Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 116

Chapter 116 Phantom Shadow Yao Ji
That night, Qin Mubai brought three trusted Hundred Cavalry soldiers and disguised herself as an inconspicuous carriage and left Ji County.

The important witness, Liao Lirong, was secretly captured by Qin Mubai while he was being sent to Chang’an to deliver a letter. He was now detained in an inconspicuous village more than 30 miles away from the county. Last time, Qin Mubai did not go to the interrogation, only to extort his confession, which basically confirmed the fact that he was involved in this case. Li Ke wanted to find the account book to keep it safe, which showed that he was cautious in this case and didn’t want any mistakes.

It was already late, and the carriage was walking alone on an inconspicuous hill path. The carriage rollers pressed down on the ancient road. The three soldiers took turns driving the carriage, while the others nodded in the carriage.

Not far away, the Baiji soldiers who drove the carriage stopped the carriage and said to Qin Mubai, “General, we have already arrived at Zhu Chengwen’s cemetery. Do you want to get off the carriage and pay your respects now?”

“That’s good too.” Qin Mubai had warned him earlier that he would pay his respects as he passed by. It won’t be so conspicuous at night. Moreover, Qin Mubai also wanted to find someone to understand something. After Zhu Chengwen was buried, did anyone come to sweep his tomb?

Qin Mubai left one person behind to look at the carriage and brought one person to Zhu Chengwen’s cemetery.

Zhu Chengwen went north alone as an official. After Qin Mubai and the others arrived, they buried him, a rank seven county magistrate, with the courtesy of the Imperial Court. He chose a fairly decent Feng Shui cemetery and asked an old hunter who lived nearby to take care of it so as not to be washed away by the scenery or dug up by wild beasts. Normally, he would spend two pages of paper money at three or five o’clock to remove weeds from the graves.

Qin Mubai and the others arrived at the old hunter’s house and knocked on the door.

The old hunter was lonely and widowed. He was already sixty years old, but his body was very strong. He lived alone in this mountain forest and went hunting every day to make a living.

When he opened the door, the old hunter saw the person in front of him and asked in confusion, “Where did the three distinguished guests come from?”

Qin Mubai smiled and said, “Old man, we are from the Guan Clan. We have been ordered to send you money and rations. There are some other things I want to ask you.”

“Oh, so it’s the Lord of the Guan Clan! Please come in!” The old hunter immediately knew what was going on and hurriedly welcomed Qin Mubai and the others in. Qin Mubai ordered his followers to carry a bag of rice that had been prepared long ago and gave them tens of copper coins, which could be considered as paying his “salary” for taking care of Zhu Chengwen’s grave.

“Thank you, thank you!” The old hunter took the rice and bowed in gratitude. He hurriedly wiped the porcelain bowl with his sleeves and poured tea for the three of them.

“There’s no need for the old man to be busy. Let’s just ask a few questions and leave immediately.” Qin Mubai smiled.

“It’s so late at night. Why are you resting here for one night before leaving?” The old hunter’s face suddenly revealed a trace of horror. He looked out of the window in panic and whispered, “Recently, this forest is not peaceful. The three of you honored guests will be squeezed out for the night in this old man’s shabby house, right? No matter how many people are, there is still a care for you. You are not afraid of accidental accidents!”

“A slip of the tongue?” Qin Mubai frowned, “Why did the old man say that?”

The old hunter’s movements paused for a moment. He put down his teacup and carefully squatted beside Qin Mubai. He whispered, “Recently, this forest … isn’t clean!”

“Heh! No way!” Qin Mubai laughed, “Can you still be haunted?”

‘”Yi!–” The old hunter was so frightened that he sat down backwards. “Young man, don’t talk nonsense in the middle of the night!”

“Alright, alright. I won’t say anything. Don’t be nervous, old man. Come and sit down. If you have anything to say, please speak slowly.” Qin Mubai stepped forward and helped him up. He took a small horse and sat down. He comforted him and said, “Perhaps the old man still doesn’t know? We are the Imperial Imperial Leader, and we are imbued with the Qi of the Son of Heaven. We are not afraid of evil. If you have any secrets, just tell me.”

The two minions behind Qin Mubai almost laughed out loud, “Our general is really capable of making up nonsense!”

“Really?” The old man seemed to have taken a calming pill and wasn’t so flustered. He looked at Qin Mubai flattered and muttered, “So you are … the Hundred Cavalry Generals sent by the Emperor? No wonder you are so majestic!”

“Old man, tell my general what you have!” A soldier said, “My general is never afraid of the heavens and earth. People and ghosts are all afraid of the Buddha.”

“Shut up!” Qin Mubai scolded the old man angrily. He turned around and smiled at the old man, “Old man, there’s nothing wrong with saying anything. Although you live alone in this forest, you are also a citizen of the Great Tang. Since you are in trouble, we have the responsibility to help you.”

“Good man!” The old man nodded in gratitude, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and said in a low voice …

“Actually, the old man has been living here alone since his wife died twenty years ago. He has no children. Half of the people who have entered the loess are not afraid of anything. But a few nights ago, I went into the mountain to collect the hunting pinch. I was shocked halfway and almost fell ill.”

“That night, I carried a hare with a bow and arrow on my back. When I passed the grave of the county magistrate, Lord Zhu Chengwen, I had the heart to take a look. I was afraid that some wild beast would dig his new grave. However, it doesn’t matter. Looking at it almost frightened my three souls to the point of losing seven souls!”

