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

Aunt Qiu roared, wishing she could rush in and argue, but was stopped by the guards and servants.

Zhong Dingyan also hurriedly retorted, "No, I can't confirm."

"I only saw this much before I heard my second brother call out, and then... then I woke up."

He then said to Ren Fengjue, "I also think that Father would never kill my second brother. Although he always scolds my second brother for being useless, he has always been very indulgent towards him in his heart."

"How could we possibly kill him over two ingots of gold?"

"Master Daoist!"

Zhong Dingyan turned to Yan Zhengchu and asked, "Could I use the Soul Transference Technique again? I want to see it more clearly!"

Even if... even if it shortens my lifespan by a few years, it doesn't matter.

Yan Zhengchu looked troubled: "No, you can't do it again. Your body might not be able to handle it, and besides..."

"And what?"

"Excuse my bluntness, but there's a reason why you suddenly woke up..."

"What's the reason?"

Yan Zhengchu hesitated for a moment before replying, "He was already dead the moment he heard the Second Young Master's cry."

What you see is all the memories he had from his lifetime.

Zhong Dingyan felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, and he leaned weakly against the couch, still unable to accept all of this.

Is it true?

Did the father kill his second brother?

Just because of those two ingots of gold?

These three sentences kept echoing in his mind, but he couldn't come up with an answer.

There was a brief silence in the room until Xia Ximo suddenly spoke.

"This 'ringing of the bell' may not necessarily be a real bell."

Zhong Dingyan was startled again and asked, "If it's not Father... then who could it be?"

Xia Ximo stared coldly at him with her deep eyes and retorted, "You should know better than I do."

Zhong Dingyan lowered his eyes and began to recall the details he had seen in the illusion…

The father originally slept on the couch.

Suddenly, he silently appeared behind his second brother.

He didn't say a word from beginning to end.

Moreover, he was barefoot…

This is a very small detail.

But he knew that his father was always meticulous and valued these details, especially in his attire, which required him to be neat and tidy and never lack etiquette.

Over the years, even while ill, he never lost his composure under any circumstances…

Even if he was angry because he saw his second brother stealing money, he would never have gone up barefoot to scold him...

and so…

After going through these details in his mind, Zhong Dingyan immediately chimed in, "I also feel... the father I saw seemed strange, quite different from the father I usually see..."

Then, he recounted in detail what he had just seen and heard to them.

Yan Zhengchu pondered for a while before saying, "Judging from this, we can't rule out the possibility of being possessed by a ghost..."

He then asked, "Before this, did you notice anything amiss about Minister Zhong?"

Zhong Dingyan immediately shook his head, "My father has been ill for over a year. Apart from taking medicine to recuperate, he rarely even leaves his room..."

Yan Zhengchu was also puzzled: "That's really strange. If there really was a ghost in this room, it's impossible that there wouldn't be any trace of malevolent energy left..."

The murderer has been found.

But the trail went cold.

When did the ghost possess him? And where did Zhong Ming go?

Ren Fengjue paced back and forth in the room, pondering these questions. Suddenly, he asked Yan Zhengchu, "I remember that Daoist Yan has a tracking technique. Could it be of use?"

Yan Zhengchu hesitated, "My 'Soul-Seeking Technique' is designed for ghosts. There's not a trace of ghostly energy in this room, so I'm afraid it won't be of any use..."

Yu Lang suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Didn't the servant just say that when he entered the room, he saw Minister Zhong carrying a string of Buddhist prayer beads that he always had on his wrist, which were placed on this small table? Could those beads have been tainted by the aura of a ghost?"

Zhong Dingyan understood immediately and got up to take out an exquisite pear wood box from the shelf next to him.

Upon opening it, a string of Buddhist prayer beads was indeed found inside.

After examining it carefully, Yan Zhengchu said, "Although there is no ghostly aura on it, there is some spiritual energy, and it is Minister Zhong's personal item, so we can give it a try..."

Zhong Dingyan immediately handed the bead to Yan Zhengchu: "Daoist Master, please give it a try."

"Um…"

Although Yan Zhengchu wasn't very confident, he had no choice but to try anything under the circumstances.

But when all the eyes around him were fixed on him, his palms began to sweat.

Ren Fengjue noticed his nervousness and said, "Let's go to the side and take another look, and let Master Yan try it by himself."

After saying this, the remaining people wisely left immediately.

Ren Fengjue then took the opportunity to ask Zhong Dingyan about Zhong Ming's recent situation over the past six months.

During the conversation, her eyes involuntarily drifted towards Xia Ximo, who was not far away.

The bedroom was also divided into an inner room and an outer room. At this moment, she walked into the inner room without any hesitation.

Zhong Dingyan followed Lord Ren's gaze and was slightly surprised. He couldn't help but ask, "My lord, who is this young lady?"

"she…"

Ren Fengjue's expression subtly changed, but he answered truthfully, "She is General Xia's daughter..."

Zhong Dingyan immediately realized, "So that's how it is..."

He had heard about the marriage between the Marquis of Renxuan's family and the Xia family from his father long ago.

"Congratulations, Lord Ren."

Upon hearing Zhong Dingyan's words, Ren Fengjue visibly paused, having originally intended to inform him that the two had broken off their engagement.

With a change of heart, he swallowed the words back.

He only replied with two words: "Thank you."

Over there, Xia Ximo entered the inner room, shook the Soul-Crossing Lamp in his pouch, and asked, "Did you find anything?"

Wuyou dared not come out, only peeking out with half its head exposed, sniffing around.

"Mogu, this ghost might be really something else. It didn't even leave a trace, inside or out."

"At least his cultivation is far more profound than that of Fu Lou Bai Qing Shuang..."

Xia Ximo frowned.

Neither Wuyou nor Yan Zhengchu noticed.

But she had a strange feeling of familiarity about it.

This feeling is invisible and inaudible, like an invisible pull.

She thought of the dream she had on Yunhe Mountain again.

In her dream, she clearly had the same feeling.

Could it be that the dark figure is also related to the case of Minister Zhong?

Lost in thought, Xia Ximo suddenly noticed someone approaching from behind. She quickly turned around and saw Ren Fengjue.

"Did I scare you?"

Seeing that her expression was not right, Ren Fengjue took another step forward, his eyes showing concern.

Xia Ximo composed himself before saying, "It's none of your business."

Ren Fengjue, whose mind was always as still as dust, glanced at her and said gently, "If you need to rest, I'll have Young Master Zhong arrange a guest room."

"No need..."

Just then, a soft cough came from behind.

Yu Lang peeked out from behind the screen and said to the two men, "My lords, we have some leads on Minister Zhong's whereabouts."