Chapter 992: with translation of chapter title

Such matters should not be made public, so we cannot openly dispatch personnel to investigate Hu Shan's information.

Fortunately, over these years, the people around Xiao Jiu and Liu Junyan have been purged in several waves; those who remain are all trusted confidants.

During those two days, some personnel within Jiuzhou Fu were extremely busy.

They constantly flipped through local gazettes, historical records, mythological legends, even wild histories, collecting every fragment about Hu Shan, which was eventually handed to Liu Junyan.

Xiao Jiu also asked Fang Chuanzong to secretly help investigate Hu Shan.

Unfortunately, the information about Hu Shan from both sides basically overlapped, and it was hardly different from the data Fang Chuanzong had given Xiao Jiu years ago.

They even wondered whether Hu Shan had any other historical aliases, and they checked each one thoroughly, but still found nothing.

Time was already tight, and they had wasted two days on futile work—how could they not feel discouraged?

"Let's go to Lingdie Valley again," Xiao Jiu said, "perhaps we can provoke the other side further..."

Liu Junyan, however, said: "I've already been there; the Yao Tian area is filled with dark miasma, making it impossible to approach Lingdie Valley now."

It seems that when Xiao Jiu previously used the Soul-guiding Lamp to cover that woman, it still had some effect on her.

Just when no one knew what to do next, Dong Dan suddenly passed along a message saying that Tang Xun wanted Xiao Jiu to come over.

Xiao Jiu was quite surprised, and he and Liu Junyan hurried over.

Tang Xun had grown thinner, and the Ghost King Butterfly mark on her body had increased; these days she must have been helping the Seven Halls Yama bear the pressure.

"I suddenly remembered something."

Compared to before, Tang Xun's will to live had obviously grown much stronger.

She said: "When Zheng Qin was in his final moments, his consciousness hazy, he would occasionally mutter unintentionally at night, mentioning the same name several times; I think this name might hold some special significance for him."

Xiao Jiu asked: "What is that name?"

"It seems to share my surname, Tang," Tang Xun recalled, "because it was delirious speech, I didn't hear it clearly, and at first I wasn't sure it was a person's name, so I didn't pay attention; over these days I've thought a lot, and this detail surfaced—the full name should be 'Tang Yaocao'."

"Tang Yaocao?" Xiao Jiu murmured a few times, then said, "What a strange name."

Tang Xun replied: "Yes, at first I heard Zheng Qin mutter 'Yaocao, Yaocao,' and I thought he was ill, wanting to find medicinal herbs from Yao Tian to cure himself; but later I realized he was saying 'Tang Yaocao'—no one would put a surname before a herb, so I suspect 'Tang Yaocao' is a person's name, not a kind of herb."

Of course, Tang Xun also wasn't certain which of the three characters corresponded to which.

The information Tang Xun provided was better than nothing.

One could say it was like treating a dead horse as if it were alive.

Xiao Jiu, adhering to the principle of not letting any tiny clue slip, went back and still looked up the name 'Tang Yaocao'.

Without checking, one wouldn't know; but once checked, he actually discovered a bit of clarity.

"Yaocao" actually appears in ancient texts—it is a kind of primordial spiritual herb, said to be the transformation of an imperial daughter's corpse, emitting a strange fragrance from its whole body, attracting bees and butterflies; eating it makes one beautiful and radiant, endearing to others.

The information found at the same time was not limited to this.

Liu Junyan also found a sentence on an old, damaged gazette scroll: "The legitimate daughter Yaocao died early, buried west of Immortal Peak Hu..."

"Immortal Peak is another name for Immortal Mountain or Divine Mountain," Liu Junyan said. "This sentence, taken in context, basically means that years ago, a Tang clan household had an eldest legitimate daughter, Tang Yaocao, who unfortunately died young in an accident; she was under fourteen when she died, and was buried on the west side of a mountain called 'Hu', an Immortal Mountain, hoping the mountain's spiritual qi would nourish her soul essence and help her enter the underworld for reincarnation early."

With this explanation, many key points line up.

Xiao Jiu pondered and said: "Ah Yan, do you really think Tang Yaocao died accidentally early?"

Liu Junyan gave a noncommittal response: "The name 'Yaocao' is not common."

Indeed, not only is it uncommon, though the legend's meaning is good, but the rumor says it is ultimately the transformation of an imperial daughter's corpse; those who know 'Yaocao' would surely know its origin.

These two characters are fine elsewhere, but when used in a personal name they always seem a bit deliberate.

Moreover, this Tang Yaocao also died unexpectedly early.

All these doubts pile up, forcing one to think in a negative direction.

"If the name 'Yaocao' was deliberately chosen, then it shows one thing: Tang Yaocao's name was not random; from the moment of her birth, her fate had already been decided."

Even her birth might have been orchestrated by someone.

The world is vast, full of wonders; Xiao Jiu had long since become accustomed to the strange.

Following this line of thought, Tang Yaocao must have died resentfully, full of grievance; after death she could have become a malignant influence, possibly becoming the Ghost King of this region.

But even if we have now found Tang Yaocao, what direction should we strive toward next?

The clue seems to have broken off again here.

"How about checking Tang Yaocao's family?" Xiao Jiu said, "Following the vine to melon, perhaps we can still uncover something useful."

Liu Junyan shook her head: "The gazette's fragments only mention a prominent household, without detailing which one."

The two of them then went through that gazette again, including all related materials, and found no further fragments about Tang Yaocao.

As night deepened, Liu Junyan still had other matters to attend to; Xiao Jiu lay on the courtyard's recliner, that gazette opened to the page about Tang Yaocao, and he placed it over his face to rest.

Xiao Jiu didn't fall asleep; instead, he calmed himself and went over the whole affair from the beginning, hoping to find any information they had missed.

The recliner rocked back and forth, making a creaking sound.

Suddenly, Xiao Jiu realized: Tang Xun and Tang Yaocao both bear the surname Tang!

Of course, Tang Xun used not to have the surname Tang; she was called Feng Yixun.

But why did the Seven Halls Yama guide her to the Tang family?

Xiao Jiu had already considered this point; it must be that this selected Tang family, for Tang Xun, complements her destiny in every way.

In other words, the Tang family either enhances Tang Xun's fortune or is compatible with her destiny.

Digging deeper, what is the relationship between Tang Yaocao and the Tang family of Huicheng?

Could they be of the same lineage?

The more he thought, the more Xiao Jiu felt his thoughts were too wild and unfettered.

Put positively, it means his thinking is open, with strong imagination and logical ability.

Put negatively, it is far-fetched and contrived.

But even if it is far-fetched, given the current situation with no breakthroughs, it is still worth investigating.

Checking it out isn't illegal; it's just a casual thing.

Xiao Jiu got up and placed a call to Tang Tang……