Dragon Tamer - Chapter 313:
Chapter 313: Chapter 315: The Decline of Morality
Zhu Minglang couldn’t help but shiver himself.
“Girl, I asked you to say something frightening, not to chill people to the marrow!”
In broad daylight, three Yin spirits were sitting on the threshold of the State Mansion’s gate, and they were the cooks who had died within this month…
Alright, this could indeed intimidate the folks of the State Mansion.
Zhu Minglang cleared his throat and straightened out his robe, which just happened to be styled in an otherworldly fashion today. Combined with his ethereal temperament, cultivated from consuming only Immortal Fruits and Divine Pills instead of common grains, most likely these mortals would believe him.
“What poor scholar and little maid are these, loitering in front of the State Mansion? Get lost quickly!” At this moment, the fully armed Gatekeeper bellowed loudly.
Zhu Minglang had just started his celestial stride when he nearly stumbled.
Truly, mortals, with such poor vision, you are indeed only fit to be Gatekeepers!
Zhu Minglang cleared his throat again, with a look of utter indifference, and said, “I am a Demon Exorcist, wandering here and noticing the dense Yin Qi within your mansion. The gate stands open yet seems as red and tightly sealed as the Ghost Door. You two Guards there, have you not felt a cold draft by the threshold, or even during the night, always felt like someone was entering and leaving the mansion gate, yet you’ve seen nothing at all?”
The two Guards exchanged a deep look after hearing these words.
What the young man had said truly sent a chill down their spines!
In fact, these past days, they would subconsciously glance towards the mansion gate’s threshold. Initially, they thought it was a trick of the eye, but after numerous instances, they started to feel something was off.
Honestly, for a few moments, they even thought the other had a longing for the same sex.
Now that the poor scholar had spoken like this, they felt even more horrified!
“Some people must have died in your mansion this month, especially in the kitchen,” Zhu Minglang said, deliberately extending three fingers as he spoke.
When speaking as an expert, one must be ambiguous, not overly explicit, letting them imagine for themselves.
Sure enough, as soon as the two Gatekeepers heard this phrase and saw the unmistakably deliberate gesture of Zhu Minglang, they were so shocked their expressions changed.
“You go and inform the steward?” said the Gatekeeper on the left.
The one on the right nodded, glancing especially at the threshold before hurrying into the mansion.
Not long after, a young steward strode out. He sized up Zhu Minglang and Zhi Rou, his eyes darting about several times, but still came forth to greet them with respectful manners.
“Could the two of you please elaborate a bit more? After all, some of the bolder servants might still spread unwelcome news,” the young steward said cautiously.
Zhu Minglang glanced at the Yin Spirit Necromancer girl.
The Yin Spirit Necromancer girl stepped forward, looked around near the entrance hall, and then pointed to an old locust tree, “Underneath this tree, a batch of kittens that died too young are buried.”
The young steward and the Gatekeeper, upon hearing this, had their expressions completely shift.
Such matters were only known to the steward and the Gatekeeper. How would the other servants care about such things!
“Esteemed ones, please come inside. I will immediately go to call for the young lady,” the young steward said, hurrying along.
Having passed through several corridors and entering the back of the mansion, clearly neither the steward nor the young lady wished to discuss matters in the main hall, as the State Mansion still entertained a number of guests.
At the back of the mansion, Zhu Minglang and Zhi Rou quietly awaited the arrival of the State Duke’s Daughter.
After the maid who served tea left, the Yin Spirit Necromancer girl leaned close to Zhu Minglang and whispered in a very low voice, “Big brother, there’s also a person buried under that locust tree.”
Zhu Minglang looked at her in surprise.
No wonder Li Xinghua insisted he bring this Yin Spirit Necromancer girl along; her ability to see Yin spirits with her eyes could easily intimidate everyone and reveal the darkest secrets of a prominent family, uncovering many unspeakable mysteries!
“Do you know the identity of that person?” Zhu Minglang asked.
“It was the butler from earlier.” the Yin Spirit Necromancer girl said.
Zhu Minglang’s eyes widened, and though he had wanted to take a sip of tea, he didn’t dare to for quite some time.
Could it possibly be this spooky!
Zhu Minglang felt that it wasn’t the people inside the Prime Minister’s Mansion who were frightened, it was he himself who was greatly alarmed!
“Could there be another Yin Spirit Necromancer here, controlling the butler’s corpse?” Zhu Minglang asked.
She shook her head.
“So someone killed the butler and then impersonated him?” Zhu Minglang said.
The Yin Spirit Necromancer girl nodded.
Zhu Minglang rubbed his temples.
He wasn’t here to act as a Demon Exorcist, he was here to be a God Catcher investigating a case, right?
But what did all this have to do with the Fiend Star Dragon?
“Can the butler’s Yin spirit tell you what happened?” Zhu Minglang continued to ask.
“It seems like he hasn’t realized that he’s already dead, and is still repeating the tasks of a butler,” Zhi Rou said.
Not all Yin spirits can be communicated with directly.
Of course, not all departed souls turn into Yin spirits either, some simply dissipate.
They didn’t have to wait too long when Zhu Minglang saw a woman in a bright red brocade robe approaching.
She was followed by two maids, but as she entered this hall they left her side, and the young butler who was impersonating someone did not follow her in. Now, only this lady from the State Mansion and the three people, Zhu Minglang and Zhi Rou, were present.
It seemed that this State Duke’s Daughter had some private matters that she did not want others to know about.
“The matter I am going to discuss with you two, please keep it confidential. If it gets out, I will stop at nothing to capture you both, cut off your tongues, and then chop off your heads,” the lady in the red robe said.
“We will forget what we’ve heard once we’re back in the mundane world. We’re only lending a hand because we don’t wish to see others suffer. Miss, please speak freely. Actually, we already have a general idea. We just need to understand more details in order to eliminate the root of the disaster,” Zhu Minglang said, touching his chin and realizing that the gesture was somewhat superfluous with his overly smooth, beardless face.
“I had a secret affair with the butler’s brother. The butler used this to blackmail me, and he also attempted to take liberties with me. So I thought of a plan to have someone prepare a poison that would kill the gluttonous butler…” the State Duke’s Daughter narrated calmly.
Zhu Minglang used drinking tea as a cover, appearing calm and routine on the surface, yet his heart was filled with waves of agitation.
What a shockingly scandalous beginning!
It couldn’t help but make one sit up straight and listen attentively.
Of course, to show his premonition of being a wise man, Zhu Minglang couldn’t let her finish telling everything. So he spoke up, “So the poison was placed in the back kitchen, where a bunch of kittens mistakenly ate it, and it scattered to other places, accidentally killing three cooks in succession?”
“Yes,” the Lady Xiangguo nodded, a flicker of surprise flashing in her eyes.
“Then how did the butler die? Was it the butler’s brother who did it?” Zhu Minglang asked.
The Lady Xiangguo hesitated, furrowing her brows in confusion, “Didn’t you just see the butler? He’s still alive. My plan failed, it was disrupted by the kittens.”
“Miss, there’s no need to play riddles with us; we know that the real butler is already dead. Now, the butler is likely your lover, the butler’s brother. They’re similar in height, appearance, and voice,” Zhu Minglang said with a profound smile.
Upon hearing this, the lady’s face was filled with shock and confusion, and she remained silent for a long while.
Seeing her expression, Zhu Minglang also became confused.
Could it be?
Does the lady not know???
