No taboos

Chapter 490 We Were Family (9,000 words)
The old captains of the Three Military Commands of the Imperial Ming Dynasty all had a "dog nose".

Although Xu Yuan has only been with the Exorcism Division for less than a year, he can still recognize people from the Mountain and River Division and the Demon Extermination Army even if they are dressed in plain clothes and loitering in front of his office.

Among the captains behind the Chief of Laws of the Mountain and River Division, one of them announced in a loud voice: "This is Zhu Yangping, the Chief of the Fourth Division of the Arrest Department under the Jiaozhi General Office of the Mountain and River Division!"

Zhu Yangping stood with his hands behind his back, his chin slightly raised, looking at people with a hint of disdain.

There was a hint of smugness in his expression.

The captain behind him, after announcing his master's name, also appeared extremely proud.

It seems that this "Zhu Yangping" must have quite a "reputation" in Hue.

However... neither Wenren Luo nor Xu Yuan had heard of it.

His fame had not yet spread beyond Hue.

But given his behavior and Wenren Luo's personality, how could he possibly let it go so easily?
So Wenren Luo rolled up his sleeves and declared, "There are no disciples under my master who would swallow their pride!"

"What's wrong with the Shanhe Division? What can the Grand Canal Administration do?" Wenren Luo rolled up his sleeves, not to fight with Zhu Yangping, but to stand with his hands on his hips on the street in front of the door and start arguing with Zhu Yangping: "Isn't this the street?"
If the people of your Mountain and River Bureau can walk on this main street, and ordinary people can walk on it, why can't the people of our Purification Bureau walk on it?

I'm going to walk around here anyway, let's see what you can do to me!

Xu Yuan stood behind this person, his eyes filled with helplessness.

Who was it that said they would conduct a low-key investigation before entering the city?

As soon as they reached the gate, they put their hands on their hips and started fighting with someone.

After meeting Miaoyan Zhenren, Mr. Feng Si, and Zang Tianlan, Xu Yuan felt that the Supervisor was unfathomable!

The people under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Censor are all outstanding individuals.

Until... I saw Wenren Luo as she is now.

Witness that even among the disciples of the esteemed master, there is a mixed bag.

The Grand Supervisor often gazes at the starry sky, but he should also occasionally look down and examine his third-generation disciples, lest anyone indiscriminately infiltrate the ranks.

Zhu Yangping sneered: "Heh, so you admit your identity now?"

Two captains immediately drew their swords and stepped forward, forcing Wenren Luo to "get lost—"

Wenren Luo took a step back from the edge of the blade, glared at it, and said, "I won't fight you. Fighting you would be bullying you!"

"Hehehe..." Zhu Yangping sneered.

The two captains with knives laughed loudly, brandishing their knives in front of his face: "You dare to bully us? Let us see."

Wenren Luo took another step back and said angrily, "Don't push your luck!"

Xu Yuan knew that Wenren Luo was telling the truth.

However, the three from the Mountain and River Bureau thought he was a blustering but cowardly braggart.

Xu Yuan shook his head and stepped forward to clean up the mess.

Regardless, Wenren Luo's offer was high enough.

No matter who is willing to give Lord Xu a sum of money, Lord Xu will clean up all the messes for them, and he will make sure to do so cleanly and satisfy the benefactor!
Xu Yuan stepped forward and reached out to grasp a knife.

Xu Yuan's hands were covered with Pi Dan.

The captain, whose sword had been seized, flashed a cold glint in his eyes and said viciously, "You asked for this!"

He twisted the knife sharply, about to sever Xu Yuan's five fingers—

But the sword remained completely still in Xu Yuan's hand!

"Ok?"

With just that one look, the experienced captain knew: "This is a tough nut to crack."

Zhu Yangping's eyes also sharpened, and he stepped forward to hold down the shoulders of his two subordinates.

Then he said to Xu Yuan in a deep voice, "You are not an unknown person in the Exorcism Department, are you?"

Are you trying to provoke a direct conflict between the Mountain and River Bureau and the Purification Bureau?

This huge accusation is something no one can withstand.

