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

The compass needle suddenly stopped jumping.

Yan Zhengchu couldn't help but stop, feeling a surge of amazement.

Just as he was about to speak, Yu Lang suddenly called out, "My lord, Young Master Zhong has come out."

Ren Fengjue looked downstream along the river and indeed saw Zhong Dingyan leading a group of people out of the streets and alleys.

Behind him, two constables were carrying a stretcher, indicating that there were more corpses.

"Judging from the looks of it, that shelf holds... Minister Zhong?"

Yu Lang cautiously guessed.

Ren Fengjue's expression darkened, and he immediately strode over.

"Young Master Zhong."

Upon seeing Ren Fengjue, Zhong Dingyan was clearly surprised. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Shouldn't Lord Ren be resting at his residence? Why have you come here?"

Ren Fengjue explained, "We couldn't find any trace of Minister Zhong, so we couldn't help but follow him to check..."

He glanced at the shelf behind him again and asked, "...What's that?"

Zhong Dingyan lowered his eyes, his face showing deep sorrow, and sighed, "It's been found. Father... he's gone."

Yu Lang, acting on his duty, quickly stepped forward and gently lifted the shroud covering the body.

After looking at it, he turned back and nodded to Lord Ren.

Ren Fengjue's heart sank, and he asked, "What exactly happened?"

Zhong Dingyan held back his tears and choked up.

"My father, for some reason, broke into a commoner's house, and he died not long after I arrived."

He added, "He has admitted that he was responsible for his second brother's death..."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhengchu felt a pang of doubt and followed to examine Zhong Ming's body.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he secretly drew another soul-gathering talisman and sent it over.

But after a short while, it had no effect.

He hurriedly asked Zhong Dingyan, "Please tell me, Young Master Zhong, which household did Lord Zhong visit?"

Zhong Dingyan turned around and pointed to one of the households.

Without saying a word, Yan Zhengchu rushed over immediately.

Seeing this, Xia Ximo silently followed behind.

Yu Lang examined Zhong Ming's body and, considering his condition, concluded that he did indeed die of illness.

But there are still some doubts...

The stiffness and coldness were not like someone who had just passed away; rather, it was as if he had been dead for several days.

Furthermore, several livid spots appeared on his arms and neck.

He whispered a few words to Ren Fengjue.

Lord Ren understood, and then asked Zhong Ding, "Did Minister Zhong say anything else before he died?"

Zhong Dingyan looked deeply saddened: "He felt very guilty, saying that he had lived an upright life, but he had failed to raise his son properly, even indulging his own son in theft..."

"He... only intended to teach his second brother a lesson, but unexpectedly killed him..."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "After telling this story, my father passed away."

Ren Fengjue didn't ask any more questions and gently patted Zhong Dingyan's shoulder.

"Please accept my condolences, Mr. Zhong."

On the other side, after Yan Zhengchu arrived at the blind woman's house, he searched around for traces of Zhong Ming's soul.

The result, however, was consistent with the situation in the Zhong family's bedroom.

There was still not a trace of malevolent energy.

"This is so weird..."

If Zhong Ming is not possessed by an evil spirit, then where did his and Zhong Junyue's souls go?

As I pondered, a voice came from behind me: "Have you found anything?"

Yan Zhengchu was so frightened that he immediately turned around, only to see Xia Ximo.

I still walk without making a sound...

He patted his chest and said irritably, "No... just like the Zhong family."

Xia Ximo walked past him, circled the room, and shook the Soul-Crossing Lamp.

Wuyou gave the same answer: "Me too."

Looking at the dilapidated house, Yan Zhengchu was puzzled: "What connection does Minister Zhong have with this house?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the woman who had been standing quietly at the door suddenly said, "I heard my husband say that the original owner of this house was surnamed Zhong..."

"He was a young scholar, but unfortunately, he was robbed and died on his way to the capital for the imperial examination."

Xia Ximo turned and glanced at the woman, asking, "Is she also surnamed Zhong?"

"yes…"

The blind woman answered with certainty, and then explained, "I am illiterate, but the scholar left behind a book of poems. My husband recognizes a little of it and says his surname is Zhong."

Yan Zhengchu then asked, "What about the book?"

"My husband took it and sold it, and got two copper coins in return."

"..."

At this moment, Ren Fengjue and Yu Lang also walked in from outside and greeted the woman a few times.

It was learned that the blind woman's surname was Wu, her husband had passed away two years ago, and she now lived alone.

She never expected that such an important person would suddenly barge into her home...

"May I ask, Madam, when did Minister Zhong arrive?"

After thinking for a moment, Ms. Wu replied, "It was probably last night, right? Just as night fell, he knocked on my door, saying his surname was Zhong and he wanted to come in and take a look at the house..."

Last night, as night fell.

When the first knock came at the door, Ms. Wu thought the sound was coming from the neighbor's house.

Since she lost her sight, her hearing has become exceptionally sensitive.

I didn't pay attention at the time and was about to go back to my room to rest when I heard a second sound.

It was more urgent than the first time.

Startled, Mrs. Wu quickly stepped forward and asked, "Who is it? Is something wrong so late?"

A voice came from outside the door; it sounded somewhat old and was accompanied by a cough.

"My surname is Zhong. I'd like to... take a look at this house. I can give you money."

They want to see a house at night and even offered to pay?

Wu felt a pang of doubt, but then she remembered what her husband had said—the original owner of the house was surnamed Zhong, and he was a scholar.

The thought frightened her, so she said, "Why don't you come during the day? It's not convenient at night."

After saying that, she locked the door and went back to her room.

But deep down, I still felt uneasy.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she heard coughing coming from inside the main room.

Startled again, he immediately gripped his white cane with one hand and pulled a kitchen knife from under the bed with the other, then opened the door.

Everything was quiet when suddenly a voice rang out, asking her, "Why aren't the lights on?"

Startled, Ms. Wu dropped the kitchen knife from her hand.

She asked in a trembling voice, "How did you get in? Didn't I lock the door?"

The man didn't answer; instead, he started walking around the hall on his own.

"So you're blind..."

"..."

"Don't be afraid, I just wanted to come and see."

As he spoke, he placed something on the table. "This is money for you."

Mrs. Wu could tell that it wasn't the sound of copper coins, but rather the sound of real silver ingots…

"After he gave me the money, he didn't say anything and just sat in the hall. I wanted to kick him out, but I didn't dare, so I just had to endure the whole night."

"Until...the government officials came looking for us..."

After listening to Wu's account of what had happened, Yu Lang immediately checked the doors and windows of the main room.

The latch was a thick jujube wood stick, and once locked, it was not easy to push open.

Although the window was broken, the windowsill was not low...

"He's so sick, how could he possibly climb in through the window?"