Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

The four-horse carriage was spacious.

Even excluding Ren Fengjue and Xia Ximo, there would be more than enough room for two or three more people.

But Lord Ren clearly had ulterior motives.

He saw Xia Ximo leaning against the car wall, her head slightly turned to the side. As the car moved, the wind lamp hanging in front of the car quietly slipped into a corner, casting a soft halo that made her face look serene, making one reluctant to disturb her.

Because the car window next to her had a small gap, she was afraid that cold wind and rain would get in.

Ren Fengjue gently got up again, and just as he reached out to close the window, the person beside him suddenly opened his eyes.

In that instant, the entire carriage was clearly filled with a chilling atmosphere.

I didn't expect her to be so surprisingly wary while she was asleep.

Lord Ren stopped moving. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you..."

Xia Ximo sat up slowly, his face clearly showing signs of drowsiness.

After finishing her work, she only intended to close her eyes and rest for a while, but she didn't expect to fall asleep without realizing it.

"How is the Crown Prince?"

Xia Ximo asked, his expression still indifferent.

Ren Fengjue knew that it was already unusual for her to ask such a question on her own initiative.

"She's awake."

Upon waking, the crown prince was fully aware of everything that had happened over the past year.

He even clearly remembered how his soul was swallowed by Murong Chen.

"During this year, he essentially coexisted with Murong Chen's soul, and was fully aware of the evil deeds Murong Chen had committed, but was unable to intervene."

He said that Murong Chen opened Fu Lou in order to find a suitable person to refine the "Yin Yang Sha".

"In one year, he managed to gather all these sinister items, but he was still missing a wisp of the most yin soul."

"As for Manager Bai, her identity is indeed mysterious. She took the initiative to approach Murong Chen and even offered him a 'Soul Nourishing Pearl'."

"Bai Qingshuang's background is unclear for the time being, but Master Yan guesses that the events of fifty years ago are probably related to her..."

Xia Ximo listened quietly without interrupting.

Ren Fengjue glanced at her and continued, "The Crown Prince also said that he saw the Yin Tomb of Fu Lou in Murong Chen's memories..."

Xia Ximo finally spoke up: "What did you see?"

Ren Fengjue paused slightly, "At first I suspected that it was Bai Qingshuang who destroyed the talisman, opened the secret chamber's stone door, and released Murong Chen..."

"But the prince said it was a Taoist priest..."

"Yunhe Mountain?"

When Zhao Li said these words, Yan Zhengchu was also present. When he heard that the talisman had been destroyed by a Taoist priest, he righteously defended Yunhe Mountain.

"Yunhe Mountain has always been a righteous sect of Taoism, and this matter should have nothing to do with it."

Because of his uncle, Ren Fengjue's impression of the "orthodox sects of Taoism" was deeply rooted.

Xia Ximo snorted coldly, "The talisman was destroyed in an extremely clever way, so it must have been done by someone who understands the key to this spell."

"If it was truly the work of a Taoist priest, then it is probably inextricably linked to Yunhe Mountain."

Hearing her analysis, Ren Fengjue was speechless for a moment.

He thought to himself, "Thank goodness Yan Zhengchu isn't here, otherwise I would have had to argue with her here."

After a moment's thought, he said, "The Crown Prince is ultimately unaware of the cause and effect, so I'm afraid we cannot draw a conclusion on this matter yet."

Upon hearing this, Xia Ximo glanced at him but did not continue the conversation.

It seems they neither want to argue nor get involved in the matter.

Suddenly, the topic shifted: "Now that the matter is resolved, when will you fulfill your promise to me?"

Ren Fengjue then thought of the matter of "breaking off the engagement".

I don't know why, but now that I think about it again, I feel a little reluctant...

But a true man keeps his word; he will definitely do what he says.

He replied somewhat awkwardly, "Once the Fu Lou case is completely resolved, I will definitely give you an explanation."

It took another day for the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to finally find out the identity of the deceased in the Fu Lou case.

