Ghost Immortal

The group then found the water seller's well.

The well is located deep in a quiet alley in the south of the city. The wellhead is made of bluestone, and the stones are covered with slippery moss.

The well water was clear and cold, and its depth was unfathomable.

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows filled a bucket with water and immersed the Bagua mirror in it.

Strands of black silk appeared on the mirror surface, like ink drops falling into clear water, slowly spreading in the water.

The entire bucket of water quickly turned pale gray and emitted a strange, fishy-sweet odor.

"The well water has been contaminated."

Master Si Mei immediately poured out the water in the bucket and analyzed, "The evil energy seeped into the city's wells along the underground river. The water seller comes into contact with the well water every day, and the evil energy accumulated more and more in his body, finally manifesting at noon today."

Zhao Tiezhu immediately became nervous and sent someone to check.

The water seller's body was carried back to the mortuary and placed in the same morgue as the middle-aged man who had committed suicide by fire.

Two thin-skinned coffins were placed side by side; one had its internal organs charred, and the other had its entire body frozen stiff.

The methods of death were completely opposite, yet equally bizarre and inexplicable.

When Li Feng helped Qiu Sheng lift the body into the coffin, he noticed that the water seller's right hand was clenched into a fist, and a small white thing was sticking out from between his fingers.

He pried open the old man's fist and took the broken porcelain shards from his palm.

The porcelain shard was only the size of a fingernail, with sharp edges. One side was smooth as a mirror, while the other side was decorated with winding blue lines.

It appears to be a part of some kind of totem.

Li Feng examined the porcelain shards over and over, feeling that he had seen similar patterns somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place them.

He asked Master Si Mei if he wanted to keep the evidence, but Master Si Mei shook his head: "Giving physical evidence to the yamen is useless. Constable Sun can't solve this kind of case. Keep it for now, it might come in handy later."

Li Feng wrapped the broken porcelain shards in an oilcloth and stuffed them into his pocket.

News of the water seller's death spread throughout Qingyan City that very afternoon.

No one connected this incident with the middle-aged man who self-immolated.

Burning to death and freezing to death—it doesn't seem like the same thing was done by the same person.

But Li Feng knew, and Master Si Mei also knew, that the two incidents might have originated from the same source.

That's the work of evil spirits.

That night, Li Feng was extra vigilant while keeping watch.

He walked through the twelve alleys in the south of the city, tapping his clapper, his five senses fully activated, sensing any unusual atmosphere around him.

The fishy, ​​sweet smell of the black odor was stronger than it had been a few days ago.

Especially in the alleys near the north of the city, it's like a thin veil covering the alleys.

There were also more ghostly figures crouching in dark corners, which coalesced into shapes, and some even showed blurry facial features.

When Li Feng walked by, they didn't scatter as easily as before when startled by the sound of the clapper.

Instead, it cowered against the wall, its empty eye sockets following the light of the lantern as if waiting for something.

Li Feng recalled the words Zhang Gengtou had said before he died.

The aura of darkness is highly beneficial to ghost cultivators. Several ghost cultivators in the city are hiding in the shadows, absorbing the aura of darkness to increase their cultivation.

Zhang Gengtou was just one of them; after his death, there were others.

When he reached the tenth alley, Li Feng suddenly stopped.

A person was standing at the end of the alley.

The moonlight was obscured by clouds, making it impossible to see the person's face; all that could be discerned was a tall, thin figure.

She wore a dark robe, the hem of which fluttered in the night breeze.

The man stood motionless in the alley, like a stone sculpture.

Li Feng gripped the clapper tightly and took three steps forward.

The lantern light illuminated the silhouette of the person; it was a man.

He was in his forties, with a thin face and three long wisps of beard on his chin, looking like a scholar.

He was wearing a blue robe and carrying a paper lantern in his hand, the candle inside of which had gone out.

"Who are you? And why are you here so late at night, scaring people?" Li Feng asked in a deep voice, somewhat displeased.

People can be terrifying, especially in the middle of the night.

The other party did not answer, but slowly raised his right hand and pointed in the direction behind Li Feng.

Li Feng subconsciously glanced back.

There was nothing behind me, only an empty alley and bluestone slabs under the moonlight.

When he turned around again, the alley was deserted.

Li Feng's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly walked to the spot where the man had just been standing.

There were no footprints on the ground, and no trace of scent remained in the air.

There was only a very faint scent of ink, like the smell of a freshly written calligraphy book.

He looked down and found a note tucked into a crack in the bluestone slab.

The strip of paper was only two fingers wide, cut from the finest Xuan paper, and on it was written a line of tiny, neat, and elegant characters:

"The phoenix weeps blood, a dark calamity comes from the west; to know its origin, ask the tongue seller."

Li Feng read the note over and over again, his mind churning with turmoil.

The phrase "the phoenix weeps blood" refers to the burial site of the phoenix and the birth of a female corpse. The first half of the phrase clearly refers to the tomb in the quarry.

"Black omen coming from the west" refers to the ominous aura drifting in from the depths of the mountains to the west.

What does the second half of the sentence, "ask the tongue seller," mean?

Who is the tongue seller?

He put the note away and continued banging the clapper to signal the night watchman's shift.

Nothing else happened that night.

The next morning, Li Feng handed the note to Master Si Mei.

After reading it, Master Si Mei had a sudden inspiration and pulled out a yellowed copy of the Qingyan City Chronicle from the bottom of the box.

He turned to one of the pages and pointed to the names on it for Li Feng to see.

"A lawyer is someone who makes a living by his tongue. He can use his silver tongue to distort the truth, so in the legal profession, lawyers are called lawyers who sell their tongues."

"The most famous lawyer in Qingyan City is named Yan Songde. He runs a law firm in the east of the city, specializing in writing legal documents and handling lawsuits."

Li Feng immediately understood what the Four-Eyebrowed Taoist meant; the note was giving him directions.

The person who left the note knew the source of the dark aura and wanted to use Li Feng to find out the truth.

"Master, what should I do?"

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows turned the note over and pointed to the back for Li Feng to see.

The back of the paper was stained with dried ink, the shape of which resembled a willow leaf, with neat and smooth edges, suggesting it wasn't an accidental stain.

"This is ink mark, a secret marking technique used by Confucian scholars, which uses specially made ink to leave a mark on paper."

"Only by applying the corresponding medicine can the complete pattern be revealed. I do not have such medicine, but judging from the brushstrokes of the ink, the person who left the note must have been at least a scholar or above, and a proper Confucian scholar."

Li Feng was somewhat surprised: "What does Confucianism have to do with the dark and ominous energy?"

"This is what you need to investigate next." The Four-Eyebrowed Taoist priest handed the note back to Li Feng.

"Since this person used coded language to leave a message, it means he can't show himself directly. But the fact that he's willing to give you directions means he's observing you in secret and approves of what you've done. That's a good thing."

Li Feng put the note away, bid farewell to Master Si Mei, and headed straight for the east of the city after leaving the mortuary.

Yan Songde's lawyer's shop is located on Zhuangyuan Street, the most bustling street in the east of the city.

A black sign with gold lettering hangs above the door, bearing the four large characters "Yan's Lawyer".

The characters are in the official script style, written with meticulous care.

Two stone lions crouch on the steps at the entrance, each with a copper coin in its mouth.

It symbolizes speaking eloquently and fluently.

The shop door was ajar. Li Feng pushed it open and went inside, where he was greeted by a small hall.

In the center of the hall stood a large sandalwood table, on which were neatly stacked writing implements and a stack of legal documents.

A thin, middle-aged man sat in the armchair behind the desk; he was the one who had left the note in the alley last night.