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

Inside the bedroom in the south courtyard.

Zhong Dingyan and Ren Fengjue, among others, recounted their bizarre experiences.

He claims that after seeing his father, Zhong Ming, in Liuhua Lane, his soul floated in an endless "sea".

He didn't know how much time had passed when a woman in red appeared and rescued him from the sea.

After hearing this, Ren Fengjue pieced together the story and could roughly guess who had saved him…

Yan Zhengchu sensed something was wrong the moment the young marquis entered the room.

Seeing him frown and deep in thought, I felt a sudden unease in my heart.

The young marquis looked a little off.

He seems to... know something?

Ren Fengjue was only stunned for a moment before he briefly explained the cause and effect of the matter to Zhong Dingyan.

It also includes some old events that happened thirty years ago.

Young Master Zhong initially did not understand his father Zhong Ming's actions, but after hearing the story, he realized how absurd the matter truly was.

He was stunned and speechless for a long time.

Ren Fengjue gently patted his shoulder and comforted him, "This matter is indeed complicated, but since it's over, you don't need to dwell on it anymore."

Yan Zhengchu added, "Although Zhong Yi has been living in Zhong Ming's body all these years, your body is filled with Zhong Ming's blood. He was a kind and righteous man."

Zhong Dingyan naturally understood the meaning behind those words. He was speechless for a moment before saying, "I know, it wasn't easy for me to escape with my life, I understand..."

He then asked Yan Zhengchu, "Then... Zhong... Zhongyi's soul?"

Yan Zhengchu: "We don't know where they are yet, but you don't need to worry. Leave this to me."

Zhong Dingyan quickly stood up and bowed.

"Then I will trouble you, Taoist priest, young marquis, and young minister Yu."

The matter at the Zhong residence has been temporarily resolved.

That very evening, Ren Fengjue wrote a letter back to the capital, giving a general report on the situation in Beiding County to the Ministry of Justice and the palace.

However, to avoid causing panic, the matter of "ghosts and gods" was not mentioned.

Since Yan Zhengchu had not yet found Bai Qingshuang's whereabouts, the group decided to stay in Beiding County for another two days after discussing it.

That night, in the study of the Zhong family mansion.

Yu Lang, holding a candlestick, had been searching through the bookshelf for quite some time.

He rubbed his aching back and turned to look at Ren Fengjue not far away, but only dared to mutter to himself.

"If we keep searching like this, will we really find even the slightest clue?"

Ren Fengjue felt that, apart from Zhong Yi, there must be others in the court who were secretly colluding with "ghosts and gods".

Therefore, after dinner in the evening, he took Yu Lang directly to Zhong Yi's study in an attempt to find clues.

However, after searching for nearly two hours, they found nothing.

At this moment, the moon was high in the sky, and Yu Shaoqing felt dizzy, physically exhausted, and mentally weary.

But Lord Ren was so engrossed in the task that he stood there searching for so long without uttering a single word.

"grown ups…"

After a short while, Yu Lang couldn't help but close the book, saying with a pitiful expression, "It's late, and I'm hungry..."

Ren Fengjue then looked up at him and said casually, "It's still early, let's investigate a little longer."

Yu Lang glanced at the water clock and complained, "It's almost 11 PM."

"Um."

Ren Fengjue responded indifferently, then turned and walked to Zhong Yi's desk to continue his research.

Seeing that Lord Ren had no intention of stopping, Yu Lang simply sat down on the small stool next to the desk.

Suddenly, I realized that Xia Ximo had barely shown up these past two days.

Ren Fengjue left the guest courtyard almost early in the morning and didn't return to his room until late at night. There was always an indescribable sense of estrangement between him and Xia Ximo.

Thinking about it again now, I'm even more curious about what happened that morning.

He couldn't help but ask, "Sir, is there some misunderstanding between you and Miss Xia?"

Upon hearing the word "summer," Ren Fengjue's hand visibly paused.

But after hearing the whole sentence, his expression remained indifferent, and he simply said, "What misunderstanding could there be between her and me?"

Yu Lang said, "The day before yesterday morning, the moment you came out of Miss Xia's room..."

"That face was darker than a storm cloud."

"..."

Ren Fengjue lowered his hands slightly and quickly glanced at him, "Don't make wild guesses."

Yu Lang moved the stool closer to him, rested one hand on the table, propped up half his face, and said, "There's something I want to say, but I don't know if I should."

Before Lord Ren could reply, he immediately added, "If I don't speak, I'll feel uncomfortable keeping it to myself."

"..."

"Although you and Miss Xia have broken off your engagement, anyone with eyes can see that you still have feelings for Miss Xia."

Ren Fengjue lowered his eyes, his fingertips rubbing against the book, making a crisp rustling sound.

At the same time, it felt like there was a hole in my heart.

My gaze fell on the paper, sweeping across line by line, but I couldn't make out the words at all.

He hesitated before asking, "Is it really that obvious?"

Yu Lang nodded vigorously: "Putting everything else aside, we've known each other for so many years. Do you think I wouldn't be able to tell how you treat other girls versus how you treat Miss Xia?"

Ren Fengjue continued flipping through the booklet in his hand, but smiled casually.

"So, what exactly is Yu Shaoqing trying to say?"

"Of course I want to see you all doing well. If there's any misunderstanding, let's clear it up as soon as possible."

Yu Lang then said with feigned seriousness, "Moreover, a few days ago, Master Yan already calculated for you two, saying that the thread of fate between you is still there, and even without the marriage contract, you will still be a couple."

"In my humble opinion, since you truly like Miss Xia, you should express your feelings as soon as possible. Otherwise, you'll be heartbroken when she leaves."

After hearing these words, Ren Fengjue stood there stunned for a long time.

But in the end, he said nothing and continued to look for clues.

Knowing that he had said enough, Yu Lang tactfully refrained from speaking further when he saw that the other man did not respond.

But just as he stood up, he accidentally bumped into the candlestick on the table.

Just as the candlestick was about to fall to the ground, Ren Fengjue reacted quickly and bent down to catch it.

It was at this moment that he discovered a hidden compartment under the desk.

He immediately bent down and shone the candlelight on himself.

"Have you found anything?"

Yu Lang also came over to take a look, and his face lit up with joy: "I've seen this kind of hidden compartment before, it's very easy to open."

Having said that, he held the hidden compartment with his right palm and gently pushed it upwards. Immediately, a box made of black iron fell out of it.

Seeing how well the box was hidden, Ren Fengjue guessed that there must be something inside that Zhong Yi didn't want others to know.

The tricky part is that there's a hidden rotating compass mechanism on the lid of this box.

It seems that only by solving the mechanism can the box be opened.

Yu Lang and Ren Fengjue exchanged a glance and said, "Let's go, let's take it and let Master Yan take a look."