Something Happened II

Something Happened II

Almost every morning when he woke up, Lu Sheng could feel his muscles growing firmer and his body growing heavier.

The price was that every meal he ate was at least twice what it had been before, all of it fish and meat, along with expensive medicinal soup every day.

The cost of food alone was enough to bankrupt an ordinary household.

Lu Sheng did not delay. He entered the city and, familiar with the way, headed straight for the gates of the Lu Estate.

The gatekeeper saw him and immediately came forward.

"Young Master is back!"

"Mhm." Lu Sheng answered casually and strode into the estate.

The atmosphere within the estate was somewhat strange.

Yet when the servants and guards passing by saw that he had returned, they all came up to greet him.

"Young Master is back!!"

Someone shouted.

"Young Master! Young Master is back!!"

"It's Young Master!"

Servants and maids rushed out one after another. Their faces carried a trace of delighted surprise, like people at their wits' end suddenly spotting a lifesaving straw.

"Where is Father?"

"The family head asked for you to go over immediately."

A maid hurried over and answered.

"Mhm."

Lu Sheng took off his saber and slung it across his back.

He hurried all the way toward the inner courtyard.

The inner courtyard was silent, strangely silent, even somewhat desolate.

The maids and servants all looked listless. Those nearby greeted him.

Those farther away had not seen him and continued talking among themselves.

Voices drifted over on the wind from afar.

"Last night, that sound of a woman crying appeared in Yu Jie's room again."

"I heard it too. It was like it came from somewhere very far away. A servant passed by, but there was no one in the room at all—not even a shadow..."

"Ah, stop talking about it. It's terrifying."

"Could it be some female ghost?"

"Don't wag your tongues! Be careful, or you'll get beaten."

As Lu Sheng crossed the stone bridge with his saber on his back, he heard the estate's servants and maids chatting.

From their conversation, Lotus Flower House, where Yu Jie had lived in the rear courtyard, had become the greatest forbidden zone in the Lu Estate.

No one needed to warn anyone else. No one dared go near it at all.

He fell silent for a moment. Combining this with the contents of the letter, his mood grew even heavier.

At last, the thing he had always feared had happened.

This world had been filled with danger everywhere to begin with. When it came to all kinds of bizarre occurrences, ordinary people had no power to resist at all.

What he had always feared was that one day, everything that had happened to the Xu Family would suddenly descend upon the Lu Estate.

When that time came, what could he use to block it? What could he use to save himself?

What could he use to save his family in this life?

"A female ghost? I'd like to see what kind of female ghost can stop my saber!" A fierce glint flashed through his eyes. As violent hostility rose in Lu Sheng's heart, he strode toward the inner hall.

Had he not built himself up for so long precisely for this moment? Entering the inner hall, Lu Sheng immediately spotted Lu Quan'an sitting in the seat of honor, his face haggard. Second Mother, Third Mother, and the others who had hurried over were beside him.

The rest of his younger brothers and sisters, along with cousins from both branches of the family, were all there as well.

For the first time on a day that was not a holiday, the entire family had gathered so completely.

Everyone watched as Lu Sheng entered with his saber on his back, broad and powerfully built.

A trace of joy appeared on Lu Quan'an's face, only to be swiftly replaced by worry.

"Sheng, you... sigh, you shouldn't have come back."

"Father, tell me. What happened? Did Yu Jie die?"

Lu Sheng did not waste words and went straight to the point.

Having practiced his saber daily lately, combined with the circulating flow of Black Fiend Qi, he still carried a trace of fierce murderous aura.

Seeing this, everyone remembered that Brother Sheng had killed two vicious wanted criminals before. He was a ruthless man capable of killing murderers.

With that thought, their previously panicked hearts eased somewhat.

"Let me tell you." Second Mother Liu Cuiyu sighed.

Lu Sheng found a seat on the right and sat down.

"Please speak, Second Mother."

Liu Cuiyu thought for a moment and organized her thoughts.

"This matter began with Yu Jie's sudden death some time ago."

She sighed again.

"That day, someone from Yu Jie's family came to ask me whether she had gone home. I said she had left long ago.

"That person said they had been waiting at home but never saw her return, so they came to the estate to look for her."

"I was puzzled too and was just about to send people out to search when we received word from the yamen. Yu Jie had died in an alley. She had already been dead for several days, and her corpse had gone stiff."

"Later, I paid some money, considered it funeral expenses for Yu Jie.

"But only two days after that, another person in the estate went missing. I sent people out to search, and another corpse was found in a river outside the city."

By this point, Liu Cuiyu's face was full of sorrow.

"From that day onward, one person has gone missing from the estate every day. No matter how we investigated, we found nothing! Today is already the fifth day.

"And every night, the room in Lotus Flower House where Yu Jie used to live produces the sound of a woman crying, faintly there and faintly absent. We go in to search, but cannot find anyone.

"There were originally five people living in that house. Three of those five have already disappeared..."

Lu Sheng's expression had sunk by the time he heard this.

"What did the yamen people say?"

"What else could they say? They found nothing, then casually made an excuse and left."

Lu Chenxin could not help cutting in, her tone full of indignation.

"I had your Uncle send soldiers to stand guard through the night, but it was useless. When there were many people, the sound did not appear. It could only be heard once there were fewer people." Lu Quan'an shook his head.

"Where is Qingqing?" Lu Sheng suddenly realized that Lu Qingqing was not there.

"She went to the Zheng Family by herself. Something happened over there too." Lu Quan'an said helplessly.

