Chapter Forty-Seven: Encountering the Strange Once More

Iron Abacus Immortal saw that Fang Mu intended to follow and said nothing. He put away the bronze compass and led the way in front, heading in a certain direction. The two of them wound along the twisting mountain paths until they finally arrived at their destination—Jinglong County.

“Here?” Fang Mu frowned.

Iron Abacus Immortal took out the bronze compass again, examined it carefully, and confirmed, “No mistake, this is the place. We still need to go further in.”

By this time, the sun was already high, and there were still quite a few people on the street. Fang Mu pulled Iron Abacus Immortal into a corner.

Iron Abacus Immortal asked in confusion, “Brother, what is it?”

Fang Mu gestured to his attire and said, “It’s broad daylight. With your conspicuous outfit, if you go searching right now, you’ll be a walking target. Let’s wait until nightfall.”

Iron Abacus Immortal glanced down at himself and realized Fang Mu had a point. Dressed in Daoist robes and carrying a long banner, his presence was indeed impossible to miss.

However...

He cast a sidelong glance at Fang Mu, hesitant to speak his mind. Admittedly, his own attire was obvious, but Fang Mu’s wasn’t much better—especially the butcher’s knife at his waist, which would draw anyone’s attention.

After some discussion, the two decided to wait until darkness had fallen before taking action.

...

Time passed slowly. When night finally crept over the quiet streets, Fang Mu and Iron Abacus Immortal emerged.

Iron Abacus Immortal led Fang Mu to a house and put away the bronze compass. It was a simple, unremarkable dwelling.

“This is the place,” he whispered. “The divination points here, related to the owner of the blood-stained undergarment, but the details aren’t clear. Brother Bronze Abacus, what do we do?”

“We sneak in and take a look,” Fang Mu mused. “We have no leads anyway. But we have to be careful not to alert the people inside.”

“I’m good at this.” Iron Abacus Immortal produced a black scarf from his robes and casually wrapped it around his face, concealing his features.

Fang Mu looked him over with a smile. “Seems you’re well-versed in many trades.”

Iron Abacus Immortal quickly explained, “I used to make a living telling fortunes. Sometimes, if the prediction went wrong, I’d get beaten up. Wandering the world, one must have many bolt-holes. But don’t misunderstand, brother—I wouldn’t dare break the law.”

“Mm...” Fang Mu rummaged through a wooden chest, found the white scarf Qing Ruowu had given him last time, and tied it around his own face. “Let’s go.”

Iron Abacus Immortal chuckled. “So you’re one of us, too... Ah, enough talk, let’s move.”

Catching Fang Mu’s slightly amused gaze, Iron Abacus Immortal hurriedly put away his compass and pressed his hand to the door.

A shadowy image of the Eight Trigrams flashed across his palm, and suddenly, Fang Mu felt his vision blur—they were already inside the courtyard.

“The power of the Eight Trigrams!” Iron Abacus Immortal said proudly. “I’ve developed an escape technique—excellent for running for one’s life.”

Fang Mu’s gaze swept the courtyard. It was empty of people. In the main house not far away, a lantern blazed with a deep red glow.

By now, it was late into the night. In the country of Guyue, there was nothing of modern technology, especially not in a small, quiet county like Jinglong. Aside from certain “special” nocturnal activities, most commonfolk went to bed early. At this hour, with the lamp still burning but none of the usual “special” noises, something was certainly amiss.

Fang Mu and Iron Abacus Immortal exchanged a glance and crept up to the house.

The oil lamp still burned. Through the paper window, shadows flickered in the lamplight.

A long, weary sigh drifted from inside.

“Stop your sighing. What’s the use? Our daughter’s been dead for so long, and you’re still moaning!”

Another voice, tinged with scolding, responded.

“Oh, you’re one to talk. Master Zheng gave you some silver and your eyes lit up. Don’t you think our daughter’s death was strange?”

“Strange? In what way?”

“Think about it. Our family is poor, so why would Young Master Zheng take an interest in us? The Zhengs are wealthy here in Jinglong County—why would he care for our daughter?”

“The constables at the yamen said they’re investigating, but it can’t possibly be Young Master Zheng’s doing.”

“But...”

“No buts. If it were Young Master Zheng, would he have sent people to give us silver? He’s a good man.”

“I...”

...

As he listened, Fang Mu began to make sense of the situation. This household seemed to be the family of the headless female corpse. The blood-stained undergarment had been found on her body, and their dead daughter matched perfectly with the identity of the headless woman. The Young Master Zheng they spoke of was apparently a wealthy scion in Jinglong County, and seemed to have a connection to her.

Iron Abacus Immortal was at a loss, not being a native of Jinglong County, and couldn’t understand much of the conversation.

At that moment, voices sounded again.

“Come, let’s eat. Don’t dwell on it.”

“Fine, but I want to find someone to look into our daughter’s death. I want to go to the authorities.”

“Eat first, we’ll talk after.”

“Alright.”

“Look into it—”

The voices cut off abruptly, replaced by the sound of chewing. Yet it was not the sound of eating rice, but rather the harsh crunch of gnawing wood.

“Something’s wrong.” Fang Mu pushed open the door, drew his butcher’s knife, and the sight that met his eyes made him tense.

In the dim yellow light, a middle-aged couple lay on the floor, their bodies already in an advanced state of decay.

At the table, two translucent figures were devouring... silver notes.

Even as Fang Mu entered, they did not turn to look at him. As he stepped inside, the decayed corpses on the ground crumbled into ashes, slowly merging into the translucent figures. The silver notes vanished into their mouths, turning into green smoke, making their forms ever more solid.

“Eat. Once we’re done, we’ll go see Young Master Zheng. I can’t rest until we know the truth.”

“Alright, after we eat, we’ll go together.”

As the figures devoured the last of the silver notes, they became more and more corporeal. From the blurry mist, the features of a middle-aged man and woman slowly emerged.

“Brother,” Iron Abacus Immortal stepped forward, compass in hand, “they’ve turned into wraiths. We must destroy them at once. The Young Master Zheng they mention may be involved in all this. Looks like we have a new lead.”

Fang Mu shook his head. “Not yet. Look—they don’t seem to see us. If we kill them now and they’re linked to Young Master Zheng, we might alert him and lose the trail.”

“You mean... catch them all at once?” Iron Abacus Immortal suddenly understood. “A fine plan—follow the thread to its source. Let’s trail them then.”