Chapter 9: The Mystery of West Courtyard—Part 4

After leaving the residence, Yan Qige turned left at the street corner and then entered the alleyway. He reached the wall of the county office’s back garden, scaled it, and landed inside the purple bamboo forest.

After bidding farewell to County Magistrate Wang and taking away Madam Lu from the residence, Yan Qige secretly climbed back in.

Yusang immediately sensed something suspicious and followed him over the wall.

She discovered Yan Qige chanting a spell in front of a lantern. In the place where he had previously bound Madam Lu’s soul, a red-glowing barrier had formed, and within the barrier, a small snake was gradually taking shape.

As Yan Qige brought the lantern closer, the light inside it grew brighter, and a wisp of a soul emerged from the lantern and merged with the snake’s body.

The snake then grew larger, emanating a cold aura.

When Yan Qige moved the lantern away, a sudden burst of light revealed a living woman standing there—it was Madam Lu.

“She… isn’t she…?” Yusang pointed at Madam Lu, too shocked to finish her sentence.

“This is called ‘Seed Body,’ where a fake body is created. Interesting, isn’t it?”

Huayi, who had been hidden among the bamboo, suddenly appeared.

“When did you become so kind-hearted?” Yusang glared at Huayi.

Huayi smiled and adjusted her hair, pointing at Yan Qige with a grin.

“Ever since I saw this handsome young man. He’s so good-looking that I couldn’t refuse when he asked for my help.”

“Really, just because he’s good-looking? What’s so special about that?”

Yusang muttered under her breath.

Though she spoke softly, Yan Qige still heard her.

He turned to look at Yusang.

She expected him to retort sharply, but instead, he just blinked calmly and then turned his gaze to Madam Lu.

“Though you willingly let me take your soul to bring peace to the world, you are not the true culprit. Would you care to explain why you took the blame for the real murderer?”

“Evidence? What evidence do you have to say I’m taking the blame?”

Madam Lu lowered her head, looking uneasy.

“You admitted it too quickly, which shows you planned this. You claim to have killed those people, but I must ask: What did you do with the essence blood drained from their bodies?”

“Demons absorb human blood essence for cultivation, of course…”

She responded without thinking but stopped mid-sentence, realizing she had fallen into Yan Qige’s trap.

“If you had absorbed their blood essence, you would have at least had enough power to protect yourself from sunlight. The show you and Magistrate Wang put on was just to make me stop my investigation and protect the real culprit.”

“I can’t tell you, and I won’t tell you. Anyway, I’m just a lingering soul now. Do with me as you wish.”

“You were once human, but your soul was trapped in a demon’s body. If I hadn’t destroyed the snake body, I might have been fooled by you. A human soul tainted by the resentment accumulated in a demon’s body over the years cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation in either the human or demon realm unless that resentment is resolved. Is it really worth it?”

Though Madam Lu knew that Yan Qige had likely figured out most of the truth, she still shook her head and pursed her lips, refusing to speak further.

Seeing Madam Lu’s stubbornness, Yan Qige felt a bit helpless but not too surprised.

He then retrieved the lantern and chanted a spell, causing Madam Lu’s form to deepen in color, making her appear almost like a living person.

“This fake body will allow your soul to remain for twelve hours. You may go now.”

Madam Lu was momentarily stunned, then touched her arm to confirm it was real.

She quickly knelt to thank Yan Qige, but as she raised her head to speak, she found that Yan Qige had already leaped over the wall with the lantern.

Noticing Yusang still standing nearby, Madam Lu smiled, bowed to her, and thanked her before leaving the bamboo forest for the front courtyard.

It was only then that Yusang realized Madam Lu cast no shadow; though she had a fake body to house her soul, she was, after all, dead.

Hearing that Yan Qige was silent outside the wall, Yusang assumed he had left.

She hurriedly jumped onto the wall, ready to leap down, but found that Yan Qige hadn’t left after all.

Yan Qige stood there, holding the lantern in one hand, with the other behind his back.

Hearing the noise from the wall, he looked up at Yusang.

The rising moonlight cast its glow on his face, highlighting his sharp brows, starry eyes, prominent nose, and thin lips—a visage so striking that it took Yusang’s breath away.

She stood frozen on the wall, staring at Yan Qige, lost in a daze, until she suddenly lost her footing and tumbled down with a scream.

Moments later, realizing she hadn’t hit the ground, Yusang cautiously squinted open her eyes to see a handsome face under the moonlight.

That handsome face bore a look of disdain, and upon further inspection, she found herself cradled in Yan Qige’s arms.

Instantly, her back broke out in a cold sweat.

“I… I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Ah!” Yan Qige let go, and Yusang fell to the ground, her rear aching from the impact.

“I didn’t do it on purpose either,” Yan Qige said calmly, brushing off his sleeves with elegance.

“So petty, really petty. I just looked at you for a moment. It’s not like you lost a piece of flesh.”

“I didn’t lose any flesh, but your gaze was too intense. Just a reminder to help you remember to be more restrained in the future.”

“Hmph, even if you let me look at you, I might not want to.” Yusang grumbled.

“You’re so petty. Come on, let’s go.”

Yan Qige extended his hand to the sulking Yusang, who, despite her grumbling, couldn’t refuse and took his hand to stand up.

“All right, since you’ve been through such pain, I’ll allow you to ask me some questions.”

Yan Qige said, walking ahead with the lantern.

Yusang had far more than three questions in her mind, so she thought carefully before asking, “When did you discover all this?”

“What?”

“That Madam Lu isn’t the murderer.”

“Of course, before you did.”

“Who is she protecting?”

“I don’t know.”

“Can I ask three more questions?”

“No.”

Yusang didn’t gnash her teeth in frustration this time.

Instead, she just puffed her cheeks, feeling defeated as all three of her questions were wasted.

Catching a glimpse of Yusang’s small gesture out of the corner of his eye, Yan Qige felt an inexplicable sense of guilt and softened his tone involuntarily.

“The day I first entered the residence, I noticed something odd when County Magistrate Wang returned. There was worry and helplessness in his demeanor, which I found strange. As I bid him farewell, I deliberately moved closer and caught a whiff of demonic energy mixed with the scent of cosmetics from his shoulder.”

“So what?”

“If you don’t interrupt, you’ll know.”

Yusang was about to retort, but seeing the unfriendly look in Yan Qige’s eyes, she wisely held her tongue.

“His clothes were very clean that day, suggesting he had just changed them that morning.”

“The scent was from the courtesan house…” Yusang had a sudden flash of insight but quickly stopped herself, remembering Yan Qige’s earlier words.

“Yesterday, I found an excuse to stay in the residence to investigate further. You might have noticed something suspicious too, so you followed him. While you couldn’t go after he left the residence, I did. He indeed went to the courtesan house and met a woman named Ranqing. The girl killed by the demon that day was her personal maid.”

“If I’m not mistaken, Ranqing was the intended target, so…” Realizing something, Yusang glanced toward the county office and said, “So, Magistrate Wang and Madam Lu took the blame to protect her?”

“Not necessarily. Ranqing seems a bit strange.”

“Then was the affair between Magistrate Wang and Madam Lu fake?”

“Demons and humans are different. Some consequences they should have anticipated long ago.”

Recalling the mutual affection and their tragic love story in the forest earlier, Yusang found herself at a loss for words after learning this fragment of the truth.