Although Zhu Yangping had a bad temper and a somewhat flamboyant personality, he was indeed capable and was hailed as a "talented person" in the Jiaozhi General Administration of the Shanhe Division.

With a slight exertion of force, Xu Yuan caused the captain to feel his hand go empty, his sword easily snatched away by his opponent!
He was stunned and stood frozen in place, unable to move.

This strength far exceeded his expectations.

If the person standing in front of him were a martial arts master who was ten feet tall, he would be afraid but not so at a loss.

Xu Yuan has a normal build, but his hands are invulnerable to knives and spears, so he probably used some kind of craftsmanship.

But this power... how could someone who isn't a martial artist possess such immense strength?!
“We were just passing by the entrance when your Shanhe Division came out to cause trouble. I suspect that your Shanhe Division is deliberately trying to create friction and attack the two of us!”

As the head of the Mountain and River Division, what are your true intentions in doing this?!

Anyone can label someone, right?

And if things get heated, at worst, Wenren Luo's true identity will be revealed.

That would be a serious accusation: that your Shanhe Division was plotting to harm the Director of the Imperial Secretariat!

Zhu Yangping frowned, realizing that the young man in front of him was not easy to deal with.

Unbeknownst to him, the seemingly unreliable middle-aged man behind Xu Yuan was the real culprit.

So Zhu Yangping changed his strategy, frowned and asked, "Let's not beat around the bush, you don't need to be so eloquent. Just tell me, what exactly do you want?"

Xu Yuan glanced back at Wenren Luo. After all, he was there to help, so it was up to Wenren Luo to decide what to do.

Wenren Luo raised his eyebrows and pointed to the street beneath his feet, saying, "We just wanted to stroll around here! It's your Shanhe Division that's so domineering, insisting on causing trouble!"

Zhu Yangping frowned even more deeply.

But after glancing at Xu Yuan, he slowly nodded and said, "Alright, you guys go ahead and wander around."

After saying that, he turned around and went back to the palace!

The two captains were taken aback, but they had great faith in their commander and, without saying anything more, hurriedly followed him back.

Once the three of them reached the main gate, Xu Yuan suddenly called out, "Wait a minute!"

The three turned around and saw a sharp blade hurtling through the air like lightning. Before they could react, it flew past them with a "thud" and embedded itself in the wall next to them.

The walls were constructed of blue bricks mixed with lime and rice mortar, and were as sturdy as rocks.

The knife pierced straight in, reaching a depth of seven or eight inches!
"I'm returning your swords," Xu Yuan said.

Zhu Yangping turned around and glared fiercely at Xu Yuan.

The captain, who had lost his sword, stepped forward and tried to draw it—but couldn't.

His face turned bright red, and he used every ounce of strength he had.

He looked to his lawyer for help.

But Zhu Yangping is as cunning as an old monkey.

He wasn't a martial arts practitioner either, and his strength wasn't much greater than his subordinates'.

Even if his subordinates can't pull it out, he might not be able to either.

If he were to go and draw his sword himself, not only would he fail to save his men, but he might also lose face along with them.

"Useless!" Zhu Yangping cursed angrily, as if he was truly angered by his subordinates' incompetence. He strode back to the palace with his hands behind his back.

slip away...

The two captains had no choice but to go back and ask Wu Xiu for help.

This time, stopping those two from the Exorcism Division in the street was a major blunder.

They wanted to give the people from the Exorcism Bureau a hard time—but instead, they were given a real hard time by them.

Wenren Luo was smug. "Bringing Xu Yuan to work with me was indeed a wise choice."

It's so great to have someone else do all the work for you without having to lift a finger!

This kid is just a bit too expensive...

Now that they had been discovered, the two decided to stop hiding and openly circled the Prince's mansion several times.

They got a clear view of the surroundings outside the Prince's Mansion.

Xu Yuan then turned around and asked, "Dafu, can we capture and question this little evil spirit here?"

Xu Yuan didn't even need to look to know that Dafu was definitely following right behind him.

"Gah-"

Dafu's response startled Wenren Luo: How could I, a fourth-rate strategist, subconsciously overlook this goose?!

