Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Chapter 137 Missing
"disappeared?"

“Yes.” Fang Ya said with a hint of helplessness, “My apprentice went to find someone, but when he arrived, the doctor’s wife told me that the doctor had disappeared some time ago.”

Lin Jiang frowned slightly.

His disappearance at this juncture is rather suspicious.

"Is the return date certain?"

"Young master is joking. How could I possibly know the movements of the Ministry of Justice officials? Perhaps we should wait a couple of days?"

After thinking it over, Lin Jiang felt that Fang Ya's words made sense.

There's no point in worrying about it.

I'm going to a banquet tomorrow anyway, so I'll ask Gao Xuan what's going on then and make a decision.

After saying goodbye to Fang Ya, Lin Jiang went to the street.

Nothing major is happening today. After thinking it over, I should go and help Xiaoshan Shen find some clues.

Turning the corner and stepping into the painting studio, the fragrance of ink wafted towards him, but Lin Jiang couldn't understand it. He could only stand in front of the painting, pretending to be knowledgeable.

I randomly selected a few landscape paintings:

What are the asking prices?

The shopkeeper leaned closer with eagerness:

"Young master has discerning eyes! The treasures you've chosen are all the finest items in my shop, crafted by Master Liang himself!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Jiang blinked:

"The Master Liang you mentioned, is it Liang Huashan?"

"Exactly!" The shopkeeper nodded solemnly: "These paintings are all top-quality! For an ordinary person, they would cost at least a hundred taels of silver, but if I were to sell them to you, it would only cost ten taels of silver."

"You're actually quite well."

"I'm very honest in business."

"I just don't quite understand." Lin Jiang turned to look at the huge pile of paintings behind him: "So many scrolls, are they all by Master Liang?"

"Of course not, it's all thanks to your discerning eye that you selected all of Master Liang's paintings." The shopkeeper flattered Lin Jiang.

"Master Liang's authentic works are mixed with ordinary ones?" Lin Jiang asked again, "This is a painting by a master."

"Isn't this about finding a connection between us?"

Lin Jiang nodded knowingly, then took out a silver ingot from his pocket, which looked quite substantial.

"How should one go about paying a visit to Master Liang?"

The shopkeeper immediately adopted a righteous and indignant expression:

"How can a master be seen in the mundane world?"

The second silver ingot was placed on the wooden table.

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "If you're looking for it, I can help you find someone."

"Master Liang who painted this?" Lin Jiang pointed to the painting he had just picked up.

"of course."

“Then I won’t go.” Lin Jiang shook his head: “I came to the capital because I heard that Master Liang Huashan’s paintings were like magic, but when I saw them today, I found that they were just so-so. Although he has the skills, he doesn’t deserve to be called a master.”

He spoke loudly, and the others in the shop also turned to look at him.

A merchant in brocade robes squeezed through the crowd; he was tall and large, and walked quickly to Lin Jiang.
“Young man, I can’t pretend I didn’t hear what you said! Master Liang is my most famous and accomplished painter. How can you say his paintings are bad?”

“It’s not that I’m saying his paintings are bad.” Lin Jiang spread out the paintings in his hand: “The shopkeeper said these are all genuine works, but the paintings are indeed just average.”

The merchant glanced down at it and immediately cursed, "Damn it, it's not a work by Master Liang at all! You old bastard, you're selling fakes again!"

The shopkeeper shrank behind the counter, chuckling awkwardly.

"I haven't asked this gentleman's name yet."

Lin Jiang casually took back the few pieces of silver:
"My surname is Lü, and my given name is Qiu."

"Brother, do you know Master Liang?"

"Of course! I just acquired the master's original work last month, and it is currently hanging in the central hall of my home."

“I had heard of Master Liang’s name before I was in Beijing, and I have always wanted to visit this great painter. I wonder if Brother Lü could make an introduction.”

"Why go to such trouble! The Liang residence is just in the East Lane of the city; we can simply send a letter."

After getting directions, Lin Jiang thanked him and left.

