Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 16 Xiongbo's Food Magic
They saw Zhang Ruoqing as a human being.

For the murderer who hated her so much, Zhang Ruoqing was a vengeful ghost who had hurt him.

"A child cries in a ghostly dream, all the beasts and gods invite Boqi; wings cover the sky, beaks pierce the earth, a bright mirror hangs high to drive away plague..."

Zhou Zhao murmured a chant to himself, "I should have realized it sooner. The creatures gnawing on the corpses weren't ghosts; they were divine beasts that had been summoned to devour the ghosts."

Everyone in the room was completely bewildered, except for Min Cangzhi, who frowned slightly. "You mean to talk about 'The Ghost-Eating Song'?"

“That’s right!” Zhou Zhao said solemnly. “Last night, there was a Nuo ritual performed near Wujin Lane to invoke the gods. At that time, the old steward of Princess Changyang’s residence told me that many children were crying in the vicinity. At the time, I didn’t think that the Nuo ritual had anything to do with the murder case.”

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he said to Min Cangzhi, "Lord Min, what happened to the evidence I asked you to keep, those broken stones?"

Upon hearing this, Min Zangzhi immediately took out the handkerchief containing the evidence from his sleeve and spread it out on the table in the room.

Zhou Zhao strode forward, moving the stones with his fingers and quickly piecing them together.

The grotesque ghostly figure she had seen above the doors and windows the night before flashed into her mind.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever seen people perform Nuo, but the ‘Eating Ghosts Song’ is a ritual to invite the twelve gods to drive away the plague demons. The twelve gods are Jia Zuo, Ji Wei, Xiong Bo, Teng Jian, Lan Zhu, Bo Qi, Qiang Liang, Zu Ming, Wei Sui, Cuo Duan, Qiong Qi, and Teng Gen.”

“Each different deity has its own favorite food or ability to drive away different evil spirits.”

Zhou Zhao flicked his wrist, and in no time, a beast shape gradually appeared on the table.

"The Nuo opera I heard last night invoked a divine bird called Boqi, which feeds on nightmares. A child's night crying is a sign of being frightened and plagued by nightmares; hence, the child's unsettling nightmares and cries of ghosts prompt the beasts and gods to invoke Boqi..."

Han Ze, watching from the side, was alarmed and couldn't help but ask, "What about Zhang Ruoqing? Sister Zhao, who is this Zhang Ruoqing?"

He scratched his head. "A beautiful woman in a dream is not a nightmare, it should be a beautiful dream! People would love to have it every day, why would they need to ask a god to drive it away?"

Zhou Zhao shook her head, and her fingers stopped.

Some of the stone fragments were too small to be found, so the pattern pieced together looks somewhat pitted and broken.

But everyone could still clearly see that it was a beast with sharp horns and fangs.

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be 'Mei,' a kind of ghost that comes from the deep mountains, is beautiful in appearance, and is alluring to people."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he looked at everyone and said, "Among the twelve gods, Xiongbo eats demons."

Those who had previously thought Zhou Zhao's ideas were too far-fetched were now somewhat convinced after hearing this.

Beautiful in appearance and captivating in heart, isn't that exactly what describes the number one beauty, Zhang Ruoqing?

"The murderer knew Zhang Ruoqing's true nature. I suspect that Zhang Ruoqing's admirers had caused him serious harm, or that he himself was one of the admirers. Moreover, this person was very familiar with Nuo opera."

He believed that what he did was like a god killing a demon, and that it was righteous.

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he wrapped up the assembled "beast" and returned it to Min Zangzhi, then pushed open the door and walked outside.

"Ah Huang, let's go."

Only then did everyone remember that in this small space, there was a "mute" prince hiding. He was like moss on the ground or a mushroom in the corner, appearing in people's eyes, yet seemingly not appearing at all.

Upon hearing the name Ah Huang, Han Ze's mouth gaped open in astonishment. He slapped his thigh and bent down to pay his respects.

But then Liu Huang's somewhat hoarse voice came from under his straw hat, "Shut up."

Han Ze's mouth is like a foot binding cloth, longer than his life.

Thinking this, Liu Huang jogged over to Zhou Zhao's side, looking just like her shadow.