……

Zhu Yangping returned to the Prince's mansion and walked quickly to a hall in the front courtyard. He immediately ordered, "Prepare the paints."

Although Marquis Chonghun was not well-liked, he was still a member of the imperial family.

A bizarre case occurred in the Prince's mansion. After several days of investigation, not a single clue was found, and everyone in the Jiaozhi General Administration of the Mountain and River Bureau felt ashamed.

Moreover, if this matter is really brought to the forefront, there will definitely be punishment.

Therefore, the Jiaozhi General Administration dispatched the capable Zhu Yangping, leading four teams of elite officers to directly occupy the Prince's Palace.

The entire front yard is now occupied by the captains of the Mountain and River Division.

Zhu Yangping has already made a solemn pledge: he will not leave the Prince's Mansion until this case is solved.

The captains under his command immediately took out the pigments they had prepared beforehand, including vermilion, orpiment, and azurite.

Zhu Yangping took it and stuffed it into his mouth.

Then he closed his eyes and began to concoct his own trick.

After a moment, he waved his hand.

His two captains immediately unfolded a sheet of snow-white Xuan paper in front of him.

Zhu Yangping opened his mouth and spat out:
puff--

Various pigments were mixed and sprinkled onto the rice paper, naturally forming a painting that perfectly resembled Xu Yuan.

Then Zhu Yangping took a second portion of paint, put it in his mouth, and once again used his trickery to spray out Wenren Luo's appearance.

He was highly regarded in the Jiaozhi General Office of the Shanhe Division because of his high level of expertise in handling cases.

The reason he was so good at solving cases was because he had many tricks of this type.

Just now, outside the gate, he took one last look at Xu Yuan and the other person before using this trick to firmly memorize their appearances.

"Send them back to the station and check their identities."

"Yes!"

……

Dafu grumbled, "Where am I supposed to find some little evil spirits around here in broad daylight?"
We have to wait until night.

When Dafu said these things, his two goose eyes were wide open, and he looked dazed and honest. Even Fanzhezi would never have guessed that he was lying.

Dafu had already smelled the evil spirits in the city.

You can definitely find it if you look for it.

But in broad daylight, those evil spirits were hiding deep in the gutter, which was filthy and smelly, and Dafu had no intention of crawling in to peck those creatures out.

Anyway, they'll come out on their own at night.

"Alright." Xu Yuan sighed and shrugged at Wenren Luo, "How about... we find an inn to stay in first?"

Wenren Luo stroked his chin: "Okay."

Wenren Luo also had his own plans.

If he could let Xu Yuan see the bloodline of that Marquis Chonghun, then his mission would be accomplished.

It sounds simple enough. With his abilities, he could just lead Xu Yuan straight in, find the young man, and point him out to Xu Yuan.

But His Majesty clearly did not want this matter to become public knowledge.

Moreover, if you barge in like that, anyone can see that there's something wrong here.

The Chonghunhou family was already on edge; this commotion might just scare their last remaining bloodline to death.

His Majesty certainly won't admit to this crime, so I'll have to take the blame myself and Xu Yuan.

At that time, executing them at the Meridian Gate would be considered lenient; they might even exterminate their entire family!

Therefore, Wenren Luo knew that he had to seize control of this mysterious case, then use the pretext of investigating the case to enter the Prince's mansion, and find an opportunity to meet with that person under the guise of questioning him, so that he could do it without anyone noticing.

Wenren Luo did not go to find his fellow villager Bi Bojie, but led Xu Yuan to find a nearby inn to stay in.

He was very generous, ordering two superior rooms and giving a tip of three qian of silver. The waiter was so happy that his mouth stretched from ear to ear, and he wished he could treat Wenren Luo like his own father.

Wenren Luo did not return to his own room, but followed Xu Yuan into the room and asked, "Can Dafu really interrogate those evil spirits?"

Dafu tilted his head and glared angrily at Wenren Luo: "You look down on geese?"

Tonight, I'll show you what your Master Fu is capable of!
Xu Yuan: "Don't worry, senior brother."

