Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 215 Killing Blood Mist

Zhou Zhao's heart skipped a beat. The Lost City?

The Lost City of Blood Mist?

Did she die in the Lost City because of Li Youdao's arrangement? Was Li Youdao a spy, and was the so-called recommendation of books just a ploy to lure her into the Lost City?
In that instant, Zhou Zhao's mind raced. She glanced at Li Youdao without revealing her thoughts. He was lost in the past, his face full of regret, and she couldn't see any flaws in his expression.

"The city of the Lost City is often shrouded in thick fog. Perhaps because they have seen so much fog, the local weavers have devised a kind of gauze called 'cloud and mist.' When worn, the gauze makes one look like flowing mist, which is quite unique. Many noble ladies in Chang'an City love it very much."

At that time, Wei Taipu's granddaughter, the newly selected courtesan Bai Jiuniang, and a cloth merchant named Li Nai all disappeared in the Lost City. The case was extremely strange; the case file stated that during the period when the three disappeared, there were eyewitnesses who saw red mist.

After receiving the case file, I regretted it.

Blood mist?
Zhou Zhao's breathing became lighter, and his suspicions about Li Youdao deepened.

"You Zhi didn't think about promotion at the time. He preferred to be on duty investigating cases, like you are now. Besides, he felt that he was too young. A gem needs to be polished to become a useful object, and he could hone his skills for a few more years. Moreover, Li Huaishan is the Minister of Justice. If two of the court officials are his relatives, it would be somewhat inappropriate."

I was too arrogant, thinking that as long as I had the ability, nothing else mattered.

Back then, the Court of Judicial Review was full of unremarkable talents; among the mediocre, only the best stood out. While I wasn't as exceptionally talented as you, you were still a leading figure among the younger generation in the Court. So, I insisted on writing a letter of recommendation for you.

Zhou Zhao listened attentively, but she wasn't happy about Li Youdao's praise.

"So, Li Youzhi has become the fourth person to go missing? You want me to go and find him?"

Li Youdao rubbed the white frost on the grass with the sole of his shoe. "No need to look for him anymore. Youzhi is dead. He Tingshi saw it with his own eyes."

He Tingshi? Is He Tingshi also connected to the Lost City?
Zhou Zhao's heart sank.

"Xu Yun was recommended by He Tingshi. To be fair, he went to the Lost City with You Zhi, while I kept an eye on Xu Yun to make sure that they both investigated the case on their own and that no one helped them."

He Tingshi witnessed blood mist rising ahead, and when he arrived, Youzhi was lying in a pool of blood…

As Li Youdao spoke, he looked at Zhou Zhao with a worried expression, "This case has become an unsolved mystery, and you won't survive this worry."

"You want me to investigate the Lost City disappearance case before you'll write me a letter of recommendation?" Zhou Zhao asked tentatively.

Li Youdao was taken aback, picked up his wine gourd, and tapped Zhou Zhao on the head.

"Is that how you see me? I'm just worried... sigh, what am I worried about! Who would choose you! I just see that it's that time of year again, and they're starting to select officials, and I'm thinking... ugh, what am I talking to a young girl like you? You've really had too much to drink!"

Li Youdao was clearly agitated, and his speech began to ramble on and on.

He waved his hand dismissively. "Clearly, ability alone isn't enough in this world. Forcing yourself against the current might not lead to success; it could be jumping into the gates of hell. You came to the Court of Judicial Review to investigate cases, didn't you? Now you're handling all the cases in the Court of Judicial Review by yourself, isn't that enough?"

Zhou Zhao blinked. "I came to the Court of Justice because of the Court of Justice."

Li Youdao stood frozen in place as if struck by lightning, reaching out to pick at his ear.

There's no earwax, so why does he seem unable to understand human speech?

"If you want to investigate a case, you don't need to join the Court of Justice or become an official." She has Prince Xiao Huang as her backer, so it would be easy for her to help the Court of Justice solve cases for free.

Li Youdao looked at Zhou Zhao in disbelief, his mouth agape, his jaw practically about to drop.

He reached out, pushed his chin up, twisted his neck, and looked at Zhou Zhao with a very complicated expression.

The young girl in front of him was telling a ridiculous joke, just like "I want to be emperor." Li Youdao should have been standing there with his hands on his hips, laughing at her for overestimating herself. But he couldn't laugh at all. He felt that Zhou Zhao was serious.

She's like a stubborn mule; once she's set her mind on something, she'll never look back.

It's a pity she's a woman.

Li Youdao thought for a moment, pursed his dry lips, and snorted coldly, recovering from his shock. "Take my pillow. It's easier for you to be a judge in the underworld than this. Don't mention it again."

He wanted to laugh but couldn't, he felt like he was suffocating.

As Li Youdao spoke, he glared at Zhou Zhao again, "What are you still standing here for? If you're not going to review the files, do you expect me to do it?"

Zhou Zhao glanced at Li Youdao, but he quickly turned his head back to look at the lotus pond, giving her the back of his head.

Zhou Zhao lowered his eyes. "Thank you, Master."

Li Youdao snorted in response. He looked around and saw a crooked tree by the lotus pond. He jumped up the tree and lay down on a branch to sleep.

Zhou Zhao didn't say anything more and went straight back to the left courtyard.

She looked toward where Li Youdao had slept and saw a bamboo slip there that had been used as a pillow. It was still a little oily because Li Youdao had lain on it.

Zhou Zhao picked it up with his hand without saying a word, opened it, and took a look.

The ink on the words inside had long since dried, indicating that Li Youdao had written a letter of recommendation for her long ago. The letter contained very few words, but Zhou Zhao immediately noticed the four large characters "a talent that will amaze the world," with the last three characters written by Li Youdao in a flamboyant and elegant style.

Zhou Zhao remained silent for a moment, then closed the bamboo slip, carefully wrapped it up, and placed it in the upper right corner of his desk before continuing to review the case files.

The Tingwei Temple, which was quiet as a chicken in the morning and everyone wanted to keep a low profile, became bustling with activity when it was time for lunch.

"Sister Zhao! Sister Zhao!"

Zhou Zhao took the meat pie from Uncle Spoon and then heard Chen Jiyuan's shout. He was sitting in a corner, surrounded by familiar faces from Li Youdao's men, and even Xu Jin was sitting not far away.

"Sister Zhao, have you heard? Li Mu got into trouble, and they need to fill the vacancy with a new court historian. The Right Court historian Yan and our Court historian Tao both recommended the same person. Guess who it is? I bet you'll never guess!"

Before Zhou Zhao could think, Chen Jiyuan's loose tongue spilled out again. He glanced around and, seeing that everyone around him was listening intently, lowered his voice and said, "It's Jingyi!"

Zhou Zhao was taken aback, somewhat surprised.

Seeing Zhou Zhao's surprised expression, Chen Jiyuan became even more excited. "This is absolutely true! The two officials' coachmen, Granny Wang who does cleaning at the Court of Justice, and Uncle Er Mazi who plants trees all said so!"