Zhou Zhao took a few steps, but then stopped. She turned around and took a few steps to Zhu Li's side, whispering a few words in his ear.

"Could Lord Zhu possibly accomplish this?" Before Zhu Li could react, Zhou Zhao distanced herself again. She subtly observed Zhu Li for a moment and noticed that a fleeting look of surprise crossed his face before he returned to his cold and indifferent demeanor, appearing perfectly normal.

"No, Zhu Li, you are the examiner, you can't help Zhou Zhao! Otherwise, that gold nugget with so much money in his pocket can just throw money around and get everyone in Chang'an to help him, right?"

Before Zhu Li could agree, Min Zangzhi stopped him.

"Ah! Can't I use money? But I don't know how to use anything else besides money!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Zhou Zhao looked towards the entrance and saw that the courtyard was already packed with people. Ji Yun, nicknamed "Golden Nugget," was standing at the front, followed by a large group of people holding lots. Zhou Zhao counted them; there were about seven or eight of them.

I reckon it's around this time that another new person has arrived for the "bidding competition".

The others who came after Ji Yun were not ordinary people like him; most of them were well-known crime-solving experts.

Seeing Zhou Zhao with her head down and lips trembling slightly, Min Cangzhi assumed she was scared and comforted her, "Although Zhu Li can't help you, you have the most clues, you're already ahead of everyone else..."

As Min Cangzhi spoke, she sighed inwardly, thinking that no matter how capable Zhou Zhao was, she was still just a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl.

As he was thinking, he suddenly froze. To his surprise, he noticed that Zhou Zhao's lips were trembling, but not out of fear; rather, she was excited.

"Zhou Zhao, you..."

Zhou Zhao lowered his eyes. "The fact that the opponent was strong made me look strong, didn't it? It would be best if everyone from the entire Great Qi came."

What's one in ten? One in a hundred, one in ten thousand? What does Zhou Zhao have to fear?

As she pondered this, she walked towards the entrance of the courtyard.

Those newcomers clearly already knew about Zhou Zhao's existence from Ji Yun, and their expressions towards her were incredibly complicated.

As she approached, he instinctively parted to make way for her.

Zhou Zhao nodded to everyone and walked to the gate of the courtyard. However, she did not leave. Instead, she closed her eyes and sensed the direction from which the Nuo opera from the previous night was coming before leading Liu Huang in the predetermined direction.

Han Ze, who was following behind, looked around. He had come here in a daze and knew nothing about the competition. Seeing Zhou Zhao leave, he hurriedly followed, "Sister Zhao, Sister Zhao, wait for me!"

He didn't want to stay and be asked the same questions again by so many men who weren't exactly beautiful.

Zhou Zhao left Wujin Lane and, after walking a short distance, turned into another alley.

Several elderly women sat at the entrance of the alley, holding palm-leaf fans and whispering among themselves. They could be vaguely heard talking about the murder case in Wujin Alley.

Upon seeing Min Zangzhi and Zhu Li dressed in official robes, one of the round-faced old ladies stood up curiously.

"Auntie, I'd like to ask, whose family performed a Nuo ritual to invoke the gods in this alley last night?"

Upon hearing this, the round-faced old lady immediately said, "Please invite the gods! It's the Cao family."

"The Cao family's child went missing a few days ago. They finally found him, but the child must have encountered some evil spirits outside. He cries and howls every day and night. I'm afraid his soul has left his body!"

Mentioning the Cao family, the round-faced old lady sighed and shook her head, "Speaking of the Cao family, they've really had a run of bad luck. Three months ago, their eldest son died, and now their youngest son has run into trouble!"

Surname Cao...

Zhou Zhao frowned and cupped her hands in greeting to the round-faced old woman. "Auntie, may I ask what the eldest son of the Cao family is called?"

"Cao Ben!" came a chorus of replies from the group at the alley entrance.

"That's right, his name is Cao Ben."

Zhou Zhao's heart sank. Han Ze had previously mentioned that the owner of Fuxiao Garden, who had spent lavishly on Zhang Ruoqing, was named Cao Ben.

(End of this chapter)