Wenren Luo nodded and asked, "What are your thoughts on this case? And what do you think the old man with the rat-like face is?"

He added, "This is my first time in Jiaozhi, and I am not familiar with the types of evil spirits here."

Xu Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "What changes occur in the bodies of those people whose heads are sat on by evil spirits?"

Wenren Luo shook his head: "It doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with it. It's as if the evil spirit just wanted to play a trick on them."

Xu Yuan then asked, "Since it's a royal residence, the guards should be quite strong. How did this evil spirit manage to sneak in?"

Wenren Luo smiled and said, "It's easy to sneak in."

He decided to reveal a little bit of information: "The ancestors of this family offended His Majesty badly back then, so although this mansion was built according to the specifications and there was a fourth-rate official sent by the court to oversee it, the entire mansion was not actually seriously prepared to defend against evil spirits."

Xu Yuan suddenly realized, and asked again, "Which sect does that fourth-rate cultivator in the Prince's mansion belong to?"

"This fourth-rate martial artist is named Shi Mingyou."

"His strength is certainly not bad, but as a martial artist, you know, unless you reach the level of the senior brother, your methods for dealing with evil spirits are rather limited."

He wouldn't suffer losses if he fought evil spirits openly and honestly, but he couldn't defend against an elusive evil spirit like the old man with the rat-like face.

Xu Yuan nodded, stroking his chin, and said, "Let's wait until tonight to interrogate the little evil spirits around the Prince's mansion before we see."

“Okay.” Wenren Luo nodded.

After talking for a while, Wenren Luo suddenly brought up another topic: "That Zhu Yangping doesn't have many years left to live."

Xu Yuan recalled Zhu Yangping's appearance and also felt that the guy seemed to lack yang energy.

Wenren Luo: "The method he cultivates probably requires frequent contact with evil spirits. His body is repeatedly infected and then cleansed."

But he clearly didn't have the ability to completely clean it up and then fully restore it.

Overuse of this method will overburden oneself.

The means to completely cleanse oneself of infection are extremely rare.

Only by thoroughly cleaning can it be fully restored.

Xu Yuan's "no taboos" can be considered one example.

The vast majority of cultivators in this world have some kind of "deep-rooted" influence on them.

Once you get started, this is almost inevitable.

Wenren Luo continued, "However, this Zhu Yangping does have some ability, and he might cause us some trouble. I need to think of a way to deal with him..."

His words sounded somewhat like he was talking to himself.

I didn't expect Xu Yuan to be of any help in this matter.

Zhu Yangping is the chief law officer of the Shanhe Division, and this place is the Shanhe Division's main base in Jiaozhi.

Even with Ma Tianshou's support, Xu Yuan, the head of the Exorcism Division, was powerless to do anything to Zhu Yangping.

Wenren Luo quickly came up with several ideas, all of which were feasible, but none of them were entirely reliable in getting Zhu Yangping out of the Prince's mansion.

……

Before dinner, the man Zhu Yangping sent back to deliver the portrait returned.

Have you found out their identities?

Zhu Yangping asked anxiously.

The subordinate was somewhat puzzled. He took out a few sheets of paper and said, "We've only found one of them. Please take a look, sir."

With real portraits available, and given the power of the Shanhe Division, they should have been able to easily find out the identities of the two individuals.

However, for one of the two, there was not a single clue to be found in any of the files of the Mountain and River Division!
This is very strange.

Zhu Yangping was also surprised, but he still took the documents and looked at them first.

But Zhu Yangping was stunned when he saw the name.

Xu Yuan!

That young...talented man was actually Xu Yuan!
The "Zhu" in Zhu Yangping's name is the same as the "Zhu" in Zhu Zhanmei's and Zhu Zhanlei's names.

The Zhu family's influence was mainly concentrated in the Shanhe Division.

Zhu Yangping is Zhu Zhanmei's cousin.

The siblings went to Champa and naturally reported their situation back home.

The entire Shanhe Si Zhancheng government was practically shaped like Xu Yuan.

The siblings received help from Xu Yuan on many occasions.

Moreover, the messages sent back by the siblings were full of praise and compliments for Xu Yuan.

