Yin Yang Soul Searcher

A middle-aged man and a servant entered the room.

The middle-aged man with dark circles under his eyes and a tired look on his face was Yang Jiang, the deceased's eldest son.

The servant beside him was the first to discover Yang Yongyuan's death. At this moment, the male servant was trembling like a leaf. He had long heard of the Yin-Yang Master's fearsome reputation, but this was the first time he had been interrogated.

Upon entering, Yang Jiang said with a sorrowful expression, "I implore all the esteemed officials of the Yin-Yang Palace to find out the murderer so that my father can rest in peace in the afterlife."

Zhou Dahai comforted him, saying, "Young Master Yang, please accept my condolences. The Yin-Yang Palace will surely capture the murderer. However, I have some questions for you now, so please cooperate."

"That's natural."

Bai Jueming said, "Time is tight, so I'll just ask the questions in my dream." Bai Jueming first gestured for the male servant to sit at the table.

The male servant sat down tremblingly, and Bai Jueming patted him on the shoulder to comfort him, saying, "Relax and recall the last time you saw Lord Yang."

Then, a vortex of black energy appeared in Bai Jueming's hand, and the male servant immediately fell asleep on the table.

In the dream, Bai Jueming's phantom stood silently observing from the doorway of the room.

Beside him, a male servant was knocking on the door. "Knock, knock," the servant called out, "Master, wake up."

The servant waited quietly for a moment, but there was no sound from inside. Then he pushed open the door. He immediately saw Yang Yongyuan lying dead on the bed. The servant was so terrified that he collapsed to the ground.

Bai Jueming took the opportunity to observe the things in the room, which were exactly the same as the scene he had seen outside the dream. Lord Yang's corpse had not been altered.

After the male servant calmed himself down, he ran towards the residence of Yang Jiang, the eldest son of the Yang family.

Bai Jueming, who was following nearby, asked, "When did you see the deceased last night?"

The running male servant stopped and answered truthfully, "I brought the chicken soup when Master Yang was getting ready for bed."

After speaking, the surrounding environment distorted and shifted as if in a movie. It was still outside the deceased's room, but candlelight had been lit inside, and the sky was no longer morning, but night.

The male servant, carrying a bowl of freshly made black-boned chicken and pork rib soup, pushed open the door. Inside, Yang Yongyuan, wearing his pajamas from before his death, was stretching his limbs and wiggling his buttocks.

The male servant placed the chicken soup on the low table by the bedside and said, "Master, please finish your chicken soup and get some rest." Then he left the room and waited at the door, beginning his night shift.

Bai Jueming shook his head when he saw it. Serving people is really not a good job. You have to wait outside the door all night. It's insane!

The room remained completely silent all night, the male servant did not leave his post, and no one entered the room.

This is strange. Why would someone die so suddenly? Bai Jueming guessed that if the chicken soup was not the problem, the deceased must have been poisoned beforehand, and the effects of the poison took hold in the middle of the night, causing Yang Yongyuan to die silently!

Who poisoned him? Bai Jueming stroked his chin in deep thought. It seemed he could only start investigating the people Yang Yongyuan had met yesterday.

"Is your father good to you? Have you ever had the thought of killing him?"

The male servant shook his head, blurting out his inner thoughts: "Master treats his servants very well and has never used excessive corporal punishment. During festivals, Master even rewards the servants with some silver. I have never had the thought of harming Master."

"This master treats his servants fairly well," Bai Jueming nodded, then waved his hand, shattering the dream into pieces. His illusory body gradually dissipated.

Outside the dream, the male servant, who had been lying on the table, groggily woke up. Fear lingered in his eyes as he looked at Bai Jueming. He felt as if he had been stripped naked in front of the Onmyoji, with no secrets left to him.

In his final words in the dream, he involuntarily revealed his own thoughts about the master. The servant was thankful he hadn't uttered a single lie, otherwise he would be dead by now.

Bai Jueming patted the male servant on the shoulder: "You are still very loyal to Lord Yang."

The male servant felt as if he had been granted a pardon: "Thank you, sir, for clearing my name." After saying this, he bowed to everyone in the room and stood respectfully beside Yang Jiang. With Bai Jueming's words, the male servant felt much more at ease.

"Mo Yu, no clues?" Zhou Dahai frowned.

"No important clues." Bai Jueming shook his head, frowned, and walked to the low table, looking at the bowl of chicken soup on it. What was Lord Yang trying to do by desperately trying to touch that bowl of chicken soup?

"Last night before going to bed, Lord Yang was still quite energetic, exercising in his room. This male servant waited at the door after delivering the chicken soup until this morning."

"During this time, no one entered the room, and there was no sound from inside the room, so I suspect that Lord Yang was poisoned in advance and died of the poison in the middle of the night."

"If these are the only clues we have, the direction of the investigation remains the same as before: we can only investigate Lord Yang's diet first." Zhou Dahai scratched his hair, looking somewhat agitated.

"Brother Zhou, don't rush. I do have some of my own thoughts." Bai Jueming rubbed his chin.

"Tell me quickly, don't keep me in suspense," Zhou Dahai urged.