Before leaving, Lin Jiang glanced at the merchant surnamed Lü, who was whispering with the shopkeeper.

Lin Jiang had good hearing and overheard the man scolding the shopkeeper for being so clueless and unable to even fool people properly.

This guy looks like the real boss.

That's true. Knowing that this painting studio was problematic, they still came. Could it be that they have a penchant for being deceived?

According to the merchant, Lin Jiang quickly found a rather luxurious mansion with a sign that read "Liang Mansion".

Before the vermilion gate and bronze beasts, a servant was dozing off, leaning against a stone lion.

Suddenly hearing footsteps approaching, he hurriedly wiped away the drool and looked at Lin Jiang with sleepy eyes:

"Young master... have you come to request a painting?"

"Yes, but how many days will it take?"

This guy counted on his fingers:

"Today, the Vice Minister of Rites is admiring paintings, and tomorrow the Master is going to listen to music... I'll make a note of it for you. Come back in six days, and no one will be looking for the teacher that day."

"Thank you, brother."

"I haven't yet asked your name, young master."

"Please remember this as Zhu Da."

The charcoal pencil left crooked ink marks on the booklet page, and pasted the two characters "Zhu Da" on it.

With the matter concluded, Lin Jiang didn't linger in front of the mansion gate any longer and turned to leave.

The ginseng bud peeked out.

She kept looking back at the Liang residence, her gaze shifting uncertainly, as if she were somewhat nervous.

They were even a little hesitant to look at the Liang family's signboard.

Lin Jiang looked at the small ginseng and asked with a smile:

"If you're in a hurry, then I'll just rush in and ask Liang Dajia about Ye Wanzhuang."

"I...I'm not in a hurry, waiting another half month won't hurt." Little Ginseng muttered a couple of words, then his eyes widened suddenly: "How can you force your way into someone else's house! You can't do that, hero." Lin Jiang, amused by Little Ginseng's antics, smiled and walked away.

The servant at the door watched Lin Jiang's retreating figure and noticed the small ginseng in his hand, and couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.
As expected, those who come to see their husbands are all quite interesting people.

……

The following day at noon, Lin Jiang and Gong Xuan went out to keep their appointment, following the address left by Gao Xuan.

Chen Dajiang naturally wouldn't come along. The banquet had only been for Lin Jiang and his companion. Even though Gao Xuan wouldn't mind bringing one more person, given Chen Dajiang's temperament, he wouldn't do something like crashing the party.

As soon as Lin Jiang pushed open the door, he bumped into the same guard who had been with Gao Xuan last time.

The guard maintained his stern, iron-like face and spoke first to the person he met:
"We were just looking for you two."

"But is Lord Gao worried that we won't be able to find our way?"

Seeing that the other party offered no explanation and only uttered three curt words, Lin Jiang...

"Come with me."

Then they led the way along the road.

Although the two found it strange, they did not ask any further questions and followed the guard around the alley corner.

A black-awning carriage was parked by the bluestone road, and the guards lifted the curtain to signal them to enter.

The driver remained silent, and once everyone was seated, he whipped the horse and set off.

After walking for most of the day, Gong Xuan couldn't take it anymore. He pulled back the curtain and looked outside before turning to the guard in front of him: "This isn't the way to the restaurant?"

"This is the road to Dali Temple."

The guard spoke in a flat tone.

"Could something have gone wrong?"

"Lord Gao has something to ask of me, and it is not convenient to discuss it outside."

The other party was clearly not good with words, and it took him a long time to squeeze out a sentence. Gong Xuan looked at Lin Jiang helplessly, and Lin Jiang could only signal Gong Xuan to calm down.

The carriage eventually stopped in front of a mansion.

The vermilion gates were wide open, and a plaque hung high, bearing the three gilded characters "Dali Temple" prominently.

Stepping over the threshold, one could see a bustling scene inside the Dali Temple. Officials in various robes moved about among them, with the young officials carrying stacks of documents and hurrying along appearing most flustered, their robes billowing with a sense of haste.