They even suggested that the family establish a good relationship with Xu Yuan.

Ideally, they should support Xu Yuan, a promising cultivator, just like the Fu and Song families.

Not long ago, Zhu Zhanlei, that playboy, secretly told his eldest sister that his third sister seemed to have taken a liking to Xu Yuan.

It was also because of this factor that the Zhu family specifically communicated with the Miao family.

Miao Yu sought confirmation from Miao Yu regarding Xu Yuan's character and abilities.

Miao Yu, of course, also praised him highly.

Next, an elder from the Zhu family will step in and find an opportunity to speak with Ma Tianshou to ascertain Ma Tianshou's true feelings towards Xu Yuan.

If Ma Tianshou intends to groom Xu Yuan as his "successor," then the Zhu family will take action to push for the relationship between Xu Yuan and Zhu Zhanmei.

This method of "marriage alliance" is something that powerful and influential families are very familiar with, and it has become a fixed routine.

Therefore, the entire Zhu family now has a very good impression of Xu Yuan.

Including Zhu Yangping.

In the afternoon, he couldn't stand the sight of Xu Yuan no matter what.

But now that they know it was him, their attitude immediately changed completely.

He casually flipped through the documents again and then tossed them aside.

He knows more than the officials in the government office do.

"The other person..." Zhu Yangping asked, puzzled, "Can't we find a single clue in the yamen?"

“Yes,” the subordinate said. “Even though the commander personally handled the artifact, he still couldn’t find a single piece of information.”

Zhu Yangping's heart skipped a beat: No way...

Zhu Yangping knew that certain figures of the Ming Dynasty would not appear in the intelligence reports of any government office.

Perhaps the government office has their records, but it's definitely not something the Jiaozhi Administration can access.

Zhu Yangping happened to know that there was a group of people who would not appear in the records of the government, and who had been in Champa not long ago!

The officers of the Mountain and River Bureau suddenly noticed that their leader had beads of sweat the size of soybeans on his forehead.

Then, he reached out somewhat shakily, as if trying to hold onto something.

Several of his men rushed forward.

Zhu Yangping pressed down on one of his men's arms and slowly sat down.

The captains started chattering with concern:

"Boss, what's wrong with you?"

"My elderly mother has a ten-year-old rooster at home. I'll steal it tomorrow and kill it to nourish you!"

"I have some medicinal pills here..."

Everyone knows our family is weak, but I never imagined it was to this extent.

I'm fine!

I was just scared...

Zhu Yangping glared at one of his men and said, "In these times, your mother still dares to raise a rooster for over ten years? Isn't it about to become an evil spirit?"
Go back and quickly kill them all and burn them thoroughly!

The guy shrank back; he'd really messed up his attempt to flatter.

Then a thoughtful female captain brought over some hot tea: "Sir, please have some tea."

Zhu Yangping slowly sipped his tea, using the time to sort out some things in his mind.

He placed the teacup in his hand and instructed, "Go find out where those two live."

Hue City was the territory of the Shanhe Division, so Zhu Yangping did not send anyone to keep watch in the afternoon.

Finding out the whereabouts of the two within the city was a piece of cake for Shanhe Si.

All the secret societies and gangs in this city depend on the control of the Mountain and River Bureau for their livelihood.

Sure enough, the fellow who had just patted the horse's leg darted off and returned in the time it takes to eat a meal: "Those two are staying at Yao's Inn up ahead of Shihua."

Zhu Yangping nodded, his face stern, and ordered, "You all arrange the duty schedule for tonight. I, the head of the law enforcement, will personally oversee it. If that evil spirit does anything again, I'll lose face, and none of you bastards will get away with it!"

His subordinates immediately gave their assurances.

Zhu Yangping came out alone, and his two subordinates quickly followed: "Go back! I have things to do."

The two henchmen curled their lip and said, "With your health, what kind of work could you possibly do so late at night?"
You may have money, but you don't have the ability, do you?
Zhu Yangping was almost at the entrance of Yaoji Inn when he thought for a moment and turned back home.

