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

"And who are you, woman? How dare you speak so disrespectfully to Lord Ren?"

Seeing Xia Ximo force her way in despite the obstruction, and even say such things to Ren Fengjue.

Guan Yue immediately stepped forward, wanting to protect the "official's" face for Lord Ren.

However, Yu Lang quickly grabbed him, "Hey? Doctor Guan, let's talk in private."

Guan Yue was pulled back several steps by his force, and he was puzzled.

"What does Yu Shaoqing mean by this?"

Yu Lang immediately leaned close to his ear and whispered, "This young lady and Lord Ren... well, their relationship is not quite ordinary."

Guan Yue's thick eyebrows, which had been almost standing on end, immediately softened, and he lowered his voice to ask, "Is the rumor that you, sir, are 'keeping a mistress at home' true?"

"..."

Yu Lang dared not respond, and could only shrug and wink at his eyes.

Guan Yue became increasingly absorbed in his own speculations.

Well! This time it's pretty much a done deal.

Ren Fengjue was also somewhat surprised by Xia Ximo's arrival.

He has always been quick-witted; once he connects the dots, he can roughly understand the situation.

But I wonder if she's still bothered by his comment about "unrelated people".

His expression remained indifferent, but he deliberately asked, "What? Is Miss Xia here to help me solve this case?"

To be honest, Xia Ximo also had a strange feeling in his heart.

Since entering the world, she has rarely paid attention to people's emotions.

She herself was always calm and indifferent, without joy or sorrow.

But now, she could actually sense the subtle changes in the man's emotions.

This is not a good sign.

"Don't you need it?"

Xia Ximo also asked him, though he used a question, his tone was affirmative.

Ren Fengjue smiled upon hearing her words.

This slight smile, however, was a shocking discovery to Guan Yue, who was not far away. He gently nudged Yu Shaoqing's arm.

"Did you see that? Lord Ren smiled at her..."

Yu Lang: "..."

Guided by the butler, the group began to walk into Zheng Daoyuan's study.

Ren Fengjue was in the lead, Xia Ximo was to his left rear, and Yan Zhengchu was to his right rear.

Next came Yu Lang and Guan Yue.

The study is not far from the main hall; you only need to walk through a long corridor and a courtyard.

Ren Fengjue observed the terrain the whole way.

He saw the "small room" the servant had mentioned in front of the study door, which was directly opposite the study door and also faced the window.

In other words, the people inside the small room can see clearly whether someone has come or what noises are coming from inside.

Last night, barring the possibility of negligence on the part of the servant, the only person capable of committing the crime "silently and without a trace" could be...

Zheng Daoyuan's body has already been examined by the coroner.

This old coroner, surnamed Dong, is a top-notch figure in the field.

But when faced with the corpse, he was at a loss.

Aside from the characteristic of "bleeding from all seven orifices," no other cause of death could be found in the corpse.

There was no external injury, no poisoning, and not even any obvious physical symptoms.

The only thing that fits is that it seems to be a natural death, like "dying of old age".

But Zheng Daoyuan had only just entered his forties.

Most importantly, the characteristics of this body's death are completely consistent with those of the body found at the Zhou residence at the intersection of Dongshi Street yesterday.

After listening to the old coroner's explanation, Ren Fengjue subconsciously looked at Xia Ximo beside him.

The other person was standing in front of the desk, staring at the corpse, without a trace of fear on their face.

Guan Yue, who was standing to the side, was also speechless when he saw this.

She thought to herself, "No wonder she's the woman Lord Ren kept hidden in his house; she has such courage."

Xia Ximo stroked the Soul-Passing Lamp and asked softly, "Can you feel it?"

Worry-free replied, "This time there is a little bit..."

"Where?"

"Behind...that screen."

This study is actually very spacious, divided into an inner room and an outer room.

It was used for reading, writing, and handling official business.

There was also a small bedroom inside, which was conveniently hidden by a six-panel lacquered sandalwood screen at the entrance.

Just as Xia Ximo was about to go over, she noticed the gaze on her, stopped and turned around, and happened to meet Xiang Renfengjue's gaze.

She uttered softly, "Don't get too close."

Ren Fengjue immediately understood her meaning and consciously withdrew outside the door.

Guan Yue was startled upon seeing this and followed Lord Ren out the door.

Yan Zhengchu did not enter the house; instead, he was in the courtyard, gesturing with a compass.

Suddenly, he exclaimed "Ouch!", looked up at the roof, and then leaped up gracefully.

Guan Yue stood at the doorway, looking inside and out several times. Besides doubts, he also felt suspicion.

But seeing that Lord Ren seemed completely unconcerned, he didn't dare to ask any more questions.

So, he could only quietly approach Yu Lang, gesture with his eyes, and ask, "Young Master Yu, are these two reliable?"

Yu Lang pulled out a folding fan from somewhere, pretended to wave it, and whispered, "Actually, I'm curious too..."

"I feel like I missed a lot of interesting things after my trip to Xiling County."

Instead, he asked Guan Yue, "I heard that you recently solved a case involving a rotting corpse found in a brothel. The murderer was eventually decapitated. Do you know anything about it?"

Guan Yue nodded: "That matter is quite strange."

As they spoke, the two began to chatter quietly.

Xia Ximo walked around the screen and into the small bedroom of the study, where he indeed saw a blurry black shadow huddled in the corner.

"Don't go there yet."

Wuyou spoke up to remind him, "That's just a fragment of the deceased's soul."

The "seven spirits" in the Three Souls and Seven Spirits correspond to a person's joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, fear, love, hate, and desire.

Logically speaking, after a person dies and becomes a ghost, unless they remain in the world for too long or are disturbed by the outside world, their three souls and seven spirits are still one.

Why this "spirit" was separated and why it was left here is somewhat puzzling.

Wuyou couldn't help but emerge from the Soul-Crossing Lamp and slowly approach the dark figure.

Disturbed, the shadowy figure shrank further into the corner…

After pondering for a while, Wuyou speculated, "This 'spirit' must have been brought forth by fright."

That corresponds to "fear".

It must have been caused by the extreme fright Zheng Daoyuan suffered before his death.

Xia Ximo knew that "Po" was a spirit even lower than a scattered soul. It not only had no consciousness, but it could not even take shape, and it was difficult for it to remain in the human world for long.

"Is there any way to keep it?"

Wuyou said, "Let's put it in the lamp first, but we can't say how long it will last."

Xia Ximo made a quick decision: "Take it. We'll ask that Taoist priest later."

Upon hearing this, Wuyou immediately transformed into a white shadow, along with the remaining shadow in the corner, and vanished together into the Soul-Crossing Lamp.

However, at that moment, a faint rustling sound came from the nearby box, as if there was something alive inside.

Hearing the noise, Xia Ximo immediately glanced around.

"come out."

The next second, the cage was carefully pushed open from the inside, revealing the face of a young man who looked around blankly.