After sending the list, Du Yueming was still somewhat skeptical. But once the announcement of the Fu Lou case came out, he immediately became obedient and didn't dare to go out at night for several days.

Ren Fengjue was so busy that he barely had time to breathe, but he still managed to find a moment to go to the palace to report the matter to the emperor.

After experiencing the incident involving Meng Zhiyuan, the Minister of Works, Emperor Qingkang gradually came to believe in the existence of ghosts and gods.

To avoid worrying the emperor, Ren Fengjue kept the "Yin-Yang Sha" and past events of the previous dynasty a secret.

They only said that the Crown Prince would reveal everything after entering the palace soon.

As night fell, Ren Fengjue returned to the Ren residence, only to find Yu Lang there as well. However, this time, Yu Lang was not there to see him.

Instead, they sought out Yan Zhengchu.

Seeing the two of them talking mysteriously and incessantly in the hall, he couldn't help but cough lightly and pause briefly.

As a result, the two got up and greeted each other, but then stopped talking.

She clearly wanted to keep it from him.

Ren Fengjue couldn't help but smile, and wisely returned to his study.

However, he had barely sat down when Ren Cong rushed into the study with a look of anxiety on his face.

"Young master, something has happened at the Marquis's residence."

Ren Fengjue's expression changed, and he stood up again. "What is it?"

Ren Cong quickly replied, "Madam returned from the palace the day before yesterday and suddenly fell ill..."

"What did Dr. Zhang say after examining you?"

"They said it was a cold, and she's already had acupuncture and taken medicine, but her condition is very strange. She insists on seeing you."

Lady Rong, the wife of the Marquis, has always been in good health.

Throughout the year, let alone ailments like colds or fevers, headaches and dizziness are extremely rare.

Upon hearing that "the situation is strange," Ren Fengjue became worried and immediately went outside.

"Prepare the carriage; we'll head straight back to the Marquis's residence..."

After seeing Lord Ren return to his study, he hurriedly went out again.

Yan Zhengchu and Yu Lang, who were talking inside the hall, both looked outside upon hearing the commotion.

"Where is Lord Ren rushing off to again?"

Ah Chun replied from the side, "It's a message from the Marquis's residence; it must be a message from the Marquis."

Yu Lang nodded, then suddenly remembered that the matter of "Xia Ximo" from the Renxuan Marquis's mansion had not yet been resolved. Could it be that he was in a hurry to deal with this matter?

After a brief moment of distraction, he brought his thoughts back to his "business" and continued speaking to Yan Zhengchu, "Let's continue what we were just talking about..."

"Um…"

"Last time, Master, you found the monster that eats souls by following 'footprints.' Are you confident this time?"

Yan Zhengchu smiled slightly, looking confident of victory.

"Of course I was very confident, otherwise I wouldn't have gone to the East Palace first after seeing the 'bloody footprints' in Fu Lou."

Yu Lang looked as if he had just realized something.

When he discovered bloody footprints inside the Tongtian Pavilion, his first reaction was—to chase after them!

Yan Zhengchu was not in a hurry. After calculating with his fingers, he simply said that he had to go to the East Palace.

"We didn't chase after it at the time because we were using it as bait, since there was a Manager Bai behind it all."

Yu Lang's eyes lit up: "So, can we pursue them now?"

He thought that once Master Ren finished dealing with his "household affairs" and returned, the matter would be resolved, wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?

To everyone's surprise, Yan Zhengchu closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and remained silent.

Seeing his reaction, Yu Lang immediately understood and held up two fingers: "One ingot of gold."

Yan Zhengchu reluctantly opened one eye: "Two ingots."

"..."

Yu Lang was both annoyed and amused: "What do you, a Taoist priest, need so much money for?"

Yan Zhengchu replied mysteriously, "It has its uses."

"Alright, then two ingots of gold it is."

"make a deal."

Dealing with these scions of high society is so pleasant.

Just as the two were about to leave, they discovered a figure standing outside the hall door.

"You just said that the monster that eats 'living souls' isn't dead?"