After rummaging through boxes and cabinets, I found a rare copy of a collection of poems from the pre-Song Dynasty.

This was a gift from someone else.

Zhu Yangping didn't appreciate it, but in the eyes of some superiors, it was an extremely elegant gift.

Of course, in our Ming Dynasty, elegance is often associated with "expensive".

This rare copy from the previous dynasty is extremely valuable.

Zhu Yangping wrapped the item in silk, placed it in a sandalwood box, and then arrived at Yao's Inn.

It was already completely dark, and the inn had long since closed its doors, but Zhu Yangping easily opened the door.

The method was simple: slip the Shanhe Division's waist token through the crack in the door.

In Hue, no one dared to lock the people of the Sanhe Division outside their doors.

Zhu Yangping asked about Xu Yuan's and Xu Yuan's rooms and knocked on Xu Yuan's door.

Xu Yuan was about to take Dafu out when Dafu declared that it would show Wenren Luo something to see tonight—at its insistence, Wenren Luo was also summoned by Xu Yuan.

So right now, there are two people and a goose in the room.

"Evil spirits knocking at the door in the middle of the night!" Wenren Luo blurted out, sounding quite excited.

"I am not an evil spirit, I am Zhu Yangping."

Zhu Zhanglu replied from outside the door.

crunch--

The door opened from the inside, and Xu Yuan asked with a puzzled look, "You..."

Zhu Yangping smiled.

Try to be as friendly as possible.

But even when he was smiling, his appearance was somewhat strange and sinister.

Zhu Yangping cupped his hands in greeting to Xu Yuan: "Lord Xu, let's talk inside."

Xu Yuan knew that his identity had been exposed.

Please move aside and let Zhu Yangping in.

Wenren Luo looked impatient; he was eager to see Dafu interrogate the evil spirit.

Zhu Yangping and Xu Yuan closed the door and immediately went straight to the point, stating their identities: "Lord Xu, if we're talking about Xiao Mei and Xiao Lei, you should call me your uncle."

Xu Yuan immediately understood why the head of the Mountain and River Bureau had come to visit him in the dead of night.

Xu Yuan pictured Zhu Zhanmei's pretty face in his mind, and immediately stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "Junior greets Uncle."

Zhu Yangping immediately understood: this kid definitely had feelings for Xiaomei.

"No need for formalities." Zhu Yangping helped him up and said with a smile, "It was a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King Temple during the day. After I found out your identity, I came to clear up the misunderstanding."

Wenren Luo frowned deeply.

The Shanhe Division sent the Zhu family to investigate the mysterious case at the Chonghun Marquis's residence... Could they have ulterior motives?!

At this moment, Zhu Yangping looked at him and said, "I was too domineering during the day. Please be magnanimous and don't take it to heart."

Just as Wenren Luo was about to speak, Zhu Yangping took out a gift: "A small token of my apology."

Wenren Luo glanced at it and casually accepted it.

He was a Dharma practitioner, and his teacher was a martial arts practitioner—he wasn't interested in such rare copies of poetry.

But if someone in the sect likes it, it can be given away when it goes back.

Zhu Yangping breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he had accepted the gift.

Xu Yuan thought for a moment and then introduced him to Zhu Yangping: "This Senior Brother Wenren is a third-generation disciple of the Supervisor."

Zhu Yangping was immediately moved. Although he had guessed it, a formal introduction was to reveal his identity.

"Zhu Yangping, Director of the Jiaozhi Bureau of the Shanhe Department, greets the Supervisor!"

Wenren Luo waved his hand: "Alright, alright, since you're here, I have to ask: how's your investigation going?"
If you can't handle it, then withdraw early and we'll take over.

Zhu Yangping sighed, his expression somewhat somber: "To be honest... it's not that I'm unwilling to give in, but I've been forced to sign a pledge, and I can't back out now."

Zhu Yangping didn't want to say much about what was happening within the Shanhe Division.

Even if he couldn't understand some things, there were several ancestors in his family who could see through them at a glance.

The Zhu family was moved to Jiaozhi so that His Majesty could keep an eye on the bloodline of Marquis Chonghun.