Bai Jueming turned to look at Yang Jiang, who was standing quietly to the side: "I have a question for Young Master Yang first. Has anyone left the Yang residence during this period? Whether it is a servant or a master."

"This..." Yang Jiang fell silent for a moment, then said, "Sir, please call the gatekeeper over. The daily entry and exit times of all the staff in the manor are recorded."

"There's such a thing?" Bai Jueming thought to himself, "No wonder they're from a wealthy family; they're so strict!"

"Then let's not just stand there, call them over for investigation." Zhou Dahai waved his hand.

After obtaining Zhou Dahai's consent, Yang Jiang personally went out and brought over the gatekeeper who had led the way earlier. He was still hunched over as before, holding two booklets in his hands.

Han Xueshan, who had been waiting outside the door, also entered the room. She asked Yang Jiang if the body had been examined.

Yang Jiang bowed respectfully: "My lords, this is Old Li, who is in charge of the gatehouse every day. All the people in the manor, big and small, must pass through him to register them."

Old Li, his back hunched, approached shakily, carrying two booklets. "My lords," he said, "these are the records of people entering and leaving the Yang residence over the past two weeks. They contain the names of those who entered and left, the times, and the matters they were conducting."

Then Old Li took out the booklet below: "This one is for the guests who have come to the mansion, all of them are people who have come to visit you, sir. It also records in detail the time of each visitor, their name, and so on."

Bai Jueming took the two booklets and first opened the list of people entering and leaving the mansion. He carefully reviewed the records of people entering and leaving the mansion for the past half month, up to this morning. There was no case of anyone leaving the mansion and not returning.

"Snap!" Bai Jueming closed the booklet.

Zhou Dahai finally couldn't help but ask, "What did you figure out?"

Bai Jueming's eyes were sharp as he said with certainty, "If this booklet hasn't been altered, then the murderer isn't from your household!"

Inside the room, everyone looked at each other, puzzled as to why they were so certain that the murderer was not from the manor just by looking at an account book.

Zhou Dahai scratched his ear, wondering if he had misheard, then looked deeply confused: "What makes you so sure?"

Han Xueshan twitched her lips, wanting to say something in rebuttal, but in the end she held back.

Bai Jueming put down the booklet in his hand and began to express his opinion: "Why would the murderer poison Lord Yang beforehand, causing him to die from the poison in the middle of the night?"

Zhou Dahai fell into deep thought for a moment, then a flash of inspiration struck him: "It's to create an alibi."

Bai Jueming snapped his fingers: "You guessed right!"

Zhou Dahai smirked, realizing he wasn't too stupid after all.

The murderer caused Lord Yang's death in the middle of the night to clear himself of suspicion. Poisoning was the best way to delay Lord Yang's death.

If the murderer was someone from the manor, then when the Onmyoji (exorcist) comes to investigate, their actions will be exposed, so there's not much point in doing this. Because the Onmyoji can ask questions in dreams, and can even search the soul of the dead!

If the murderer was trying to buy time for his own departure, then that would make sense. However, the records in those two books show that no one left the Yang residence before Lord Yang's death, and none of them have returned to this day.

"Therefore I am certain that the murderer is not from this manor; he has already fled far away!" Bai Jueming looked around at everyone in the room, his voice firm and powerful!

Yang Jiang, who had remained silent by the door, felt a deep sense of admiration. No wonder he was a Yin-Yang Master specializing in solving cases for the Great Xia Empire. His analysis was flawless; at least, Yang Jiang himself couldn't see through it.

Zhou Dahai mentally replayed Lord Yang's death, from poisoning to his death in the middle of the night, and then to the fact that no one left the mansion.

Bai Jueming's analysis makes a lot of sense. If he were the murderer, this would be the best way. He could kill the person and then escape safely.

Thinking of this, Zhou Dahai, who had been feeling restless for a long time, finally relaxed his brows and patted Bai Jueming on the shoulder.

After hearing his analysis, things seemed so simple and straightforward. Why hadn't I thought of that before? It must be because I didn't ask him in my dream!

Han Xueshan curled her lip, disliking Bai Jueming's smug look. She habitually retorted, "Are you so sure about your analysis? Lord Wu and Lord Wang haven't even finished investigating everyone in the manor yet!"

"Could it be that someone in the household harbored a grudge against Lord Yang and poisoned him beforehand? Perhaps this person didn't escape because they were prepared to confess."

Zhou Dahai was taken aback. Wasn't the probability she mentioned a bit small?

Yang Jiang smiled and shook his head. His father was always lenient with the people in the manor. Unless they made a serious mistake or violated a taboo, they would not be punished.

She received silver rewards during festivals and holidays; where else in the homes of other officials would she receive such treatment? It's impossible that she would poison her own father for no reason.

"Oh?" Bai Jueming raised an eyebrow. Was the tomboy still a little unconvinced? "Want to make a bet?"

Han Xueshan was wary. She just felt that Bai Jueming was too arrogant, and habitually retorted. She also felt that what she said was basically impossible.

However... Han Xueshan suddenly thought of taking this opportunity to tease him...