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

Ren Fengjue's words made Xia Ximo pause for a moment.

That sense of familiarity welled up in her heart again, and she couldn't help but take another deep look at him.

In the end, she didn't respond to him, but simply turned and left.

There was no explanation.

Ren Fengjue was already used to her way of doing things. After watching her figure disappear into the distance, he put the handkerchief used for wiping the sword into his pocket before turning around and heading to the town government office.

Inside the Soul-Crossing Lamp, Wuyou couldn't hold back any longer and spoke.

"It's a pity you two didn't call off the engagement back then..."

"Although your time on earth is limited, some things, like feelings, are truly something you can only hope to encounter but not seek..."

"Now that your soul and body are completely integrated, you should experience more of what it's like to be human, so that your journey will not have been in vain."

Xia Ximo paused, but did not immediately refute its words.

After their souls merged, she was able to sense more and more things.

All five senses and six consciousnesses are thoughts.

Too much "reading" is not a good thing.

Too lazy to bother with these unfounded entanglements, she banished all distracting thoughts and asked, "You just said there was the aura of a wronged soul on the street corner, where is it now?"

Wuyou then remembered the important matter: "Oh right, that ghost seemed to have been following us from a distance, right at the street corner ahead..."

It's rare for a ghost to come looking for you.

Xia Ximo narrowed his eyes slightly, then quickened his pace and walked towards the street corner.

Sure enough, at the end of the street corner, a ghost stood trembling by the wall. Sensing her approach, it involuntarily took a step back.

"Speak, what grievance do you have?"

Upon hearing the question, the ghost hesitated for a moment, but then stepped forward and knelt on the ground: "I want to ask you... to help me."

-

At dawn, A-Xia drove the carriage back to Yunxia Town.

Inside the carriage, besides Yu Lang and the coroner, there was also Ge ​​Chuan, the magistrate of Kaiming County.

When Ge Chuan learned that the incident occurred in Yunxia County, and that Yu Lang and Ren Fengjue were both in the county, and considering the plague that occurred half a month ago, how could he possibly sleep?

So he volunteered to come with the coroner to assist in the investigation.

As the saying goes, what you fear most is what happens. After arriving in the town, Magistrate Ge learned that the waiter's death was indeed related to the "plague" that had occurred half a month earlier.

As dawn broke, a notice was posted, leaving the townspeople completely baffled.

The notice stated that there was a risk of insect infestation causing trouble in the town, and urged residents to take precautions.

However, the remedy for treating insects did not use common insect repellents such as mugwort and camphor wood, but rather glutinous rice.

It was only because Yan Zhengchu suggested that since every household in the town had glutinous rice, scattering the glutinous rice evenly at the entrances and exits of their homes would have the effect of repelling corpse worms.

Although the people did not understand, they were very obedient.

In less than half a day, all the glutinous rice in the town's rice shops was sold out.

After listening to Yu Lang's advice, A Xia also wanted to buy some glutinous rice as a precaution, but she ended up going to the wrong place.

Upon returning, they found Yu Shaoqing sitting listlessly in the inn's lobby, his face pale and extremely weak.

"Young Master Yu, if you are tired, why don't you go and rest in the guest room?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Lang barely opened half of his eyes, but he really couldn't muster any energy.

"What if there are bugs in the guest room? I think I'll just take a nap here."

Ah Xia was also helpless. Just as she was about to go upstairs, she saw Yan Zhengchu walking downstairs with a solemn expression.

He walked straight up to Yu Lang and said, "Let me see your wound again."

Yu Lang was extremely sleepy, and upon hearing this, he lazily stretched out one hand, unwilling to move at all.

Yan Zhengchu had no choice but to roll up his sleeves, and his expression changed accordingly.

Xia followed behind Master Yan and took a look. She also noticed that something was wrong with the wound; it was starting to fester.

He was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "Young Master Yu, how did your wound become so serious?"

Yan Zhengchu sighed, "He and Manager Wang were both poisoned by Gu, but fortunately the wounds were shallow, so the poison didn't spread throughout his body."

If this were any other time, Yu Shaoqing would have jumped up immediately upon hearing this.

But at that moment, he lay motionless on the table, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Xia asked anxiously, "Then... what will happen to him?"

Yan Zhengchu could only speculate: "I just went to see Manager Wang, and his body has already started to fester. If no cure can be found, he will probably die from festering sores all over his body."

He glanced at Yu Lang again: "Although Young Master Yu's poison is spreading slowly, we must find a cure as soon as possible."

Hearing this, A-Xia felt a chill run down her spine.

"Master Yan, you must save Young Master Yu."

Don't worry.

Yan Zhengchu patted A Xia on the shoulder and said, "Keep an eye on Young Master Yu at the inn. I'm going back to Yunhe Mountain to ask my master for advice on how to rescue him."

Meanwhile, outside Yunxia Town, at the entrance of Tujia Village.

Surrounded by mountains, shrouded in lingering mist.

Through Ge Chuan's description, Ren Fengjue finally saw the place where the corpses had been burned that day.

There was even some ash left on the ground.

He asked, "Do you know the identity of the Taoist priest who instructed you to burn the corpse that day?"

Upon being asked this question, Ge Chuan became extremely nervous and immediately lowered his head: "This humble official did not know, but at the time I felt that the situation did indeed seem to be caused by a plague, and the Taoist's words did indeed make sense."

Ren Fengjue glanced at him: "The cause of death has not been determined, yet you burned the body. You've burned the evidence with a single fire."

"..."

Ge Chuan was filled with fear. He exchanged a glance with Li Cheng behind him, but dared not answer.

"Let's go inside the village and take a look."

"yes…"

After bypassing the site of the cremation, Ren Fengjue originally planned to take a side path to the village.

However, after taking only a couple of steps, he suddenly stopped.

Ge Chuan and Li Cheng followed closely behind, and upon seeing this, they also quickly stopped.

Following Lord Ren's gaze, they discovered two wheel tracks on the dirt path.

If I'm not mistaken, it should be a handcart...

Ren Fengjue asked, "The last time it rained here was about three days ago?"

Ge Chuan estimated: "Indeed, it rained just four days ago."

After saying that, he immediately realized what he had said.

Since the outbreak of the "plague" half a month ago, the government has ordered the area to be sealed off.

Everyone in Yunxia Town knew about this, so they certainly wouldn't dare to enter without permission.

The previous footprints had been washed away by the rain, so these tire tracks must be recent…

So, has someone secretly entered Tujia Village recently?

Ge Chuan immediately waved his hand, and the town official Li Cheng, who was following behind, along with more than a dozen yamen runners, immediately stepped forward.

The morning light pierced through the lingering mist, giving the entire village a sense of tranquil seclusion.

Ge Chuan instructed the constables to pair up and begin searching each house. The village was small, with only eleven households in total.

Therefore, the search was completed in no time, but not a single person was found.

Just then, a woman's figure suddenly appeared at the village entrance.

Ren Fengjue's brows were originally furrowed, but when he turned around, his face immediately relaxed.

"Miss Xia?"