The power that the Zhu family has built up in Shanhe Division over the years is a result of the Zhu family's own choices.

The reason he was tasked with investigating the mysterious case at the Marquis's residence was, of course, due to the power struggle within the Shanhe Division.

Xu Yuan was willing to help: "Uncle, do you have any clues?"

Zhu Yangping shook his head and said, "I have searched the Marquis's residence three times, but I haven't found a single clue."

He couldn't help but sneer, "Hmph, this situation clearly shows that someone in the Marquis's mansion is helping that evil spirit hide!"

Neither Xu Yuan nor Wenren Luo seemed particularly surprised.

In a place like the Marquis of Chonghun's mansion, it's quite normal for someone to cause trouble.

Xu Yuan then said, "Then why don't we join forces to investigate this case? Uncle will be in the open, and we will be in the shadows, supporting and assisting each other."

“That would be excellent!” Zhu Yangping immediately agreed.

Wenren Luo couldn't help but glance at Xu Yuan; this kid is really lucky.

In the afternoon, I was still worried that I couldn't find a safe way to get rid of Zhu Yangping and take over the case, but Xu Yuan resolved it that evening.

Wenren Luo guessed: This guy must have a destiny that greatly enhances his fortune!

Working with this kind of person is incredibly comfortable.

Wenren Luo is now very satisfied with everything about Xu Yuan, except for one thing: the guy's fee is too expensive.

"We were just about to interrogate the evil spirits surrounding the Marquis's residence. Why don't you come with us, Uncle?"

Zhu Yangping was also surprised: "Can you interrogate evil spirits?"

"Gah?" Dafu exclaimed in dissatisfaction. Why are there always some ignorant fools who question the abilities of your Master Fu!

Zhu Yangping exclaimed in surprise, "Hey! How come there's a goose in this house?"

Xu Yuan quickly introduced the situation, emphasizing Zhu Zhanlei's past experiences.

Don't say anything carelessly.

Zhu Zhanlei has learned his lesson.

He's the younger generation, so it's fine if he loses face, but you're the elder, and if you get a beating too...

Zhu Yangping's expression changed, and he subconsciously distanced himself from Dafu.

"Alright," Wenren Luo said, "Let's go, those evil spirits should be coming out soon."

The three people and the goose climbed out of the window.

……

In accordance with regulations, the Chonghun Marquis's residence had a wide street between itself and its surrounding neighbors, wide enough for two carriages to travel side by side.

Even the streets have requirements; they must be paved with bluestone slabs of a fixed size.

It is much smoother and cleaner than other streets in the city.

This isolated the entire Marquis's residence.

Most of the other houses in the surrounding area are vacant.

The previous residents and businesses that came here either suffered inexplicable bad luck or lost money year after year, so they all moved away.

The area around the Marquis's residence becomes cold, deserted, eerie, and sinister at night.

The four surrounding streets seemed even darker at night than other places.

Tonight, the Shanhe Division has a squad of twelve captains on duty.

Two people were stationed at the main gate, while the rest were scattered throughout the mansion, patrolling regularly.

They change shifts every two hours.

It just so happens that the guy who flattered Ma Li is on duty tonight.

His full name was Zeng Licheng, and his nickname was "Sizi".

Everyone called him Zeng Si.

Zeng Si and another companion stood guard behind the gate.

Listening closely outside, strange sounds were already coming from the street, like... many thin, sharp things were scraping against the stone slabs on the road.

"The Needle Girl has appeared!"

Ordinary people might not notice that there are a lot of extremely fine and dense scratches on the stone slabs near the wall on the road in front of the Marquis's mansion.

It's like... someone taking an embroidery needle and drawing lines one by one!

Even the walls are covered with these scratches.

"Needle Maiden" is a long-established evil spirit in Hue.

It is said that before this mansion was built, there was a cluster of low-rise houses on this site, which was an embroidery workshop built by a wealthy merchant.

There are three or four hundred embroiderers inside.

They worked hard every day embroidering, and could not rest even at night. The merchants forced them to embroider under the dim light of oil lamps. After two or three years, the embroiderers would go blind.

