Chapter 471: Yin Embroidery shuhaige.net

The three people exchanged glances upon hearing that; they had never considered this question before.

Ordinary people indeed do not want to have anything to do with coffin-related vehicles; those with heavy Yin Qi and related matters are taboo and must be avoided—this is a deep-rooted belief in the Central Plains and indeed all of the East since ancient times.

But the reborn Mu Yuanzhi doesn't really care about these; she's already died once—could she still fear the Yin Qi of a coffin?

Gu Rongjin has always not avoided these; it's nothing to him.

Yun Jinglou seemed not to care much, but he seemed somewhat interested in this; he asked, "What should we pay attention to?"

"Watch out so he doesn't suck away your Yang Qi." The witch doctor giggled.

Yun Jinglou asked again, "How exactly should we be careful?"

The witch doctor, eyes twinkling mischievously behind his half mask, said, "I can draw a rune for Sir Yun to prevent your Essence Qi from being sucked away."

"Great! Then I'll trouble Sir Sima!" Yun Jinglou was very pleased.

"Please, Sir Yun, extend your hand."

"On the hand?" Yun Jinglou hesitantly extended his hand.

"No, it's to be etched onto the hand." The witch doctor smiled, producing cinnabar and a cloth bundle containing several long silver needles.

Mu Yuanzhi's curious expression: "Is this flower embroidery?"

"Mm-hmm." The witch doctor nodded.

"Eh? If I get it on my arm, will that be bad? I'm a court official after all."

"Nobody would just roll up your sleeve to look." The witch doctor said, "This is a divine blessing bestowed upon you, able to bring good fortune and change luck."

Gu Rongjin suddenly interjected, "Can this changing of luck also mean transferring good luck away?"

"... Young Master Gu really is clever; that's one way to understand it, but I would naturally not take Sir Sima's good luck away. I gave Sir Sima the Heaven and Earth Mystic Yellow Embroidery, which is used solely to ward off evil." The witch doctor explained with a smile.

Gu Rongjin raised an eyebrow: "If it's that useful, give me one too."

"Sure, what about you, Princess?"

"No thanks, I'm afraid of the pain." Mu Yuanzhi refused.

"What a pity; it would look fine on the arm." The witch doctor fiddled with his cinnabar, then added, "In some places, folk legend says they use dead person's blood to make flower embroidery, which should be called Yin Embroidery, and it can also seize a person's Yang lifespan."

He said this while lowering his voice, a sinister tone that made one's flesh creep.

At that moment, a gust of wind blew in from outside, tilting the Tibetan incense slightly, and the indoor light flickered as well—utterly eerie.

Mu Yuanzhi sprang to her feet: "Dead person's blood?!"

"What's wrong, little Yuanzhi?" Gu Rongjin looked up at Mu Yuanzhi.

"Could it be that the killer blocked the Imperial Court of Justice Vice Minister's blood in order to use it to make Yin Embroidery?!" Though this was a sudden thought of hers, the whole series of actions is too bizarre; perhaps this ancient ritual actually serves that purpose!

"Shall we make another trip to the Jingzhao Yin Office?" Gu Rongjin proposed.

Yun Jinglou: "You go ahead; I still need to inscribe a protective charm here."

Even if he felt a little creeped out, Yun Jinglou couldn't resist his curiosity.

Mu Yuanzhi and Gu Rongjin nodded.

"Princess and Prince Consort, you really don't want it? I'll be very gentle." The witch doctor beamed, raising his long silver needle.

"No need to be polite!" The husband and wife said in perfect unison.

The witch doctor regretted: "Forget it; come find me whenever you two need it."

Mu Yuanzhi and Gu Rongjin went again to the Jingzhao Yin Office to examine the corpse of the Imperial Court of Justice Vice Minister.

"I guess the bleeding wound must be in an inconspicuous spot." Mu Yuanzhi said.

"An inconspicuous spot, isn't it..."

The two exchanged a glance, nodded, and each went around to the back of the deceased's head, parting the hair at the nape to search.

"Here!" Gu Rongjin quickly found a slit slightly larger than a needle hole; without leaning in close, one would never notice it.

Mu Yuanzhi, who had already put on gloves, used a small dissection knife to nick the surrounding area: "Looking at the blood vessels' condition, it's indeed blood taken after death."

"You guessed right!" Gu Rongjin admired, "You've got quite the imagination, little Yuanzhi!"

Mu Yuanzhi: "Feels like Sir Sima deliberately tipped us off?"

"So roundabout? Why doesn't he just come out and show off?" Gu Rongjin raised an eyebrow.

"Sir Sima's always been odd; who knows what he's up to." Mu Yuanzhi said, "Even if we know all this, we still can't pin down what the killer intends to do."

Gu Rongjin: "The killer is probably Fanghua?"

Mu Yuanzhi: "Quite likely."

"Let's head back first; maybe Cao Cixiu will come look for us later." Gu Rongjin glanced at the sky, then added, "But it's already so late, perhaps it'll be tomorrow instead."

"How about we also go check out the charity estate with the platinum coffin?" Mu Yuanzhi suddenly suggested.

Gu Rongjin: "Now? In the middle of the night?"

"I'm not afraid; what are you afraid of?"

"It's that I'm afraid you're afraid." Gu Rongjin laughed, pinching Mu Yuanzhi's cheek, "How dare you doubt my brother's courage?"

"Then let's go, Brother Rongjin!" Mu Yuanzhi also laughed, pinching his cheek.

"It's too hard to hear you shout 'Brother Rongjin' just once now; I propose we shout it at least ten times a day!"

"Forget it, you!"

"No! I want to set household rules!"

"This household runs as I say!"

"Let's discuss it!"

The two tussled playfully and soon arrived at their destination.

This is one of several large charity estates in the suburbs that are usually inconspicuous; it has been burned beyond recognition by fire, leaving only ruined walls and broken remnants.

The air was filled with a burnt smell, plus some stale, unknown odors mingling into a thick, pungent stench; the prepared Gu Rongjin and Mu Yuanzhi had already donned veils, barely able to block some of the smell.

At a glance, no one could be seen.

"Has Young Master Cao already left?" Mu Yuanzhi glanced left and right.

"No, over there!" Gu Rongjin lifted her chin, indicating for Mu Yuanzhi to look at the locust tree not far behind the charitable manor, where a person stood underneath.

Judging by height and build, it really looked like Cao Cixiu.

At this hour, besides Cao Cixiu, there probably wouldn't be anyone else here.

Perhaps seeing them approach, the person under the locust tree walked over.

Up close, by the moonlight, they could see each other clearly.

Sure enough, it was Cao Cixiu.

"You two actually came as well?"

"Did you find anything?"

"Nothing found, there isn't a single living thing nearby." Cao Cixiu said.

"No living things at all—doesn't the tree you were just standing behind count?" Gu Rongjin asked.

"It's already dead; you don't need internal energy, a single kick can topple it."

Hearing that, Mu Yuanzhi went to look at the locust tree again; although the night was too dark to see clearly, she could tell it was severely withered, likely due to having been burned by a major fire.

The grass here was also withered.