're doing a poor job of it."

She has always been bold and rash, let alone such an obvious perfunctory slight.

Yang Yu played with the fan in his hand, suddenly let out an 'eh', bent his elbow and rested it on Jing Xingcan's shoulder: "Little Six, why don't Second Senior Brother take you out to play? Anyway, those court officials aren't in a hurry themselves."

"Sure, sure!" Jing Xingcan nodded repeatedly.

As they chatted, Rong Zixu did not stop them, merely pulling Jin Chen, who was trying to keep stoking the fire, to his side.

Jin Chen still wanted to say something, but Rong Zixu gave him a light glance.

"... I won't say, I won't say." Jin Chen made a gesture of sealing his lips.

Clerk: "……"

"Who says we're not in a hurry? We're frantic!"

The clerk hadn't expected them to call it out directly; he was momentarily embarrassed, looking toward the personal guards outside the sedan.

Then a hearty laugh came from inside the sedan; Envoy Song alighted, saying: "Truly, heroes emerge from youth— a newborn calf fears no tiger."

Jing Xingcan: "You're the calf! Your emperor personally summoned us down from the mountain— what are you doing here showing off your might?"

Having said that, Jing Xingcan quickly made a face at him, then darted behind the senior sister.

Envoy Song's personal guards nearby wanted to retort, but seeing Gong Shiyue's blood‑red whip in her hand, they silently withdrew, sensing that this group's martial arts were certainly not low.

Envoy Song's face kept changing; the emperor's edict was a fact, yet he hadn't expected these youngsters to completely disregard official authority.

"Please, everyone, go to the yamen." Song the official looked toward the leader, Rong Zixu, his tone finally showing some forbearance, "My legs are inconvenient, so I won't accompany you."

Watching the backs of the seven as they headed toward the yamen, the aide cautiously asked Song the official, "Do you really think there are ghosts here?"

Song the official certainly didn't believe it, but he couldn't resist the person sitting on the dragon throne who firmly believed.

——

Yamen.

Song the official invited the Heaven's Mandate Seven into the main hall, where several people knelt, still shedding tears, their expressions panicked and desperate.

"Aide, Imperial Envoy."

The yamen runner stepped forward to report: "They are the villagers from east of the town; last night another person went missing, and it was from their family."

Song the official stroked his beard, went around where they knelt to take the main seat, first had the yamen runner grant seats to the Heaven's Mandate Seven, then asked those below.

"Now, tell me, what happened last night?"

Jin Chen looked left and right, pulled Jing Xingcan to another side, squeezed in to sit beside Rong Zixu, and gave him a smile.

Jing Xingcan widened his eyes, not wanting to sit at the doorway where he'd catch a draft, and silently complained to Rong Zixu.

Rong Zixu helplessly shook his head, gesturing for Yang Yu to watch over Jing Xingcan.

Jing Xingcan, who understood the look:!!

"All are junior brothers, why do you favor Xiao Chen!"

No one noticed the small movement here; the kneeling old woman trembled as she spoke, and saying just a sentence would make her cry for a long time.

"The Old Man is gone… it was last night! He was chosen by that… that bunch of not-human-not-ghost things!"

"Imperial Envoy, you must decide for us!"

They still didn't want to believe in ghosts from the bottom of their hearts.

After a simple inquiry, Rong Zixu understood the abnormality in this town.

Starting about a month ago, red lanterns appear every night in the town; a group of ghosts carrying a coffin wander around, then they select a household and knock on the door; the person who opens the door is usually overly frightened or uncontrollable, and that night they disappear with the procession, becoming a ghost in the group the next day.

"There's also laughter… no, it's… it's crying!"

The old woman wavered, the more she thought the more fearful she became, her cloudy eyes brimming with fearful tears, "It… it came from inside that coffin!"

"What about during the day?" Xu Qie asked; her appearance was pure and lovely, her gentle tone easily put people at ease.

The gray-clothed man beside the old woman shook his head and said, "There's nothing during the day; our town has no strange occurrences."

He clenched his fist, steeled his courage, and asked, "Um… Miss Immortal, do we really have ghosts here?"

Xu Qie smiled gently: "Yes."

The gray-clothed man: "……"

"Then my father, and the others who were taken away—are they already dead?"

Lord Song interrupted their conversation, "In my view, it may not be ghosts causing trouble."

Jin Chen looked at him in surprise, "You're saying someone with nothing to do gathered a bunch of people in the middle of the night to carry a coffin?"

Lord Song, faced with doubt, sank his expression and said, "As the saying goes, the human heart is easiest to control; perhaps there is some other method."

"Whether it is or not, we'll find out tonight."

Jin Chen couldn't be bothered to argue with him, stood up, stretched, and gave a meaningful smile: "How about we make a bet? If it's ghosts causing trouble, you won't take a chicken feather as a command arrow, and you'll properly apologize to the young master."

"And if it's not ghosts causing trouble?" Lord Song sneered.

"Then we'll just head back and not compete with you for credit."

"Good, it's settled!"

Jin Chen raised an eyebrow, stepped back a few steps to Rong Zixu's side, and whispered, "Even if there are no ghosts here, I'll still catch a few tonight."

Rong Zixu: "……"

He pulled Jin Chen to sit down, "Behave yourself, don't cause trouble."

Rong Zixu had just finished looking over the town's populace roster, and gave the order: "We'll split into two groups to investigate; we'll meet at the noodle shop in the town center at dusk."

"Yes, Senior Brother."