The old man’s voice was deep and tense, and the atmosphere at the scene became somewhat strange and dull. Qin Mubai and the others were especially courageous after undergoing special training, but at this moment, they couldn’t help but feel their hair stand on end and their spines go numb.

“Old man, what did you see?” Qin Mubai asked softly.

“I saw it!” The old man suddenly stared out of the window nervously. After confirming that there was nothing strange outside, he nervously whispered, “A female ghost kneeled in front of Zhu Chengwen’s grave and cried.”

“Female ghost?” Qin Mubai frowned, “How can I see that she is a ghost?”

“Why, why isn’t it a ghost?” The old man was so nervous that he said hurriedly, “The old man had never thought that it was a female ghost at that time. He thought that one of Zhu Chengwen’s relatives had come to pay respects to him in the middle of the night. So he went forward to say hello and ask him if he wanted any parchment paper money or something. Who would have thought that I would call him ‘Miss’ after I got close?”

“Sou?” Qin Mubai and the others were stunned at the same time, “What kind of’whoosh ‘method is that?”

“Yes, that’s right … that female ghost can fly!” The old man was so nervous that his hands trembled. “Right in front of me, with a whoosh, no one was there. He flew away! I was so scared that I, I, I, I almost peed my pants!”

The two minions behind Qin Mubai immediately looked at each other, “Could it be that she really is a female ghost?”

“Nonsense!” Qin Mubai shouted, “Why is the female ghost crying? She must be his family or good friend. Haven’t you all heard of how many strange people there are in the world? It’s not impossible for a person to have a peerless light body technique.”

“That’s true.” A soldier said, “Many of the martial artists who wander in Jianghu have qinggong. The most famous one is Shi Wanbao, the Great Hero of Chang’an in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that he has a light body skill that can fly up and down walls like an eagle, which is amazing.”

“Qinggong?” The old man was stunned and hurriedly waved his hand, “No, no, it’s not qinggong-it’s simply flying!”

“Alright, old man, you don’t need to be nervous. Now let’s go to Zhu Chengwen’s grave and take a look. Everything will naturally be known.” Qin Mubai patted him on the back and said, “You should rest. There’s no need to follow me.”

“Then you must be careful!!!” The old man was warm-hearted, and he followed Qin Mubai and the others out to give them a thousand warnings, fearing that something might happen to them.

The late autumn night was exceptionally bleak and declining. Autumn wind swept the withered leaves and danced in the forest, and the rustling sounds were endless. Although the forest was not big, it was very dense and rarely sunny. At night, a cold wind blew and a dense Yin Qi filled the air.

If it was an ordinary person who had an instinctive fear of darkness, walking in the middle of the night in such a place was already terrifying, let alone going to the grave. However, when Qin Mubai was training in Baiji, he had special subjects to train his courage. It was like walking barefoot through a snake pit, using a wooden tablet above one’s head as a target for archery, and so on and so forth. Therefore, the people of Baiji were much bolder than the average person.

Even if that was the case, including Qin Mubai, he couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart when he walked in such a gloomy place. The only difference was that the more terrifying and nervous this place was, the more calm they became, and their vigilance increased unprecedentedly.

The three of them did not say anything and walked to Zhu Chengwen’s grave with some incense and paper money. He looked around and listened without any abnormalities.

“General, I didn’t notice anything unusual. That female ghost isn’t here!” The pawn said.

“Are you still looking forward to seeing her?” Qin Mubai smiled teasingly, “Perhaps the three of us are too Yang Qi, forcing her to not dare to come out! Cut the crap, let’s get down to business.”

“Yes!”

The two servants took out incense candles and other things and started to work. Taking advantage of this moment, Qin Mubai scanned around the tomb and found that there were some ashes on the tomb that burned paper money. The tomb was exceptionally clean without a trace of weeds, and the tombstone was also polished very brightly. He didn’t know if the hunter old man was taking good care of him, or if there were people who came to pay their respects from time to time.

At this time, Qin Mubai found a trace of blood on the simple wooden tombstone. Beside the bloodstain, there was also a trace of black silk that had been accidentally scratched.

“Jiangnan Lake Silk?” Qin Mubai picked up the thread of silk and looked at it for a long time. She was surprised in her heart, “I have seen this kind of lake silk in Li Ke’s mansion. Generally speaking, it is popular in the Jiangnan area, and Li Ke also brought it from Anzhou. Could it be that the person who came to pay tribute to Zhu Chengwen is someone from Jiangnan? Then it is very likely that he is Zhu Chengwen’s family!”

“General, alright.” The pawn lit the incense candles and set up the tribute to Qin Mubai.

Qin Mubai thought for a moment and deliberately loudly said, “The dead are the loudest. Although I don’t know if Zhu Chengwen is a traitor or not, I came to pay tribute to you for being an orphan ghost. I hope that you will be able to find out about this case and find the culprit behind it. Rest in peace!”

With that, Qin Mubai prepared to bow down.

Just at this moment, the three of them stood upright with their heads tilted alertly and simultaneously held onto the hilt of the saber.

“Who?!!!” The three of them shouted angrily in unison and faced each other in a certain direction in the darkness.

Because they all heard that there was a person walking towards them like a ghost!