Occasionally, a young official would stop to bow to the guard leading the way, only to see the guard sweep past without even glancing at him, as if the person bowing was used to it.

The two were soon taken to the inner courtyard.

As soon as one steps into the room covered with wooden planks, the surrounding noise suddenly disappears. The guard pushes open the wooden door to the inner chamber, where Gao Xuan is bent over his desk reviewing documents.

At this moment, Gao Xuan was dressed in official robes, and his aura was completely different from that of the kind old man he had met before.

Even when he was just sitting and reading files, the faint air of solemnity emanating from him was enough to keep most people at bay.

The brush paused, and Gao Xuan raised his eyes to signal the guards to step back.
"Thank you both for making this trip."

"Could it be the case of the missing official from the Ministry of Justice?"

Lin Jiang recalled what Fang Ya had told him yesterday.

“Not only that,” Gao Xuan sighed. “Yesterday, I sent Jiang Jinyue to investigate, but she has also lost contact with us.”

Lin Jiang's expression turned serious.

Even the moon reflected in the river has disappeared?

"Two hours north of the capital is Yumai Town, a mining town directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel. The disappearance case occurred here."

As Gao Xuan spoke, he pushed the files on the table forward, and his personal guard immediately took them and presented them to Lin Jiang and Gong Xuan.

When Lin Jiang unfolded the file, his eyes were dazzled by the dense handwriting, but he still calmed his mind and read it carefully word by word.

He quickly saw the key part:

"Xu Dafu, a miner in Yumai Town, brutally murdered seven miners and two supervisors on the night of May 10, and then committed suicide."

The rest of the content consists mostly of biographical records of the deceased and the murderer.

Lin Jiang, unfamiliar with criminal investigation, couldn't grasp the intricacies and stopped investigating. Gong Xuan, however, continued studying with great interest.

Gao Xuan explained in a timely manner:

"A major murder case occurred in Yumai Town a month ago. The Ministry of Justice intervened, but was obstructed at every turn because it was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel. Four days ago, a senior official from the Ministry of Justice went to coordinate, but mysteriously disappeared the next day."

"This matter concerns an official of the imperial court, so yesterday I specially dispatched Xiao Jiang with a letter from the Dali Temple to investigate. However, after she sent back several strange messages last night, she has disappeared without a trace."

"What kind of strange message?"

Gao Xuan gestured to his servant to bring over an old, yellowed book with wrinkled edges, its pages filled with case records in various handwriting styles.

The notes above looked like they were written by many people. Upon closer inspection, Lin Jiang felt they resembled a chain of notes written when they were children.

“In the Dali Temple, these booklets are paired up. As long as you write a document in one booklet, the corresponding page in the other booklet will also contain the document.”

It turns out it wasn't passing notes, but leaving text messages.

"Turn to the last page."

Lin Jiang turned to the last page as instructed. A line of neat handwriting came into view:

"Arrived at Yumai Town at noon on May 17th, and inquired with the manager, found nothing unusual. At Shenshi (3-5 PM), the autopsy yielded no results, and it was planned to go to the mine where the doctor went missing to investigate. At 2:45 PM, the shallow part of the mine was found to be unobstructed, and a map of the mine has been drawn and attached."

As expected, a simple diagram was included at the bottom of the page, and there was even a small cat's head curled up in the lower left corner.
It's unclear whether Jiang Jinyue scribbled something casually or was suddenly inspired to paint.

"Entering the cave at dusk, we found nothing; have we missed a clue?"

So far, the record is normal.

The handwriting then suddenly became distorted:

"May 17th, I'm hungry, I don't know why I'm so hungry. I'm hungry..."

The last few lines were written in a crooked and distorted manner, as if they had been written with great effort.

Without even thinking, something must have happened.

"So how exactly did those miners die?"

Lin Jiang suddenly thought of this problem.

When he looked at the book just now, it didn't mention the causes of death for several people.

Upon hearing this, Gao Xuan remained silent for a moment.

"The murderous miner disemboweled the others, boiled them in water, and cooked them."

(End of this chapter)