A blind embroiderer is of no use to a merchant; keeping her around is a waste of food.

Unable to sell it, the merchant ordered his men to throw the blind cultivator outside at night.

Let the evil spirits devour it!

Merchants made a fortune by taking advantage of these embroiderers.

His embroidered clothes can be shipped to the Western Regions and sold for exorbitant prices!
Over the course of twenty years, countless embroiderers were murdered by merchants.

Later, a great bizarre case occurred. A merchant was haunted by a group of embroiderers who used countless embroidery needles to cut strips of flesh from his body, causing him to die in agony, as if he had been subjected to the torture of slow slicing!

This place thus became a forbidden area within the city!
And then... His Majesty chose this place as the site for the Marquis's residence.

Every night, many "needle maidens" wander outside the Marquis's mansion.

Using embroidery needles, they repeated the punishment used to execute merchants in the past.

The Sanhe Si (a local government agency) in Hue also organized forces to eradicate these evil spirits.

But for some reason, even after killing fifty tonight, these evil spirits reappear tomorrow night, as if they could be refreshed infinitely.

Shanhe Si tried for three whole months, but the number of needle maidens did not decrease at all, so he had no choice but to give up in the end.

Fortunately, these needle maidens were trapped on this land for some unknown reason.

They could not leave the area of ​​the four main streets outside the Hou Mansion, so their harm to the whole of Hue was limited.

Needle Girl's skill level is probably only eighth-rate.

Ordinary captains are no match for them; they would die if they encountered them!
The hardest spot on duty every night is behind this gate.

Although I know those evil spirits can't get in... but what if they do?
For the captains, being separated by just one door was a source of fear and torment.

Zeng Si crouched behind the door, peering out through the crack.

A humanoid evil spirit, its body tattered and as if it had been gnawed by dozens of wild dogs, floated like a ghost across the street in front of the gate.

It has no eyes on its face.

The area where the eye socket used to be is now completely flat, which looks incredibly strange.

Its hands and feet have transformed into dozens of embroidery needles clustered together.

As it drifted by, the needles scraped across the stone slabs, making that chilling sound.

One, two, three...

Zeng Si watched for only a short while before feeling his scalp tingle. Dozens of needle maidens had already passed by outside!

Suddenly, a large, plump white goose waddled down the street.

Zeng Si felt it was a pity: "Such a fat goose, how delicious it would be if I could get it and roast it!"

"Now these needle-making girls are getting a good deal..."

He shouldn't have blurted out what was on his mind.

In the quiet night, Dafu immediately heard it!
"hold head high!"

Dafu was furious. "There are always treacherous subjects trying to harm me!"
Wherever I go, people want to eat me.

Dafu suddenly turned his head, and his round, goose-like eyes peered through the crack in the door and saw Zeng Si.

Then Dafu swung his big webbed feet, ignoring the evil needle maidens, and charged towards the gate with a thud!

Zeng Si's companion immediately complained: "Can't you control your foul mouth!"
What normal goose would wander around the streets so late at night?

This is clearly an evil spirit as well.

Now look what you've done, you've brought it on!

Zeng Si was also a little scared, but he still stubbornly insisted, "There are door gods pasted on the front door. Since it's an evil spirit, it can't get in. What are you panicking about..."

Boom!
Before he could finish speaking, Dafu had already slammed his mouth into the door.

A deep hole immediately appeared in the gate and the door god statues on it!

"what?!"

Zeng Si and his companions were dumbfounded!
How could such evil spirits offend the door gods!

"Not... an evil spirit?"

Then the two saw that all the needle maidens on the street outside turned around and faced the gate.

Although they have no eyes, you can feel that they are all staring at the two living people behind the door!
Foul-smelling saliva flowed from those tattered mouths.

"Oh no!" His companion immediately realized, "The gatekeeper has been breached! This gate can't stop those needle maidens anymore!"

Zhu Yangping, who was watching from a distance, panicked when he saw this and rushed over to help. Xu Yuan grabbed him and said calmly, "Don't worry, Da Du is here."

(End of this chapter)