"Something happened to the Zheng Family too?"

Lu Sheng's heart tightened.

"But it was not the same as our situation. They ran into bandits. Their merchant caravan was robbed along the way. That girl Qingqing somehow found a clue and suspects the bandits are connected to the Xu Family massacre. She went out to investigate yesterday and still hasn't returned."

Second Mother Liu Cuiyu answered.

Lu Sheng snorted coldly.

"That girl is getting more and more disobedient.

"Also, even if this matter in the estate isn't some female ghost, a martial arts expert with good lightness skill could do something like this! Where is Uncle Zhao? What did he say?"

"Your Uncle Zhao and several uncles were requisitioned by the yamen to assist at a place outside the city. Now that you mention it, they still haven't returned." Lu Quan'an answered.

"So that person only dared come to the estate to play the ghost and make mischief because Uncle Zhao and the others were absent?"

The moment Lu Sheng spoke, he defined the matter as the work of a person rather than demons or ghosts.

Whether demons or ghosts were truly behind it or not, it could only be the work of a person!

Otherwise, the vast Lu Family would likely fall apart.

Lu Quan'an immediately understood this reasoning as well and nodded.

"Now that you put it that way, it really does seem like human work."

"There's a woman crying at night in Yu Jie's Lotus Flower House, right? I'll stay in that room tonight. Let's see whether anyone disappears again."

Lu Sheng laid out the arrangement.

"But Sheng..."

Lu Quan'an wanted to say more, but Lu Sheng raised a hand to stop him.

"Father, don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Lu Sheng spoke calmly.

Whether the other side was a ghost or a person, since it feared crowds, there would always be a way to deal with it.

If he could not even get past this little hurdle before him, then if he encountered a ruthless figure like the one behind the Xu Family, someone who wiped out an entire family overnight at the slightest disagreement, would they not merely be lambs awaiting the butcher's knife?

"Sheng... you must be careful."

Liu Cuiyu said worriedly.

The others, however, looked as though a heavy burden had been lifted.

Since Brother Sheng, who had killed wanted criminals, said it was human work, then it was very likely human work.

With Brother Sheng here, they believed the villain would surely be exposed.

After the meeting, Lu Chenxin, Lu Tianyang, Lu Yingying, and the others immediately spread the news.

Soon, by dusk, everyone in the Lu Estate knew that Young Master Lu Sheng had returned. He had also judged the matter to be the work of a person, and had decided to keep watch in Lotus Flower House that night.

As soon as this news spread, everyone throughout the estate breathed a huge sigh of relief.

For the past few days, everyone in the Lu Estate had been stretched too tight, like taut strings that could snap at any moment.

For a time, everyone felt much safer.

Though the crisis had yet to be resolved, the previous atmosphere of panic eased considerably.

At the very least, Young Master Lu Sheng was standing at the front, personally staying in Lotus Flower House. If anything happened, Young Master would be the first to stand in its way.

After thoroughly asking about the entire course of events, Lu Sheng immediately had people arrange the bedding and furnishings in Lotus Flower House. He would stay there that night.

The others tried to persuade him for a while, but seeing that he would not be swayed in the slightest, they could only give up.

Lu Sheng had Xiao Qiao return to his original bedroom. Carrying his saber alone and bringing a jar of medicinal tea, he entered Lotus Flower House.

Lotus Flower House, Lotus Leaf House, and Lotus Root House were all places where the estate's maids and servants lived. They stood side by side.

Lotus Flower House was in the middle.

Lu Sheng arrived before Lotus Flower House with his saber in hand. Both neighboring courtyards were empty. Clearly, their occupants had been frightened away by the midnight crying.

He pushed open the door. The interior had been cleaned spotless, and the bedding had been arranged.

A food box had been set on the stone table in the small courtyard.

Other than that, there was not a single person inside.

There were some pink traces on the grayish-white stone table, seemingly left by a woman's spilled face powder.

Lu Sheng glanced at the bedroom.

The bedroom and small courtyard resembled two square boxes joined together. The bedroom was divided into five single rooms arranged side by side. A corridor stood before their doors, and beyond the corridor was the small courtyard. There was a well in the courtyard, with the stone table and stools beside it.

Lu Sheng sat by the well with the imposing posture of a great general. He opened the dark-red food box, took out the small dishes one by one, and spread them across the stone table.

Three dishes and a soup.

Along with steaming white rice.

Lu Sheng held his chopsticks and ate in large mouthfuls.

The meal took nearly half an hour. He swept every bit of food clean before finally stopping and letting out a belch.

The sky gradually darkened. Lu Sheng lit candles himself, then lit the lanterns, illuminating both the small courtyard and Yu Jie's bedroom.

The five bedrooms stood in a row. Yu Jie's room was the innermost one, where the light was dim and sounds from outside arrived faintly.

After eating, Lu Sheng took his saber and walked through the corridor into the room.

Inside stood a black wooden bed, a square table, and three chairs.

Other than those, there was a wardrobe and a dressing table.

Behind the dressing table was a window. At that moment, the wooden window stood half-open, revealing the pitch-black alley outside.

Candlelight shone down from the desk to the right of the entrance, illuminating most of the room, yet making that half-open wooden window seem even darker and more sinister.

Lu Sheng walked over and poked his head out through the window.

The alley outside the wooden window faced one of the Lu Estate's side gates.

Looking out through the window, he could clearly see a straight alley leading directly to a somewhat desolate white side gate.